Season 18 Power Rankings #3

Season 18 is moving to the home stretch, but first, it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings!  New Britain hangs on to the top spot in the rankings, posting a league best 30-10 since the last rankings.  Buffalo stays as a strong #2, continuing to post strong numbers and win games.  Defending champion Little Rock has surged up 8 spots to #3, as their pitching has improved significantly since the last rankings.  Honolulu drops one spot to #4, while Oklahoma City holds steady at #5.  

5 biggest climbers:  #12 New York (+10), #3 Little Rock (+8), #11 Pawtucket (+8), #19 San Francisco (+7), #17 Rochester (+6)

5 biggest falls: #23 Burlington (-10), #15 Tampa Bay (-9), #22 Boston (-7), #29 Helena (-5), #24 Louisville (-4), #13 Toronto (-4)

Here are the complete rankings, good luck down the stretch!

					Offense		Pitching		Last 40
	Team	W	L	PREV	Rank	Chg	Rank	Chg	W	L
1	New Britain	86	36	1	3	1	3	0	30	10
2	Buffalo	84	38	2	2	0	4	1	28	12
3	Little Rock	75	47	11	4	2	15	3	26	14
4	Honolulu	72	50	3	1	0	12	-2	22	18
5	Oklahoma City	72	50	5	14	3	2	0	23	17
6	Tucson	69	53	10	6	3	6	7	24	16
7	Syracuse	74	48	4	8	-5	11	0	22	18
8	Atlanta	71	51	7	10	-4	14	-5	23	17
9	Salt Lake City	67	55	8	9	1	6	0	21	19
10	Richmond	69	53	12	19	0	5	-1	22	18
11	Pawtucket	64	58	19	5	7	17	7	25	15
12	New York	65	57	22	12	3	18	5	27	13
13	Toronto	69	53	9	10	-5	21	1	22	18
14	Memphis	69	53	17	29	1	12	3	24	16
15	Tampa Bay	65	57	6	29	-6	1	0	17	23
16	Seattle	61	61	14	15	2	6	1	19	21
17	Rochester	58	64	23	22	0	6	8	24	16
18	Oakland	62	60	16	7	1	24	-4	20	20
19	San Francisco	56	66	26	13	7	23	-2	21	19
20	Nashville	60	62	18	15	-1	19	0	20	20
21	Santa Cruz	62	60	21	26	2	16	-5	20	20
22	Boston	61	61	15	17	-6	25	2	17	23
23	Burlington	62	60	13	31	0	6	2	16	24
24	Louisville	55	67	20	25	-4	20	-3	16	24
25	Chicago	49	73	28	23	5	26	2	18	22
26	Charlotte	54	68	25	18	-5	29	0	15	25
27	Detroit	50	72	27	28	-3	22	-6	16	24
28	Cleveland	42	80	31	20	4	30	1	20	20
29	Helena	46	76	24	20	-4	27	-1	11	29
30	Vancouver	45	77	29	23	4	28	-3	16	24
31	New Orleans	36	86	30	27	-1	31	-1	10	30
32	San Juan	22	100	32	32	0	32	0	5	35

Season 18 All-Star Coverage

The All-Star teams for Season 18 have been finalized, and we're here to bring you all of the coverage!

In the American League, the All-Star team is highlighted by Jay Borbon making his 10th appearance and Stewart Mouton making his 9th.  The AL has 10 first-time All-Stars as well.  9 teams had All-Stars with 8 of them having at least 2, with New Britain leading the way with 6. 

In the National League, six players are making at least their 7th appearance on the All-Star team, led by all-time Saves leader Jamie Mancuso, making his 11th appearance, and Jeremy Randall making his 9th.  There were only 5 first-time All-Stars on the NL squad.  12 teams had All-Stars in the NL, with 7 of them sending one player.  Buffalo had the most All-Stars with 8, followed by Honolulu with 5.

Here are the complete rosters!

