2023 CFOD Playoff Race Mid-Season Review IF THE PLAYOFFS WERE HELD TODAY - Mantle Division - Arlington Arthropods (56-23) Koufax Division - Cincinnati Rock (53-30) Ruth Division - Olympia Rainiers (50-32) Young Division - Brookfield Brouhaha (55-28) MK Conference Wildcard - Angry Candy (51-32) RY Conference Wildcard - Seattle Moshers (46-36) #1 League Wildcard - Trisolaris Droplets (50-34) #2 League Wildcard - Somerville Sluggers (56-37) IN THE WILDCARD PLAYOFF HUNT: San Francisco Organization (44-37) - 1 game behind California Coneheads (45-38) - 1 game behind Park City Climbers (43-37) - 1 1/2 games behind San Mateo Thunder (44-38) - 1 1/2 games behind Dallas SuperSquad (43-38) - 2 games behind Port Huron Hubris (43-40) - 3 games behind Slam Diego Termites (39-42) - 6 games behind Miami Mangos (39-43) - 6 1/2 games behind *************************************** Mantle Division - 1st - Arlington Arthropods (56-23) - With the best record at the break, Arlington hosted this year's all-star game. Shohei Ohtani is having an MVP year, hitting .309 with 27 home runs, 54 runs scored and 58 RBI. Ohtani is also 8-2 with a 3.93 ERA. Randy Arozarena is hitting .310 with 16 home runs, 59 runs scored and 52 RBI, and JJ Abrams has 15 home runs and 50 RBI. Alex Bregman has scored 48 runs, Mike Trout 47 runs and Brandon Belt 46 runs. The Arthropods currently lead the league in batting average, on base average and slugging average with a .270/.349/.487 clip. Wade Miley is 6-1 with a 2.59 ERA and Luis Castillo is 7-2 with a 3.00 ERA. Evan Phillips has 14 saves and a 2.57 ERA, and David Bednar has 15 saves and 1.30 ERA. With the team firing on all cylinders, they will be the ones to beat this post-season. 2nd - Angry Candy (51-32, 7 games behind) - Max Muncy is hitting a lot better than expected, with a .393 on base average, .604 slugging average, 20 home runs, 46 runs scored and 55 RBI. Ezequiel Tolvar has 12 home runs and 47 RBI, and Brandon Marsh is hitting .319 with 52 runs scored. Brandon Nimmo has scored 53 runs. Jordan Montgomery has won 8 games with a 3.55 ERA and Reese Olson is 5-2 with a 3.09 ERA. Closer Kevin Kelly has 10 saves with a 2.74 ERA. While the Candy likely won't win the division this year, they should still nab a post-season berth. 3rd - San Francisco Organization (44-37, 13 games behind) - The acquisition of Pete Alonso in the off-season is paying off, with Alonso hitting 23 home runs, scoring 44 runs and driving in 46. Jeimer Candelario has driven in 47 runs, and Cody Bellinger has 43 runs scored and 43 RBI. TJ Friedl has scored 48 runs. Shane Bieber is 6-1 with a 3.34 ERA, and Kodai Senga has 5 wins and a 3.35 ERA. Acquired closer Devin Williams has saved 15 games with a 3.97 ERA. With a team ERA of 4.36, a trade for another pitching arm or two might be needed for the Organization to make the playoffs. 4th - Port Huron Hubris (43-40, 15 games behind) - Luis Robert has been a hitting machine, smacking 29 home runs, scoring 51 runs and driving in 65. Marcus Semien is hitting .297 with 15 home runs, 51 runs scored and 53 RBI, while Christopher Morel has hit 16 home runs with 49 runs scored. In 149 at bats Gary Sanchez has hit 16 home runs with 37 RBI and a .604 slugging average. Logan Gilbert has won 7 games with a 4.44 ERA, and touted acquisition Blake Snell is 6-4 with a 4.23 ERA. Closer Ryan Borucki has struggled, saving 12 games but sporting a 5.46 ERA. The Hubris may need Snell to snap back into Cy Young form for them to make the post-season. BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR - Fightin' Oglethorpes of Georgia, Mechan Syndicate *************************************** Koufax Division - 1st - Cincinnati Rock (53-30) - The offense has been strong this year, scoring 449 runs at the break, 2nd best in the majors. Kyle Tucker is hitting .279 with 15 stolen bases, 16 home runs, 65 runs scored and 53 RBI, and Freddie Freeman is hitting .303 with 17 home runs and 65 runs scored. Rafael Devers has 19 home runs with 60 RBI, and Josh Lowe is hitting .317 with 18 home runs and 66 RBI. Nolan Jones is hitting .343 with 44 runs scored and 46 RBI, and Edouard Julien is hitting .311 with 15 home runs and 44 runs scored. Tarik Skubal went 9-3 with a 1.97 ERA before burning out. Gerrit Cole is 7-5 with a 3.17 ERA, and Freddie Peralta and Griffin Canning have each won 7 games. Closer Hector Neris has saved 12 games with a 3.20 ERA. The team's 3.44 ERA is best in the MK Conference, and the Rock are all but assured of making the playoffs. 