2020 Drop 100: #30 - #11

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.

#30
Mike Speek Jr. – Indiana – #28, NR
8 Balls (CCW)

On June 1st, Circle City kicked off its 2020 season in style with a primetime matchup pitting 2019 CCW Cy Young award winner Mike Speek Jr. (8 Balls) against the 2019 NWLA Player of the Year, Caleb Jonkman (Noodlers). Such high-profile pitching match ups rarely live up the hype, but this one did and then some. Speek and Jonkman put on a Wiffle®Ball pitching clinic for 11 ½ innings. The two combined for 52 strikeouts while scattering 14 hits. The Noodlers finally moved a run across the plate in the bottom of the 12th and Speek Jr. was stuck with the hardest of hard-luck losses.

In several ways, the tough-luck season opener set the tempo for the rest of Speek Jr.’s season. Mike was on the losing end of five games in which he allowed three or fewer runs, including three games where he allowed just one run. He pitched very well all season long but just as was the case on June 1st, he was always a step behind Jonkman, who established himself as the best pitcher in CCW in his first year in the league. Pick a statistical pitching category and chances are that Jonkman and Speek Jr. were one and two, respectively, among qualifiers. He finished the season with a 1.83 ERA in 72 innings, a 0.94 WHIP, and 162 strikeouts. In almost any other year - in many other leagues - Mike would have been the top pitcher, but not in 2020 Circle City.

Speek was once again somewhere in the middle of the pack offensively in Circle City. A year after posting a 0.30 ERA over 20 innings in his NWLA Tournament debut, he decided to sit out this year’s event. As he demonstrated in 2019, he has both the talent and the pedigree needed to succeed anywhere and will be a force to be reckoned with if he chooses to return to national competition in 2021.

#29
Cam Smith – Missouri – #80, NR
SWBL Cardinals (NWLAT), Midwest Monstars (UW)

Cam Smith was a competitive Wiffle®Ball veteran before he ever stepped out onto the national stage. That happened last year, when he competed in the Skibee Wiffle®Ball League over Memorial Day weekend and qualified to be a member of the Cardinals, SWBL’s NWLA Tournament team. Smith was okay in his first national tournament, allowing just 3 earned runs in 10 2/3’s innings, but letting up 16 walks. In his two games against contending teams (AWAA and OCWA), Cam walked 16 hitters while striking out 20 batters – a perfect snapshot of his overpowering stuff but questionable command.

In his sophomore NWLA Tournament experience, Smith managed to get those walks a little more under control. He started his tournament by throwing a clean inning versus MAW in pool play. Later on, he blanked Circle City over six innings while allowing just two walks and recording all but five outs on strike outs. His command abandoned him against Kalamazoo early Sunday morning when he walked nine batters in a tick under four innings pitched. Cam finished the tournament with a 1.70 ERA and 25 strike outs in 10 2/3’s innings.

In October, Smith won the Breakout Player award at the United Wiffle®Ball Naitonal Championship Tournament. Cam beat the Shortballs in a crucial 1-0 vs. 1-0 game Saturday afternoon. On Sunday morning he settled down after an early run to blank the 603 All-Stars for the next four innings. He kept the game withtin reach and eventually won it for himself with a 2-run, 5th inning walk-off to put the Monstars through to the quarterfinals. All in all, Smith pitched more than ten innings and allowed just one run in Pennsylvania. A veteran of Missouri’s Yellowbatz leagues and tournaments, Smith is helping spearhead MO Wiffs – a new Missouri fast pitch league – next summer. A full season of fast pitch competition should only help him further refine his command.

#28
Sean Steffy – Pennsylvania – #25, #5
C4 (UW, MAW), Champ’s Here (MAW Winter Classic), Takeover (MAW Draft Tournament)

Sean was one of the best two-way players at every tournament he competed in during 2020. The big difference this season is that lacked that one, signature tournament which – over the prior three years – had come at the national championship tournament. At United Wiffle®Ball, Sean beat the Bronx Royals in the quarterfinals but was uncharacteristically out-of-sorts in tough weather conditions versus Black Dog Country Club in the semi-finals. He hit well all tournament long, particularly in C4’s two games versus the Royals.

