Baseball Board Game Guide to Pitcher Usage and Platooning

Keeping baseball games simple without overusing relief pitchers seems the key to playing off a baseball season using the free Statis-Pro Baseball Game, Advanced Statis-Pro, APBA or Strat-o-matic. I've listed names for the set of cards I am using to quickly play through hundreds of games in my World Baseball Classic offseason after finishing playing off my MLB teams to show the system. I will start with the stack of ACC pitchers, then go to batters and then list the other national and college teams below.

ACC

Starting with my ACC pitchers, I'm listing some basic info on the cards such as their college (or for my teams from other countries, where they were born), their current major league team, whether they are left-handed or right-handed. I stack the players from best-to-worst (see the starters numbered 1 to 4) and then relievers with the best reliever to be saved for the 9th inning if leading, then the second best available pitcher for the 8th, etc.

Rotation	ACC Pitching Rotation, College,MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Lewicki, Artie; (UVA,ARI), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.25
2	Weaver, Luke; (FSU,ARI), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.28
3	Hjelle, Sean; (FSU,SFG), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.65
4	Thornton, Trent; (UNC,TOR), Right; PB: 2-5; 4.73
9th inn	Bard, Daniel; (UNC,COL), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.42
8th inn	Green, Chad; (Lv,NYY), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.54
7th inn	Miller, Andrew; (UNC,STL), Left; PB: 2-8; 3.62
6th inn	Doolittle, Sean; (UVA,WSN), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.97
4th-5th	Hahn, Jesse; (VT,KCR), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.22
3rd inn	Farmer, Buck; (GT,DET), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.23
2nd inn	Leone, Dominic; (Cl,CLE), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.53
	Kline, Branden; (UVA,BAL), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.57
	Gallen, Zac; (UNC), Right; PB: 2-4; 5.40
	Kelley, Trevor; (UNC), Right; PB: 2-4; 5.40

Detail if desired:

1. STACK 4-MAN ROTATION FIRST. I play 2-game series throughout the season, and pick four starting pitchers for my rotation stacked in one direction on the outside, so I always can see the next starting pitcher when I pick up my stack. However, I stack the No. 1 starter on top (for my ACC All-Star team below, Artie Lewicki who pitched for UVa and is now with the Arizona Diamondbacks is my ace), then the 4th best starter (Trent Thornton, UNC and now Blue Jays), then the 2nd and then the 3rd best (Weaver and Hjelle from Florida State). This way even when you end up playing two teams against each other who have played a different number of games, you don't have the unfair advantage of pitching one teams No. 1 and No. 2 against another team's No. 3 and No. 4 - rather you get an even two games series with a No. 1 and No. 4 pitching against the other team's No. 2 and No. 3.

2. STACK RELIEVERS OPPOSITE STARTERS IN COUNTER ORDER. Some set up big tracking systems with different rules on how many games a relief pitcher can pitch, but you use a simple system to stack them. In the first game every reliever is available, so I take my best reliever in former UNC player Daniel Bard (3.42 ERA, and in Statis-Pro a PB: 2-8 is the second best pitcher rating behind a truly elite PB: 2-9, and then followed by PB: 2-7, PB: 4-7, PB: 2-6, PB: 2-5 and then the worst pitcher card is a PB: 2-4). My goal is to save Bard to wrap up the 9th inning for a save so I put him at the bottom of the stack of pitchers I want to use. Then my next best pitcher is Louisville's Chad Green so he is right on top of Bard to be used if we are ahead in the 8th, then UNC's Andrew Miller on top of the 7th, all the way up to Clemson's Dominic Leone in case Lewicki gets shelled in the 1st inning and I nee to replace him. The three listed below Leone are mop up pitchers for if we fall behind and want to save pitchers to the second game.  I generally just throw each reliever one inning each, unless a pitcher averaged at least two innings an appearance. While I do not have any ACC relievers with that endurance, if you look down to the next team - the Big 12 - you will see that Josh Tomlin of Texas Tech has "5th-6th" next to his name meaning if the starter only lasted four innings, I could bring him in the 5th. The thing I like about playing all 2-game series is if someone is used in the 1st of two games you set them aside for the second game and all relievers move back an inning for when they would come in during the second game - but you are always back at full-strength for a new series and do not need to keep track of anything between series other then where you are with the 4 starters. If a pitcher comes in during an inning to get out of a jam, I play that if he does not allow anyone on base in that inning, then he can keep pitching in the next inning but must be removed as soon as he allows anyone on base in that second inning.

This allows me to bring Aroldis Chapman into a base loaded jam in the 8th with two outs, and if he gets the only batter he faces he can continue in the 9th, BUT it carries huge risk because now if he allows any runner in the 9th he must then leave the game for a lesser reliever to try to save. It works out much better if he comes in to start the clean 9th and can then finish the inning unless he allows several baserunners and runs out of endurance.

Next I stack my batters ...

		Player Cheat Sheet
vs LHP	vs. RHP	ACC Platoon, College, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Turner, Trea - NCSt/WSN - CD2 SS - A/A - RP --/-- 0.827
2	2	Smith, Will - Lv/LAD - CD3 C - A/D - RP 12/88 0.885
	3	Taylor, Chris - UVA/LAD - CD1 SS - A/C - RN --/-- 0.844
	4	Blackmon, Charlie - GT/COL - CD5 RF - D/D - LN --/-- 0.812
	5	Miller, Brad - Cl/STL - CD3 3B - D/D - LP 88/11 0.797
8	6	Dietrich, Derek - GT/TEX - CD1 1B - D/D - LP 12/-- 0.761
7	7	Duvall, Adam - Lv/ATL - CD5 LF - D/D - RP --/-- 0.759
	8	Fisher, Derek - UVA/TOR - CD4 RF - B/B - LN 12/-- 0.760
3		Seager, Kyle - UNC/SEA - CD5 3B - D/D - LN 87/11 .800
4		Engel, Adam - Lv/CHW - CD3 RF - C/D - RN 87/11 0.831
6		Braun, Ryan - Mia/MIL - CD3 RF - A/C - RP 88/11 0.756
		Pinder, Chad - VT/OAK - CD4 2B - D/D - RN --/-- 0.762
		Erwin, Brian - UNC/CIN - CD2 CF - C/C - LN --/-- 0.735
		Stallings, Jacob - UNC/PIT - CD5 C - E/E - RN --/11 0.716
		Stewart, DJ - FSU/BAL - CD1 3B - C/C - RP --/11 0.714
		Wieters, Matt - GT/STL - CD2 C - D/D - SN --/-- 0.646
		Federowicz, Tim - UNC/FA - CD1 1b - D/D - SN --/-- .400

BATTERS. Next I stack my normal starting line-up I would normally use to face a right-handed pitcher, and the number I list in the left-hand columns is actually what I write in the corner of my card. For the ACC, NC State's Trea Turner leads off at shortstop so I write a small "1" in the corner of his card in case they get out of order. I list some of the basic info I refer to on my cards for each player. In Statis-Pro, CD5 is an elite fielder normally nominated for a Gold Glove in a recent season, down to a CD1 who is a poor fielder. Turner is a great hitter but only a CD2 at second base so if he had a teammate who was a CD5 at shortstop I might want to keep in mind I could put in a replacement fielder with a lead late in the game.

