Tater Talk: 2041.19 – Week(s) in Review, 5/26 - 6/15

[jleddy]

WEEK(S) IN REVIEW: (12-7) Boise maintained their great start to the season over the last three weeks, playing .632 ball to stay near the top of the Frontier Division. Boise saw big weeks out of several players, exciting late inning wins and some tough defeats, while also seeing the debut of two heralded prospects in Robin Cooper and Jorge Maestas. With the mid-way point of the season approaching, the Spuds find themselves with the second-best record and one game back of division-leading Calgary.

ORE-IDA® TATER-TOTS EMOJI SUMMARY OF THE WEEKS:

HITTER OF THE WEEKS: Dennis French - 32-for-78, 6 HR, 20 RBI (.410 AVG)

PITCHER OF THE WEEKS: Dave Walsh - 7 G, 9.1 IP, 2-0, 1 SV (0.96 ERA, 0.77 WHIP)

GAMES OF THE WEEKS: On June 1st, Boise rolled into Mexico City for a four-game series, only to see the opening game get rained out (no surprise). The Spuds made up the postponed game in a double-header on June 4th, resulting in a two-game sweep for the day by a combined score of 16-6. Boise ended up taking three of four during the road trip to Mexico.

JOHNSON LEAGUE FRONTIER DIVISION STANDINGS

TEAM	WINS	LOSES	WIN%	GB	RD
Calgary Pioneers	43	22	.662	-	+104
Boise Spuds	43	24	.642	1	+95
Edmonton Jackrabbits	35	32	.522	9	+41
Las Vegas Hustlers	35	33	.515	9.5	+1
Phoenix Talons	34	34	.500	10.5	-3
Mexico City Aztecs	30	35	.462	13	-18
San Antonio Outlaws	27	41	.397	17.5	-75
Wichita Aviators	21	45	.318	22.5	-88

NEWS AND NOTES: Since the conclusion of the 2041 BBA First-Year Player Draft, Boise has inked professional contracts of 16 of the 22 drafted youngsters out of college and high school, including all six from the first four rounds...reports are 5th-round selection, catcher Curt Wilson of the Kellogg Tigers, has broken off negotiations with Boise despite their $1.6M offer against the $230,000 recommended slot amount...the 21-year-old high schooler was born in Boise, a factor that Spuds team officials thought were be in their favor..."We're disappointed we couldn't get something worked out with Curt," national cross-checker Ace Tangerine told the media...Boise failed to sign five other high school draftees between rounds 8 and 16, allowing each player to continue their amateur careers..."Our lower minors are filled right now and when we met with each of their agents, we felt their demands were outside of our budget, so we failed to even make any offers and instead focus on the kids we have under contract," General Manager Joe Lederer told Treasure Valley Sports...a shoulder inflammation injury to pitcher Leroy Hoffman is likely to shelve the righty for two months, opening the door for Boise to call up two of their top prospects in Robin Cooper and Jorge Maestas...both players were immediately inserted into the Boise starting rotation, with Cooper experiencing some bumps in the road in his first three starts (0-0, 7.20 ERA) and Maestas seeing some limited success (0-0, 3.52 in two starts) before straining a hamstring and being placed on the 7-day injured list...through the first 67 games of the year, Dennis French is leading all of the Brewster with an incredible .420 batting average and the second-highest oWAR (4.3) behind rookie phenom Lineu Aldo (4.4) of the Montreal Blazers...Boise's offense remains ranked in the top three for the Johnson League of all nine major categories, while the bullpen continues to surprise everyone, still the lowest ERA (3.08) in the league

DOWN ON THE FARM: Salt Lake City (AAA) has won eight of their last ten, upping their record to 42-26 and in a first-place tie with the Winnipeg Goldeyes in the Western Division...Alpines showing up in league leaderboards include Pepe Madrid (3rd in RBI, T-2nd in oWAR), Juan Sweetworld (T-2nd in SB), and Joe Taylor (T-2nd in SV)...Weymouth (AA) is currently at 36-32, seven games back of first place...Irish showing up in league leaderboards include Emilio Baca (3rd in HR)...Tulsa (A) is on a two-game losing streak, bringing their record down to 30-38 and in last place in the Gulf Coast Division...Hot Springs (Short-A) has started their season 8-12 but are just 3.5 games out of first place of the division...Tijuana (Rookie) have gone 9-11 to open their season but fans are enjoying the hot start by left fielder Aubrey Díaz, who is slashing .342/.419/.684 in the first twenty games...recently signed draftees will start to fill-out the rosters from Tijuana up to Double-A Weymouth starting this week