The third best hitter in the 2019 Valley League season is also the largest man on the list; Staunton’s Andrew Czech comes in at 6-foot-6, 240.

He’s also one of the more decorated players in the league, as he received nine awards after his junior season at Walsh this past spring.

Let’s start with his summer:

VBL G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS Avg OBP SLG
2019 40 157 31 54 15 0 9 47 30 23 0 0 0.344 0.453 0.611
Play 2 8 4 5 1 0 0 5 3 0 0 0 0.625 0.727 0.750

He was in the top ten of league leaders in every single category except for triples. He was tied for eighth in batting average, seventh in OPS, tied for seventh in on base percentage, fifth in slugging percentage, second in walks (10 more than strikeouts), second in total bases (with 96), first in RBIs, tied for second in home runs, tied for first in doubles, second in hits, and tied for eighth in runs. Wow.

He was an All-Star, attended the Prospect Showcase, was Player of the Week on June 8th (the 1st of the summer), and was hitter of the day three times: June 6, June 22, and July 18, and was 1st Team All-Valley at first base. He also joined the Cape Cod League after Staunton’s first two playoff games, and won a title there with the Cotuit Kettleers.

He had four hits once, three hits five times, and two hits a whopping twelve times. he went 4-4 on June 6th at Front Royal, along with a run, double, two RBIs, and a hit by pitch. On June 22 against Charlottesville, he went 3-4, with three runs, two home runs, six RBIs, and a walk, and on July 28 at Waynesboro he went 3-5, with two runs, three RBIs, and a walk. He was obviously one of the top three hitters in the 2019 Valley League season.

He’s also been unreal at Walsh University. His hitting coach, by the way, is former Waynesboro General Kurt Davidson.

Walsh G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB CS Avg OBP SLG
2017 15 12 3 2 0 0 0 2 4 3 0 0 0.167 0.375 0.167
2018 49 171 55 63 18 0 15 52 36 23 0 1 0.368 0.493 0.737
2019 51 175 58 73 18 1 17 63 44 13 1 0 0.417 0.538 0.823

Just look at that 2019 line. Only 13 strikeouts in 175 at-bats, along with 44 walks?! An OPS of over 1.300?! Well, needless to say, he raked in the awards after his junior season:

  • First Team All-Conference
  • NCBWA Midwest Region First Team (National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association)
  • NCBWA First Team All-American
  • D2CCA All-Midwest First Team (D2 Conference Commissioners Association)
  • D2CCA First Team All-American
  • ABCA/Rawlings Midwest Position Player of the Year (American Baseball Coaches Association)
  • ABCA/Rawlings Midwest First Team All-Region
  • ABCA/Rawlings First Team All-American

He was also Great Midwest Second Team All-Conference in 2018 as a sophomore.

He played in the Prospect League in the summer of 2018, and was a postseason All-Star with the following statistics:

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB Avg OBP SLG
2018 58 215 45 73 21 2 9 56 39 53 5 0.340 0.437 0.581

Congratulations on your excellent summer, Andrew!

Czech
Czech
Czech
Czech