I keep OPS on every card - not a perfect stat but a pretty good one, and as you can see Turner is a very strong 0.827. For Statis-Pro, the speed numbers are listed as OBR (on-base running) and SP (Speed for ability to steal) both from very fast "A" and just a few "AAs" to very slow "E." As you can see Turner's excellent 0.827 combined with A/A speed numbers make him an ideal lead off man ahead of even greater hitters in Will Smith (0.885 OPS) and Chris Taylor (0.844).  However, if you look at the columns to the left, I do put a "2" by Smith to have him bat 2nd, but on Taylor's card I actually write x/3 to note that he does not start against left-handed pitching even though he bats third against right-handed pitching.

PLATOON. Obviously the split cards for batting against lefties or righties is there in every game, but in my free Statis-Pro cards there is a number on the bottom right of the card when I list for each player below, but for Taylor it is "RN --/--" and if you look further down for Kyle Seager it is "LN 87/11). The letters just indicate Taylor is a Right-handed Normal batter, as opposed to Smith's RP meaning he is a right-handed Power hitter, etc.

The key to platooning in my game are the numbers next to Seager's LN. In Statis-Pro, the Random Number card flipped or two 8-sided dice rolled give one of 64 combinations form 11 (almost always a hit) to 88 (almost always an out). While Taylor hits just as well against lefties and righties so there is no card adjustment --/--, Seager actually hits much better against lefties (even though he is a left-handed batter) so he turns a Random Number of either 87 or 88 from an out to a single with runners advancing two bases (whether or not the action occurs on his card or the opposing batter card). On the flip side, if batting against a right-handed pitcher he turns an 11 from a hit into a strikeout. Without going through the math, every three numbers changed in either direction alter an batter's OPS by .100, or .033 for each number. 

While Taylor's 0.844 is the same against lefties or righties, Seager's 0.800 actually jumps to 0.867 due to the 87 and 88 being hits against lefties, while it falls to 0.767 against righties because he turns 11's into strikeouts. He is a much worse hitter than Taylor when the opposing pitcher is a righty, but a little better when the pitcher is a lefty. In addition, I am actually playing Taylor at 3rd base due to Turner being at short, but note that by replacing Taylor with Seager at 3rd base, I am improving the ACC from the worst fielding rating at third base (CD1) to Seager's best (CD5). Therefore, I not only start Seager against lefties, but if the ACC is protecting a lead late, I may bring Seager in since he will turn many Clutch Defensive plays that would be a run scoring double down the line with Taylor at the hot corner to a double play if Seager is there.

For the ACC, Adam Engel (87/11 0.831) and Ryan Braun (88/11 0.756) are also much better against left-handed pitching so I write in "4/x" and "6/x" on their cards to indicate they bat 4th and 6th against lefties but to not start against righties.

Summary of ACC Everyday Players: Overall the ACC's line-up against lefties (0.812 OPS) is above our World League average as it is against righties (0.812) once you factor these card adjustments and different line-ups. Their defense is exactly average (CD3) and their speed is exactly average (C+/C- indicates they average just above average speed running the bases and just below average speed actually stealing bases).

Summary of ACC Pitchers: The average ACC starting pitcher is well below average as a PB: 2-6, and 4.48 ERA, while the relievers are also below average at a PB:2-7 and 4.01 ERA. (Note that relievers generally have lower ERA's than starters because they each only need to pitch for one inning. Also note that all ERA's and OPS are adjusted by ballpark to give the estimated 2021 card if the player played in a neutral park.

Having explained the process using the ACC cards, the following is how the other nine teams stack up.

Big 12 (B-12)

Summary of Big 12 Everyday Players: Overall the Big 12's line-up against righties (0.735) is well below our World League average as it is against lefties (0.738) once you factor these card adjustments and different line-ups. Their defense is poor (CD2.6) and their speed is poor (C-/D+).

Summary of Big 12 Pitchers: The average Big 12 starting pitcher is below average as a PB: 4-7 (between a PB: 2-7 and PB: 2-6), and 4.18 ERA, while the relievers are the worst in our league with a PB:2-6 and 4.63 ERA. 

Getting Baylor's Max Muncy as many at bats as they can, and having their two PB:2-7 pitchers Jon Gray (Oklahoma) and Andrew Heaney (Oklahoma State) is key.

vs. LHP	vs. RHP	Big 12 Platoon, College, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Muncy, Max - Ba/LAD - CD1 1B - C/D - LP --/-- 0.875
2	2	Cron, Kevin - TCU/ARI - CD4 1B - D/D - RN --/11 0.818
3	3	Carpenter, Matt - TCU/STL - CD1 3B - C/D - LN --/-- 0.758
	4	Posey, Buster - OU/SFG - CD5 C - D/D - RN 12/88 0.755
4	5	Gyorko, Jedd - WVU/MIL - CD3 1B - A/D - RP --/11 0.776
5	6	McBroom, Ryan - WVU/KCR - CD3 1B - D/D - RP --/11 0.707
6	7	Mayfield, Jack - OU/HOU - CD1 3B - C/D - RN --/11 0.667
	8	Orf, Nate - Ba/OAK - CD3 SS - C/C - RN --/11 0.663
7		Mercer, Jordy - OKS/NYY - CD1 SS - E/E - RN 87/11 0.652
8		Holaday, Bryan - TCU/BAL - CD3 C - E/E - RN --/11 0.583
		Barrera, Tres - Tex/WAS - CD1 C - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Belt, Brandon - Tex/SFG - CD1 1B - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Coats, Jason - TCU/FA - CD1 CF - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Featherston, Taylor - TCU/FA - CD1 2b - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Huffman, Chad - TCU/FA - CD1 LF - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Neuse, Sheldon - OU/FA - CD1 3b - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Williams, Jackson - OU/FA - CD1 RF - D/D - SN --/-- .400

Rotation	Big 12 Pitching Rotation, College,MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Gray, Jon; (OU,COL), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.94
2	Heaney, Andrew; (OKS,LAA), Left; PB: 2-7; 4.03
3	Richards, Garrett; (OU,SDP), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.21
4	Arrieta, Jake; (TCU,PHI), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.54
9th inn	Marshall, Evan; (KSU,CHW), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.73
8th inn	Crichton, Stefan; (TCU,ARI), Right; PB: 2-7; 4.01
7th inn	Lyons, Tyler; (OKS,NYY), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.43
5th-6th	Tomlin, Josh; (TT,ATL), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.49
3rd-4th	Means, John; (WVU,BAL), Left; PB: 2-5; 4.8
1st-2nd	Alexander, Tyler; (TCU,DET), Left; PB: 2-5; 4.81
	Milner, Hoby; (OSU,LAA), Left; PB: 2-4; 5.4
	Smith, Burch; (OU,OAK), Right; PB: 2-4; 5.4
	Workman, Brandon; (Tex,BOS), Right; PB: 2-4; 5.4
	Young, Alex; (TCU,ARI), Left; PB: 2-4; 5.4

Cuba

Summary of Cuba Everyday Players: Overall the Cuba's line-up against righties (0.813) is well above our World League average and is almost as good against lefties (0.798) once you factor these card adjustments and different line-ups. Their defense is excellent (CD3.9) and their speed is poor (C-/C-).

Summary of Cuba's Pitchers: The average Cuba starting pitcher is the worst in our league PB: 2-5 and 4.77 ERA, while the relievers are above average with a PB:2-7 and 4.02 ERA. 

