All-Star Candidates: Outfielders

Diamond Conference

El Paso's Corey Dickerson, the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, has put up worthy numbers, hitting .271/.314/.466 with 13 homers, 45 runs, and 47 RBIs. His teammate Melky Cabrera has been enjoying a solid year (.297/.345/.432, 16 2Bs, 46 R). Marietta's duo of Angel Pagan (.321/.357/.402, 36 R) and Oswaldo Arcia (.271/.322/.454, 8 HR, 37 RBI) provide a nice combo in the Mighty Men's lineup. Hillsborough's Kole Calhoun is a top offensive contributor for the Hitmen, batting .268/.324/.446 with 6 triples, 9 homers, and 41 RBIs. Livingston's Jason Heyward sparks the Lords with a .300/.377/.425 line with 31 runs. Tucson's Michael Brantley has built upon his breakout 2014 season with a .287/.343/.453 line with 8 homers, 38 runs, and 33 RBIs.

Others worth considering: Empire City's Adam Jones (12 HR, 38 RBI); Hopatcong's speedy pair, Billy Hamilton (15 SBs) and Brett Gardner (10 SBs); Livingston's Matt Holliday (.256/.353/.412, 9 HR, 37 R); Tucson's Nelson Cruz (13 HR, 37 R).

Micro Conference

Vancouver's J.D. Martinez is enjoying a career year, hitting .307/.320/.573 in the heart of the Iron Fist batting order with 19 homers,46 runs, and 54 RBIs. Arkansas' first rounder Steven Pearce is having a breakout year, with 23 homers, 53 RBIs, 45 runs, and a .291/.375/.615 slash line. Teammate Lorenzo Cain is also having a solid year, hitting .294 with 22 doubles and 8 steals. Blue Ridge's Andrew McCutchen has been a cornerstone of the Bombers' franchise for years. He's having another good season, hitting .282/.360/.509 with 17 homers, 47 runs, and 44 RBIs. Allentown's big first half is due, in part, to two of their top outfielder, Mike Trout (.246/.336/.488, 18 HR, 52 R, 46 RBI) and Giancarlo Stanton (.255/.356/.489, 16 HR, 52 R, 37 RBI). Hoboken's power duo of Jose Bautista (.258/.353/.413, 11 HR, 41 R, 39 RBI) and Kevin Kiermaier (.269/.308/.486, 12 HR, 3 3B, 36 R, 38 RBI) keep their lineup threatening every game. Poovey Farms A.J. Pollock (.291/.339/.485, 7 3Bs, 7 HR, 41 R, 35 RBI) and Yasel Puig (.279/.339/.449, 7 HR, 46 R, 34 RBI) have helped place the Dairy Cows atop the Van Slyke Division.

Others worth considering: Blue Ridge's Justin Upton (.443 SLG, 10 HR, 38 RBIs), Philadelphia's Leonys Martin (.263, 3 3Bs, 6 HR, 7 SB), Allentown's Matt Kemp (10 HR, 32 RBI, 31 R), Sardine City's Ryan Braun (.245, 4 3Bs, 29 R), Poovey Farms Marcell Ozuna (9 HR, 41 RBI), Vancouver's Carlos Gomez (.270/.342/.392, 6 HR, 36 R, 12 SB).

All-Star Candidates: Shortstop and DH

SHORTSTOPS

Diamond Conference

Tucson's Troy Tulowitzki has spent a lot of time on the disabled list, but has produced when in the lineup to the tune of .252/.347/.505 with 8 homers. San Francisco's Hanley Ramirez has also spent a significant amount of the season on the DL but hasn't been as productive as Tulo. Han-Ram is hitting only .260/.319/.393. It's been a tough year for Diamond shortstops, as Marietta's Justin Turner has just returned from an injury as well. Turner has put up some numbers when healthy: .304/.357/.376. Livingston's Alcides Escobar has been healthy, hitting a solid .275 with 17 doubles and 6 stolen bases. Hopatcong's Jordy Mercer has put up a .277 average with 3 triples, 25 runs, and 35 RBIs.

Micro Conference

Hoboken's rookie Wilmer Flores has had a strong debut season, hitting .299/.311/.453 with 16 doubles and 5 homers. Vancouver's Danny Santana is having a fine rookie season, hitting .262 with 3 triples and 11 stolen bases. Poovey Farms Alex Ramirez holds down the fort with a .279/.314/.355 line. Sardine City's Starlin Castro is putting up a decent year, batting .261 with 12 doubles. Philly's Jean Segura provides a solid bat for the last place Green Rage, hitting .265 with 6 triples. Blue Ridge's Ben Zobrist is having a mostly pedestrian season, batting .258 with 14 doubles.

