LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – The managers and top volunteers on the stream team were polled, and asked to give each team a projected record for the remainder of the season. Those records were averaged together to get the final results:
#10 NIGHT OWLS:
Preseason Projection: 18-36 (10th)
Record: 10-16 (8th)
Second Half Projection: 8-20 (10th)
Projected Record: 18-36 (+0, 9th)
The Night Owls projected record hasn’t changed since the preseason rankings, but at least it’s good for ninth place instead of tenth place this time around. The owls offense is last in the league in runs scored (98), but fourth in the league in runs allowed (127) thanks to the duo of Levi Lawrence (58⅔ IP, 2.15 ERA, 73 K, 1.40 WHIP) and Logan Christie (52⅓ IP, 4.70 ERA, 63K, 1.62 WHIP). They traded Christie to the Cajuns for Kyle Watanabe, so their pitching rotation is thin, but they’ll have Kyle Loman returning from vacation to fill some of the innings. Their first half MVP is Lawrence (.305 AVG, 5 HR, 19 RBI, .942 OPS), who has led the team on both sides of the ball much like he did for the Stonemen in seasons past. His 2.15 ERA is the third best in the league.
#9 WARBIRDS:
Preseason Projection: 19-35 (9th)
Record: 6-21 (10th)
Second Half Projection: 9-18 (9th)
Projected Record: 15-39 (-4, 10th)
The Warbirds have found a way to avoid relegation every season, but it seems like a greater challenge this season than it was in years past. They’re ninth in runs scored (99) with an extra game played over the owls, and they’re last in runs allowed (203) by a pretty wide margin. Matt Petrikas (39⅔ IP, 4.69 ERA, 46 K, 2.27 WHIP), and rookie Alec Holligan (42⅔ IP, 5.20 ERA, 57 K, 1.83 WHIP) have essentially been a two-man rotation with the rest of the team piecing it together. Buck Burner (.310 AVG, 14 HR, 26 RBI, 1.214 OPS) is having an excellent season at the plate so far, with a top ten OPS, and tied for seventh in the league in homers. Their first half MVP is Holligan (.260 AVG, 9 HR, 19 RBI, .849 OPS), who has stepped in as a rookie and become one of the leaders of this team, making meaningful contributions on both sides of the ball, especially in the games that they’ve won this season.
#8 THE ONES:
Preseason Projection: 34-20 (2nd)
Record: 10-17 (9th)
Second Half Projection: 12-15 (8th)
Projected Record: 22-32 (-12, 8th)
The Ones have had a disappointing start to the season to say the least, but reigning MVP Ryan Chen (.358 AVG, 11 HR, 25 RBI, 1.232 OPS) has put together a good first half, and Austin Bull (19⅓ IP, 3.72 ERA, 24 K, 1.60 WHIP) seems to have cemented himself into the rotation. If the Ones dominate for the second half of the season, they could still find themselves in the playoffs, but they’d have to turn things around quickly. Their first half MVP is Chen (52⅔ IP, 4.33 ERA, 68 K, 1.54 WHIP), who has been pretty consistent despite the team’s struggles.
#7 SNAPPERS:
Preseason Projection: 35-19 (1st)
Record: 14-13 (4th)
Second Half Projection: 13-14 (7th)
Projected Record: 27-27 (-8, 6th)
The Snappers have made the playoffs every season, and their loss in the semifinals last season to The Ones is their earliest playoff exit in franchise history. Another injury to three time MVP Taylor Bryner (right shoulder) will leave the team without their ace (53⅔ IP, 4.02 ERA, 60 K, 1.57 WHIP), but expect the snaps to be fighting for a playoff spot in the final weeks of the season. Ryan Murphy (.385 AVG, 13 HR, 24 RBI, 1.377 OPS) is the only healthy player batting over .300, so if their first half MVP Bryner (.410 AVG, 14 HR, 32 RBI, 1.304 OPS) isn’t back on the field soon, they could miss the playoffs.
#6 LEGENDS:
Preseason Projection: 24-30 (8th)
Record: 11-16 (7th)
Second Half Projection: 14-13 (6th)
Projected Record: 25-29 (+1, 7th)
The Legends performance so far this season has been pretty much on par with the league’s expectations of them in the preseason rankings. The innings have been distributed fairly evenly between Casey Taravella (49⅓ IP, 4.74 ERA, 50 K, 1.74 WHIP), Billy Osgood (47⅓ IP 5.83 ERA, 68 K, 1.75 WHIP), and James Church (41 IP, 6.00 ERA, 43 K, 1.95 WHIP). They’ve only won a pair of series this season, but they’re on a league leading five game winning streak going into the halfway mark, so perhaps they can ride this momentum into playoff contention. Their first half MVP is Taravella (.294 AVG, 14 HR, 32 RBI, 1.094 OPS) who has a winning record (6-4) on the rubber.
