The 9th best starter in the league, according to ATVL, is Winchester's Justin Collop.
Collop, a junior at Toledo, had an excellent season for the Royals over 9 starts and 58 2/3 innings. He went 5-2, with a 1.039 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, 9.5 K/9, and .206 batting average against. The high K/9 comes from a whopping 62 strikeouts in those 58 2/3 innings. He finished 5th in the league in strikeouts, 9th in innings pitched, and 4th in opponent's batting average.
While Collop had many good starts, he had three that were outstanding: June 1st at Luray, June 19 against Fauquier, and June 25 against Staunton. At Luray, Collop threw 8 1/3 innings, allowing only 4 hits, 1 run (earned), 2 walks, and 10 strikeouts. The Royals won, 3-1. Against Fauquier on June 19th, he again threw 8 1/3 innings and allowed only 3 hits, no runs, 1 walk, and 9 strikeouts in the 3-0 win. In his very next start, on June 25th, he threw 8 innings, allowing 5 hits, 1 run (earned), 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts.
As an interesting note, Collop did not throw in the playoffs against Staunton. Would a Collop start have sprung the Royals into the second round?
In 2007, as a freshman at Toledo, Justin went 4-2, 5.90, with a 1.45 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, and 3.1 K/9 in 29 innings pitched. As a sophomore in 2008, he went 3-6, 5.33, with a 1.35 WHIP, 3.2 BB/9, and 5.8 K/9 in 77 2/3 innings.
Congratulations, Justin!
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