2020 Drop 100: #100 - #66

The Drop 100 is an annual project focused on highlighting and ranking 100 competitive Wiffle®Ball players based on their performance in fast pitch competition over the prior year. This is not a true talent evaluation, but rather a snapshot of prior year performance. In compiling the list, overall performance, quality of competition, amount played, and variety of competition are considered. Only fast pitch/unrestricted pitch speed competition is considered for the Drop 100. This is not a commentary on those styles of play, but rather a necessity to limit the scope of the project and to allow for more direct comparisons. Medium or fast pitch speed does not have a set definition, so in general leagues or tournaments that self-define as fast (or medium-fast), do not have a MPH restriction, and pass the “eye test” are included. Examples of those leagues are Kalamazoo and MLW. For similar reasons, leagues like HRL or GSWL Yard are not included in this year’s list. The 2020 Drop 100 Introduction podcast contains additional information on the criteria used.

#100
Brock Johnson – Washington – NR, NR
underdogs

Brock Johnson emerged as the underdogs best all-around hitter during their JAL XX championship season. Johnson has always had a keen eye – his on-base percentage in 2019, for example, was a gaudy .709 driven almost entirely by a 66% walk rate – but he has become a more complete hitter starting with JAL XX earlier this year. Brock’s 1.194 OPS that season led the champion underdogs. He improved his batting average significantly while also improving his ISO by more than 100 points. He has hit even better thus far in JAL XXI, forming a formidable two-headed offensive monster with first year teammate Josh Burkhardt. Brock hasn’t guessed wrong too many times this season. Pitchers have gotten a ball past him – either swinging or looking – just 21% of the time during the ongoing JAL XXI season.

#99
Nicco Racine — Massachusetts — NR, NR
Expos (Fanway), Fanway Fire (UW)

Nicco Racine’s Expos lost the Fanway Wiffle®Ball World Series four games to three to the Giants, but it was through no fault of his own. The Expos won the fast pitch portion of the seven game series (through both the regular and post seasons, Fanway utilizes a medium pitch/fast pitch doubleheader format) by a margin of 2-1 with Racine picking up both of those wins. He handled the bulk of the fast pitch pitching duties for his team throughout the regular and post-seasons, including winning a pivotal Game 7 versus the Braves to get the Expos into the World Series. Nicco is a hard-throwing right-hander who doesn’t have a ton of movement on his pitches but gets by with plus velocity and an easy downhill delivery that makes his velocity play up even more. At 26-years old, he has both the stuff and experience needed to bump off the defending Fanway champions, the Giants, and to succeed outside of his home league in 2021.

#98
Austin Bleacher — Pennsylvania — #44, NR
Shortballs (MAW, UW), Phillies (RPWL), Longballs (NWLAT)

Along with fellow cornerstone RPWL captains Dylan Harshaw and Dennis Donegan, Austin Bleacher stepped down as a franchise owner in 2020 to give the next generation of Rildley Parks stars an opportunity to run a team. That is not to suggest that Bleacher – or the other two – are over the hill. Far from it, as Bleach demonstrated time and time again in Ridley Park this past summer. As usual, his name was all over the offensive leaderboard finishing 3rd in average (.268), 5th in OBP (.571), 3rd in runs scored (17), 1st in hits (11), and 1st in RBI (18).

It was more of a struggle for Bleacher outside of Ridley Park. He failed to follow up his gaudy 2019 NWLA tournament numbers, instead regressing back towards his 2018 totals. In his first season as a Shortball in MAW, his numbers remained steady and is still searching for a way to make more consistent contact in that environment.

#97
Lee VanStreain – Michigan – #68, NR
LFG (KWL)

Lee VanStreain was neither the best pitcher nor the best hitter in Kalamazoo this past summer. Those accolades belong to Mike Hogan and Grant Miller, respectively. However, he was arguably the league’s best all-around player. Lee finished fourth in ERA, third in strike outs, second in WHIP, and tied for first in wins. On offense, Lee edged out Miller for first in home runs, was second in slugging and on-base percentage, and fifth in batting average. VanStreain was absent from the NWLA Tournament after having been the Keggers best performing two-way player in ’19.

#96
Mike Speek Sr. – Indiana – #63, NR
8 Balls (CCW)

When he was healthy and pitching, Mike Speek Sr. was one of the best in Circle City this year. A leg injury suffered in the relatively early stages of the season kept this veteran player from reaching 30 innings pitched – a mark he hit with relative ease the previous three seasons – but pretty much all of his numbers went in the right direction this year relative to 2019. Mike’s 1.44 ERA was third best among Circle City pitchers with more than one game pitched. He actually outdid his son in that category, with the gigantic caveat that he threw roughly 50 fewer innings. Neither Speek played outside of CCW this season after faring well in their NWLA Tournament debuts in 2019. A return to that tournament or United Wiffle®Ball – Mike has plenty of experience in that style has a member of the Chicago 8 Balls in the early 2000’s – in 2021 would be fun to see.

