The Biggest Stories from CCW's First Half

As we teeter over the edge of Circle City Wiffle’s first half - playing games 8 and 9 of a 15 game regular season this week - some trends are starting to stabilize, and storylines are taking shape. While there isn’t much separation in the league standings - as is tradition in the league’s Balanced Rosters Era (™ pending) - there have still been plenty of surprises and noteworthy performances. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories so far of the 2025 Wiffle season.

A New Collection of CCW Aces

Somehow, the pitching in this league just continues to get better. 

Think back a few years ago, when of the guys still in the league, Smithey and Reid Werner were in a class alone. Then, Myc Witty and Aidan Palmer forced themselves into the same tier. Last year, Dustin Dowden and Holden Palmer brought themselves up to the same competitive level - not because of any dropoff from the guys already in that tier, but due to a steady improvement from them. This year, three new names are poised, pending continued strong work, to join that same echelon. 

Mitch Buis has been a strong, borderline ace-level arm in the league for years now, but so far this year, he is looking like he’s taken another step forward. Through 3 starts, only two other pitchers have struck out more batters than he has. He allowed just one run each in two of his three starts. Most of the damage he’s allowed has come off the slow pitch - when he’s on the board, Mitch is as unhittable as any guy in the league.

The other half of the Hounds’ pitching two-headed monster is Austin Alles. Alles got his first action on the mound last season, showing serious potential, but failing to consistently hit the board enough for prolonged success. But, in what is bad news for the rest of the league, he’s hitting the board this season. Alles has a paltry 1.64 ERA across 11 innings - the 6th best among pitchers with at least 2 games under their belt. His performance is capped off by a dazzling 4 inning, complete game one-hitter with 10 Ks against the high-powered Stampede this last week. 

The most under-the-radar addition to the list is rookie Brayden Scott. Though a relative unknown to CCW, Scott has had success nationally with the YiSH group, and he hasn’t missed a beat so far in his rookie season. He’s supposed to be the Stampede’s 3rd arm (!!) and yet he’s tossed 15 stellar innings, allowing one single run across those 3 starts, scattering just 11 hits. Scott pounds the board as well as anyone in the league, and so your only hope is stringing together a few hits, as you’re unlikely to get a lob pitch against him. 

If you’re counting at home, that gives us 9 guys in the league able to shut down any offense on any given night. As a hitter, you’ve got over a 50% chance you’re seeing one of these guys in a game. Good luck. 

Aidan Palmer is Going to Challenge for a League MVP

Aidan had what was likely the best season in his already storied CCW career last season, and he looks to have taken yet another step further in 2025. The Stampede’s embarrassment of pitching riches have brought Aidan into just 2 games on the mound so far - but what we’ve seen from him so far has been outstanding. Through 2 games, Aidan has allowed just one hit, zero runs, and is striking batters at a rate higher than everyone but Reid Werner. He’s making it clear that his pitching ascendence last season was no fluke, and is still rising.

Perhaps more impactfully, though, Palmer is putting together a much improved offensive campaign. He’s hovering right around the top 10 of total offensive value thus far, powered by 4 home runs, tied with several others at 3rd in the league. He works deep counts, pressuring pitchers to deliver 3 high-quality strikes, as his swing against the lob ball or get-me-over meatballs is as dangerous as any.

It has historically taken two-way success to claim a league MVP award, and Aidan is performing at a high level in both phases of the game right now. If he, and the Stampede by extension, continue their pace, he may have the best argument for the award. 
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Myc Witty is Looking like an Elite Offensive Player

Though we just spent the last paragraph giving another MVP front-runner his flowers, that whole conversation may be a moot point if Myc Witty continues at the pace he is at. He’s, as you know, been a truly dominant pitcher for the last two seasons, and the only thing keeping him from claiming league MVP in back-to-back years as well was his lack of offensive production, compared to Will Smithey’s.

Well, as of this writing, Witty is putting up elite offensive numbers, behind only Smithey and Thomas Hopkins in overall hitting value. And, he’s doing it in ways that feel natural and sustainable to him. His .500 batting average is insane, and yet unsurprising. With his speed, anything hit on the ground or on a line is likely to be a base hit. He’s striking out fewer than most of the top hitters in the league, which of course means he’s putting it in play plenty. And, he’s producing just enough power - 2 home runs so far - to keep defenses honest and provide some instant offense.

The Dowden Transaction Chain Trickle Down Impact

One of the more interesting roster shake-ups in recent memory took place just before fast pitch season, with Dustin Dowden announcing his return to the league. Teams making a waiver claim are required to drop a player with value one tier below the one they are signing - which meant that they couldn’t just drop a rookie or role player. So, when the Yakkers grabbed Dowden, they chose to drop Thomas Hopkins, whom the Moonshots picked up. The Moonshots dropped Connor Young to accommodate that, who was picked up by the Shorts. Their dropped rookie, Byron Young, went unclaimed, and made his way back to the Shorts.

What is particularly interesting about this series of moves is that without exception, all of these guys involved are putting up monster years. It would be easy to say “wow, what a blunder by the Yakkers, look how good Thomas has been” - but that would be ignoring the dominance that Dowden has exhibited so far. As such, each one of these teams may make the same move again, if they had to do it all over again.

Dustin has been among the most effective pitchers in the league thus far, sporting a microscopic 0.49 ERA, and one of those two runs allowed came on two consecutive duck farts by the Shorts to win the game. He’s also hitting, hovering around the top 10 in offensive producers, buoyed by a 3 home run weekend against the 8 Balls.

Hopkins is putting together the best season of his already long and successful career. He’s already nearly matched his offensive production last season in ⅓ of the games. He’s hitting .500, he’s clubbed 7 home runs, and has an OPS at a whopping 1.955 - all of which are tops in the league.

And let’s not forget Connor Young, who has been a crucial contributor for the Shorts offensively, as well. He’s missed a couple of games, but he narrowly missed out on Hitter of the Week in week 2. His 2 home runs and pull-side power make him a danger any at-bat, and he sits right around the top 5 hitters in the league thus far. 

The Yakkers Tinkering May Be Paying Off

The Yakkers have had a disappointing start to the 2025 fast pitch season, but they’ve been dealt an impossible hand. When they signed Dowden at the expense of losing Hopkins, they went all in on a pitching trio of Dowden, Alec Buchman, and Rudy Lyon. Since, Buchman has unfortunately suffered what looks to be a season-ending injury, and the expected important complementary bat in Sawyer Mitchell has been nowhere to be found.

To manager Rudy Lyon’s credit, though, he hasn’t thrown in the towel, and has instead been scrounging the waiver wire to fill the holes. In Buchman’s absence, the Yakkers took a swing on Justin Swingler, a former YiSH ace. His one outing was nothing to write home about, but he has the pedigree to potentially be a strong number 2 option. Lyon and DLewwy will have to carry more innings than expected, but that pitching depth is strong. Most recently, they added veteran James Haworth, who immediately made his presence felt with a big first weekend. He brings a dynamic bat, speed, and defense to a team lacking in those areas.

The biggest question on these acquisitions comes down to playoff eligibility. With nearly half of the season gone, these new additions and Mitchell, who hasn’t been at a fast pitch game yet, will have to be at the Dirtyard just about every week from here on out to gain eligibility. If they aren’t able to, they may help the Yakkers’ footing in the standings, but would leave them shorthanded still when the playoffs come around. In either case, the team looked as good this past week as they have at any point this season, and may no longer be the clear bottom-dwellers. 

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Which of these trends will stick in the league’s second half? Will we see a first-time MVP, or will a stalwart claim the title? Stay tuned to find out! 
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