IBL POWER RANKINGS WEEK 8
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 Monday, July 1st.
1. Welland Jackfish - Despite having their 12-game win streak snapped on Canada Day by the Cardinals, the Jackfish are still the team to beat. This Saturday, they will put their dominance to the test in a matchup with No. 2 ranked London.
2. London Majors - The Majors continue to roll with wins over Guelph and Barrie this past weekend. They are clicking on both offence and pitching through a tough stretch in their schedule.
3. Barrie Baycats - Pitching has carried much of the load this season for the Baycats, which proved to be costly against the Majors and Red Sox. Despite the two straight losses, their roster has plenty of potential to be No. 1, but they need the offence to pick things up.
4. Hamilton Cardinals - Winning on Canada Day against Welland was Hamilton showing their potential as a team. A recent rough stretch before that does not help them in the standings, but if they can go on a run, you cannot count them out.
5. Guelph Royals - Guelph has cooled off a bit since their red-hot start. Their pitching remains solid, but the bats have cooled off and need to get going again if they want to move up in the standings.
6. Brantford Red Sox - The Red Sox continue to show signs of improvement, beating Barrie for the second time in a week and securing a Canada Day win in Guelph. A blowout loss to Kitchener keeps them at No. 6, but there is definitely more upside in Brantford.
7. Chatham-Kent Barnstormers - Playing close games against London and Welland and a win over Toronto have kept the Barnstormers in the mix, but they need to pitch better. Seth Strong continues to be a must-watch for fans across the league.
8. Toronto Maple Leafs - The Maple Leafs snapped their five-game losing streak on Sunday with a walk-off win over the Majors. However, they cannot seem to bunch any wins together and have not played great defence either.
9. Kitchener Panthers - The Panthers have been losing not in the way we expected them to. Their offence has not been playing up to its potential. Maybe their blowout win in Brantford last Friday sparked something.