Hottest Performances thus far: At all levels.

As men I think we can all appreciate that so far this season there have been a number of "hot performances" and a number of players who have been down right "dirty" and "outstanding!" Right? In the outside world things we write of and talk about are what "appeal" to us and may even be what we consider "sexy." Things that "attract" our attention! So in the world of Hobb's things are no different. As of now Hobb's appears to be controlled by the superpowers, sheirbon's dominating Seattle Imperials (S1 champ), and drvmu1's Dover Diamond Devils (S2 champ, who is on the move). And now the New Orleans Bayou Bengals (60-24), the Jackson Stonewalls (58-26), and the San Francisco Dedringers (57-27) have become "pretty fierce" as well! Owning the leagues 3 best records these teams will be a tough contender as the season nears its close. Their team performances, at least thus far, have been very very "lean!" However, there are still some pretty "sexy" individual performances to make note of all around the league and here they are!

MAJOR LEAGUES HOTTEST PERFORMANCES:
ML Hitting:
Our first player of note MUST be Hobb's infamous 2x MVP Sidney Fabregas, of texanboiler's Chicago Wardens. While Fabregas is still putting up some good numbers, 30 Hrs and 72 RBI's thus far, his batting average (.267) has slumped from what we normally could expect from this Hobb's star (.325 avg over the last 2 seasons).
As a result Albuquerque Pilot's Kevin Greenberg has taken over! As a matter of fact he is simply doing as he has done in years past. Only this year he is not to be overshadowed by the ridiculous numbers of Mr. Fabregas. So far Greenberg has participated in all 84 games and currently leads the league with 126 hits, a .385 avg., and a .470 obp. Greenberg is a full leap and a jump ahead in these stat categories too. Rod Allen of the San Francisco Dedringers holds the next best average with a .346 and Kenny Wood of the Tampa Bay Citrus follows up with a .435 obp. Greenberg also has hit 25 Hrs, knocked in 75 RBI's and shows no signs of slowing down. Look for this 2x All-Star - who has won one player of the week award already this year - to be a strong contender for S3's league MVP.

Another story that must be tackled is the running race that has typically been dominated by Hawk Smith of Options Burlington Catamounts. Over the last two seasons this base Hawk has really run the table in the stolen bases bracket totaling 170 stolen and being caught only 2 times in S1 and stealing 178 and being caught 8 times in S2. Until now nobody could match him, let alone come NEAR him in stolen base totals. Then all the sudden came along Felix Anderson of the Albuquerque Pilots who currently leads Hawk by a whopping 5 bases. And that's saying something! Anderson has matched his stolen bases for the entire S2 season with 77, which he did in 156 games played. He's only played in 56 so far, were not even half way! What got into him Threester!, what are you feeding this fellow to get such a HUGE improvement? His batting average is slightly less, his obp. is about the same...but he has walked more frequently and probably pinch runs a bit more. Whatever it is he's giving Hawk a run for his money!

ML Pitching:
Apparently Threester knows exactly what he's doing too because the top pitching performer so far also comes from the Albuquerque Pilots. Thus far Yuniesky Morales has posted an impressive 14-4 record, including 6 complete games and 4 shutouts! In 163.o innings pitched, like Greenberg, Morales has established a commanding lead in the Strike out category with 145. The next best is another well known outstanding performer of Hobb's world, Miguel Park of the Burlington Catamounts, who has 120. Morales also has put up some impressive numbers with a 1.17 Whip. 3.42 ERA.

On the other side of the diamond, however, Mike Burroughs makes a strong case for this year's top performer so far. Burroughs has been a strong contributor to the San Francisco Dedringers 57-27 start. The guy has been nearly unbeatable in 18 starts turning out an 11-1 record with a .195 oav. (second best the .191 oav. of Will Meadows, former S1 R.O.Y. sheirbon's Seattle Imperials). Burroughs also has impressed with a .280 OBP and 1.11 Whip, resulting in a very respectable 2.23 era.

AAA's HOTTEST PERFORMANCES:
AAA Hitting:
We knew we would hear from him sooner or later, and the time is nearing that we will soon see Omar Ordaz in a ML uniform. In 84 games S1's #2 overall pick has 117 hits in 334 at bats, crossing the plate 90 times. Ordaz has also hit 37 dingers, knocking in a league high 103 RBI's! With a .350 batting avg. and a .427 obp. this guy has really lived up to his name Omar "Superman" Ordaz, unstoppable!

One thing should be noted, however, when we talk about Ordaz's league high of 103 RBI's. That is it is a shared league high with the likes of S1's 36th pick overall, The Dover Diamond Devil's Kirk Kipling. In 85 games and 335 at bats Kipling has 115 hits, has crossed the plate 83 times, and hit 30 homeruns for a very impressive .343 avg. and a .423 obp. Watch out for this guy as well to make a huge impact on an already great ball club!

