All Things Valley League

Power Rankings, Week Seven

Weird week. New Market played only 2 games since the last power rankings, while Waynesboro and Covington played 6. Here is the updated rankings:

(The stats, in order: record, runs scored and runs allowed, (record since the last power rankings), and change from last week.)

1. Front Royal: 23-14, 192-164 (2-1), no change:

2. Staunton: 22-15, 254-185 (5-0), up 1: undefeated week, tie-dyed shirts seemed to do the trick

3. Winchester: 22-16, 248-220 (3-1), up 2: 9-1 in last 10, team coming together at the right time

4. New Market: 20-15, 197-172 (2-0), no change: Baker, Gartman led the Rebels to 1st in the Central

5. Luray: 19-16, 223-198 (1-2), down 3: Wirnsberger, Bermudez both hitting over .350

6. Fauquier: 19-19, 167-167 (1-3), no change: Kyle Putnam now 4-0, 1.38, anchors rotation

7. Woodstock: 20-18, 160-168 (3-1), up 3: Matt Blow, Ian Marshall have Bandits rise the most this week

8. Harrisonburg: 19-19, 163-177 (3-2), down 1: Drew Granier 5-0, 1.86; Brown hitting .341

9. Covington: 18-20, 216-219 (3-3), down 1: Junior Arrojo's number retired, and hitting .295

10. Haymarket: 18-20, 160-178 (1-3), down 1: Greg Hopkins hitting .380

11. Waynesboro: 16-23, 184-208 (1-5), no change: 1-10 in last 11; Ricky Marshall 5-2, 3.03 

12. Rockbridge: 8-29, 172-280 (0-4), no change: lost last 11, team ERA is 6.49

Looks like one more power rankings, along with playoff previews, at the end of next week. Then the playoffs shall begin!

Power Rankings, Week Six

Well, the shakeup has arrived. We have a new number one team in the league! Once again, though, like last week, I need to point out how close the middle of the pack happens to be right now. It really looks like the teams that get hot over the last 10 games can improve their standing significantly...

(The stats, in order: record, runs scored and runs allowed, (record since the last power rankings), and change from last week.)

1. Front Royal: 21-13, 182-157 (5-0), up 2: 8-2 in last 10 games, won 5 in a row!

2. Luray: 18-14, 205-179 (2-2), no change: Will Ben Alsup help put this team over the top?

3. Staunton: 17-15, 214-177 (1-4), down 2: Aaron Swenson still front-runner for Cy Young

4. New Market: 18-15, 189-170 (3-1), up 1: Garrett Baker, Eric Alessio make solid 1-2 punch in rotation

5. Winchester: 19-15, 229-212 (4-0), up 3: Hottest team in VBL; won 9 in a row!

6. Fauquier: 18-16, 155-146 (3-1), up 1: Kyle Putnam pushing Swenson for Cy Young?

7. Harrisonburg: 16-17, 147-154 (1-3), down 1: Drew Granier 4-0, 1.93

8. Covington: 15-17, 183-186 (2-2), up 1: Ryan Durrence now has 10 home runs

9. Haymarket: 17-17, 149-160 (3-2), up 1: Sasser, Benedict, Mengle make for tough rotation

10. Woodstock: 17-17, 137-155 (3-2), up 1: Pitching is tough- scary playoff team

11. Waynesboro: 15-18, 157-169 (0-5), down 7: Winless week drops the Generals

12. Rockbridge: 8-25, 161-243 (0-5), no change: 7 losses in a row; tough first season in Lexington

Power Rankings: Week Five

This started out as a brainstorm for a fun way to rank the Valley League teams. Now that we're about 30 games into a 44-game season, I'm finding it harder and harder. Staunton and Luray, once clearly the class of the league, have stumbled, making ranking 1-11 very, very difficult. Chime in with your thoughts if you have any...

(The stats, in order: record, runs scored and runs allowed, (record since the last power rankings), and change from last week.)

