Power Pros Forum

Monthly Report - July
by Richard Griffin, Toronto Star
Thursday, August 1, 2014

We're hitting the home stretch now, so I will now be including the Wild Card standings for each league.

Standings

AL East
1. Rays (59-50, 0 GB)
2. Orioles (58-50, 0.5 GB)
3. Blue Jays (58-51, 1 GB)
4. Yankees (52-56, 6.5 GB)
5. Red Sox (48-61, 11.0 GB)

AL Central
1. Royals (62-44, 0 GB)
2. Twins (55-52, 7.5 GB)
3. Tigers (54-53, 8.5 GB)
4. Indians (46-61, 16.5 GB)
5. White Sox (44-63, 18.5 GB)

AL West
1. A's (59-49, 0 GB)
2. Mariners (55-52, 3.5 GB)
3. Angels (54-53, 4.5 GB)
4. Astros (52-54, 6 GB)
5. Rangers (52-57, 7.5 GB)

AL Wild Card
1. Orioles (58-50, 0 GB)
2. Blue Jays (58-51, 0 GB)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Mariners (55-52, 2 GB)
4. Twins (55-52, 2 GB)
5. Angels (54-53, 3 GB)
6. Tigers (54-53, 3 GB)
7. Astros (52-54, 4.5 GB)
8. Yankees (52-56, 5.5 GB)
9. Rangers (52-57, 6 GB)

NL East
1. Nationals (57-51, 0 GB)
2. Mets (55-52, 1.5 GB)
3. Braves (54-54, 3 GB)
4. Marlins (46-61, 10.5 GB)
5. Phillies (44-63, 12.5 GB)

NL Central
1. Brewers (67-41, 0 GB)
2. Cardinals (60-46, 6 GB)
3. Reds (59-50, 8.5 GB)
4. Pirates (53-54, 13.5 GB)
5. Cubs (41-66, 25.5 GB)

NL West
1. Rockies (63-46, 0 GB)
2. Diamondbacks (60-48, 2.5 GB)
3. Dodgers (54-52, 7.5 GB)
4. Giants (48-58, 13.5 GB)
5. Padres (44-65, 19 GB)

NL Wild Card
1. Cardinals (60-46, 0 GB)
2. Diamondbacks (60-48, 0 GB)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Reds (59-50, 1.5 GB)
4. Mets (55-52, 4.5 GB)
5. Dodgers (54-52, 5 GB)
6. Braves (54-54, 6 GB)
7. Pirates (53-54, 6.5 GB)

The Jays seem to be keeping good pace despite dropping in the AL East standings from 1st to 3rd. Interestingly, the 3 top teams in the division have each been 6-4 in their last 10 games.

Let's see how the Jays players have done through the season so far:

Pitchers
R.A. Dickey (125 IP, 7-6, 4.61 ERA, 107 K, 11 QS)
Dean Stradley (123.1 IP, 8-4, 4.16 ERA, 137 K, 9 QS)
Moses Adler (139.1 IP, 7-6, 3.42 ERA, 92 K, 15 QS)
Danny Hopkins (124 IP, 5-10, 4.35 ERA, 145 K, 10 QS)
Marcus Stroman (133.1 IP, 6-7, 4.25 ERA, 152 K, 10 QS)
Juan Perez (53.2 IP, 5-3, 2.68 ERA, 70 K)
Austin Langer (37 IP, 2-1, 2.19 ERA, 30 K)
Stephen Brooks (36 IP, 2-1, 4.00 ERA, 42 K, 4 SV)
Lamont Cates (39 IP, 3-2, 2.08 ERA, 45 K, 1 SV)
Todd Redmond (74.2 IP, 7-5, 3.01 ERA, 93 K)
Leo Vizcaino (38.1 IP, 2-3, 4.46 ERA, 40 K, 21 SV)
Thad Weber (42.1 IP, 2-3, 1.49 ERA, 37 K)

Catchers
Dioner Navarro (.266 (74/278) /.331/.414, 11 HR, 28 RBI)
John Scott (.266 (84/316) /.334/.459, 17 HR, 50 RBI, 3 SB)

