Season 17 League Leaders

With Season 17 in the books and the playoffs under way, it's a good time to look back at this season's League Leaders in Kenny Powers.

OFFENSE
In the American League, Sherman Dunston of San Francisco led the league in batting average, OBP, slugging percentage and OPS.  His slugging percentage of .694 and OPS of 1.130 were each the 4th best single season totals in Kenny Powers history. His season was one for the ages. He also finished 2nd in home runs and RBI, trailing Javier Sivilla of Pawtucket in each category.  Sivilla racked up 57 HR and 155 RBI this season.

In the NL, J.C. Ganzel of Honolulu dominates the league leaders listing, leading the league in Home Runs, RBI, Hits and Runs. He finished 4th in batting average, missing the Triple Crown by 13 batting average points. Jeremy Randall of Buffalo led the league and OBP and OPS, his omission from the top 5 MVP candidates in the NL is truly baffling.

Here are the complete Offensive League Leaders!

American League
Batting Average	Sherman Dunston	San Francisco	.343
Home Runs	Javier Sivilla	Pawtucket	57
RBI	Javier Sivilla	Pawtucket	155
Stolen Bases	Weldon Rando	Toronto	91
Hits	Luis Vega	Pawtucket	199
Runs	David Frias	Scranton	127
OBP	Sherman Dunston	San Francisco	.435
SLG	Sherman Dunston	San Francisco	.694
OPS	Sherman Dunston	San Francisco	1.130
National League
Batting Average	Quilvio Limon	Oklahoma City	.337
Home Runs	J.C. Ganzel	Honolulu	54
RBI	J.C. Ganzel	Honolulu	154
Stolen Bases	Pedro Ibarra	Burlington	68
Hits	J.C. Ganzel	Honolulu	205
Runs	J.C. Ganzel	Honolulu	122
OBP	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	.423
SLG	Trenidad Franco	Salt Lake City	.638
OPS	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	1.054

PITCHING
The AL pitching league leaders were dominated by two hurlers. Matty Posada of Nashville led the AL in ERA, Strikeouts, and WHIP.  He missed out on the pitching Triple Crown by three wins, as he was topped in that category by Valerio Baez of New Britain, who in addition to leading the league in wins, led the league in Innings Pitched, Quality Starts, and Shutouts.  His 24 wins tied for the 4th best total in Kenny Powers history, while his 283.2 Innings Pitched was 2nd all-time, and his four shutouts tied for 3rd all-time.

In the NL, multiple category leaders include Ellis Brock of Tampa Bay (WHIP and tied for the lead in Shutouts), Clyde Hurst of St. Louis (Strikeouts and tied for the lead in Quality Starts), and Jim Forbes of Burlington (Innings Pitched and tied for the lead in Shutouts).

Here are the complete Pitching League Leaders!

American League
ERA	Matty Posada	Nashville	2.25
Wins	Valerio Baez	New Britain	24
Strikeouts	Matty Posada	Nashville	212
Saves	Orlando Ortiz	Seattle	49
WHIP	Matty Posada	Nashville	1.02
Innings Pitched	Valerio Baez	New Britain	283.2
Quality Starts	Valerio Baez	New Britain	29
Complete Games	Ted Wagner	Pawtucket	10
Shutouts	Valerio Baez	New Britain	4
National League
ERA	Brad Miles	Tampa Bay	1.94
Wins	Justin Jordan	Tucson	21
Strikeouts	Clyde Hurst	St. Louis	247
Saves	Markus Nelson	Rochester	45
WHIP	Ellis Brock	Tampa Bay	0.94
Innings Pitched	Jim Forbes	Burlington	258.1
Quality Starts	Alberto Campos	Syracuse	27
	Clyde Hurst	St. Louis	27
Complete Games	Erubiel Troncoso	St. Louis	6
Shutouts	Jim Forbes	Burlington	3
	Ellis Brock	Tampa Bay	3

