Looking To Rebound: PA Pork Missiles Approach Wifflepalooza With A Reloaded Group

The plane ride home last year left a bitter taste in their mouths. But for PA Pork, it became one of the driving forces of this offseason. Every team that reaches Wifflepalooza is "motivated", but the tone of the year for the Meat Rockets has been "finish". They felt like they left a lot of meat on the bone last year, no pun intended. The Pork Missiles went 1-3 in Wifflepalooza XVII, but they held leads in 2 of their 3 losses, including leading the Goodfellas into the 4th inning. They were close, but it wasn't enough, as they bowed out short of the playoffs for just the 2nd time.

The record was poor, but finishing games, especially ones they hold leads in will be key. Getting Brandon McCullough back should help. He left the squad to run his own team last year, and has burst onto the scene as a truly elite hitter. Shutdown pitching is ideal, a bat that can pad leads is almost as good. Pennsylvania will stick him right in the heart of their lineup. They need a bounce back year from WP16 Title game MVP Justin Baeringer as well. 

"Jut" is a key piece of the puzzle. Dan Volpe appears to be the ace of the club, but Baeringer gives them that much needed and highly coveted 2nd arm. Championship DNA is still here, but execution and timing matters more. Pork Missiles will look to re-capture that this week.

Projected Batting Order

1. Tim Durante

2. Brandon McCullough

3. Ken Weber

4. Dan Volpe

5. Justin Baeringer

6. James O'Brien

Bench: Tom Volpe

Projected Pitchers

Justin Baeringer

Dan Volpe

Tim Durante

One Interesting Fact

The Pork Missiles hit fewer HR (3) in their Championship tournament than they did in either of the other tournaments they've played in (8 & 4 respectively) where they missed the playoffs both times.

Key Factor To Watch

It was discussed above, but the numbers to show how needed Baeringer is are incredible. In WP16, when the Pork Missiles won it all, Jut posted a 0.56 ERA and a 2-0 record, striking out 19 in 12.5 innings en route to winning Title Game MVP. In his two other tournaments? 0-1 with a 25.20 ERA in 5 innings, walking 14 and striking out just 5. His ceiling is elite, they'll need it to be reached.

Draftkings Odds

+140 to win WP18, O/U win total: 2