KCL Week 7: Ground Sloths Lead the Way
Author: Jackson Ewers
Welcome back, baseball fans! Week 7 of the KCL Baseball League has come to a thrilling conclusion, with 3 games played by each team. The Ground Sloths emerged as the dominant force, sweeping the week with a perfect 3-0 record and an impressive +19 run differential.
With just 2 games remaining for each team, the Ground Sloths and the Merchants have solidified their positions as the top 2 seeds in the league. Even if the Ground Sloths were to lose both of their remaining games and the Merchants were to win theirs, the Ground Sloths would likely maintain their hold on the 1st-place position due to their superior run differential.
On the other end of the spectrum, the Blue Caps and the Bobcats find themselves as the bottom 2 seeds. These 2 teams will be fighting for 3rd place with the same record and similar run differentials. However, since last week, the Bobcats managed to surpass the Blue Caps in the standings, thanks to their better run differential.
Looking ahead to the remaining games, we have some exciting matchups in store. The Ground Sloths will face off against the Bobcats and then take on the formidable Merchants. The Merchants, in turn, will go head-to-head with the Blue Caps before their crucial clash against the Ground Sloths. The Bobcats have a challenging task ahead as they prepare to play against the league leaders and then take on the Blue Caps, who will also be looking to end the season on a high note.
In recognition of their outstanding performances this week, we congratulate Luke Stulga from the Ground Sloths, who had an incredible week at the plate. Stulga went 6-for-11 with 1 double, 1 triple, 6 RBIs, and 3 runs scored. Additionally, we applaud Ben Plumley, also from the Ground Sloths, for his exceptional pitching display. Plumley pitched a complete game, allowing 0 earned runs, 3 hits, and no walks while striking out 6 batters in 5 innings
As the regular season draws to a close, the stakes are higher than ever. Stay tuned for more thrilling baseball action as the teams fight for their playoff positions on July 12th and 13th, as playoffs take place on the 14th and 15th.
STANDINGS & MATCHUPS
Season Standings
| Team | Wins | Losses | Games Behind | Run Differential |
| Ground Sloths | 17 | 9 | – | 54 |
| Merchants | 15 | 11 | 2 | 3 |
| Bobcats | 10 | 16 | 7 | -26 |
| Blue Caps | 10 | 16 | 7 | -31 |
Week 7 Standings
| Team | Wins | Losses | Run Differential | Runs Scored | Runs Allowed |
| Ground Sloths | 3 | 0 | 19 | 28 | 9 |
| Merchants | 2 | 1 | 3 | 22 | 19 |
| Bobcats | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 15 |
| Blue Caps | 0 | 3 | -22 | 9 | 31 |
Week 7 Game Logs
Season Head-to-Head
| Team | Ground Sloths | Merchants | Bobcats | Blue Caps |
| Ground Sloths | – | 6-3 | 7-2 | 4-4 |
| Merchants | 3-6 | – | 6-2 | 6-3 |
| Bobcats | 2-7 | 2-6 | – | 6-3 |
| Blue Caps | 4-4 | 3-6 | 3-6 | – |
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 | 106 | Ben Plumley | Ground Sloths | 72.9 |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | 99 | Will O’Gorman | Blue Caps | 63.0 |
| Caleb Royer | Blue Caps | 91 | Gus Lucas | Ground Sloths | 46.2 |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | 91 | Jack Barham | Merchants | 45.3 |
| Tyler Thompson | Bobcats | 78 | Nathan Garard | Merchants | 42.0 |
| Justin Gutierrez | Ground Sloths | 76 | Gavin Wernsing | Bobcats | 33.0 |
| Liam McGill | Blue Caps | 75 | Zach Diver | Merchants | 32.6 |
| Jack Shields | Merchants | 74 | Jake Nelms | Merchants | 32.0 |
| Bryce Bishop | Merchants | 73 | Zach Odonnell | Bobcats | 25.5 |
| Gage Wolfe | Blue Caps | 67 | Ian Donaldson | Merchants | 24.6 |
Week 7 Top 10 Hitting and Pitching Fantasy Leaders
| Hitting | Pitching | ||||
| Player | Team | Fantasy Points | Player | Team | Fantasy Points |
| Luke Stulga | Ground Sloths | 20 | Ben Plumley | Ground Sloths | 20.0 |
