All Things Valley League

Lutz, off to Fine Start, Placed on DL

One of the maddening things about sports is injuries. Take the Phillies, for example. The team makes a change, taking Chan Ho Park out of the rotation, adding JA Happ, who promptly throws a couple good games. Things are getting better, right? Then, out of the blue, Brett Myers has the latest chic injury- a bad hip labrum.

Derrick Lutz (Front Royal 04) was off to an excellent start for Double-A Carolina in the Cincinnati Reds system, going 1-2, 1.99, with 2 saves, 1.23 WHIP, 4.0 BB/9, and 6.7 K/9 in 22 2/3 innings. Now, of course, he's on the disabled list with an inflamed right elbow. Maybe this is from pitching so often (he pitched in 20 of the 49 games so far), or maybe just... by the way most injuries happen- chance.

Anyway, congrats on the fast start, Derrick, and hurry back!

Scott Does it Again!

Yesterday's post was covering Luke Scott's (Staunton 99) two home run day. Today's post is about.... another Luke Scott two home run day!

Last night, Scott hit a grand slam and solo shot against Detroit's Dontrelle Willis, historically a very tough pitcher against lefthanded batters. (Scott is a lefty.) In fact, Willis, going in to the game, had allowed 7 home runs in over 700 plate appearances against lefties over his career- and Scott took him deep twice!

Scott's numbers after this tear: 336/421/664 in 110 at-bats.

What might he do today?

Click here to see the boxscore, game wrap, and video of the blasts!

Scott Goes Deep Twice, Drives in Four

What are the odds, with only five major league games on the slate last night, that a Valley Leaguer would make headlines?

Pretty good, as long as Luke Scott (Staunton 99) is swinging a hot bat.

Scott led the Baltimore Orioles, starting another rookie pitcher, over the Detroit Tigers, 5-1, with 2 home runs and 4 RBI. Luke went deep in the 2nd, a solo shot, off Armando Galarraga, and hit a 3-run bomb in the 8th inning off Ryan Perry.

Luke is quietly off to an excellent start this season, as he's hitting 318/402/598 in 107 at-bats. He has 6 doubles, 8 home runs, and a 16/19 BB/K ratio.

Click here to see video of the home runs, plus the boxscore!

New Valley League Website: Up and Running!

Here's a piece of exciting news- the new VBL website, thanks to the work of Scott Musa, is up and fully operational!

Here is a screen shot of the new look:

As you might imagine, a screen shot does not do the site justice, so click here to visit it yourself. Scott will hopefully add some of the archived stats soon (my favorite part of the old site), as well.

Stavinoha Goes Deep!

Here's a Valley League achievement to celebrate: former Front Royal Cardinal (03) Nick Stavinoha hit his first major league home run last night! I just so happened to find a clip of said home run:

Congratulations, Nick!

Gutierrez, Alonso are "Hot"

Baseball America posted an article today that features two former Valley Leaguers: Yonder Alonso (Luray 06) and Carlos Gutierrez (Luray 07) (and pictured left). The article traces the development of the first round draft picks from '08 (yes, that's right- the Valley had two first rounders!).

Alonso is really starting to mash for High-A Sarasota, while Gutierrez is pitching wonderfully for High-A Fort Myers.

This is what BA says about them:

Yonder Alonso got off to a sluggish start in the Florida State League, batting .227/.302/.453 in April, but it’s been a different story in May. All his indicators are pointed in the right direction—and toward a promotion to Double-A. Yonder, overall, is hitting 289/365/497 in 149 at-bats.

Though far from overpowering, Carlos Gutierrez has quietly put together one of the better seasons among first-round pitchers. He’s covered for a low strikeout rate for now by limiting baserunners and inducing a healthy number of groundballs. Carlos is 2-1, 0.98, with a 0.89 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, and 5.7 K/9 in 46 innings.

Keep it up, guys!

Three on Southern Conference 1st Team

Continuing the theme of conference awards, three former Valley Leaguers have been named to the first team All-League in the Southern Conference:

(Stats are through May 21)

2B- Brandon Sizemore, College of Charleston (Waynesboro 07-08): 318/397/627 in 236 at-bats. He has 20 doubles, 17 home runs, 74 RBI, and 27/37 BB/K ratio.

OF- Pat Irvine, Elon (Waynesboro 07): 418/555/841 in 170 at-bats, with 11 doubles, 17 home runs, 18 stolen bases, and a 42/48 BB/K ratio.

