Minor League Monday: Season 2, Week 4

Season Standings
#1: Oklahoma City (57 Points)
#2: Nashville Sounds (56 Points)
#3: Worcester Red Sox (54 Points) 
#4: Akron RubberDucks (46 Points)
#T5: Durham Bulls (39 Points)
#T5: Tennessee Smokies (39 Points)
#7: Greenville Drive (36 Points)
#8: Chattanooga Lookouts (30 Points)
#9: Memphis Redbirds (26 Points)
#10: Greensboro Grasshoppers (23 Points)
#11: Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (22 Points)
#12: Winston-Salem Dash (17 Points)
#13: Down East Wood Ducks (15 Points)
#T14: Fayetteville Woodpeckers: (10 Points)
#T14: Asheville Tourists (10 Points)

May 2 Standings

#1 (-): Nashville Sounds (16-7 | 4-0-0)
Opponent: St. Peters (3-2 | +13)
Nashville holds onto the #1 spot for another week and is the only team on the board that has not lost or tied a series! They are the undisputed #1 team heading into week five. Saint Peters came into the first two games strong, beating Nashville 1-4 on Tuesday and 2-3 on Wednesday. Nashville rallied and would win the next three games, finishing the series with a 12-3 win and locking in their series W. Nashville will host the Norfolk Tides, who tied a series with the Durham Bulls just two weeks ago. 

#2 (-): Oklahoma City Dodgers (15-9 | 2-0-2)
Opponent: Sugar Land (4-2 | +8)
Oklahoma City had a good enough week to maintain their #2 spot but not good enough to elevate them into the #1 spot. The Sugar Land Space Cowboys (Who we strongly considered including this year) traveled to Oklahoma City and started the series with a 2-1 lead. Like Nashville, the Dodgers rallied and finished the series on a three-game win streak and capped the series off with the best offensive performance of the week in their last game, winning 15-10. This week they will play an Albuquerque team with a less-than-optimal start to the season. 

#3 (+1): Worcester Red Sox (13-11 | 2-1-1)
Opponent: Buffalo (3-3 | +3)
It wasn't a great week for Worcester, but it wasn't terrible either. The +3 in scoring makes it a decent week, so if you're going to be optimistic about something, there you go. It's a definite upgrade from last week's 1-5 performance against Syracuse, but the mediocrity cannot continue for Worcester. This week, Worcester will travel to Toledo. 

#4 (+1): Akron RubberDucks (11-10| 2-2-0)
Opponent: Altoona (4-2 | +5)
Akron is back in the winning column and pulling way ahead in front of the Durham Bulls. A 0-2 start to the series against Altoona was enough to get the boys amped up and be another team that rallied to finish the week strong. That momentum will carry them to play the Richmond Flying Squirrels, who have one seven of their last ten games. 

#5 (+2): Chattanooga Lookouts (13-8 | 3-1-0)
Opponent: Tennessee (4-2 | +5)
Statement=Made. Chattanooga redeems themselves and is one of the hottest teams in the competition, winning the last three series. This time against rival Tennessee Smokies. They had a slow start to the series, falling 1-2, but, like many teams this week, rallied in the last three games to lock in the series W. The series is now split 1-1, and in two weeks, we hopefully get to see one of the two teams pull ahead. This week, the Rocket City Trash Pandas will host the lookouts for the first time this season. 

#6 (-3): Tennessee Smokies (10-10 | 2-1-1)
Opponent: Chattanooga (2-4 | -5)
Perhaps we spoke too soon on the Smokies, but at least both Tennessee and Chattanooga are in the top half of the rankings making for a good rivalry. As mentioned before, the series is now tied 1-1, and Tennessee will get a chance to make it 2-1 in two weeks. For now, Birmingham and Montgomery stand in the way. Could we see a Top-5 matchup in two weeks? 

#7 (+2): Memphis Redbirds (13-11 | 1-0-3)
Opponent: Durham (4-2 | +16)
Still one of the only teams without a loss on the board, the Memphis Redbirds take their first winning series against the 2021 Minor League Monday Champion, the Durham Bulls, and in dominating fashion, might I add. The series started with the Redbirds shutting out the Bulls, 10-0. In game five, the Redbirds secured the series win after their best offensive performance winning the game 11-4. This week, Memphis will take on the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, who last month beat the Bulls and lost to Worcester. 

#8 (-2): Durham Bulls (9-15 | 0-3-1)
Opponent: Memphis (2-4 | -16)
The Bulls have not had a start to the season like we could have predicted. The once dominating Durham Bulls continue to fall, and this week, it's to the Memphis Redbirds. This upcoming week, the Bulls will travel to Buffalo to take on the Bisons, who just tied a series against the #3 Worcester Red Sox. 

#9 (-1): Greenville Drive (8-13 | 1-3-0)
Opponent: Hickory (1-5 | -24)
Since nearly sweeping the Asheville Tourists two weeks ago, the Greenville Drive has only won two games and are plummeting. The Hickory Crawdads nearly completed the sweep, but Greenville pulled away with a 10-5 win in the final game of the series. Next, the Drive will take on the Rome Braves, who nearly swept Greensboro last week.

#10 (+3): Winston-Salem Dash (12-9 | 2-1-1) 
Opponent: Asheville (4-2 | +19)
It wasn't a sweep, but it is yet anther win by the Dash. The quality of wins is not high for the Dash, but for the time being, they are a winning team and no longer in the Bottom-5. This week they will play a Hickory Crawdads team that have won six of their last seven games. 

#11 (+3): Fayetteville Woodpeckers (8-13 | 0-2-2)
Opponent: Kannapolis (3-3 | +6)
Fayetteville ties the series with Kannapolis but wins the scoring competition, digging them out of the bottom two. It looks like we will not have the same bottom of the barrel series we had last year. Rivalry's do good for teams, and dominating a rivalry is even better. In week one of the Minor League Season, Fayetteville was swept by the Cannon Ballers. Perhaps this is a stepping stone that will elevate them into a position to beat them in two weeks. Charleston and Carolina stand in the way of the two meeting again. 

#12 (+1): Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (10-11 | 1-1-2)
Opponent: Fayetteville (3-3 | -6)
Kannapolis goes up one posistion this week but we had high expectations for them after their week 1 sweep against Fayetteville. A strong 2-1 start looked good for Kannapolis but the next two games would be tight, and the Woodpeckers would pull away by one point in each game. Finally, to tie the series, the Cannon Ballers would win game six, 9-5. This week they will take on the #13 Down East Wood Ducks. 

#13 (-2): Down East Wood Ducks (9-12 | 1-2-1)
Opponent: Carolina (2-4 | -2)
Down East has yet to get traction this season, and we are still waiting for the Wood Ducks of 2021 to show back up. Maybe that team will show up this week against the Cannon Ballers. 

#14 (-2): Greensboro Grasshoppers (8-13 | 0-3-1)
Opponent: Rome (2-4 | -31)
This Greensboro team is way different than the team we followed last year. We expected wins and ties, but here we are with three losing series and in the bottom two of the rankings. This week, we do have a Bottom of the Barrel Series matchup! Greensboro will host the #14 Asheville Tourists. 

#15 (-): Asheville Tourists (4-17 | 0-4-0)
Opponent: Winston-Salem (2-4 | -19)
Better than one win, but still staying at the bottom here. A positive performance against Greensboro could elevate the Tourists to #14. 


Games to Watch
Series of the Week: #12 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers vs. #13 Down East Wood Ducks


Bottom of the Barrel Series: #14 Greensboro Grasshoppers vs #15 Asheville Tourist