Griffin Krueger's Rankings:
Kraken
The Kraken came into the season with something to prove after coming up just shy of a championship in 2021, and so far they have been playing out of their minds on their revenge tour. The boys in green are yet to drop a series as they have asserted their dominance over Brookside Division and now look ahead to inter-division matchups to finish their season. After shrugging off their demons and defeating the arch-rival Panthers 2-1 to open up the year, the Kraken have been off to the races. After holding off a surging Shock team and decimating the upstart Bananas in a 3-0 series sweep they sit at a league best 7-2.
While the offense hasn’t been stellar, with Parker leading the way hitting at a .286 clip, clutch home runs at the most opportune times and lockdown pitching have lifted the Kraken thus far. Alex has added much needed production to supplement Parker, the two have combined for 13 home runs and 40 RBIs thus far. What has really been the key to success however has been the duo's performance on the mound. Through five starts Parker’s ERA is at an unthinkably low 1.00, Alex isn’t far behind as he has shut down some of the league’s best batters, notching a 2.85 ERA through four starts.
Looking ahead the Kraken will look to finish strong against their division rivals. The only thing working against them is that the team seriously lacks in depth, core-member Kyle is yet to play a game this season. A series against the Gladiators will give fans a sense of how the division rivals match-up as the two titans will almost assuredly face off in a playoff series later this summer.
Gladiators
The Glads are on a tear. AJ has come out of nowhere and is having his best season at the dish in years. New additions Daniel and Tommy have lived up to the hype and have been dominating pitchers. At the midway point in the year the Gladiators sluggers have hit four homeruns and brought in 32 RBIs. They have also been able to draw walks at a good rate.
Brandon’s pitching is nearly untouchable. He notched a no-hitter against the Bananas and is yet to notch a loss and his ERA is 1.11. AJ has managed to add a few decent starts to aid Brandon. The bats have been explosive enough though that even when pitching falters the Glads are usually able to come away with the win anyway.
An impressive 2-1 series victory over the Panthers showed that this team is the real deal. While they are yet to play some of the league's other heavy hitters, the Gladiators seemed poised for another playoff run in 2022.
Panthers
At 5-4 the Panthers record is a little deceptive. They dropped hard fought series to the two best teams in the league, with that in mind it is certainly way too early to count the reigning champs out. After taking care of business in a sweep of the Dragons, the Panthers have series which they will be expected to win against their division rivals in the Shock and the Bananas and should easily wade into the playoffs and win yet another division title.
There are very visible cracks though. Peter and Vinny are great as ever, both are continuing to smash wiffle balls. Peter is hitting .450 with Vinny not far behind at .391. The two have combined to score 36 of the teams’ 52 RBIs and have notched 12 of its 17 home runs.
The trouble for the Panthers right now is what happens after Vinny and Peter hit, the bottom of the order has struggled immensely thus far in the campaign. While Daniel is the team's third best option, he is hitting just .250. Peter S. and Trevor have been, to put it bluntly, dreadful. If the Panthers can increase production, even minimally, from the bottom of the order then they unlock a whole new level. Until then, it’s not easy to imagine them dropping games against the league's marquee pitchers come playoff time.
Shock
While the world hasn’t exactly been shocked, I think it's fair to say it has been mildly surprised and very pleased with the Shock’s debut season thus far. At 5-4 they have played every series competitively and with a lot of heart. While a dropping 1-2 to the Dragons definitely hurts, a sweep over inter-division foes in the Bananas was massive and may very well catapult this team into the playoffs. They played the marquee Kraken very closely and found success against their dominant pitching staff.
Returning legend Victor has led the team at the plate and on the mound, hitting .348 and staving off batters with a 2.44 ERA. Rookie Dom has taken the league by storm hitting .429 with 3 home runs and 15 RBIS, come award season he will certainly be in the discussion for ROY. Fellow rookie Anthony has also been strong in his appearances.
The Shock’s Ace Nick has lived up to the expectations he set for himself before the season and has been excellent, with an ERA at 2.57 over four starts. This team has two more series left and with the Bananas struggling a playoff berth is on the horizon, maybe just maybe they’ll be able to shock the world and find themselves in a World Series.
Dragons
The Dragons are very curious, they showed some initial promise in their opening series win over The Shock, but after getting swept by the Panthers it seems they may still lack what it takes to reach the next level. Chris and Michael have produced well offensively and the team has been able to put up runs pretty consistently. Chris had two fantastic series hitting .484 and knocked in 21 runs.
There is still a lot of season left for this team, it remains to be seen how they stack up with their division. Pitching has proved to be the sticking point, both Chris and Michael have struggled to find their fitting on the mound with ERAs at 9.00 and 11.77 respectively.
