Kane County Cougars LHP Cody Reed is one of two Midwest League pitchers to throw a nine-inning shutout this season. (Photo by Paul R. Gierhart/MiLB.com)

Today is National Doughnut Day in the United States, so I figured this is a good time to look at how many shutouts have been thrown in the Midwest League so far this season.

Through June 1, there have been four MWL shutouts — one each by Dayton Dragons RHP Ryan Olson (on April 14 vs. the Great Lakes Loons), Wisconsin Timber Rattlers RHP Braden Webb (on April 15 vs. the Cedar Rapids Kernels), Kernels RHP Clark Beeker (on April 30 vs. the Peoria Chiefs) and Kane County Cougars LHP Cody Reed (on May 18 vs. the Quad Cities River Bandits). (Click on the links to see the box score for each shutout.)

Olson and Reed pitched nine-inning shutouts. Webb and Beeker pitched five-inning shutouts in rain-shortened games.

Those shutouts are four of the 10 complete games thrown by Midwest League pitchers this season. Lansing Lugnuts RHP Justin Maese is the only hurler with more than one complete game — a six-inning one vs. the Bowling Green Hot Rods on April 12, a nine-inning one vs. the Cougars on May 11, and a seven-inning one vs. the Lake County Captains on May 24.

The number of shutouts in a Midwest League season varies, of course. In the past 12 seasons (2005-16), that number has ranged from five (in 2015) to 17 (in 2006). During that stretch, there was never a MWL pitcher with more than two shutouts in a single season. (One of the two-shutout pitchers was Johnny Cueto when he played for the Dragons in 2006.)