With one of the greatest leadoff man and fielders in the game in Luis Robert (White Sox), and the greatest platoon in the game in 2019 AL Rookie of the Year Yordan Alvarez (.914 against righties) and 2020 Playoff hero Randy Arozarena (0.916 against lefties) followed by Jose Abreu (0.863 against all) if Cuba can slug their way to the late innings they can win. They can throw one of the best reliever in the 8th (Reds Raisel Iglesias) and then save perhaps the best in the game for the 9th in the Yankees Aroldis Chapman.

vs LHP	vs. RHP	Cuba Platoon, Born MIA or Cuba, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Robert, Luis - CHW - CD5 CF - A/A - RP 88/-- 0.812
2	2	Iglesias, Jose - BAL - CD5 SS - D/D - RN --/-- 0.733
	3	Alvarez, Yordan - HOU - DH. - D/D - LP 11/-- 0.914
4	4	Abreu, Jose - CHW - CD1 1B - D/D - RP --/-- 0.863
5	5	Grandal, Yasmani - CHW - CD5 C - D/D - SP --/-- 0.810
	6	Puig, Yasiel - FA - CD5 RF - B/B - RP --/-- 0.788
7	7	Moncada, Yoan - CHW - CD5 3B - C/C - SN 12/88 0.819
8	8	Diaz, Aledmys - HOU - CD1 2B - D/D - RP --/-- 0.730
3		Arozarena, Randy - TBR - CD1 LF - B/B - RP 85/11 0.786
6		Gurriel, Lourdes - TOR - CD1 LF - C/C - RP 87/11 0.799
		Soler, Jorge - KCR - CD3 RF - C/D - RP --/-- 0.826
		Cespedes, Yoenis - NYM - DH. - B/D - RP --/11 0.795
		Diaz, Yandy - TBR - CD2 3B - D/D - RN 86/11 0.779
		Gurriel, Yuli - HOU - CD5 1B - D/D - RN 12/88 0.694
		Hechavarria, Adeiny - ATL - CD3 2B - C/D - RN --/11 0.650
		Garcia, Jose - CIN - CD3 SS - D/D - RN --/11 0.547
		Ona, Jorge - Cuba - CD1 RF - D/D - SN --/-- .400

Rotation	Cuba Pitching Rotation, Born,MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Peacock, Brad; (Mia,HOU), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.33
2	Perez, Cionel; (Cu,HOU), Left; PB: 2-6; 4.45
3	Rodon, Carlos; (Mia,CHW), Left; PB: 2-5; 4.91
4	Bolanos, Ronald; (Cu,KCR), Right; PB: 2-4; 5.37
9th inn	Chapman, Aroldis; (Cu,NYY), Left; PB: 2-9; 2.74
8th inn	Iglesias, Raisel; (Cu,CIN), Right; PB: 2-9; 3.07
7th inn	Baez, Michel; (Cu,SDP), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.94
6th inn	Garcia, Bryan; (Mia,DET), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.09
5th inn	Almonte, Yency; (Mia,COL), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.26
4th inn	Otero, Dan; (Mia,NYY), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.35
3rd inn	Lopez, Yoan; (Cu,ARI), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.69
1st-2nd	Suarez, Andrew; (Mia,SFG), Left; PB: 2-4; 5.09
	Cortes, Nestor; (,), Right; PB: 2-4; 5.4
	Morejon, Adrian; (,), Left; PB: 2-4; 5.4

Dominican Republic

Summary of the Dominican Republic Everyday Players: Overall the Dominican Republic's line-up against righties (0.858)  as well as against lefties (0.913) is by far the best on the World stage, once you factor these card adjustments and different line-ups. Their defense is above average (CD3.5) as is their speed (B-/C).

Summary of the Dominican Republic's Pitchers: The average Dominican Republic starting pitcher and relief pitcher is basically tied with the SEC as the best in the World  PB: 2-8 and 3.47 ERA for starters and PB2-8, 3.44 ERA for relievers. 

They are the favorites to repeat, and just looking at that pitching with their first four batters below with OPS all between 0.902 and 1.002 is just scary.

vs LHP	vs. RHP	D.R. Platoon, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Tatis, Fernando - SDP - CD1 SS - A/A - RP 85/12 0.946
2	2	Ramirez, Jose - CLE - CD5 3B - A/A - SP --/-- 0.902
3	3	Soto, Juan - WSN - CD2 LF - A/C - LP 11/-- 1.009
4	4	Ozuna, Marcell - ATL - CD5 LF - B/D - RP 85/11 0.904
5	5	Sano, Miguel - MIN - CD4 1B - E/E - RP 87/11 0.855
	6	Sanchez, Gary - NYY - CD1 C - D/D - RP 11/-- 0.792
	7	Cano, Robinson - NYM - CD5 2B - C/E - LP 12/88 0.806
8	8	Marte, Starling - MIA - CD5 CF - A/A - RN --/11 0.782
6		Mejia, Francisco - SDP - CD3 C - C/D - SN --/-- 0.714
7		Marte, Ketel - ARI - CD4 2B - A/C - SN 87/11 0.826
		Cruz, Nelson - MIN - DH. - E/E - RP 86/12 0.892
		Devers, Rafael - BOS - CD1 3B - D/D - LP 13/88 0.828
		Laureano, Ramon - OAK - CD5 CF - A/C - RN --/-- 0.816
		Hernandez, Teoscar - TOR - CD3 RF - C/C - RP 88/-- 0.813
		Reyes, Franmil - CLE - CD3 LF - D/D - RN --/-- 0.807
		Polanco, Jorge - MIN - CD1 SS - C/C - SN --/-- 0.771
		Amaya, Miguel - CHC - CD3 C - C/D - RP --/11 0.711

Rotation	D.R. Pitching Rotation, MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Castillo, Luis; (CIN), Right; PB: 2-9; 3.25
2	Lamet, Dinelson; (SDP), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.56
3	Severino, Luis; (NYY), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.37
4	Valdez, Framber; (HOU), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.7
9th inn	Neris, Hector; (PHI), Right; PB: 2-9; 3.23
8th inn	Leclerc, Jose; (TEX), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.27
7th inn	Rodriguez, Joely; (TEX), Left; PB: 2-8; 3.35
6th inn	Suero, Wander; (WSN), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.47
5th inn	Clase, Emmanuel; (CLE), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.58
4th inn	Dominguez, Seranthony; (PHI), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.16
3rd inn	Dolis, Rafael; (TOR), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.74
2nd inn	Montero, Rafael; (TEX), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.74
	Colome, Alex; (CHW), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.92
	Castillo, Diego; (TBR), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.93

Japan-South Korea (or born in Hawaii)

Summary of Japan's Everyday Players: Overall the Japan's line-up against righties (0.744) is below our World League average and it is the worst of our 10 teams against lefties (0.715) once you factor these card adjustments and different line-ups. Their defense is poor (CD2) and their speed is good (B-/C-).

Summary of Japan's Pitchers: The average Japanese starting pitcher is the worst in our league PB: 2-7 and 3.68 ERA, while the relievers are well below average with a PB:2-6 and 4.54 ERA. 