#5 BOMBERS:
Preseason Projection: 26-28 (6th)
Record: 13-13 (6th)
Second Half Projection: 15-13 (5th)
Projected Record: 28-26 (+2, 5th)
The Bombers are also pretty much in line with the preseason projections thus far, and they’re in the middle of the pack in runs scored (5th, 151), and runs allowed (6th, 134). Trevor Bauer (44⅔ IP, 2.96 ERA, 69 K, 1.21 WHIP) and Max Fernandez (51⅓ IP, 3.16 ERA, 67 K, 1.50 WHIP) have thrown the bulk of the innings, and Mateo Fernandez (.357 AVG, 21 HR, 39 RBI, 1.375 OPS) has had a great first half, leading the league in home runs, and ranking fifth in on-base plus slugging. Their first half MVP is Bauer (.444 AVG, 6 HR, 21 RBI, 1.286 OPS) who is leading the league in batting average and on-base percentage (.541).
#4 SANDVIPERS:
Preseason Projection: 29-25 (4th)
Record: 14-13 (5th)
Second Half Projection: 15-12 (4th)
Projected Record: 29-25 (+0, 4th)
The Sandvipers are also right on track with the preseason poll, with a head to head tiebreaker vs. the Snappers being the only thing keeping them from having fours across the board. The vipers are second in runs scored (167) and third in runs against (126), but they’re only above .500 by one game. Tom Gannon (53 IP, 3.85 ERA, 76 K, 1.17 WHIP) and Adam Tanic (46⅔ IP, 4.37 ERA, 58 K, 1.41 WHIP) have handled most of the innings, and Marc Tavano (.352 AVG, 11 HR, 25 RBI, 1.147 OPS) has had a great first half at the dish to lead the vipers offense. Tavano is their first half MVP, as he carried the vipers offense by going on a tear as the rest of the lineup had a slow start to the season.
#3 VADERZ:
Preseason Projection: 33-21 (3rd)
Record: 17-10 (3rd)
Second Half Projection: 16-11 (3rd)
Projected Record: 33-21 (+0, 3rd)
They are who we thought they were. The Vaderz projections haven’t shifted at all since the preseason, and they have threes across the board. The Vaderz have scored the most runs in the league (181) thanks to the dynamic duo of Alec Hutt (.351 AVG, 18 HR, 43 RBI, 1.417 OPS) and Kyle Eder (.333 AVG, 15 HR, 26 RBI, 1.395 OPS), who are the top two in the league in slugging and on-base plus slugging. Reigning CY Young winner Billy Santiwan (68 IP, 3.62 ERA, 97 K, 1.31 WHIP) has pitched the most innings, and their first half MVP Eder (33⅔ IP, 3.21 ERA, 58 K, 1.34 WHIP) has emerged as the number two pitcher behind Santiwan. Expect the Vaderz to cruise into the playoffs and then turn things up a notch.
#2 LIGHTNING:
Preseason Projection: 27-27 (5th)
Record: 19-8 (2nd)
Second Half Projection: 16-11 (2nd)
Projected Record: 35-19 (+8, 2nd)
The Lightning are in second place, but they lead the league in runs against (85), and they’re third in runs scored (159). Jayk Purdy (64 IP, 1.97 ERA, 126 K, 1.03 WHIP) has been dominant, leading the league in each statistical category listed except innings pitched (2nd). Rookie Tyler Hallead (.410 AVG, 15 HR, 42 RBI, 1.391 OPS) and Bruce Huson (.388 AVG, 8 HR, 18 RBI, 1.199 OPS) have been an impressive duo at the plate, but when Randy Dalbey and Josh Towers are also in attendance, the Lightning offense has that extra spark. Their first half MVP is Purdy (.286 AVG, 7 HR, 17 RBI, .891 OPS) who has contributed with his bat along with being the most dominant pitcher in the league at the halfway mark.
#1 CAJUNS:
Preseason Projection: 25-29 (7th)
Record: 20-7 (1st)
Second Half Projection: 18-9 (1st)
Projected Record: 38-16 (+13, 1st)
The Cajuns are in first place, and they’re projected to break the single season wins record despite being sixth in the league in runs scored (130) because their pitching has been so dominant, putting them second in the league in runs allowed (87). The lefty duo of Andrew Ledet (56⅔ IP, 2.01 ERA, 108 K, 1.08 WHIP) and Ryan Ruesch (58 IP, 2.48 ERA, 116 K, 1.07 WHIP) has accounted for nearly three quarters of the team’s innings, and they’ve been lights out. They also added Logan Christie in a trade with the Night Owls, who seems to be slotted as the number three in the rotation. Their first half MVP is Ledet (.382 AVG, 10 HR, 28 RBI, 1.103 OPS), and he’s had Ruesch (.337 AVG, 7 HR, 18 RBI, 1.006 OPS) right next to him on both sides of the ball.
The second half of the PLW season begins tonight at 6:35 pm pacific with a series between The Ones and Sandvipers. Tune in LIVE on Twitch!