Sean is so well-known for what he does with a ball in his hand that we don’t often spend enough talking about what he does with a bat in hand. As was the case the prior three years, Sean’s bat was just as big of a part of C4’s deep national championship run as his arm was. He’s got a ton of power in his athletic frame and his advanced knowledge of pitching serves him well as a hitter (he is rarely fooled). He was C4’s best hitter at the MAW Opening Day tournament in June, picking up a single, two triples and a home run in 17 at bats. Steffy coming up with the tournament winning hit felt so imminent at the MAW Draft tournament that Ryan McElrath and Noah Silverman chose to intentionally walk him late rather than risk it.  

#27
Devin Torres – New Jersey – #3, #31
ERL (MAW), Northeast Bomb Squad (UW), MAW Mafia (NWLAT), Fingerballzzz (MAW Winter Classic), Diamondbacks (MLW Tournaments)

Nobody had a better winter than Devin Torres. Devin led the Diamondbacks to a second-place finish at the MLW Battle of Boston tournament and helped pitch the Fingerballzzz to within one extra-inning run of winning the MAW Winter Classic. When the weather got warmer, Torres continued to play well although definitely at a level just below his 2019 performance level. ERL spread out the innings relatively evenly in the Mid Atlantic spring/summer tournament season between Connor Young, Jordan Robles, and Torres. Connor exclusively pitched in pool play and Jordan didn’t pick up the ball until later in the tournament, which left Devin to assume a tournament swing-man role where he could be used late in pool play or early in elimination rounds. With a fuzzily defined role, Devin started just five games (23 total innings) for the Mid Atlantic champs. He pitched well – three extra-innings runs to the Shortballs in early July qualifying as his only possibly poor outing – and finished with a 0.87 ERA. Devin saw a bigger dip on performance on offensive, where his numbers were down across the board relative to 2019.

In his NWLA Tournament, Devin threw much better than his results (3 runs in 2 IP) might indicate. Torres ran into a hungry AWAA lineup that tagged him for 3 second inning runs. At United Wiffle®Ball, he captained the motley crew Northeast Bomb Squad to 3-0 record on Saturday. Devin didn’t throw much that tournament. Presumably, he would have gotten a lot of work later on Sunday had the Whippets not pulled off an upset in the round of 16. He hit well the entire tournament and helped get the Bomb Squad get to a 3-0 start on Saturday, while also playing a big role in knocking Randy Dalbey out early in their early Sunday morning match up.

#26
Noah Silverman – Pennsylvania – #43, NR
York Yaks (MAW, UW), MAW Mafia (NWLAT)

The defining moments of a season can come when least expected. For sophomore player Noah Silverman, his 2020 season was marked by a two-week stretch in mid-September. Noah was selected in the first round of the MAW Draft Tournament by Ryan McElrath. Ryan and Noah handled most of the pitching for their team – with Nick Lea picking up some innings as well – throughout the double elimination tournament. Noah got the ball in the championship game – his first as a competitive wiffler. Noah shut down Takeover (Jordan Robles, Sean Steffy, Wyatt Zuspan, Frankie Campanile) in a 5-inning complete game shutout.

One week later, Silverman made his NWLA Tournament debut as a member of the MAW Mafia. He overwhelmed Circle City hitters with a hard slider and followed up by beating the Mothmen in the double elimination round. In total, Silverman allowed zero runs on three hits over 11 innings, while striking out 27. He was one of only four pitches in the tournament to toss six or more scoreless innings along with Kalamazoo’s Kyle Owen, Ridley Park’s Cam Farro, and HRL’s Tyler Flakne.

Noah had another strong MAW season as well and settled in as the Yaks’ number one pitcher. He was hurt by a couple of okay – certainly not bad – outings against C4 (3 runs in 5 innings) and the Longballs (4 runs in 3 innings). In his other six starts, Silverman threw three shutouts and allowed one run in the other three. A back injury limited him to just hitting and fielding duties at United Wiffle®Ball. Noah’s bat is still a work in progress. While he may never be an above average hitter, he as a nice swing and should see some improvement in that department in the coming years.

