April was very kind this season to the Sioux Falls Uber Giraffes as they spent 17 of their 24 games played in April on the road. The road record was a very respectable 11-6 while they gave fans at home something to see when they were around going 5-1 in the two series they played.

Defensively the Giraffes are still best in class as the pitchers are working with a opponents BABIP under .270. Hitting they are crushing the ball as well. Nick Donovan, Andrew Scott, and Ruggiero Masini have mashed 6 home runs a piece. Bryan Wigmore is holding steady, but had an April to forget as he was suspended for bumping and umpire, and hit under .300.

Rookie short stop Juan Ortiz suffered a strained oblique and is out for 6 weeks. In the meantime utility man Zak Simpson has stepped in and hit .291 including 8 doubles and a homer in 55 at bats over the last two weeks of April. Finally River Gordon looks all but done as he only managed 2 extra base hits over the month and showed lack of ability defensively numerous times.

Santiago Silva, Javier Esquivel you ask? They both hit like they always do. The club leads in hitting in most categories, also strikes out more than any team. Silva has an OPS of .924, but has struck out in a 3rd of his at bats.

The rotation has been much better this season. Ramon Cruz is 4-0 in 5 starts, Matt Kearns 3-1 in 5 starts, Salvador Roman 4-1 in 5 starts, Kun Kwan 2-2 in 5 starts, and Mike Hamilton is 2-1 in 4 starts. Cruz won the Landis League pitcher of the month award tossed 30 K’s while walking only 4 batters in his 32 plus innings. Kwan is the only struggling starter as he was prone to giving up the long ball with serving up 6 souvenirs.

Overall the Giraffes are tied for a division lead with the Oshawa Generals, but the tough first month schedule was little resistance to Sioux Falls’s overwhelming talented team.