Who's Hott/Who's Not Report

Jim Santora
1 day ago
3 min read

As teams get 20 games in, it’s time to take a look and see which players are the hottest in the KPSL and who are struggling out the gate. Let’s begin with the Who’s Hott list:

Who’s Hott!

1. Jung Hoo Lee – Colorado: Let’s begin with a .400 hitter. Lee is tops in average with a .410 batting average, to go along with a .687 Slugging and .440 On Base Pct. He also has 3 Home Runs and 10 RBI’s. A main cog in the hit machine for the Rockies that is currently posting a .280 team batting average.

2. Ronald Acuna – Giants: Ronnie is smacking the ball at a really good pace, BA .391, Slugging .826 and a .517 OBP. He has 6 home runs and no doubt will be adding to that total as the year goes on.

3. Hunter Goodman – Dodgers: While Hunter is hitting only .286, he is slugging .626 and leading in home runs with 9 home runs and 23 RBI’s. He is a catcher that is super scary with a bat in his hands.

4. Francisco Lindor – Phillies: Hitting for average and power with a slash line of .377/.488/.754. Let’s add 7 home runs and 22 RBI’s and he a major contributor to the Phillies offense.

5. CJ Abrams – Nationals: A key piece to the 2025 champs and he is off to a great start, slashing .377/.488/.754. Hoping to hit his way back to another championship.

6. Miguel Andujar – Dbacks: Miguel has been swinging a strong bat and another player hovering around .400 (.396). He has a .500 SLG and .473 OBP and is a presence in the Dbacks lineup.

7. Dodgers Starting Pitching: The overall pitching has been dominant, but the top four starters have been massive. Posting a 10-4 combined record, sub 3.00 ERA and sub 1.00 WHIP. I don’t think many teams will get very comfortable when they have Wheeler, Yamamoto, Rasmussen and Priester headed in your direction.

Who’s Not?

1. Edmundo Sosa – Nationals: The number jumped out at me. 3 for 35. An .086 BA to start the season. Granted he appears to be a part-time player, but he seems to be getting his fair share of opportunities. Hopefully he will climb out of this hole.

2. Manny Machado – San Diego: Manny is hitting .177 with 1 home run. Now that may not seem too bad early in the season, but over the years, Manny has been considered for plenty of Who’s Hott lists and generally is among the leaders in Home Runs and RBI’s early on. This is more of a blip than anything and we believe he will bounce back.

3. Edwin Cabrera – Reds: He has had two starts, so you hope he trends upward. But he is 0-2, with a 13.50 ERA and 2.25 WHIP. It’s not looking too good out of the gate.

4. Ben Casparius – Rockies: Among relievers, this guys numbers jumped out and not in a good way. 0-2 record, a 7.00 ERA and 1.78 WHIP. The biggest number is that he has given up 7 home runs in 9 innings of work.

5. Rafael Devers – Reds: This was a high first round draft pick for the Reds, and the expectation was that he would hit bombs. Bomb in the early part of the season is the correct word, but not what we should be seeing out of this guy. Hitting .160 and 2 home runs was not what was expected. Hopefully his bat will awaken, and the fortunes of the Reds will change.

6. Eduardo Rodriquez – Giants: In prior KPSL seasons, guys like Eduardo would be hanging in AAA. Now that the league has moved to 12 teams, guys like ER ride in the rotation. 0-2 record, 7.63 ERA and 1.76 WHIP does not sound good and Giants in prior years were known for their top tier pitching. Maybe ER bounces back?

7. Jesus Luzardo – Dbacks: Currently 1-2 with a 6.19 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. He is on this list similar to Machado. Dbacks made a major deal and gave up a 1^st round pick to the Nationals for Luzardo. Not saying there is regret, but the expectation is that his numbers will improve.

There is plenty of season to go and as we head to the All-Star Break, we hope to see the Hott players continue to stay on fire and that the Who’s Not players will see this and light a flame to get started.