All Things Valley League

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!

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...

Cousins, Villanueva Named Florida All-Stars

Continuing our look at organization all-stars as named by MiLB.com, today it's the Florida Marlins. Two former Valley Leaguers have been named to Danny Wild's list: Scott Cousins (Harrisonburg 05) and Elih Villanueva (Luray 07).

Update on 2008 Draft Class

As disappointing as the 2007 draft class seems to be at this point, the 2008 bunch looks to be the opposite. In my opinion, this draft class looks like the best (well, of the classes that can be judged yet, that is).

To see the entire register, click Download 2010 Statistics Players from 2008 Draft. (excel sheet)

The Numbers

Fifty former Valley Leaguers were drafted or signed as free agents in the summer of 2008. Of these, 28 are hitters, and 22 are pitchers. Nine played in the minor leagues in only 2008, and eleven more stopped playing after the 2009 season. That means that thirty are still active: 60% of the total.

Two players have, incredibly, already played in the major leagues: Brandon Beachy (Woodstock 08) and Yonder Alonso (Luray 06).

Beachy, Timmons Named Braves All-Stars

In Josh Jackson's writing for minorleaguebaseball.com, two former Valley Leaguers were named organizational All-Stars for the Atlanta Braves: Wes Timmons (Winchester 00-01) and Brandon Beachy (Woodstock 08).

Here is what Jackson wrote about the duo:

Third baseman -- Wes Timmons, Gwinnett (114 games): "I thought [Wes Timmons] had an outstanding year," [Gwinnett manager Dave] Brundage said.

It's tough to disagree with him.

Timmons, who turned 31 this summer, walked nearly twice as often as he struck out, posted the sixth highest batting average in the Atlanta Minor League system and was among league leaders in bases on balls and on-base percentage -- he reached in 40 percent of his plate appearances. Timmons, who turned 31 in the middle of the season, stole 19 bags in 27 attempts, surpassing his previous career high of 12 thefts in a season. He put a slow start to the year behind him by slapping out two hits April 30, three the following day and four the day after that. He also went 4-for-4 with a double, a walk, four runs scored and an RBI on July 30. Timmons made nine errors over 114 games.

Update on 2007 Draft Class

Our second installment of Valley League draft classes: 2007.

Click Download 2010 Statistics Players from 2007 Draft to see my "register." (It's an excel file.)

The Numbers

Fifty-seven total players were drafted (or signed as free agents): Thirty hitters and 27 pitchers. Nine flamed out in 2007, 21 in 2008, 10 in 2009, and 17 are still active. (Not a good ratio, if you're scoring at home. This means that only 30% are left in pro ball. Compare that to 38% from 2006.) Only one player has made his major league debut: Brad Mills (Harrisonburg 05), for the Toronto Blue Jays.

Best 2010 Seasons

Clint Robinson (Harrisonburg 05-06): 335/410/625, 90 runs, 41 doubles, 5 triples, 29 home runs, 98 RBI, 58/86 BB/K ratio in 477 at-bats for Double-A Northwest Arkansas. Not only was this the best season from this draft class, but it was the best offensive season from all the draft classes. Clint raked!

Greg Sexton (New Market 04): 258/343/328, 22 doubles in 469 at-bats for high-A and Double A.

Tony Thomas (Harrisonburg 05): 276/338/485, 29 doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs, 73 RBI in 402 at-bats for Double-A Tennessee.

Josh Judy (Haymarket 06-07): 3-0, 2 saves, 2.94, 1.39 WHIP, 10.5 K/9 in 2 innings in Double-A and 47 innings in Triple-A.

Garrett Parcell (Covington 04): 5-7, 3.36, 1.37 WHIP, 7.3 K/9 for Double-A Jacksonville.

A Couple Rankings

Career Home Runs

1. Clint Robinson- 74

2. Tony Thomas- 34

3. Wally Crancer (Covington 04)- 19

4. James McOwen (Luray 05-06)- 17

4. Greg Sexton- 17

(Clint would be the only one on a list from the previous year. Granted, he would LEAD the list, but...)

Career Stolen Bases

1. Patrick Norris (Harrisonburg 07)- 138

2. Mike Mitchell (Staunton 06)- 130

3. Tony Thomas- 78

4. Adam White (Waynesboro 06)- 73

5. Michael Ross (Woodstock 06)- 66

(This list is a little better. Combining 2006 and 2007, Norris would rank 2nd, and Mitchell 3rd.)

Career Wins

1. Cole McCurry (New Market 05)- 29

2. Brad Mills- 26 (1 in the majors)

3. Levi Maxwell (Waynesboro 06)- 23

4. Joey Williamson (Luray 05)- 22

5. Josh Judy- 20

(Only McCurry would crack the top five from 2006.)

Career Strikeouts

1. Cole McCurry- 449

2. Brad Mills- 379 (27 in the majors)

3. Tim Sexton (Staunton 06-07)- 327

4. Kenny Durst (Waynesboro 06)- 262

5. Josh Judy- 245

(Both McCurry and Mills would crack the top five from 2006.)