With the recent addition of David they have added a new threat on the basepaths and prove to be an offensive threat to any pitcher they face. A tough division leaves very little room for error as the season continues.
Bananas
The team’s youngest team has shown their age against BWB’s older players. At just 1-8 through three series the Bananas haven’t been able to get much going. Peter T. has been the bright spot of an otherwise lackluster offense, hitting .312. None of the other batters have been able to rake above .250 however. They have been no-hit twice so far.
Ace Brandon M. has thrown the wiffle ball very well in his seven starts with 43 strikeouts and a respectable ERA at 3.00, just as with the hitting however none of their other pitchers have been able to keep up.
While not outside the realm of possibility, making a run at a playoff appearance will be very hard for the Bananas. Sweeps in their final two series over the Dragons and Panthers would put the team at 7-8, with that they could potentially threaten the Shock who have difficult opponents in the Panthers and Gladiators left to face.
2022 BWB Preseason Power Rankings
Griffin Krueger's Rankings:
#1 Panthers
You cannot dispute The Panthers topping any preseason list like this. They have brought back all five members of their World Series winning core from last season, and have even acquired former Panther Jake Quiqley in the offseason. Quigley has won three BWB championships in his career — one as a member of the Panthers in 2017 — and adds even more firepower to the lineup. Of course we can expect league leading numbers from captain Peter Fraioli and strong as ever offensive production from sluggers Vinny Spoto and Peter Sposato. Trevor Meyler and Sposato will hope to hold down the outfield defensively again.
There are some potential problems which have plagued the team for years now, including who the second pitcher following Fraioli is, something that can be a liability come playoff time. Last season, during the regular season Spoto had the second most innings pitched, totalling 4.1 over three appearances, but ended the season with an ERA over 10. If Quigley can find his form he displayed on the title winning Special K rosters and give Fraioli relief on the mound it would open a whole new dimension for The Panthers this season.
There are also questions of a potential World Series hangover now that they have captured the ring which eluded them for several seasons, but Panther players have shrugged this notion off. They should easily come first in a North Division which at least from the outset seems weaker than the rival South. However with strong teams in the South making impressive roster moves, everyone is coming into this season gunning for the top dogs.
#2 Kraken
The Kraken enter 2022 on the heels of yet another World Series heartbreak. The franchise, helmed by its star and captain Parker Gibbons, has been unable to reach the promise land since 2015, a seven year drought which is hard to believe considering the talent they have fielded in the intermittent years. After losing a 2-0 series to The Panthers to end the season — which could have very easily gone the distance and maybe even the other way — The Kraken were sent back to the drawing board during the offseason.
In the runup to the beginning of the season the team signed Alex Homem, a former member of the very team which raised the trophy in 2015. Homem returns to the Kraken following several stints on teams around the league, in 2018 he was able to secure another ring with the Special Ks. Homem adds much needed pitching depth to this team which has faced similar issues as their archrival Panthers in that department. Homem also brings another strong bat to the roster headed by the ever excellent Gibbons and accented by the valuable pieces of Kyle Moretzky and James Choi who are gearing up for another run with Gibbons and the Kraken.
The Kraken find themselves in the more competitive Southern division, but should find themselves in postseason play. The question is do they have enough talent coalesced around Gibbons to make a deep playoff run this year. and will the team find the cohesion they need to bring an end to their World Series woes.
#3 Gladiators
The Glads had an interesting offseason, they lost TJ Ciafone and Nick Lucas who left to form the new expansion Shock, they kept star Brandon Gibbons whose presence on the mound is much needed for a team who can put up runs but has lacked in strong pitching. Captain Austin Corvino also brought back veteran slugger AJ Cefaloni, who put up stellar numbers in the batter's box in 2021. Cefaloni hit .531 with four home runs and 17 RBIs, with Corvino not far behind knocking in 12 RBIs with two home runs and of course providing his always strong defensive effort.
Corvino has also signed potential stars to the roster, with Tommy Peck and Daniel Brady ranked 5th and 9th in the top prospects list respectively. This year’s Gladiators roster is arguably better crafted than past editions. If Gibbons can keep a good head and the lineup keeps producing they will be a force in the South division. One potential X-factor for this team is Cefaloni on the mound, during his career he has had stretches of dominance but has been unable to find himself in recent years. If Cefaloni could somehow regain some of his past pitching strength then there's potential for a Gladiators championship in 2022.
A lot has to go right first though, and with a tough road through the South division it remains to be seen what the future holds for the reloaded Glads.
