Welcome to the next installment of top players from the 2023 Valley League season!

Today is the first post of two (probably) that will celebrate the top starters in the 2023 VBL season. I have to say, though, before we start, that this list has just been harder and harder to compile as the years have progressed. When I started this nonsense, wayyyyyyy back in 2007, the top starter was Luray’s Dustin Umberger, who started 11 games and threw 63 innings. The league leader in innings in the regular season of 2023 threw 40. Believe me, I understand the reason for both controlling innings and pitch counts, so this isn’t an old-man-shaking-his-fist-at-the-clouds moment.

The truth, though, is that smaller innings totals also makes it tougher to order this list. Questions abound, like should there be an innings floor? Should more innings help a player move up the list? I mean, it’s pretty obvious that soaking up innings well is enormously valuable to VBL teams… you could say baseball teams everywhere. And then there are the normal questions, like how do you rank players when one is better at, say, BB/9, but the other has a better WHIP? And what about those guys who started three games and came out of the bullpen for four?

So, as usual, I do my best at weighing the following categories: ERA, WHIP, BB/9, K/9, innings pitched, and batting average against. I did not factor in wins and losses or whether the player was honored by the league or not- not even a little bit. I did require an innings floor of 20 total. I have no idea if that’s fair or not, but it’s what I decided. As for starter or reliever, I went with what the player’s team called him…. or my gut. As always, feel free to create your own list if this one does not suffice.

Today, let’s look at the #8 through #11….

#11: Alex Walsh, Woodstock (Miami): Walsh went 5-1, 2.43, with a .246 batting average against (BAA), 1.321 WHIP, 3.8 BB/9, and 7.0 K/9 in 33 1/3 innings. He finished tied for 6th in innings pitched. He was named All-VBL in the North division. Walsh went 0-0, 5.40 in 8 1/3 innings for the Hurricanes in 2023, and has reportedly transferred to Oklahoma State for 2024.

#10: Robert Kelley, Harrisonburg (Tennessee Wesleyan to West Virginia Tech): Kelley, back for another go-round in the VBL (his third!), went 2-1, 4.08, with a .273 BAA, 1.411 WHIP, 3.9 BB/9, and 9.5 K/9 in 39 2/3 innings. He finished 2nd in innings pitched and 3rd in total strikeouts. Kelley threw one inning for Strasburg in 2021, went 3-0, 1.41 in 38 1/3 innings for Strasburg in 2022, and then pitched in a different ‘Burg in 2023. (I had him as the #2 starter in the league in 2022, by the way.) He went 6-0, 3.68, with 47 K’s in 44 innings for Potomac State in 2021, and followed it up by going 5-2, 3.48, with 79 K’s in 52 innings in 2022. He then went 2-1, 3.51 in 25 2/3 innings for Tennessee Wesleyan in 2023. He is attending West Virginia Tech for 2024.

#9: Ben Keefe, Staunton (Radford): Keefe went 2-1, 3.92 in 39 innings, with a .215 BAA, 1.333 WHIP, 4.8 BB/9, and 8.8 K/9. He finished 3rd in innings pitched, 6th in strikeouts, and 4th in BAA. For Radford, Keefe struck out 15 batters in 17 2/3 innings as a freshman in 2023. (Righteous Gemstones, anyone?)

#8: Mark Hindy, New Market (William & Mary): In his first real collegiate pitching experience, Hindy went 2-3, 3.40 in 37 innings, with a .246 BAA, 1.432 WHIP, 4.4 BB/9, and 12.9 K/9. He led the league in strikeouts and K/9, and finished 4th in innings. He was named All-VBL in the North division. Hindy pitched in one game for William & Mary in 2022, and did not pitch in 2023. Looks like he’s ready for 2024, though. (Picture credit: Anna Kipps Lawrence)