Darvish leading off the rotation and Ohtani leading off the batting order are strong, but they do not have the depth of most teams in our league.

vs LHP	vs. RHP	Japan/SK Platoon, Born, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Ohtani, Shohei - Jap/LAA - CD1 1B - A/B - LP --/-- 0.810
2	2	Wong, Kolten - Haw/STL - CD4 2B - A/C - LN --/-- 0.753
3	3	Hayes, Ke'Bryan - Jap/PIT - CD5 3B - A/C - RN --/11 0.733
4	4	Tsutsugo, Yoshi - Jap/TBR - CD2 LF - D/E - LP 12/-- .800
5	5	Choi, Ji-Man - Kor/TBR - CD2 1B - D/D - LN 13/88 0.791
6	6	Suzuki, Kurt - Haw/WSN - CD1 C - C/D - RN 87/11 0.710
7	7	Choo, Shin-Soo - Kor/TEX - CD3 LF - A/C - LP 12/88 0.699
8	8	Kiner-Falefa, Isiah - Haw/TEX - CD1 3B - C/C - RN 11/88 0.624
		Akiyama, Shogo - Jap/CIN - CD2 LF - C/C - LN 12/-- 0.691
		Aoki, Nori - Not in MLB - CD1 CF - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Iwamura, Akinori - Not in MLB - CD1 3b - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Johjimi, Kenji - Not in MLB - CD1 C - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Kawasaki, Munenori - Not in MLB - CD1 SS - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Matsui, Hideki - Not in MLB - CD1 OF - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Nishioka, Tsuyoshi - Not in MLB - CD1 2b - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Suzuki, Ichiro - Not in MLB - CD1 RF - B/B - SN --/-- .400
		Tanaka, Kensuke - Not in MLB - CD1 LF - D/D - SN --/-- .400

Rotation	Japan/SK Pitching Rotation, Born,MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Darvish, Yu; (Jap,CHC), Right; PB: 2-9; 3.1
2	Uehara, Koji; (Jap,MIN), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.69
3	Ryu, Hyun; (Kor,TOR), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.84
4	Anderson, Ian; (Kor,ATL), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.11
9th inn	Yates, Kirby; (Haw,SDP), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.33
7th-8th	Kikuchi, Yusei; (Jap,SEA), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.28
5th-6th	Kim, Kwang; (Kor,STL), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.45
3rd-4th	Tanaka, Masahiro; (Jap,NYY), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.46
3rd inn	Hirano, Yoshihisa; (Jap,SEA), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.58
1st-2nd	Garcia, Rico; (Haw,SFG), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.67
Long	Yamaguchi, Shun; (Jap,TOR), Right; PB: 2-4; 5.15
	Iwakuma, Hisashi; , Right; PB: 2-4; 5.4
	Makita, Kazuhisa; , Right; PB: 2-4; 5.4
	Tazawa, Junichi; , Right; PB: 2-4; 5.4

Mexico (or rest of Central America)

Summary of Mexico Everyday Players: Overall the Mexico's line-up against righties (0.678) is the worst in our 10-team league, and it is tied for Japan as the worst against lefties (0.715) once you factor these card adjustments and different line-ups. Their defense is below average (CD2.6) as is their speed  (C-/D+).

Summary of Mexico's Pitchers: The average Mexico starting pitcher is average PB: 4-7 and 4.30 ERA, while the relievers are strong PB:2-7+ and 3.74 ERA. 

Julio Urias projected 2021 card has not caught up to the dominant World Series 2020 hero for the Dodgers, but he is giving strong middle relief to try to get Mexico to the incredible three closers in Seattle's Andres Munoz (3.44 ERA), Astros' Roberto Osuna (3.11) and Cardinals Giovanny Gallegos. It is brothers Luis Urias and Ramon Urias who need to combine behind leadoff man Alejandro Kirk to get a few runs across the plate.

vs LHP	vs. RHP	Mexico Platoon, Born if not Mex, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Kirk, Alejandro - TOR - CD2 C - B/D - RN --/11 0.752
2	2	Urias, Luis - MIL - CD4 3B - C/D - RN 86/11 0.734
3	3	Urias, Ramon - BAL - CD2 SS - D/D - RN --/11 0.722
4	4	Camargo, Johan - /Pan/ATL - CD4 2B - D/D - SN --/-- 0.705
5	5	Cuthbert, Cheslor - /Nic/CHW - CD2 3B - B/D - RN 86/11 0.706
6	6	Paredes, Isaac - DET - CD3 3B - D/D - RN --/11 0.706
7	7	Gonzalez, Luis - CHW - CD3 CF - C/C - LN 12/-- 0.653
8	8	Arauz, Jonathan - /Pan/BOS - CD1 2B - C/C - SN --/-- 0.611
		Amezaga, Alfredo - - CD2 SS - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Castro, Juan - - CD1 1B - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Cruz, Luis - - CD1 LF - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Duran, German - - CD1 RF - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Pena, Ramiro - - CD1 2B - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Sandoval, Freddie - - CD1 C - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Solis, Ali - - CD1 C - D/D - SN --/-- .400
		Villanueva, Christian - - CD1 3b - D/D - SN --/-- .400

Rotation	Mexico Pitching Rotation, Born,MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Gonzalez, Victor; (Mex,LAD), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.07
2	Loaisiga, Jonathan; (Nic,NYY), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.19
3	Urquidy, Jose; (Mex,HOU), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.43
4	Cessa, Luis; (Mex,NYY), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.5
9th inn	Gallegos, Giovanny; (Mex,STL), Right; PB: 2-9; 2.99
8th inn	Osuna, Roberto; (Mex,HOU), Right; PB: 2-9; 3.11
7th inn	Munoz, Andres; (Mex,SEA), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.44
6th inn	Perez, Oliver; (Mex,CLE), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.72
5th inn	Soria, Joakim; (Mex,OAK), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.72
3rd-4th	Urias, Julio; (Mex,LAD), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.19
2nd inn	Reyes, Gerardo; (Mex,LAA), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.36
	Castellanos, Humberto; (Mex,HOU), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.39
	Guerra, Javy; (Pan,WSN), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.54
Long	Agrazal, Dario; (Pan,DET), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.58

Pac-12

To be filled in - see below.

vs LHP	vs. RHP	Pac-12 Platoon, College, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Conforto, Michael - OSU/NYM - CD4 RF - C/D - LP 12/88 0.918
2	2	Canha, Mark - Cal/OAK - CD2 RF - D/D - RN --/-- 0.836
	3	Healy, Ryon - Ore/MIL - CD1 1B - C/E - RN 12/88 0.773
	4	Crawford, Brandon - UCLA/SFG - CD5 SS - D/D - LP 12/-- 0.751
5	5	Calhoun, Kole - ASU/ARI - CD5 RF - B/D - LP --/-- 0.789
6	6	Lamb, Jake - UW/OAK - CD1 3B - C/D - LN 12/-- 0.745
	7	Knapp, Andrew - Cal/PHI - CD2 C - B/D - SN --/-- 0.729
	8	Kipnis, Jason - Ke/CHC - CD2 2B - C/D - LN 12/-- 0.724
3		Cron, CJ - Utah/DET - CD3 1B - D/D - RP 85/12 0.792
4		Semien, Marcus - Cal/OAK - CD4 SS - C/C - RN --/-- 0.837
7		Madrigal, Nick - OSU/CHW - CD5 2B - B/B - RN --/11 0.743
8		Barnes, Austin - ASU/LAD - CD3 C - C/C - RN --/-- 0.728
		Calhoun, Willie - AZ/TEX - CD1 LF - D/D - LN 12/88 0.728
		Newman, Kevin - AZ/PIT - CD2 SS - C/C - RN --/11 0.702
		Valaika, Pat - UCLA/BAL - CD4 SS - C/D - RP --/11 0.685
		Kingery, Scott - AZ/PHI - CD4 2B - A/B - RN 88/-- 0.666
		Susac, Andrew - OSU/PIT - CD1 C - D/D - RN --/11 0.662

