What a whirlwind the past two days have been, and there are still a few hours until the trade deadline of 1pm PST. Here are all the EFL players who have already been involved in an MLB trade:
Peshastin: Yimi Garcia, Kendall Graveman
Cottage: Trea Turner, Abraham Toro
Flint Hill: Keibert Ruiz, Ryan Tepera
DC: Joey Gallo
Haviland: Nelson Cruz, Joc Pederson, Jesus Luzardo
Pittsburgh: Tyler Anderson
Canberra: Rich Hill
The four remaining teams – Old Detroit, Portland, Bellingham and Kaline have until 1pm to be included in the frenzy. It would be kind of fun if every EFL team had a player who was traded in MLB by the end of today, in my opinion. We’ll see what happens!
EFL Standings for 2021
| EFL | ||||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB | RS | RA |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 73 | 31 | .698 | — | 592.1 | 389.0 |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 70 | 34 | .672 | 2.7 | 545.5 | 377.3 |
| D.C. Balk | 65 | 36 | .639 | 6.5 | 559.9 | 420.8 |
| Peshastin Pears | 65 | 37 | .635 | 6.8 | 502.1 | 382.9 |
| Kaline Drive | 64 | 39 | .619 | 8.3 | 546.6 | 428.8 |
| Haviland Dragons | 60 | 43 | .585 | 11.8 | 525.2 | 455.7 |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 58 | 43 | .573 | 13.2 | 516.6 | 454.2 |
| Cottage Cheese | 56 | 47 | .544 | 16.1 | 596.8 | 558.5 |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 54 | 49 | .525 | 18 | 516.0 | 489.2 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 52 | 51 | .508 | 19.7 | 431.8 | 426.1 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 45 | 57 | .440 | 26.7 | 519.7 | 593.0 |
Old Detroit: “W,” 4-5; 20PA, .3IP
| AVG: 0.200 | OBP: 0.200 | SLG: 0.350 | OPS: 0.550 |
| ERA: 90.00 | WHIP: 10.000 |
Even from the Minor Leagues Tornadoes are trying to disrupt the flow of the Wolverines. And yesterday it worked! Brad Miller, the Tornado in the Minor Leagues, hit a walk off grand slam off of Wolverine Sam Clay (don’t ask how a player in a Minor League game can homer off someone in an MLB game – only in the EFL) to send Old Detroit (and the Nationals) to a 90.00 ERA on the day, and subsequently, a loss. At the plate, Austin Riley continued to hit the ball well, going 2 for 4 with a home run. His July slash line is .326/.426/.707 for an OPS of 1.133 and RC/G over 12. James McCann added two singles, but not much else happened, and though it shows a win, the Wolverines lost .3 games to the Tornadoes.
Flint Hill: W, 12-6; 45PA, 4IP
| AVG: 0.405 | OBP: 0.444 | SLG: 0.810 | OPS: 1.254 |
| ERA: 9.00 | WHIP: 2.000 |
For a while yesterday it looked as though the Tornadoes were going to finish the day with as many Total Bases as Plate Appearances. That isn’t a stat I have ever really paid attention to before, but it is, at least, an entertaining stat. Austin Meadows helped Gerrit Cole and the Yankees to lose massively, Meadows swatting two home runs and a single in 5 at bats. Reese McGuire, Bo Bichette and Teoscar Hernandez helped the Red Sox to their own massive loss yesterday, the three of them combining to go 7 for 15 with 4 doubles. And Patrick Wisdom, who is OPSing a pleasant .841 in July, hit a home run. Carlos Rodon was not his usual self (or has his excellence this season been his unusual self?), giving up 4 runs in 4 innings. But when your team OPS is over 1.200, it is difficult to lose. The Tornadoes are the second team to eclipse 70 wins, giving company to OD who, I am sure, was feeling lonely.
DC: W(2), L(-1), 6-0; 27PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.174 | OBP: 0.296 | SLG: 0.348 | OPS: 0.644 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.571 |
The Balk did the seemingly impossible, scoring 6 runs with an OPS of .644. Certainly some of that is due to PAs stored up and released on a day with fewer PAs. Combined with an excellent outing from Joe Musgrove, the Balk climbed .7 games closer to the top, and now sit 6.5 out with two games remaining this month. Pete Alonso continued his homer happy ways, hitting his MLB-leading 11th of the month. The Balk face a decision not unlike the one their sister team made yesterday. The Nationals are 7.5 games out of first place, and decided to blow it all up, sending every player worth anything to whomever gave them the best deal. Will the other DC team follow suit? Or will they decide to show the Nationals that 6-7 games back at the end of July is merely a mole hill to climb?
