Welcome to our first matchup of the week!

  • Sometimes you can see a player’s growth in the Valley League carry over into his college season the next spring- Keegan Long (Front Royal 2014) is definitely one of those guys. At Saint Joseph’s in 2014, Long gave up 21 runs in 26 innings. Then he came to Northern Virginia, and was the best starter in the league for Front Royal. All he did was go 4-2, 1.61 in 44 2/3 innings, with a 1.074 WHIP, 2.6 BB/9, and 8.3 K/9. He went back to school, and showing his newfound confidence in 2015, went 1-5, 3.15, with a 8/67 BB/K ratio in 54 1/3 college innings. He was drafted in the 29th round by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and pitched in organized pro ball for four seasons- going 7-3, 2.65, with a 1.12 WHIP, 2.5 BB/9, and 7.8 K/9 in 173 minor league innings. He also pitched in the independent Frontier League in 2018 and 2019.
  • Seth Konkel defeated Drew Granier in the first round, 83.3% to 16.7% (12 votes). His writeup: “Seth Konkel came to Woodstock in 2019 after completing his eligibility at Paul D. Camp Community College. In eight games, five of them starts, Konkel finished 3-0, 2.48, with a 1.040 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, 6.9 K/9, and .193 batting average against in 32 2/3 innings. He also started one game in the playoffs, and threw four shutout innings. ATVL named him the 6th best starter in the league. At Lee University this spring, Konkel appeared in seven games, covering 13 1/3 innings, and went 1-1, 4.05, with a 1.22 WHIP before sports were shut down. He is listed on Lee’s roster for 2021.”

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!

  • Photo by Ken Pullen