#25
Kyle Tomlinson – Michigan – #55, NR
Islanders (WSEM), WSEM Dads (NWLAT), WSEM Dream Team (UW)

When the WSEM Dads kicked things into high gear in the double elimination round after a sluggish start to the 2020 NWLA Tournament, it was Kyle Tomlinson leading the charge offensively.

This was not a surprise. Tomlinson has been the Dads’ most consistent hitter since 2015, providing power and run production for an offense that — save for 2018 — has often struggled to move runners across the plate. He struggled along with the rest of his teammates at the 2019 NWLA Tournament as WSEM made an early exit in just their second double elimination game. Those run scoring woes seemed to follow the Dads into the pool play portion of the 2020 tournament, where they were shutout over their first two games. Tomlinson got them off the schneid in their third and final pool play game early Saturday afternoon with a solo home run, although the Dads dropped that game as well. Things turned around in a hurry, however, and WSEM rattled off three straight wins to open double elimination round. Kyle was a major part in that turn around, going 5-14 with six walks and two home runs during that three-game win streak.

It was business as usual for Tomlinson in his home league. The all-time WSEM hits leader once again placed top five in batting average and home runs, while driving in a league-leading 30 runs. He had a solid pitching year as well, posting a top five ERA (1.83) and WHIP (1.09). Kyle captained the WSEM Dream Team at the inaugural United Wiffle®Ball National Championship in October. Although he didn’t have a ton to show for it during the two-day tournament, Tomlinson seemed comfortable at the plate in his first time in a new environment and given he has hit everywhere else he has been, success with big barrel bats seems inevitable.

#24
Ryan Drecher – Pennsylvania – #30, #76
Astros (RPWL), Shortballs (MAW, UW)

If you can’t beat him, sign him.

After three seasons with the Shortballs, Ryan “Teddy” Drecher is set to join ERL in Mid Atlantic in 2021. While Teddy will certainly be a boon to ERL’s pitching staff, the ERL hitters will also be happy to not have to face him next season. In two games versus ERL this past summer, Drecher didn’t allow a single earned run, gave up only two hits, and struck out 23 batters in 12 innings. In doing so, Teddy handed ERL their only loss of the July 11th Mid Atlantic tournament and eliminated them from the July 25th event in the quarterfinals.

That July 25th tournament was the best of the year for Teddy. After losing a four-inning game to High Cheese, Drecher rattled off three straight wins (versus the Cheeseballs, Meats, and the aforementioned ERL victory) to pitch the Shortballs into the semi-finals. Drecher threw really well all summer long in MAW. His velocity was up – so was his confidence – and a more well-rounded pitch selection allowed him to hold down veteran hitters (like the ones found on ERL) multiple times through the order.

In Ridley Park, Drecher threw more than 70% of the Astros’ innings and led his team to an appearance in the AL wild card game. He didn’t hit much in Mid Atlantic over the summer but finished third in RPWL (among qualifiers) with a walk/power fueled 1.053 OPS. His biggest hit of the year was one of his last – a walk-off home run to left center off the K-9’s Elliot Knower in the Shortballs’ first game of the United Wiffle®Ball National Championship. Teddy threw a lot that day as well. His stuff was the better than his results, as the Shortballs stumbled to a disappointing 1-3 finish.

#23
Ryan Bush – New York – #6, #10
NY Meats (MAW, UW), OCWA Freaky Franchise (NWLAT)

The veteran from Rochester had several big moments in 2020, but perhaps his most impressive – certainly his most unique – tournament came early in the year at the MAW Winter Classic.

The Meats never shy away from unique pitching strategies, which sometimes includes using Bush to close out games. In February, the Meats used their hard-throwing right hander in that role exclusively during their first five games. Bush pitched in relief in the Meats’ first five games of the day. He picked up four saves and ate up more than an inning in another game. Where many fast pitch Wiffle®Ball pitchers find it difficult to turn it on and off during the course of an all-day tournament, Bush had little trouble throwing in bursts. His most impressive outing at the Winter Classic came in the quarterfinals when he entered with bases loaded and nobody out and retired Ryan McElrath, Tim McElrath, and Connor Young to seal the win. Even more impressive is that after pitching one inning stints all day, Ryan threw four shutout innings versus POC in the semi-finals before allowing his first run of the day in the fifth.