#95
Cole Kwiatowski — Ohio — NR, NR
Islanders (WSEM)

In a league with proven, veteran hitters like Kyle Tomlinson, Nicco Lollio, and Chandler Phillips, it was rookie Cole Kwiatowski who captured the WSEM batting title in 2020 with a .354 mark. The 19-year old rookie from Toledo, Ohio edged out Nicco Lollio (.347) for the honor. It was not a hollow .354 batting average, either. Kwiatowski slugged .677 (5th best among qualifiers) and hit 6 home runs in 65 at bats. Not surprisingly, he took home rookie of the year honors as well. Cole – who is still a collegiate baseball player – is strictly a one-way player at this stage of his burgeoning Wiffle®Ball career but if his rookie season is any indication, his bat brings more than enough value to render his current one-dimensionality moot.

#94
Andrew Arceneaux – Louisiana – NR, NR
Pinecone Gang (SPW), Anarchy (SEW)

For more than five innings at the Southeast Wiffle® Open Championship, Andrew Arceneaux held an experienced Chicken & Wiffle lineup with veteran hitters like Gerard Fitzgerald and Chris Harley hitless. The tall Louisiana right-hander eventually lost his no-hit bid in the sixth inning (extra innings) but kept the shutout intact to get Anarchy into the quarterfinals. Given his height, one might expect Arceneaux to be the hard throwing, overpowering type but that is not exactly the case. His velocity his average-ish but it is still fair to describe him as a power pitcher. He throws downhill – not that he has much other choice – and especially at the SEW tournament he we went right after hitters. He struggled with command at times in SPW as a result of not being able to consistently repeat his mechanics and release point. That is not unexpected from a pitcher as tall as Arceneaux and when he is able to repeat – as he was in SEW – he can be tough to hit. While his pitching upside is more noticeable, Arceneaux had a solid offensive 2020 and was more than a one-dimensional player.

#93
Scott Kujawa — Michigan — #31, NR
Redux (WSEM), WSEM Dads (NWLAT), WSEM Dream Team (UW)

Once again, Scott Kujawa was all over the pitching leaderboards in WSEM. Kujawa finished the season with a 1.69 ERA, which was good enough for 3rd (tied with Sam Hatt) among qualifiers. It was, however, his second highest ERA during six-year career which is a testament to both the quality and consistency of his performances. Kujawa did not just keep runs from crossing the plate, he also kept hitters off base with a WHIP of 1.31 (which once again tied him with Hatt for 3rd best in the league) and hard contact off of him was difficult to come by as evidenced by his .086 BAA (2nd best).

Kujawa did not seem like himself at the NWLA Tournament. His velocity was down and he struggled with his command (18:17 BB/SO rate). He finished the tournament with a 5.14 ERA over parts of 3 games (just seven innings pitched). He has been up-and-down at the NWLA Tournament throughout the years, but this seemed different. Sure enough, an injury seems to have been the culprit. Kujawa sat out the National Championship Tournament in October with an undisclosed injury. It is a credit to that pair of WSEM all-star teams – the Dads and the Dream Team – that they were able to make deep runs in both tournaments without a healthy Kujawa in the mix.

#92
Luke Thompson — Minnesota — NR, NR
HRL Dong Show (NWLAT)

Given how ridiculously good of a weekend Tyler Flakne had at the NWLA Tournament, it is tempting to view HRL’s tournament as a one-man show. That’s far from the truth, however. All eight members of the Dong Show pitched – five posted an sub-3.00 ERAs– and the team got above average offense out of three other non-Flakne hitters. HRL benefited tremendously from Flakne’s MVP performance, but the full team performance is what enabled them to finally bring home an elusive NWLA Tournament title.

Luke “Mippey5” Thompson was among the key contributors for HRL. Mippey served as a swingman for the Dong Show - an all-important role in the NWLA Tournament - as he closed out wins against Circle City (2 innings) and Ridley Park (3 1/3 innings), while working one inning of mop up duty against AWAA late in the day on Sunday. The only runs he allowed all weekend came in the latter game. At the plate, Luke picked up at least one hit in six of his team’s nine games. A quick and athletic hitter and baserunner, Mippey had only one extra base hit all tournament, but he scored the winning run in 1-0 games versus GBL and MAW, in addition to picking up multi-hit games versus AWAA (twice) and Ridley Park.

