League Update

The 13th week of the season has come and gone. The season is now more than halfway over, and there is clear movement happening in the standings. The defending champion Wolf Spiders are struggling for the first time in several seasons. The Armadillos have taken advantage and have captured a strong lead in the standings. However, the Kraken and Goofballs have made aggressive trades to improve their teams, and the results are visible on the scoreboard. They have climbed above 0.500 and appear to be the only teams that can challenge the Armadillos if the Wolf Spiders continue to struggle. Meanwhile, the Possums have also clawed back to even while the Hares, PhoeGnomes, and Skyline Sluggers are struggling to pick up wins.

KG Capital City Goofballs (4-4-3) vs. HP PhoeGnomes (4-6-1)

The week’s most dominant club was the Goofballs. Kevin has suffered from up-and-down performances at times, but this week he put it all together. He led the league in OPS and posted strong offensive numbers across the board. Kevin dialled back his tendencies to use too many players in search of platoon advantages. His more compact lineup rewarded his restraint. Bryce Harper was the star of the week with a 1.405 OPS and 3 home runs. Kyle Schwarber wasn’t far behind with another 3, plus a 1.301 OPS. Corbin Carroll had two steals, and CJ Abrams had a hot week. Heather had a great week from journeyman Brandon Nimmo. He had 4 home runs and a great 1.361 OPS.

The Goofballs also shined on the mound. They posted the second-best ERA for the week and had the most strikeouts of any team. Logan Webb and Nick Lodolo were the stars with 4 starts between them. They totalled 24.2 IP and had 24 strikeouts. Luis Severino delivered a gem with a 6.0 IP, 10 strikeout, 0 ER, 3 hit effort. Preddy Peralta and Mitch Keller also didn’t allow a run in their two starts. If not for one bullpen mishap, the Goofballs’ stats would have been even stronger. The PhoeGnomes were doomed by Jonathan Cannon’s dreadful 1.0 IP, 7 hit, 5 ER “effort” that left him with a 45.00 ERA. Yusei Kikuchi was also terrible in his 2 starts, allowing 9 ER and an otherworldly 15 hits in just 6.0 IP.

The win shows the path the Goofballs must be competitive. Much like the Kraken, they will be a threat if they continue to get strong pitching. Heather and the PhoeGnomes join the Hares in the lower depths of the standings.

LK Armadillos (7-1-3) vs. CM Skyline Sluggers (5-6)

The Armadillos and Skyline Sluggers met in a quality matchup. The Armadillos couldn’t dominate like the Goofballs, but they did get the job done when it was required. Unlike the Goofballs, Larry relied on a horde strategy, The Armadillos deployed a Zerg swarm of 22 batters and 10 pitchers. The results of this strategy were mixed. On offense, things worked well. The Armadillos led the league in every category save OPS, where they were second. Royce Lewis, Pete Alonso, Gunnar Henderson, and Brendan Donovan were all strong with OPS over 1.000. Donovan was especially productive with 3 home runs, 8 RBI, and a 1.381 OPS. Henderson added 4 valuable steals. The Sluggers tried to keep up, but the team couldn’t quite reach the same high totals as the Armadillos. Shohei Ohtani tried his best, with 4 home runs, 11 RBI, 8 runs, and a monster 1.650 OPS. He even had a steal. Anthony Santander had three home runs and 8 RBI of his own. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough, and the Armadillos swept the five offensive categories.

For pitching, the Sluggers were much better. Thy had great numbers and were in the top two or three in most categories. Max Scherzer returned strong and Tyler Anderson had a great start. Nestor Cortes added 13 strikeouts in a two-start week. The Armadillos didn’t have much luck with starters. Luis Gil outduelled Jonathan Cannon by throwing 1.1 IP. However, his 7 ER led to a 47.25 ERA, making it a split decision for which starter was the dog of the week. Carlos Rodon had a travesty of his own with 7 ER in just 3.2 IP. Larry couldn’t compete after these disasters, but was bailed out by the bullpen. Emmanuel Clase had 3 saves, and Mason Miller added two more. The Skyline Sluggers did not record a save, so they weren’t able to compete for the tie. The Armadillos picked up the ugly win and stay firmly in first place. The Sluggers had a decent showing but weren’t quite able to pull off the upset despite Ohtani’s massive effort.