Rotation	Pac-12 Pitching Rotation, College,MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Cole, Gerrit; (UCLA,NYY), Right; PB: 2-9; 3.24
2	Bauer, Trevor; (UCLA,CIN), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.31
3	Canning, Griffin; (UCLA,LAA), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.4
4	Kelly, Merrill; (ASU,ARI), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.57
9th inn	Kittredge, Andrew; (UW,TBR), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.47
8th inn	Melancon, Mark; (AZ,ATL), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.53
7th inn	Stock, Robert; (USC,BOS), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.85
6th inn	Ginkel, Kevin; (AZ,ARI), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.22
5th inn	Fry, Jace; (OSU,CHW), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.27
4th inn	Cimber, Adam; (UW,CLE), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.37
2nd-3rd	Anderson, Tyler; (Ore,SFG), Left; PB: 2-6; 4.54
	Gaviglio, Sam; (OSU,TOR), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.68
Long	Triggs, Andrew; (USC,BOS), Right; PB: 2-5; 4.86
Long	Ponce, Daniel; (AZ,STL), Right; PB: 2-5; 4.95

Puerto Rico (or born in Miami)

To be filled in - see below.

vs LHP	vs. RHP	P.R. Platoon, if Born NY, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Lindor, Francisco - CLE - CD5 SS - A/B - SN 11/88 0.834
2	2	Correa, Carlos - HOU - CD5 SS - C/D - RN 88/-- 0.782
3	3	Rosario, Eddie - MIN - CD4 LF - D/D - LP --/-- 0.793
4	4	Baez, Javier - CHC - CD5 SS - B/B - RN 87/-- 0.768
5	5	Bader, Harrison - NY/STL - CD4 CF - C/C - RN --/11 0.764
6	6	Rios, Edwin - LAD - CD1 3B - D/D - LP 12/-- 0.811
7	7	Candelario, Jeimer - NY/DET - CD4 1B - C/D - SN --/-- 0.757
	8	Vazquez, Christian - BOS - CD4 C - C/C - RN --/-- 0.707
8		Molina, Yadier - STL - CD5 C - A/D - RN 87/11 0.685
		Winker, Jesse - NY/CIN - CD2 LF - D/D - LP 12/-- 0.816
		Moran, Colin - NY/PIT - CD1 1B - E/E - LP --/-- 0.780
		Hernandez, Enrique - LAD - CD1 2B - A/D - RN 88/11 0.773
		Locastro, Tim - NY/ARI - CD1 CF - A/A - RN --/-- 0.752
		Caratini, Victor - CHC - CD1 C - C/D - SN --/-- 0.733
		Diaz, Isan - MIA - CD2 2B - D/D - LN 12/-- 0.712
		Machin, Vimael - OAK - CD3 3B - C/D - LN 12/-- 0.687
		Panik, Joe - NY/TOR - CD5 2B - B/D - LN --/-- 0.682

P.R. Pitching Rotation, Born,MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
Corbin, Patrick; (NY,WSN), Left; PB: 2-8; 3.6
Stroman, Marcus; (NY,NYM), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.91
Berrios, Jose; (PR,MIN), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.09
Hoffman, Jeff; (NY,COL), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.33
Karinchak, James; (NY,CLE), Right; PB: 2-9; 2.45
Diaz, Edwin; (PR,NYM), Right; PB: 2-9; 2.88
Kahnle, Tommy; (NY,NYY), Right; PB: 2-9; 3.23
Claudio, Alex; (PR,MIL), Left; PB: 2-8; 3.64
Ottavino, Adam; (NY,NYY), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.8
Betances, Dellin; (NY,NYM), Right; PB: 2-7; 4.01
Jimenez, Joe; (PR,DET), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.15
Romano, Sal; (NY,CIN), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.18
Garcia, Luis; (NY,HOU), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.23
Norwood, James; (NY,CHC), Right; PB: 2-6; 4.53

SEC

To be filled in - see below.

vs LHP	vs. RHP	SEC Platoon, College, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
	1	Merrifield, Whit - SC/KCR - CD4 RF - B/B - RN --/-- 0.740
2	2	LeMahieu, DJ - LSU/NYY - CD5 2B - D/D - RP 86/11 0.845
3	3	Alonso, Pete - FL/NYM - CD3 1B - D/D - RP --/-- 0.923
5	4	Yastrzemski, Mike - Van/SFG - CD5 RF - D/D - LP --/-- 0.856
	5	Anderson, Brian - AR/MIA - CD5 3B - D/D - RP --/-- 0.801
	6	McCann, James - AR/CHW - CD5 C - C/D - RP --/-- 0.749
7	7	Swanson, Dansby - Van/ATL - CD5 SS - C/C - RN 88/-- 0.747
8	8	Bradley, Jackie - SC/BOS - CD5 CF - B/C - LN --/-- 0.720
1		Renfroe, Hunter - MSU/TBR - CD4 RF - A/C - RP 87/11 0.762
4		Bregman, Alex - LSU/HOU - CD3 3B - B/D - RN 87/11 0.893
6		Nola, Austin - LSU/SDP - CD3 C - C/D - RN 88/11 0.743
		Donaldson, Josh - AU/MIN - CD3 3B - C/D - RP --/-- 0.821
		Lowe, Nate - MSU/TBR - CD3 1B - D/D - LP 12/-- 0.816
		Walsh, Jared - UGA/LAA - CD4 1B - C/D - LP 12/-- 0.784
		Frazier, Adam - MSU/PIT - CD3 2B - D/D - LN 12/-- 0.750
		Benintendi, Andrew - AR/BOS - CD4 LF - A/C - LN --/-- 0.727
		Zunino, Mike - FL/TBR - CD2 C - C/E - RP --/-- 0.697

Rotation	SEC Pitching Rotation, College,MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Scherzer, Max; (MZ,WSN), Right; PB: 2-9; 3.15
2	Gray, Sonny; (Van,CIN), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.43
3	Woodruff, Brandon; (MSU,MIL), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.46
4	Buehler, Walker; (Van,LAD), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.67
9th inn	Pomeranz, Drew; (MS,SDP), Left; PB: 2-9; 3.06
8th inn	Rogers, Taylor; (KY,MIN), Left; PB: 2-9; 3.08
6th-7th	Nola, Aaron; (LSU,PHI), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.45
5th inn	O'Day, Darren; (FL,ATL), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.45
4th inn	Harris, Will; (LSU,WSN), Right; PB: 2-8; 3.51
3rd inn	Minter, AJ; (TAM,ATL), Left; PB: 2-8; 3.54
2nd inn	Dayton, Grant; (AU,ATL), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.86
Long	Paxton, James; (KY,NYY), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.91
Long	Lynn, Lance; (MS,TEX), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.92
Long	Keuchel, Dallas; (AR,CHW), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.11

Venezuela

To be filled in - see below.