#91
Steve Collela — Massachusetts — NR, NR
Giants (Fanway), Fanway Mountain Vibe (UW)

The Giants won their first championship in Fanway Wiffle®Ball in large part because of the right arm of Steve Collela. Fanway Park utilizes a hybrid medium/fast pitch double header format throughout the regular season and playoffs. Collela was the fast pitch workhorse for the Giants in the regular season and postseason. He started all three of the fast pitch games the Giants played in the Fanway World Series and while two of them ended in losses, Collela gave his team a chance to win all three. Collela throws a slider from the stretch and it gets on hitters pretty quickly. At the United Wiffle®Ball National Championship, he pitched the Mountain Vibe passed fellow Fanway team, the Fire, in one of the first games of the tournament. He asserted himself well when facing the veteran hitters on the Juggernauts in his team’s second game. Collela gained valuable experience in the tournament and left hungry to improve. He gets enough velocity and movement on his sider – in addition to being able to throw it for strikes – and showed off a promising riser in October. Refining the riser and picking up a breaking pitch as a third offering would be very positive next steps.

#90
John Polanco — New Jersey — NR, NR
Stompers (MAW), Chicken ‘n Wiffle (MAW Winter Classic), Degenerate Gamblers (UW)

If you are looking to place a wager on the young player most likely to fly up this list in 2021, John Polanco represents a safe bet. The 17-year old lanky right hander was underutilized on the Stompers in MAW and threw just seven innings. Not easy innings either, mind you, given that John’s two regular season opponents were two top five league teams in the NY Meats and ERL. Like many young pitchers, Polanco’s bugaboo is commands — he allowed 10 walks to 37 batters (27% walk rate) — during the MAW regular season. On the bright side, his lack of work during the summer kept him fresh for October where he carried the Degenerate Gamblers to within one game of making it to Sunday. Polanco beat the Goon Squad in his team’s opener. He dropped the second game of the tournament to the Meats — walks once again being his undoing — but rebounded in the Knockout round to hold the Wiffaholics to one run in a tough loss. John has a live arm and an advanced knowledge of Wiffle®Ball pitches. Offensively, he has a good eye and walked 12 times in 40 plate appearances in MAW). Dubbed the “Young King” by Gamblers’ teammate Pete Slater, the sky is the limit for this teenage wiffler once he finds more consistent command.

#89
Steve Keelon — Pennsylvania — NR, NR
WILL Waves (MAW, NWLAT, UW), [Various Teams] (WILL)

In two NWLA Tournament appearances prior to 2020, the Waves’ Steve Keelon accumulated a grand total of ONE plate appearance in 15 games. That pretty much tells you all you need to know about how the Waves viewed his offensive value. Keelon first began to change the perception that he was an all-pitch, no-hit player in the Wiff is Life League this summer. WILL adopted a fast/medium pitch approach this year for the first time and Keelon raked, finishing top five in batting average, home runs, hits, and OPS. While his numbers in MAW do not necessarily reflected a marked improvement, the at bats themselves told a different story. His pitch recognition stood out and was reflected in his numbers as he led the Waves in walks (8 in 49 plate appearances) by a comfortable margin. He started making more consistent contact and did significant damage when he put the ball in play. Perhaps as a result, Steve finally got some AB’s at the NWLA Tournament this year. He did not disappoint, hitting .375/.667/.750 over three games. Keelon continued to take his free passes when given them at United Wiffle®Ball in October and picked up a couple of additional extra base hits as well. Between the demonstrated patience, increased contact, and power on balls put into play, Steve looks like a hitter potentially on the cusp of breaking out.

Keelon also had his best NWLA Tournament from a pitching standpoint. In two-inning stints across three different games, he allowed just one run on two hits. He saved his most impressive outing for last as he held Ridley Park scoreless for 2+ innings, struck out all seven batters he faced, and did not allow a single walk. The last number might be the most important, as walks have hurt Steve in the past at both the NWLA Tournament and elsewhere. He posted a solid 2.74 ERA in Mid Atlantic over the summer, an average that would be even better if not for a 1/3 inning, seven walk, six earned run outing at the Opening Day Tournament versus the NY Meats. Keelon has good velocity no matter the style and a fine riser when throwing a cut ball. If he can build on the gains in command he made this past year in 2021 and become another dependable pitching option for the Waves, that would provide a huge boost to his team.

#88
Trevor Goforth — Washington — #64, NR
underdogs (JAL)

2020 was a tale of two seasons for Trevor Goforth.

Even a long COVID-driven layoff about one-third of the way through JAL 20 could not slow the underdogs’ momentum as they steamrolled towards their second straight JAL championship. At the time the season halted in early March, the underdogs were 3-0 with Trevor having picked up the pitching win in all three games. When games resumed in mid-May, the team picked up right where they left off, winning their final five games to go a perfect 8-0 for the second straight season. Just as it had ben before the layoff, Goforth carried his team at the backend of the season going a perfect 8-0, with just 6 hits, and no home runs allowed. As it was the prior season, his strike out to walk ratio (JAL utilizes a one-pitch-per-batter format) was a very good 116/67 and very much in line with what he did in JAL 19. Goforth won both of his team’s post-season games, giving the underdogs their second straight title a perfect 10-0 season.