Infielders
Edwin Encarnacion (.299 (76/254) /.370/.488, 12 HR, 41 RBI, 5 SB) (activated 7/4)
Luis Jimenez (.293 (46/157) /.380/.427, 4 HR, 21 RBI)
Kent Murphy (.286 (56/196) /.385/.519, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 6 SB)
Brett Lawrie (.235 (92/391) /.306/.379, 12 HR, 46 RBI, 12 SB)
Jose Reyes (.300 (114/380) /.367/.466, 8 HR, 47 RBI, 23 SB)
Michael Scott (.311 (42/135) /.377/.400, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 2 SB)
Munenori Kawasaki (.261 (23/88) /.387/.341, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 3 SB)

Outfielders
Hayden Goldson (.256 (91/355) /.304/.513, 25 HR, 68 RBI, 9 SB)
Jeff Kobernus (.174 (4/23) /.321/.174, 0 HR, 1 RBI) (acquired 7/19)
Eury Perez (.237 (9/38) /.256/.368, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 1 SB) (acquired 7/19)
Jose Bautista (.274 (57/208) /.353/.476, 11 HR, 34 RBI, 1 SB) (activated 7/28)

You might notice that there are less players whose stats are being shown. That is simply due to the recovery of previously injured players.

Now for the notable minor leaguers:

AAA [Buffalo Bisons (1st place, 64-49, 4 GA)]
1B Pete Grossman (.293 (12/41) /.333/.634, 4 HR, 12 RBI) (promoted 7/11)
2B Ryan Goins (.195 (15/77) /.276/.221, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 3 SB) (demoted 7/4)
LF/RF Damon Allred (.266 (58/218) /.343/.477, 12 HR, 40 RBI, 4 SB) (injured 7/13)
CF Mackenzie Matthews (.267 (50/187) /.346/.481, 9 HR, 32 RBI, 3 SB)
CF Anthony Gose (.187 (3/16) /.278/.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 SB) (demoted 7/27)
RF Todd Rosado (.306 (34/111) /.389/.505, 5 HR, 16 RBI) (demoted 7/22)
SP Yoshimitsu Tsuchii (141 IP, 9-3, 3.26 ERA, 75 K, 13 QS)
RP James Bennett (61.2 IP, 4-3, 3.65 ERA, 79 K)

AA [New Hampshire Fisher Cats (2nd place, 61-50, 6 GB)]
3B Lonnie Bradshaw (.246 (101/411) /.291/.387, 13 HR, 59 RBI, 4 SB)
CF Aatu Selin (.353 (54/153) /.413/.484, 1 HR, 21 RBI, 6 SB) (demoted 7/20)
SP Darby Clancy (129.1 IP, 10-4, 3.13 ERA, 71 K)
SP/RP Robert Tomlinson (50.1 IP, 6-2, 3.04 ERA, 40 K, 1 SV) (demoted 7/19)
RP Joel Rockwell (77.1 IP, 3-4, 4.66 ERA, 81 K, 5 SV)
RP Francisco Munoz (55.2 IP, 2-3, 2.91 ERA, 60 K, 14 SV)

August also marks what is essentially the last month for the minor league squads. Both of the Blue Jays' minor league teams look like good bets to make the playoffs.

Kent only has 7 HR? Ah well, .286 ain't bad.

Plus that'd be awesome to make the playoffs!

Hopkins is gonna be Brandon Morrow v.2

That's kinda what I thought. At least he's stayed healthy unlike Morrow.

pete for roty 2k15

(58-64) Red Sox 7, (64-58) Blue Jays 3



Stroman, Bullpen Erratic in Jays Loss
by Gregor Chisholm, MLB.com
Wednesday, August 14, 2014


TORONTO - Red Sox rookie outfielder Bryce Brentz admires his home run.

The Blue Jays take a tough loss to the division rival Red Sox, losing at home by a final score of 7-3.

Jays starter Marcus Stroman ran into trouble very early on, in the 2nd inning to be exact, as after giving up a double and 2 walks, Stroman gave up a bases-clearing double to Sox third baseman Will Middlebrooks. Overall, Stroman would only last 4.2 innings as his pitch count ran extremely high, both for positive (Stroman struck out 7 batters) and negative (Stroman also walked 6 batters) reasons. The bullpen wouldn't fare much better, as Todd Redmond got the final out of the 5th inning but was taken out after giving up a home run to Sox right fielder Bryce Brentz. Lefty Juan Perez pitched 2 scoreless innings in relief, but Thad Weber, who had an ERA under 2 going into the game, gave up 3 runs in the top of the 8th inning thanks to hits by Shane Victorino and Xander Bogaerts.

