The 13th best hitter in the 2019 Valley League season, Strasburg first baseman Sonny DiChiara, is also one of the most decorated players on this list, as he had a dynamite freshman season at Samford and won several postseason awards.

Let’s start with his summer:

VBL G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS Avg OBP SLG
2019 36 131 24 41 10 0 7 36 15 28 0 2 0.313 0.385 0.550
Play 6 25 6 11 1 0 4 10 3 2 0 0 0.440 0.500 0.960

DiChiara was a consistant run producer in the middle of the Express lineup all season long. He finished tenth in slugging percentage, eighth in total bases (72), second in RBIs, tied for fifth in home runs, and tied for eighth in doubles. He had an 11 game hitting streak from June 14 to June 29, was an All-Star, and attended the Showcase for top prospects in Cary, North Carolina.

He was hitter of the day once, on June 13th against Front Royal, when he went 4-5, with three runs, two doubles, a home run, and a whopping six RBIs. He also pummelled Purcellville on July 19, when he went 3-5, with three runs, two home runs, and five RBIs.

He was all Samford could ever want him to be as well. As a true freshman in 2019, he put up the following stats:

Sam G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS Avg OBP SLG
2019 55 198 40 58 7 0 21 55 35 57 0 0 0.293 0.407 0.646

Numbers like these will grab some attention, and after the season, DiChiara was named  to the Baseball America Freshman All-America 2nd team, and Collegiate Baseball’s and the National Baseball Writer’s Association All-Freshman first teams. He was also named to the Southern Conference’s first team, All-Region, and the SoCon’s Freshman of the Year.

The summer of 2020 will most likely find this young man on the Cape, as he has a full offer already. Congratulations on your excellent summer!

DiChiara
DiChiara