DESIGNATED HITTERS

Diamond Conference

San Francisco's Victor Martinez is having a banner year, batting .285/.364/.534 with 19 homers, 46 runs, and 51 RBIs. El Paso's Delmon Young is leading the offense with a .306/.338/.422 line with 16 doubles and 28 RBIs. The Lords traded Josh Hamilton to Tucson recently. Hamilton has been having a resurgent year, batting .325/.361/.523 with 32 RBIs and 17 doubles. Hopatcong's C.J. Cron has quietly posted .268/.304/.540 while smacking 16 homers, 40 RBIs, and 32 runs. Hillsborough's Garret Jones popped 8 homers platooning against righthanders with a .454 SLG.

Micro Conference

Allentown's Jose Abreu is having an MVP debut season with a .316/.353/.599 slash line to go along with 21 homers, 43 runs, and 59 RBIs. Sardine City's Eric Hosmer is having an excellent sesason for the struggling Straphangers, hitting .291/.330/.393 with 5 homers and 30 RBIs. David Peralta of Vancouver provides a solid bat against right handers, batting .273 with 4 triples, 6 homers, and 25 RBIs. Hoboken's David Ortiz has underwhelmed but still managed to hit 14 homers with 39 RBIs. Arkansas' Justin Morneau is still plugging away, producing at a  .266/.316/.416 clip with 5 homers and 33 RBIs.

All-Star Candidates: Second Basemen and Third Basemen

SECOND BASEMEN

Diamond Conference

Tucson's Jose Altuve is the tablesetter for the Scorpions, hitting a sweet .317/.365/.396 atop the lineup with 43 runs and 18 steals. Hopatcong's Rickie Weeks has had a nice comeback season. He leads the Floating Fish with a .280 average and also has a .350 OBP, .420 SLG with 36 runs scored. Howie Kendrick has been a nice contributor for the Mighty Men, hitting .300/.332/.406. Dee Gordon of Hillsborough is known for his blazing speed, leading the league with 28 stolen bases. San Francisco's Neil Walker is having a solid season, slashing .271/.329/.442 with 4 triples, 9 homers and 42 RBIs.

Micro Conference

Arkansas' Scooter Gennett has spent some time on the DL, but has otherwise turned in a solid rookie season, hitting .300/.328/.500 with 20 doubles and 35 runs scored. Another top rookie, Poovey Farms' Joe Panik is hitting .301 with 14 doubles. Other possible candidates include Allentown's Ian Kinsler (.258/.282/.357, 33 R), Philadelphia's Dustin Pedroia (.254/.313/.348), and Blue Ridge's Jason Kipnis (.267/.336/.370).

THIRD BASEMEN

Diamond Conference

San Francisco's Juan Uribe is one of the powerful lineup's leaders with a .313/.341/.401 slash line. Tucson's recently acquired Josh Harrison is having a great year, hitting .328/.347/.577 between Tucson and Blue Ridge, with 12 homers, 24 doubles, 3 triples, 35 runs, and 33 RBIs. Livingston's David Wright is having a nice season for the Lords, hitting .296/.321/.417 in limited time. Empire City's Adrian Beltre has been a solid contributor at the hot corner, hitting .260 with 6 homers and 16 doubles. El Paso's Lonnie Chisenhall is hitting .263 with 31 RBIs. Hillsborough's Todd Frazier provides some power with 11 homers and 35 RBIs.

Micro Conference

Arkansas' Pablo Sandoval has led the Falcons to a 13-game winning streak with his league-leading .363 average and .424 OBP. He's also slugging .498 with 40 RBIs and 37 runs. Poovey Farms' Kyle Seager is challenging Sandoval for top 3B honors with his .316/.372/.500 line. Seager has hit 11 homers and scored 44 runs. Vancouver's Anthony Rendon has had an up and down season, but still has 11 homers, 42 RBIs, and 41 runs scored. Allentown's Pedro Alvarez is providing a solid bat for the Mules (.256/.326/.436). Hoboken's Conor Gillaspie has given the Cutters some production from third base, hitting .268/.330/.406 with 4 triples.

All-Star Candidates: Catchers and First Basemen

We'll be taking a look at some of the candidates for this year's All-Star game. Here's the cream of the crop of the catchers and first baseman.