Season 17 Final Power Rankings

The Regular Season has ended for Season 17 and the playoffs are right around the corner, but before they kick off, it's time for the final power rankings of the season!   In a rarity in the power rankings era, the entire top 5 remained the same since the last rankings.  #1 New Britain was clearly the most dominant team in the 2nd half and it will be interesting to see what they do in the playoffs.  NL powerhouses Buffalo, Oklahoma City and Tucson remained 2-4, while Pawtucket stayed at #5.  The defending champs Tampa Bay jump up to 6, winning a tiebreaker to earn a shot to defend their title.  Should be an interesting postseason, good luck to all involved!  Here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	New Britain	111	51	1	Most dominant team in the second half by a wide margin
2	Buffalo	104	58	2	The NL's top seed will have a number of tough opponents
3	Oklahoma City	98	64	3	Just another great season for them, looking solid for playoffs
4	Tucson	98	64	4	Pitching not as good as other NL elites, but great offense
5	Pawtucket	92	70	5	Solid down the stretch with the best offense in the world
6	Tampa Bay	91	71	11	Great stretch run gets the defending champs in as the 6 seed
7	St. Louis	91	71	7	Great comeback for this squad, miss playoffs on tiebreaker
8	Syracuse	92	70	8	Ended season on W6 to get wild card spot, great pitching
9	Little Rock	89	73	9	Numbers are pretty good, so could make waves in playoffs
10	Honolulu	91	71	6	Tough break missing the playoffs on tiebreaker in tough NL
11	Salt Lake City	86	76	13	They're making a progress, a team to watch next season
12	Seattle	92	70	14	Offense fell off down the stretch, so we'll see in playoffs
13	Chicago	82	80	16	Great last 40 puts them over .500, good sign going forward
14	Detroit	81	81	21	Played better down the stretch, but finish is disappointing
15	Rochester	83	79	10	Completely fell apart the 2nd half after a blazing start
16	Florida	79	83	23	Over .500 the last 40 with numbers up across the board
17	Toronto	86	76	15	Made it in as an AL Wild Card, but numbers down the last 40
18	Nashville	85	77	17	Also an AL Wild Card, but pitching numbers are suspect
19	Atlanta	83	79	20	Nice debut season by new owner, they have potential
20	Oakland	76	86	19	Better the last 40, with both offense and pitching improved
21	San Francisco	76	86	12	Pretty awful down the stretch, but they've got great offense
22	Cleveland	78	84	18	They won their division, pitching improved down the stretch
23	Scranton	71	91	25	Pitching improved significantly the last 40, nice offense too
24	Memphis	70	92	27	They've got great pitching, but offense remains an issue here
25	Richmond	72	90	26	Played .500 ball down the stretch, as the pitching improved
26	Burlington	70	92	22	Pitching fell off the last 40, and the offense didn't produce
27	Louisville	68	94	28	.500 since the last rankings, the pitching improved a lot
28	New Orleans	67	95	24	Pitching was better, but batrs dropped off, so rough last 40
29	Vancouver	57	105	32	Winning record the last 40, numbers improved a lot overall
30	Charlotte	59	103	29	Numbers were up a bit the last 40, but still went 16-24
31	Helena	57	105	30	Pitching was really bad all season, but better the last 40
32	San Juan	57	105	31	Awful pitching down the stretch lands them at the bottom