Thus far, JAL 21 has not gone quite as well for the back-to-back MVP award winner. Run scoring is up league wide - about twice what it was in JAL 19 - so Trevor’s inflated ERA of 5.90 thus far in JAL 21 (compared to a 2.31 ERA in JAL 20) can be attributed at least partially to a league wide increase in offense. However, the hard throwing lefty is walking significantly more hitters. Through four games in JAL 21, he has allowed 55 free passes while striking out 57 batters. That is a significant change. The left-hander has previously been able to pound the strike zone at will with a good slider, forcing hitters to be a tad more aggressive when facing him. That has not been the case thus far in JAL 21. He has also already allowed ten hits after giving up just six during the entire JAL 20 regular season. It is a small sample size (just four games and less than 150 total pitches) so it is completely possible that this is just a sample size-driven blip and the numbers will even out over time.

#87
TJ Kish — Florida — NR, NR
OG Goon Squad (MAW, MLW Battle of Boston, UW)

The OG Goon Squad were super busy the last 365 days, competing in MLW’s Battle of Boston tournament last September, the MAW Winter Classic, four regular season MAW events, the MAW draft tournament, the MAW championship tournament, and the United Wiffle®Ball National Championship Tournament. Of the core Goon Squad members - Steven Simcox, TJ Kish, and Andrius Fink - it was Kish that emerged as the team’s best regular pitcher and looks poised to reach even greater heights in 2021.

Kish relied heavily on an overhand slider this past year. The pitch has above average movement - at its best, it starts right at a right-handed hitter and moves swiftly towards the outer-half of the zone - and above average velocity. TJ pitches from the stretch and pitches pretty much straight downhill. Between the truncated motion, downhill delivery, and good velocity, the slider gets on hitters quickly. The slider is more effective against right-handers than left-handed hitters, but his platoon splits in MAW were relatively even. Kish does have a solid screwball that he sometimes used to neutralize left-handed hitters. Like with most pitchers, his off-speed offerings trail his harder stuff at this stage, but he did use an off-speed overhand drop effectively several times during the year. He has decent control already - 18 walks in 20 regular season MAW innings - but walks did hurt him in his only game at the UW NCT (a 2-0 loss to the Degenerate Gamblers).

#86
Ethan Pecko — Pennsylvania — NR, NR
Phillies (RPWL), Dirtballs (MAW)

Ethan Pecko threw only one game and 5 2/3 innings in Mid Atlantic this summer – and that game resulted in a 1-0 loss – but it was one of the more memorable pitching performances from the abbreviated tournament season. The Ridley Park youngster mowed down the eventual 2020 champions, ERL, picking up all 17 of his outs on strikeouts. In the Ridley Park Wiffle®Ball League, Ethan was taken #1 overall by Collin Pollag and the Phillies. He rewarded them with 14 ½ innings pitched over parts of seven games. He allowed just two runs on a single hit during those innings.

#85
Andrius Fink — Pennsylvania — NR, NR
OG Goon Squad (MLW Battle of Boston, MAW, UW)

Andrius Fink emerged as the OG Goon Squad’s best and most consistent hitter during their maiden Mid Atlantic season. Fink finished the abbreviated four tournament spring/summer season hitting a well-rounded .222/.344/.463. The fact that his hitting approach was so well-balanced in 2020 led him to fly a little under the radar a bit. None of his offensive tools jump out at you, but he had a good all-around approach and hit consistently well throughout the season. Speaking of being well-rounded, Fink hit well against some good pitchers – he had multi-hit games versus Chris Sarnowski and Jose Marte – but also beat up on lesser pitchers as well. That bodes well for his future as his claim and consistent approach should only help him stay within himself as he gets in more reps versus upper-level pitching.

#84
Pete Slater – New York – #61, #26
POC (MAW), Degenerate Gamblers (UW)

During the regular MAW tournament season, POC’s Pete Slater played in 14 games. He failed to reach base in just ONE of those games — the Opening Day Tournament championship against Tommy Loftus and the Longballs. That consistency and well-roundedness defines Slater as a hitter. Pitchers were able to get Slater out in 2020, but rarely was he overmatched. The lefty has a pretty swing and an eye to match, which makes him a difficult matchup for any opposing pitcher. His biggest hit of the season came in the 6th inning of the Mid Atlantic Championship Tournament loser’s bracket final versus the Juggernauts. Pete’s leadoff home run put POC into the finals and completed their remarkable comeback after losing their very first game of the double elimination tournament. Slater admittedly did not hit up to his own expectations at the UW NCT, but was not enough to undo another solid summer at the plate.

