KCL Week 6: Sloths Remain at Top with 5 Games Left
Author: Jackson Ewers
Welcome back, baseball fans, to another thrilling update on the KCL Baseball League! Week 6 didn’t go exactly as planned, as each team was only able to play 3 out of the 4 scheduled games due to the adverse air conditions. Unfortunately, the canceled game will not be made up. However, this setback didn’t lead to any changes in the standings compared to Week 5. The formidable Ground Sloths continue to dominate in 1st place, fending off the persistent challenge from the Merchants, who remain hot on their heels. Meanwhile, the Blue Caps and Bobcats find themselves locked in an intense battle for the coveted 3rd place.
In Week 6, we witnessed exceptional displays of skill and talent from some standout players. Hunter Brewer of the Blue Caps emerged as the Batter of the Week, showcasing his prowess 6-9 hitting, including 2 doubles, 3 RBIs, 3 runs, and 3 stolen bases. On the pitching mound, Jacob O’Day of the Bobcats shone as the Pitcher of the Week. O’Day delivered a remarkable 7-inning complete game win, allowing just 5 hits, 1 earned run, 2 walks, and tallying an impressive 7 strikeouts.
With just 1 week remaining until the playoffs, excitement is building up among players and fans alike. Mark your calendars for July 14th and 15th, as those will be the dates when the league’s top contenders clash in the quest for championship glory. Before we reach that stage, however, the final week will feature 5 games for each team. Notably, there will be a 2-day break between the first 3 games and the last 2 games of the week, leading up to a crucial period that will undoubtedly shape the standings.
Additions to weekly article:
- Individual players can show up on the yearly hitting streak leaderboard multiple times if they have multiple top season long hitting streaks
- Start date and end date of top season long hitting streaks
STANDINGS & MATCHUPS
Season Standings
| Team | Wins | Losses | Games Behind | Run Differential |
| Ground Sloths | 14 | 9 | – | 35 |
| Merchants | 13 | 10 | 1 | 0 |
| Blue Caps | 10 | 13 | 4 | -9 |
| Bobcats | 9 | 14 | 5 | -26 |
Week 6 Standings
| Team | Wins | Losses | Run Differential | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed |
| Blue Caps | 2 | 1 | 9 | 25 | 16 |
| Bobcats | 2 | 1 | 5 | 25 | 20 |
| Ground Sloths | 1 | 2 | 2 | 16 | 14 |
| Merchants | 1 | 2 | -16 | 7 | 23 |
Week 6 Game Logs
Season Head-to-Head
| Team | Ground Sloths | Merchants | Bobcats | Blue Caps |
| Ground Sloths | – | 5-3 | 6-2 | 3-4 |
| Merchants | 3-5 | – | 5-2 | 5-3 |
| Bobcats | 2-6 | 2-5 | – | 5-3 |
| Blue Caps | 4-3 | 3-5 | 3-5 | – |
Batting/Pitching/Fielding leaders in the KCL can be found on the KCL main page, along with each individual team’s leaders. Below is a more fun and interesting list of leaders that gives a little more insight into who’s doing well in the KCL League.
FANTASY PERFORMANCES
Players’ fantasy points are calculated using ESPN’s Fantasy Baseball standard scoring system (excluding pitching holds). (https://support.espn.com/hc/en-us/articles/360057163871-Standard-Scoring-for-Public-Baseball-leagues)
Season Top 10 Hitting and Pitching Fantasy Leaders
| Hitting | Pitching | ||||
| Player | Team | Fantasy Points | Player | Team | Fantasy Points |
| Judah Morris | Ground Sloths | 98 | Will O’Gorman | Blue Caps | 63.0 |
| Caleb Royer | Blue Caps | 91 | Ben Plumley | Ground Sloths | 52.9 |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | 84 | Gus Lucas | Ground Sloths | 46.2 |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | 76 | Jack Barham | Merchants | 43.0 |
| Justin Gutierrez | Ground Sloths | 71 | Nathan Garard | Merchants | 38.0 |
| Tyler Thompson | Bobcats | 69 | Ian Donaldson | Merchants | 36.6 |