Season 17 Power Rankings #3

With only a quarter of the regular season to go, it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings!  And we have a new team atop of the rankings, as New Britain claims the #1 spot for the first time!   New Britain edged out Buffalo for the top spot, primarily due to their record since the last rankings being 5 games better and all other numbers comparable.  Congrats to New Britain on claiming the #1 ranking!  Here are the rest of the rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	New Britain	83	39	4	Best record in the world since last rankings by 5 games
2	Buffalo	84	38	1	Numbers are down slightly, but still playing great ball
3	Oklahoma City	76	46	3	They're numbers are tremendous, but more L's than usual
4	Tucson	76	46	5	Pitching has improved, and the offense is still rolling
5	Pawtucket	68	54	9	One of the best offenses, pitching is middle of the road
6	Honolulu	70	52	10	Numbers decreased some, but it didn't hurt their record
7	St. Louis	68	54	14	Tied for 2nd best record since last rankings due to pitching
8	Syracuse	70	52	7	Their pitching took a major step forward since last rankings
9	Little Rock	67	55	6	Mediocre as of late, as the offense has cooled off
10	Rochester	70	52	2	Hit the wall since the midway point, numbers dropped off
11	Tampa Bay	66	56	8	Pitching numbers better, but the offense cooled down some
12	San Francisco	62	60	16	Playing well lately with nice offense, and pitching is better
13	Salt Lake City	63	59	18	Also on a nice run, as their offensive numbers are up
14	Seattle	70	52	11	Playing very mediocre as of late, not getting much offense
15	Toronto	66	56	17	Nice run since the last rankings, thanks to improved offense
16	Chicago	58	64	23	They're playing well, as the pitching is significantly better
17	Nashville	66	56	13	Nice record, but their pitching is a red flag, bats are just ok
18	Cleveland	59	63	21	Winning record since last rankings, with pitching stats up
19	Oakland	56	66	24	Pitching improved some, winning record since last rankings
20	Atlanta	65	57	15	Rough stretch record wise, but their numbers are not bad
21	Detroit	59	63	12	It's been rough for them lately, as pitching has fallen off
22	Burlington	53	69	19	Their pitching stats took a hit, and bats aren't doing much
23	Florida	57	65	20	Showing signs of life, but they may be a few players away
24	New Orleans	53	69	26	Their pitching improved significantly since the last rankings
25	Scranton	53	69	22	Pitching is not there, and offense seems to be in a slump
26	Richmond	52	70	29	Winning record over last 41, offense has improved a lot
27	Memphis	52	70	25	Offense has been better, but pitching fell off somewhat
28	Louisville	48	74	27	Pitching has been getting lit up as of late, but in a rebuild
29	Charlotte	43	79	28	Numbers are down overall and it shows in their record
30	Helena	40	82	31	Yeah, they are rebuilding, but the pitching is really bad
31	San Juan	43	79	30	Pitching has been better, but offense is very much lacking
32	Vancouver	36	86	32	Their pitching stats did improve some, for what it's worth

Season 17 Power Rankings #2

We are half way through Season 17, so it's time for a new edition of the power rankings!  Buffalo maintains the top spot, as their offense continues to be the best in all of Kenny Powers.  Jumping up to #2 is Rochester, who had the best record in the world since the last rankings at 31-10.  Oklahoma is solid as ever at #3, followed by New Britain and Tucson rounding out the top 5.   Looks like it's going to be quite the race this season for the title.  Good luck in the second half, and here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Buffalo	58	23	1	Still rolling along, with the best offense in the world so far
2	Rochester	53	28	9	On fire, finally living up to the potential their numbers show
3	Oklahoma City	53	28	2	Top pitching staff in the world and nice offense, looking good
4	New Britain	52	29	3	They are playing very will with great pitching and offense
5	Tucson	52	29	5	Pitching isn't as solid as rest of top 5, but great offense
6	Little Rock	47	34	8	They've improved across the board since last rankings
7	Syracuse	49	32	10	Solid record, but their numbers are below the teams above
8	Tampa Bay	46	35	12	The defending champs have good numbers, but NL is tough
9	Pawtucket	44	37	16	Bouncing back from horrible start, pitching has improved
10	Honolulu	46	35	11	Took a nice step forward in both pitching and hittling lately
11	Seattle	49	32	4	Slowed down after a hot start, as offense tailed off some
12	Detroit	44	37	6	Great pitching, but the offense has struggled as of late
13	Nashville	44	37	20	Nice recovery from slow start, but pitching may hurt them
14	St. Louis	42	39	22	New ownership turned them around nicely since taking over
15	Atlanta	47	34	7	Still in the mix, but the pitching has been rough as of late
16	San Francisco	38	43	24	They've been on a nice run thanks to improved pitching
17	Toronto	42	39	14	Numbers are mediocre, but always good to be over .500
18	Salt Lake City	39	42	13	Great pitching start tailed off, but offense has been better
19	Burlington	35	46	18	Their pitching took a step back since the last rankings
20	Florida	37	44	23	Improved pitching as of late bumps them up a few spots
21	Cleveland	36	45	26	Both pitching and offense improved since last rankings
22	Scranton	37	44	25	Pitching has been a problem, but have a good offense
23	Chicago	34	47	17	Numbers have down overall since the last rankings
24	Oakland	33	48	15	Pitching has been lit up, and the offense slowed down
25	Memphis	34	47	28	They've improved across the board after a very rough start
26	New Orleans	34	47	27	Pitching hasn't been great, and the offense tailed off
27	Louisville	33	48	19	Couldn't build on good start, as pitching has been lit up
28	Charlotte	32	49	21	Offense declined since last rankings, resulting in a drop
29	Richmond	30	51	31	Pitching and offense picked up some after horrific start
30	San Juan	28	53	29	Pitching has been rocked lately, without much offense
31	Helena	24	57	32	Their pitching numbers are better, but didn't lead to wins
32	Vancouver	24	57	30	Pitching numbers dropped to the worst in the world

