All Things Valley League

Thornburg Almost Perfect

Tuesday night, former Winchester Royal Tyler Thornburg (08), now pitching for Double-A Huntsville, took a perfect game into the 8th inning against Tennessee. He ended up pitching 7 1/3 innings, while allowing 1 hit, 1 run (earned), o walks, and striking out 11.

The bigger story, though, is that Thornburg is blasting his way through the minor leagues. A 3rd round draft pick of the Milwaukee Brewers in 2010, Tyler has been almost unhittable in his time in the minor leagues. In 2010, he went 1-0, 1.93, with 38 strikeouts in 23 innings. In 2011, he went 10-6, 2.57, with 160 strikeouts in 136 2/3 innings, and this year so far he's 1-0, 0.98, with 24 strikeouts in 18 1/3 innings pitched. He may just be pitching in Milwaukee before too long. 

Boxscore is here. 

A Couple Quick Hits

You know, don't you, that when the major league season starts, the minor league season starts, too? (Even in East Africa I know this!)

Here are a couple quick hits about the new season:

Tony Thomas (Harrisonburg 05) has been assigned to triple-A Pawtucket again. Click here to view a short interview with Tony. (I think he's on the DL to start the season, though.)

Clint Robinson (Harrisonburg 05-06), coming off a 326/399/533 season, is back in triple-A Omaha. He went 3-5 with 2 doubles in the season opener. PIcking up right where he left off, it seems. Maybe he'll get a few major league at-bats this year.

In the majors, Yonder Alonso (Luray 06) went 0-4 for the Padres, and Jason Kipnis (Covington 06-07) went 0-5 with 2 walks. 

One last thing. I just finished up my list of Valley League alumni who are playing pro ball. It took me so long that I had to share it with the three people who might still check in. So here it is: pro players 2012 VERSION. 

A Few Releases

(I'm just going to post like I've not been away for a while...)

While seven former Valley Leaguers made their major league debut in 2011, there is a flip side to the industry- players who are released. Eleven players have been given their walking papers over the past few months. Here they are:

• Mike Schwartz (Harrisonburg 09) was released by the White Sox. Drafted in the 17th round of the 2010 draft, Mike hit 221/373/320 over 277 plate appearances in two seasons. You would think with that OBP, someone might take a flier on Mike...
• Gerard Hall (Luray 07), Kansas City. Gerard was a free agent signing by the Royals in 2009. In 818 plate appearances over parts of three seasons, Gerard hit 239/320/340. He topped out in Wilmington of the Carolina League.
• Derek Hamblen (Waynesboro 08), also Kansas City. Derek was signed as a free agent just this year, and hit just 121/216/167 in 66 at-bats in Burlington of the Appalachian League. 
• Justin Fradejas (Luray 10), also the Kansas City Royals. Justin, like Hamblen, was signed as a free agent just this year. Justin hit very well for Idaho Falls in the Pioneer League, ending with 310/414/429 numbers over 99 plate appearances.
• Jonathan Koscso (Woodstock 09), drafted in the 29th round of the 2011 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays. Koscso, like Fradejas, hit well enough to have another chance, in my opinion. He hit 310/437/380 in 71 at-bats. 
• Travis Smink (Front Royal 06, Luray 08), was released by the Houston Astros. A 31st round draft pick in the 2009 draft, Travis went 6-5, 4.57, with 12 saves and a 1.371 WHIP over parts of three seasons.
• Jacke Healey (Waynesboro 08), also Houston. Jacke, a 27th round draft pick in the 2010 draft, hit 163/228/302 in 295 at-bats over two seasons. 
• Alex Jones (Covington 09), released by Milwaukee. A 27th round pick in the 2010 draft, Alex went 2-3, 3.98, with 2 saves and a 1.361 WHIP over parts of two seasons. 
• Matt Holland (Front Royal 10), released by the Philadelphia Phillies. Matt was drafted this past June in the 22nd round, and hit 236/309/409 in 110 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League.
• Nick Cicio (Staunton 10), released by the Minnesota Twins. Nick, a free agent signing this summer, went 2-0, 1.74, with a 0.871 WHIP, and 20 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings pitched. This was in the Gulf Coast League.
• Matt Browning (Staunton 08), released by the Seattle Mariners. Drafted in the 43rd round in 2010, Matt hit 263/347/365 in 478 plate appearances. 