Peshastin: W(2), L(-1), 3-(-6); 25PA, 12IP
| AVG: 0.238 | OBP: 0.360 | SLG: 0.238 | OPS: 0.598 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.667 |
The Pears were peachy from the mound yesterday, and it allowed them to shed 6 runs from their monthly total. Luis Patino and Freddy Peralta both had nearly identical lines, each going 6 innings and keeping their opponent scoreless. Juan Soto, realizing he is now responsible for ALL of the Nationals offense made sure he was responsible for ALL of the Pear offense, too. He went 4 for 6 with 2 walks. Now that everyone is basically gone from the Nationals lineup, will teams even pitch to Soto anymore? Will his final two months be basically one giant walkfest? We shall see. The Pears, like the Balk, have a tough decision to make. They did manage to gain almost an entire game yesterday on the Wolverines. Is it enough to stoke confidence in their owner to go for it? Or will the seek to move some of their players in anticipation of next year? I imagine they could get a good return for Mitch Haniger or Yoan Moncada…
Kaline: W(1), L(-1), 0-(-3); 52PA, 3IP
| AVG: 0.250 | OBP: 0.308 | SLG: 0.396 | OPS: 0.704 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.667 |
As I noted a couple of days ago, the Drive always seem to blow EFL teams away with their daily PA. So I did a study, and did you know that there is actually another team matching the Drive PA for PA? Well, there is! And they happen to be leading the EFL right now, so maybe this is the way to go – sending everyone to bat every game? It worked yesterday for the Drive, who had a two game swing (like the Balk and Pears) in the right direction. The the Drive it was three relievers who held the other team scoreless, erasing 3 runs from their monthly total. Will Adames continued his torrid July, going 3 for 4 with a double. Since coming over the the Brewers he is OPSing .999, which the Drive love, I’m sure (as do the Brewers!). Jesse Winker is hitting over .300 on the season, yesterday going 2 for 4 with a double. Do you know there are only 12 batters in all of MLB hitting over .300 this late into the season? Do you know many are in the EFL? 7!
Haviland: DNP, 1-0; 37PA, no pitching
| AVG: 0.265 | OBP: 0.324 | SLG: 0.471 | OPS: 0.795 |
The Dragons are going to have something like 14 million dollars to spend at the August meeting once they accept the trades for Joc Pederson and Nelson Cruz, and so you can’t blame them for looking to next season and therefore deciding to not even play a game yesterday. In fact, no pitcher appeared, and though quite a few batters did appear, they were pretty docile. JT Realmuto and Jake Cronenworth, both returning to the Dragons next season, each hit a home run. And every batter who appeared not named Gio got at least one hit, which isn’t too shabby. But it wasn’t enough to move the needle, especially on a pitching starved team.
Canberra: W, 6-0; 28PA, 7IP
| AVG: 0.320 | OBP: 0.357 | SLG: 0.440 | OPS: 0.797 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.857 |
Canberra had a good day, from both the plate and the mound. Casey Mize tossed 7 innings of 4 hit, 0 run baseball. Javy Baez, Vladito and Eric Haase all collected two hits apiece, one of them a home run from Vladito. The Roos have some tantalizing 2021 contracts to offer, but by all accounts have chosen to hold them until they expire.
Cottage: W, 12-10; 36PA, 6IP
| AVG: 0.419 | OBP: 0.500 | SLG: 0.677 | OPS: 1.177 |
| ERA: 7.50 | WHIP: 1.333 |
The Cheese, aware of their pitching inefficiencies this month, have clearly made the choice to just hit like crazy and not worry about the pitching. And who can blame them? Yesterday’s starter, Taijuan Walker, gave up 5 runs in 5 innings pitched. Couples with penalty innings the Cheese have accrued this month, it led to 10 runs allowed. But the hitters! They scored 12 runs to get an actual win. Yandy Diaz and Alec Bohm both collected 3 hits on the day, one of Bohm’s being a home run. Marcus Semien hit two doubles, and Shohei Ohtani only got 3 walks (is he even good?).
Pittsburgh: W, 5-0; 28PA, 8IP
| AVG: 0.259 | OBP: 0.286 | SLG: 0.444 | OPS: 0.730 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.750 |
Another excellent pitching line, this one from real life teammates Frankie Montas and Lou Trivino. The two of them combined to help the EFL A(llegheny)s and the Oakland A(theltic)s win, tossing a combined 7 innings and surrendering 0 runs while striking out 12 Angels. Dansby Swanson hit a home run, and Christian Vazquez had a double among his two hits.