OF- Matt Mansilla, College of Charleston (Woodstock 07): 330/402/665 in 221 at-bats. He has 13 doubles, 19 home runs, 64 RBI, and a 25/64 BB/K ratio.

Congrats, guys!

VBL Places Dozen on All-CAA Teams

That title's not so great, but it's true- the Valley League has placed 12 alumni on the CAA All-League teams!

First Team

OF- Scott Krieger, George Mason (Haymarket 08), also co-player of the year! (He's left, with Chris Henderson)

OF- Matt Townsend, JMU (Staunton 08)

SP- Mike Modica, George Mason (Haymarket 07)

SP- Kevin Crum, George Mason (New Market 08)

RP- Kevin Munson, JMU (Covington 08)

Second Team

SS- Gerard Hall, Old Dominion (Luray 07)

OF- Matt Browning, JMU (Staunton 08)

SP- Turner Phelps, JMU (Covington 08)

Third Team

2B- Ryan Soares, George Mason (Haymarket 08)

OF- Max Most, Old Dominion (Staunton 08)

OF- Alex Foltz, JMU (Luray 08)

Rookie Team

1B- Josh Wright, Old Dominion (Luray 08)

Congratulations to all!

Tolliver to get Drafted?

Ashur Tolliver had an excellent season in the Valley in 2007, so this should come as no surprise to readers of this site: Ashur is now turning the heads of scouting directors. But he first turned the heads of Bob and Teresa Wease, because when I asked them who is most likely to go pro on the '07 Turks (I wanted to do an interview), they directed me his way. This spring, Tolliver is having an excellent year for the Oklahoma City Stars: he's 10-1, 3.63, with a 1.07 WHIP, 2.1 BB/9, and 10.3 K/9 in 69 1/3 innings.

This is what Baseball America (subscription required) has to say about Ashur:

Third-/Fourth-Round Talents

12. Ashur Tolliver, Oklahoma City

NAIA power Oklahoma City usually has an interesting NCAA Division I transfer, and this year's prospect is Tolliver. He went just 2-5, 7.94 at Arkansas-Little Rock in 2008, but started to blossom in the Cape Cod League during the summer. He drew a lot of attention when his fastball sat in the low 90s and popped some 96s early in the spring, though he was working more at 88-92 mph as the draft approached. Scouts wonder about his durability because he's generously listed at 6 feet and 170 pounds. He has a very quick arm, though there's also effort in his delivery, and he ultimately may wind up in the bullpen. Tolliver's second-best pitch currently is his changeup. He showed some feel for a curveball in the fall but now employs a slurvy slider in the low 80s. He has a chance to become the highest-drafted player in Stars history, surpassing Grant Hansen, who went 89th overall to the White Sox in 2003. But Tolliver didn't help his chances by giving up eight runs in three innings against Louisiana State-Shreveport in the first round of the NAIA playoffs.

I beg to differ about one thing: he started to blossom in the Valley League one full year before he went to the Cape! He went 4-0, 2.52, with a 1.16 WHIP, 3.6 BB/9, 11.0 K/9, and .216 opponent's batting average in 50 innings with the Turks. ATVL named him the #7 starting pitcher in the league, and here is the transcript of the interview!

More on Kipnis

When I scan the news for information about the Valley League, I often run across draft status reports on Jason Kipnis (Covington 06-07). Almost invariably, the reports say he's "tough to profile" as a prospect.

Then I ran across this chat question, which seems to sum up the issues in one fell swoop in one of Aaron Fitt's chats for Baseball America (pardon the language in the answer):

ASU fan (Flagstaff, AZ): All I hear about Kipnis is how hard he is to profile as a major leaguer. The kid may not be a 'prospect tools' guy but he is a straight up ballplayer when it comes down to it. I've also heard he can play 2B. Where do you see him going in the draft come June and what position will he play his major league career at; CF, LF, 2B? Thanks!

Aaron Fitt: I see him as a mid-second rounder. It seems like he'll probably get a shot at second base in pro ball, and if he can handle it, he's got a real chance. But he's a tweener as an outfielder. There have been thousands of great college players who are straight-up ballplayers and gamers that haven't made the big leagues. I'm not saying Kipnis won't, but the simple truth is he is a tricky one to profile. That does not take away from the fact that he's a hell of a player at the college level, and he's got a real chance at the next level, too.

Well, the draft is coming up- it starts on June 9- so we'll see what major league clubs think about Jason soon!