CATCHERS

Diamond Conference

San Francisco's Jonathan LuCroy seems to be the frontrunner for Team Diamond. LuCroy is slashing .304/.353/.526 with 29 doubles, 3 tiples, 10 homers, 44 runs scored, and 40 RBI. Tucson aquired Yadier Molina recently from the Green Rage, but he's not done much for the Scorpions. Overall, he's batting .283 with a .309 OBP and .386 SLG. Livingston's Salvador Perez is a bit disappointing with his .248 average and .278 OBP, but he does have 9 homers, 15 doubles, 31 RBIs, and .424 SLG. El Paso's Brian McCann provides a little punch to the Chihuahua lineup with his 9 homers and 30 RBIs. Hillsborough's Russell Martin hasn't done much, but his .324 OBP is relatively solid.

Micro Conference

Arkansas' Buster Posey is a key cog in the Falcons rise to the top. Posey is batting .282 with a .326 OBP, .425 SLG, 39 runs scored and 33 RBIs. Vancouver's Devan Mesoraco's power is a key part of the Iron Fist lineup - 10 homers, 32 runs, 19 doubles, .441 SLG. Poovey Farms has been a bit of a surprise atop the Van Slyke Division and Willin Ramos is a part of their success, batting .288 with 24 RBIs.
Blue Ridge's Evan Gattis has spent a lot of time at DH, but his overall numbers are solid (.251/.274/.409, 10 homers, 34 RBI). Sardine City's offense overall has suffered though Alex Avila's .322 OBP and 14 doubles are among his team's leaders.

FIRST BASE

Diamond Conference

Livingston's Paul Goldschmidt anchors the Lords lineup with his .292/.373/.465, 8 homers, 46 runs, and 37 RBIs. Marietta's Adam Lind is having a solid season, hitting .304/.332/.406 with 16 doubles. Lucas Duda provides some pop to the Scorpions lineups with 19 homers and 40 RBIs. Hopatcong's Joey Votto leads his team with a .367 OBP and 22 doubles. Albert Pujols is still hanging on, powering El Paso with his 14 homers, 21 doubles, 50 RBIs, and .485 SLG.

Micro Conference

Hoboken relies on Miguel Cabrera as one of the cornerstones of their lineup. Cabrera is having another solid season, slashing .283/.351/.516 with 11 homers, 46 runs, and 35 RBIs. Arkansas' Anthony Rizzo is having a nice season with a .274/.362/.552 line and 15 homers and 43 RBIs. Freddie Freeman is one of the offensive leaders for Poovey Farms with his .294/.384/.424 batting line with 15 doubles, 37 runs, and 42 RBIs. Matt Adams is a platoon player in Vancouver, hitting .286/.314/.449 with 31 RBIs mostly against right handers. Allentown's Adrian Gonzalez provides some power with 23 doubles and 12 homers, despite his disappointing .244 average.

Cueto throws Vancouver's first no-hitter

The long and storied history of the Vancouver Iron First, an original franchise, includes four league championships but until Saturday night, did not include a no-hitter.

Johnny Cueto struck out 10 Dairy Cows in a 5-0 in over Poovey Farms, throwing the 14th no-hitter in DMBL history and the first since last season, when there were three. He walked one and hit a batter.

Cueto lost his chance at the DMBL's first-ever perfect game when he plunked Joe Panik in the 3rd inning. Panik was promptly erased on a Wilson Ramos double play. Cueto's lone walk came to Freddie Freeman leading off the 8th inning.

Cueto lowered his ERA to 3.85 and WHIP to 1.18 while improving to 6-5 in 15 starts on the season.

The 5-0 win was one of three shutouts Saturday night.

Cueto's masterpiece comes after two close calls this season, first by Hopatcong's Mike Fiers and later by Tyson Ross for Livingston, who has since been dealt to Tucson.

Ross faces the minimum in 3-0 shutout

Livingston's Tyson Ross faced the minimum 27 batters Thursday night but it didn't turn out to be a no-hitter. It wasn't nearly as dramatic as Mike Fiers' recent bid for the league's first-ever perfect game either.

The 28-year-old was cruising along when Dustin Pedroia innocuously singled to shallow left with one out in the sixth. Charlotte's second baseman was erased when the next batter, Jean Segura, grounded into a double play and Ross quietly remained in control, leading the Lords of Swing to a 3-0 win over the Webbs at Livingston Stadium.

Ross finished with 8 strikeouts in his near-perfect one-hitter, tossing 71 of his 109 pitches for strikes. Only six of the 27 outs were via fly balls. It was his second complete game of the year and his first career shutout. He got all the offense he would need early with Livingston's three-run first inning, including Robinson Cano's two-run double.

