Just bask in that alliteration…beautiful stuff.
Anyways, Happy Father’s Day to everyone on this fine Sunday afternoon in Maryland. Most are probably out barbecuing to celebrate the holiday, but for those of you who are like me and are sitting in front of their computer refreshing this blog every 20 seconds, I decided to help you out.
Summer baseball is in full effect, and some current Terps are spread out all across the country.
Read for my exhaustive yet comprehensive look at where players are playing and how they are doing.
First, a quick look at where everyone I could find is playing summer ball:
Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (Mid-Atlantic Region)- SS/3B Logan Welch (Southampton Breakers), C Jack Cleary (Southampton Breakers),
Coastal Plain League (North Carolina)- LHP Adam Kolarek (Outer Banks Daredevils), LHP Eric Potter (Outer Banks Daredevils), LHP John Dischert (Edenton Steamers)
Cal Ripken Senior Collegiate League (Maryland)- RHP Scott Swinson (Youse’s Orioles), LHP Matt Fullerton (Youse’s Orioles), RHP Sander Beck (Youse’s Orioles), RHP Blair Delean (Silver Spring-Takoma T-Bolts), C Tyler Bennett (Maryland Redbirds), RHP Kyle Blackwell (College Park Bombers)
Texas Collegiate League (Mainly North and East Texas)- RHP Dan Gentzler (McKinney Marshals), RHP Ian Schwalenberg (East Texas Pump Jacks), OF A.J. Casario (East Texas Pump Jacks)
Valley Baseball League (Northeast)- RHP Brett Harman (New Market Rebels), 1B Zach Helgeson (New Market Rebels)
Players I couldn’t find- OF/P Taylor Buran, INF Marcus Breeden, INF Matt Murakami, SS Alfredo Rodriguez, RHP Matt Passauer, INF David Poutier, OF Mike Rozak.
—————————————————————————–
Now here is a look at how each player is performing and what it means:
SS/3B Logan Welch (Southampton Breakers)
4 G, 14 AB, .214 BA , 1 R, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2 E
Welch will be in the mix to win playing time as a utility infielder next season, but it appears he has a long way to go before he can be counted on. The ABCL is a solid summer league that has produced major leaguers, but the players mostly come from smaller colleges in lower divisions. Welch is a solid defensive player on the left side of the infield with a .900 fielding percentage.
C Jack Cleary (Southampton Breakers-ABCL)
4 G, 11 AB, .000 BA, 0 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 3 K
Cleary actually not active as a freshman for the Terps in ‘09, serving primarily as the team’s bullpen catcher and additional manager. But the Terps are going to give Cleary another chance to make the team this season. He looks a little over-matched in the ABCL and may never make an impact for the Terps.
LHP Adam Kolarek (Outer Banks Daredevils-CPL)
7 APP, 14.1 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 6 BB, 28 K, .130 BAA
I know the work of Kolarek has already been spotlighted on this blog. But it can’t be understated how impressive Kolarek has been in a very good league. The Coastal Plain League has a lot of Division 1 players in it from some impressive schools, and Kolarek has still been lights out.
Kolarek’s strikeout-to-walk ratio was close to 1/1 in ‘09, and obviously is much more impressive this summer. If he has developed an effective off-speed pitch he could be really good next year in a set-up role. Assistant head coach Jim Farr also mentioned trying him out as a starter early.
LHP Eric Potter (Outer Banks Daredevils-CPL)
3 APP, 2 S, 7.1 IP, 6 H, 9 R, 7 BB, 4 BB, 5 K, .231 BAA
Potter was maddeningly inconsistent in ‘09, throwing a gem early in the season against North Carolina State before losing his spot in the rotation down the stretch. His control was mostly to blame and it appears he hasn’t sorted those issues out. He better put it together soon or else he could be relegated to mop-up duty as the Terps bring in fresh arms.
LHP John Dischert (Edenton Steamers-CPL)
6 APP, 11.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 5 BB, 16 K, .105 BAA
Dischert was a promising prospect when he entered the program, but after injuring his throwing arm he hasn’t gotten many meaningful innings and only pitched three in ‘09.
The numbers speak for themselves, and maybe his arm is on the mend. Maybe he has just been effectively wild, along with his five walks he also has three wild pitches, two hit batsmen, and two balks.
RHP Scott Swinson (Youse’s Orioles-CRSCBL)
1 APP, 1 S, 4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, .412 BAA
Swinson made his only start of the season on Monday, June 8, and hasn’t pitched for the team since. I am not sure whether this means he is taking the idea of turning pro seriously or not, but it is puzzling.
Anyways he got hit really hard and seems to still be in the rut he was in throughout the 2009 season. He can probably improve his draft stock (he was drafted in the 46th round this year) with another season in college and improved results.
LHP Matt Fullerton (Youse’s Orioles-CRSCBL)
No statistics
Fullerton is listed on the official roster for the Orioles but doesn’t appear anywhere on the stat sheet. I wish I could tell you what the case with this was, but alas, I can’t.
RHP Sander Beck (Youse’s Orioles-CRSCBL)
4 APP, 1 S, 8.2 IP, 3 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 8 K, .172 BAA
There is no question that Beck, a rising sophomore, has a live arm although I think Farr would have liked more out of him in ‘09. He didn’t pitch on the weekends very often and was also inconsistent, which can be expected from a first-year player. Maybe his summer stats indicate Beck could be a player to watch next year.