#83
Josh Burkhardt – Washington – NR, NR
Missouri Express (JAL 20), Los Angeles underdogs (JAL 21)

Through December 24th, Josh Burkhardt had 58 at bats – which means he saw 58 total pitches that resulted in something other then a ball or a foul ball – during JAL 21. In those 58 at bats/pitches, Burkhardt picked up 33 hits, 21 of which went for extra bases. Adding in the 11 foul balls he hit to that point (JAL eliminated automatic foul ball outs beginning with JAL 21), Buckhardt had a 70% contact rate on non-balls/walks (48 of 69). Pitch data does not exist for very many leagues, so it is impossible to completely contextualize that, but Burkhardt is outpacing other hitters during JAL 21 in that department. The fact that 64% of his hits have gone for extra bases in JAL 21 strongly suggests he just isn’t just making contact at a high rate but is making hard contact at a high rate. The ability to make that kind of contact so regularly with only one pitcher per plate appearance to work

#82
Jimmy Knorp – Michigan – NR, NR
Livonia City Wiffle (MLW Winter League), Downtown Diamondbacks (MLW)

Jimmy Knorp led Livonia City to the championship in the inaugural MLW Winter League and was selected second overall by the Downtown Diamondbacks in the MLW draft this spring. Jimmy had a phenomenal offensive rookie season. He led the entire league in batting average (.439) and OBP (.646), while finishing second in OPS. He didn’t display a ton of power his rookie year – just four extra base hits out of eighteen total – but he has quick wrists and can get his bat around on almost any pitch.

As a pitcher, Knorp has a wide selection of pitches at his disposal. He is at the stage in his development as a pitcher where pairing down his pitch selection to three of his best offerings and finding one or two consistent arm slots throw form would serve him well. The stuff is there – he has a good velocity and gets a lot of movement on his pitches – it is just a matter of refining what works best and tossing out the other stuff to gain more consistency.

#81
Brendan Jorgensen – Michigan – NR, NR
Trenton Trains (MLW Winter League), Great Lake Gators (MLW)

This right hander was selected first overall in the MLW draft by the expansion Great Lake Gators. As a member of the Trenton Trains, Jorgensen impressed in the inaugural MLW Winter League and earned the distinction of being the first ever #1 pick in MLW history. Brendan – who was selected almost entirety for his arm – takes a no-nonsense approach to attacking opposing hitters. He pitches downhill but goes right at opponents with what is essentially a fast ball. Sometimes the pitch has enough sink on it that it works as a facsimile of a drop pitch but in any event, Jorgensen’s velocity and command are his greatest assets. He can and did overpower most hitters during the MLW season. He struck out more than two hitters per inning during the regular season (48 strikeouts over 22 innings).

His first experience in the MLW postseason was a mixed bag. The Gators used Jorgenson as their primary starter at the beginning of the playoffs and he responded by throwing three complete game (3 inning) shutouts. He was suddenly far more hittable in his second outing versus the Eastern Eagles and couldn’t find the zone in his lone MLW World Series start versus the Wildcats. Whether those two games were a statistical outlier or initial evidence of deeper issues remain to be seen.  

#80
David Ayres ­– Michigan – NR, #71
The Scared Hitless (KWL), KWL Keggers (NWLAT)

For the first time in the nine-year history of the NWLA Tournament, Kalamazoo – one of the original eight teams from the 2012 event – reached the championship. One of the members of that 2012 roster, David Ayres, was a major reason why. Ayres long ago established himself as one of the tournament’s most consistently performing pitchers. The key to his success historically has been command. The number of walks issued at the NWLA Tournament have diminished dramatically over the last few years, but even when they were plentiful Ayres was always an exception. His stuff - an average-ish velocity slider - will not blow anyone away but he generally does not hurt himself with free passes and forces opposing batters to beat him. Ayres’ impressive control was on display again this September. In 16 innings, he allowed just five walks. That works out to an 8.06% walk rate, which was 7th best among pitchers who threw at least 6 innings (one complete game) during the weekend.

#79
Peter Mocabee — California — NR, NR
Whippets WC (UW)

This veteran SoCal player was the architect of the 2020 United Wiffle®Ball Whippets squad that made an unlikely run to the final four. Mocabee’s contributions to the Whippet’s success in October went well beyond roster construction, however. Pete did not give away many at bats, worked some key walks against tough pitchers, and picked up key hits throughout the tournament. He came through in the clutch a couple of times during the two-day event, most notably getting the Whippets on the board against Caleb Jonkman and the Midwest Monstars in a quarterfinal match up. Mocabee is not necessarily an imposing figure in the batter’s box, but his years of experience and compact swing made him a tough out all weekend long.

#78
Riley Viator — Louisiana — NR, NR
Outlaws (SPW)

Riley Viator was the best pitcher in Louisiana’s Sycamore Park Wiffle®Ball league this past summer and pitched his team, the Outlaws, all the way to the league championship. Viator ostensibly throws two to two-a-half pitchers – a drop and a slider that can play more like a riser depending on how far down he drops his arm angle. It is that ability to change up arm angles that makes him so tricky to figure out. He can throw both the drop and slider straight overhand, in addition to slinging a drop in from more of a side-arm release point. He also throws the slider and riser from multiple arm side angles. Based on the available clips, he appears rather adept at altering those release points at just the right times. Watching Viator pitch on video, you quickly see a lot of slumped shoulder reactions from hitters who were expecting one pitch, only to get something else entirely.