AMERICAN LEAGUE

Starters
	Player	Franchise	Appearance
C	Livan Espinoza	Little Rock	6th
1B	Albert Aardsma	Toronto	3rd
2B	Mo Ferguson	Little Rock	3rd
3B	Emmanuel Moya	New York	1st
SS	Delino Santana	Little Rock	4th
LF	Jose Reyes	Pawtucket	3rd
CF	Clay Neal	Nashville	1st
RF	Donaldo Borbon	Boston	1st
DH	Bernie Jackson	New York	2nd
Pitchers
	Player	Franchise	Appearance
P	Tony Gwynn	New Britain	4th
P	Ubaldo Merced	Atlanta	2nd
P	Bobby Valent	Atlanta	1st
P	Herbert Davis	Seattle	3rd
P	Zachrey Coleman	Toronto	5th
P	Valerio Baez	New Britain	4th
P	Jay Borbon	Nashville	10th
P	Ham Sampson	Seattle	1st
P	Stewart Mouton	Pawtucket	9th
P	Darron Lamb	Atlanta	1st
P	Tito Fox	Pawtucket	3rd
P	Walt DeWitt	Seattle	1st
P	Wilfredo Torres	Atlanta	2nd
Reserves
	Player	Franchise	Appearance
C	Richard Tateyama	New Britain	1st
1B	Luis Guerrero	New Britain	1st
2B	Kyle Surtain	Atlanta	3rd
3B	Orber Pena	Little Rock	3rd
SS	Edgar Olivares	Toronto	2nd
LF	Geraldo Perez	New Britain	3rd
CF	Sidney Forbes	New Britain	4th
RF	Andres Veras	Toronto	1st

AL All-Stars by Team
New Britain	6
Atlanta	5
Little Rock	4
Toronto	4
Pawtucket	3
Seattle	3
Nashville	2
New York	2
Boston	1

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Starters
	Player	Franchise	Appearance
C	Jeremy Randall	Buffalo	9th
1B	Alex Sanchez	Tucson	3rd
2B	Albert Valenzuela	Buffalo	4th
3B	Cesar Perez	Tucson	3rd
SS	Shaggy Keefe	Salt Lake City	3rd
LF	Butch Borland	Syracuse	4th
CF	Brendan O'Neil	Honolulu	2nd
RF	J.C. Ganzel	Honolulu	6th
Pitchers
	Player	Franchise	Appearance
P	David Silva	Buffalo	7th
P	Jamie Mancuso	Memphis	11th
P	Jimmie Soto	Buffalo	8th
P	Ellis Brock	Tampa Bay	3rd
P	Markus Nelson	Rochester	5th
P	Tommy Stoddard	Syracuse	2nd
P	Norberto Morales	Richmond	1st
P	Jim Forbes	Burlington	1st
P	Alberto Campos	Syracuse	8th
P	Justin Jordan	Tucson	4th
P	Tim Blair	Syracuse	1st
P	Rock Hubbard	Richmond	1st
P	Enrique Navarre	Buffalo	3rd
P	Rafael Acosta	Buffalo	2nd
Reserves
	Player	Franchise	Appearance
C	Carlos Mercedes	Honolulu	3rd
1B	Luis Navarro	Oklahoma City	2nd
2B	Adrian Skinner	Honolulu	3rd
3B	Ernie Hines	Buffalo	6th
SS	Rubby Bolivar	Tucson	1st
LF	Ivy Mench	Honolulu	8th
CF	Norm Hodges	Santa Cruz	3rd
RF	Davy Kendrick	Buffalo	2nd

NL All-Stars by Team
Buffalo	8
Honolulu	5
Syracuse	4
Tucson	4
Richmond	2
Burlington	1
Memphis	1
Oklahoma City	1
Rochester	1
Salt Lake City	1
Santa Cruz	1
Tampa Bay	1

Season 18 Power Rankings #2

We're past the half way point of Season 18, which means it's time to check in with another edition of the power rankings!   There was a change at the top, as New Britain claims the top spot with an impressive 34-8 run since the last rankings.  Buffalo falls 1 spot to #2, while Honolulu jumps 10 spots up to #3!  Syracuse and Oklahoma City round out the top 5.  Honorable mention goes to Toronto who jumped 12 spots from 21 to 9.   Good luck to all in the second half, here are the complete rankings!

