Semi Pro vs Assassins

Semi Pro once again find themselves in top ranking of the league. Despite being short handed in games with regular starters, they have found ways to squeak by and put together wins. Assassins, as predicted, find themselves with a team as strong as anyone. Both teams come in with identical records. Rishi and Sugar have been here before. They lost Shane to injury but Rishi opened his ringers rolodex and brought in Rosy to fill the void. 

This will be a very interesting match up and could see a lot of back and forth. Let's take a look at it from a match up perspective: 

P - Omar vs Sugar

Omar has been injured the last few weeks and we expect to see him pitch in this series. His bat won't be the same as usual and certainly not his speed. But he is a reliable player on the mound who will still be a threat at the plate. Sugar is having an incredible year this year. He is batting .733 with 11 extra base hits and we all know his pitching will keep teams off balance when hes on. If it weren't for Omar being injured, we'd call this even but for now we are going

Advantage: Assassins

C - Majid vs Vito

Majid has been injured so we may see him behind the plate for this one. It weaken Semi Pros outfield but his bat will be really important in this series. Vito is a journey man. He brings great morale to the team but Majid's bat over powers in this one. 

Advantage: Semi Pro

1B -  Adrian vs Rishi

Glove wise, we give the upper hand to Rishi. He's shown to be one of the better and top first baseman's in the league through the last few years. His bat has some good pop too. Adrian's glove has always been his kryptonite, but his bat is always a threat. Typically a pull hitter, Adrian has shown some adjustment with going oppo, but hasn't found his groove on that side yet. 

Advantage: Assassins

2B - Milan vs Gotham 

Milan has had an off year this year but despite that, he is still a threat with his classic oppo swing. Gotham is a SASL vet but hasn't been his true self in some time. Glove wise, Milan has the arm while Gotham has the range. But Milan's bat is too much stronger in this match up. 

Advantage: Semi Pro

SS - Lou vs Brian

Brian coming off of his ROY last year continues to rake this season. He is batting .724 with 8 HRs. His arm at short helps in his lack of range. Lou has always been a reliable and smart player. This past season he has stepped up, especially defensively. His bat however hasn't been amazing so this match up goes to Brian. 

Advantage: Brian

3B - Desh vs Naeem

Naeem has taken on his A Rod role with the move to third and he has done quite well there. A reliable hot corner is hard to find in the league and he has shown to be a strong bat while batting .574. Desh is also a reliable fielder and bat. With a lefty bat that can also go oppo, this match up can be a toss up especially if Naeem gets trapped in his head which we've seen in the past. 

Advantage: Even 

OF - Mike, Saeed, Oak, Aroup vs Sajeel, Basile, Rosie, Reggie

Out of all the outfielders, Mike is the biggest stand out. We haven't seen enough from Rosie yet, but from the numbers, we see a player with some great value add (.649 with 8 doubles). Oak has shown more range and speed this year although his bat hasn't been its usual. Question here though: Has anyone seen Saeed's bat? He's swinging below .400. Just a few years ago we were talking about most improved - seems like he's lost his mojo. Meanwhile Sajeel is hitting .532. Aroup also hitting below .400. While Reggie is near .600. Unless Semi Pro somehow find themselves some hitters in Aroup and Saeed, this simply won't cut it. 

Advantage: Assassins

Bottom line, on paper Assassins is a far superior team. But this season has show us something different: Semi Pro is 3-1 vs Assassins this year. But when it comes to playoffs, we know Rishi will be bringing out all his sha*ers, sorry, we meant squad. We normally wouldn't ever count Semi Pro out as they seem to always find a way to slip through, but this time we feel like they are at the end of the road. 

Prediction: Assassins in 3