2nd - Trisolaris Droplets (50-34, 3 1/2 games behind) - The Droplets have this year's best offense at the break, scoring a league high 459 runs. Brendan Donovan is hitting .317 with 15 home runs and 51 RBI, Matt Chapman is hitting .271 with 13 home runs, 50 runs scored and 45 RBI, and Ian Happ has 50 runs scored and 43 RBI. JP Crawford is sporting a .406 on base average with 11 home runs and 63 runs scored, and Cedric Mullins has 25 stolen bases to go along with his 39 runs scored. Yainer Diaz is hitting .304 with 17 home runs and 48 RBI, and George Springer is hitting .297 with 47 RBI. Brandon Woodruff is 9-0 in 11 starts with a 1.67 ERA, and Pablo Lopez is 8-1 with a 3.89 ERA. Closer Jeff Hoffman has saved 14 games with a 2.21 ERA. The playoff race is still very wide open, and the Koufax division title is within reach. 3rd - Somerville Sluggers (46-37, 7 games behind) - Offense is not a strong suit for the Sluggers this year, scoring a below average 346 runs so far. Manny Machado is hitting .257 with 12 home runs, 34 runs scored and 39 RBI, and Austin Hays is hitting .256 with 36 runs scored and 36 RBI. The Sluggers have been doing it with pitching. Justin Steele has won 7 games with a 2.38 ERA, but Somerville's standing may be due to closer Kevin Ginkel. Ginkel has saved 19 games and is 5-0 in relief with a 2.02 ERA. The Sluggers have been winning a lot of close ones (20-10 in 1-run games), and they will need to continue with the clutch wins or get some more hitting to assure a playoff spot. BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR - New Orleans Rougarou, Northport Nameless Rangers, Pig's Eye Pirates *************************************** Ruth Division - 1st - Olympia Rainiers (50-32) - Ozzie Albies had a fantastic first half, hitting .284 with 26 home runs, 61 runs scored and 63 RBI. Corey Seager is hitting .320 with 22 home runs, 57 runs scored and 62 RBI. Yordan Alvarez is hitting .284 with 23 home runs, 56 runs scored and 59 RBI, while Juan Soto has a .374 on base average and 53 runs scored. Jake Burger has added 20 home runs with 47 runs scored and 51 RBI. The offense is pretty healthy. Eduardo Rodriguez has won 7 games with a 4.03 ERA, and Jameson Taillon is 4-1 with a 3.36 ERA. Gregory Santos has saved 17 games with a 1.45 ERA, and Dauri Moreta is 6-0 with a 1.74 ERA, all in relief. A strong offense and a decent pitching staff should give the Rainiers another consecutive post-season appearance. 2nd - California Coneheads (45-38, 5 1/2 games behind) - After finishing with the #1 overall pick, the Coneheads are back in the playoff hunt. Matt Olson has 31 home runs with 59 runs scored and 55 RBI, and Kyle Schwarber has 22 home runs with 42 runs scored and 41 RBI. Kerry Carpenter is slugging .474 with 14 home runs and 39 runs scored, and Wander Franco has 16 stolen bases, 15 home runs and 37 RBI. Acquisition Chas McCormick has overall hit 14 home runs with 43 RBI. Wins have been distributed throughout the pitching staff, with Graham Ashcraft leading with 5. Acquired reliever Felix Bautista has a combined 8 saves, 3-1 record and a 1.93 ERA. California is barely out of the playoffs at the moment, but recent trades should make them very competitive in the 2nd half. 3rd - Dallas SuperSquad (43-38, 6 1/2 game behind) - Jose Altuve had a nice first half, hitting .306 with 15 home runs, 16 stolen bases and 49 runs scored. Isaac Paredes has smacked 24 home runs with 61 RBI, and Jose Ramirez has 17 stolen bases and 44 runs scored. Xander Bogaerts has 14 home runs and 48 runs scored. Dylan Cease is 6-3 with a 2.78 ERA. Brooks Raley has 11 saves with a 3.12 ERA. The SuperSquad are within a stone's throw of the playoffs, and a key bat or arm might be needed to move upwards in the standings. 