#8 Reliever: Neil Schenk

Our #8 reliever from 2007 is Neil Schenk, a senior lefthander from Memphis, who threw for the Woodstock RiverBandits in both 2006 and 2007.   Schenk had an excellent season for Coach Foltz, ending the season at 4-0, 1.61 (0 saves), with a 1.08 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, 14.5 K/9, and .203 opponent's batting average in 22 1/3 innings. He struck out a whopping 36 batters in those 22 innings, which gave him the highest K/9 of any reliever on my list.

Neil improved on his numbers quite a bit from two summers ago, when he was mostly a starter for Woodstock. He finished 0-6, 7.09 over 8 starts and 39 1/3 innings, and had a 1.73 WHIP, 4.6 BB/9, 7.6 K/9, and .302 opponent's batting average.

I was able to contact Neil and ask him about his radical improvement from 2006 to 2007.  He answered: "The main reason I had success this summer... was that I had found a role that I could stick with and get better at--being a "set-up man." Before then I was just a pitcher, but this summer I became a reliever. I worked on gaining strength and throwing my curveball properly, and overall just focusing on each pitch and each batter one by one. In my role I had to face anywhere from 8-10 batters in an outing and knowing that I found it easier to stay focused and have success." 

He certainly had success! With his size (he's 6-2, 200), ability to make hitters miss, and lefthandedness, Schenk has a chance to be noticed this spring to perhaps carve out a career after college.