2011 Draft List

Ready for another list? Here is the list of players drafted from the Valley League. Please let me know about the ones I've missed! (Especially the free agent signees) *Updated December 21

2011 Drafted Players

Round, Pick, Name, College, VL Team, ML Team

 1   10 Cory Spangenberg, Indian Valley CC (Winchester 2010)- San Diego Padres ($1,863,000)
 3  117 Corey Williams, Vanderbilt (Winchester 09)- Minnesota Twins
 5  162 Jack Leathersich, UMass-Lowell (Haymarket 09)- New York Mets
 6  187 Taylor Hill, Vanderbilt (Winchester 08)- Washington Nationals
 6  205 Sean Buckley, St.Petersburg JC (Staunton 09-10)- Cincinnati Reds
 6  206 Mark Lamm, Vanderbilt (Waynesboro 10)- Atlanta Braves
 8  266 Tom LaStella, Coastal Carolina (Haymarket 09)- Atlanta Braves
10  315 Drew Martinez, Memphis (Luray 09)- Los Angeles Angels
10  323 Rob Kral, College of Charleston (Waynesboro 09)- San Diego Padres
10  324 Joe Maloney, Limestone (New Market 10)- Texas Rangers
11  345 Garrett Baker, Liberty (New Market 09)- Los Angeles Angels
11  353 Casey McElroy, Auburn (Waynesboro 09)- San Diego Padres
12  386 Matt Chaffee, Arizona (HArrisonburg 08)- Atlanta Braves
14  424 Cody Weiss, LaSalle (Luray 10)- Seattle Mariners
14  426 Nick Rickels, Stetson (Luray 10)- Oakland A's
15  461 Andrew Moye, Georgia Southern (Luray 09)- Milwaukee Brewers
15  471 David Herbek, JMU (Haymarket 08)- Chicago White Sox
15  479 Tyler Molinaro, Pitt CC (Rockbridge 11)- New York Yankees
16  506 AJ Holland, St.Joseph's (Rockbridge 10)- Atlanta Braves
17  526 Sean Jamieson, Canisus (Front Royal 10)- Oakland A's
18  553 Greg Nappo, Connecticut (Haymarket 10)- Florida Marlins
18  558 Ben Alsup, LSU (Luray 09, Staunton 10)- Colorado Rockies
19  575 Dustin Ward, Central Arkansas (Winchester 10)- Baltimore Orioles
19  599 Ben Paullus, Memphis (Woodstock 10)- New York Yankees
20  616 Kurt Wunderlich, Michigan State (Harrisonburg 10)- Oakland A's
20  623 Chris Haney, Dallas Baptist (Luray 08)- San Diego Padres
21  634 John Griffin, Central Florida (Luray 10)- Arizona Diamondbacks
22  676 Rhett Stafford, Marshall (Waynesboro 09)- Oakland A's
22  690 Brad Hendrix, Auburn (Winchester 08)- Tampa Bay Rays
22  691 Matt Holland, Texas A&M, Corpus Christi (Front Royal 10)- Philadelphia Phillies
23  700 Ruben Sosa, Oklahoma City (Harrisonburg 10)- Houston Astros
23  709 K'Shawn Smith, Indian River State JC (Winchester 11)- Toronto Blue Jays
24  733 Tony Caldwell, Auburn (Waynesboro 09)- Florida Marlins
24  742 Drew Turocy, Akron (Waynesboro 10)- Boston Red Sox
25  757 Erick Fernandez, Georgetown (Woodstock 10)- Washington Nationals
25  766 Chad Oberacker, Tennessee Tech (Fauquier 09)- Oakland A's
25  771 Chris Devenski, Cal State Fullerton (Woodstock 11)- Chicago White Sox
25  796 Sam Roberts, VMI (Rockbridge 09)- Oakland A's
26  801 Grant Buckner, West Virginia (Waynesboro 07-08)- Chicago White Sox
26  810 Raymond Church, Florida Atlantic (Winchester 10)- Tampa Bay Rays
27  817 Bobby Lucas, George Washington (Staunton 08)- Washington Nationals
28  857 Guido Knudson, UC San Diego (Woodstock 09)- Detroit Tigers
29  886 Nate Eppley, Rider (Staunton 09)- Oakland A's
29  900 Jonathan Koscso, South Florida (Woodstock 09)- Tampa Bay Rays
30  902 Matt Benedict, Western Carolina (Haymarket 09-10)- Pittsburgh Pirates
30  910 Jordan Steranka, Penn State (Winchester 09)- HOuston Astros
30  914 Adam McConnell, Richmond (Rockbridge 09)- Los Angeles Dodgers
30  931 Mike Marshall, Lubbock Christian (Woodstock 08)- Philadelphia Phillies
32  975 John Leonard, Boston College (Winchester 08)- Los Angeles Angels
32  976 Drew Granier, Louisiana-Monroe (Harrisonburg 09-10)- Oakland A's
33  993 Jeremy Dobbs, Austin Peay (Waynesboro 09)- Seattle Mariners
33  997 Trey Karlen, Tennessee-Martin (New Market 10)- Washington Nationals
35 1059 Ian Dickson, Lafayette (Rockbridge 10)- Chicago Cubs
36 1084 Bryan Henry, Keystone (Rockbridge 10)- Arizona Diamondbacks
36 1091 Mitch Connor, Elon (Luray 10)- Milwaukee Brewers
36 1095 Brandon Brewer, West Florida (Front Royal 09)- Los Angeles Angels
37 1116 Matt Wessinger, St.John's (Fauquier 09)- Kansas City Royals
38 1151 Chad Pierce, Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Fauquier 08-09)- Milwaukee Brewers
38 1165 Daniel Bowman, Coastal Carolina (Luray 09)- Cincinnati Reds
41 1245 Brandon McNelis, Northeastern (Staunton 10)- Los Angeles Angels
42 1263 David Villasuso, Miami (Luray 10)- Seattle Mariners
42 1269 Brad Zapenas, Boston College (Winchester 09)- Chicago White Sox
43 1305 Kyle Mahoney, High Point (Staunton 09)- Los Angeles Angels
44 1327 Matt Snyder, Mississippi (Haymarket 11)- Washington Nationals
44 1330 Blake Ford, Lamar (Front Royal 10)- Houston Astros
46 1388 Robert Nixon, Adelphi (Front Royal 09)- Cleveland Indians
47 1415 Devan Conley, New Mexico JC (Woodstock 10)- Baltimore Orioles
47 1433 Vincent Voiro, Penn (Woodstock 10)- San Diego Padres
48 1451 Mike Francisco, Villanova (Front Royal 08)- Milwaukee Brewers
48 1455 Rick Pacione, Marist (Fauquier 09)- Los Angeles Angels
49 1495 Eric Alessio, Marist (Fauquier 08, New Market 09)- Cincinnati Reds