From a pure run prevention point of view, Bush was the Meats best pitcher during the MAW regular season. His strikeout numbers were down and his walks were up – clearly not a good combination – but he only threw 14 innings over two tournaments so it is probably unwise to read too much into it. His stuff was a little flat at times – this seemed to be his issue in his only start at United Wiffle®Ball versus the Bronx Royals – but not in any way that differed from prior years. Bush had his worst NWLA Tournament since 2017 but still pitched pretty well for OCWA Freaky Franchise. He struck out 29 and was charged with five earned runs in twelve innings.

#22
Tommy Loftus – Pennsylvania – #9, NR
Longballs (MAW, NWLAT, UW), Dodgers (RPWL)

When you think of Tommy Loftus, you generally think of clean ball sliders being thrown a gazillion miles per hour and gaudy strikeout totals. There was still plenty of that this year but before we get there, let’s talk about a more under-discussed aspect of his game. Let’s talk about Tommy the hitter.

Prior to 2020, Loftus had just six plate appearances at the NWLA Tournament, split evenly over his prior two tournament appearances in 2017 and 2019. This year, the Longballs batted six players most of the tournament and let Loftus loose at the plate. Tommy more than tripled his previous total number of plate appearances, as he went to the dish 20 times during 6 games. And — perhaps not so surprisingly to those that have paid attention to his offensive trajectory over the last year and a half — he hit very well. Tommy went 5 for 17 (.294) with 3 walks over the two-day tournament and had hits off quality pitchers like the Waves’ Steve Keelon and Gino Joseph (both doubles), as well as AWAA’s Vin Lea. While he received less at bats in 2020 in MAW than he did the prior year, Tommy improved on his prior year totals by hitting .167/.286/.417 in 14 plate appearances. He has a quick and direct swing which gives him more pop than you might think he has at first glance.

Recent hitting success aside, pitching is still where Loftus makes his Wiffle®Ball living. He was a little less dialed in this year than he was in 2019, when he had arguably the best pitching year of any full-time player. His NWLA Tournament came down to a rough seventh inning against HRL where he temporarily lost control of the strike zone and a mental fielding miscue in the second inning versus AWAA. The results were not at the same level as the prior year, but 5 hits and 30 strikeouts in 13 innings against the last two NWLA Tournament champions is still impressive. Tommy threw roughly 50% fewer innings in MAW this year over last (partially a function of the truncated season) but finished with a slightly better ERA of 0.38. He did get hit a little more and his strikeout rate dopped a bit, but both might be a result of a smaller sample size as his velocity and stuff didn’t seem to diminish at all.

#21
Ty Wegrzyn – Connecticut – #17, #2
C4 (MAW, UW), Champ’s Here (MAW Winter Classic)

C4’s success over the past several years has been a team effort, with each team member filling a clear – albeit flexible – role. For Ty Wegrzyn, that role is to pitch and win the team’s preliminary tournament games. Judging him by that standard – and including a play-in game at the MAW Opening Day Tournament as a prelim game – Ty was excellent in 2020. He went 5-1 and allowed 11 runs over 25 innings. That works out to a 2.20 ERA per five innings. That’s the exact kind of performance C4 looks to him for. The numbers would be even more impressive if not for 6-0 loss to Black Dog Country Club in C4’s final prelim game at United Wiffle®Ball, where Ty still managed to eat up innings to ensure that C4 entered the elimination round with both Kevin Norris and Sean Steffy fresh. Ty hit well in 2020 from the MAW Winter Classic in February through United Wiffle®Ball in October. Like his teammate Kevin Norris, Ty played the least amount of fast pitch Wiffle®Ball in 2020 that he has played in several years but was very productive in the three fast pitch events he participated in.

#20
Chris Sarnowski – Pennsylvania – #15, #6
Juggernauts (MAW, UW), MAW Mafia (NWLAT), Fingerballzzz (MAW Winter Classic), [Various] (WILL)

Red’s done.

