Pedro Cerrano Invitational Week 1 Recap: Integrals, Roadrunners, Chihuahuas, and Torpedo Bats

Tuesday April 8th, 2025

Big thanks to our friends at the Hoosier Longhorn Confederacy Fantasy Football League for graciously hosting us on their site! I’ll say right up front: I’m not fully committing to a detailed, stat-filled write-up every single week—because, as much fun as this is, I’m not looking for a full-time unpaid job. That said, I’ll do my best to get something posted weekly, even if it’s a bit looser some weeks than others. And hey, if anyone ever wants to jump in and write a guest recap, you’re more than welcome.

Now, on to the action!

The first-ever week of the PCI got off to a wild start, with plenty of scoring and some close matchups across the board.

In the Coastal Bend, the Oilers fended off a late push from the Austin Armadillos, securing a 6–4 win behind ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who logged 16 innings with a 1.62 ERA and a 3.17 K/BB. Austin got an unexpected boost from their third-string catcher Iván Herrera, who came out of nowhere to slash .381 with 4 homers and 6 RBIs—before promptly blowing out his knee and hitting the IL for at least a month. So it goes.

Down the road in Rockport, the Redfish outslugged the Michiana Cavemen, 6–5, in a shootout powered by 19 home runs, 62 RBIs, and 10 steals. Aaron Judge was in historic form from the jump, batting .324 with 6 bombs and 17 RBIs while even grabbing 2 bags. The Cavemen nearly matched them blow for blow, with Wyatt Langford clubbing 3 homers and driving in 5. It was close until the final bell.

Gallagher Gulch saw the Fat Boys take down the Oahu Rocketeers in a pitching-driven 6–4 win. Despite the travel lag, Oahu showed flashes of firepower—Logan O’Hoppe crushed 5 homers and batted .345 with 9 RBIs. But the Fat Boys’ staff was too strong. Fat Boys owner Willie B. Lakey noted this marked his third fantasy showdown against a team helmed by someone with the surname Allison—the first two back in the WSBL days, facing Roadrunners owner David Allison and his brother Bobby. By the time the Fat Boys take on the Armadillos and Chihuahuas in Weeks 9 and 10, that number will be up to five Allisons total.

Speaking of the Chihuahuas, Doña Ana pulled out a 6–4 win against the Boerne Mutts, riding a balanced attack on both sides of the ball. The Chihuahuas Kyle Tucker was on fire, hitting .319 with 5 HRs, 15 RBIs, and 3 steals. Framber Valdez kept Boerne in it with 12 strong innings, but it wasn’t enough to flip the script.

In New Mexico, the Roadrunners took down the Denver Donuts in a high-scoring, down-to-the-wire battle. New Mexico poured in 55 runs, 17 homers, and 52 RBIs, with Rafael Devers going off for a .533 average and 6 RBIs. Denver’s Drew Rasmussen countered with 10 sharp innings and a sub-1 ERA, but the Donuts came up just short in a matchup where nearly every category was in play through Sunday.

The final matchup of the week saw the Indy Integrals post an 8–3 win over the Sinton Mullets. The score might’ve looked lopsided, but Sinton was in striking distance across five different categories. Freddy Peralta threw 13 excellent innings with a 2.08 ERA and 16 K/BB, while Will Smith added offensive pop, hitting .423 with a homer and 6 RBIs. For Indy, Seiya Suzuki did the heavy lifting at the plate with 4 homers and 11 ribbies, while their staff quietly dominated all week.

Of Torpedo Bats and Maple Mania

While hitters across the league are still trying to catch up to high heat, the big “story” in Major League Baseball right now isn’t who’s swinging—it’s what they’re swinging. Enter: the torpedo bat. Somewhere between a Cold War submarine and a bowling pin, this weirdly shaped club is turning heads, especially in the Bronx, where the Yankees just tied an MLB record with 15 homers in their first three games.

But this isn’t baseball’s first bat craze. I read a piece by Zack Meisel in The New York Times/Athletic this weekend that traced the rise of the maple bat—now standard across the league, but once written off as too brittle for pro use. Sam Holman, a stagehand in Ottawa, didn’t buy it. After watching ash bats splinter one after another, he started digging into the science. Turns out, maple isn’t actually weaker—it’s denser, harder, and has a tighter grain than ash, making it less likely to splinter and better at transferring energy on contact. Holman carved his first prototype out of leftover maple from a staircase spindle he was replacing at home. Long story short, he started turning out bats in his garage, filled his first order for Jose Canseco, and within a few years, Barry Bonds was chasing history with one.

Whether torpedo bats follow the same path remains to be seen. Right now, they’re still more curiosity than consensus. Some hitters swear they help with barrel control a nd power. Others think they’re a gimmick. What’s clear is that the conversation’s happening. And if torpedo bats do stick around, it won’t be because they look cool—it’ll be because hitters believe they work, and the numbers back it up. Just like maple. Sort of. I guess.

And now, because of course they are, Yahoo Fantasy Baseball is tagging which players are swinging torpedo bats—complete with an adorable little icon next to their name in the app. It’s a little ridiculous, but maybe kind of useful? Or maybe not. But in a game where every edge is tracked, parsed, and squeezed for value, why wouldn’t we flag who’s swinging the bat equivalent of a sci-fi prop? So if one of your guys shows up with the torpedo tag next week, maybe it’s nothing. Or maybe he’s about to hit five bombs and ruin someone’s week .

Week 2 Matchups:

  • Armadillos cross the Pacific to take on the Rocketeers
  • Chihuahuas host the Cavemen
  • Mutts head south to face the Redfish
  • Oilers travel north to challenge the Fat Boys
  • Donuts head to the Midwest to face the Integrals
  • Mullets host the Roadrunners

Standings after Week 1:

In the East, the Indy Integrals sit atop the standings after a dominant 8–3 win, followed closely by the Coastal Bend Oilers and Rockport Redfish. Out West, the New Mexico Roadrunners and Doña Ana Chihuahuas are tied for first at 6–4–1, with the Fat Boys just a half game back at 6–5.

East Division

  1. Indy Integrals (8–3–0) —
  2. Coastal Bend Oilers (6–4–1) — 1.5 GB
  3. Rockport Redfish (6–5–0) — 2.0 GB
  4. Michiana Cavemen (5–6–0) — 3.0 GB
  5. Austin Armadillos (4–6–1) — 3.5 GB
  6. Sinton Mullets (3–8–0) — 5.0 GB

West Division
1. New Mexico Roadrunners (6–4–1) —
1. Doña Ana Chihuahuas (6–4–1) —
3. Gallagher Gulch Fat Boys (6–5–0) — 0.5 GB
4. Oahu Rocketeers (5–6–0) — 1.5 GB
T5. Denver Donuts (4–6–1) — 2.0 GB
T5. Boerne Mutts (4–6–1) — 2.0 GB