1. Staunton: 16-11, 184-142 (1-5), no change: Bats have cooled off slightly; Chris Clinton still at .374

2. Luray: 16-12, 167-156 (3-4), no change: Tyler Truxell has given up 2 earned runs in 18 innings

3. Front Royal: 16-13, 151-147 (4-2), up 3: Steve McQuail has a ridiculous 11 home runs at the break

4. Waynesboro: 15-13, 145-138 (2-3), down 1: Opponents have hit .152 off Ricky Marshall

5. New Market: 15-14, 160-146 (4-2), no change: Mickens, Gonzalez hitting a ton for the Rebs

6. Harrisonburg: 15-14-1, 138-131 (3-4-1), down 2: Mike Schwartz has a .504 on-base percentage

7. Fauquier: 15-15, 138-127 (5-3), no change: Chad Rothlin has given up 1 earned run in 19 innings

8. Winchester: 15-15, 198-196 (5-2), up 3: fastest rising team, Steve Sabins hitting .415

9. Covington: 13-15-1, 168-164 (3-3-1), down 1: Swept doubleheader from Staunton Saturday night

10. Haymarket: 14-15, 129-140 (3-3), down 1: Greg Hopkins still hitting over .400

11. Woodstock: 14-15, 108-127 (3-3), down 1: Good arms on staff, but hitting 239/304/310

12. Rockbridge: 8-20, 143-215 (2-4), no change: Rob Froio at .336, team ERA is 6.80

Power Rankings: Week Four

Some radical changes this week. Just so you know, I list the teams based on records and run differentials, then I look at where they were last week and their record for the past week. Here's what the list looks like:

(The stats, in order: record, runs scored and runs allowed, (record since the last power rankings), and change from last week.)

1. Staunton: 15-6, 160-103 (3-2), no change: hitting 297/388/420 as a team

2. Luray: 13-8, 133-116 (2-4) no change: stumbled last week, led by Drew Martinez's 365/443/447

3. Waynesboro: 13-10, 128-117 (3-2) up 3: Alex McClure hitting 350, Ricky Marshall 4 wins

4. Harrisonburg: 12-10, 111-97 (3-3) down 1: Mike Schwartz has 539 OBP

5. New Market: 11-12, 126-122 (3-2) up 3: Led by Kenny Mickens' 390/519/559

6. Front Royal: 12-11, 115-125 (4-1) up 4: Jared Simon at 347, Steve McQuail has 10 home runs

7. Fauquier: 10-12, 106-96 (1-4) down 3: Kyle Putnam at 2-0, 1.19

8. Covington: 10-12, 131-131 (5-1) up 3: won5 in a row before losing to Front Royal

9. Haymarket: 11-12, 97-102 (2-5) down 4: Greg Hopkins continues to rake: 407/455/637

10. Woodstock: 11-12, 88-102 (3-4) down 3: Matt Blow up to 347/424/453

11. Winchester: 10-13, 143-165 (3-3) down 2: Bobby Rauh has 32 stolen bases in 33 attempts

12. Rockbridge: 6-16, 120-182 (2-3) no change: Alan Watts has 18 strikeouts in 12 1/3 innings

Power Rankings: Week Three

Here is our third attempt at ranking the VBL teams. The stats, in order: record, runs scored and runs allowed, (record since the last power rankings), and change from last week. Let's get right to it:

