Aces Only Association:

2026, Week 18

Written by Cory Puffett
Published July 26, 2026

Three of our four matchups were nail biters this week. Only Cory Puffett had already secured his victory over Eric's Eagle Fang Baseball entering Sunday as the other three matchups each had a margin of less than five points with Sam Marin holding a slight advantage in what would be an upset AOA East victory and Cory Frontin trying to hold off Stephen April and keep his division and playoff hopes alive.

The only clinching scenario for Week 19 is in the AOA East where Rich Blorstad can lock up the division title with a victory over Eric Meyer if Sam Martin defeats Cory Puffett.

Players of the Week

Catcher - Drake Baldwin, 9.25 points (Cory Puffett)

1st Baseman - Munetaka Murakami, 10.15 points (Cory Puffett)

2nd Baseman - Brice Turang, 7.20 points (Sam Martin)

3rd Baseman - Junior Caminero, 6.65 points (Sean Kennedy)

Shortstop - CJ Abrams, 19.90 points (Cory Frontin)

OF - Pete Crow-Armstrong, 14.30 points (Eric Meyer)

UTIL - Dillon Dingler, 13.60 points (Sam Martin)

SP - Dylan Cease, 20.80 points (Stephen April)

RP - Bryan Baker, 12.90 points (Rich Blorstad)

After earning four Wade Boggs Awards at third base earlier this season, Munetaka Murakami earned his first Paul Goldschmidt Award this week. Joining him on Cory's roster, Baldwin was the only repeat player of the week from Week 17.

The week, though, belonged to CJ Abrams and Dylan Cease. Abrams led all position players in scoring in Week 18 and earned his ninth career player of the week recognition, and fifth of the season. Cease, meanwhile, was the week's leading scorer and earned his first player of the week honors since 2024 despite his team's losing effort.

Game of the Week: Cory Frontin (115.20) vs Stephen April (106.05)

All-time H2H: Stephen leads series 5-4

In a crucial battle for the AOA West, Cory Frontin took the early lead with a strong opening day anchored by Bryce Elder and Michael Wacha. Stephen April kept it close with a strong Wednesday performance including a save by Trevor Megill, a hold by Kevin Kelly, and a gem of a start by Gerritt Cole.

The first of two blown saves on the week by Rico Garcia opened the door for Trevor Rogers to pull Stephen even with Cory heading into the weekend, but even a complete game shutout by Dylan Cease on Saturday couldn’t close the deal for April’s Orange Team. Wacha and Yoshinobu Yamamoto neutralized him and Parker Messick closed the door on Sunday, pulling Cory back into a tie atop the AOA West for the first time since Week 9.

Cory now controls his destiny. He and Stephen both have a pair of matchups against 3-15 teams to end the year, but with equal division records and a 2-2 H2H tie, Cory has more points on the season and would represent the West in the playoffs if the season ended today.

Cory's top scorer: CJ Abrams, 19.90 points (6 games)

Stephen's top scorer: Dylan Cease, 20.80 points (2 starts)

Sam Martin (103.25) vs Rich Blorstad (121.20)

All-time H2H: Rich leads series 7-2

Sam's top scorer: Nick Martinez, 20.35 points (2 starts)

Rich's top scorer: Bryan Baker, 12.90 points (4 appearances)

Cory Puffett (107.10) vs Eric Meyer (67.25)

All-time H2H: Cory leads series 13-4

Cory's top scorer: Tanner Bibee, 15.55 points (2 starts)

Eric's top scorer: Pete Crow-Armstrong, 14.30 points (6 games)

Alex Mayo (77.00) vs Sean Kennedy (74.65)

All-time H2H: Alex leads series 9-8

Alex's top scorer: Gavin Williams, 11.70 points (1 start)

Sean's top scorer: Manny Machado, 12.20 points (7 games)

Rich Blorstad remains atop the power rankings this week. It is his 25th #1 ranking in his career.

Alex Mayo has now been at the bottom of the power rankings for 13 weeks in a row. This is his 27th career appearance at the bottom of the power rankings.

Note: MLB issues stat corrections up to 7 days after games. These corrections will be applied to games, including those that have been completed, but these articles will not necessarily be updated with those stat corrections.

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