#19
Connor Young – New Jersey – #8, #3
ERL (MAW), MAW Mafia (NWLAT), Bronx Royals (UW)

In 2018 and 2019, few people played in more fast pitch games and logged as many fast pitch innings as Connor Young. In 2020 he took it easier, at least relatively so. Connor played in two fewer fast pitch leagues than in 2019 and instead focused on MAW and a pair of national tournaments. In the short-term, the decision to scale back paid off. Connor played well at both the NWLA Tournament and United Wiffle®Ball National Championship and also helped ERL to its second straight Mid Atlantic title by pitching the bulk of the team’s pool play games during the regular season. In the long-term, the decision almost certainly slowed down what had been a rather sharp physical decline brought on by overwork.

Connor did not pitch a single inning outside of pool play in MAW but provided the quality innings needed from that thankless role (5 runs in 31 innings pitched). He bounced back offensively, with significant improvement to his batting average (+.049), OBP (+.076), and slugging (+.230) year-over-year. He also bounced back from a poor debut NWLA Tournament performance. A year after throwing less than an inning and not contributing much at all on offense for the Mafia, Connor picked up a 3-inning pool play pitching win and was his team’s second-best hitter, statistically speaking (.250/.344/.357). Connor’s best game at the United Wiffle®Ball National Championship Tournament, came in a crucial spot against the 603 All-Stars. Connor started the game for the Bronx Royals and hit two home runs, as the Royals took down the highly decorated New England squad.

#18
Kenny Rodgers Jr. – New York – #24, #23
ERL (MAW), Sueno (UW)

There is not much left to say about Kenny Rodgers Jr. as a hitter that has not already been said. He is as good of an all-around hitter that exists in the sport. Just look at this 2020 MAW slash line — .323/.425/.645. His .323 batting average was nearly double the 2020 MAW league average and .024 points higher than his closest competition. He picked up at least one hit in ten of his thirteen games during the regular tournament season with only Teddy Drecher (twice!) and Dan Whitener holding him hitless. Similarly, Kenny drew a walk in all but four games. He often displayed great patience in laying off balls just outside the zone that he could theoretically reach with his long arms but were nonetheless pitcher’s pitches. Where he really makes his living is in the power department. Kenny can change a game in an instant with a single swing and belted six home runs in MAW. If there was one downside to his season, it was that he failed to make a big impact at the Untied Wiffle®Ball National Championship in October where his team, Sueno, finished with a 2-2 record.

#17
Kenny Stengel – New Jersey – #67, NR
Diamondbacks (MLW Tournaments), OG Goon Squad (MAW)

Kenny Stengel pitches now.

That was the lasting impression of Stengel’s 2020 season. He long ago established himself as a fine Wiffle®Ball hitter in Palisades, but his transformation into a quality pitcher is a much more recent occurrence. It started — in earnest — in 2019 Palisades where Stengel got about 20 innings of pitching experience under his belt. He pitched for the Diamondbacks at the MLW Boston tournament just before Christmas and pitched well. In the offseason he continued working with teammate and friend, Devin Torres, in preparation for the 2020 season. Months later, Kenny finally made his 2020 pitching debut at the MAW/Ridley Park tournament at the end of July. He went 2-1 in that tournament while throwing all three of the Goon Squad’s pool play games. In his lone loss of the tournament, he allowed just one run and three hits. Stengel no-hit and shutout both the Stompers and Outsiders in his other two outings, while scattering 9 walks. Three weeks later, he won the biggest game of the Goon Squad’s season when he shut out the Yaks — the one team ahead of the Goon Squad in the playoff race — while also hitting the game winning walk off home run. In his team’s next game, Stengel shut down POC and hit a game winning home run off Ray Lutick to cement the Goon Squad’s spot in the post-season.

He saved his best pitching performance of the year for last. The Goon Squad entered the Mid Atlantic Championship tournament as the 10th and final seed in the double elimination bracket. With nothing to lose, Stengel took down the seventh ranked Shortballs during a downpour and then upset the second ranked Longballs shortly thereafter. Although he ran out of steam versus the eventual champions, ERL, his back-to-back victories against the two Ridley Park teams were impressive.

In one of 2020’s “what if’s?”, Stengel was on Way Too Beautiful’s roster for United Wiffle®Ball and was set to join his teammates if they made it through to Sunday. Unfortunately, due to weather concerns the round of 24 was moved up from Sunday to Saturday night and Way Too Beautiful was eliminated by the defending champions, C4. Could Stengel put an exclamation point on his breakout pitching season by knocking out the 3-time champions? We will never know.