Bellingham: “L,” 5-2; 26PA, 3IP
| AVG: 0.240 | OBP: 0.269 | SLG: 0.520 | OPS: 0.789 |
| ERA: 0.00 | WHIP: 0.333 | IP: 3.0 | |||||||||||
The Cascades took a fake loss on the day, which they hopefully look past because they had a pretty decent day. One third of their hits were home runs (Rowdy Tellez and Rhys Hoskins each hit one) and half of their total hits were for extra bases (including a double by Tellez, who, like Adames, is enjoying his time on the Brewers). Three relievers combined for 3 scoreless innings, and the Cascades stayed above .500 while also moving back into the 19 games behind the Wolverines category – leaving the Rosebuds as the only team 20 more games back.
Portland: L, 6-7; 11PA, 4.3IP
| AVG: 0.364 | OBP: 0.364 | SLG: 0.727 | OPS: 1.091 |
| ERA: 6.28 | WHIP: 1.395 |
With a little more volume, the Rosebuds might have earned a win yesterday. The 11 plate appearances were good, though they weren’t enough. Tyrone Taylor went 3 for 5 (man, it is REALLY good to be a Brewer right now!), and all three hits were doubles. Luis Urias (ok, somebody check Milwaukee’s stadium for beer can banging…) added his own double. The pitching was no so great, though the volume was also low – Dylan Bundy was the only appearance, and he gave up 3 runs in 4.3 innings pitched.
Combined MLB + EFL Standings for 2021
| AL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Old Detroit Wolverines | 73 | 31 | .698 | — |
| Flint Hill Tornadoes | 70 | 34 | .672 | 2.7 |
| Boston Red Sox | 63 | 41 | .606 | 9.6 |
| Tampa Bay Rays | 61 | 42 | .592 | 11.1 |
| New York Yankees | 53 | 48 | .525 | 18.1 |
| Toronto Blue Jays | 51 | 48 | .515 | 19.1 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 35 | 66 | .347 | 36.1 |
| NL East | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| D.C. Balk | 65 | 36 | .639 | — |
| Canberra Kangaroos | 58 | 43 | .573 | 6.7 |
| New York Mets | 54 | 47 | .535 | 10.6 |
| Philadelphia Phillies | 51 | 51 | .500 | 14.1 |
| Atlanta Braves | 51 | 52 | .495 | 14.6 |
| Washington Nationals | 47 | 55 | .461 | 18.1 |
| Miami Marlins | 44 | 58 | .431 | 21.1 |
| AL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Chicago White Sox | 60 | 43 | .583 | — |
| Pittsburgh Alleghenys | 54 | 49 | .525 | 6 |
| Bellingham Cascades | 52 | 51 | .508 | 7.6 |
| Cleveland Indians | 50 | 49 | .505 | 8 |
| Detroit Tigers | 50 | 55 | .476 | 11 |
| Kansas City Royals | 45 | 56 | .446 | 14 |
| Minnesota Twins | 43 | 60 | .417 | 17 |
| NL Central | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Milwaukee Brewers | 61 | 42 | .592 | — |
| Cottage Cheese | 56 | 47 | .544 | 5 |
| Cincinnati Reds | 54 | 49 | .524 | 7 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 51 | 51 | .500 | 9.5 |
| Chicago Cubs | 50 | 54 | .481 | 11.5 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 38 | 64 | .373 | 22.5 |
| AL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Kaline Drive | 64 | 39 | .619 | — |
| Houston Astros | 63 | 40 | .612 | 0.8 |
| Haviland Dragons | 60 | 43 | .585 | 3.6 |
| Oakland A’s | 58 | 46 | .558 | 6.3 |
| Seattle Mariners | 55 | 48 | .534 | 8.8 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 51 | 51 | .500 | 12.3 |
| Texas Rangers | 36 | 66 | .353 | 27.3 |
| NL West | ||||
| TEAM | WINS | LOSSES | PCT. | GB |
| Peshastin Pears | 65 | 37 | .635 | — |
| San Francisco Giants | 64 | 38 | .627 | 0.8 |
| Los Angeles Dodgers | 62 | 42 | .596 | 3.8 |
| San Diego Padres | 60 | 45 | .571 | 6.3 |
| Portland Rosebuds | 45 | 57 | .440 | 19.9 |
| Colorado Rockies | 44 | 59 | .427 | 21.3 |
| Arizona Diamondbacks | 32 | 71 | .311 | 33.3 |