Good morning! ready for the next matchup of best starting pitchers in the Valley League between 2010 and 2019? Of course you are!

  • Zach Peek, the odds-on favorite (does Vegas have a line on this competition?) to win the whole enchilada, has defeated Terrell McCall (31 votes to six votes- I’m not even kidding) and Adam Parks (33 votes to seven votes- watch out, this one was closer!). His writeup: “Zach Peek arrived in Strasburg the summer of 2017, just after he finished his freshman year at Winthrop. He was the best starter that summer, going 4-1, 1.80, with a 0.886 WHIP, 1.5 BB/9, and 10.3 K/9 in 35 innings. He finished second in the league in ERA, first in WHIP, tied for first in batting average against (.200), second in BB/9, and second in K/9. Peek returned to Winthrop for two more seasons, finishing his college career at 18-9, 3.84, with a 1.25 WHIP, 3.1 BB/9, and 9.0 K/9 in 232 1/3 innings. He was picked in the 6th round of the 2019 draft by the Los Angeles Angels, signed for $267,000, and then was promptly traded to the Baltimore Orioles. He did not make his pro debut in 2019, and obviously didn’t pitch in 2020, either. Hopefully he’ll make his pro debut in 2021.”
  • Jacob Ferris has defeated Cody Weiss (six votes to five votes), Janson Carr (technically a tie, six to six, with a special vote cast by an impartial observer), and Aaron Cressley (six votes to three votes). Ok. His writeup: “Jacob Ferris pitched for Harrisonburg in the VBL’s most recent season- 2019. Coming off his freshman year at Eastern Kentucky, Ferris was lights out for the Turks, going 3-1, 1.98, with a 0.946 WHIP, 1.7 BB/9, and 9.1 K/9 in 31 2/3 innings. He finished first in the league in WHIP, second in BB/9, and third in ERA. ATVL named him the 2nd best starter in the league. He got to start four NCAA games before COVID stopped the season; he went 2-1, 3.04, with a 0.94 WHIP, 2.7 BB/9, and 10.1 K/9 in 26 2/3 innings. It looked like he was on his way to an excellent year. (Ferris has transferred to Louisville.)”

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!

  • Peek
  • Ferris