One of the things that really interests me is the issue of whether or not we can quantify the effect playing in the Valley League might have on college players. I don’t think we can because of all the variables involved, but it’s still interesting to think about.

Along those lines, here is the top ten hitters list from the 2013 summer season, and then how they are performing for their college team this spring. Do you see any patterns?

(All stats are through Sunday, April 27. Slash lines are batting average/on-base percentage/slugging percentage)

Brandon Gum stepping into the box for Mason
Brandon Gum stepping into the box for Mason

1. Jordan Tarsovich, Strasburg, VMI: 258/373/400 in 155 at-bats. 21/28 BB/K ratio, 12 doubles, 14 stolen bases

2. Thomas Smith, Harrisonburg, Georgia Tech: 312/411/401 in 157 at-bats. 20/14 BB/K ratio, 5 stolen bases

3. Brandon Gum, New Market, George Mason: 338/423/382 in 136 at-bats. 17/21 BB/K ratio, 6 doubles, 4 stolen bases

4. James Vazquez, Staunton, Central Florida: 327/440/474 in 156 at-bats. 24/17 BB/K ratio, 9 doubles, 4 home runs

5. Waldyvan Estrada, Charles Town, Alabama State: 343/438/477 in 172 at-bats. 24/19 BB/K ratio, 11 doubles, 4 home runs

6. Eric Kalbfleisch, Harrisonburg, UNC Greensboro: 337/385/523 in 86 at-bats. 7/10 BB/K ratio, 7 doubles, 3 home runs

Vazquez swinging it for Central Florida
Vazquez swinging it for Central Florida

7. Tyler Hibbert, Charles Town, Florida International: 253/380/300 in 150 at-bats. 30/23 BB/K ratio, 14 stolen bases

8. Matt Durst, Charles Town, Southern Mississippi: 293/341/439 in 157 at-bats. 12/32 BB/K ratio, 6 doubles, 5 home runs

9. Cameron Johnson, Strasburg, La Salle: 302/341/452 in 126 at-bats. 7/27 BB/K ratio, 8 doubles, 3 home runs

10. Andy Perez, Harrisonburg, Duke: 248/379/328 in 137 at-bats. 24/30 BB/K ratio, 8 doubles, 17 stolen bases

I would love to make some sweeping generalizations here, but each of these players plays for a different team, and with a different strength of schedule. The lowest OBP of the bunch is .341, which strikes me as pretty good, regardless of schedule.

So maybe we can’t say that the Valley League has caused these guys to get better, but we can at least say that they are, collectively, hitting pretty well this college season.