#1 White Sox (19-4) vs. #8 Guns (7-15)
Season Head to Head:
White Sox swept season series winning 14-4, 7-2
2025 Leaders
White Sox:
Brett Brittany .610 Avg, 1.195 Slug%, 4 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 26 R
Jordan Moffat .447 Avg, .544 OBP%, 5 2B, 17 RBI, 18R
Taylor Kipnes 6-1, 46.0 IP, 5.022 ERA, 43 K
Guns:
Jacob Cuch .448 Avg, .621 Slug%, 7 2B, 1HR, 24 RBI, 17 R, 9 SB
Jackson Holditch .353 Avg, .400 OBP%, 18 H, 3 3B, 7 RBI, 14 R
Graham Fader .349 Avg, .571 Slug%, 22 H, 7 3B, 18 RBI, 20 R
Preview: The White Sox were the clear #1 team this year. They lost only four games, played well in all three facets of the game, and never lost more than 1 in a row. They also lead the league in run differential (+104). About the only thing that hasn’t gone their way is that most of the other teams got hammered by rainouts, with the Sox having only played 2 games in the last 30 days.
The Guns meanwhile started out of the gate very slow and had to battle to get in the playoffs. However they have played well when it matters having won 3 of their last 4 games (against 3 different playoff teams) to secure the last playoff spot. This team plays scrappy and has a good young core of players.
I don’t believe these teams have ever met in the playoffs. Is this finally the year the veteran White Sox get on a championship run? If you look at the stats, everything favors the White Sox in this series, but they will need to shake off some rust against a team that has been playing well in the Guns.
#2 Dukes (17-6) vs. #7 Longhorns (9-14)
Season Head to Head:
Teams split series 1-1, Longhorns won 13-12, Dukes won 12-3
2025 Leaders
Dukes:
Colin Rintoul .548 Avg, 1.093 Slug%, 8 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 21 RBI, 30 R, 4 SB
Ryan Fleming .422 Avg, .493 OBP%, 19 H, 5 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 11 RBI, 20 R, 4 SB
Andrew Doyle .393 Avg, .754 Slug%, 3 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 24 RBI, 25 R
Longhorns:
Jared Albo .475 Avg, .560 OBP%, 6 2B, 21 RBI, 10 R, 3 SB
Hiro Imata .354 Avg, .500 OBP%, 14 H, 3 2B, 8 RBI, 11 R
Stephen Barbour 2-1, 1 SV, 26.0 IP, 2.69 ERA, 41 K
Preview: The Dukes continued their recent regular season success with another fine year. They are another team that played well in all three phases of the game, and lead the FMBA in team fielding percentage (.953). They didn’t lose in the month of June before rounding out their schedule on a bit of a lull going 3-3 in July. They were the other team that was not affected by rainouts, having played only 1 game in the last 30 days.
The Longhorns started out the year 3-1 before a 1-11 stretch had them battling to get into the playoffs. The Longhorns have long been a strong offensive team but not this season as they finished 9th in the league in total runs, with the lowest slugging % (.383) of all playoff teams. They will need to get their bats going to compete with the Dukes.
These teams last met in the playoffs in the 2020 Covid year with the Longhorns winning that series 2-1. This year’s series on paper heavily favors the Dukes, but the Longhorns have one advantage of having actually played a lot of ball recently due to a number of rainout makeup games, so we will see if there is any rust from the Dukes.
#3 Giants (16-7) vs. #6 Dinos (12-11)
Season Head to Head:
Teams split series, Dinos won 17-8, Giants won 11-6
2025 Leaders
Giants:
Steven Latos 6-0, 34.2IP, 1.01ERA, 56Ks, ……469 Avg, .622OBP%, 4 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 17 R
Matt Stebner .464 Avg, .516 OBP%, 4 2B, 2 3B, 17 RBI, 19 R, 2 SB
Ben Swennumson .458 Avg, .729 Slug%, 3 2B, 5 3B, 13 RBI, 18 R10 SB
Dinos:
Jordan Smith .475 Avg, .825 Slug%, 5 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 19 RBI, 18 R
Carter Wirth .420 Avg, .475 OBP%, 1 2B, 2 3B, 10 RBI, 22 R, 3 SB
Justin Ivers .410 Avg, .718 Slug%, 3 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 14 R, 15 RBI
Preview: The Giants are a team known for having solid pitching, but this year it was the offense that carried them, having led the FMBA in team batting average (.353). Much like the top two teams, the Giants were also up there in all three phases of the game, with no real weak spots to note. They enter playoffs with their bats on a bit of a heater having scored no fewer than 8 runs in their last 8 games.
The Dinos always have a tough schedule in our league as they get out to a late start due to college seasons wrapping up, and then have to play a lot of games in a short time. This year, due to a brutal stretch of rainout makeups, they enter playoffs having played 6 games in 7 days. But this could work to their advantage as baseball is a game of reps and they have the most reps recently of any team.
These teams have never met in the playoffs. However they recently played, just last weekend! This is a series I think could go to 3 games. Both of their team stats are fairly close, with the only real difference being the Giants better fielding %.
#4 Diamondbacks (13-10) vs. #5 Wolfpack (13-10)
Season Head to Head:
Teams Split season series 1-1, Diamondbacks won 10-9, Wolfpack won 6-5
2025 Leaders
Diamondbacks:
Nate Garth .459 Avg, .600 OBP%, 3 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 19 RBI, 17 R, 2 SB,
Shea Koller .425 Avg, .489 OBP%, 1 2B, 3 3B, 8 RBI, 18 R, 13 SB
Jackson Lascelle .424 Avg, .788 Slug%, 4 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 13 R
Wolfpack:
DJ DePiero .468 Avg, .924Slug%, 9 2B, 3 3B, 7 HR, 33 RBI, 30 R, 5 SB….4-0, 35.0IP, 0.80ERA, 79 Ks
Michael Goldade .556 Avg, .917 Slug%, 4 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 16 RBI, 17 R, 12 SB
Mitch McGeein .377 Avg, .868 Slug%, 5 2B, 7 HR, 27 RBI, 25 R, 3 SB
Preview: The Diamondbacks enter as 5 time defending champs, looking for 6, really not much else to write about them. They have a unique roster as they run teams in both our league and the Sunburst League. That season is now over so it will be interesting to see who shows up on Saturday – it’s like a box of chocolates, you never know who you’re gonna get! With the Okotoks Dawgs out of their playoffs as well, who knows, we might even get a Joe Sergent appearance.
The Wolfpack meanwhile are an interesting team as well. They were high in most league offensive categories including leading in team slugging % (.557) while they also performed well in team pitching categories, leading in strikeouts (202). Plus their fielding percentage was very strong as well (.950). And yet they finished fifth in the league standings. The Wolfpack do feature league “Shohei” DJ DePiero, and if they can get on a heater like they sometimes do, they will be a tough out.
If you could pick up any series to go watch, this would be the one. These teams last played in the playoffs just last season with the Diamondbacks sweeping in two games. There is a lot of history between these two clubs, it should be a great series.