Here’s our last semi-final (we’re almost there!)- New Market’s Andrew Eyster (2018) against Strasburg’s Carter Pharis (2016)!

  • Pharis defeated Cole Gruber, Micahel Wielansky, Max Wood, and Shane Billings to get here- he knocked out two MVPs! Here’s his writeup: “Carter Pharis was a four-year starter at UAB who came to Strasburg after his freshman year in 2016. All he did that summer is hit .342/.440/.535 in 155 at-bats, with 35 runs scored, 13 doubles, a triple, five home runs, 30 RBIs, and a 21/19 BB/K ratio. He helped the Express to a 30-12 regular season record, and the franchise won its second straight title. He was ATVL’s fourth best hitter from that year, and made the All-Decade second team at third base. In four years at UAB, Pharis hit a combined .298/.390/.442 in 801 at-bats, with 125 runs scored, 57 doubles, two triples, 18 home runs, 137 RBIs, a 103/135 BB/K ratio, and 36 stolen bases while only getting caught twice. He played pretty well in the Cape Cod League in the summer of 2017, but was not drafted after his senior season in 2019.”
  • Eyster, an MVP himself, knocked out Jerry Downs, JD Mundy, and Andrew Czech. “Andrew Eyster (New Market 2018) was not only Valley League MVP two summers ago, but he helped New Market to the town’s first title since 2002. A rising senior at South Carolina, Eyster hit .421/.511/.781 in 114 regular season at-bats, with 14 doubles, nine home runs, 35 RBIs, and a 18/21 BB/K ratio. (He hit .345/.355/.690 in 29 playoff at-bats, too.) He finished 1st in the league in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS (obviously), and doubles, while finishing 3rd in total bases (89), 4th in RBIs, 2nd in home runs, tied for 6th in hits, tied for 4th in runs, and 8th in walks. He was named 1st team All-Valley in the outfield, and as mentioned, he was also the Most Valuable Player. Every single person ATVL spoke to about top prospects from the summer said that Eyster was the best player in the league, and it wasn’t particularly close.”

Vote by going to twitter.com/JohnATVL.

And by the way, if you want to read a ton about either the 2015 or 2019 VBL season, be sure to check out this post on the 2019 Valley League Annual.

Also, please check out and subscribe to the Valley Baseball League youtube channel– some awesome stuff is released almost every day!

  • Pharis- (Rich Cooley, Daily)
  • Eyster