Overall, not a strong draft class. I wouldn't expect too many players to make his major league debut, either. I think Josh Judy will get the call, and quite possibly Clint Robinson and Tony Thomas, but, obviously, there are no guarantees.

Update on 2006 Draft Class

Each offseason, I will take a look at each draft class, starting with 2006, the first year I started keeping track.

First of all, if you would like to download my "register" (it's an excel file), click this: Download 2010 Statistics Players from 2006 Draft.

The numbers:

55 players drafted (22 hitters, 33 pitchers). Twenty-one players are still active. Nine played only in 2006; eleven were released or retired after 2007; eight after 2008, and six after 2009.

Six players have played in the major leagues from this class: John Raynor (New Market 04), Dan Murphy (Luray 05), Scott Cousins (Harrisonburg 05), Brian Bocock (Luray 04), Chris Perez (Staunton 04), and Tobi Stoner (Front Royal 05).

Best 2010 Seasons:

Chris Perez: 2-2, 1.71, 23 saves, 1.08 WHIP, 61 strikeouts in 63 innings for the Cleveland Indians (that's the major league level!)

Scott Cousins: 285/336/461 in 410 at-bats at triple-A New Orleans, with 20 doubles, 5 triples, and 14 home runs. And he made his major league debut!

David Carpenter (Covington 04): 6-4, 2.51, with 20 saves, and a 1.18 WHIP for two A-ball teams. David was drafted as a catcher, but was moved to the mound in 2008.

Rowdy Hardy (Staunton 04): 4-3, 3.44, with 3 saves and a 1.31 WHIP in 81 innings for double-A Northwest Arkansas. Rowdy was moved to relief in 2010.

Brandon Dickson (New Market 06): 11-8, 3.23, with a 1.40 WHIP in 167 innings for triple-A Memphis. This was in the Pacific Coast League, a notorious hitter's league.

A couple rankings:

Career Home Runs

1. Scott Cousins: 55

2. Adam Calderone (Woodstock 04): 50

3. Dan Murphy: 42 (28 in the minors, 14 in the majors)

4. John Raynor: 38

5. Jeff Kindel (Covington 03): 37

Career Stolen Bases

1. John Raynor: 145

2. Matt Camp (Covington 03): 118

3. Brian Bocock: 79 (4 in the majors)

4. Scott Cousins: 73

5. Quinn Stewart (Staunton 04): 36

Career Wins

1. Mike Ballard (Staunton 04): 41

1. Brandon Dickson: 41

3. Rowdy Hardy: 37

4. Tobi Stoner: 33

5. Nathan Nery (Luray 04): 27

Career Strikeouts

1. Tobi Stoner: 456 (5 in the majors)

2. Mike Ballard: 436

3. Brandon Dickson: 435

4. Tyler Norrick (Harrisonburg 04): 368

5. Rowdy Hardy: 355

If you want to see everyone, click on the file above and have at it!

More on Erik Kratz

Most diehard baseball fans in Harrisonburg were following the Erik Kratz (Waynesboro 00, Harrisonburg 01) story pretty closely. It's certainly not every day that an EMU alum and off-season resident of the Valley makes his major league debut.

Add in the fact that Kratz fought for years to get there, was told that he was called up within sight of the tv cameras at the Triple-A All-Star game, and that he took a shot from a huge Prince Fielder on a play at the plate (pictured), and there is plenty to write about.

So, of course, Josh Jackson of minorleaguebaseball.com has done just that: written a huge feature on Erik.It's well worth your time!

I ran my own feature on Erik back in the infant stage of this site: click here for part one, and here for part two.

Alonso Named to International league List

Concluding our look at Baseball America's top prospects list by league, we have Yonder Alonso (Luray 06), the International League's #12 prospect (subscription only).

Beachy Named to Southern League List

Continuing the look at Baseball America's top prospects list from each league, today we focus on the Southern League (subscription only). Brandon Beachy (Woodstock 08), he of the ridiculously speedy ascent to the major leagues, made BA's list at #17.

Not only did Brandon go ripping through the minors, but he made three critical starts for the parent Atlanta Braves in the midst of a pennant race. He performed very well, throwing 15 innings and allowing 16 hits and 7 walks, but also striking out 15 batters. My guess is that if he can tighten the strike zone a little bit, he'll be in the majors again soon.

Anyway, here is BA's writeup on Mr. Beachy:

In one of the more improbable stories of 2010, Beachy went from being a nondrafted free agent two years earlier to opening the season in Mississippi's bullpen to making the Braves' postseason roster. In between, he won the minor league ERA title (1.73) and acquitted himself well in three crucial September starts for Atlanta.

Beachy primarily works with two pitches. His low-90s fastball doesn't have a lot of life, but he throws it on a nice downhill plane and does a good job of locating it, particularly on the inner half. His hard, big-breaking curveball has nice depth and good bite.

After moving into the rotation, Beachy began using his improved changeup more often. He has a good frame and a repeatable delivery that enables him to fill the strike zone.

Congratulations, Brandon!