Archive for August, 2015

Players of the Month: July

Sunday, August 2nd, 2015


As the temperature started to heat up this summer, so did the DTBL Championship race.  The Jackalope finished July in the same spot as all of the previous months:  first place.  But what was once a 20+ lead has been trimmed to single digits entering the season’s final two months.  This has had nothing to do with the Jackalope falling back to the pack.  They have steadily held around 85 standings points.  But what has changed is the total of their closest competition, the Mavericks.  The Mavs are closing in on the 80 point mark as well, thanks to their pitching staff starting to materialize the way most expected before the season.  Also, the offense has received a huge lift from a player that I will be touching on in just a bit.  Before we get to the players of the month, here are the guys who earned weekly honors in July:

Batters of the Week:

Week 13 (6/29 – 7/5) – J.D. Martinez, Demigods
Week 14 (7/6 – 7/12) – Mike Trout, Mavericks
Week 15 (7/17 – 7/19) – Adrian Gonzalez, Darkhorses
Week 16 (7/20 – 7/26) – Carlos Gonzalez, Kings

Pitchers of the Week:

Week 13 (6/29 – 7/5) – Jordan Zimmermann, Naturals
Week 14 (7/6 – 7/12) – Chris Sale, Choppers
Week 15 (7/17 – 7/19) – Clayton Kershaw, Mavericks
Week 16 (7/20 – 7/26) – Jacob deGrom, Darkhorses

The Batter of the Month race came down to two of the guys listed above while the pitching award was a four horse race won by a guy who has been nearly unhittable for two straight months.  Here are the award winners for July 2015:

Batter of the Month:

Mike Trout, Mavericks
.367 AVG, 12 HR, 24 RBI, 20 R, 1 SB, 2.32 PAR

Pitcher of the Month:

Zack Greinke, Moonshiners
0.95 ERA, 0.579 WHIP, 4 W, 0 SV, 34 K, 3.69 PAR

Trout and Carlos Gonzalez had nearly identical numbers in the month of July.  It wound up being the one home run and stolen base advantage that tilted this award to the Mavericks outfielder.  As mentioned above, Trout has been largely responsible for the Mavericks making a significant dent into the Jackalope lead.

There were four pitchers who led the way in July, coming from just two MLB teams.  Greinke took the top spot, barely edging out his Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw.  And not far behind those two were a pair of Cubs:  Jake Arrieta and Jon Lester.  But in the end, Greinke’s incredible 43 inning scoreless streak, dating back to mid-June, sealed this honor.  Greinke allowed just four runs in the month of July and has allowed more than three runs in a start just once this entire season.  Plagued by poor run support early in the year, he was able to add four victories in the month too.