RHP Blair Delean (Silver Spring-Takoma T-Bolts-CRSCBL)
1 APP, 1 S, 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, .292 BAA
Delean hasn’t thrown six innings in one game in his entire Terrapin career, but did so in his only appearance this summer. Farr mentioned to me he hopes for big things from Delean next season. Delean has been a midweek stud for the Terps throughout his career, but only showed his true mettle late in ‘09 when he had some solid appearances against good teams.
You can’t really gather much from just one start so it’s hard to tell what to think, but that extra endurance could be a pleasant surprise for the Terps this year.
C Tyler Bennett (Maryland Redbirds- CRSCBL)
6 G, 16 AB, .250 BA, 2 R, 0 HR, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 6 SO, 0 E
The zero errors is a little misleading as it doesn’t look like Bennett has played defense yet this season. With Mike Murphy gone and A.J. Casario considering leaving as well, Bennett will be the top offensive threat for the Terps next season.
But, if Bennett wants to take it to the next level he will need to learn better plate discipline. In ‘09 he didn’t take a lot of walks and struggled to hit curveballs while crushing fastballs. It doesn’t look like he has been more patient this summer, but there is a lot of time left.
RHP Kyle Blackwell (College Park Bombers)
3 APP, 2 S, 9.2 IP, 6.52 ERA, 12 H, 6 BB, 6 K, .293 BAA
Blackwell doesn’t look like much of a mystery to the hitters in the Cal Ripken League. He has issued far too many free passes and his WHIP is nearly 2.00.
Similar to Delean, Blackwell played a lot in the midweek games before earning some spot appearances in big games down the stretch. But he still has a lot to improve upon if he wants to pitch in ACC play.
RHP Dan Gentzler (McKinney Marshals-TCL)
3 APP, 6.2 IP, 1.35 ERA, 3 H, 6 BB, 6 K, .139 BAA
Gentzler was the Terps’ most reliable pitcher last season, leading the team in ERA (3.13). It seems as though he as picked up right where he left off in a formidable Texas League that features some real talent.
Although it is only a small sample size, Gentzler is emerging a bonafide pro prospect, one scout who I talked to during the season mentioned Gentzler when talking about potential draftees. Luckily the Terps have him around for one more year and he should be one of the better closers in the ACC next season.
RHP Ian Schwalenberg (East Texas Pump Jacks-TCL)
3 APP, 7.1 IP, 3.68 ERA, 9 H, 1 BB, 12 K, .293 BAA
It looks like Schwalenberg is starting to put it all together for the first-place Pump Jacks. He has been hit pretty hard, but that strikeout-to-walk ratio is hard to ignore. Aside from Swinson’s change-up, Schwalenberg might have had the best out pitch on the staff last season with his nasty split-fingered fastball.
The Texas League has some big-time hitters, and to have as many strikeouts as “Schwally” is quite impressive. Just for full disclosure purposes: they play with wood bats, so that could make a difference.
OF A.J. Casario (East Texas Pump Jacks-TCL)
As much as I wish I had an update on recent White Sox draftee, Casario, I don’t. He isn’t listed on the team’s roster and doesn’t show up in the stat sheet either. But there was this little note from The Longview News-Journal eight days ago:
Pump Jacks outfielder A.J. Casario was selected by the Chicago White Sox in the 38th round of Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft earlier this week. Pump Jacks co-owner-general manager Mike Lieberman said Casario is weighing his options on whether to turn professional or not, with no timetable on the decision. Casario is coming off his junior season at the University of Maryland.
Just in case you were wondering, I am still just as confused and in the dark as before.
RHP Brett Harman (New Market Rebels-VBL)
3 APP, 3 S, 16.0 IP, 5.62 ERA, 19 H, 15 R, 10 ER, 6 BB, 14 K, .284 BAA
The team’s most reliable pitcher in ‘09, Harman’s line during the summer looks much like his end line from this past season, that’s not great. I do like his strikeout numbers, but it is clear his team’s are hitting him hard.
Harman’s first two starts were pretty solid, but he got thumped yesterday. Harman lives and dies by his curveball, when it’s on, he is hard to figure out. But, when it’s not, look out.
1B/DH Zack Helgeson (New Market Rebels-VBL)
10 G, 33 AB, .333 BA, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 3 BB, 10 K, 0 E, .450 OBP, .667 SLG
I threw those last two stats in there just because they look so good in the full batting line. With the exception of maybe Kolarek, Helgeson has had the best summer, and it’s surprising. Last season Helgeson looked lost at the plate. In batting practice he could hit the ball a mile but against live pitching, he was exasperating.
He is still looking for his first official hit in a Terps uniform after getting 14 at-bats in ‘09 and striking out seven times. In addition he was doing this against the patsies on the Terps’ schedule.
What’s no surprising is that the VBL is no slouch, there have been a number of major leaguers to grace the diamond for these teams, plus they use wooden bats. If Helgeson can keep this momentum going into next season he could fill a huge hole in the middle of the order for the Terps.
———————————————————–
There it is, that’s everyone I could find numbers on…..Phew!
Now go read a book or something.
lemairedbk@gmail.com
[...] is minimal. Helgeson was hitless in 14 at-bats as a freshman, and even though he was having a big summer, he would have come back to College Park to find himself behind Curtis Lazar on the depth [...]