All Things Valley League

Bortnick Named Rays All-Star

Nearing the end of the MiLB.com organization all-stars, today we have the Tampa Bay Rays. (The site is posting the reports in alphabetical order.) Tyler Bortnick (Front Royal 06) made the list at second base. Here is Josh Jackson's writeup:

Second base -- Tyler Bortnick, Bowling Green (113 games), Charlotte (12 games): Bortnick, a 16th-rounder out of the 2009 Draft, enjoyed a solid first full season. He hit .295 with a .400 on-base percentage and a .445 slugging percentage while stealing 41 bases across Class A and Class A Advanced ball. His theft total ties him for second among Rays Minor Leaguers.

The 23-year-old Mentor, Ohio native spent the vast majority of the season at second base, but he also filled in at shortstop and DH.

Congrats, Tyler!

Valley League Record Book: ERA

Turning our attention towards the pitching, today we'll look at the best ERAs since 2004.

ERA
1	Drew Rucinski	Luray	2008	1.13
2	Ben Wade	Covington	2005	1.17
3	Robert Gilliam	Luray	2007	1.26
	Lance Baxter	Staunton	2008	1.26
5	Dustin Umberger	Luray	2007	1.29
6	Adam Liberatore	Waynesboro	2008	1.36
7	Jon Dages	Waynesboro	2006	1.60
8	Greg Nappo	Haymarket	2010	1.64
9	Dusty Davis	Luray	2006	1.65
10	Paul Burnside	Winchester	2006	1.70
	Alex Wimmers	Luray	2008	1.70

Dominated by Luray! The Wranglers have placed five players on the 11-man list. Waynesboro has two, and Covington, Staunton, Haymarket, and Winchester each have one. Gilliam, Baxter, Liberatore, Burnside, and Wimmers are all  currently in the minor leagues. (Wimmers, of course, was a first round draft pick in 2010!) Rucinski and Nappo will probably be drafted in 2011, and Wade, Dages, and Davis did not play pro ball.

Anyone still wondering why Luray has had such a dominant run in the Valley League over the past few years?

Update on 2009 Draft Class

Even though it's a little early to pass any kind of judgement on the last two draft classes, we are nothing if not thorough here at ATVL. So, let's take a look at the 2009 draft class.

To see the entire register of the 58 players drafted, click Download 2010 Statistics Players from 2009 Draft.

The Numbers

A total of 58 players were drafted or signed into organized baseball in 2009; 30 hitters and 28 pitchers. Only seven were released after one year, not counting Riley Cooper (New Market 08, Haymarket 09), who has not begun his baseball career yet, but who is catching passes from Michael Vick for the Philadelphia Eagles.

No one has played in the major leagues yet.

Best 2010 Seasons

Pro Player List Available

Just in case you, dear reader, thought I was slacking off the past week or so, here is a link to my list of players who are still active in organized baseball. (This list does not include players in Independent ball, or any overseas (hello Gary Kahn!).)

If you care to take a gander: Download Pro players 2011 VERSION. (It's an excel file. Excel and I get along quite well these days.)

ATVL Turns 4!

Well, good thing this site isn't actually a family member, although it feels like one sometimes: the site turned four years old on November 22nd, and I completely forgot! (My kids, rightfully so, would be devastated if I forgot a birthday!)

Anyway, hard to believe it's been so long. 1,695 posts, 1,205 comments, and many new friends.

Thanks for all the support! JL

Judy Added to 40-Man

And speaking of players ready to make their major league debuts (Dickson yesterday), one more former Valley Leaguer seems to be ready to make the leap: Josh Judy (Haymarket 06-07).

Judy pitched in both double-A and triple-A this season in the Indians' system, compiling a 3-0, 2.94 record. The best number, though, is 57. He struck out 57 batters in only 49 innings.He is currently pitching very well in the Dominican Republic, having gone 0-1, 1.50, with 5 saves, and 9 strikeouts and 0 walks in 12 innings pitched. Think he's ready?

Well, the Indians added Judy to their 40-man roster, which protected him from the Rule 5 draft, and also put him one step closer to making his major league debut. Keep it up, Josh!

Dickson Named St. Louis All-Star

Back in business! (AAU basketball, school basketball, and horse riding are wearing me out!)

