State Farm Weekly Recap: Heads, Grapes Dominate the Period

The cream of the RDBL crop appears to be rising to the top as Period 3 saw a shift in the Standings with the Asti Grape Stompers, Maltese Falcons, Nashville Aristocrats and Honolulu Hammerheads all clearing the 300 point mark and occupying the top four spots in the Standings entering Period 4.

Here's the recap of Period 3 with standout performances from the Heads and Grapes:

Team of the Week: Honolulu Hammerheads, 362.0 Points

77-246, 246 AB, 18 2B, 5 3B, 8 HR, 37 RBI, 37 R, 6 SB, 26 BB, CS, 5 HP, 2 SF

47 INN, 28 HA, 20 BBI, 52 K, 14 ER, 3 W, 3 L, 2 HB, HD The Honolulu Hammerheads were excellent in all phases in Period 3, posting a .313/.387/.524 line at the plate with a league-high 213.0 points while notching a 2.68 ERA in 47.0 innings of work on the mound. The Heads were paced by Tanner Houck's 55.0 point effort while Ezequiel Tovar, Jarren Duran, Alex Kirilloff and Seiya Suzuki all posted 20 or more points.

Pitching of the Week: Ronel Blanco (Grapes), 82.0 Points

15 INN, HA, 6 BBI, 11 K, 2 W

Blanco backed up a no-hitter on Monday night with six scoreless innings Sunday, posting 82.0 points over Period 3. The effort helped push the Grapes back into 1st Place entering Period 4.

Hitter of the Week: Spencer Steer (Grapes)/Jarren Duran (Heads), 35.0 Points

It was a dominant week for Steer and Duran at the plate as each posted 35.0 points to help their clubs rise up the RDBL Standings. Steer went 9-for-22 with three home runs as well as a double, triple and three walks while Duran went 13-for-27 with a home run and four steals.

Prospect of the Week: OF Heston Kjerstad (Fish)

Kjerstad is slashing .462/.522/1.026 with six home runs over his first 46 at-bats at Triple-A Norwich. At age 25, Kjerstad appears to be an injury or slump away from reaching the big leagues and sticking.

Life Insurance Player of the Week: OF Austin Hays (Goutfish)

Speaking of Orioles needing to slump for Kjerstad to get a chance, Goutfish outfielder Austin Hays went 0-for-15 in Period 3 and has a total of -2.5 points on the season. His .077 average is one of two Goutfish players hitting sub .080 with Nolan Schanuel checking in at .074.

On The Lookout, 4/7: Heads Eye Top Spot to Finish Period 3

The Honolulu Hammerheads looked dead in the water through the first two days of the season, but things quickly turned for GM Ross Horiuchi's club who has been the hottest team in the RDBL over the last week. The club enters Sunday in 5th Place with three starters on the mound and eyes on the top spot to close out Period 3.

The Heads have been elite on the mound, posting the league's second best ERA (2.63) while their staff has allowed just 45 hits in 68 1/3 innings while punching out 85. Their offense has been red-hot, leading the RDBL in hitter scoring over the last week while slashing .313/.378/.502 with a league-best five triples.

With Reid Detmers and Tanner Bibee throwing well, the pitching staff looks to have the depth to play the matchups all season long and be a viable contender in the Masters Division.

Projected Starters for Sunday, 4/7

Stacks: N/A

Grapes: Blanco (@ TEX)

Falcons: Imanaga (vs. LAD)

Aristocrats: Gonzales (vs. BAL)

Hammerheads: Sale (vs. ARZ), Silseth (vs. BOS), Houck (@ LAA)

Clovers: Marsh (vs. CHW), Flaherty (vs. OAK)

Maulers: Gil (vs. TOR)

Goutfish: Sanchez (@ WSH), Crochet (@ KC)

Jokers: Gore (vs. PHI)

Fringe: Abbott (vs. NYM)

Devils: Dunning (vs. HOU), Nelson (@ ATL)

Fish: N/A

Ducks: N/A

Hops: Webb (vs. SD)

Tacos: Gibson (vs. MIA), Pepiot (@ COL), Kremer (@ PIT)

Pitching Matchup of the Day: Stone vs. Imanaga

Maltese Falcons left-hander Shota Imanaga was dominant in his stateside debut earlier this week, posting 32 points in six dominant innings against the Colorado Rockies. The challenge will be much tougher Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers who will send 'Crats underrated prospect Gavin Stone to the mound and his elite changeup.

Hops Offense Looks for Jumpstart

The Meinert Hope are hitting just .190/.254/.324 over the last seven days, producing a league-low 85.0 points over that span. Six of their 13 position spots have yet to produced double digit points on the year including Jorge Polanco, J.P. Crawford and activation Henry Davis.

