NALB - June 2013

The Brooklyn Knights have the dubious honor of the most major league players on the disabled list. Angel Santago went back on the DL on June 11. Strained hamstrings sent Hooks Goetz and Gilberto Guerra to the DL on June 25 and June 28, respectively. Finally, star reliever Craig Bella suffered a partially torn labrum on June 29. He’s expected to miss two to three months.

The St. Rock Mudcats have been the best team during the first half of the season. A league leading 53-30 record puts them 6.5 games ahead of the Brooklyn Knights. The Nashville Firecats and Dunedin Otters maintain first and second place in their division, respectively. The teams are headed in different directions, however. The Firecats squandered a great start to the season. Dunedin shaved 12 games off of Nashville’s lead in June. Injuries have begun to take a toll on the Stade Maples. Stade plummeted from first to third as the Key West Corals stayed atop their division. Phoenix and Richmond continue to battle in League 2 Division 2. At the end of June, the Slam had a three game lead, however.

A couple of players reached major milestones. The Mudcats’ Travis Araoz hit his 300 HR on June 26. The Axemen’s Joe Pendarvis earned his 300th save on June 28.

June 2013 awards:

League 1
Batter of the Month: Travis Araoz (St. Rock Mudcats)
Pitcher of the Month: Manuel Sánchez (Dunedin Otters)
Rookie of the Month: Jonathan Grandberry (Cornfield Axemen)

League 2
Batter of the Month: Tony Rodarte (Richmond Slam)
Pitcher of the Month: Te Li (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)
Rookie of the Month: Romeo Usquiano (Quebeck Sky Chiefs)