It was a very different story for the starter for the Red Sox, Jon Lester. Lester looked dominant throughout the game, only giving up 1 run through 7 innings. Lester was allowed to pitch the 8th but he was clearly tired, and even though he retired the first batter of the inning, he would eventually be taken out after giving up 3 straight hits after that, including a 2-run shot by Edwin Encarnacion. It was still a well-deserved win for Lester, who struck out 9 Jays batters in the game.

This game comes after the Blue Jays made a bevy of roster moves yesterday evening. To recap, 1B/DH Luis Jimenez was sent down to Triple-A Buffalo and center fielder Mackenzie Matthews was recalled from there. Jimenez had a fast start to his 2014 season, earning a call-up after a sizzling April in Buffalo, and did very well for the Jays up until July, when his .375 average going into the month dropped down to .247, as well as hitting only 1 home run in the month. Matthews started out on the Opening Day roster as Anthony Gose's platoon partner in center field, but he performed miserably, only hitting .136 in 88 at-bats. He put up some very impressive stats for the Triple-A squad, though, hitting .284 with an .858 OPS, thanks to 9 home runs. Matthews would start today's game in center field and batting 8th in the lineup, going 0-4.

Jeff Kobernus, acquired from the Nationals just a bit less than a month ago, was placed on outright waivers, taking him off the Jays' 40-man roster. 23 year-old catcher A.J. Jimenez will be making the jump from Double-A to the Majors, taking Kobernus' spot on the 40- and 25-man rosters. Kobernus hit only .200 in 45 at-bats for the Blue Jays. Jimenez, meanwhile, has been tearing up the hitter-friendly Eastern League, hitting .338 with an .854 OPS, with 12 steals, a surpringly high amount for a catcher.

Catcher Jack Murphy (no relation to Kent, though both have very nice mustaches) will take Jimenez's place in New Hampshire, and Gose was sent down there in order to make room for Jimenez. Outfielder and former first-round pick D.J. Davis was sent back down from New Hampshire to High-A Dunedin.

Overall, this loss did not hurt the Jays as badly as it could have, since the Rays and Orioles also lost their games today. The Jays remain in 3rd place in the AL east 3 games behind the Orioles for first and only a half-game behind the Rays for second place. However, the team the Rays lost to was the Mariners, who are now only a half-game behind the Blue Jays in the chase for a Wild Card spot.

Kent has no equal.

The playoff race is getting tight! You. Can. DOO IIIIIIIIIIITTT!

(67-61) Blue Jays 12, (60-66) Yankees 11



Jays Emerge Victorious in Thrilling Slugfest
by Gregor Chisholm, MLB.com
Wednesday, August 21, 2014


NEW YORK - Jose Bautista puts the Jays ahead with a 3-run blast.

Oh my goodness, what a game I just witnessed! I know I'm supposed to maintain a professional approach here, but I can certainly make exceptions for games like this one! Yeah, so our- that's right, OUR Blue Jays, won Game 2 of this series in what has been without a doubt the most entertaining game of the season.

Alright, I'm calm now. So, the game pitted two lefties, one a promising rookie, the other a seasoned veteran, against each other, and well, neither proved to be very effective. Jays starter Moses Adler started out okay as he held the Yankees scoreless through the first 3 innings, but the 4th is where he hit a wall quickly. Adler gave up 5 runs on 7 hits in the inning, the biggest hit being a 2-run double by slugger Alfonso Soriano. Adler was allowed to try and salvage his start in the 5th inning, but gave up hits to the first two batters of the inning and walking the 3rd hitter before giving way to Todd Redmond. Redmond allowed 2 of the 3 inherited runners to score, but did get out of the inning with no other damage than that. Overall, Adler gave up 7 runs, all earned, and 10 hits over only 4 innings. The bullpen wouldn't do much better, but I'll get to that later.