Grapes Look to Stay Hot on the Mound

Ronel Blanco will look to follow up his 52-point no-hitter with another strong outing Sunday. He's helped lead the Grapes to be the most pitching points in the RDBL over the last 7 days. as the staff has produced a 2.91 ERA in a league-high 52 2/3 innings over that span.

On The Lookout, 4/6: Injuries Pile Up on Friday

The Alamo Short Stacks and Nashville Aristocrats enter Saturday in 1st and 4th place, but both look set to lose their ace due to elbow injuries that continue to claim some of the top pitchers in the sport. Spencer Strider, handed the largest contract in RDBL History for a pitcher, complained of elbow pain after lasting just four innings Friday night against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The right-hander is scheduled to receive a MRI this morning with an IL-stint all but guaranteed. The injury follows a hamstring strain to off-season acquisition Justin Steele, leaving the Stacks two short from their Opening Day rotation.

The more shocking news came Saturday morning as Guardians officials announced that ace Shane Bieber will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the remainder of 2024.

The devastating news comes on the heels of an injury-shortened 2023 campaign for the right-hander, as Bieber was limited to 128 innings while missing about two and a half months due to elbow inflammation.  He returned from the 60-day injured list to make two starts in late September, which seemingly indicated that the problem was behind him, and that Bieber could now look forward to a more normal offseason and ramp-up routine.  However, as the Guardians’ statement indicates, Bieber had some discomfort in his elbow following his first start this year, and the problem continued through his next outing.

Certainly nothing appeared to be amiss in terms of results, given that Bieber looked completely dominant in tossing 12 shutout innings and recording 20 strikeouts (against just one walk and 10 hits allowed) over his two starts.  This will now unfortunately mark the last we’ll see of Bieber on a big league mound for the next 13-15 months, and we might have already seen his final outing in a Cleveland uniform since he is a free agent this winter.

The 'Crats took a big hit in the field as well as Trevor Story came up in significant pain after diving for a ball in the hole. He's expected to have a MRI on his shoulder today, but all signs point to a long absence.

The Asti Grape Stompers couldn't avoid the injury bug either as Luis Robert, Jr. suffered a right hip flexor injury during Friday's loss against the Royals, Daryl Van Schouwen of the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Manager Pedro Grifol said after the game that more information on Robert's injury will come after he gets X-rays on Saturday, but he confirmed that the issue is in the outfielder's right hip. Robert has battled hip issues before in his career, missing roughly three months of the 2021 season due to a right hip flexor injury. Should Robert have to miss an extended period of time, Kevin Pillar would likely fill in as Chicago's center fielder.

Projected Starters for Saturday, 4/6

Stacks: N/A (Winn vs. SD if Strider hits IL Today)

Falcons: N/A

Grapes: N/A

Aristocrats: Miller (@ MIL)

Clovers: Gausman (@ NYY), Ryan (vs. CLE)

Hammerheads: N/A

Maulers: N/A

Goutfish: Whitlock (@ LAA)

Ducks: Blackburn (@ DET), Maeda (vs. OAK), Fried (vs. ARZ)

Fish: N/A

Fringe: N/A

Devils: King (@ SF)

Jokers: Wacha (vs. CHW), Hall (vs. SEA)

Hops: Gray (vs. HOU), Suarez (@ WSH)

Tacos: N/A

Top 10 Pitchers

1 Brady Singer (Fightin' Fish), 62.0

2. Tyler Glasnow (Clovers), 55.0

3. Marcus Stroman (Ducks), 54.0

T-4. Merrill Kelly (Devils), 53.0

T-4. Cody Bradford (Free Agent), 53.0

T-4. Garrett Crochet (Goutfish), 53.0

7. Ronel Blanco (Grapes)52.0

T-8. Shane Bieber (Aristocrats), 51.0

T-8. Nathan Eovaldi (Ducks), 51.0

T-10. Jordan Hicks (Falcons), 50.0

T-10. Cristian Javier (Aristocrats), 50.0

T-10. Zack Wheeler (Falcons), 50.0

Top 10 Hitters

1 Mookie Betts (Devils), 66.5

2. Freddie Freeman (Clovers), 44.5

3. Will Smith (Goutfish), 41.5

4. Bobby Witt, Jr. (Grapes), 39.5

5. Michael Conforto (Grapes), 39.0

6. Tyler O'Neill (Falcons), 38.0

7. Jarren Duran (Hammerheads), 37.5

8. Spencer Steer (Grapes), 37.0

9. Teoscar Hernandez (Stacks), 35.0

10. Ketal Marte (Ducks), 33.5