In the SPW championship series, Riley carried the Outlaws on his shoulders. He allowed two runs in 12 innings over two games, while also hitting the game winning solo shot in the series opener. He did not make it out to any non-SPW tournaments in 2020, but he has clearly become a more well-rounded pitcher since he last ventured outside of SPW [for the 2018 Fast Plastic national championship]. If Anarchy can get both Viator and Holloway out to a few tournaments next season, they will have a very formidable 1-2 pitching combination to compete with.

#77
Willie Walton ­­– Tennessee – NR, NR
Music City Wifflers (SEW)

The Music City Wifflers took down SouthEast Wiffle®’s Nashville tournament and Open Championship this past summer with an 11-1 overall record. Leading the charge for the Nashville youngsters was Willie Walton. The 6’4 right-hander was Music City’s workhorse and pitched the overwhelming majority of his team’s innings. The first thing that stands out about him is his live arm. Willie has plus velocity and the ball just seems to fly out of his hand. His velocity is good enough that he can – and sometimes did – go right after hitters in the yellow bat-only tournaments with straight fastballs. He throws a hard slider with great movement but seems more comfortable commanding the straight fastball at this stage. Both the slider and fastball come from the same arm slot, which might allow him to continue to mix in the latter pitch if he plays in big barrel bat events in the future. Walton – who is just a junior in high school – is one of the youngest players in this year’s top 100.

#76
Will Smithey — Indiana — NR, NR
Midcity Moonshots (Circle City), CCW Chasers (NWLAT)

Will Smithey took a major step forward in his sophomore Circle City season, nearly cutting his ERA in half and dramatically reducing his walk rate from 27% in 2019 to a very good 5% this year. Smithey was a workhorse for the Moonshots and was the winning pitcher for ten of the team’s seventeen victories. He was even better on offense. It is not an easy task to outperform Caleb Jonkman in any hitting category using yellow bats, but Will topped his more prolific CCW rival in batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. He had an okay weekend his first year competing in the NWLA Tournament, throwing 9 innings to a 4.00 ERA while getting on base (.475 OBP) and hitting for power (.280 ISO). If Smithey’s incremental improvement between 2019 and 2020 repeats itself between 2020 and 2021 at even half the rate, he’ll cement himself as one of the better fast pitch players in Indiana.

#75
Evan Sibbet — Minnesota — NR, NR
HRL Dong Show (NWLAT), Elites (MNWA)

Given the otherworldly tournament Tyler Flakne had at the NWLA Tournament in Canonsburg this past September, the fact that teammate Evan Sibbet matched or outhit Flakne in essentially every offensive statistical category speaks for itself. While much of Flakne’s offensive damage came late against the then-tired arms on the Blue Kamikazes and Keggers, Psych hit all tournament long. He collected a tournament-leading 19 hits during the two-day event. Only the Longballs’ Tommy Loftus was able to solve Sibbet. In HRL’s other eight games, he picked up at least one hit in all of them. Like many of his HRL teammates, Sibbet is adept at putting the ball in play – even against upper-level pitchers – and leaving the rest to his athleticism. He is far from just a singles hitter, however. His four doubles were the most in the tournament his pair of home runs placed him in the top 20 in that category. Sibbet was also among the leaders in virtually every offensive category in the Minnesota Wiffle®Ball Association this past winter.

#74
Wes Ellis — Indiana — NR, NR
Porter County Pokers (Leroy), GBL Legends (NWLAT)

Wes Ellis made his NWLA Tournament debut in September and ended up only behind Caleb Jonkman in innings pitched for the GBL Legends. His 7 1/3 innings pitched came against the first and second place finishers in the tournament, HRL Dong Show and KWL Keggers, respectively. Wes blanked KWL in pool play, with only Grant Bridgewater being able to muster a hit (two of them) during the five-inning game. Against HRL, Ellis entered in relief of Jonkman in the 8th of a scoreless game and kept things that way until the 10th, when HRL grouped together a few singles for the walk off win.

Wes throws the standard clean ball slider and delivers it from a straight sidearm angle. He gets decent enough velocity on the pitch and has solid command of it. After taking 2019 off from Leroy, he returned in 2020 and posted the sixth best ERA (2.57) among pitchers who threw more than five innings. Wes struck out 58% of hitters he faced in his 21 innings of work, which placed him among the league leaders in that category.

