#1 Dukes (16-6) vs. #8 Giants (11-11)
Season Head to Head:
Teams Split season series 1-1, Dukes won 4-2, Giants won 10-5
2024 Leaders
Dukes:
Duncan Elgert .489 Avg, .787 Slug%, 8 2B, 17 RBI, 17 R
Colin Rintoul 434 Avg, .561 OBP%, 19 RBI, 25 R, 4 SB
Cal Tecklenburg 6-1, 45.2 IP, 1.83 ERA, 78 K
Giants:
Ben Swennumson .490 Avg, .824 Slug%, 7 2B, 2HR, 15 RBI, 17 R, 9 SB
Matt Stebner .390 Avg, .467 OBP%, 30 H, 5 3B, 27 RBI, 17 R
Steven Latos 3-3, 2 SV, 39.0 IP, 2.15 ERA, 68 K
Preview: The Dukes rode the steam from the 2023 season, capturing their first #1 seed in franchise history, which dates back to the 1990s as the Royals. They started out 10-2, finishing 16-6. If you are just tuning it, it has been the Cal Tecklenburg show as he went 6-1 with a 1.83 ERA, and was named a “Stud of the Month” in all three months. But they are no one trick pony. They feature a league best +75 run differential, and also had the #1 team defense. In summary, they play baseball good.
The Giants meanwhile started out the season 2-5 before turning things around to finish 11-11. Their offense has been in stride since June, and their starting pitching has been good as well. The big question mark with the Giants for it seems the last 10 seasons is will they make plays in the field, as they feature the #8 ranked team defense.
These teams last met in the playoffs in the 2017 Semi Finals which the Dukes won in 3 games. Really tough to predict anything in the FMBA but if the Giants can tighten things up on the field, this one could go 3 games as well.
#2 Diamondbacks (14-8) vs. #7 Wolfpack (12-10)
Season Head to Head:
Diamondbacks won season series 2-0, winning 10-1 & 10-9
2024 Leaders
Diamondbacks:
Shea Koller .565 Avg, .615 OBP%, 7 RBI, 19 R, 16 SB
Tate Meunier .500 Avg, .610 OBP%, 8 RBI, 20 R, 10 SB
Alex Bishop .357 Avg, .929 Slug%, 5 HR, 15 RBI, 11 R
Wolfpack:
DJ DePiero .481 Avg, .722 Slug%, 11 2B, 18 RBI, 15 R
Mitch McGeein .459 Avg, .973 Slug%, 5 HR, 23 RBI, 13 R
Christian Lapointe 3-2, 36.2 IP, 3.05 ERA, 37 K
Preview: The DBacks ride into the playoffs as the four peat champs. Can they make it five? This season it wasn’t your father’s DBacks though, with their usual Home Run totals way down as they saw a youth injection of speed. The kids delivered, finishing second in the league in runs scored and leading the league in steals. With several of their regular vets now back in the lineup, they will be a tough out.
The Wolfpack started out the season hot at 9-4 and then Stampede happened and the team limped to a 12-10 finish. When their big bats are present, they can heat up with anyone in the league, plus the DBacks are missing a couple arms from previous years so this matchup has the potential to be a high scoring one.
These teams have not played each other in the playoffs since the infamous 2019 Semi Finals won by the Wolfpack. Those days are long gone, so it will be interesting to see if there is still any love lost.
#3 Canadians (14-8) vs. #6 Dinos (12-10)
Season Head to Head:
Canadians won season series 2-0, winning 13-3 & 11-4
2024 Leaders
Canadians:
Jordan Smith .469 Avg, .938 Slug%, 2 HR. 15 RBI…..5-0, 33.0IP, 3.39 ERA, 44 K
Alex Tello .423 Avg, .524 OBP%, 3 3B, 8 RBI, 19 R, 11 SB
Mike Ozga .400 Avg, .550 OBP%, 1 HR, 7 RBI, 8 R, 1 SB
Dinos:
Justin Ivers .526 Avg, .711 Slug%, 2 3B, 10 RBI, 17 R, 5 SB
Aiden Szautner .500 Avg, .521 OBP%, 1 3B, 10 RBI, 29 R, 8 SB
Jaydon Wielders .420 Avg, 8 2B, 1 HR, 20 RBI, 18 R, 3 SB
Preview: The Canadians started off the year hot at 5-1 and then neither won nor lost more than 3 in a row the rest of the way, finishing 14-8. They enter the playoffs with the fewest run differential of all playoff teams at +2, and are in the middle of the pack in most team stat categories. However they seem to have the clutch factor in winning their close games, and have proven to be a force in the playoffs in recent years.
The Dinos had a very good bounce back year improving from their 6-16 season of a year ago. They lead the FMBA in runs scored and were competitive in nearly every game. Like their opponent, after starting out 4-1 they too hovered around .500 the rest of the way. They do draw the one team who seemed to have their number this season in the Canadians.
This series, like any game, will come down to who can make the plays when the ball is hit their way as it features the #7 & #10 ranked team defenses. The Canadians may be missing a few players depending how the Sunburst playoffs go so keep an eye on tonight’s Game 3 result.
#4 Longhorns (13-9) vs. #5 White Sox (12-10)
Season Head to Head:
Teams Split season series 1-1, Longhorns won 5-0, White Sox won 18-5
2024 Leaders
Longhorns:
Jared Albo .459 Avg, .676 Slug%, 9 2B, 1 HR, 30 RBI, 19 R, 4 SB
Deri Steirt-Couture .439 Avg, .684 Slug%, 6 2B, 11 RBI, 24 R
Stephen Barbour 5-3, 39.3 IP, 4.27 ERA, 50 K
White Sox:
Brett Brittany .458 Avg, .854 Slug%, 4 HR, 21 RBI, 16 R
Brent Biever .426 Avg, .702 Slug%, 3 HR, 14 RBI, 22 R
Taylor Kipnes 3-2 2 SV, 33.2 IP, 1.45 ERA, 25 K
Preview: The Longhorns enter the playoffs the most rested team having last played July 30th. It was the Horns first season above .500 since 2019. They started out 3-4 before rounding into form finishing 13-9. On the note of well rounded, they also finished 4th in team hitting and pitching and 2nd in team defense.
If you forget whatever happened in the month of June, the White Sox bats have been on fire this season, as they lead the FMBA in team home runs. This included an 18 run, 2 home run output against these very Longhorns in late July. They finished second in the league in overall hitting and are no slouches either in pitching or fielding.
I don’t believe these teams have ever met in the playoffs going back to when the White Sox entered the league in 2008. This series could be interesting as both teams may also be missing key players due to the Sunburst League finals. Either way, it has good potential to go 3 games.