Yankees starter C.C. Sabathia also had a poor outing. Unlike Adler, the runs Sabathia gave up were all scattered across various innings. One of such innings was the top of the second, when he gave up a solo homer to Hayden Goldson, Goldson's 28th on the season, good for 3rd in the AL. He also gave up an RBI single to 2B Michael Scott later in the inning. He gave up a run in the following inning via a single by Edwin Encarnacion that drove in Eury Perez. Sabathia would later give up another 2 runs in the top of the 5th thanks to a solo home run by Brett Lawrie and an RBI double by Goldson. Like Adler, Sabathia would try to get another inning in, but after giving up a single to Kent Murphy to lead off the 6th inning, his night would be done, and he would give way to righty Brandon League (claimed off waivers by the Yankees earlier in the year), who served up a 2-run bomb to the next batter, pinch-hitter John Scott, his 21st homer on the year. Sabathia's final line was: 5 innings pitched, 13 hits allowed, 6 runs allowed (all earned), and 4 strikeouts. The Jays tacked on another in the inning thanks to a sac fly, and they took the lead again with an 8-7 score going into the bottom of the 6th.

With how good the bullpen has been this year, you would think that they would hold the Yanks to those 7 runs, but that was unfortunately not the case. Gibbons brought in righty Thad Weber to pitch the bottom of the 6th, but he would give up a double to catcher Brian McCann that scored Ichiro and Carlos Beltran, putting the Yankees back on top. The Jays answered back with a run of their own in the 7th thanks to a sac fly by Michael Scott, but another Jays reliever, this time Leo Vizcaino, would give up 2 runs to the Yankees. The game was 11-9 Yankees at the end of the 7th.

The Blue Jays proved that they still had a fight left in them, as in the top of the 8th, after a double by Reyes, a flyout by Perez that moved Reyes over to 3rd, and a hit by pitch by Encarnacion, Jose Bautista would show what made him a star in the Majors. Bautista crushed a pitch by newly-converted reliever Hiroki Kuroda over the wall and into Monument Park, giving the Jays a 12-11 lead. Gibbons called on his two best relievers to try and keep the lead, and they did just that. Austin Langer threw a scoreless 8th inning, and Lamont Cates, who was appointed the closer role last month, threw a 1-2-3 9th inning, earning his 7th save on the year. If you actually read the entirety of this update, please reply to it and do so in bold text. Say whatever you want, I don't care. The acknowledgement is enough. Yeah, it's sad, I know. That's not important at the moment and I'm sure my therapist and I will work it out. The important thing is to follow the previous instructions I gave. I'm putting this in the middle because then I'll really know for sure. But hey, I won't judge those of you that don't read this. Even then, you wouldn't know if I was, now would you? If you only click on this so you can see the cool pictures or so you can get rid of that pesky new post icon, I don't blame you! Either way, I'm getting views. Which is...nice, I suppose. I'll pretty much only judge those who actually read this part but don't even bother replying. Now that's a dick move. But I digress.

The always-outspoken Bautista was asked about what this game meant to the team, as well as his clutch AB:

"I think this game shows we're truly for real. Everyone was writing us off in the preseason and they had every right to, I mean, who expects a team mainly composed of rejects and mental cases, with a brand new general manager who had barely any time to find these guys, to compete in the Majors? Nobody, that's who. I'd probably have said the same things if I was in their spot. I get out of bed every day, I do my daily routine, I head to where we play, I see every one of the guys, and I just think, "How the hell is this happening? How are we doing this? I was injured, for f**k's sake. So was Edwin. And yet, here we are. It's incredible." I have to commend the new guy, Dorian. I don't know how he did it, but the important thing is that he did it. I liked Alex [Anthopoulos]and all, but this guy, he has us WINNING. On a budget, too.

Most of the time, you don't go into at-bats looking to hit a home run. It messes up your approach. However, this at-bat, it...it felt different. It felt like I needed to homer here or else nobody would be happy with me. It's not like it was 2 outs or anything, it was only 1. I do not know why that thought went into my head. Maybe I just relished the thought of being in the spotlight, and that was the only way I could achieve it at that time, who knows. Either way, I did what I needed, and I'm glad we could get the much-needed win."