| Bryce Bishop | Merchants | 18 | Griffin McCluskey | Blue Caps | 13.0 |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | 15 | Lawson Minshaw | Ground Sloths | 9.6 |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | 15 | Ben Dandelet | Bobcats | 9.0 |
| Tugg Hollandsworth | Bobcats | 13 | Gavin Wernsing | Bobcats | 8.0 |
| Eduardo Letamendi | Ground Sloths | 12 | Zach Diver | Merchants | 8.0 |
| Rance Bryant | Ground Sloths | 12 | Cade Sharp | Merchants | 6.0 |
| Dylan Holmes | Merchants | 12 | Jake Nelms | Merchants | 6.0 |
| Dan Mosele | Bobcats | 10 | Teagan Disharoon | Merchants | 5.0 |
| Tyler Robbins | Bobcats | 9 | Logan Wombles | Ground Sloths | 4.6 |
| Tyler Thompson | Bobcats | 9 | |||
| Grant Aten | Ground Sloths | 9 | |||
| PJ Jerszynski | Ground Sloths | 9 | |||
| Jack Shields | Merchants | 9 | |||
| Tyler Thompson | Bobcats | 9 | |||
Week 7 Top Batter Game Performances
| Player | Team | Opponent | Date | Game Stats |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | Blue Caps | 7-6-23 | 4-5, 2 2Bs, 2 RBIs, 3 Rs |
| Bryce Bishop | Merchants | Blue Caps | 7-6-23 | 2-4, HR, 3 RBIs, 2 Rs |
| Tugg Hollandsworth | Bobcats | Ground Sloths | 7-6-23 | 3-5, 2 2Bs, 2 RBIs, 2 Rs |
| Mosies Rosario | Blue Caps | Bobcats | 7-7-23 | 2-3, 2B, HR, 2 RBIs, 1 R |
| Judah Morris | Ground Sloths | Blue Caps | 7-9-23 | 2-2, HR, 1 RBI, 3 Rs |
Week 7 Top Pitcher Game Performances
| Player | Team | Opponent | Date | Game Stats |
| Ben Plumley | Ground Sloths | Blue Caps | 7-9-23 | 5 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 Ks |
| Griffin McCluskey | Blue Caps | Bobcats | 7-7-23 | 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 Ks |
| Ben Dandelet | Bobcats | Blue Caps | 7-7-23 | 2 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 Ks |
GAMES vs GAMES w/ HIT
Top 10 Hitters with the highest proportion of games with a hit (minimum of 19 games played)
| Player | Team | Games | Games w Hit | GwH% |
| Justin Gutierrez | Ground Sloths | 21 | 18 | 0.857 |
| Judah Morris | Ground Sloths | 20 | 17 | 0.850 |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | 23 | 19 | 0.826 |
| Jack Shields | Merchants | 23 | 18 | 0.783 |
| Tyler Thompson | Bobcats | 25 | 19 | 0.760 |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | 25 | 19 | 0.760 |
| Caleb Royer | Blue Caps | 25 | 18 | 0.720 |
| Hunter Brewer | Blue Caps | 19 | 13 | 0.684 |
| Gage Wolfe | Blue Caps | 25 | 16 | 0.640 |
| Kannon Kliene | Blue Caps | 22 | 14 | 0.636 |
| Liam McGill | Blue Caps | 22 | 14 | 0.636 |
HITTING STREAKS
Top 10 Current Game-Hitting Streak Leaders
| Player | Team | Hitting Streak |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | 13 |
| Eduardo Letamendi | Ground Sloths | 11 |
| Justin Gutierrez | Ground Sloths | 10 |
| Luke Stulga | Ground Sloths | 8 |
| Anthony Martinez | Merchants | 6 |
| Daniel Contretas | Bobcats | 5 |
| Tyler Thompson | Bobcats | 5 |
| Kannon Kliene | Blue Caps | 4 |
| Tyler Robbins | Bobcats | 3 |
| Eli Kieser | Ground Sloths | 3 |
| Nathan Garard | Merchants | 3 |
Top 10 Season-Long Game-Hitting Streak Leaders
| Player | Team | Start Date | End Date | Hitting Streak |
| Logan Van Heuklon | Merchants | June 9 | Present | 13 |
| Eduardo Letamendi | Ground Sloths | June 16 | Present | 11 |
| Pat Mulcahey | Bobcats | May 25 | June 8 | 10 |
| Justin Gutierrez | Ground Sloths | June 14 | Present | 10 |
| Caleb Royer | Blue Caps | June 1 | June 15 | 9 |
| Alec McGinnis | Bobcats | May 28 | June 11 | 9 |
| Judah Morris | Ground Sloths | June 1 | June 15 | 8 |
| Luke Stulga | Ground Sloths | June 23 | Present | 8 |
| Shea Zbrozek | Ground Sloths | June 4 | June 18 | 8 |
| Dan Mosele | Bobcats | June 14 | July 2 | 7 |
| Chase Mason | Merchants | June 21 | July 7 | 7 |
| Jack Shields | Merchants | June 11 | June 23 | 7 |
| Nick Bacura | Merchants | June 17 | July 1 | 7 |