1) VADERZ (15-3) – No changes at the top of the rankings as the Vaderz continue to sweep series and look dominate doing it. Winners of 13 in a row, the offense has started to come around to match the production of the pitching staff. With a team slash line of .305/.393/.673 and averaging over 6 runs a game and a league leading 45 HRs. The defense remains top notch and attendance does not appear to be an issue for this squad. With series against the Legends, Cajuns, and Bombers to finish out the first half of the season, getting to the 20-win mark in the first half looks like a definite possibility.
2) SANDVIPERS (15-3) – Another team steamrolling to a 13-game win streak, the Sandvipers are imposing their will against their opponents in the early part of the season. Leading the league in Average, Slugging, On-Base, Runs Scored it is safe to say this is the best offense in the PLW at this stage of the season. But it’s the pitching staff that has been maybe even more dominant, with their league leading 2.22 ERA and a .231 Opponents Batting Average against, and another top of the PLW level defense, this squad is poised to make a deep playoff run. The Sandvipers finish the first half of the season against the Pharoahs, Ones and Cajuns. Another team that could exceed 20 wins in the first half of the season.
3) LIGHTNING (12-6) – The Lightning have rebounded nicely from their setback against the Vaderz a couple of weeks ago, taking series from the Legends and the Pharaohs. With a Top 3 offense in the PLW with a team .411 On Base and a league leading 86 walks, this team’s success has been a complete lineup 1 through 6. Paired with a Top 3 PLW pitching staff and another excellent defense, this team will have something to say come playoff time. Lightning remaining first half schedule consists of the Bombers, Snappers, and Ones, manager Chad Phillips’ squad will be looking to move up in the PLW Power Rankings.
4) CAJUNS (11-7) – The Cajuns took another series this last week and have hit their stride in Season 6. The pitching has been outstanding, allowing the least number of walks with 46 and the least number of home runs with only 12 allowed and they strike out the most hitters as a staff with 8.11 per game. Not to be outdone the Cajun lineup is also a top 3 unit, including slugging despite only having hit 22 HRs. The Cajuns will finish the first half against the Nightowls, Vaderz and Sandvipers. If they can keep up their winning ways the top 4 could change spots in the coming weeks.
5) BOMBERS (9-8) – Back-to-back series wins against the Pharaohs and the Ones have helped turn around what was a much slower start to the season than most PLW insiders expected. The Bomber bats have started to click with a top 3 Slugging Percentage of .538, thanks in large part to their 30 HRs. The pitching staff has started to figure out how to put 0’s on the board in the past couple of weeks lowering their team ERA to 4.11. The lineup is deep enough and if the pitching continues to show improvement, the Bombers could have something to say come playoff time. The remaining schedule for the Bombers will go as follows, Lightning, Snappers, and Legends.
6) SNAPPERS (6-11) – For once I tend to agree with my co-host, Jonathan Wilson, on this one. This is a power ranking, not standing. The Snappers have stumbled in back-to-back series against the Vaderz and the Cajuns. The offense as a team has been putting up numbers that should have the Snappers winning more games with a slash of (.286/.354/.534), it has been the pitching that has kept this proud franchise at the bottom half of the PLW standings. With an ERA of 6.20, 76 walks allowed (9th) and an opponent’s batting average of .330, that is just too much traffic on the bases for even this good defensive team. The Snappers are looking to make a move up the standings with series against the Ones, Lightning, and Pharaohs to close out the first half.
7) LEGENDS (7-11) – And another week of miserable offensive production, thanks in large part to the Sandvipers pitching staff, the Legends were only able to manage 1 run in their series last week. The offense is in the bottom 3 in every major offensive category and has only scored 39 runs in 18 games this season (the Cajuns scored 39 in one series 2 weeks ago)! If the pitching was not performing as a top 5 staff, this season could be looking a lot worse. While attendance could be part of the problem, every team has experienced it. With the Vaderz, Bombers and Nightowls on the schedule for the remaining part of the first half, Legends are hoping to find some offense in the coming weeks.
8) ONES (5-13) – In maybe an unexpected move up the Power Rankings, the Ones, in my opinion are the best of the 3 bottoms teams. With a win against the Bombers last week, you can see how this team could improve when the attendance is there. And you can also witness why this team is down at the bottom of the rankings, getting shutout in consecutive games in the same series last week. With a full lineup, the Ones can compete week in and week out. With the Snappers, Sandvipers and Lightning coming up to finish the first half, it could be a tough road ahead.
9) PHARAOHS – (4-14) – The Pharaohs played a good series last week and were able to get a walk off win to salvage another “bad split.” The biggest thing for this squad going forward will be their attendance. When the lineup features 6 members of the Pharaoh roster and they can field all 6 defenders, the offense has power potential, the pitching is serviceable, and the defense can be a strength with this young athletic team. Hoping to build off last week’s series, the Pharaohs face the Sandvipers on Thursday night and then finish out the first half against the Nightowls and the Snappers.
10) NIGHTOWLS – (5-13) – This may be the biggest surprise in this week’s Power Rankings. The Owls have lost 8 straight and have gone from Playoff hopefuls to looking to just win a series. Another PLW insider asked me why is this team not higher in the rankings? And we both had no real answers. On paper, the lineup is deep and has potential to score runs with anyone. The defense is athletic and long. But the pitching has been victimized by free passes (97) and homeruns (43) both most in the PLW. Until the pitching comes around, this could be where the Nightowls nest for the coming weeks as they round out the first half of Season 6 against the Cajuns, Pharaohs, and Legends.