					Offense		Pitching		Last 42
	Team	W	L	PREV	Rank	Chg	Rank	Chg	W	L
1	New Britain	56	26	6	4	2	3	7	34	8
2	Buffalo	56	26	1	2	5	5	-1	26	16
3	Honolulu	50	32	13	1	3	10	2	30	12
4	Syracuse	52	30	3	3	0	11	-5	26	16
5	Oklahoma City	49	33	5	17	1	2	0	26	16
6	Tampa Bay	48	34	7	23	4	1	0	25	17
7	Atlanta	48	34	9	6	6	9	5	24	18
8	Salt Lake City	46	36	11	10	4	6	-1	24	18
9	Toronto	47	35	21	5	8	22	7	27	15
10	Tucson	45	37	8	9	-7	13	0	23	19
11	Little Rock	49	33	2	6	2	18	-3	22	20
12	Richmond	47	35	4	19	-9	4	-1	21	21
13	Burlington	46	36	20	31	-6	8	8	25	17
14	Seattle	42	40	10	17	-1	7	1	20	22
15	Boston	44	38	14	11	-3	27	-3	23	19
16	Oakland	42	40	16	8	-7	20	0	19	23
17	Memphis	45	37	25	30	-5	15	7	26	16
18	Nashville	40	42	22	14	6	19	2	22	20
19	Pawtucket	39	43	12	12	-8	24	-5	19	23
20	Louisville	39	43	24	21	2	17	6	21	21
21	Santa Cruz	42	40	15	28	1	11	-4	19	23
22	New York	38	44	17	15	2	23	-5	18	24
23	Rochester	34	48	26	22	8	14	-4	22	20
24	Helena	35	47	31	16	12	26	1	22	20
25	Charlotte	39	43	19	13	-2	29	-1	18	24
26	San Francisco	35	47	23	20	-5	21	-4	17	25
27	Detroit	34	48	18	25	-4	16	-7	14	28
28	Chicago	31	51	27	28	-4	28	-2	15	27
29	Vancouver	29	53	30	27	4	25	0	14	28
30	New Orleans	26	56	29	26	-4	30	0	11	31
31	Cleveland	22	60	28	24	-5	31	0	10	32
32	San Juan	17	65	32	32	0	32	0	9	33

Season 18 Power Rankings #1

Buffalo takes over the top spot, as Little Rock falls to #2!  Richmond catapults from 24 to 4!  Here's the full rankings!

					Offense	Pitching
	Team	W	L	PREV	Rank	Rank
1	Buffalo	30	10	3	7	4
2	Little Rock	27	13	1	8	15
3	Syracuse	26	14	6	3	6
4	Richmond	26	14	24	10	3
5	Oklahoma City	23	17	2	18	2
6	New Britain	22	18	4	6	10
7	Tampa Bay	23	17	7	27	1
8	Tucson	22	18	9	2	13
9	Atlanta	24	16	17	12	14
10	Seattle	22	18	12	16	8
11	Salt Lake City	22	18	13	14	5
12	Pawtucket	20	20	5	4	19
13	Honolulu	20	20	8	4	12
14	Boston	21	19	10	8	24
15	Santa Cruz	23	17	18	29	7
16	Oakland	23	17	23	1	20
17	New York	20	20	11	17	18
18	Detroit	20	20	14	21	9
19	Charlotte	21	19	26	11	28
20	Burlington	21	19	29	25	16
21	Toronto	20	20	19	13	29
22	Nashville	18	22	15	20	21
23	San Francisco	18	22	22	15	17
24	Louisville	18	22	28	23	23
25	Memphis	19	21	30	25	22
26	Rochester	12	28	16	30	10
27	Chicago	16	24	21	24	26
28	Cleveland	12	28	20	19	31
29	New Orleans	15	25	25	22	30
30	Vancouver	15	25	31	31	25
31	Helena	13	27	27	28	27
32	San Juan	8	32	32	32	32

Season 18 - Preseason Power Rankings

Season 18 is about to kick off, so it's time to check in with the preseason power rankings!   Claiming the top spot, the defending champs Little Rock solidified their squad with a few good pickups this offseason, so they start off as the #1 team!  Traditional powers Oklahoma City, Buffalo, New Britain and Pawtucket round out the top 5.   Will anyone be able to infiltrate the top 5 this season?  It will be interesting to see.   Good luck this season, here are the complete preseason power rankings!

