Brendan Dudas
SHORT SHORTS (CIRCLE CITY) | CCW SKULLCRUSHERS (NWLAT) | 8-BALLS (UWIFFS)
INDIANAIf one were to write a list of the best yellow bat hitters in the sport, it would include the usual collection of Midwest hitters who have excelled in yellow bat leagues and at the NWLA Tournament for many years, like Caleb Jonkman, Gus and Sam Skibbe, Jeremy Ratajczyk, Brett Spencer, Grant Miller, and Evan Sibbet, among others. Northeast banana bat mashers like Jimmy Cole and Tim McElrath are also in the discussion. A few MLW players are in the mix. West Virginia wiffler Tyler Rousch and Jared Jonkman certainly qualify as a dark-horse candidates for that list. But the best of the bunch – at least in 2021 – might be Brendan Dudas.
The Circle City commissioner once again found himself high up the league leaderboards, finishing first in batting average, on base percentage, hits, total bases, home runs, and runs scored. Dudas has a quick, level, baseball-contact swing that aalmost always plays well in yellow bat competition. Dudas is a good athlete and turns a few borderline hits into singles by his speed, but for the most part he barrels up with the skinny bat, as evidenced by 49 CCW home runs (17 more than the next closest hitter). Dudas had another good NWLA tournament at the dish, posting a .231/.444/.615 line, including being the only CCW hitter to do any damage off Jordan Robles in a two hit, one walk performance on Sunday. Brendan struggled in his first NCT – he referred to it as a “humbling experience” – but as many of the other top yellow bat hitters have shown, if you can get hit pitchers in an unrestricted pitch speed environment with a yellow bat, in time that success will translate to all environments.
