Thanks for posting this, Mike. It certainly makes it easier to figure out who among the non-titleists are in the running for the playoffs in the split season leagues.

Thanks for posting this, Mike. It certainly makes it easier to figure out who among the non-titleists are in the running for the playoffs in the split season leagues.

You're welcome, although it's not necessarily "easy" to figure out who is still in the running, especially in the Cal and Midwest. About the only thing that I can state for sure in the Cal is that Bakersfield is out of the running.

-- MWE

Eastern League update:

Akron will clinch the Southern division title with a win over Altoona.
Altoona (Southern) will clinch a postseason spot with a win over Akron and a Reading loss to New Britain.
Trenton (Northern) will clinch a playoff spot with a win or a Binghamton loss to Portland.

Southern League update:

Montgomery (South) will clinch a postseason spot with a win over Birmingham and a Mobile loss to West Tenn.

Texas League update:

Wichita (North) will clinch the second-half title with a win over Springfield and a Tulsa loss to Arkansas.

Cal League update:

Visalia (North) will clinch a postseason spot with a win over Stockton and a Modesto loss to San Jose.
Rancho Cucamonga (South) will be eliminated from postseason consideration with a loss or a Lancaster win over Bakersfield.

Andrew McCutchen is still raking in AA! Good for the Pirates.

Mike, have you seen Brent Lillibridge at all this year? He just came on my radar screen recently. He seems to be a pretty nice hitter; how's his defense?

Mike, have you seen Brent Lillibridge at all this year? He just came on my radar screen recently. He seems to be a pretty nice hitter; how's his defense?

I haven't seen Lillibridge, and I haven't actually heard much about his glove. He was a little old for the SAL (which is not atypical for the Pirates) and his extra-base power has fallen off since he was promoted to Lynchburg. Interestingly enough, his numbers at Lynchburg are not all that different from those of Brian Bixler, who's a year older and has seen a dropoff going up to Altoona as well. Lillibridge has more pop than Bixler and makes more consistent contact, so he's a better hitting prospect in the long run, but I'm not sold on either yet.

-- MWE

I haven't seen Lillbridge as a pro (just on tv in college and in person w/ the national team), but I remember that he did things very quickly - quick swing, plus range (@ cf & ss), good runner. He *looked* like a ballplayer and I'd be surprised if he didn't eventually find a way to contribute at the major league level.

TEXAS LEAGUE 2006 END OF SEASON ALL-STAR TEAM

1B-Joe Koshansky, Tulsa
2B-Jonny Ash, Corpus Christi
SS-Brandon Wood, Arkansas
3B-Alex Gordon, Wichita
UTL-Ben Zobrist, Corpus Christi
C-Kurt Suzuki, Midland
OF-Josh Anderson, Corpus Christi
OF-Billy Butler, Wichita
OF-Hunter Pence, Corpus Christi
DH-Nate Gold, Frisco

P-Matt Albers, Corpus Christi
P-Yorman Bazardo, San Antonio
P-Thomas Diamond, Frisco
P-Ubaldo Jimenez, Tulsa
P-Brad Knox, Midland
P-Brad Ziegler, Midland

Player of the Year - Alex Gordon
Pitcher of the Year - Matt Albers

Are the tie-breaker rules different by league as well? The Cal League currently have a 3 way tie in the South Division

I've seen MLillibridge this season playing for Lynchburg. Lillibridge has hit leadoff everytime I have seen him play. He has a good eye and enough speed to stay at the top of the lineup. He is reliable with the glove and has a good enough arm to stay at SS. I am not sold that he has enough power in his bat to contribute as he advances up the chain - I think Mike's comments regarding Bixler will apply to Lillibridge.

Are the tie-breaker rules different by league as well?

I honestly don't what the tiebreaker rules are for the Cal League. They've already screwed up the first half because a change that the league office "thought" had been approved was not, and High Desert ended up losing a divisional title they thought that they had won.

The Southern Division is just a mess right now; my guess is that the final two postseason participants will not be identified until the last day of the season.

The Northern Division will get clearer soon. Visalia leads the second half, and also is within one victory or Modesto loss of being guaranteed a better record than the Nuts, which will get them into the postseason regardless of whether or not they hold off San Jose for the top spot. Stockton's magic number is 3.

-- MWE

Adam Lind was named MVP of the Eastern League. Pretty good 24 hours for him; he went 4-4 with a home run last night in Syracuse to raise his AAA stats to .400/.504/.600.

The major difference between Lillibridge and Bixler is plate discipline...the former has as many walks this year (87) as the latter does in the last two years combined (89). Lillibridge's current OPS and OBP would both lead the Carolina League had he enough PA to qualify- and while his SLG has slumped from the Sally League, his OBP has actually improved. I reckon he's definitely worth keeping an eye on for next year- if he can come near a 0.400 OBP as a 23 yo middle inflieder at AA, that's a reasonable prospect. And his speed/SB might even lead to Bucs to reach the same conclusion!

Well, I don't know if "plate discipline" is the word I'd use to describe Lillibridge - his K rate is a little high and was very high in college (though we'd all agree that he has less issues with this than Bixler). WTM has noted that Lillibridge swings very hard and has had trouble with offspeed stuff.

Fair enough. Not living in the country, I couldn't possibly comment on his swing. Neverthless, it is perhaps worth noting that his K rate has actually improved slightly in Lynchburg from Hickory, which itself was a big improvement from Williamsport last year. As I noted above, if he can get on base at the same clip at AA next year, where any weakness to breaking/offspeed stuff would presumably surface more acutely, then we may perhaps be looking at that rarest of species- a Littlefield/Creech non #1 pick position prospect! (bear in mind, the Pirate prospect hurdle rate is not terribly high- if you can be as 'good' as Jack Wilson at 5% of the cost, you're a prospect in my book!

The Red Barons have won the IL North.

Toledo will become the fourth IL qualifier with a win today or an Indianapolis loss.

If Lake Elsinore defeats Inland Empire today, or Lancaster loses to Rancho Cucamonga, Lake Elsinore (2nd half champ) and High Desert (wild card) will make the postseason out of the Cal South. If Lake Elsinore loses and Lancaster wins, the Storm and JetHawks will be tied for the division title, and the Storm and Mavericks will be tied for the wild card. What will happen then - I think - is that the Mavericks will get in as the wild card, and the Storm and JetHawks will play off on Tuesday for the division title.

-- MWE

Although Nashville and Iowa tied for the top spot in the PCL American North, the Sounds get the postseason berth by virtue of a 9-7 edge in the season's series between the two teams.

Rancho Cucamonga eliminated Lancaster 16-14 in 12 innings, in a wild affair. The JetHawks trailed 13-9 going to the bottom of the ninth, but used five singles, a walk, and a hit batter to plate four runs to send it to extras. After the Quakes tallied a single run in the top of the 11th, Lancater's Mayo Santana hit an inside-the-park HR to tie it again. Mark Rosen then allowed a 2-run HR to Ben Johnson which finally put the JetHawks out of their misery. Lake Elsinore is the second-half champion in the Cal League North, and High Desert wins the wild card.

Toledo lost to Columbus 4-1 and Indianapolis defeated Louisville 5-1. The Mud Hens and Indians will face off for the final IL playoff spot tomorrow night in Toledo.

-- MWE