KK Wolf Spiders (6-4-1) vs. CP Kraken (5-5-1)

The week’s most intriguing match on paper saw the Kraken continue their ascent up the standings at the expense of the Wolf Spiders. Chris’s team has been hot, and they may now be the biggest threat to the Armadillos. The Kraken followed the Goofballs’ blueprint and led with their pitching. The Kraken had a strong week on the mound and won four categories, two by small margins. Paul Skenes was the key for the Kraken. He had two starts with 13.0 IP, 15 strikeouts, and just 2 earned runs. Logan Gilbert was great as well. He had 0 earned runs and a 8.0 IP start with a 0.63 WHIP. Josh Hader and Ryan Helsley were critical as well, with 2 saves each. Chris also made good moves with his backup relieves and picked up 2 saves from part-timers. The Wolf Spiders weren’t far from the Kraken in IP and strikeouts. Tyler Glasnow had a great start with just 2 hits allowed in 7.0 IP. This was good for a 0.29 WHIP. Andrew Abbott had 10 strikeouts in his start. However, Jon Gray had two devastating outings and surrendered 9 earned runs. This ruined any chance at ERA.

Chris also got the job done on offense. He led the league in home runs, but had a surprisingly low OPS. The runs totals were also a bit of a disappointment. Tyler O’Neill was the best offensive player with 3 home runs. Aaron Judge added yet another pair, and his OPS deflated to a pedestrian 1.076 for this week. Kyle enjoyed a good week from Steven Kwan who had 7 runs. Alex Bregman also had a good week, albeit without a home run. The muddy offensive split was enough for Chris to earn the win for the week. The Wolf Spiders’ loss shows how big an impact the loss of Acuna was. His power and steal combination could singlehandedly win weeks on their own. Without their star, the Wolf Spiders reign may be coming to an end.

JK Hares (3-7-1) vs. RK Possums (5-6)

The week’s final match saw the Possums take on the Hares. The Possums have been improving, and they were able to keep their momentum in this battle. Rick’s team enjoyed a great week of pitching. They led the league in ERA, WHIP, and IP. Sonny Gray had two starts and allowed just 3 earned runs along with 12 strikeouts. Jared Jones had a great start as well, with 8 strikeouts in his effort. Joe Ryan and Erick Feddie were also solid. The Hares were pretty solid as well, with high strikeout totals. Hunter Greene had 9 in just 6.1 IP. Dylan Cease had a bizarre 10 strikeout, 4.2 IP exhibition in which he also allowed 4 earned runs. The Hares put up solid numbers, but the Possums were just on a different level.

On offense, the Hares had the second-highest home run total in the league. Bryan Reynolds had 3 and a 1.500 OPS. Jake Cronenworth and Jeimer Candelario had a pair each. The Hares subsequently took OPS. The Possums countered by putting up a huge runs total. Josh Naylor had 7, along with 8 RBI and 3 home runs. Seven other Possums players had a solo home run. The team managed five steals thanks to Francisco Lindor. This was enough to secure the category and the narrow 6-4 win. The Hares suffered another loss despite a decent performance. The Possums are now back above 0.500, but they will need to continue to improve to make a run.

Players of the Week

This week’s top pitcher was Luis Severino for his impressive showing. There are many candidates for top hitter, so the award will go to Shohei Ohtani’s excellent one-man performance.

Next Week

The season continues with one pivotal matchup. The Kraken face the Armadillos. If Chris wins, he will be just 2 games back in the standings. A loss might be too much to overcome with the resulting 4 game deficit. The Wolf Spiders and Goofballs have easier matchups, with the PhoeGnomes and Hares respectively. Finally, the Possums and Skyline Sluggers will battle in an important match for the middle tier of the standings.