		Season 17
	Team	W	L	Comments
1	Little Rock	89	73	The defending champs look good and added a few players
2	Oklahoma City	98	64	Bring back pretty much the same solid group as last season
3	Buffalo	104	58	Always in the mix it seems, this season should be similar
4	New Britain	111	51	Lost a few Type A guys, but we think they'll be solid still
5	Pawtucket	92	70	Always one of the best offensive teams, should be in the mix
6	Syracuse	92	70	Made a splash in free agency, so could be even better
7	Tampa Bay	91	71	Add a few pieces this offseason to an already solid club
8	Honolulu	91	71	Dealt stud SP Mouton, but seemed to get a good return
9	Tucson	98	64	Still looking strong here, and should be in contention again
10	Boston	82	80	Made some nice moves in free agency, so should improve
11	New York	79	83	Seem to be looking to make a push this season
12	Seattle	92	70	Should be solid, the team looks the same as last season
13	Salt Lake City	86	76	Not much activity this offseason, but have a good core
14	Detroit	81	81	Had a bit of a step back last season, can they bounce back?
15	Nashville	85	77	Solid team last season, but need better pitching to move up
16	Rochester	83	79	Majorly up and down last season, but pitching looks solid
17	Atlanta	83	79	Pitching held them back last season, will it improve?
18	Santa Cruz	91	71	Under new ownership, this team has a solid pitching staff
19	Toronto	86	76	Played a bit above their numbers last season, so we'll see
20	Cleveland	78	84	Excellent offense, but need better pitching to take next step
21	Chicago	71	91	New owner signed some guys, but pitching still a concern
22	San Francisco	76	86	They've got great offense, but pitching hasn't panned out yet
23	Oakland	76	86	Another team with great offense and poor pitching last season
24	Richmond	72	90	Seem to be improving, but offense is a slight concern here
25	New Orleans	67	95	Didn't do much this offseason it seems, so we'll have to see
26	Charlotte	59	103	Pitching was an issue last season, and might be again
27	Helena	57	105	Have been in rebuild mode, can they take a step forward?
28	Louisville	68	94	Also have been rebuilding, and seemed better last season
29	Burlington	70	92	Offense is tough to come by in their park, pitching is good
30	Memphis	70	92	Lack of offense seems to be an issue for them as well
31	Vancouver	57	105	Looking to break through but not sure it will be this season
32	San Juan	57	105	Major pitching issues last season and offense was not great

Season 18 Free Agency Preview

Kenny Powers has kicked off season 18, and it's time for the first blog post of the season, the Free Agency preview.  Overall, it's a pretty week free agent class, but there are still some solid players to be had.  Here's a rundown of our top 10 Free Agents available this offseason.  Good luck to those looking to land a player to get them over the hump this season!

1. David Frias, 30, 3B
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .816 OPS
Salary Over/Under: 5 years, $65 million

Possible Destinations: Boston, Pawtucket, Salt Lake City, Burlington

Signed with Boston - 5 years, $45 million

Frias gets the nod as our top free agent this offseason, as he is a 5 tool player who would be above average in the field anywhere put shortstop, has good speed and baserunning ability and very good contact, power and splits to go with a decent enough batting eye.  His overall makeup puts him on top of the board, rather than dominance in any one particular area.

2. Alving Machado, 30, CF
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: .802 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $40 million

Possible Destinations: Santa Cruz, Syracuse, Burlington, San Juan

Signed with Chicago - 5 years, $41 million

Machado's bat is solid, but not spectacular, with nice power and batting eye, good splits and decent contact.  In the field, he has plus range, but his glove is a bit questionable.  With his bat, you might stick him out in CF and see what happens.

