It’s Friiiiday! Time for another matchup!

  • Brock Hunter slammed Eli Ellington and Steven Ridings, and then slipped past Tristen Bayless to get to the Elite Eight. His writeup: “Brock Hunter came to Strasburg after his junior season at Coastal Carolina, where he had gone 4-0, 2.27 in 27 games… interestingly all in relief. He pitched in eight games that summer- seven of them starts. He went 2-1, 2.18, with only 11 walks and 47 strikeouts in 41 1/3 innings pitched. He was ATVL’s 3rd best starter. Unfortunately, he underwent surgery in September of ’15, and did not pitch that spring at Carolina. He transferred to George Mason for 2017, where he went 1-4, 5.63 in 46 1/3 innings pitched, along with a 1.73 WHIP, 3.3 BB/9, and 6.8 K/9. He did not continue on to pro ball after his college career.”
  • Erne Valdes beat James Ziemba, Justin Camp, and Chris Devenski (major leaguer!) to get to this point. 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.”

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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. (Whatever.)

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  • Valdes
  • Hunter