1- Little Rock Mockingbirds (45-19)- What the hell does ESPN know anyway? Little Rock is back at the top of the league, and they ave been the best squad in the early going. The Mockingbirds are 2nd in runs scored and 3rd in team ERA. The run differential does say they are overachieving a bit, but not by much. They also have the best run differential in the NL.
2- Monterrey Gringos (44-20)- This franchise could be on the brink of something special. The reigning champs have the leagues best offense... by a wide margin. The team OBP is .384... thats crazy. The pitching is right in the middle of the pack, with team ERA of 4.42. Considering the ball park the team plays in though, that number is deceiving. They also lead the league in CS%, throwing out over 40%. If this team has a weakness, its the fielding. The squad is below average in both FPCT and in +/- play ratio.
3- Iowa City Badgers (42-44)- The Badgers early season success is a bit of a surprise. The team was expected to be good, just not quite this good. The pitching has been stellar, with a team ERA of 3.32 is good enough for 2nd in the NL. Free agent signing Phil Brea is on pace for a career year, currently hitting .350 and boasting an OPS of 1.065.
4- New Orleans Jazz (39-25)- The Jazz have been the best all round team in the AL so far. They are 3rd in the league in both runs scored and pitching. Journeyman Blaine Peters is having a dream season, leading the Jazz offense, hitting .283 with 16 home runs and 46 RBI.
5- Milwaukee Boys of Summer (38-26)- While the Boys are surely surprised to be in 2nd place, the franchise doesn't seem all that worried about it. This squad has conquered the regular season before. Now its just a prequel for their efforts to break through in the playoffs. Howie Becker is now established as one of the bonafide superstars of the SPL, the face of his franchise and he continue to show his HoF level talent. He is hitting .289 with 21 home runs and 57 RBI while playing excellent defense at the hot corner.
6- Philadelphia Stomp (38-26)- The fact that the Stomp are off to a nice start is overshadowed by the major injury suffered by Quilvio Lee. Lee tore his groin muscle and is expected to miss most of the regular season. He projects to be available two to three weeks before the playoffs begin. If the Stomp can get into the postseason, they'll be happy to welcome back Lee. The question remains if when Lee returns if he'll be back to his dominant self.
7- Cleveland Lake Shores (38-26)- I'm not sure if we can keep calling Cleveland a surprise. They boast an incredible 3.07 team ERA, which leads the NL. That will be difficult to maintain over the course of the season though. It certainly helps the pitching though, that Cleveland is the best fielding team in the NL, boasting a +/- play ration of 51/2. The Lake Shores don't really have any superstars, just a collection of quality ML players that fit together well, and continue to win.
8- St. Louis Apex Predators (37-27)- For 27 Seasons, the Redbirds were SP royalty. Now the Apex Predators look to take the mantle and pick up right where they left off. So far, so good. The fans have embraced their new squad (despite a preponderance of Redbirds gear that will continue to show up at the home games for a long time) and the Predators are in 1st place in the division (again) and look to be, clearly, the best team in the division (again). New management, intelligently, didn't re-invent the wheel or tear down the squad. They recognized that this is a very good team, and (with a few breaks) could contend for a title. While there weren't any big splashy signings, there were a number of solid- veteran players that were brought into the fold to add depth. An excellent offseason should lead to another Redbir..... ooops, I mean Apex Predator-like regular season.
9- Montreal Rockets (36-26)- Who guessed that the NL North would have 3 of the top 10 teams in SPL? My guess in probably zero. This franchise has been hovering in mediocrity for 16 seasons. They last made the playoffs in Season 11... as the New York Country Boys. Is this the year they finally break through? Maybe another Canadian team in the division has ignited this squad...
10- Houston Buushwackerz (34-30)- Houston is another team that has a solid core in place. You'll continue to see this team perform for a few seasons to come... if they continue to add veteran pitching to supplement the young position players. There are 5 players on this squad, 27 years old or younger, with star level talent. Despite that, the metrics say the Buushwackers are overachieving and are really a .500 ball club. I think that the talent is actually under performing and expect this squad to climb a bit in the next power rankings.
11- Baltimore Revolution (34-30)- Are the Rev back? Can we finally dig through the closet, and dust off the old, black "Viva La Revolution!" T-shirts? The answer is a resounding... maybe. Its been seven seasons since the last Revolution World Series title, and the last time they made the playoffs. Since then, the team has hovered around 75-ish wins and been, largely, a non-factor. The kids are starting to get called up from the farm though, and the front office has supplemented with a solid trio of starting pitchers in Mendy Crawford, Frank Huang and Jason Riggan. However, this season may be too early for the kids. The Rev, despite their record, have a negative run differential. This team, as it sits, is entirely reliant on the pitching and defense. The team has a 3.68 ERA, which leads the AL and is the best fielding team in the AL as well, with a ridiculous +/- play ration of 54/6. The offense is terrible however, currently 15th in the league in runs scored, ahead of only Scottsdale.
12- Washington Generals (34-30)- The Generals find themselves once again playing catchup to the Lake Shores in the early part of the season. Looking at the team statistics though, will explain it. The Generals pitching just hasn't been good enough. A team ERA of 4.88 is 3rd worst in the NL, and the fielding has been pretty average. The Generals have to outscore their opponents. The squad does lead the NL in runs scored. That's why they have a solid record. If the lineup doesn't keep at this level of production though, the Lakes Shores will be very tough to catch.
13- Vancouver Tragedy Twins (33-31)
14- Minnesota Ojibwe (32-32)
15- Los Angeles White Sox (32-32)
16- Chicago Gray Stockings (32-32)
17- Atlanta Soda Poppers (31-33)
18- San Diego Wiley Coyotes (30-34)
19- Anaheim Peppers (30-34)
20- Honolulu Ohana (30-34)