vs LHP	vs. RHP	Venezuela Platoon, Clutch Defense, Speed, L/R Adj, OPS
1	1	Acuna, Ronald - ATL - CD3 CF - A/A - RP --/-- 0.937
2	2	Torres, Gleyber - NYY - CD1 SS - C/D - RN --/-- 0.901
	3	Aguilar, Jesus - MIA - CD4 1B - C/E - RN --/-- 0.796
	4	Suarez, Eugenio - CIN - CD2 3B - D/D - RP 11/-- 0.795
	5	Perez, Salvador - KCR - CD4 C - C/D - RP --/11 0.786
6	6	Altuve, Jose - HOU - CD1 2B - B/C - RN --/-- 0.782
7	7	Peralta, David - ARI - CD4 LF - C/D - LN --/-- 0.771
8	8	Santander, Anthony - BAL - CD5 RF - D/D - SP --/-- 0.749
3		Flores, Wilmer - SFG - CD1 1B - D/D - RP 87/11 0.831
4		Brosseau, Mike - TBR - CD4 1B - D/D - RP --/11 0.787
5		Contreras, Willson - CHC - CD1 C - D/D - RN 87/-- 0.793
		Garcia, Avisail - MIL - CD2 CF - D/D - RN --/-- 0.766
		Astudillo, Willians - MIN - CD3 C - D/D - RP --/-- 0.765
		Nunez, Renato - BAL - CD2 1B - D/D - RP 88/-- 0.759
		Osuna, Jose - PIT - CD1 1B - C/D - RP 12/88 0.755
		Rojas, Miguel - MIA - CD5 SS - C/C - RN 88/-- 0.748
		Escobar, Eduardo - ARI - CD3 3B - D/D - SN --/-- 0.745

Rotation	Venezuela Pitching Rotation, MLB,PB:2-9 best,ERA
1	Carrasco, Carlos; (CLE), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.72
2	Lopez, Pablo; (MIA), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.9
3	Rodriguez, Eduardo; (BOS), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.88
4	Suarez, Ranger; (PHI), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.42
9th inn	Vazquez, Felipe; (PIT), Left; PB: 2-9; 2.64
8th inn	Alvarez, Jose; (PHI), Left; PB: 2-8; 3.52
7th inn	Castillo, Jose; (SDP), Left; PB: 2-8; 3.58
6th inn	Hernandez, Darwinzon; (BOS), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.89
5th inn	Alvarado, Jose; (TBR), Left; PB: 2-7; 3.91
4th inn	Graterol, Brusdar; (LAD), Right; PB: 2-7; 3.95
3rd inn	Guerra, Deolis; (PHI), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.08
2nd inn	Ramos, Edubray; (LAD), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.13
	Bracho, Silvino; (ARI), Right; PB: 4-7; 4.14
	Perez, Martin; (BOS), Left; PB: 4-7; 4.37

After World Series, All-Star Baseball Teams Play for Their Country or College

From the defensive wizardry of three Puerto Rican gold glove nominee shortstops, to the Dominican Republic sluggers averaging three homers per game, to the SEC's incredible rotation that starts with Scherzer and ends with Buehler, we are now 6 games into the 16 game World Baseball Classic this offseason.

With teams trying to win by at least 5 runs to get credit for a 3-game sweep, due to an  actual mark of 5-1 and overall credit for a first place 13-5 record, Venezuela leads the "Continental Division." The SEC and ACC are both just three games back at 10-8, the Big 12 is 9-9 in all road games, and the Pac-12 is riding dominant strikeout pitchers Cole and Bauer to stay close at 8-10. 

The defending champion Dominican Republic leads the "Multi-Coast" Division at 12-6, while Japan already featured a no-hitter by Darvish and is surprisingly only three games back at 9-9.. The slick fielding Puerto Rico is five games back at 7-11. The two 6-12 teams have opposite needs, with Cuba slugging homers but needing some pitching, and Mexico looking like Fernando Valenzuela is on the mound every time with the second best ERA but needs hitting. Grid of all matchups is here.

Once each team has been through their 4-game pitching rotations four times for a 16 game schedule and 48-game record based on the awarding of a 3-0 mark for a game won with a 5-run lead after 8 innings without using a closer, or a 2-1 record awarded for all other wins, the winner of each division will face off in a 7-game championship. 

Through 6 games for each of the 10 Baseball All-Star team, offenses are averaging 3.8 runs scored per game with a 0.237 batting average and 1.4 home runs per game.  Starting pitchers are averaging 4.8 innings and 5.1 strikeouts with a 3.61 ERA. Thanks to a great converter that changes pdf files to jpg, here are the first six scoresheets for each team. The free hand scoresheets normally show both games of a 2-game series (with a line indicating the end of an inning), but each team was given just a one-game series against two teams from the other division.

The summary of games for each team are listed in order of starting pitcher, while the pictures of scoresheets are listed in order of their opponent.

ACC Scoresheet

The ACC’s Will Smith leads the way with a torrid 14 for 27 and 4 HRs in 6 games, and the team's .310 batting average is way ahead of second place Dominican Republic (0.287) and the league average 0.237. Except for the two games against 1^st place Dominican Republic the 2^nd place ACC has dominated including two five innings shutout performances, and a 10-2 mark. Unfortunately they were blown out twice by the Dominican Republic, losing 6-1 and 15-7 (though we record a max of 10 runs on the table).

The started the season with a 3-run homer by Brad Miller (Clemson-St. Louis) and then two homers by Will Smith. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 4th against RHP (0.806), 4th against LHP (0.812), 6th in defense (Clutch Defense 3.0 but weak SS), 3rd in speed (OBR/SP: C+/C-). Based on cards, their line-up ranks 4th against RHP (0.806 OPS), 4th against LHP (0.812), 6th in defense (Clutch Defense 3.0 but weak SS), 3rd in speed (OBR/SP: C+/C).

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
1	6	DR	Hjelle	2	4	1	31	7	0	0.226	18.00
8	3	Cuba	Lewicki	5	2	0	36	11	1	0.306	3.60
3	4	PR	Lewicki	5	2	3	40	13	0	0.325	3.60
10	1	Mex	Thornton	5	0	3	36	12	5	0.333	0.00
9	3	Cuba	Thornton	5	0	6	37	12	2	0.324	0.00
7	10	DR	Weaver	1	7	1	36	12	1	0.333	63.00
6.4	4.5		Team Ave	3.8	2.5	2.3	36.0	11.2	1.5	0.310	5.87
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Big-12 Scoresheets

Despite the team batting only 0.198, some timely pitching including two dominant starts by Gray and Arrieta (TCU) leaving after 7 innings with a 5-1 lead before the weak Big-12 bullpen surrendered a 2-run homer to Roberts in the 8th to cut it to 5-3, but that was the final. The Big 12 is now leading off Muncy (Baylor) to give him as many at bats as possible, and he lead off a game against Cuba with a Homer to start a 3 run first for the Big 12, but the weak bullpen again faltered for a 6-3 loss.

The Big 12 did shock the Dominican Republic 5-4 on a 3-run pinch hit HR by Orf and a 2-run homer by Mayfield, in a game in which three DEEP drives by the Dominican Republic were all caught for long outs. Big-12 fans have a legitimate beef with the players being assigned by their college team’s current conference, meaning Max Scherzer (Missouri) is on our SEC team. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 9th against RHP (0.735 OPS), 8th against LHP (0.738), 8th in defense (Clutch Defense 2.6 but weak SS), 10th/last in speed (OBR/SP: C-/D).

