KCL Week 1 Power Rankings

The Merchants have roared into the season with an electrifying 6-1 record, tops in the league, and are currently riding a four-game win streak. Their dominance is evident on both sides of the ball, ranking second in the league with 55 runs scored and a stingy 38 runs allowed.

The pitching staff has been nothing short of spectacular, led by the formidable rotation of Joe Stellano, Caleb Ochs, Roy Rolston, and Thomas Mickels. Together, they’ve tossed 18 innings, surrendering just one earned run while racking up an astounding 29 strikeouts. Roy Rolston was particularly effective in his first outing, mowing down eight batters in three innings, allowing only one hit and one walk. Joe Stellano has been untouchable, firing five perfect innings with eight strikeouts. Caleb Ochs has been equally impressive, logging five innings with six strikeouts while allowing six hits. Thomas Mickels rounds out the group, delivering five strong innings with one earned run and five strikeouts.

At the plate, the Merchants are a juggernaut, boasting 10 hitters with an OPS above .900. Leading the charge is the Merchants Player of the Week Lawson Alwan, who has been a force in 16 at-bats, collecting eight hits with five doubles while driving in nine runs. Lawson Shickel has been a disciplined standout, posting a 1.205 OPS with zero strikeouts and four stolen bases in 13 at-bats. Tyler Pippen etched his name in the record books by hitting for the cycle against the BobCats on June 10, boosting his OPS to a stellar 1.300 while maintaining an even strikeout-to-walk ratio.

With a potent mix of overpowering pitching and relentless hitting, the Merchants have firmly established themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the league. As they continue their scorching start, this well-rounded squad shows no signs of slowing down, poised to chase even greater heights in the season ahead.

Ranked 1st in our initial power rankings, the Bobcats have shown flashes of greatness, but haven’t quite put it all together yet. With a 3-4 record but the second-best run differential in the league(+16), the Bobcats come in at 2nd in this week’s power rankings. 

The Bobcats have been the best offense in the league so far, with 8.7 runs per game and a team slash line of .327/.468/.434. The current MVP favorite and Bobcats player of the week, Kaileb Hackman, is leading the Bobcats (and the league) with a .833 batting average and a whopping 2.028 OPS, which makes Aaron Judge look like Yankees’ Joey Gallo. Since joining the team 4 games into the season, Sammy Driscoll has been a key part of the Bobcats’ offense. Driscoll has slashed .600/.636/.700 with 2 stolen bases in just 14 at-bats. Nick Guidici has been a veteran contributor in the heart of the Bobcats’ order, boasting a batting average of .440 and a .680 SLG, which ranks second on the Bobcats. Kyler Lapp has been extremely clutch for the Bobcats with a .500 batting average with runners in scoring position and a team-leading 10 RBIs.

The Bobcats’ pitching has not been their strong suit, but they still have multiple pieces that have been key to their success so far. Canden Hardman leads the teams in innings and has an ERA of just 2.86. Hardman has impeccable command, with just one walk in 7 innings of work. Marshall Ingold has been the Bobcats’ best reliever so far with 5.3 innings of work and a 2.625 ERA, with no walks.

The Bobcats’ hitting has been able to carry them to a solid start to the season, but they will need to show that they can shut teams down with their pitching,  as well as blow teams out with their offense. Regardless of their slow start in the run prevention department, this is the best offense in the league, and they will remain a force to be reckoned with throughout the season. 

With well over half the season yet to be played, the Blue Caps sit at the third rank in our power rankings. While this might disappoint some fans, there are some positive takeaways from the young season. 

From the pitching side, Caden Addis has had as good a start to his campaign as any pitcher. Through two starts and seven innings pitched (IP), he has posted a remarkable 0.00 Earned Run Average (ERA), with nine strikeouts, zero walks, and only five hits surrendered. Relief pitcher Brody Stonecipher has also had a phenomenal start to his season with five IP and another zero ERA. Stonecipher has struck out six, walked two, and given up four hits. Also, both Cayden Rose and Payton Knoll have two appearances and five IP to the tune of a 1.80 ERA. 

On the offensive side, our Blue Caps player of the week, Braxton Waller. The catcher has been mashing the baseball, as he has posted a .600 average (AVG), .667 on-base percentage (OBP), and has yet to strikeout through 10 at-bats. Additionally, Waller has the most RBIs on the team with eight. In addition, Grayson Schnierle has been a staple of consistency amidst the Blue Caps lineup. Through 13 at-bats, Schnierle has a .385 AVG, .467 OBP, and two stolen bases. Lastly, Riley Hendren has given the Blue Caps consistent help at the top of their lineup card. Through 16 at-bats, he has hit to a .313 AVG, .313 OBP, and two stolen bases. Ethan Hamrick has also had a nice season, but he will be discussed shortly.

The Blue Caps have the pieces to be a successful team this KCL season, but they need to put it all together to have a cohesive unit capable of providing consistent performances. 

The first seven games were not kind to the Ground Sloths holistically, but over the last three games, they have been playing much better baseball. Leading them on the mound so far have been Noah Suttles and Devan Tupper. Both have turned in two outstanding starts to begin their year. Suttles has so far started his KCL season by pitching to a 1.00 ERA over his first seven innings while striking out three. Tupper has turned in a 1.40 ERA in his first five innings while averaging a strikeout per inning. On the mound, en route to the Ground Sloths’ first win of the season, Cooper Stolfa had a much better start in his second KCL start, going three innings and giving up one hit and one earned; he did walk three and hit two but much better overall and something he can use to build confidence off of. Joey Kahwaji picked up the win, however, as he closed out the final four innings, giving up only two hits and a walk while striking out five Blue Caps.

