It’s Monday, so you know what that means- power rankings!

We’re up to the third week of this feature, in which we (and when I write “we,” I really mean “I”) rank the Valley League teams from most powerful to… not so powerful.

I’ll rank the teams using won-loss record (of course), runs scored/runs allowed, team batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage, team ERA, team WHIP, and I’ll compare the ranking from a week ago. Then I will include a sentence about something about the team that caught my eye.

This is ridiculous, of course. Remember that it’s just one person’s opinion. And things sure are weird so far; there are only three Valley League teams with a losing record!

So let’s take a look at the season’s third power rankings- stats through Sunday, June 23:

The Cream of the Crop

  1. Strasburg Express: 11-5, 108/82 RS/RA, 273/365/427 batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage, 3.59 ERA, 1.48 WHIP, last week: 5th. The Express are an intriguing mix of pitching and hitting; they are probably the only team that does both pretty well. Sonny Dicharia has 21 RBIs in 16 games.
  2. Charlottesville Tom Sox: 10-7, 140/102, 307/416/431, 5.12, 1.55, last week: 2nd. The Tom Sox rake. The team adds a player like Thomas Francisco, who immediately goes 7-14 in his first three games.
  3. Waynesboro Generals: 10-7, 113/71, 266/394/388, 3.27, 1.38, last week: 3rd. Like the Tom Sox can rake, this team can pitch. The lineup is anchored by Wes Clarke and Jackson Tate, but needs to get more consistent from top to bottom.
  4. Staunton Braves: 11-8, 148/127, 290/384/435, 5.50, 1.63, last week: 3rd. Andrew Czech has been on base a ridiculous 46 times in 19 games.

The Middle

5. Harrisonburg Turks: 10-8, 104/96, 275/391/378, 3.94, 1.37, last week: 9th. The poster team for how quickly things change in this league. The team has won 6 in a row and 8 of 9. Coming fast. Jacob Ferris and Austin Koehn anchor the staff.

6. Covington Lumberjacks: 11-8, 89/103, 266/355/367, 4.94, 1.54, last week: 1st. A 2-4 week sent the Jacks tumbling. An intriguing 3 games over .500 even with a run differential of -14. Logan Amiss is hitting 423/500/635 in 62 plate appearances.

7. Woodstock River Bandits: 10-9, 121/134, 285/390/400, 5.94, 1.85, last week: 7th. Won a doubleheader against Winchester with two late-game rallies. Tristen Bayless deals from the left side.

8. New Market Rebels: 10-9, 96/116, 208/333/268, 5.55, 1.58, last week: 10th. Three players have equal or more home runs than the Rebels as a team- they have 5. But they also have 54 stolen bases, which is by far the most in the league.

Teams With Work to Do

9. Winchester Royals: 7-11, 119/117, 263/375/373, 5.72, 1.64, last week: 6th. I suspect that the Royals are better than their record at this point- the inverse of some teams above. Jimmy Goldsmith and Masen Prososki lead the offense.

10. Front Royal Cardinals: 6-14, 94/140, 237/346/324, 5.62, 1.89, last week: 8th. An 0-5 week sent the Cards downward. Dylan Menhennett is the most consistent hitter so far.

11. Purcellville Cannons: 4-14, 99/145, 267/378/391, 5.99, 1.93, last week: 11th. The team isn’t winning, but Jose Aquino keeps blasting home runs.

That’s it for this week!

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