 

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
2	4	Jap	Arrieta	5	4	1	32	5	2	0.156	7.20
5	3	Cuba	Arrieta	7	1	6	35	8	2	0.229	1.29
2	5	DR	Gray	5	1	0	34	7	1	0.206	1.80
4	1	Mex	Gray	7	0	6	32	7	2	0.219	0.00
3	6	Cuba	Heaney	4.7	5	3	33	5	1	0.152	9.57
5	4	DR	Means	4	1	5	31	7	2	0.226	2.25
3.5	3.8		Team Ave	5.5	2.0	3.5	32.8	6.5	1.7	0.198	3.30
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Cuba Scoresheets

Cuba also gets players born in Miami, where more than a million Cubans live. Their homers (1.7 per game) and batting average (0.241) are just above average so far, and if they can get to the 8^th inning their two dominant relievers - Chapman and Raisal Iglesias – are lights out. Unfortunately their starting pitching is giving them no chance to get that deep in the game, averaging only 3. 5 innings per start with a 6.00 ERA.

In one loss Jose Iglesias hit a 2-run homer in the 9th to add to Alvarez earlier homer, but they still fell short 9-3, but they lost that series to the ACC by a combined score of 6-17.  In one game Perez gave up 3 runs in the first including  a lead off homer by Muncy, but then rallied to beat the Big-12. In another, gold glove centerfielder nominee Luis Roberts hit a late 2-run homer to pull within 5-3, but that was the final. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 2nd against RHP (0.813 OPS), 6th against LHP (0.798), 3rd in defense (Clutch Defense 3.8 with great SS), 6th in speed (OBR/SP: C-/C-).

 

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
3	9	ACC	Bolanos	4	2	5	33	8	2	0.242	4.50
4	3	SEC	Bolanos	3	1	1	37	12	0	0.324	3.00
3	8	ACC	Peacock	2	3	3	31	8	3	0.258	13.50
1	3	Ven	Peacock	4	1	5	31	5	0	0.161	2.25
6	3	B12	Perez	5	3	6	31	8	3	0.258	5.40
3	5	B12	Rodon	3	4	3	32	6	2	0.188	12.00
3.3	5.2		Team Ave	3.5	2.3	3.8	32.5	7.8	1.7	0.241	6.00
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Dominican Republic Scoresheets

The Dominican Republic is hitting almost twice as many homers (3.0 per game) as any other team (Venezuela 1.7) and batting 0.287 to dominate with 6.3 runs per game. Their only two losses were 5-4, and in both cases they put up multiple runs in the 8^th and 9^th to barely fall short.  Their next closest game was a 5-2 win in which Meija proved the hero  by reaching all 4 times including scoring the tying run after a single, and then delivering a 2-out, bases loaded single in the 7th, though he did take a wrong turn at 1st base and was thrown out.

The 10-7 win recorded below over the ACC was actually 15-7 (but for the table we cap at 10 runs), and that was after the ACC had started 6-0. In that game, Ozuna hit 3 of the Champs 7 home runs - all in the first 5 innings. The Dominican Republic then scored 5 more in the first three innings of the second game against the second place ACC. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 1st against RHP (0.858 OPS), 1st against LHP (incredible even better 0.913), 4th in defense (Clutch Defense 3.5), 1st in speed (OBR/SP: B-/C).

 

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
5	2	B12	Castillo	5	2	8	32	9	1	0.281	3.60
9	3	P12	Castillo	6.7	3	9	35	10	3	0.286	4.03
10	7	ACC	Lamet	3	5	4	38	12	7	0.316	15.00
6	1	ACC	Severino	7	0	6	33	9	3	0.273	0.00
4	5	Ven	Valdez	2	2	0	34	9	1	0.265	9.00
4	5	B12	Valdez	5	3	7	37	11	3	0.297	5.40
6.3	3.8		Team Ave	4.8	2.5	5.7	34.8	10.0	3.0	0.287	4.70
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Japan-S. Korea Scoresheets

Japan started the season with a Yu Darvish no-hitter against the Pac-12, and only missed a perfect game due to hitting Conforto with a pitch in the 4th. The team is only averaging 2.1 runs scored per game except for one 11-3 explosion from Japan was led by homers by Tsutsugo, Choi and Choo.

They almost rallied for an upset of SEC, chasing Scherzer in the 8th with singles by Wong and Tsutgago, and then brought in those 2 runs once Roger relieved on an RBI single by choi and then a wild pickoff attempt by Rogers. With the country (as well as S. Korea, which teams up) much stronger in pitching than hitting depth, we do have several minor leaguers or retired players (like Ichiro) on the bench to pinch hit. The team can also use players born in the closest US State, Hawaii, and that netted gold glove nominee Kiner-Falefa. They wasted a strong effort against Venezuela. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 8th against RHP (0.744 OPS), 10th/last against LHP (0.715), 10th/last in defense (Clutch Defense 2.3), 2nd in speed (OBR/SP: B-/C-).

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
4	2	B12	Anderson	7	2	7	28	9	1	0.321	2.57
2	3	sec	darvish	4	3	6	35	9	0	0.257	6.75
2	0	P12	Darvish	9	0	13	26	4	1	0.154	0.00
3	10	Ven	Ryu	5	3	4	32	6	1	0.188	5.40
10	4	P12	Uehara	3.7	4	2	39	13	3	0.333	9.73
0	2	Ven	Yates	2	0	3	30	3	0	0.100	0.00
3.5	3.5		Team Ave	5.1	2.0	5.8	31.7	7.3	1.0	0.232	3.52
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Mexico Scoresheets

Will add ACC.

The light-hitting Mexican team only scores 2.0 runs per game behind a 0.190 batting average and 1.0 homers a game. They’ve counted on incredible starting pitching to shut out opponents for an average of give innings in three of their first six games (Agrazal 5 innings, Gonzalez 4.1 winnings, and Loasiga 6 innings).

The one win came on second inning singles by R. Urias, R. Urias and then Arauz (whose grounder got past the 1st baseman) gave Mexico their only run to secure a surprise split 1-0 against the SEC. Gallego dodged a bullet in the 9th when Bradley and Alonso singled to put the winning run on base, and then Yastrzemski blasted a clutch batting foul home run, before striking out.  The  only time the offense exploded it was wasted, after the first two innings included 2-run homers by L. Urias, Paredes and Kirk to take a 6-2, only to lose 7-6 in 10 innings. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 10th/last against RHP (0.678 OPS), 9th against LHP (0.715 and slightly better pinchhitting than last place Japan), 9th in defense (Clutch Defense 2.6 and strong SS), 7th in speed (OBR/SP: C-/B+).

 

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
1	0	SEC	Agrazal	5	0	3	34	8	0	0.235	0.00
2	10	ACC	Cessa	4	2	3	40	7	0	0.175	4.50
1	2	SEC	Gonzalez	4.3	0	4	32	6	1	0.188	0.00
1	4	B12	Gonzalez	3	3	4	32	6	1	0.188	9.00
1	5	P12	Loasiga	6	0	6	31	4	1	0.129	0.00
6	7	P12	Urquidy	3	2	3	36	8	3	0.222	6.00
2.0	4.7		Team Ave	4.2	1.2	3.8	34.2	6.5	1.0	0.190	2.49
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Pac-12 Scoresheets

Both Bauer and Gerritt Cole registered 13 strikeout appearances to help the Pac-12 dominate the league with 7.3 strikeouts per starter per outing. Unfortunately for Cole, his came while Darvish was throwing a no-hitter against the Pac-12.  Bauer dominated for 8 innings except for a HR by Kirk for a 5-1 win over Mexico, but had to wait until he was pinch-hit for in the bottom of the 8th to go ahead, with his pinch-hitter Semien delivering the key 2-run double.