Season 17 Power Rankings #1

Season 17 is under way, and it's time to check in with the power rankings!  And we have a #1!  Breaking a streak of six consecutive #1 rankings for Oklahoma City, Buffalo is off to a red hot 31-9 start and claims the top spot.  Their offense is killing it so far, and their pitching is excellent.  Congrats to Buffalo on taking the top spot!  OKC comes in at #2 with a solid start, and New Britain rounds out the top 3 with an equally solid start.  Here are the complete rankings!

	Team	W	L	PREV	Comments
1	Buffalo	31	9	4	Take over the top spot with hot start, offense is crushing
2	Oklahoma City	27	13	1	Incredibly solid as always, just a smidge behind Buffalo
3	New Britain	26	14	5	Out of the gates strong, good numbers across the board
4	Seattle	28	12	11	Very good start, the offense is surprisingly good so far
5	Tucson	25	15	3	Great offense, the pitching has been middle of the pack
6	Detroit	24	16	6	Great pitching, but their offense is slow out of the gate
7	Atlanta	25	15	7	Excellent start, although the offensive numbers are low
8	Little Rock	22	18	9	Pretty good start, the numbers are strong, yet not elite
9	Rochester	22	18	14	Fantastic numbers again, underperforming on wins
10	Syracuse	24	16	17	Pretty well balanced at this point, we'll see if it continues
11	Honolulu	22	18	15	Pitching below average so far, but very nice offense
12	Tampa Bay	21	19	10	Not a blazing start for defending champs, but they're good
13	Salt Lake City	21	19	12	Great pitching so far, but can the offense produce more?
14	Toronto	21	19	16	Not a bad start for them, numbers are middle of the road
15	Oakland	20	20	22	Offense is killing it, but the pitching staff has struggled
16	Pawtucket	19	21	13	Slow start for them, pitching has definitely been an issue
17	Chicago	19	21	19	Coming on a bit, numbers look good, especially offense
18	Burlington	20	20	25	Top pitching staff so far, but not much on offense yet
19	Louisville	20	20	30	Nice jump for them, thanks to solid pitching thus far
20	Nashville	19	21	8	Average numbers so far, they have potential for better play
21	Charlotte	19	21	26	Doing ok so far, although the pitching is a bit below average
22	St. Louis	17	23	2	Rough start sends them free falling in the first rankings
23	Florida	17	23	18	Pitching has been rocked, and offense is below average
24	San Francisco	15	25	23	Above average offense, but pitching is not getting it done
25	Scranton	18	22	24	Bats are there as always, but pitching has been awful
26	Cleveland	16	24	27	Have had pitching issues, but offense hasn't been bad
27	New Orleans	16	24	31	Another team with good offense, but horrible pitching
28	Memphis	15	25	28	Pitching is decent, but offense is off to a horrid start
29	San Juan	14	26	21	The offense just hasn't come together yet for this team
30	Vancouver	13	27	32	Bad pitching and little offense to speak of to this point
31	Richmond	12	28	20	Very little offense, and pitching his been hit quite a bit
32	Helena	12	28	29	Their pitching has been rocked, but offense is not bad

Season 17 Preseason Power Rankings

OK, so we're a few games into the season actually, but I did not use teams' starts as a factor, so I still consider these the preseason rankings.  Sorry for the delay!   Oklahoma City looks reloaded and ready to roll again, so they take the top spot.  St. Louis comes in at #2, with Tucson, Buffalo and New Britain following.  It will be interesting to see how it looks after the first 40 games, good luck everyone, here are the rankings!