4th - Slam Diego Termites (39-42, 10 1/2 games behind) - Having made some big moves at the beginning of the season, the Termites are still trying to sort things out. Acquisition Marcell Ozuna has been great, hitting .280 with 26 home runs, 54 runs scored and 60 RBI. Ronald Acuna Jr has 29 stolen bases, 15 home runs, a .279 batting average and 50 runs scored. Adolis Garcia has 21 home runs with 45 runs scored and 45 RBI. The hitting gets pretty thin after that, as the 339 runs scored by the team is the lowest of any playoff contender. Justin Verlander is 7-6 with a 3.33 ERA, but the team ERA of 4.51 is below average. Shelby Miller has been great in the closer spot, saving 11 games with a 1.27 ERA. But the team chemistry needs to quickly gel for the Termites to make the post-season. 5th - Miami Mangos (39-43, 11 games behind) - The Mangos would have likely fallen below the "better luck next year" threshold were it not for the hot 9 game winning streak they are carrying into the break. Christian Yelich is hitting .303 with 11 home runs, 14 stolen bases and 56 runs scored. Paul Goldschmidt has 50 RBI and 12 home runs. Zack Wheeler has 7 wins but a 4.59 ERA. Colin Poche has 10 saves with a 4.23 ERA, and Kirby Yates is 3-0 with 10 saves and a 2.08 ERA. Miami is still a bit of a long shot to make the post-season, but if their winning streak continues in the 2nd half the calculus will change. BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR - Topeka MooseDogs *************************************** Young Division - 1st - Brookfield Brouhaha (55-28) - Yandy Diaz has been providing the runs, hitting .308 with 52 runs scored. Glyber Torres has been driving them in, hitting .290 with 17 home runs, 47 runs scored and 57 RBI. Sean Murphy is slugging .484 with 17 home runs and 41 RBI, while Geraldo Perdomo has a .373 on base average and 40 runs scored. The pitching has been stellar, with the team posting a league best 3.20 ERA. Framber Valdez is 11-4 with a 2.58 ERA, Bobby Miller is 8-3 with a 2.92 ERA, and Kyle Bradish is 8-2 with a 3.00 ERA. Sonny Gray also has 8 wins. Closer Ryan Helsley has been lights out, saving a league high 24 games, winning another 3 in relief with a 1.80 ERA. With a 8 1/2 game lead in the division the Brouhaha appear to be a lock for the post-season. 2nd - Seattle Moshers (46-36, 8 1/2 games behind) - Jorge Soler has smacked 22 home runs with 48 runs scored and 45 RBI, while Christian Walker has hit 19 home runs with 47 RBI. Cal Raleigh has hit .287 with 19 home runs and 46 RBI, and Nolan Arenado has 10 home runs, 42 runs scored and 44 RBI. Shortstop Willy Adames has 12 home runs with 44 runs scored, and Eloy Jimenez is hitting .279 with 13 home runs and 46 RBI. Early season acquisition Clayton Kershaw has been strong, sporting a 1.89 ERA across 9 starts but is still looking for his first win in Seattle. Javier Assad is 8-0 in 13 starts with a 2.59 ERA. Saves have been scattered on the team, with Camilo Doval leading with 9 (and a 3.40 ERA). The 2022 CFOD Champions are sitting on a league wildcard spot at the moment, but will have to have a strong 2nd half to maintain their playoff position. 3rd - Park City Climbers (43-37, 10 1/2 games behind) - Francisco Lindor has thrived at the top of the lineup, swiping 26 bases with 52 runs scored. Vladimir Guerrero Jr has 13 home runs, 47 runs scored and 47 RBI, and JD Martinez has hit 16 home runs with 52 RBI. George Kirby has won 8 games but with a 4.58 ERA, and closer Alex Diaz has struggled, saving 12 games but with a sky high 5.87 ERA. Still, they are only 1 1/2 games out of a playoff spot, so a key trade may be in order if they are to make the post-season. 4th - San Mateo Thunder (44-38, 10 1/2 games behind) - Aaron Judge is having his standard good year, hitting 20 home runs with 48 runs scored and 56 RBI at the break. Ketel Marte has 12 home runs and 52 runs scored, while Bryson Stott has 40 runs scored. Bryce Harper is struggling a bit, hitting .211/.324/.359 with 34 runs scored and 35 RBI. Logan Webb is 11-5 with a 2.92 ERA, Jose Berrios is 11-6 with a 3.54 ERA, and Mitch Keller is 8-3 with a 2.22 ERA. Their 3.47 team ERA is among the top in the league. Closer Griffin Jax has been strong, saving 18 games with a 1.56 ERA. Being just 1 1/2 games out of the playoffs, the Thunder are a win streak away from a wildcard spot. BETTER LUCK NEXT YEAR - Tualatin Pioneers, San Francisco Piazza's