Free Agent Signings

Tucker Jensen, Embry-Riddle (Luray 10)- Toronto Blue Jays
George Carroll, NY Tech (New Market 09)- Toronto Blue Jays
Brian Edelen, Western Kentucky (New Market 10)- Kansas City Royals
Ryan Durrence, Bethune-Cookman (Covington 09)- Chicago Cubs
Zach Maxfield, Florida Gulf Coast (New Market 08)- Detroit Tigers
Joe Witkowski, St. John's (Rockbridge 09)- Houston Astros
Nick Cicio, Central Florida (Staunton 10)- Minnesota Twins
Bryam Garcia, Florida International (Winchester 09)- Atlanta Braves
Tim Kiley, Tampa (Harrisonburg 09)- Chicago White Sox
Drew Rucinski, Ohio State (Luray 09-10)- Cleveland Indians
Jim Birmingham, Coastal Carolina (New Market 08)- Philadelphia Phillies
Derek Hamblen, Belmont (Waynesboro 08)- Kansas City Royals
Justin Fradejas, Auburn (Luray 10)- Kansas City Royals
Matt Laney, Coastal Carolina (Luray 10)- Los Angeles Dodgers
Garrett Wittels, Florida International (Luray 09)- St.Louis Cardinals
Yoandy Barroso, Florida International (Haymarket 10)- Chicago White Sox

An Explanation

Ecclesiastes 3:1: "There is a time for everything, and a season for everything under heaven." (NIV)

Maybe you've noticed that the posts on this site have dried up; maybe not.I suppose it's time for an explanation.

