Here’s our Friday matchup!

  • Justin Camp joined the Harrisonburg Turks in 2013, after his freshman year at Auburn. All he did was go 6-1, 1.37, with a 0.831 WHIP, 2.4 BB/9, and 6.9 K/9 in 59 innings pitched. Opposing batters hit a tiny .159 against him. ATVL named him the 3rd best starter in the league. He pitched all four years for Auburn, going 11-12, 3.49, with 11 saves and a 1.34 WHIP. The Kansas City Royals picked him in the 37th round of the 2016 draft, and he played for three seasons in pro ball. Overall, he went 3-7, 2.79, with a 1.27 WHIP, 3.7 BB/9, and 7.7 K/9 in 142 1/3 innings. He was released after the 2018 season.
  • Erne Valdes defeated James Ziemba in the first round, eight votes to two. (Yup, ten total votes were cast on that one!) His writeup: “Erne Valdes (Front Royal 2016) was, according to ATVL, the top starter in the league. In six starts that summer, he went 2-1, 1.04, with a 0.836 WHIP, 3.4 BB/9, and 11.7 K/9 in 34 2/3 innings pitched. Returning to NAIA St. Thomas for his last two seasons, he went a combined 10-5, 3.22, with a 1.24 WHIP, 5.7 BB/9, and 13.6 K/9 in 106 2/3 innings. Missing bats like that will get you noticed, and sure enough, the Texas Rangers signed Valdes as an undrafted free agent in 2018, and assigned him to the rookie-level Arizona League. He appeared in 16 games at that level, going 1-2, 3.86, with two saves, a 1.04 WHIP, 4.2 BB/9, and 13.5 K/9 in 28 innings. While it seems that the Rangers might have kept him around after striking out 42 in 28 innings, they released him after that summer.”

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!

  • Camp in the Turk bullpen
  • Valdes