IBL POWER RANKINGS WEEK 9

Every week, a panel of IBL media experts will submit their power rankings. These submissions will be averaged to determine the official power rankings for that week. These rankings only consider game results through Tuesday, July 9th

Welland Jackfish - One streak ended, another has started. The Jackfish proved over the weekend that they are never out of any game. A 6-1 deficit to Brantford in the ninth inning turned into an 8-7 victory. Their 3-0 shutout win against Guelph on Tuesday and a league leading nine All-Stars solidifies them at the top.

Guelph Royals - The Royals had a nice weekend with wins over Hamilton and Barrie at home. They have great pitching depth but as we saw against Welland on Tuesday, the bats could not come through against an elite arm in Ben Abram. They will have another crack at the Fish tonight at the Pond.

Barrie Baycats - There seems to be a similar problem in Barrie as there is in Guelph. The Baycats offence, when on their game, are at the top, but they can not seem to find consistency. Juan Benítez continues to be solid, backed up by his complete game win on Saturday.

London Majors -  Swept in a doubleheader against the Panthers over the weekend saw the Majors drop to third in the standings. They also fell to the Jackfish in a close game and find themselves on a three game skid. They will have a pair of home games this weekend to try and rebound and get back to winning.

Hamilton Cardinals - The Cardinals have not been able to put it all together yet. One night the pitching is lights out, the next night the offence. But against the top teams in the IBL, you have to do both in one game most of the time. 

Kitchener Panthers - Things appear to be on the upswing in Kitchener as the Panthers are winners of five in a row, headlined by their doubleheader sweep over London. They will face another tough opponent tonight as they head up the 400 to play the Baycats. 

Brantford Red Sox - The Red Sox had a very difficult weekend playing the Jackfish twice and Majors once. However, two of those games were close. The unfortunate thing is that their bullpen blew both of those contests. A walk off loss at Labatt Park and a 6-1 blown lead in the ninth. Plenty of talent in Brantford but they cannot keep losing those types of ball games.

Chatham-Kent Barnstormers - The offence in Chatham has not been the issue with hitters like Seth Strong, who is on triple crown watch, and Spencer Marcus, who leads the league in batting average coming into Thursday at .376. The pitching needs to carry some of the load. Brock Whitson’s outing in Barrie was phenomenal, the Barnstormers need more of it.

Toronto Maple Leafs - With three All-Stars in their starting lineup, you would think the Maple Leafs would be up to their usual tricks. That unfortunately has not been the case. Losers of nine out of their last ten, Toronto needs to turn things around fast, especially if they want another crack at their first league title since 2007.