| Gage Wolfe | Blue Caps | 68 | Zach Odonnell | Bobcats | 30.5 |
| Liam McGill | Blue Caps | 67 | Braden Roesch | Blue Caps | 28.0 |
| Jack Shields | Merchants | 65 | David Smith | Merchants | 26.0 |
| Bryce Bishop | Merchants | 55 | Jake Nelms | Merchants | 26.0 |
Week 6 Top 10 Hitting and Pitching Fantasy Leaders
| Hitting | Pitching | ||||
| Player | Team | Fantasy Points | Player | Team | Fantasy Points |
| Hunter Brewer | Blue Caps | 17 | Jacob O’Day | Bobcats | 21.0 |
| Dan Mosele | Bobcats | 14 | Jesse Courtney | Ground Sloths | 16.0 |
| Collyn Ballard | Blue Caps | 13 | Jake Nelms | Merchants | 13.0 |
| Tugg Hollandsworth | Bobcats | 13 | Ben Plumley | Ground Sloths | 12.0 |
| Evan Kochel | Ground Sloths | 13 | Teagan Disharoon | Merchants | 11.0 |
| Kannon Kliene | Blue Caps | 12 | Griffin McCluskey | Blue Caps | 10.0 |
| Mitch Murphy | Bobcats | 11 | Kayden Althoff | Blue Caps | 9.0 |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | 11 | Alex Smith | Bobcats | 9.0 |
| Liam McGill | Blue Caps | 9 | Kellen Hershberger | Ground Sloths | 9.0 |
| Tyler Thompson | Bobcats | 9 | Ian Donaldson | Merchants | 8.6 |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | 9 | |||
Week 6 Top Batter Game Performances
| Player | Team | Opponent | Date | Game Stats |
| Evan Kochel | Ground Sloths | Bobcats | 6-29-23 | 1-3, HR, 4 RBIs, 1 R (Grand Slam) |
| Mitch Murphy | Bobcats | Ground Sloths | 6-29-23 | 3-4, 3 RBIs, 1 R, 2 SBs |
| Tugg Hollandsworth | Bobcats | Merchants | 7-2-23 | 3-3, 2 3Bs, 1 R, 1 SB |
Week 6 Top Pitcher Game Performances
| Player | Team | Opponent | Date | Game Stats |
| Jacob O’Day | Bobcats | Merchants | 7-2-23 | 7 IP, W, 5 Hs, 1 ER, 2 BBs, 7 Ks |
| Jesse Courtney | Ground Sloths | Bobcats | 6-29-23 | 3 IP, W, 2 Hs, 0 ER, 0 BB, 7 Ks |
| Ben Plumley | Ground Sloths | Blue Caps | 7-2-23 | 5 IP, 5 Hs, 2 ERs, 1 BB, 7 Ks |
GAMES vs GAMES w/ HIT
Top 10 Hitters with the highest proportion of games with a hit (minimum of 17 games played)
| Player | Team | Games | Games w Hit | GwH% |
| Judah Morris | Ground Sloths | 18 | 16 | 0.889 |
| Justin Gutierrez | Ground Sloths | 19 | 16 | 0.842 |
| Jack Shields | Merchants | 20 | 16 | 0.800 |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | 20 | 16 | 0.800 |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | 22 | 17 | 0.773 |
| Caleb Royer | Blue Caps | 22 | 16 | 0.727 |
| Gage Wolfe | Blue Caps | 22 | 16 | 0.727 |
| Tyler Thompson | Bobcats | 22 | 16 | 0.727 |
| Liam McGill | Blue Caps | 19 | 13 | 0.684 |
| Kannon Kliene | Blue Caps | 20 | 12 | 0.600 |
HITTING STREAKS
Top 10 Current Game-Hitting Streak Leaders
| Player | Team | Hitting Streak |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | 10 |
| Eduardo Letamendi | Ground Sloths | 8 |
| Justin Gutierrez | Ground Sloths | 8 |
| Dan Mosele | Bobcats | 7 |
| Daniel Contretas | Bobcats | 5 |
| Luke Stulga | Ground Sloths | 5 |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | 5 |
| Hunter Brewer | Blue Caps | 4 |
| Liam McGill | Blue Caps | 4 |
| Judah Morris | Ground Sloths | 4 |
| Anthony Martinez | Merchants | 4 |
Top 10 Season-Long Game-Hitting Streak Leaders
| Player | Team | Start Date | End Date | Hitting Streak |
| Pat Mulcahey | Bobcats | May 25 | June 8 | 10 |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | June 9 | Present | 10 |
| Caleb Royer | Blue Caps | June 1 | June 15 | 9 |
| Alec McGinnis | Bobcats | May 28 | June 11 | 9 |
| Eduardo Letamendi | Ground Sloths | June 16 | Present | 8 |
| Judah Morris | Ground Sloths | June 1 | June 15 | 8 |
| Justin Gutierrez | Ground Sloths | June 14 | Present | 8 |
| Shea Zbrozek | Ground Sloths | June 4 | June 18 | 8 |
| Dan Mosele | Bobcats | June 14 | Present | 7 |
| Jack Shields | Merchants | June 11 | June 23 | 7 |
| Nick Bacura | Merchants | June 17 | July 1 | 7 |