Minor League Monday: August 23, 2021

- Dawson Haywood

4 Weeks Left!!!

Summary: 
Our beloved Grasshoppers finally lose their first series to the Bowling Green Hot Rods and allow for the Down East Wood Ducks to take the #1 position in the state for the time being. We have seen throughout the season championship caliber play from the Wood Ducks but can they maintain for the four series remaining. They will need to win against the #8 Fayetteville Woodpeckers, #9 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, #3 Carolina Mudcats, and out-of-state Charleston RiverDogs. These series will need to be won in dominating fashion in order to stay on top of these power rankings.

The Mudcats had a phenomenal week sweeping the Augusta GreenJackets. They still have a very real shot at finishing the season in that #1 spot as they will play the Wood Ducks in their second to last series of the year.

The biggest shocker is currently is that the Durham Bulls are still sitting at #4. Though they have the best game and series record, their recent play has not been to par with the Wood Ducks, Grasshoppers, and Mudcats. They will need to rally these last four weeks to be back in the top spot. 

The Crawdads and Tourist remain in the #5 and #6 position. Any team that sits at #5 or below will need a miracle to finish the season in the #1 spot, but anything is possible. 

The bottom four teams (Charlotte, Fayetteville, Kannapolis, and Winston-Salem) have almost secured their spots for the season. It seems that Charlotte and Fayetteville are competing for the #7 spot while Kannapolis and Winston-Salem are competing for the #9 position. 

Standings
#1 (+1): Down East Wood Ducks: (56-39) +5 -1 (Series: 9-3-1)
#2 (-1): Greensboro Grasshoppers: (60-36) +2 -4 (Series: 7-1-8)
#3 (-): Carolina Mudcats: (59-37) +6 -0 (Series: 8-4-4)
#4 (-): Durham Bulls: (61-34) +4 -2 (Series: 12-3-1)
#5 (-): Hickory Crawdads: (43-50) +3 -2 (Series: 4-6-6)
#6 (-): Asheville Tourists: (40-51) +3 -1 (5-8-3)
#7 (+1): Charlotte Knights: (36-59) +4 -2 (Series: 4-8-4)
#8 (-1): Fayetteville Woodpeckers: (43-52) +4 -2 (Series: 6-8-2)
#9 (+1): Kannapolis Cannon Ballers: (27-69) +1 -5 (Series: 3-11-2)
#10 (-1): Winston-Salem Dash: (33-63) +0 -6 (Series: 1-9-6)

Last Week's Standings

#1 (-): Greensboro Grasshoppers: (58-32) +6 -0 (Series: 7-0-8)
#2 (-): Down East Wood Ducks: (51-38) +4 -2 (Series: 8-3-1) 
#3 (-): Carolina Mudcats: (53-37) +2 -4 (Series: 7-4-4)
#4 (-): Durham Bulls: (57-32) +2 -4 (Series: 11-3-1)
#5 (-): Hickory Crawdads: (40-48) +2 -3 (Series: 3-6-6)
#6 (-): Asheville Tourists: (37-50) +2 -4 (Series: 4-8-3)
#7 (-): Fayetteville Woodpeckers: (39-50) +2 -4 (Series: 5-8-2)
#8 (+1): Charlotte Knights: (32-57) +3 -3 (Series: 3-8-4)
#9 (-1): Winston-Salem Dash: (33-57) +0 -6 (Series: 1-8-6)
#10 (-): Kannapolis Cannon Ballers: (26-64) +0 -6 (Series: 3-10-2)