It should be noted that every single player that got an at-bat in this game got a hit except for second baseman Brian Roberts and pinch-hitter Brett Gardner, both of the Yankees. Blue Jays infielder Munenori Kawasaki also didn't get a hit, but only because he did not record a plate appearance in the game. 5 batters all got 3 hits today: left fielder Hayden Goldson and designated hitter Kent Murphy for the Blue Jays, and right fielder Carlos Beltran, catcher Brian McCann, and DH Alfonso Soriano for the Yankees. Eury Perez's 2 hits today give him a .298 batting average in 104 at-bats since being acquired from the Nationals. Jeremy Jeffress, the main player the Jays traded away in the deal, has yet to make an appearance for the Nats as of release, but currently has a 2.14 ERA at the AAA level.

Former Blue Jay Aaron Loup, a southpaw reliever, appeared in this game but struggled, giving up 3 hits and a run in only a third of an inning.

The first-place Orioles lost today, which is a good thing, if made worse by the fact that the loss was to the Rays, currently tied with us for second in the AL East.

All the games I don't post updates for, I sim.

The ones I do updates on, it depends. Usually I just sim to around the 6th or 7th inning and then play, but on occasion I'll play the whole game

Monthly Report - August
by Richard Griffin, Toronto Star
Sunday, September 1, 2014

This is it, we have officially entered the last full month of the MLB regular season. Let's take a look at how everyone's doing as some prepare for playoff games, while others are practicing their golf games.

Standings

AL East
1. Orioles (73-61, 0 GB)
2. Blue Jays (73-64, 1.5 GB)
3. Rays (69-65, 4 GB)
4. Yankees (64-71, 9.5 GB)
5. Red Sox (64-73, 10.5 GB)

AL Central
1. Royals (81-54, 0 GB)
2. Twins (72-63, 9 GB)
3. Tigers (70-66, 11.5 GB)
4. Indians (58-77, 23 GB)
5. White Sox (55-80, 26 GB)

AL West
1. A's (74-61, 0 GB)
2. Mariners (68-67, 6 GB)
3. Angels (67-68, 7 GB)
4. Astros (66-69, 8 GB)
5. Rangers (65-70, 9 GB)

AL Wild Card
1. Blue Jays (73-64, 0 GB)
2. Twins (72-63, 0 GB)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Tigers (70-66, 2.5 GB)
3. Rays (69-65, 2.5 GB)
5. Mariners (68-67, 4 GB)
6. Angels (67-68, 5 GB)

NL East
1. Nationals (71-64, 0 GB)
2. Mets (69-66, 2 GB)
3. Braves (67-68, 4 GB)
4. Marlins (58-77, 13 GB)
5. Phillies (55-81, 16.5 GB)

NL Central
1. Cardinals (77-58, 0 GB)
2. Brewers (75-60, 2 GB)
3. Reds (74-62, 3.5 GB)
4. Pirates (68-67, 9 GB)
5. Cubs (52-83, 25 GB)

NL West
1. Rockies (79-58, 0 GB)
2. Diamondbacks (77-57, 0.5 GB)
3. Dodgers (70-65, 8 GB)
4. Giants (60-75, 18 GB)
5. Padres (57-78, 21 GB)

NL Wild Card
1. Diamondbacks (77-57, 0 GB)
2. Brewers (75-60, 0 GB)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Reds (74-62, 1.5 GB)
4. Dodgers (70-65, 5 GB)

It looks like that the Blue Jays are in a good position to make the playoffs at the moment, though we are to be cautious since a team this inexperienced could falter down the stretch. Interesting enough, not a single Jays starting pitcher has spent time on the DL, definitely a reason why they are ahead of most of the pack. Here's how the team has been doing this season:

Pitchers
R.A. Dickey (157 IP, 8-9, 5.16 ERA, 131 K, 14 QS)
Dean Stradley (157 IP, 10-5, 4.24 ERA, 178 K, 11 QS)
Moses Adler (174.1 IP, 10-7, 3.51 ERA, 116 K, 18 QS)
Danny Hopkins (154.2 IP, 7-11, 4.02 ERA, 181 K, 13 QS)
Marcus Stroman (166 IP, 7-10, 4.39 ERA, 200 K, 13 QS)
Juan Perez (67.2 IP, 6-4, 2.53 ERA, 83 K)
Austin Langer (42.2 IP, 2-1, 2.11 ERA, 32 K, 6 SV)
Stephen Brooks (41 IP, 2-1, 3.51 ERA, 50 K, 5 SV)
Lamont Cates (48.1 IP, 3-2, 2.05 ERA, 56 K, 10 SV)
Todd Redmond (94.1 IP, 9-5, 3.43 ERA, 118 K)
Leo Vizcaino (51 IP, 3-5, 4.59 ERA, 58 K, 21 SV)
Thad Weber (54 IP, 4-4, 2.50 ERA, 44 K)

