2025 WPBL Playoff Primer

By Richard Salas

The 2025 WPBL has had a little bit of everything this year. Fans were subject to familiar names dominating the box score (looking at you Ponder, Wolverton, Hoffman, and Watts) and a few other newer names propelling themselves into the top tier of WPBL players(King Kong Jimenez and Push Pop Patterson), both of which are looking like top 5 MVP candidates at the moment. The new look Elko Truckers stormed out of the gate at a torrid pace. They have cooled off recently, but find themselves in the playoffs for the first time in 4 years and have restored some fire back into the fanbase. Fans have been treated with DH/LF Brian Sicard’s return to the team via trade, which has led to him demolishing the stolen bases record. Conversely, you have Walla Walla, and although the playoffs are looking unlikely at the moment, you have to admire their fight to get above .500 ball even after starting the season 0-8. CF Sistrunk and LF Wolverton have meshed well after a cold start and have the fans hoping for a better start to next season, starting with a healthy pitching staff. The Mainland Division as a whole has been successful, with all teams having a winning record, spearheaded by the consistently good Lake Tahoe and Pocatello. Lake Tahoe’s offense has hit some bumps along the way, but their pitching has always kept them in the playoff push and they’re hoping to sneak into the playoffs and go for the repeat. Herfurth, Schumacher, and Patterson are a trio of pitchers that nobody will want to meet in the postseason. Pocatello, sporting the best record in the league for the second year in the row, has established themselves as the class of the WPBL and will be looking to break through for their second championship after falling short last season after shattering the regular season win record. They have the arms and the bats to waltz through the playoffs. WPBL legend SP Moises Batista has had a career resurgence of sorts, and a trade deadline acquisition pairs him with former teammate SP Victor Melendez. Even Kennewick, who looked to punt on the season trading away pivotal rotation players, has played inspiring ball down the stretch and are still not technically eliminated from playoff contention. 3B Rafael Trujillo and and 2B Mitch Jones look like cornerstones for the franchise, and both are under 30 years old.

The Coastal Division hasn’t had the same success, but has provided just as much drama. For most of the season, 4 teams have jockeyed for the Coastal Division title. Crescent City held the throne for most of the year,spearheaded by consummate professional LF Chris Mistretta, but at different times, Bandon and Victoria made runs that got the Kodiak faithful sweating. There was even a brief period where the Astoria Fighting Chinooks threw their hat in the ring. That was short lived, but they won more games than anyone expected and looked like they rebuilt their scrappy image which was tarnished last year with their 30+ run loss. AFC SP John Hofer has returned to his 2023 form and has turned in a really solid year on the mound. Colby Stillman out in Bandon has been unleashed as a 2 way player, and has shown flashes with the bat and his arm. He’s hitting for an impressive .790 OPS and has hit 10 homers. His pitching has been average, but many around the league say he hasn’t even touched his potential on the mound yet. When that happens, watch out. Hoffman and the rest of the flying Geese have underperformed to their standards this year(Hoffman has been good, but even he has said he expects much more out of himself). 2B Frank Vitela has emerged as a long term piece for Victoria, and has become a popular player with the younger fans. Warrenton finds itself shoulder deep in a full rebuild, but they have an assortment of young players and draft picks that give fans some semblance of optimism. There are rumblings that they have not been impressed with their crown jewel acquisition in the Joe Watts trade, young pitcher Manny Jamboree, but he still remains young and projects to be at least a decent mid rotation starter. 25 year old catcher Daniel Kravetz has had a stellar year in part time duty for the Osprey, and may find himself in the starter spot there in no time. Closer Tim Candelora is still in Warrenton, shutting people down out of the bullpen.Overall, the product out of the WPBL continues to get better year over year. The overall talent level keeps increasing, and there are rumblings that an expansion to 12 teams could be closer than some teams even realize. The playoffs will be intriguing as ever this year. Will Lake Tahoe or Pocatello add another championship to the trophy case? Will Elko’s all in push pay off? Will a Coastal team surprise everyone? Will the top name players fulfill their lofty expectations? Which under the radar players catapult themselves into playoff heroes? The media and fanbases can’t wait to see who will end up on top of the WPBL this season.

Player Spotlight: CCK 1B Victor Verver

Usually we highlight the top name guys, but I took this opportunity to highlight a player not as well known to the general public who’s story of grinding his way up to the Majors is much more indicative of your typical WPBL player.

Victor has been a part of the WPBL since it’s inception. Initially signed on for the Warrenton farm system, he was average at best at the AAA level while playing about half of the games in that 2021 system. Decent, but nothing stood out and his age at the time(26) was older than a lot of other prospects. After the 2021 season, warrenton decided not to bring him back. He spent that winter wondering if he would ever play professional ball again. Here’s a statement from Victor on that winter:

“I was aimless, to say the least. Not much money in my pocket, just trying to figure out the next steps. I started working with my dad at the family owned delivery business, so just spent a lot of time driving thinking about what went wrong with my baseball career. I grew up with so many people telling me I was the next big thing, I think I let it go to my head and I started expecting results without working for them. That whole winter I sat there feeling humbled. When I got a call that following April to join another minor league system, I knew I’d have to go there with fire under my ass to make my dreams happen. I became a different man at that point.”

With the Elko brass not sure what to expect from Victor, he started the season at A ball. in 8 games, it was evident he was way too good to be in A ball, so he was moved up to AAA for the rest of the 2022 season, and performed like a man ready for the majors. In only 47 games, he turned in a 2.1 WAR and a .989 OPS. He hit 9 homeruns. He played good defense. He looked the part.He started 2023 at AAA Winnemucca again, and although he regressed a little, he was still performing. With Elko in a state of transition, he got the call up about half way through the year. He finished the season with Elko, playing above average defense at 1B and was above average at the plate(.770 ops, 116 OPS+). After that season, Victor got something he thought was never coming his way, a major league contract. Elko loved his tenacity and professionalism, and signed him to a reasonable 3 year deal. Victor’s take on that moment:“I just called my mom crying. I wasn’t the highest paid player in the league, and it wasn’t the longest deal, but I did it. I became a major leaguer. My hard work prevailed. I knew I deserved that contract, but I couldn’t do it without my family’s support. When you’re in the minors, riding old buses, sharing cheap motels with teammates, the dream of the majors can seem so far away. In that moment, I was incredibly grateful, but I also thought, ‘Why stop here?’. I promised to myself I would keep working, and try to make the most out of this major league opportunity.”That he did. In 2024, the Elko truckers added big rookie Randy BBQ, who played 1B. Victor was moved out of position, and spent the year at DH and 2B some. He did this gladly, and turned in an amazing year at the plate. 80 games, .813 OPS, 10 homers, 11 Stolen Bases, and a 2.0 WAR. With that said, the Truckers went all in and didn’t see where Verver could get the playing time he deserved. Due to their spending, they needed to shore up some pitching and used Verver’s production and affordable contract to do so. Elko was upfront throughout the whole process, and even expressed to Victor their desire to get him somewhere where he could return to playing 1B as a starter. He was traded to CCK for a high leverage bullpen arm in Zach Clement. Before injury, Victor continued his tradition of improving, upping his OPS to .860. He was riding a 15 game hitting streak before he got hurt. He got to return to his true position at 1B, and has played great defense at that position. His injury was unfortunate, but he will be returning soon and will be looking to jolt the Kodiaks in the playoffs.

I think it important to highlight players like these, the guys who don’t give up, who keep grinding, and who put in the work every day. Finding these types of players can be hard, so if any of my readers want to give me any leads on similar players, please do.