Fun In The Sun

While we are all contemplating holiday plans, the collegiate summer league season presses on. The scouts haven where all the boys trade in composite bats for wood bats is still going on. A few players around the conference of choice here are performing admirably in this environment. I want to take this pre-Independence Day to highlight a few of them.

Much like my preview of summer league rosters, this review of those having strong summers may require an additional post. (Or, perhaps, two.) Please be patient. Even better, if you or someone you know is having a great wood bat season, drop me an email.

Iowa's Kevin Hoef is pacing the Cape Cod League in batting average (.396), hits (21) and on base percentage (.508). Also on the Cape, Ryne White of Purdue is hitting .359 which is fourth best overall. Indiana's freshman catcher (should I call him a sophomore yet?) Josh Phegley is hitting .333. Michigan's Zach Putnam is at .364, although in limited at bats. (That post-season run cut into the summer league schedule.)

Also on the Cape, Josh Lindblom, White's Boilermaker teammate, is tied for first in wins with three. J.B. Shuck of Ohio State is 2-0 with a 2.65 ERA. Big 10'ers are doing pretty well in the most famous summer league of all.

Closer to home, Tony Kennedy of Ohio State is having a fine season in the Great Lakes League. Kennedy is hitting .351 (6th), slugging .574 (5th), has an OBP of .467 (5th) and is second in doubles with six. Indiana's Evan Crawford in second in runs scored with 16 and fifth in steals with 7. Ryan Dew, another Buckeye, is tied for fifth in RBI with 13.

OSU's Jake Hale, who may not have signed a pro contract yet, is second in the league with an ERA of 0.64. His .125 batting average against is the best in the GLL. Purdue's Matt Bischoff is second in batting average against (.133), fifth in ERA (1.23) and fifth in strikeouts (20). Eric Best, yes, another Buckeye, leads the GLL in K's with 27. Best also is fifth in opponent batting average at .178.

In Hawaii, Northwestern's Kenneth Avila was named to the league's All-Star Game. Avila is hitting .389 with seven RBI and 12 walks.