Catchers
Dioner Navarro (.268 (89/332) /.341/.416, 13 HR, 36 RBI)
John Scott (.253 (96/379) /.319/.454, 22 HR, 64 RBI, 4 SB)
A.J. Jimenez (.229 (8/35) /.229/.229, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 SB) (promoted 8/13)

Infielders
Edwin Encarnacion (.298 (100/336) /.380/.539, 22 HR, 59 RBI, 9 SB)
Kent Murphy (.288 (83/288) /.321/.420, 7 HR, 29 RBI, 10 SB)
Brett Lawrie (.242 (117/484) /.307/.397, 15 HR, 60 RBI, 12 SB)
Jose Reyes (.291 (138/475) /.358/.453, 9 HR, 52 RBI, 27 SB)
Michael Scott (.293 (49/167) /.353/.383, 0 HR, 14 RBI, 2 SB)
Munenori Kawasaki (.241 (27/112) /.351/.339, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 3 SB)

Outfielders
Hayden Goldson (.247 (111/449) /.297/.514, 34 HR, 86 RBI, 9 SB)
Mackenzie Matthews (.125 (12/96) /.190/.198, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 5 SB) (promoted 8/13)
Eury Perez (.316 (43/136) /.338/.441, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 9 SB)
Jose Bautista (.274 (85/310) /.356/.477, 15 HR, 49 RBI, 3 SB)

Congrats to rookie Marcus Stroman on already reaching 200 strikeouts on the season!

The minor league teams have 2 regular games left to play, so their updated stats will be posted after they finish those games.

Monthly Report - August (Minor League Edition)
by Richard Griffin, Toronto Star
Tuesday, September 3, 2014

The MiLB regular season is officially over! Let's take a look at how some of the notable minor leaguers did this year:

AAA [Buffalo Bisons (81-63)]
1B Pete Grossman (.275 (39/142) /.314/.507, 9 HR, 31 RBI)
1B Luis Jimenez (.300 (73/243) /.384/.519, 13 HR, 51 RBI)
LF/RF Damon Allred (.263 (83/315) /.339/.470, 17 HR, 61 RBI, 7 SB) (activated 8/2)
LF Jeff Kobernus (.267 (85/287) /.354/.432, 2 HR, 25 RBI, 25 SB)[/b] (demoted 8/14)
RF Todd Rosado (.323 (71/220) /.406/.536, 7 HR, 36 RBI)
SP Yoshimitsu Tsuchii (180.1 IP (2nd in IL, AAA), 12-5, 3.29 ERA (1st in IL, 2nd in AAA), 97 K, 17 QS)
SP Sean Nolin (183.1 IP (1st in IL, AAA), 11-6, 3.53 ERA (2nd in IL, 5th in AAA), 236 K (1st in IL, AAA), 17 QS)
RP James Bennett (81.2 IP, 6-3, 3.53 ERA, 108 K)

AA [New Hampshire Fisher Cats (80-62)]
3B Lonnie Bradshaw (.250 (127/508) /.293/.419, 21 HR (3rd in EL), 77 RBI, 4 SB)
CF Aatu Selin (.337 (89/264) /.390/.443, 1 HR, 35 RBI, 9 SB)
SP Darby Clancy (162.2 IP, 13-6 (T-1st in EL, AA), 3.04 ERA (1st in EL, AA), 93 K)
SP/RP Robert Tomlinson (70.2 IP, 6-4, 4.33 ERA, 51 K)
RP Joel Rockwell (107 IP, 6-5, 3.95 ERA, 119 K, 6 SV)
RP Francisco Munoz (60.1 IP, 2-3, 2.69 ERA, 66 K, 19 SV (3rd in EL))

Both teams have secured playoff spots. The Bisons will be going against the Norfolk Tides, the affiliate of the Orioles, in the first round of the AAA playoffs, and the Fisher Cats take on the Red Sox' double-A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs, who had the best record in the league this year with 87 wins and 55 losses. The Red Sox organization sent down top prospect Chase Nixon to the Sea Dogs, presumably to bolster the roster for the playoffs.