Reviewing WPBL Offensive Stats

As the league leading homerun hitters for the WPBL, Denae Benites (NY) and Kelsie Whitmore (SF) have been getting most of the offensive accolades during the season. But drilling into the batting statistics shows an intriguing cast of characters. These comments are based on only players qualifying with at least 50 at-bats during the just completed season. Also note that the WPBL players are hitting with composite bats, which increases offensive numbers.

Unsurprisingly, Benites (1.752) and Whitmore (1.669) lead the league in OPS in addition to home runs (11). But the 3rd and 4th slots are occupied by Ashton Lansdell (1.441, 5 HR) and Jamie Mackay (1.201, 4 HR) from the LA Queens. No other players in the league have hit more than 2 home runs, but there are 13 players with OPS of .900 or above:

SF: Whitmore, Kaplan, Jorge, Leblanc, Park
LA: Lansdell, Mackay, Edwards, Foxx
NY: Benites, Lahners, Yonetani
BOS: Geldenhuis

Looking at the list above, it’s not surprising that SF ended the season in first place and Boston in last. San Francisco’s Jill Albayati would have been in this conversation with 1.200 OPS before her mysterious disappearance stopped her from getting the necessary plate appearances.

In addition to Benites’ home run stroke, New York leadoff hitter Natsuki Yonetani is leading the league in doubles. Boston’s Ticara Geldenhuis has 5, and LA’s Ashton Lansdell has 4, tying her with three Firebells– Amanda Gianelloni, Andreanne Leblanc, and Skylar Kaplan. There have been no triples this season, probably because the outfield was shrunk with a temporary fence (330 to straightaway center), leaving little room for the ball to rattle around.

Breaking down OBP, Lansdell is ridiculous with a .600 OBP, slightly edging out the otherworldly Benites with .597. SF’s Skylar Kaplan sneaks into the third spot with .552, Benites’ teammate Kylie Lahners checks in at 4th with .549, and then four more Firebells round out the list of players with a .500+ OBP: Alexia Jorge .547, Whitmore .531, Jua Park .520, Andreanne Leblanc .500.

Let’s talk about Lansdell here. Yes, she’s obviously got the power stroke going (4 HR, 4 2B). Also, she’s 4th in the league for hits (21), tied for first in walks (12), but also tied for first in strikeouts (11). It’s ridiculous that one of the league strikeout leaders is also leading the league in OBP

So many of the offensive stats look like “Denae Benites and everybody else”. Benites has 32 hits on the season, and second is Kaplan with 25. Similarly Benites is averaging a silly .552, with Kaplan a distant but equally amazing .490. In any other league, Lansdell (.477) and Whitmore (.451) would be standouts, but they’re all playing in Benites’ shadow. RBIs are similar: there’s Benites with 38 and Whitmore with 32 and then the “everybody else” category led by Jamie Mackay with 18.

Benites is also disruptive on the basepaths with 15 stolen bases. Only 13 of Benites’ 32 hits have gone for extra bases (and remember 11 of those are home runs), but she’s a threat to turn any single into a trip to second base. Lansdell is second in the league with 8 stolen bases, and no other player in the league has stolen more than 4.

One offensive category where Benites does not lead the league is walks. In fact she’s near the bottom in this category with 6 walks in 67 plate appearances (and the league stats don’t differentiate intentional passes). Only LA’s Samaria Benitez and Jamie Mackay have fewer with 3 apiece. League walk leaders are Lansdell and Lahners with 12, Leblanc with 11, and Geldenhuis and Whitmore with 10.

As noted previously, Lansdell is in a three way tie with Boston’s Ticara Geldenhuis and SF’s Joely Leguizamon for the dubious distinction of leading the league in strikeouts with 11. Honorable mention to Boston’s Molly Paddison (10) and NY’s Natsuki Yonetani (8). At the other end of the spectrum is San Francisco’s Skylar Kaplan who has not struck out in 58 plate appearances–this is nonsensical! Her teammates Andreanne Leblanc (1 SO in 64 PA) and Jua Park (2 SO in 50 PA) are also showing amazing plate discipline.

Hit by pitch stats are not available on the WPBL web site, so I am giving my unofficial “designated pinata” award to Firebells catcher Alexia Jorge. After getting pelted with balls behind the plate during her normal catching duties, she seems to unerringly be the pitchers’ target during her at-bats.