Our #7 hitter, Joe Agreste, currently a senior at West Virginia, is a rare three-season veteran of the Valley League. He played for Winchester in each of the last three seasons, albeit for only two games in 2007 (he had to return to Potomac State to finish a class for his degree). In 2006, he played in 36 games, hitting 240/333/384 in 125 at-bats, with a 16/32 BB/K ratio.
In 2008, however, he had his best season in the Valley, hitting 320/374/555 in 34 games and 128 at-bats, with 10 doubles, 6 home runs, and an 11/33 BB/K ratio. He was one of the hard-hitting triumvirate in Winchester, along with Mickey Wiswall and Tyler Townsend. Joe enjoyed hitting in the lineup, saying, "It was an honor to be in the middle of the lineup in Winchester. The amount of power hitters on our team was amazing." Joe was named to the second team All-League team in the outfield.
Joe's hitting in the Valley is no surprise, as he's been a standout at the plate since high school. Coming out of high school, in fact, Joe was a 38th round draft pick of the Seattle Mariners. Opting to go to Potomac State instead, he hit .348 as a freshman, with 70 hits, 2 triples, 6 home runs, and 57 RBI. He capped his freshman year by being named to the All-Tournament team at the JUCO World Series. The Mariners continued to chase Agreste, making him their 32nd round pick in 2006.
Agreste returned to Potomac for his sophomore season, and hit even better, finishing the year with a .373 average, along with 57 hits, 7 doubles, 7 triples, 10 home runs, and 46 RBI. He was named a second team NJCAA All-American, and ended his junior college career with his name all over Potomac State's all-time lists. He is still second all-time in career hits with 127, 3rd in RBI with 103, 4th in runs scored with 104, 4th in walks with 55, and tied for 4th in triples with 9.
For his junior season, Agreste joined a host of Valley Leaguers (Jordan Yost and Tyler Kuhn, for example) and played for the West Virginia Mountaineers. He had another excellent season, hitting 369/426/620 in 50 games and 179 at-bats. He added 49 runs, 66 hits, 15 doubles, 6 triples, 6 home runs, 45 RBI, and a 20/32 BB/K ratio. Joe was named 3rd team All-Big East.
So now Joe heads into his senior season at WVU, and he will undoubtably continue to rake, especially because he's worked harder than ever in the offseason to prepare. Like getting three chances to play in the Valley League, most likely Joe will be drafted for the third time next June.
I had the honor of watching Joe play last year and I have never seen anyone play the game or enjoy the game as much as Joe. It was always a pleasure and I hope he gets a chance to play at the next level.
Posted by: Baseball fan | November 13, 2008 at 01:17 PM