Ross improved to a team-leading 6-4, lowered his ERA to 3.14 and his WHIP to 0.98 (now fourth in the league). He now stands eighth in the league in strikeouts (85), and second in trio of categories: batting average allowed (.193), slugging percentage allowed (.280), and hits per 9 innings (6.2).

Last season, his first in the DMBL, Ross went 12-9 in 30 starts for Livingston.

April Players of the Month

The first month of the DMBL season has passed and there are a few surprises and some disappointments. At the top of the surprise chart has to be Poovey Farms, currently sporting the best record in the league at 18-8. The former Brick City Batmen are off to a blazing start, leading the Van Slyke Division by 5 1/2 games and currently riding a 6-game winning streak. Last year's champion San Francisco Experience sputtered a bit out of the gate, but have taken control of the Drabek Division. Meanwhile, in the Kruk Division, Tucson holds a 1-game edge over Marietta. It looks like this one will be a dogfight this season. Finally, Allentown holds a tenuous lead over Arkansas in the Fisk Division. The Golden Falcons led the division much of the month, but have now dropped five straight and have a mediocre 13-13 record.

Livingston leads the list of disappointing teams so far, sitting in last place in one of the tougher divisions. Livingston was among the league's elite last year, but it struggling this year. Last year's World Series runner up, Hoboken, is the other disappointer. Despite sitting in second place, the Cutters are one game under .500 and sit 5 1/2 games behind Poovey Farms. Vancouver seemed like they were going to be a contender this year, but have lost a string of heartbreakers that keeps them in 3rd place in the Fisk Division. The Iron Fist are 0-8 this year in 1-run games, so maybe their luck can still turn around.

April's JR Cigar Smokin' Batter of the Month is Delmon Young of El Paso. Drafted almost as an afterthought in the 10th round of the 2015 Draft, Young leads the league in batting average (.443), on base percentage (.450), hits (43), and runs created (28). Debuting in 2008 with Carolina, Young has only been a full time starter twice in his career, and one of those seasons he was traded midseason. Other notable batters this month: Allentown's Jose Abreu (.368/.395/.697, 6 HR, 21 RBI) and Mike Trout (.310/.395/.670, 9 HR, 20 RBI), Arkansas's Steven Pearce (.326/.387/.695, 9 HR, 20 RBI), Vancouver's Anthony Rendon (.347/.383/.622, 7 HR, 25 RBI), Poovey Farms' Yasel Puig (.333/.402/.635, 6 HR), and Livingston's Paul Goldschmidt (.333/.383/.562, 5 HR).

April's Omaha Steaks Pitcher of the Month is Mike Fiers of Hopatcong. You've probably read about his recent flirtation with the DMBL's first perfect game, but Fiers has been an ace all month for the Floating Fish. Despite a mediocre 3-3 record, Fiers has a 2.86 ERA and allowed 8.0 runners per 9 innings. He also has 2 shutouts this month. Fiers was the third overall pick in this year's draft. Other considerations: Fiers' teammate, Kyle Hendricks (4-1, 1.54, 8.6 R/9), San Francisco's Henderson Alvarez (6-0, 2.39), Tucson's Greg Holland (3-0, 8 saves, 0.00 ERA, 4.7 R/9), Hillsborough's Garret Richards (3-1, 2.00, 8.0), Livingston's Chris Archer (4-2, 2.63), Marietta's Michael Pineda (2.89, 8.0, 2 CGs), and Arkansas' Matt Shoemaker (3-1, 2.48, 8.9).

April Showers bring... injuries, it seems. The month brought long term injuries to several teams. San Francisco's Chris Sale was lost for a month when he decided to start watching the new Daredevil series on Netflix. Reportedly, he was so into it, that he tried to recreate the character's origin story and got hit by a truck carrying radioactive waste. It didn't turn out too well for him. Sale's teammate Hanley Ramirez was also a casualty of Sale's binge-watching. After leaving out too many crumbs from snacks and refusing to clean, a mouse infestation overcame the San Francisco locker room. Ramirez was singled out by the rodents and bitten repeatedly. He also did not gain any notable super powers. Other injuries of note: Tucson's Troy Tulowitzki (37 days), Arkansas' Justin Morneau (27) and Anthony Rizzo (21), Hillsborough's Zach Putnam (24) and Edwin Encarnacion (33), and Marietta's Justin Turner (30). Blue Ridge rookie hurler Yordano Ventura broke his funny bone, an injury that has baffled the team's doctors.