League Overview

After the second week of the season ended, the league was left with more questions than answers. Only three teams won their first two match-ups. The defending champion Wolf Spiders, Armadillos, and Kraken all captured wins. Meanwhile, the Goofballs, PhoeGnomes, and Possums all remained winless. The Skyline Sluggers and Hares are the only teams even at 1-1.

This isn’t surprising, as every team has faced injuries, dealt with serious flaws, or suffered scheduling problems. The only team that has looked solid in both games is the Kraken, who remain the story of the early season thanks to their dominance.

There is one other small note. I am renaming the weeks to align with ESPN’s Matchup number. That means that this was “Week 03” as this was “Matchup 3” in the site. I’m doing this in case anyone needs to cross-reference the reports and might later get confused about which week the report refers to.

CP Kraken (1-0) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (0-1)

The Kraken remained red hot this week as they dominated the PhoeGnomes. Chris continues to deliver on both the offensive and pitching side of the ledger. The Kraken had a remarkable run of starting pitching. The staff gave up only 7 earned runs for the week. Cole Ragans proved to be a smart pickup with a good two-start week with 13 strikeouts and only 3 earned runs. Reid Detmers and Logan Gilbert also had great outings. Chris easily won each category except saves, and led the league in ERA by a wide margin. They were also second in WHIP and had solid counting totals.

On offense, neither team excelled, but Chris generated enough power to score an easy win for the week. Juan Soto was stellar with a 1.245 OPS, 2 home runs, and a steal. Heather enjoyed great efforts from Bobby Witt Jr and Jose Altuve. They each had 2 home runs, and Witt added a steal and 10 runs. Each had an OPS well over 1.000. Unfortunately this wasn’t enough to turn the tide, as the reset of the team struggled. Vlad Guerrero Jr. continued his slow start to the season. He was one of 7 players with an OPS under 0.500.

The Kraken have proven they are potential title contenders. Their second consecutive week of good play means the rest of the league needs to take them seriously. If Chris can find a way to continue to conjure good pitching, they may be the primary team to push the Wolf Spiders.

LK Armadillos (1-0) vs. KG Capital City Goofballs (0-1)

The week’s most competitive match features the Armadillos and Goofballs. These two teams have developed into compelling rivals in recent seasons. The Armadillos were the first to strike this year, as Larry squeaked out a victory by the thinnest of margins.

On Offense, the Goofballs had a bizarre, disappointing week. The team had the lowest run, home run, and RBI totals in the week by a significant margin. They had the second lowest OPS, and the gap between then and the next worst team was 0.090. What makes this even more shocking is that Michael Busch had 3 of the team’s 5 home runs. Corbin Carroll added 3 steals, but this was essentially the team’s whole output. The Armadillos led the league in runs, home runs, RBI, and were near the top in steals. The biggest star was clearly Pete Alonso. He had 4 home runs, 8 runs, 7 RBI, and a 1.603 OPS. Taylor Ward, Colton Cowser, and Brice Turang all had significant at-bat totals and each had and OPS over 1.000. The Armadillos are getting epic production from overlooked players. When paired with high steals totals from Gunnar Henderson, Mookie Betts, and Anthony Volpe.

Both teams had quality pitching efforts. They were both at the top of the league behind the Kraken. Kevin relied on more IP to generate a ton of strikeouts (tied with the Hares) and the most saves in the league with 4. Jose Berrios was incredible with two starts, 13.2 IP, 13 strikeouts, and no earned runs. Freddy Peralta also added 11 strikeouts in just 5.1 IP. The Armadillos threw fewer innings, and were not competitive in counting stats. However, the team showed solid control and were able to sneak a victory in WHIP. In fact, the Goofballs could have tied the week by flipping WHIP, and had a chance on Sunday. However, Robert Suarez gave up a walk in an otherwise fine outing where he recorded a save in the last game on Sunday. This was enough to tilt the category and thus the week.

The narrow victory keeps the Armadillos undefeated, but the team will need to find more pitching (if only in terms of quality) to compete. Kevin can take comfort in his pitching, but needs to put both offense and pitching together to record his first win.

CM Skyline Sluggers (1-0) vs. JK Hares (0-1)

The Skyline Sluggers tried to follow-up their first week against the struggling Hares. Jeff has dealt with a horrible run of luck the last two years, with multiple players falling to season-ending injuries, demotions, trades, and even criminal activity. However, no loss has hurt as much as that of Spencer Strider. The team’s most valuable player went down for the year with an elbow injury. The Hares had a chance to trade him for a package of players from the Kraken. Chris and the Kraken must be elated to have avoided this pitfall.

Despite this, the Hares put together a solid effort this week and picked up their first win. The team had the highest OPS for the first time in ages, and also had great home run and RBI totals. Leading the way was Marcell Ozuna, who had 3 home runs, 11 RBI, and a 1.394 OPS.

Neither team had good pitching, but the Sluggers suffered meltdowns from Brandon Pfaadt and Andrew Heaney. Only Nathan Eovaldi had a good start. The Hares had to rely on Corbin Burnes to have two good starts with 12.0 IP and 11 strikeouts and only 3 earned runs. George Kirby, Zack Wheeler, and Pablo Lopez all suffered blowups, but the Hares did just enough to pick up the win. Neither team can feel too proud of their second week, but the Hares will take a win any way they can get one. They are sure to continue to scour the available players list in their unending quest to find value.

KK Wolf Spiders (1-0) vs. RK Possums (0-1)

The week’s final match saw the Wolf Spiders continue to win with a solid outing against the Possums. Kyle had a rough first week, but held on for a narrow win against the Hares. This week, Kyle’s offense came to life and ha had a pretty solid week of pitching. Jonah Heim had 2 home runs and then six other players had one each for the Wolf Spiders. The team also had an incredible 6 steals from Ronald Acuna Jr.. This would have beaten many other teams by themselves.

Rick had two incredible starts from Joe Ryan and Tyler Glasnow. They combined for 1 earned run, 13.0 IP, and 26 strikeouts, and just 1 walk. This good work was undone by nightmare outings from Sean Manaea and Tanner Bibee, the first week’s hero. Kyle had a better ERA thanks to overall better quality across the board. Clay Holmes added two saves, and Kyle was able to win the week and improve to 2-0. The Possums didn’t embarrass themselves, but they need to right the ship quickly if they want to compete this year.

Next Week

Next week offers a few intriguing match-ups. The Kraken face the Hares and appear to hold an advantage. However, one can’t help but wonder if the Kraken’s pitching staff will eventually turn back into a pumpkin. The Wolf Spiders and Armadillos each face mid-tier teams in the Skyline Sluggers and PhoeGnomes respectively. Heather in particular will need to focus against the resourceful Armadillos. Finally, unless there is a tie, either the Possums or Goofballs will get their first win of the year.