Dumpster Fire Division: June 8 Update

Just one week ago the "Dumpster Fire Division" was born. This was an opportunity for the four teams with the worst records in baseball (as of June 1) to have more to play for than the top pick in the draft. After one week of competition, where do things stand?

Standings

	Wins	Losses	PCT	GB	L10	STRK
San Diego	25	35	.417	-	5-5	W2
Cincinnati	22	36	.379	2	7-3	W1
Minnesota	17	40	.298	6.5	4-6	W1
Atlanta	16	42	.276	8	2-8	L6

How did each team look this week?

San Diego Padres

The Padres entered the week leading the Dumpster Fire Division, and after a 5-2 run they hung on to the top spot. The week opened with San Diego taking two out of three from Seattle. However, what was most notable about this series was San Diego's loss on Thursday. The Padres led the Mariners by ten runs heading in to the 6th inning, but in true Dumpster Fire Division fashion they let it all slip away. Enjoy the comeback again for yourself.

Over the weekend they took two out of three from the Rockies. Currently they've won the first two games in a series against Atlanta (which shouldn't surprise anyone). At the time this posts San Diego will be looking for the three game sweep against the Braves.

Best Hitter: Over the past seven games Wil Myers has been on fire. The Padres first baseman is hitting .467/.469/.900. That includes three home runs and nine RBI which were both best on the team in that timespan.

In fact the entire Padres offense has been red hot as of late. Six of their regular starters are hitting over .340 in the past week. That's good enough for the fourth best wRC+ in baseball over the last seven days (137).

Best Pitcher: This is likely to become a recurring theme for the Padres (barring injury), but Drew Pomeranz put together another great start. On Friday against Colorado he pitched seven shutout innings and struck out eight. That lowered his season ERA to 2.22. The same thing could be said of most good players on teams in this division, but enjoy him while you can Padres fans.

This Week: The Padres will finish off their series with Atlanta before heading to Colorado for three games. They'll end the week with the Marlins at home.

Cincinnati Reds

The Reds are also coming off an impressive week. Since last Wednesday they are 5-1. The week included taking two from Colorado, winning two out of three against NL East leading Washington, and game one against the Cardinals last night.

Beating St. Louis is always great. It's like a bright ray of sunshine in an otherwise gloomy season. I've watched this clip approximately 1,474 times since Tuesday night. Joey Votto's "I can't believe what my hands have just done" home run celebration is my new favorite thing.

Best Hitter: This might come as a surprise to some Reds fans, but over the past seven games the highest OPS on the team belongs to Eugenio Suarez. Suarez is hitting .409/.458/.909 over the past week, and he's kicked in 3 HR and 6 RBI.

Jay Bruce and Adam Duvall are also both worth mentioning. In fact, over the past seven games the Reds have six hitters with an OPS over 1.000. That's part of what has led Cincinnati to have the best offense in baseball by wRC+ in the past fourteen days (139).

Best Pitcher: Where would the Reds be without Dan Straily? Most didn't expect much from the twenty seven yearold, but he has been the best starter in the rotation. Against Washington he gave up two hits and two runs over seven innings pitched. For the season he's 3-2 with a 3.34 ERA.

This Week: The Reds have two more at home against the Cardinals. Oakland comes to town over the weekend. Cincinnati will then head to Atlanta for a battle of Dumpster Fire Division...rivals?

Minnesota Twins

There's not a lot of good news for Twins fans. I guess at least they're not Braves fans? Minnesota opened the week with a win over Oakland, but dropped three out of four to Tampa. Yesterday they took game one in their series against Miami. In a season that won't have many highlights, last night's 11th inning walk off home run by Bryan Dozier was a reason to smile.

Best Hitter(s): Left fielder Robbie Grossman and shortstop Eduardo Nunez powered the offense for Minnesota this week. Grossman hit .300/.481/.650 with 2 HR and 2 RBI. Nunez might have been the bigger story. He racked up a 1.095 OPS to go along with 4 HR, 4 RBI, and 3 SB. Given his track record, Nunez has been playing a bit over his head this season. However, he's been a nice story for a team looking for something to root for. Brian Dozier led the team with 7 RBI this week.

Best Pitcher: Ricky Nolasco gets the nod here as the only Twins starter to give up fewer than four runs in an appearance this week. Nolasco threw seven innings of six hit ball in a loss to the Rays.

According to Baseball Reference there are no Twins starters with an ERA+ over 100. The closest is Ervin Santana with a 94 ERA+.

At least the Timberwolves look like they're on the rise?

This Week: The Twins have the Marlins and Red Sox at home before hitting the road to take on the Angels.

Atlanta Braves

The entire idea of the Dumpster Fire Division was to give the bottom four teams in baseball something to play for. Yet, one of these teams appears bound and determined to not even compete in this division. I don't know what else we can do for you Atlanta. Not only has your baseball team been terrible, but they've taken all of the money for your public parks as well. That's what we call a rough week.

The Braves opened the week splitting two with the Giants. However, they haven't won a game since last Wednesday. That's what we call a six game losing streak. The losses have come at the hands of the Giants, Dodgers, and Padres.

The highlight of the week came during Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Giants. The pre-game cornhole tournament was a hit, and fun was had by all. Hopefully these people didn't show up or it would have been GAME OVER.

Best Hitter: Freddie Freeman hit a home run this week. Adonis Garcia stole a base. That's about it.

Best Pitcher: Bud Norris gave up one run in five innings against the Dodgers. The Braves still lost that game.

This Week: Atlanta wraps up their series with the Padres before playing the...Cubs. That should be something. They finish the week against your Cincinnati Reds.