#16
Dave Capobianco – Maryland – #21, #68
New School Risers (MAW), Sueño (UW)

Not many players are still going strong – playing a full fast pitch season and competing at a very high level – fifteen years after first competing nationally. Dave Capobianco remains one of the best competitors in the entire sport and showed little signs of slowing down in 2020.

The shortened season might have been a blessing in disguise for Cap, who was coming off a 2019 where he threw an incredible 123 1/3 innings in the MAW regular and post-seasons. While Capobianco has no problem stacking up the innings – a decade ago, he was known to play entire Wiffle Up! tournaments as a one man “team” – he probably did not mind the reduced workload of roughly 55 innings in Mid Atlantic and United Wiffle®Ball. The lefty was excellent throughout the MAW regular season. He set Mid Atlantic career bests in ERA (0.48), WHIP (0.58), and BAA (.099). Cap was good in the post-season as well, pitching the Risers past the Dragons in their first game of the Mid Atlantic Championship and doing the same for Sueno against the Yaks at the United Wiffle®Ball NCT. Less games played plus the addition of Jerry Hill as an added power threat to the Risers’ lineup also helped boost Cap’s power production. He hit as many doubles (two) and one more home run (four) than he did during the 2019 Mid Atlantic regular season in 90 fewer at bats.

#15
Nick Lea – New York – NR, NR
NY Dragons (MAW, UW), AWAA Blue Kamikazes (NWLAT)

Nick Lea made the most out of a less-than-ideal situation, spending the tournament-less spring competing in a series of 1 vs. 1 vs. 1 games with his brother, Vin, and Dragons’ teammate Mike Bucci. It was during those exhibitions that Nick discovered the pitch mix and confidence that had been missing from his previous forays into Wiffle®Ball pitching. He carried those gains into the tournament season. Nick was on fire in Mid Atlantic in June and July. Through his first three tournaments covering 8 games and 28 2/3 innings, Nick allowed just two earned runs and scattered 13 hits. While he struggled to make consistent contact, he hit three home runs during the regular season and posted a respectable .313 OBP. In September at the draft tournament, Nick’s solo home run off Jordan Robles in the championship game was the game winner.

The defining moment of his season occurred in September at the NWLA Tournament. After Kyle VonSchleusigen allowed the tying runs to score in the bottom of the 6th inning versus MAW, Nick was called into the game in relief. He pitched well on Saturday versus OCWA in pool play but now was being tasked with staving off elimination for the Kamikazes. Nick was more than up to it. While he averaged one hit allowed per inning, he spread them out and held the MAW offense scoreless for 10 innings. This bought enough time for the AWAA offense to finally breakthrough in the top half of the 16th. In terms of breakthrough seasons, they don’t get much better than Nick Lea’s 2020.

#14
Tim McElrath – New York – #5, #37
Juggernauts (MAW, UW), Hardos (MAW Winter Classic), MAW Mafia (NWLAT)

He went about it rather quietly, but in 2020 Tim McElrath put together his best all-around offensive year in several years.

Tim did the heavy offensive lifting for the MAW Mafia at the NWLA Tournament in Canonsburg. He finished to two-day event with an excellent line of .297/.422/.622. The numbers are even more impressive when considering the level of competition his team played throughout the tournament. Among qualifiers, Tim finished 9th in batting average, 4th in slugging, tied for 2nd in home runs, 5th in ISO, and 6th in OPS. Although he does most of his hitting with big barrel bats, Tim’s quick wrists, slight upper cut, and ability to barrel up on the ball make him an excellent yellow bat hitter as well.

Tim improved on his 2019 Mid Atlantic numbers across the board. Most notably, he finished the season tied for the league lead in walks (along with his brother and Tyler Nachbar), was 1st in doubles, tied for 7th in hits, and tied for 2nd in home runs (once again with his brother, Ryan).

#13
Nicco Lollio – Michigan – NR, NR
El Diablos (WSEM), WSEM Dads (NWLAT), WSEM Dream (UW)

The 2013 WSEM Rookie of the Year won his first MVP award this past summer. Lollio led the league in slugging and isolated power and finished just behind rookie Cole Kwiatkowski for the batting title. His OPS of 1.344 was also top among qualifiers. While only offensive performance counts towards the WSEM MVP award, Lollio also had a strong year as a pitcher. He finished second in ERA and first in WHIP among qualifiers, while throwing 20 innings.