Minorleaguebaseball.com started a series this offseason naming each organization's all-stars at each position, without regard to age and prospect status. My kind of list!

For the Cardinals, former New Market Rebel Brandon "Cotton" Dickson (06) was named the organization's right handed starting pitcher all star. Here is Robert Emrich's writeup on Cotton:

Right-handed starting pitcher -- Brandon Dickson, Memphis (28 games): Signed as an undrafted free agent, Dickson enjoyed his finest season, tying a career high with 11 wins and posting a personal-best 3.23 ERA. He also was selected for the Pacific Coast League All-Star Game. The 26-year-old was third in the organization with 137 strikeouts, also a career high.

Here's to hoping that Brandon gets called up at some point next season!

Sanchez Finishes 4th in Rookie Voting

This site celebrates the Valley League- accomplishments by current players and alumni. Having an alumnus finish in the top five for a major award is a great accomplishment indeed.

Well, that's just what happened to Gaby Sanchez (Staunton 03), the first baseman for the Florida Marlins. Gaby, a 5th round draft pick out of Miami, was in a struggle for a starting spot in Spring Training, but grabbed the first base position with both hands and didn't let go all season. 

He played in 151 games, and hit 273/341/448, with 37 doubles, 19 home runs, 85 RBI, and a 57/101 BB/K ratio. His OPS+ was 107 (OPS+ is on-base percentage plus slugging percentage, adjusted to his ballpark), with 100 being average.

In the voting, which was released on November 16th, Sanchez finished with 2 first place votes, 1 second place vote, and 5 third place votes, for a total score of 18. Buster Posey won the award with 129, Jason Heyward finished second with 107, and Jaime Garcia finished third with 24.

Congratulations on your excellent season, Gaby!

Koshansky, Katin Named Milwaukee All-Stars

Continuing our look at former Valley Leaguers named as organizational all-stars, today we have the Milwaukee Brewers, and two "old-timers" still putting up excellent numbers in the minors. In Danny Wild's article on minorleaguebaseball.com, both Joe Koshansky (Staunton 02-03) and Brendan Katin (Covington 04) made the list.

The writeups:

First baseman -- Joe Koshansky, Nashville (131 games): Koshansky, who spent time in the Majors in 2007-08, posted another well-rounded campaign in 2010, batting .262 with a system-leading 26 homers. He ranked fourth among Brewers Minor Leaguers with 79 RBIs while logging a .380 OBP at Triple-A. Chris Dennis (Wisconsin) and Cody Hawn (Helena) also had excellent seasons.

Joe is nearing 200 career home runs in the minor leagues- with 3 more at the major league level.

Brendan Katin, Nashville (94 games): The Miami product spent a third straight season at Triple-A, showing solid power and production while posting his highest batting average (.286) since 2005. The Florida native led all Brewers Minor Leaguers with 26 homers (tied with Koshansky) and ranked fifth in the system with 76 RBIs. He raised his on-base percentage nearly 70 points from 2009, when he had 92 RBIs as a Pacific Coast League All-Star. He'll be 28 on Opening Day.

Brendan has hit over 100 minor league home runs himself, but has not played at the major league level (yet). I'm hoping he gets a shot next year.

Well done, guys!

Auer Named Angels All-Star

Tyson Auer (Luray 05-06) is another Valley League gem signed as a free agent. Undrafted in 2008, the Los Angeles Angels scooped Tyson up, and they haven't been sorry.

He had such a good year, in fact, that MiLB.com's John Parker named him an organization all-star. Here is his writeup:

Tyson Auer, Rancho Cucamonga (65 games)/Arkansas (44 games)/Salt Lake (14 games): Auer played at three different levels in 2010 and finished with a .316 batting average, good for second among Angels full-season Minor Leaguers. A California League Midseason All-Star, the speedy Florida native tied for the organization lead with 12 triples and ranked second with 54 stolen bases.

Auer is also considered a top-notch defender. After Midwest League managers named him the circuit's top center fielder in 2009, Auer racked up nine assists in his 44 games for Arkansas this season.

Overall, Tyson hit 316/371/428 in 488 at-bats, with 16 doubles, 12 triples, and 54 stolen bases. Congratulations, Tyson!