1. Sioux City Explorers (33-20, 2nd, West)
Record last week: 2-1 vs. Kane County, 2-1 vs. Gary SouthShore
The Explorers keep on rolling with another successful week winning both series at home against Eastern opponents. The pitching staff is relentless, leading the league in team ERA (3.77) and batting average against (.229). They start this week with the series to watch across the league against Kansas City before heading south to Cleburne.
2. Lake Country DockHounds (29-21, 1st, East)
Record last week: 2-1 vs. Chicago, 1-2 vs. Cleburne
The DockHounds came away from a humongous week at home 3-3, taking the set against Chicago but then letting Cleburne get a bit of revenge by taking two-of-three over the weekend. The pitching staff has fallen from grace just a tad, with their team ERA up to 4.01 (3rd), however their offense continues to climb, up to 5th in team OPS (.747).
3. Kansas City Monarchs (32-19, 1st, West)
Record last week: 1-2 vs Gary SouthShore, 3-0 vs. Lincoln
It was looking like another concerning week for the Monarchs after they lost the first two of their set against Gary SouthShore, but they turned it around and now own the league’s longest winning streak at four in a row with a sweep of Lincoln over the weekend. The Monarchs offense will keep them in any game with them scoring a whopping 29 runs across the three games against Lincoln this weekend.
4. Sioux Falls Canaries (29-23, 3rd, West)
Record last week: 2-1 vs. Lincoln, 1-2 vs. Milwaukee
A week at home against two teams lower in the standings didn’t result in as many wins as the Canaries would have hoped as they try to compete with the two top dogs in the West in Kansas City and Sioux City. The pitching staff struggled over the weekend, allowing 23 runs over the three games against the Milkmen but the offense continues to propel them with a league-leading OPS of .847.
5. Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (27-26, 4th, West)
Record last week: 2-1 @ Winnipeg, 1-2 vs. Winnipeg
Don’t sleep on Fargo-Moorhead in the competitive West division. The RedHawks have hung around and took care of their home-and-home against rival Winnipeg this week, winning both ends of the series. They’re a team to watch moving forward as after their set against Gary SouthShore to begin this week, they play Sioux Falls before six straight against Kansas City.