Back in November of 2006, I started this blog because I just had to write about something. I love baseball, and I love writing about baseball, and here was this league right in my own backyard- and some of the players went on to the majors! If I was following them anyway, why not start to put some coherant thoughts together for public consumption?

Well, 1,711 posts and over 175,000 visitors later, it seems it's just about time to end the ride.

Back in December, my wife and I received an email from a school in Nairobi, Kenya, called Rosslyn Academy. Both English teachers by trade, we had taught there from 1999 to 2004. Besides the fact that we adopted our children there, we always felt like our years in Nairobi were some of the best of our lives: it was difficult at times, but overall the most enriching experience of our time on earth.

Well, we received an email from the superintendent asking us if we would like to consider returning to East Africa for the upcoming school year. We had to apply within ten days or so, and we had our interview via Skype at 6:00 AM in the morning... and to make an already-too-long story shorter, we were offered jobs just about two weeks ago. We have decided to accept the offer to return to Kenya for a minimum of two years. We will leave the states either in late July or early August, which would give me some time to say goodbye to some of my favorite people and places in the entire Valley.

Following God's call in my life has always been paramount. Writing this blog has brought me into contact with all kinds of people- most of whom I now consider friends. (Not just Facebook friends, either!) Just as important, I've felt like I was a part of something- something fun and exciting. I could go to games, interview players, and hold my little notebook and jot down thoughts. I could hold up my radar gun and pretend to be a scout. I could say hello to broadcasters, owners, and die-hard fans in many of the Valley League towns. But I just can't ignore that call.

I hope very much to do a couple things, even while we're living in another continent: I hope to keep up with my lists of players, both who have played in the league and who has been drafted by major league organizations, and stats of pro players, which is probably my most favorite aspect of tracking players. I may post these on this site, but I may not. I would also like to finish up my lists from the past season, but that may need to be a couple larger posts instead of individual ones.

Thanks so much for supporting this site as its season is coming to a close. And if any of you find yourselves flying into Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, drop me a line!

#6 Hitter: Mike Martinez, Covington

Moving on down the list, today we have our #6 hitter in the Valley League in 2010, Covington's Mike Martinez.

Mike, now a junior at Florida International, obviously had an excellent season in the furthest reaches of the league. He hit 336/384/600, with 24 runs, 3 doubles, 10 home runs, 36 RBI, and a 10/22 BB/K ratio in 32 games and 125 at-bats. He finished 6th in the league in batting average, 3rd in home runs, tied for 7th in RBI, and tied for second in slugging percentage.

Mike has also clearly proven himself at the college level. As a freshman in 2009, he hit 335/427/495 at FIU, with 7 doubles, 2 triples, 6 home runs, and a 24/38 BB/K ratio in 182 at-bats. He was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.

As a sophomore, he hit even better, ending with a 378/448/580 line, with 19 doubles, 1 triple, 9 home runs, 47 runs and 55 RBI in 238 at-bats. He added a solid 26/45 BB/K ratio.

Congratulations on your excellent season, Mike!

Picture courtesy of Haymarket Joe Photography

#7 Hitter: Jordan Owen, New Market

Our #7 hitter started the season with a bang. On the opening night of the Valley League last June in Harrisonburg, New Market's Jordan Owen banged out 5 hits, including the game winning RBI single in the 10th inning.

That just got him started: Jordan swung a hot bat all season for the Rebels. He finished with a 345/402/454 line, with 31 runs, 8 doubles, a triple, 3 home runs, 22 RBI, a 10/21 BB/K ratio, and even added in 9 stolen bases. He was a critical bat in the middle of the Rebel lineup: the next closest batting average on the team (of those who were eligible for the batting title) was .239. (Although, to be fair, Brent Mikonis almost qualified, and finished with an average of .298.) Jordan finished 5th in the league in batting average, and tied for 6th in hits.

Now a junior at Tennessee-Martin, Jordan got started in college by hitting 269/338/448 as a freshman, with 11 doubles and 5 home runs in 145 at-bats. His numbers took a huge jump as a sophomore, when he hit 326/376/642 in 215 at-bats, with 14 doubles, 51 RBI, a 12/49 BB/K ratio, and a school-record 18 home runs.

