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A third of the way into the season, the Detroit Griffins find themselves king of the hill in the UL's East Division. Considered by most pundits as a contender, but not quite an elite team, Detroit has ridden the arms of Andy Benes, Pete Schourek, and Mark Wohlers to surpass Toronto and Washington.

Benes, a 23-year-old righthander, is 8-0 with a 2.28 ERA in his first 12 starts. The five overall pick in 1989, Benes had ERAs over 4.00 in his first two seasons, then 3.31 last year to go with a 13-8 record. His hot start has him 5th in ERA and 6th in WAR, as of June 1. The lefty Schourek, also 23 and the 16th overall pick in the 1991 draft, is 6-1 with a 2.39 ERA in his first 12 starts, just one spot behind Benes in 6th in ERA. The closer Wohlers won't be 23 until January, but has emerged as an elite closer in just his second pro season. The righty from Holyoke, Mass. leads the league with 19 saves and a 1.16 ERA. Detroit ranks just fifth in runs against, but the Flyin Lions have been nearly unbeatable at home (22-8), and are the best team in the league in one-run games (14-5) and extra-inning games (5-0).

By contrast, Denver was considered a rank outsider coming into the season, have occupied the top 3 from the first week. Like Detroit, the 14ers are led by a pair of dominant starters. Ron Darling, the 31-year-old staff ace, is 7-1 with a 3.14 ERA and was undefeated in his first nine starts. The #2 starter, rookie southpaw Donovan Osborne, joined the big-league club after a mere fortnight in Triple-A and went 6-0 with a 2.55 ERA in his first six starts, before losing his last three starts. The Denver pitching staff is finally benefitting from the move to more pitcher-friendly confines last year. The 14ers rotation ranks 2nd in ERA. Tim Raines and Mark McLemore are both batting over .320 at the top of the order, and veteran masher Jesse Barfield has 15 HR and 42 RBI.

All eyes will be on the Toronto this summer as the Polar Bears take aim on the all-time team home run record. With ace Dwight Gooden out of action until late August or early September, the homer chase may be the event of the season at the Wrench.

Even for a team accustomed to leading the league in home runs, 1992 is shaping up to be a special year for the longball in Toronto. The Polar Bears have led the league in round-trippers in each of the last four seasons, including 281 in 1988 which ranks second only to the 1977 Manhattan Gray Sox for most team homers in a season. But the P-Bears have hit 118 homers through 57 games, which puts them on a trajectory to shatter all previous records.

Five Toronto sluggers occupy the top 10 in home runs, including Howard Johnson, Ellis Burks, and Raffy Palmeiro, who currently sit 1-2-3 on the league leader board. All of which prompted a search for a catchy nickname for the homer-happy Sailors of the Floe. The unofficial winning entry was the "Beavertail Brothers", in honor of the famous (and delicious) fried dough treat. The only debate now is whether the Beavertail Brothers should include Mickey Tettleton and Ron Gant, with 16 and 15 homers respectively, should be considered full-fledged Beavertail Brothers or merely half-brothers.