AAA Pitching:
Searching the league far and wide for the best performance so far I MUST hand it over to the entire pitching staff of Cretin's Chicago Orphans. (1) Rob Nathan (11-3) , (2) Josh Bollea (10-1), (3) Willie Strong (10-4, also leads league with 113 k's), (4) Patsy Bailey (9-3), and (5) Rabbit Diaz (9-4) , have been "dynamite" this season! Together this group has posted a 49-15 record, a .261 oav., 1.35 whip, and 3.87 era. The team has an overall 65-20 record and currently holds a ridiculously commanding league on the NL North and the entire NL! The next best team in the NL: Squirell1014's Arizona Heat with a 50-35 record. Not to mention Chicago's RP Juan Gonzalez who has not started but has pitched in 42 games, has closed 9 of 9 save opportunities, posted a 7-3 record, 1.12 whip and 2.34 era! How can a team lose with men like this!? Just wait until these guys hit the bigs, Chicago may just change form and fast! As for now, look for this team to give a good go to win the AAA this year. It may be left to the AL and jpelot's 62-23 San Juan Mojos to stop them! The question? Can they do it!?


AA'S HOTTEST PERFORMANCES:
AA Hitting:
While there were a few to chose from I liked the output of C Wascar Berroa of Palet99's Salt Lake City Golden Crew. Currently he has 93 hits in 274 at bats, and a .339 avg, .419 obp, with 15 homeruns. Berroa was S1's 24th pick overall and is now perhaps coming of age. With this output and a .997 career fielding % and just 5 errors in 3 seasons, this catcher is a keeper!

AA Pitching:
When it comes to pithing, however, I'd be crazy to turn my eye away from Scranton Blue Collar's own Ross Clemens. With a 10-1 record in 14 game starts Clemens has been stellar. he has put in 104 innings pitched and turned 85 back to the dug out creating a league best .217 oav. and a league best 1.08 whip and a league best 2.25 era. Clemens has already won 2 Cy Young awards -in S1 and S2 - and he shows no intent on breaking the trend for S3.


HIGH-A's HOTTEST PERFORMANCES:
High-A Hitting:
This performance has to go to Dusty DuBose of the Minnesota Goldeyes with his impressive league high .388 avg. in 312 at bats. DuBose has hit 29 homeruns, 96 RBI's, and has a .445 obp. The struggle with DuBose appears to be "where to place him?" S1 had him in high-A where he hit for a .302 avg. and a .383 obp. after just 14 games and was promoted to the AA. He finished the year at the AA level with a .330 avg. and a .435 obp. in 109 at bats. He also started S2 in the AA where he played the entire year and hit for a .332 avg. and a .412 obp. while knocking in 84 RBI's and 25 homers. Despite his impressive S2 performance and an overall increase from a 63 to a 67, he was demoted back to the High-A where he is currently DOMINATING! At age 23, and with ML ratings and little room for improvement - at least as far as his ratings and potential is concerned - DuBose is hoping and praying that he sees either a promotion to the big leagues or a trade and SOON!

High-A Pitching:
The next performance to be mentioned is 20 year old Alan Pickett of the Chicago Wardens. As S1's #16 overall selection Picket is also starting to come of age. So far in S3 he has a 10-2 record with 103 k's in 17 starts. he has also turned in 104.1 innings pitched and a very impressive 1.04 whip and 2.42 era. Picket is a strike out machine with both speed and accuracy although he has 7 less than the league leader, Arizona Heat's Donald Sakamoto who has 110. At age 20 Picket has plenty to grow still but will definitely make an impact on the ML in a few seasons from now.


LOW-A's HOTTEST PERFORMANCES:
Low-A Hitting:
Now turning back to threester's Albuquerque Pilots we take a look at 22 year old Theo Foster. In 353 at bats this season he has 133 hits, 21 HRs, a .377 avg. and a .454 on base percentage. Half way through the season it just doesn't get much better than that statistically speaking. This guys only weakness, as it appears, is that he simply attempts to steal bases when he probably shouldn't. Thus far he has been caught stealing 12 times, successful in stealing only 6. He has decent speed but possesses a very low base running IQ. Over his career he has been caught 36 times and has stolen 14. Get a grip on that and this guy is gold...well, maybe a shiny bronze in the bigs!

Low A-Pitching:
Perhaps the best pitching right now in the low A comes out of Benito Ontiveros of devonjain's Charlotte Codes. Where stellar pitching is hard to come by what is most needed is a man to close out the game and that is just what Ontiveros has been doing. With a slow and unimpressive rookie season Ontiveros was promoted and it has paid dividends. Up to this point Ontiveros has closed out 22 games in 25 opportunities. Currently he has a .243 oav., a .283. obp. and a respectable 1.20 whip. While his record will show 0-2 and a 4.05 era his other statistics suggest that he is not to blame. Perhaps errors and lousy fielding are! Either way devonjain's low-a team sits at a 43-42 overall record, just 5 games back, and may have their struggles but it is not closing games!

ROOKIE LEAGUE's HOTTEST PERFORMANCES:
Hitting and Pitching: In San Diego!
It may be too soon to say but 20 year old Kyle Rollins (61st pick overall) and 21 year old Arthur Morel (82nd pick overall) of Iceman67's San Diego Surf Sharks have really paid off. Rollins is batting a .514 with a .583 on base percentage, and a 1.029 slugging average after 18 games played and 70 at bats. Likewise, Morel has equally impressive numbers with a 3 -0 record in 4 starts. In 23.1 innings pitched he has turned in a 1.16 Whip and an awesome 0.77 era. and 20 k's. This guy is tough to score on! Sure there are better guys out there that will turn in the stats in due time but these two are a couple of steals! Nice job San Diego.

And that about wraps it up so far...hopefully there will be more to come as the season progresses!