#73
Rudy Lyon – Indiana – #75, NR
Yakkers (CCW), CCW Chasers (NWLAT), Walking Tacos (LWA)

Rudy Lyon has been one of the more consistent two-way players in Circle City over the past few years and 2020 was no exception. His batting average (.359) and slugging percentage (.702) were both within .015 of his career averages. Likewise, Rudy’s 2020 ERA (4.12) is virtually identical to his 2019 ERA (4.11), but he went about them in completely different ways. In 2019, he was a high strikeout, high walk pitcher. He could get away with giving up free passes because he got a lot of punchouts (more than two per innings). In 2020, Lyon walked just 5% of the batters he faced while his strikeout rate also dropped. The pitch-to-contact approach — whether intentional or not – resulted in essentially the same level of run prevention as in 2019. It was more of the same at the NWLA Tournament where Rudy came right at hitters for the most part and forced the opposition to beat him. Lyon’s stuff this year didn’t blow anyone away, but his fearless approach has served him well.

#72
Mike Hogan – Michigan – NR, #85
Wiff That (KWL), KWL Keggers (NWLAT)

How about this for a three day stretch? In just about a 72 hour period in mid-September, Mike Hogan was the winning pitcher for Kalamazoo’s biggest NWLA Tournament victory ever and the winning pitcher in the 2020 KWL championship series.

KWL has been involved with the NWLA Tournament since the beginning (2012) but prior to this year, they had never reached the championship game. The Keggers defeated WSEM in game one of the Group B double elimination finals to force a decisive game two. David Ayres took the ball for his team but was pulled in favor of Hogan after two innings. Hogan entered the game with his team down 1-0 and kept things there, buying time for Grant Miller to tie the game in the 4th with a solo home run. Hogan added seven more scoreless innings from the 5th on and eventually got a chance to celebrate when Nate Thompson hit KWL into their first NWLA Tournament title game with a walk-off home run. Hogan allowed just one hit and two walks in his nine innings of work against WSEM and ended the NWLA Tournament with a 1.12 ERA in 16 innings pitched.

With just one day to rest, Hogan took the ball for Wiff That in the KWL Championship on Tuesday. In that game, Hogan allowed just a single run while striking out 12 as Wiff That Breezed to a 9-1 victory. As far as three-day individual stretches go, that one will be hard to top.

#71
Alec Buchman — Indiana — NR, NR
Hackers (Circle City), Circle City Chasers (NWLAT)

As a true rookie, Alec Buchman had a good start to the Circle City season and only got better as the summer wore on. Buchman finished the CCW season with this 3-game pitching stretch: 19 IP, 5 ER, 3 BB, 40 SO, 1 HR. He carried that strong finish to his league season into the NWLA Tournament. In Canonsburg, Buchman allowed just one run in 11 innings pitched over three tournament games. His most impressive outing – funnily enough – was also his only loss of the tournament. Alec held the contact happy SWBL Cardinals to just four hits over six innings, while striking out 14. Buchman was a below average hitter in CCW and was largely kept out of the batter’s box at the NWLA Tournament, but his pitching record both locally and nationally in his rookie season is impressive.

#70
Ryan Kracht – Michigan – #59, NR
Pacific Preadors (MLW), MLW Red (MLW Wiffle in the Mitten), MLW All-Stars (MLW Battle of Boston)

When discussing the best two-way player of the 2020 MLW regular season, it is essentially a two-way race between veterans Kyle Schultz & Ryan Kracht, with rookie Jimmy Knorp also having an argument.

Kracht might have the slight edge. He led the league in home runs and slugging percentage, while finishing fifth overall with a 1.206 OPS. Despite trailing Kyle Schultz in ERA by less than a half of a run, the underlying statistics suggest that Kracht was the better pitching in 2020 and perhaps just a little unlucky when it came to run prevention (or Shultz was slightly fortunate in that department). He led the league – and set a new MLW record – with 90 strikeouts. What makes that feat even more impressive is that he also led the league in walk rate (25 walks in 37 2/3 innings) by a comfortable margin. That is a rare combination of command and overpowering stuff. Ryan’s best pitch is a big, sweeping slider but he has a lot of weapons at his disposal including a wild moving riser, a drop, and even a changeup. That ability to mix his pitches his greatest asset and leads to a lot of ugly swings on pitches out of the zone.

Elsewhere, Ryan and the MLW Red squad outlasted 10 other teams to come within a run of winning the Wiffle in the Mitten tournament. Ryan did not have his usual command in the MLW playoffs and allowed one walk per inning over 18 innings pitched in the post-season. He still pitched reasonably well (10 earned runs) thanks once again to some gaudy strikeout totals (almost 2.5 per inning).

#69
Kyle Schultz – Michigan – #58, #83
Western Wildcats (MLW), MLW All-Stars (MLW Battle of Boston / MLW Midwest Slugfest), MLW Blue (MLW Wiffle in the Mitten)

2020 was another very good year for the MLW founder. Kyle had a strong year in all facets of the game, finishing the MLW regular season third in OPS and third in ERA. He led the Wildcats to the top of the standings in the regular season and another World Series appearance. Schultz threw every single inning for this team in the playoffs and also led the Wildcats in hitting during the post-season. He was locked in all season long and seemed to be heading straight for the title but ran into a buzzsaw in the post-season in the form of Chris Cheetam.