On the hitting side, the Sloths have been led by their player of the week, Trey Thompson. Over his first four games, Thompson has put up a triple slash of .364/.417/.727, with a double and a home run, while driving in two and picking up an early outfield assist to his season. Cameron Steinbaugh and Brandon Schultz have also had a strong start to the season offensively for the Ground Sloths. In his first six games, Steinbaugh is slashing .333/.474/.467 with a triple while picking up four ribbies. Schultz, over his first five games, is hitting .412 while getting on base at a 44% clip and slugging .412; he also leads the Sloths in hits so far.

While the start of the season hasn’t been what the Ground Sloths have wanted, they still find themselves only three games out of second. They have plenty of time to make adjustments and get comfortable as the KCL nears the middle portion of the season. If the Sloths can get a few more hitters going in the lineup and some help out of the bullpen. They will be in a much better spot and will make the back stretch of the KCL season a fun one.

Another positive that the Sloths have going for them so far is their defense. While Fielding Percentage isn’t the best metric, it is the best we have in the KCL. The Sloths have the best fielding percentage (.954) and the fewest errors (8). The catching staff for the Sloths has also been throwing runners out at the second-best rate in the league.

With seven KCL games played this season, a few MVP candidates have begun to distinguish themselves. The 3 players who we have identified are Kaileb Hackman and Sammy Driscoll, both from the Bobcats, and Lawson Alwan, from the first place Merchants.

From the first game, Kaileb Hackman was on our radar as one of the best players in the KCL, and our initial impression has been proven correct over and over again. Hackman’s slash line so far this season is .833/.850/1.278 (BA/OBP/SLG) and he currently has a 2.128 OPS. Hackman leads the league in total hits, batting average, and home runs. An early season injury to his hand almost jeopardized one of the best starts in the KCL, but since his return, he has picked up right where he left off. Hackman also might be the most clutch player in the league, with a BA of 1.00 with RISP. Hackman is very easily the MVP frontrunner right now and if he continues at his current rate, he will be on his way to a well-deserved unanimous MVP.

Now onto Hackman’s teammate on the Bobcats, Sammy Driscoll. Driscoll hasn’t had the same production as his teammate, but he has still put up an impressive slash line of his own, with a .600/.636/.700 and a 1.336 OPS to start the season. Driscoll only has 2 RBIs in his 3 games played this season, but his .667 BA with runners in scoring position leads us to believe that that number will be shooting up in the games to come. While his counting stats are not as high as some of the other hitters in the league due to his late arrival, it is hard to ignore the fact that he has 2 hits in each of his 3 games so far.

The third early season MVP contender is Lawson Alwan from the first place Merchants. His slash line of .500/.600/.813 and 1.413 OPS stack up with the best of the league, and he is also 4th in total hits and 2nd in RBIs. Of Alwan’s 8 hits so far, 5 of them have been doubles which has contributed to his top of the league RBI numbers. Alwan also leads his team in quality AB % with 70% of his at-bats being quality at bats. Alwan also has a .625 BA with runners in scoring position and a walk-to-strikeout rate of 2, labelling him as one of the more clutch and well-rounded hitters in the league.

Is it crazy to try predicting the best pitcher in the league after most pitchers have only had one or two appearances? Yes. Are we going to do it anyways? Absolutely.

Three pitchers stand out immediately as potential contenders for the KCL Cy Young. Joe Stellano’s 9 strikeouts across 5 perfect innings make a particularly strong case. Stellano looks to be a consistent force out of the Merchants bullpen and a pitcher to keep a close eye on throughout the season.

Also coming out of the Merchants pitching staff is Roy Rolston, whose opening day start immediately put the league on notice as he struck out 8 Ground Sloths in 3 innings. However, he did also allow 4 walks and 4 earned runs in his second start. If he can limit the walks, Rolston is shaping up to have an incredible season in the KCL. With Rolston and Stellano at its front, the Merchant’s pitching staff is a clear strength and one of the largest reasons we’ve ranked them at the top.

However, Caden Addis is setting out to prove that you don’t have to play for the Merchants to be a dominant pitcher. The Blue Caps’ starter has thrown 7 shutout innings in his two starts, racking up 9 strikeouts and allowing just 5 hits. Even more impressively Addis has yet to walk a batter, displaying a level of command possibly unmatched by any other KCL pitcher this season. These three pitchers, all for different reasons, are incredibly fun to watch and give their teams a very good chance to win whenever they step on the mound.

Bottom of the ninth. Down by three. Bases loaded. It’s the situation every kid who picks up a baseball bat hopes to be in someday. Ethan Hamrick stepped into that spot in the bottom of the seventh last Sunday and delivered, driving an 83mph fastball just over the left field fence. His teammates mobbed him at home plate as he delivered a huge 7-6 win for his team. The moment reminded me of one of my favorite baseball memories from a similar summer night seven years ago. 

Did he get it? Did he get it? Santa Maria! Walk off Slam!

This feels like just the beginning for Hamrick, who leads his Blue Caps in hits, runs, and stolen bases. While just the moment of the week, this one will be a tough one to top for one of the moments of the year.

Authors: Max Quirk, Noah Lippman, Wyatt Sherman, Cade Nelson, Ari Goldberg, Cameron Cischke, Charlie Keglovitz