Congratulations on your excellent season, Jordan!

Jordan running sprints before the all-star game

 

 

Beachy Named Top Braves Prospect

Well, here we are again- it's time to look at the former Valley Leaguers who have been named top prospects by Baseball America.

We'll begin with the Atlanta Braves. BA has named former Woodstock Riverbandit (08) Brandon Beachy the #8 prospect in the system. Bill Ballew, in his writeup, says that Brandon has a "live, fresh arm with good overall command of three pitches...his hard, sharp-breaking curveball has quality depth...hitter rarely barreled [his] pitches last season, even when he reached the big leagues."

Then, about his future: "[His] repertoire and feel for pitching bode well for the long term."

 
Brandon was also mentioned in the Braves chat:

CJ (Charlotte): Is Brandon Beachy really good enough to be a #3 starter? He wasn't that impressive in his 2 - 3 starts in Atlanta last year.

Bill Ballew: Wasn't that impressive? Really? Here was a guy who had been shut down after the minor league season, only to get an unexpected call to make his major league debut in a pennant race. Plus, he wasn't even starting until the middle of the season. If that's not impressive, especially with his ERA, I don't know what is. He may not be a No. 3 guy with Atlanta, but he has that ability at the major league level. Beachy has a nasty repertoire with an even better feel for pitching. He's also versatile, a guy who could be as effective as a reliever as a starter. He was the sleeper of the 2010 season who should have even better days ahead.

Imagine this- Brandon was playing in Woodstock in the summer of 2008. Two summers later, after not even being drafted, he was pitching in the major leagues in the middle of a pennant race. It looks like he has a very bright future!

#8 Hitter: Shaun Cooper, Harrisonburg

The Harrisonburg Turks moved into a new stadium in he summer of 2010, and ATVL was curious to see how the field played with wood bats. While ATVL has not run the numbers on park effects (yet), our #8 hitter, Shaun Cooper, had an excellent summer swinging the bat in the 'Burg.

Cooper, now a junior at Utah, hit 303/370/600, with 29 runs, 10 doubles, 13 home runs, 36 RBI, and a 15/41 BB/K ratio in 45 games and 165 at-bats. He finished tied for first in the league in home runs, 4th in total bases (with 99), tied for 7th in RBI, and tied for second in slugging percentage.

Shaun spent his freshman year at Pima Community College, where he hit .330 with a .421 on-base percentage, along with 17 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 44 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 197 at-bats. He then transferred to Arizona, where he received only 80 at-bats as a sophomore. Cooper has transferred to Utah for his junior season.

Congratulations on the excellent season, Shaun!

Picture courtesy of Haymarket Joe Photography!

Valley League Record Book: Strikeouts

And here we are, at the end of the record book. (I have a couple more lists, like games pitched and games started, but we'll pass on those for now.) So, the last one: strikeouts!

Strikeouts
1	Tim Gudex	Harrisonburg	2004	89
2	Dustin Umberger	Luray	2007	88
3	Cody Weiss	Luray	2010	87
4	Drew Granier	Harrisonburg	2010	84
5	Robert Gilliam	Luray	2007	81
6	Jeff Dagenhart	New Market	2004	79
	Josh Eidell	Woodstock	2007	79
8	Omar Aguilar	Covington	2004	76
	Sean Stidfole	Winchester	2004	76
10	Mike Wagner	Winchester	2004	75
	Brad Mills	Harrisonburg	2005	75

Gudex pitched in the Texas system for two years, Umberger went undrafted, and Weiss and Granier still have college eligibility. Gilliam is still in the Oakland system, Dagenhart and Eidell went undrafted, and Aguilar pitched in double-A in the Indians' system. Stidfole advanced to triple-A in 2009, but did not pitch in 2010. Wagner pitched in the Texas system for a couple years, and Mills, the crown jewel of the bunch so far, has thrown in nine games in major leagues so far.

Out of 11 players, only three did not get the opportunity to throw in professional baseball. Three are still active, and two still have a shot at the dream.

Well, that'll do it for the record book. Of course, ATVL will keep up with the changes from here...