#4 Shock
The newly minted Shock enter this season with a lot of potential for success, but just as much potential for failure. Luckily for them they find themselves in the weaker North division, which makes their path less strenuous than that of other teams. Headed by Captain TJ Ciafone and Co-Captain Nick Lucas, The Shock have talked a big game ahead of Opening Day. With the roster they have managed to assemble it's not hard to understand why.
In the offseason The Shock acquired BWB legend and veteran Victor Cottini, who is returning from an absence of a few years. Surrounding Cottini in the middle of the lineup is what will prove to be either the strength or downfall of this team, the three top prospects the team had loaded into their lineup. #1 preseason prospect Anthony Palutucci will join David Pizzutello and Dom Miano — the second and third ranked prospects — as the core of the roster outside of its captains. There is loads of potential in this team, but as of now that’s all it is — potential.
If they can realize it then Ciafone and Lucas may be looking at a deep playoff run in their first go around as heads of a team in this league. Whether they can challenge The Panthers for first place in the division remains to be seen, and pitching is certainly a question although Lucas has shown flashes of dominance in his career so far. Ahead of play this is undeniably the most exciting team in the league.
#5 Dragons
Captain Chris Canno and The Dragons are returning every member of their roster from last season, as they look to come out on top in what is shaping up to be a tough race for the second playoff spot in the South. On paper, this roster seems like one of the stronger teams on this list yet on field results are yet to reflect this potential.
Last season the team finished the regular season 5-10 and missed out on a playoff berth, despite lackluster results they got strong production out of veteran Tristan An, who knocked in 24 RBIs with 6 home runs, and Canno hit a very respectable .375 over 12 games. The team was plagued by pitching woes however and never were able to find their footing during their inaugural season.
In the offseason the team added unknown quantity Matt Siegel to the roster, but the success of this team really hinges on what they can get out of Micheal Sullivan. Sullivan, who only played in three games last year, has the potential to propel this team to new heights. If they can carry over some of their success from last year with the addition of a strong season from Sullivan, The Dragons are a threat to any pitcher who comes up against their lineup.
#6 Bananas
At the bottom of this list is perhaps the team, in a league filled with unknown quantities and questions, which best fits into that mold. The Bananas are a new franchise filled entirely with rookie players. They should come into the season with pre-built chemistry which could help them get their footing in the league.
As the youngest team in the league there's lots of potential, but it is impossible to say at this point whether or not it will be realized. However, in the weaker Northern division there is a lot of space for the Bananas to make some noise and go bananas. BWB Wiffleball enters its 2022 season with a barrage of new and exciting faces looking to make a name for themselves and their teams in the league’s storied history. Standing in their way are the league’s legacy brands The Panthers and The Kraken, who have retooled and are looking to make another run at a title. Will teams filled with veterans with years of experience playing together prevail? Or will newly formed teams filled with unknown quantities be able to find what they need to create success of their own? Ahead of the season, here is where I think each team stands.
2020 First Half Power Rankings
1. The Process (20-4) (15-2 In Second Half): Evan has shocked the league with one of the most dominant seasons in league history. They are not dominated in one certain category but instead not showing any weakness on either side of the ball. A 10-4 record against opposing playoff teams proves this team to be legitimate as well. If Evan can grind through 3-4 games on playoff day like he has been all year, they could remain on top with the trophy in the end. =
2. Lavahogs (16-8) (13-5 In Second Half): The playoff drought is over and the Panthers' reign over the North Division has ended. The Lavahogs have surprised everyone with a first place season with the help of one of Brandon's best career seasons as well as late acquisitions of AJ and Austin to fill the roster depth gap which made the difference in winning this division. With a very balanced strengthened team, Brandon could finally win that first championship. +2
4. Panthers (14-10) (11-7 In Second Half): There's no question that the Panthers offense is one the the best in league history averaging to score 11 runs a game. However, they average to give up 11 runs a game which made this team loo more mediocre towards the end of the season. For the second straight season, this team's playoff performance will be decided by their pitching but don't be surprised if Peter clutches up. -1
5. Special K's (6-18) (4-16 In Second Half): The championship hangover came back to haunt the Special K's. The hitting and pitching was nowhere near as good as it was in 2018 and they could not beat the over .500 teams all year. If they come back in 2019, they will have to make some moves and improve in all aspects to compete. -3
6. PawSox (0-24) (0-22 In Second Half): Not much to say here. Owen emerged as one of the better pitchers in the league and should make a good run for Cy Young and Rookie Of The Year but he got absolutely no run support all season making it nearly impossible to win. It will likely be the first and last year for this team but don't be shocked to see Ben and Owen make some noise on other teams next year. =
