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A third of the way into the season, San Francisco's unsung second-round rookie selection is a Spiders sensation. Steve Trachsel, the 23rd overall pick, was 5-1, 1.61 in six May starts, becoming the first hurler to capture both Pitcher of the Month and Rookie of the Month since Toronto's Brian Holman in April 1988. Trachsel is 9-1, 2.08, with a 1.02 WHIP on the season. He leads the league in wins and is second in ERA.

The Spiders were 17-12 in May under interim manager Darrell Evans, vaulting within one game of the playoff zone behind the 7th best pitching rotation. #3 starter Frank Castillo is 7-2, 3.28 and 35-year-old reliever Craig Lefferts has a 1.84 ERA in 10 appearances.

After an 11-17 start, some St. Louis Maroons fans were feeling that the blockbuster trade for the greatest hitter of this generation might have been a big mistake. Barry Bonds was batting just .228 on April 22, in the midst of a 3-10 slump for the Dark Reds that found them one spot above the West Division cellar. Then on May 2, Bonds walked twice and homered in a 4-3 win at Montreal, starting a 14-2 run that got the club back in the playoff mix.

Despite his relatively slow start, the two-time MVP still hit 11 home runs in April, and he added 10 more in May. In that month, he batted .343 with a 1.147 OPS and ran his two-month RBI tally to 52, trailing only Havana's Mike Stanley. Fellow mashing newcomer Rafael Palmeiro took Player of the Week honors May 31 after batting .462-4-8 with a 1.439 OPS. Outside of their two marquee hitters, St. Louis' offense has struggled, ranking just 8th in OPS and 10th in runs despite the fourth-highest home run tally.

The club has been helped by the emergence of fifth start Craig McMurtry, who was pulled into the rotation after Bonds trade, which sent ace Tom Glavine to Boston. McMurtry—a 33-year-old righthander who has spent his entire career with St. Louis, mostly at the bottom of the rotation—is 6-1 with a 3.58 ERA in 11 starts. Another pitching star is closer Rob Dibble, who has a league-high 18 saves and a 0.77 ERA in 25 appearances.

When Joe Sambito stepped away from the game last October, he retired as the UL's all-time save leader (394) and had his number retired by the Brooklyn Superbas, joining a ring of fame that includes some luminaries as Mickey Mantle, Gene Conley, and Granny Hamner. This fall, Sambito's name will appear on Hall of Fame ballots and the southpaw from Brooklyn could become just the second relief man inducted into Beachville.

The only problem is that by November, he may no longer be the all-time save leader. In fact, he might not even be #2 on the save list. As of May 1, Montreal's Lee Smith has 12 saves on the year, giving him 385—just 9 behind Sambito. And as of May 1, Atlanta's Steve Howe has 6 saves on the year, giving him 385—just 9 behind Sambito. The race is now on between Howe and Smith over who will overtake Sambito first.

Howe had 71 saves the last two seasons with St. Louis after stepping awy from the closer role the previous two years. He twice led the league in saves (1983 and 1986) during his first stint with the Red Blobs. In his age-34 season, he is posting career lows in both ERA (1.82) and WHIP (1.14), but the Toppers dismal 22-35 record is depriving him of save opportunities.

Smith, also age 34, joined Montreal in 1991 after a 10-year run with the Los Angeles Outlaws, where he compiled 310 saves, including six seasons with 30+ saves and a league-topping 40 saves in 1988. In 2⅓ seasons with the Canoeists the righthander from Bienville Parish, Louisiana has not slowed down, notching 75 saves while trimming his ERA with the Outlaws by 35 points. Montreal is 28-29 and vying for a third playoff position in the East, giving Smith a greater number of save opportunities.

With Smith averaging a save every five days and  Howe averaging one every 10 days, look for Smith to seize the all-time save crown around mid-July and Howe to push Sambito to 3rd on the list around Sept. 1.

Denver catcher Rick Wilkins has been a highly-touted catching prospect since he was the 36th overall pick in the 1991 draft. After batting around .190 in his first two UL seasons, Wilkins' production is on the upswing, and he has found his power stroke. Wilkins has six home runs in his first 37 games, and has boosted in SLG 100 points to .470. But the best day of his pro career (so far) came on May 30 at Ralph Carr Field, when Wilkins became the third player in Denver 14ers history to hit for the cycle. His 4-for-5 performance with 2 RBIs helped lead the home team to an 8-5 win over Boston, but the fans were not impressed as a look at the division standings found the 14ers at 22-35 and a full nine games out of the playoff zone.

Denver enter the 1993 season with high hopes that they might finally break the .500 barrier after three losing seasons. High-profile free agent signings Roberto Alomar and Roger Clemens, a trade for slugger Dan Pasqua alongside OBP champion Tim Raines and star middle infielders Mark McLemore and Ozzie Smith gave Denver fans inflated hopes. But after a 4-5 start, the 14ers fell into a nine-game losing streak, including three straight shutouts at Havana, and the matched the run of ineptitude May 8-17, losing nine more in a row during which they averaged 2.0 runs per game.

The 15th-ranked offense has certainly been a problem, but the pitching has not held up its end of the bargain either, ranking just 10th in runs against, starters ERA, and pitching WAR. Clemens did not notch his first win until May 2 (his sixth start), and did not have a true gem until his 12th start: a 4-hit shutout in Philly on May 28.

Attendance per game is down 13 percent and fans are moving from disappointment to disenchantment to disengagement.