		Season 16
	Team	W	L	Comments
1	Oklahoma City	112	50	Bringing back another tremendous team yet again
2	St. Louis	98	64	Added stud SP Troncoso, so looking good again
3	Tucson	96	66	Excellent all-around team should be tough to beat
4	Buffalo	96	66	A perennial contender, always amongst best in pitching
5	New Britain	96	66	Very well balanced, and should be tough in the AL again
6	Detroit	97	65	Lost Orie, but should still be very good this season
7	Atlanta	82	80	Solid last year, and added some free agents
8	Nashville	89	73	Landed our top FA Towers, so that is a plus for sure
9	Little Rock	91	71	Bringing back a solid team that should contend again
10	Tampa Bay	89	73	Defending champs, can Brock do it all for them again?
11	Seattle	91	71	Look to be bringing back pretty much the same team
12	Salt Lake City	77	85	Very active in free agency, so we predict improvement
13	Pawtucket	97	65	Lost a couple of Type A FA's so we'll see what happens
14	Rochester	82	80	Always solid, is this the year they can break through?
15	Honolulu	86	76	Took a step back last season, but bounce back is possible
16	Toronto	89	73	Lost a few pitchers, but should still be pretty good
17	Syracuse	76	86	Added a few FA's, we'll see if the offense can improve
18	Florida	73	89	An up and coming team that has made steps forward
19	Chicago	71	91	Once again active in free agency, we'll see if they can climb
20	Richmond	77	85	We'll see what direction new ownership takes the team
21	San Juan	75	87	They're pitching staff was pretty good last season, actually
22	Oakland	75	87	They've got some decent bats, we'll see about the pitching
23	San Francisco	67	95	Pretty good on offense too, but can the arms improve?
24	Scranton	74	88	The ultimate offensive juggernaut, but pitching was bad
25	Burlington	77	85	Struggled offensively in their park, but have decent arms
26	Charlotte	67	95	New ownership here, we'll see what they can do
27	Cleveland	61	101	They seem to be making strides, but pitching an issue
28	Memphis	68	94	Offense was an issue for them, so we'll have to see
29	Helena	66	96	Former world series winner in rebuild mode it seems
30	Louisville	67	95	They've been rebuilding, so could see some callups soon
31	New Orleans	73	89	They lost some guys, as new owner makes their mark
32	Vancouver	57	105	They signed a few guys, so improvement is possible

Season 17 Free Agency Preview

With the hot stove cranking in both real life MLB and Kenny Powers, let's see who made the list of the top 10 free agents of this offseason in Kenny Powers!

1. Marc Towers, 28, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .838 career OPS

Signed with Nashville - 5 years, $47.2 million

Towers tops this year's free agency rankings thanks to a solid combination of a great bat and outstanding fielding ability.  He's not quite shortstop caliber in the field, although if you're willing to live with a handful of errors, his bat would be a huge plus at that spot.  At any other spot in the field, he'd be a plus fielder.  He's got tremendous power, solid contact, decent splits, although his batting eye is pretty mediocre.  Still, he brings a lot to the table at the plate.