1. Staunton: 12-4, 125-76 (5-2), no change: 6 regulars hitting over .300, outscoring opponents by 49

2. Luray: 11-4, 97-71 (6-1), no change: coming fast- 5 wins in a row

3. Harrisonburg: 9-7, 83-68 (3-3), no change: allowed 2nd least runs in the league

4. Fauquier: 9-8, 84-69 (4-3), up 2: hitting .235 as a team, but ERA is 3.64

5. Haymarket: 9-7, 67-63 (4-3), up 3: Greg Hopkins rolling along at 455/500/682

6. Waynesboro: 10-8, 99-99 (3-4), down 2: committed 39 errors in 18 games

7. Woodstock: 8-8, 63-75 (4-4), up 3: Ian Marshall leads a dynamite staff

8. New Market: 8-10, 94-90 (4-4), up 1: Eric Alessio has 3 of those 8 wins

9. Winchester: 7-10, 112-125 (4-2), up 2: Scored 2nd most runs, but also given up the 2nd most

10. Front Royal: 8-10, 82-99 (2-5), down 3: Steve McQuail on pace to hit almost 20 home runs

11. Covington: 5-11, 88-106 (1-7), down 6: Tough week for the 'Jacks

12. Rockbridge: 4-13, 90-143 (3-5), no change: Alan Watts helping to settle down bullpen

Power Rankings: Week Two

Well, this is the second attempt at said power rankings, and the middle is still almost impossible to rank. Numbers 5-10 are the most difficult; I think you could make the case for changes there.  At any rate, here is ATVL's power rankings for week two, along with record, runs scored and runs allowed, changes from last week, and a quick line describing the squad so far.

Remember, too, that we're only 25% through the season, more or less; we're still going off small sample sizes!

1. Staunton: 7-2, 77-48 (no change): Braves continue to pummel opponents at the plate

2. Luray: 5-3, 49-39 (no change): Out hit opponents 89-55, AJ Wirnsberger is back!

3. Harrisonburg: 6-4, 53-46 (no change): 3 wins in a row, pitchers have 84 K's in 96 innings

4. Waynesboro: 7-4, 61-59 (up 1): won 6 in a row before last two, Enourato lights out on the mound

5. Covington: 4-4, 51-37 (up 3): Sherman Johnson a ridiculous 591/667/864 in 22 at-bats

6. Fauquier: 5-5, 49-40 (up 1): BJ Martin and Ryan Sorce are unscored upon

7. Front Royal: 6-5, 46-49 (down 3): Team of streaks: 5 wins, 4 losses, 2 wins

8. Haymarket: 5-4, 37-39 (up 3): Greg Hopkins hitting 462 in 39 at-bats

9. New Market: 4-6, 43-44 (no change): Garrett Baker leads a solid pitching staff

10. Woodstock: 4-4, 22-33 (down 4): Ian Marshall leads a staff with 77 K's in 71 innings

11. Winchester: 3-8, 65-86 (down 1): Scored 2nd most runs in VBL, given up most

12. Rockbridge: 1-8, 39-72 (no change): Joe Witkowski hitting 438

Power Rankings: Week One

Periodically this summer, ATVL hopes to post a "power rankings," a summary of the teams, from best to... well, not best. The idea is not to blast teams for performing poorly, but to put the league in context at this early date. And it is just that- very, very early. At this writing, Covington, for example, has played only three games, making it difficult to get a good reading on the 'Jacks. Also keep in mind that many of these teams will add several players over the next week or two, which will also radically affect lineups, bullpens and starting rotations.

Here we go! After each team, I will add record, runs scored and runs allowed, and a one sentence (or so) comment about the team.

Power Rankings

1. Staunton: 4-1, 48-27. Team hitting .301; Blake McDade is a cool 500/591/778

2. Luray: 3-1, 28-21. Team hitting .302, holding opponents to .183. Drew Rucinski is back, too!

3. Harrisonburg: 3-2, 25-18. Team ERA is an amazing 2.55. Giving up only 3.6 runs/game.

4. Front Royal: 4-2, 28-22. Opponents are slugging .260 against the Cards- started the year 4-0.

5. Waynesboro: 4-2, 39-33. Team hitting .312. Rob Kral has doubled 6 times

6. Woodstock: 2-1, 12-10. Team and opponent's ERA an identical 2.57. Will Bumbry stay?

7. Fauquier: 3-2, 17-18. 3.06 team ERA, but .222 team batting average

8. Covington: 1-2, 17-16. Ryan Durrence has 4 home runs and 9 RBI through 13 at-bats

9. New Market: 1-3, 19-23. Zach Helgeson has 3 of his own home runs in 10 at-bats

10. Winchester: 1-4, 29-40. Bobby Rauh at .438, team ERA a hefty 7.02

11. Haymarket: 1-3, 13-24. Greg Hopkins hitting .500, team has played 2 straight extra inning games

12. Rockbridge: 0-4, 16-39. Alan Watts is a rock in relief- inaugural season a bit rocky thus far