3. Rodney Long, 3B, 29
No Designation
Key Stat: Ratings over past numbers
Salary Over/Under: 4 years, $32 million

Possible Destinations: Tampa Bay, Boston, Memphis, Little Rock

Signed with Pawtucket - 1 year, $6.24 million

Long's career numbers at the plate do not particularly impress, but he has good contact, power and batting eye, although his splits are mediocre.  In this free agent class that is lacking beyond 1B/DH types, his ability to play a good 3B along with potential for better offensive numbers gets him a high spot on our list.

4. Tommy Stoddard, 29, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.40 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: $4 years, $44 million

Possible Destinations: Rochester, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, Oakland

Signed with Syracuse - 5 years, $65 million

Stoddard is the top free agent pitcher on our board this offseason, thanks to his outstanding control and splits, and solid pitch selection.  He has excellent velocity and keeps the ball down well.  His only downside is limited stamina/durability which will limit him to 160-170 innings per season, but those should be quality innings that he contributes.  His age, at only 29, is also a plus.

5. Achilles Sadler, 32, DH
No Designation
Key Stat: .951 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $21 million

Possible Destinations: Detroit, Oklahoma City, Memphis, New Orleans

Signed with Atlanta - 2 years, $7.8 million

Sadler has a nice combination of excellent power, splits, particularly vs. LHP, and an elite batting eye to go with decent contact.  A slight decline in power, and a bit of a drop off in numbers last season are a bit of a concern, but his ratings indicate he still has an elite bat.

6. Carlos Mercedes, 30, C
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .852 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $20 million

Possible Destinations: Rochester, Burlington, New Orleans, New York

Signed with Honolulu - 4 years, $21.3 million ($16.65 million guaranteed)

Mercedes is another big power bat with plus splits and decent contact and batting eye.  He'd make a serviceable catcher, although his zero range is of slight concern.  Whether at catcher of DH, his huge bat will be a nice asset for any lineup.

7. Ron Wilkinson, 35, SP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.70 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $20 million

Possible Destinations: Syracuse, Memphis, Oakland, Louisville

Signed with Tampa Bay - 1 year - $8.5 million

Wilkinson is a solid righty who was put up multiple consecutive solid seasons, putting up an ERA below 4 while throwing over 200 innings.  He's outstanding vs. right handed hitters, and has plus control.  His pitches are good, but not elite, and age is a slight concern, but he should have a few more solid seasons left in him.

8. Butch Borland, 34, LF
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: .921 career OPS
Salary Over/Under: 2 years, $17 million

Possible Destinations: Detroit, Oklahoma City, Salt Lake City, Little Rock

Signed with Syracuse - 3 years, $20 million ($14 million guaranteed)

Borland is a pure power hitter with nice splits and a pretty good batting eye.  His contact isn't great, but that hasn't stopped him from posting a most impressive career OPS.  He is at the age where hitters start to decline, so a long term contract probably isn't in the works, but he should continue his great hitting for at least a couple of more seasons.

9. Enrique Rivera, 32, RP
Type A Free Agent
Key Stat: 4.14 career ERA
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $16 million

Possible Destinations: Atlanta, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Tucson

Signed with Little Rock - 2 years, $9.2 million

Rivera gets the nod as the best reliever in this season's free agent class, thanks to his outstanding control, solid pitches, and very good splits.  He was roughed up a bit last season, which is a concern, but we think he can bounce back and post decent numbers while working 100+ innings.

10. Javier Bonilla, 33, SP
Type B Free Agent
Key Stat: 3.98 ERA last season
Salary Over/Under: 3 years, $26 million

Possible Destinations: Pawtucket, Santa Cruz, Vancouver, San Juan

Signed with Boston - 2 years, $12 million

Bonilla is a workhorse right-hander, with two excellent pitches and solid splits.  His velocity and ability to keep the ball down are good.  His control isn't that of an elite starter, but Bonilla will eat up a ton of innings and has the potential to post solid numbers like he did last season.