Minor League Monday: June 21, 2021

- Dawson Haywood

#1 (-): Durham Bulls (28-13) (Series: 6-1)

The Bulls are holding onto their #1 position for the fourth week in a row! Their division has been unable to throw anything their way for most of the season to knock them off the podium. The Bulls are the undisputed #1 and debating on whether or not they should be in this position would be a difficult one for anyone to make. 

Weekly Titles: 5

#2 (+1): Greensboro Grasshoppers: (23-19) (Series: 1-0-6)

The Grasshoppers are back to their old tying ways. After last week we expected the Grasshoppers to make a push to increase their wins but for the time being we will enjoy the comedy that comes out of writing these power rankings every week and seeing that Greensboro has tied yet another series. At this point I hope they tie the next 13 series. 

#3 (+2): Carolina Mudcats: (25-15) (Series: 3-2-1) 

The Mudcats are back on track beating the #9 Fayetteville Woodpeckers once again. They are lurking to get into that #2 position. Perhaps we were a little too harsh on the Mudcats last week for tying with the Cannon Ballers because they seem to be heatin' up (Listen to the Heatin' Up Podcast on Spotify) and are ready to stop being the laughing stock of the state. 

Weekly Titles: 1

#4 (-2) Down East Wood Ducks (24-17) (Series 4-2-1)

Well the Wood Ducks have done did it. It is very rare that a team loses every single series in a season and the Wood Ducks were the reason the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers will finish this season with at least one series win. This coming up week they will go up against the Carolina Mudcats who were the team that gave the Cannon Ballers their first tie of the season just a few weeks ago. 

Weekly Titles: 1

#5 (-1): Asheville Tourists: (18-23) (Series: 3-3-1)

The Tourists have not been all that impressive this season which is why I am unable to move them up in the power rankings. Though they were able to tie the series with the Aberdeen IronBirds, they still have a losing overall record which has set me back from putting them higher than what they are. 

#6 (+1): Charlotte Knights: (16-24) (Series: 2-4-1)

The Knights have won another series! This time against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp. The division they are in has allowed them to move up above the Dash in the power rankings this week and their performance against the sound could crack the Knights in the Top-5 for the first time this season. 

#7 (-1): Winston-Salem Dash: (20-22) (Series: 1-2-4)

The Dash have not done anything impressive for the whole season and therefore have not been able to move up. Teams from below are starting to show signs of life while the Dash are just... meh. The team needs to show signs of life before others catch up to them. They have the opportunity to do this against the #5 Asheville Tourist this week. 

#8 (-): Hickory Crawdads: (15-27) (Series: 0-4-3)

The Crawdads are another one of those teams that are just plain meh with a dash of yikes. Week after week we have seen the crawdads struggle and if the two teams below them can be consistent for long enough the Crawdads could find themselves in the bottom 2. This week the Crawdads will go up against the Bowling Green Hot Rods. 

#9 (-): Fayetteville Woodpeckers: (15-25) (Series: 2-4-1)

The Woodpeckers have shown some signs of life from the organization but this past week against the Mudcats showed the opposite. Fayetteville has been unable to produce a good series unless it was against a team that just now has double digit wins. Continuing to perform like this could land them the #10 spot. This week's series against the #10 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers will show just how much the Woodpeckers may be struggling.

#10 (-): Kannapolis Cannon Ballers: (11-30) (Series: 1-5-1)

The Cannon Ballers have finally done it! They finally won a series AND it was against the previous #2, Down East Wood Ducks. The fate of the team lies in their hands as they will go up against the #9 Fayetteville Woodpeckers this week. A win could elevate them into the #9 spot and a win plus a bad performance by the Crawdads could even put them up to #8. 

Last Week's Results
#1: Durham Bulls (24-11) (Series: 5-1)
#2: Down East Wood Ducks (22-13) (Series: 4-1-1)
#3: Greensboro Grasshoppers (20-16) (Series: 1-0-5)
#4 Asheville Tourists (15-20) (Series: 3-3)
#5: Carolina Mudcats (21-14) (Series: 2-2-2)
#6: Winston-Salem Dash (17-19) (Series: 1-2-3)
#7: Charlotte Knights (13-22) (Series: 1-4-1)
#8: Hickory Crawdads (13-23) (Series: 0-3-3)
#9: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (14-21) (Series: 2-3-1)
#10: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (7-28) (Series: 0-5-1)