I must admit, dear reader, that I am stunned by the outcome of this “tournament.” Strasburg has led the vote totals all along, through the hitters bracket and the starting pitchers bracket, so I was assuming that the finals would include two Express pitchers. (But you know what assuming does, right?) Graham Tebbit and Junior Delatorre, both from the Aldie Senators, have shocked the “world” and are meeting in the finals.

By the way, in the very beginning, these two finalists predicted this… and here they are! (They actually know each other- they were teammates in Aldie in 2013.)

Tebbit’s matchups:

  • vs Jeff Schank (Waynesboro), 91.1% to 8.9% over 45 votes
  • vs Aaron Luchterhand (Harrisonburg), 76.5% to 23.5% over 17 votes
  • vs Jared Wetherbee (Charlottesville), 66.7% to 33.3% over 18 votes
  • vs Kevin Herget (Strasburg), 52.5% to 47.5% over 40 votes
  • vs Brock Hunter (Strasburg), 55.6% to 44.4% over 99 votes

Delatorre’s matchups:

  • vs Logan Walters (Winchester), 55.9% to 44.1% over 299 votes (!!!)
  • vs Jake Harper (Front Royal), 91.4% to 8.6% over 35 votes
  • vs Kyle Arjona (Harrisonburg), 79.5% to 20.5% over 44 votes
  • vs Ben Dum (Strasburg), 60.3% to 39.7% over 116 votes
  • vs Zach Peek (Strasburg), 66.4% to 33.6% over 125 votes

So these two have marshaled support in ways I suppose I did not expect, but it’s what makes these things fun. (They’re supposed to be fun, right?)

Here are their initial writeups:

  • Playing for the now-defunct Aldie Senators in 2013, Graham Tebbit walked just six batters in 49 2/3 innings, finishing his summer at 1-3, 1.81, with a 0.885 WHIP, 1.1 BB/9, and 8.0 K/9. Based on those numbers, he was named the 5th best starter in the league by ATVL. On his way to Hofstra, Tebbit pitched there in both 2013 and 2014, going 1-4, 4.48 in 25 games and 54 2/3 college innings. In 2015, he pitched one game for the independent Quebec Capitales in the Can-Am League, but has not pitched in pro ball besides that one game (that I can find).
  • Humberto “Junior” Delatorre played in Aldie in both 2013 and 2014 (but we’ll focus on 2014), coming from USC Beaufort. In eight starts that summer, Delatorre went 3-3, 2.17, with a 1.107 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9, and 9.1 K/9 in 49 2/3 innings pitched. In addition, his .192 batting average against led the league. ATVL named him the third best starter from that season. In his college career at Beaufort, Delatorre went a total of 17-8, 3.11 in 257 1/3 innings pitched, with 104 walks and 200 K’s. He did not go on to pitch in pro ball.

So for one last time for the top starters from 2010 to 2019, who ya got?

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. (Whatever, man, I’m still glad I wrote them.)

Also, please check out and subscribe to the Valley Baseball League youtube channel!