The WSEM veteran got his first taste of national Wiffle®Ball this fall when he participated in both the NWLA Tournament and United Wiffle®Ball National Championship. Lollio hit reasonably well at the NWLA Tournament but shined as a pitcher. Lollio shutout Circle City Sunday morning and recorded all but one of his 18 outs in the game via strikeout. In October, he held the eventual champions the Usual Suspects to one run over five innings in his lone game pitched in the tournament. Lollio’s hard clean ball slider – which has some natural sink to it – plays well in any environment.

#12
Kyle VonSchleuisgen – Connecticut – #2, #12
NY Meats (MAW), AWAA Blue Kamikazes (NWLAT), Phenoms (UW)

It was going to be difficult for Kyle to improve on his MVP performance at the 2019 NWLA Tournament in 2020, simply because he set the bar so high for himself last year. However, if not for his final inning pitched in the tournament – four hits and two earned runs versus MAW – there was a real chance that he would have ended the tournament with better numbers (at least in ERA and BAA) than the prior year. As it is, his pitching numbers still do not look all that different year to year on the surface. K-Von threw one more inning, gave up three more hits, and allowed two more runs in 2020. However, he also allowed nine more walks and struck out eight fewer hitters. He managed to pitch around those seventeen additional baserunners but living on the edge like that eventually came back to hurt him in his final inning. Nonetheless, Kyle was still one of the better performing – and one of the most impressive from a pure stuff standpoint – pitchers in the tournament.

Kyle pitched well everywhere else he went in 2020. He threw well the MLW Battle of Boston tournament and the MAW Winter Classic last winter. Kyle finished with a 1.22 ERA in just under 20 innings pitched during the regular MAW tournament season. At the United Wiffle® National Championship, he picked up a pair of complete game wins for the Phenoms – versus the Whippets and Waves – and pitched reasonably well against the eventual champions, the Usual Suspects, before being relieved about midway through that game. Offense was more of a struggle for K-Von in 2020. He was 22nd out of 37 qualifying hitters in OPS in MAW. His offensive statistics were down across the board at the NWLA Tournament, but particularly in the power department. He definitely had significant offensive value everywhere he played in 2020, but not to the extent we are used to from him.

#11
Jimmy Cole – New York – #4, #20
NY Meats (MAW, UW), AWAA Blue Kamikazes (NWLAT)

It was pretty much business as usual for Jimmy Cole in 2020 as he focused his fast pitch attention on MAW (second straight year), NWLA Tournament (five out of the last six years), and the fast pitch NCT (three out of the last four years).

Cole captained the AWAA Blue Kamikazes to a third straight top three finish at the NWLA Tournament. The defending champs did not have any go at it after losing their final game on Saturday to drop into the loser’s bracket. They won back-to-back 1-0 games to open Sunday, the first of which Cole won with a walk off homer on Caleb Jonkman. The Kamikazes then pulled out a marathon 16-inning game win to reach their group final. Due to those long games, Jimmy finished second in plate appearances (71) trailing only his teammate, Kyle VonSchleusigen. It was not his best offensive NWLA Tournament. He did, however, have multi-hit games versus some of the tournament’s better pitchers like Caleb Jonkman and Ryan McElrath. Cole used himself purely in a relief role and pitched well (mop up duty in an 18-1 blowout versus HRL notwithstanding).

He got more consistent pitching work in MAW, particularly at the July Ridley Park tournament where he threw all three pool play games for the Meats and allowed just three runs over 12 innings. The year would not be complete without at least one game-changing home run and ridiculous bat flip from Cole. He gave us two such home runs this year — a 7th inning walk-off on Caleb Jonkman and the GBL Legends at the NWLA Tournament and a solo shot off Dan Whitener in the first round of the Mid Atlantic Championship Tournament to put the Meats ahead in that game for good. To finish off the year, Cole had himself a nice showing at the NCT in October. He earned the victory in the Meats’ opener and picked up a hit in all four of his team’s games, including three home runs.