ASG ballot: Diamond starters

At one point after All-Star Game ballots were released, the Diamond Conference featured nine of the top 10 league leaders when it comes to ERA. With only five spots on the ballot, there could be the potential for a few snubs in the Diamond Conference's rotation.

San Francisco's Chris Sale was humming along, leading the league in ERA (1.33), K/9 (11.5), shutouts (4), and second in several other categories, until he left Sunday's outing after 7 innings with an injury. The lefty is expected to land on the DL for the second time this season, this time for almost three weeks. Voters may have to overlook his 11 starts, five fewer starts than most hurlers in contention.

Teammate Henderson Alvarez looked like he could challenge Sale for the starting nod after a torrid start to the season, jumping out to a 9-1 mark. But his ERA has ballooned to 3.16 after returning from the DL and getting bombed in Sunday's start. Yet another SF starter can make a case, as Anibal Sanchez was tied for the league lead in wins with a 10-2 record.

Meanwhile, Marietta's Phil Hughes was the first to 10 victories and followed that up with a 12-strikeout complete game on Sunday. He improved to 11-4, a league high in wins, extended his league lead in K/BB (9.6), and matched three others with a league-best 5 complete games (to go with a league-high 38 doubles allowed). Michael Pineda may not have the wins (6-5) that Hughes does for Marietta, but he's still spinning an all-star caliber first half, with a 2.42 ERA (5th in the league) and 0.91 WHIP (3rd in the league).

There are plenty of new faces to consider for the All-Star ballot too. Hillsborough's Garrett Richards, acquired from Hoboken at least year's deadline, consistently has been atop the league leaders in ERA (2.12), to go with a 7-2 record in 16 starts and a 1.13 WHIP. He pairs with Julio Teheran to form a solid duo for the Hit Men, with both logging a league-high 13 qualify starts. Teheran improved to 9-3, trails Richards in ERA (2.31) but also boasts 3 complete games and 2 shutouts along with a top 10 WHIP (1.03).

Several first-round picks have made an impact and could make the mid-season squad. After a slow start, Hopatcong's Mike Fiers has been on fire, including a near perfect game. He leads the league in WHIP (0.87),  is tied for the lead in complete games (5), and is first in batting average against, runners and hits per nine innings, to go with a top 10 ERA (2.68). El Paso first-rounder rookie Jacob deGrom is only 4-3 but has been consistent through the first half, sporting a top 10 ERA (2.85). A 2014 first-round pick as an ineligible prospect, Masahiro Tanaka of El Paso has paid dividends with an 8-3 record, to go with a 2.69 ERA and 12 quality starts.

Another candidate to earn the starting nod could be Tucson's Jake Arrieta, who has a league-leading 13 quality starts and is top five in strikeouts (124), WHIP (1.00) and ERA (2.35). He's 7-3 and now is joined in the rotation by another potential all-star. Tyson Ross spent most of the first half with Livingston, nearly throwing a no-hitter, before getting dealt. Combined, he's 8-4 with a 1.04 WHIP (5th in the league). The Scorpions can also boast one of the top lefties in Madison Bumgarner, who's quietly tossed 12 quality starts with a 3.16 ERA, although his 1.35 WHIP could be one reason why it's a quiet 9-1 record.

Ross left behind Felix Hernandez to anchor Livingston's rotation. He's trying, with 121 Ks (tied for 2nd in the league), and 2 complete games, but the 5-8 record belies his 3.80 ERA and 1.16 WHIP. He and former teammate Andrew Cashner have both logged 10 quality starts. Cashner was leading Diamond starters -- before being dealt to the Micro Conference's Vancouver Iron First -- with 122.2 innings and 4 complete games heading into the break, despite a 4-9 mark. Chris Archer leads The Lords of Swing with a 9-3 record and a respectable 3.19 ERA but an iffy WHIP of 1.45.

Brick City Bonanza

The Opening Day cuts always seem to attract the vultures, as a lot of teams' castoffs are quickly redistributed around the league. But one team seemed to feed the vultures more than others, and that team is the newly christened Brick City Batmen.

The Batmen, formerly the Newark Sugar Bears, were one of a handful of teams that maxed out their rosters in the draft. Former owner Craig Garretson was notorious for often making the final draft pick every season. So right from the start, the Batmen had a large number of cuts to make. But two days before Opening Day, Brick City signed three additional players, forcing them to make 13 total cuts. Let's take a look at who got scooped up:

The number 1 target of the Batmen castoffs was Clay Buchholz. Buchholz was claimed by 5 teams, finally ending up on Philadelphia. Buchholz debuted in 2010 with Blue Ridge and then was traded twice in 2011, ending up with Hoboken. Buchholz was only moderately successful in the DMBL, owning a 19-19 career record with a 4.24 ERA and 1.38 WHIP, but is still only 28 and has some upside.

Next, Amityville claimed 27-year old pitcher Jake Arrieta. Arrieta had a disastrous season for Livingston last year (4-15, 5.90) but the Ant Slayers see some potential in him. It's doubtful that we will see Arrieta in the DMBL this season though.

Marietta, who was denied in their claim for Buchholz, settle for 26-year-old Ivan Nova. Nova had a solid rookie season for St. Louis last season (13-9, 4.63). Marietta plans to send Nova to the minors, however, and re-examine him next season.

Blue Ridge was busy scraping the bottom of the waiver barrel. The Bombers earlier snagged Andrew Miller from Hillsborough's scrap heap. That same day, they also grabbed rookie right-hander Zach McAllister from Brick City. McAllister has already been sent down to Blue Ridge's farm team, but may resurface if the Bombers need a spot starter or if injuries hit.

Hoboken claimed ineligible pitcher Jeff Niemann, who started his DMBL career with the Cutters back in 2010. Niemann has yet to have a successful season though, owning a career 11-26 record to go along with a disastrous 6.39 ERA.

Finally, the Sardine City Straphangers grabbed promising right-hander Andrew Cashner. Cashner holds some potential to become a starting pitcher, but will start the year pitching relief for the Sardines' AAA team. Cashner missed much of the previous season with an injury and will attempt to recover arm strength in the bullpen. Whether he'll see any action with the big club remains to be seen.

So who didn't get claimed? Outfielder Gerardo Parra could get some looks later when teams are in need of an outfielder. Rookie Lucas Harrell could find a role when injuries hit someone's pitching staff. Nate Eovaldi and Jordan Lyles are young enough that a team may stash them for the future. Other teams looking for a comeback player may take a chance on Gavin Floyd, Bud Norris or J.A. Happ.