Schultz carried the best and most consistent stuff of any MLW pitcher this year. The submarine riser is a legitimate upper tier pitch. He is adept at hitting the bottom of the strike zone with the pitch but isn’t afraid to elevate it and challenge hitters above the zone. He has more than enough arm strength that he doesn’t lose much in the way of velocity when moving back (42 feet to the plate) at MLW tournaments. The one downside of the pitch he sometimes goes to it a little bit too frequently and got bit a couple of times this year as a result.

#68
Derek Radek — Illinois — NR, NR
K-9’s (UW)

Coming back to fast pitch Wiffle®Ball after a six-year layoff, Derek Radek navigated the K-9’s through the Rocky Bracket at the United Wiffle®Ball NCT, culminating in a respectable top-24 finish. The K-9’s went with a combination of Radek and Elliot Knower through the first 3-games of the tournament (with Radek picking up the win for the K-9’s versus Hazardous). Once they reached the elimination point of the tournament, however, it was Radek’s ball the rest of the way. The Chicago-area righty beat the Crusaders and York Yaks to get the K-9’s into the prestigious final 24. Facing the eventual champions, the Usual Suspects, Radek put up a valiant effort. He kept talented veteran hitters like Ryan Wood, Johnny Costa, and Scott Alford in check, but was bit by Danny Lanigan a couple of times during the game. The K-9’s ultimately lost 3-2 but the loss did little to diminish Radek’s comeback. In all, he pitched north of 15 innings and won three games to get the K-9’s one run away from making it through to Sunday. The only question for Radek is if he can stay at the level that he was at in York over two or three tournaments during the course of a Wiffle®Ball season.

#67
Danny Lanigan — New York — NR, NR
Usual Suspects (UW, MAW)

Of the critical moments in the Usual Suspects’ national championship run, Danny Lanigan rebounding from a 2-run first inning and pitching the Suspects passed the K-9’s late Saturday night is probably not the first one that comes to mind. It was, however, key to their eventual victory.

Things went according to plan for the eventual national champions early in the day on Saturday. Lanigan defeated Anarchy in the opener and Johnny Costa handled Way Too Beautiful in the team’s second game. Costa also took the ball against the Phenoms in the Group C finale, as the Suspects looked to grab one of the 8 byes to the final 16. That is when the plan veered slightly off the rails. Costa not only did not beat the Phenoms but struggled in the 10-4 loss. Costa’s ineffectiveness – and the fourth Saturday game it led to – forced the Usual Suspects a bit off script. Essentially, they were faced with the decision of throwing either Joe Evanish or Ryan Wood on Saturday - which meant potentially losing one of them completely on Sunday - or trying to squeeze one more game out of Lanigan.

The team went the later route. Lanigan’s stuff was not as sharp as it had been earlier in the day and Mike Sidorov took advantage, putting the K-9’s up 2-0 in the first. Still dealing with less-than-his-best, the veteran did what he could to get by. He played it carefully with Sidorov. He largely stayed out of the center of the zone. After getting burned on his drop early, he went with a steady diet of risers for the rest of the game. Lanigan helped himself out as well, driving in the tying and winning runs with a 2- run home run off Derek Radek (following an earlier RBI double that got the Suspects on the board). The Usual Suspects squeaked by 3-2 and just as important, kept Wood and Evanish fresh for Sunday. Those two split the team’s four games on Sunday, something that might not have been possible if Lanigan hadn’t gutted his way to a second win the night before.

#66
Ryker Holloway — Louisiana — NR, #96
Renegades (SPW), Anarchy (UW, SEW)

The race for the 2020 SPW league championship was a summer long battle between the Renegades and the Outlaws. The two teams traded championship victories over the first two SPW tournaments of the summer and one of those two teams won each of the five SPW regular season tournaments. It was only right then that the league championship would come down to a best of 3 series between the two squads. The rivalry also meant that the league’s two best pitchers – Ryker Holloway and Riley Viator – went head-to-head on several occasions. Holloway and Viator traded championship victories in tournaments one and two, with Viator ultimately landing the knockout blow when he beat Holloway and the Renegades in back-to-back games to capture the league title.

It was nonetheless another strong league season for Holloway. He went 8-3 while throwing 68 innings over the summer in SPW. Ryker handled the bulk of the pitching duties for Anarchy at United Wiffle®Ball in October. Anarchy finished that tournament with a 2-3 record, but Ryker did his part picking up back-to-back victories to get his team within one win of the final 24. He also pitched all but two games for Anarchy in their third-place finish at the 10-team Southeast Wiffle® Championship in August. Holloway has a great arm and a lot of weapons, perhaps too many at this stage in his career. There were times during the United Wiffle®Ball NCT where he looked more like a young pitcher experimenting on the fly rather than a pitcher simply executing a game-tested plan. That’s not surprising of course given that he is still very young, despite already having two national tournaments under his belt.