Healy went 4 for 4 including and early homer and then an RBI single in the bottom of the 9th to complete a comeback from down 6-2 against Mexico and force extra innings, which the Pac-12 won.  and an earlier homer. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 5th against RHP (0.791 OPS), 5th against LHP (0.799), 7th in defense (Clutch Defense 2.7 and strong SS), 9th in speed (OBR/SP: C/D-).

 

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
5	1	Mex	Bauer	8	1	13	32	8	0	0.25	1.13
7	6	Mex	Canning	2	5	5	40	12	2	0.300	22.50
0	2	Jap	Cole	8	2	13	27	0	0	0.000	2.25
3	9	DR	Cole	4	3	6	35	11	1	0.314	6.75
4	10	Jap	Kelly	3	3	2	34	8	2	0.235	9.00
2	0	PR	Kelly	6	0	5	29	5	0	0.172	0.00
3.5	4.7		Team Ave	5.2	2.3	7.3	32.8	7.3	0.8	0.223	4.06
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Puerto Rico Scoresheets

While Puerto Rico is hitting only 0.201 with just two homers in six games, their infield erases runs with three gold glove nominee shortstops playing third base (Correa), shortstop (Lindor) and second base (Baez). That helped them to make great plays to hold onto 4-3 wins in both of the starts by their ace Corbin (born in New York, which is the city eligible to play on the team, as New York is home to more than a million Puerto Ricans).

One of those wins was a shocker against 1^st place Venezuela. The win hinged on two pinch hits, including a homer by Rosario's e 5th tied the game 3-3, and after 2 great defensive plays by Lindor kept it tied, Panik delivered a pinch hit single in the 10th for the win. Even in a 4-0 loss to the SEC, defense prevented the SEC from getting credit for a 5+ win margin sweep when Correa threw Yaz out at home on a grounder to third in the bottom of the 8th. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 7th against RHP (0.777), 7th against LHP (0.752), 2nd in defense (Clutch Defense 4.0 and 3 and 3 strong SS), 4th in speed (OBR/SP: B+/B-).

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
3	5	SEC	Berrios	4	2	5	34	8	1	0.235	4.50
4	3	Ven	Corbin	5	3	6	34	8	1	0.235	5.40
4	3	ACC	Corbin	4.1	2	6	35	10	0	0.286	4.39
0	2	P12	Hoffman	5	2	5	30	4	0	0.133	3.60
0	7	Ven	Hoffman	4	4	7	31	4	0	0.129	9.00
0	4	SEC	Stroman	7	0	6	30	5	0	0.167	0.00
1.8	4.0		Team Ave	4.9	2.2	5.8	32.3	6.5	0.3	0.201	4.02
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

 

SEC Scoresheets

The SEC’s starting rotation of Scherzer, Gray, Woodruff and Buehler and great relievers gives them a chance to go on a dominant run at any point to challenge Venezuela for the Division. They are holding opponents to a tiny 1.8 runs per game, and their only two losses for 4-3 to Cuba (the most runs allowed all year) and 1-0 to Mexico.

Scherzer (Missouri) is the leading candidate for the Cy Young after two starts during which he has pitched 13 2/3^rd innings while striking out 23, and two of the three runs he allowed were runners he left on base in the 8^th innings that the relievers allowed to score. The team’s offense has just put up 2.8 runs per game so far, but has potential and when facing Darvish coming off his no-hitter, tagged him for three straight singles in the 1st inning (Yaz, Anderson, James Mccann) for a 3-0 led that help up. Two Red Sox came through in a 2-1 win over Mexico in Scherzer’s other starts, with Bradley delivering one of his 3 hits to load the bases with 2 outs in the 6th then pinch hitter Benintendi drawing and RBI-walk to break the shutout. J. McCann the led off the 8th with a Homer for the 2-1 win. Alonso (Florida) hit 2 homers to rally the SEC against Puerto Rico, and then in the 9th Renfroe, who hit a massive homer for the Rays in the real world series game, blasted a 9th inning walk off homer off closer Diaz. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 6th against RHP (0.785), 2nd against LHP (0.848), 1st in defense (Clutch Defense 4.6 and strong SS), 8th in speed (OBR/SP: C-/B+).

 

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
3	4	Cuba	Buehler	4	3	5	34	8	2	0.235	6.75
0	1	Mex	Buehler	5.7	1	9	29	4	0	0.138	1.58
4	0	PR	Gray	7	0	4	31	6	0	0.194	0.00
3	2	jap	Scherzer	7.7	2	11	30	7	0	0.233	2.34
2	1	Mex	Scherzer	6	1	12	30	7	1	0.233	1.50
5	3	PR	Woodruff	4	3	3	32	9	3	0.281	6.75
2.8	1.8		Team Ave	5.7	1.7	7.3	31.0	6.8	1.0	0.220	2.62
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Venezuela Scoresheets

Based on the average starting line-up MLB OPS and starters ERA, we picked the SEC to dethrone Venezuela in the Division. However, Venezuela held off the 1^st place team from the other division, the Dominican Republic, 5-4 for the best record in either division at 13-5. The starting pitching’s microscopic ERA of 0.88 through six starts (second best is Mexico at 2.48) has been the key, and overall the team has allowed only 2.0 runs per game, and suffered only a 4-3 extra inning loss against Puerto Rico due to incredible defense by Lindor.

Against Japan, Lopez threw 7 shut out innings before turning it over to the dominant closers Castillo and Vazquez to complete the shutout, as Peralta's RBI double and Aguilar's homer provided the 2-0 wins. In the other game Venezuela scored the most runs of any team this season in a 17-3 run, though we only record a max of 10 runs per game on the table below and for stats. In that game, Peralta hit two 3-run homers and Venezuela's .432 batting average and 6 HRs were both the best batting marks of the 1st 2 series for any team. Another multi-homer game was provided by Flores in a 7-0 win over Puerto Rico. Based on cards, their line-up ranks 3rd against RHP (0.810), 3rd against LHP (0.819), 5th in defense (Clutch Defense 3.0 and strong SS), 5th in speed (OBR/SP: C/D+).

 

Sc	Opp	Opp	Starter	IP	ER	K	AB	H	HR	BA	St ERA
3	4	PR	Carrasco	4.7	2	8	37	9	1	0.243	3.83
3	1	Cuba	Carrasco	6	0	6	30	4	0	0.133	0.00
2	0	Jap	Lopez	7	0	9	29	5	1	0.172	0.00
10	3	Jap	Perez	4	1	1	44	19	6	0.432	2.25
7	0	PR	Suarez	4	0	2	36	9	1	0.25	0.00
5	4	DR	Suarez	5	0	6	31	7	1	0.226	0.00
5.0	2.0		Team Ave	5.1	0.5	5.3	34.5	8.8	1.7	0.256	0.88
3.8	3.8		Lg Average	4.8	1.9	5.1	33.3	7.9	1.4	0.237	3.61

Starting pitchers are averaging 4.8 innings and 5.1 strikeouts with a 3.61 ERA. Thanks to a great converter that changes pdf files to jpg, here are the first six scoresheets for each team.