Reviewing Summer League Numbers

I've been meaning to scan over the summer wood bat league stats for a while now, but just got around to it today. I am positive I overlooked somebody from the Big Ten, those fonts on the stat pages can be pretty small, the information rather incomplete and I just don't have every player's name memorized, so I ask for forgiveness in advance. If I missed your son, teammate or even you, please don't hesitate to email me and point out my oversight.

Starting in the Cape Cod League, Minnesota's Cole DeVries posted a 3-2 mark with a 3.31 ERA in seven starts. The Gophers' Friday starter (a presumption on my part) tossed 49 innings while fanning 50 batters. That total was good enough to tie DeVries for third place in the Cape in K's. I'll hazard a guess here and suggest that DeVries will contend for the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Award in '07.

Also in the mix for top pitcher next year will be Ohio State's Dan DeLucia. (You can make a very convincing argument that DeLucia, OSU's Friday starter in '06, was the top pitcher in the Big Ten last year.) The Buckeyes' lefty went 2-3 on the Cape. DeLucia had a 3.55 ERA in 38 IP.

Fellow Buckeye southpaw, and yet another potential Player of the Year in '07, Cory Luebke, started six games, going 3-2 with a 2.84 ERA.

Ohio State sent more than just a couple of arms to the Cape. Matt Angle had a fine summer with eventual champion, Cotuit. Angle's .292 average was good enough for 8th in the league. His .412 OBP was the third best on the Cape. Angle also managed to steal 14 bases this summer. (If Angle posted these numbers in the prestigious Cape League while playing for a university a bit further south, he's mentioned as a potential All-America in 2007.)

Buckeye backstop Eric Fryer played at Harwich. The righthanded hitting catcher/outfielder hit .250 with two homers and nine RBI.

Another multi-position star, Michigan's Doug Pickens, donned a Chatham uniform. Pickens, as usual, played the outfield, secondbase and catcher on the Cape. He drove in 13 runs while hitting .215.

The Cape League totals show a Dan Sattler working only five innings going 0-1, I'm assuming that's Purdue's Dan Sattler. Not sure what led to the limited work--jumping to another league, lost in a number crunch, injury?

One Big Ten player who did appear in two leagues is Iowa's Travis Sweet. Sweet played in the Cape League and the Central Illinois League, as well. While with Falmouth on the Cape, Sweet hit .176, but was 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA in 8.2 IP. Sweet also spent time with Quincy in Central Illinois, where he hit .302 with two HR's and 12 RBI. The Hawkeyes' righty went 1-1 with a 6.00 ERA in the Central Illinois league.

Ohio State's Josh Hula spent time in the Great Lakes and Cape Cod Leagues this summer, as well. Identical to Purdue's Sattler, Hula didn't get large amounts of playing time at either stop, so it's another case of wondering what limited his action this summer.

Penn State infielder Matt Cavagnaro was a star in the Texas Collegiate League. Cavagnaro's 60 hits paced the league as did his five triples. His 37 runs scored were the third best mark in Texas. Cavagnaro was a two-time player of the week. His strong summer may be a precursor to All-Conference recognition in 2007.

Big Ten Freshman of the Year J.B. Shuck picked up right where he left off. The top newcomer in the conference had such a strong summer in the Great Lakes Collegiate League, Shuck was named by Baseball America as the top pro prospect in that wood bat league. The Ohio State star hit .364 and stole 11 of 16 bases this summer while going 2-0 from the mound with a dazzling 0.95 ERA. I think he's going to be on everyone's short list as pre-season All-Conference and Player of the Year Awards. After an impressive summer, All-America nominations aren't out of the question, either.

Michigan had it's own prized freshman perform dual duties in the Great Lakes League. Adam Abraham, who was selected as the Big Ten Tournament's Most Valuable Player in his inaugural season, hit .287 with 12 RBI in the GLL. The Wolverines righthander also had a 2-2 record and a 2.89 ERA. Abraham will be on some pre-season watch lists, as well.

Michigan's Mike Wilson didn't post eye-popping summer numbers (an ERA over 7.00), but his live arm got scouts attention. Baseball America's staff has him ranked as the 7th best prospect in the Great Lakes League this summer.

Michigan State pitcher Mark Sorenson's GLL season went so well, he also made Baseball America's list of top ten pro prospects in the the league. Sorenson's 6-0 mark and 1.71 ERA was impressive to more than a few.

Fellow Spartan, Kyle Day played for Hays in the Jayhawk League. The MSU catcher hit .371 with 7 HR's, 27 RBI and 31 runs scored. His strong bat earned him a ranking as the fifth best pro prospect in the league according to, you guessed it, Baseball America. (I really should not be paying for that subscription as much as I toss their name around here.)

Posting big offensive numbers was also the norm for Purdue's Ryne White. The Boilermakers slugger hit .329 with four dingers 28 RBI while slugging at a .475 clip in the Central Illinois League.

Other players whose names I found included Ohio State's Jacob Howell (.284 in the Great Lakes League), Wes Schritzinger (.282 in the GLL), Jason Zoeller (.209 in the GLL), and Trey Fausnaugh (2-2, 2.95). Shawn Roof of Illinois (.268, 20 sb in the Coastal Plains League). Northwestern's Tommy Finn (.205, Central Illinois), Michigan's Kevin Cislo (.276, GLL), MSU's Steve Gerstenberger (.247, 13 RBI in the GLL).

Again, I encourage you to contact with the names of the players I didn't recognize here. I'll add to this list or create a new post, if I find more data.