2. Jimmy Fox, 29, RF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .902 career OPS

Signed with Oklahoma City - 5 years, $50.1 million

Fox is an outstanding bat with tremendous splits and an elite batting eye to go with very good contact and decent power.  He falls just behind Towers due to his fielding ability, he's got a right field type arm, but not a good enough glove to be successful at the hot corner.  Still, his bat is going to be a major plus in the lineup, regardless of where he plays in the field

3. Erubiel Troncoso, 32, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.83 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $70 million

Possible Destinations: Chicago, Kansas City, Scranton, Vancouver

Signed with St. Louis - 5 years, $66 million

Troncoso ranks as the top starting pitcher in this free agent class.  He's got very good control and splits and can easily throw 200 innings with his stamina, and also good velocity and ability to keep the ball down.  His pitch quality is one of the things that keep him from being truly elite, still he'd be a very good add to just about any rotation.

4. Dan Ohlendorf, 31, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 2.98 career ERA

Signed with Toronto - 2 years, $13.3 million

Ohlendorf is our choice for top reliever in this free agent class.  He has plus ratings across the board in control, velocity, RH split, and pitches.  He may be slightly vulnerable against lefties, but it's not a major concern.  He has the stamina and durability to approach 100 innings of elite quality relief pitching, which is why he lands at #4 on this season's rankings. 

5. Jack Thompson, 29, SP
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.58 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $40 million

Possible Destinations: Chicago, Scranton, Nashville, Tucson

Signed with Chicago - 5 years, $62 million

Thompson has several redeeming qualities, such as an elite pitch arsenal and control, excellent velocity, and good splits.  One weakness that prevents him from moving up in the rankings is that his durability/stamina combination put a ceiling on his innings somewhere around 175.   Still, those will be high quality innings, and if there is a good bullpen behind him, all the more better. 

6. Geovany Mateo, 34, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.57 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $26 million

Possible Destinations: Honolulu, Tampa Bay, Scranton, Vancouver

Signed with Little Rock - 3 years, $8.4 million

Mateo is another excellent reliever in this year's free agent class.  His control, effectiveness vs. RH and pitch arsenal are outstanding.  He is not quite as effective vs. lefties, and he tends to give up some fly balls.  The pros definitely outweigh the cons, however, and Mateo can provide 100 innings of quality relief help, which makes him a good signing.

7. Cory Orie, 33, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.57 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $25 million

Possible Destinations: Kansas City, Toronto, New Britain, Detroit

Signed with Salt Lake City - 5 years, $51 million

There are many positives to be said about Orie, and not many negatives.  He has outstanding ratings across the board, although if a weakness were to be noted, it would be that his effectiveness vs. RH is good, but not elite.  Also, his durability/stamina profile will limit his innings to around 175 max, similar to Thompson, and is four years older.  All that aside, he still has a few very good years left, so he'd be worth the add. 

8. Delanor Broadway, 33, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 4.26 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $21 million

Possible Destinations: Toronto, Nashville, Vancouver, San Juan

Signed with Atlanta - 3 years, $24 million

Broadway brings to the table a truly elite arsenal of pitches, excellent velocity and control, and he is very good against LH hitters.  His RH split is decent to mediocre, which seems to have limited his effectiveness throughout his career.  Given what's out there this offseason, he still wouldn't be a bad signing for a team that needed pitching help and missed out on the guys higher up on the list.

9. Blake Lofton, 34, RF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .834 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $14 million

Possible Destinations: Buffalo, Honolulu, St. Louis, New Britain

Signed with Buffalo - 3 years, $18 million

Lofton has had an outstanding career, and although he's getting up there in age, he still has a few more excellent seasons left in him.    His elite batting eye and plus contact rating will keep him on base without many strikeouts.  He is very good against LHP, and still solid vs. RHP as well.  His power is above average, but not great, and he's pretty much only a RF, LF or 1B at this point, but he will still add a lot to a lineup for the next few seasons. 

10. Devon Milton, 32, 3B
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .832 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $20 million

Possible Destinations: Chicago, Syracuse, San Juan, Salt Lake City

Signed with Vancouver - 3 years, $20 million

Milton is a skilled hitter, with good splits and batting eye and excellent contact.  He has decent power where he could hit around 20 or so home runs and he is still a serviceable 3rd baseman.  A ratings drop this past season have to be a concern, but given that he is a type B free agent, it's probably worth the gamble that he can maintain his productivity for the next few seasons.