Official 2015 Summer Baseball Thread
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It's about time to put a wraps on this thread but I wanted to do sort of a summary of how the summer went.
It has to start with the accomplishments of Nick Senzel in the Cape. He made the All Star Team as a third baseman, a position he has never played at Tennessee. He was a participant in the Home Run Derby. That would be a fantastic achievement in and of itself.
He was named MVP of the League. The last SEC player to win the award was LSU's J.C. Holt in 2003, which is also the last time a Brewster player took home the honor. It puts Senzel onto a list with the likes of Evan Longoria, Jason Varitek and Carlos Pena. Oh, and there is this...No University of Tennessee baseball player has ever won MVP of the Cape.
That would have been an outstanding summer, picked for the All Star Game, Home Run Derby Participant and League MVP, right?
He also won the Robert A. McNeece Award. This goes to the Outstanding Pro Prospect and is voted on by professional baseball scouts. I looked up the past winners of the award going back to 2000. Nearly all of them went in the first round of the draft, a couple slid to the second round due to injury. Several of them went in the first 10 picks. The last time a second baseman won the award was 2001, the last time a third baseman won the award was in 1999, Mark Teixeira. Technically, the last SEC player to win the award was in 2007, a kid from Missouri, but they were not in the SEC then...you have to go back to 1995 and Vandy's out fielder Josh Paul. The last three years pitchers Phil Bickford, Jeff Hoffman and Sean Manaea have collected the award. Senzel joins the likes of Chuck Knoblauch (1988) and Robin Ventura (1987) on this elite list. As with the MVP Award, no other Tennessee player has won this honor either.
The Thurman Munson award goes to the best hitter, more precisely the guy with the best average at the end of the Cape's regular season and with about 10 days to go it looked like Nick would win that too. Then out of nowhere, a kid from U of Cal. Santa Barbara starts showing up with a .400+ BA, he'd crossed the minimum number of plate appearances. So even though Senzel had 41 more at bats, scored twice the number of runs (leading the league), had twice the number of RBI's (leading the league) and led the league with 56 hits, and had 4 home runs to this kid's 1, Andrew Calico (.425) won the Thurman Munson Award.
Quite simply put, it's a feat by a Tennessee player that we won't likely see again in our lifetime's as BaseVol fans. I hope he has a great season next year.
Pitching up next.
It has to start with the accomplishments of Nick Senzel in the Cape. He made the All Star Team as a third baseman, a position he has never played at Tennessee. He was a participant in the Home Run Derby. That would be a fantastic achievement in and of itself.
He was named MVP of the League. The last SEC player to win the award was LSU's J.C. Holt in 2003, which is also the last time a Brewster player took home the honor. It puts Senzel onto a list with the likes of Evan Longoria, Jason Varitek and Carlos Pena. Oh, and there is this...No University of Tennessee baseball player has ever won MVP of the Cape.
That would have been an outstanding summer, picked for the All Star Game, Home Run Derby Participant and League MVP, right?
He also won the Robert A. McNeece Award. This goes to the Outstanding Pro Prospect and is voted on by professional baseball scouts. I looked up the past winners of the award going back to 2000. Nearly all of them went in the first round of the draft, a couple slid to the second round due to injury. Several of them went in the first 10 picks. The last time a second baseman won the award was 2001, the last time a third baseman won the award was in 1999, Mark Teixeira. Technically, the last SEC player to win the award was in 2007, a kid from Missouri, but they were not in the SEC then...you have to go back to 1995 and Vandy's out fielder Josh Paul. The last three years pitchers Phil Bickford, Jeff Hoffman and Sean Manaea have collected the award. Senzel joins the likes of Chuck Knoblauch (1988) and Robin Ventura (1987) on this elite list. As with the MVP Award, no other Tennessee player has won this honor either.
The Thurman Munson award goes to the best hitter, more precisely the guy with the best average at the end of the Cape's regular season and with about 10 days to go it looked like Nick would win that too. Then out of nowhere, a kid from U of Cal. Santa Barbara starts showing up with a .400+ BA, he'd crossed the minimum number of plate appearances. So even though Senzel had 41 more at bats, scored twice the number of runs (leading the league), had twice the number of RBI's (leading the league) and led the league with 56 hits, and had 4 home runs to this kid's 1, Andrew Calico (.425) won the Thurman Munson Award.
Quite simply put, it's a feat by a Tennessee player that we won't likely see again in our lifetime's as BaseVol fans. I hope he has a great season next year.
Pitching up next.
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Last summer, Bret Marks' performance in Alaska was all the rage amongst the five or six of us who follow summer baseball. 
He ended up tied for the league lead with 49 strike outs. He had a 1.89 ERA, a 2-2 record through 42.2 IP. More so, his demeanor on the mound and the fact that he went deeper than 6 innings in 4 out of his 5 starts gave some hope that Marks could be a starter.
So what to make of the 2015 summers of Aaron Soto and Zach Warren up in Alaska? Both of them made the All Star Game (so did Chris Hall).
0.88 ERA, that's not a misprint, that's what Soto finished with after pitching 50.2 innings for the Anchorage Bucs. His 6 wins led the league and he finished with a 6-1 record. He went 6 or more innings in ALL 8 of his starts, including 9 innings of shut out baseball in his only playoff appearance.
In the regular summer season he tallied 30 strike outs and 9 walks. In his last 30 innings he did not give up an earned run. He didn't record a wild pitch, only hit two batters and finished with an opponent BA of .218 and Soto gave up no home runs.
By about every metric but K's Soto out did Bret Marks.
Second place. That's what 52 strikeouts meant for Zach Warren. 53 would have tied him for the league lead. He pitched 43.2 innings, exactly one more than Bret Marks. Second place. That's what happens when your real team mate (Soto) gets 6 wins and you only get 5.
Warren finished with a 1.85 ERA, 52 K to 17 BB and only gave up nine earned runs over the course of the summer.
He went 6 innings or more in 6/8 starts and 5 innings in the other two. 3 wild pitches, 2 HBP and a home run were charged to Warren.
.146 is the opposing BA.
Bret Marks' opposing BA was .215
Again, by about every metric Warren out did Marks' 2014 summer. Obviously they both out shined Kyle Serrano's 2014 summer as well. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from a couple of guys who didn't get a lot of opportunity in SEC ball last season.
more pitching to come...
He ended up tied for the league lead with 49 strike outs. He had a 1.89 ERA, a 2-2 record through 42.2 IP. More so, his demeanor on the mound and the fact that he went deeper than 6 innings in 4 out of his 5 starts gave some hope that Marks could be a starter.
So what to make of the 2015 summers of Aaron Soto and Zach Warren up in Alaska? Both of them made the All Star Game (so did Chris Hall).
0.88 ERA, that's not a misprint, that's what Soto finished with after pitching 50.2 innings for the Anchorage Bucs. His 6 wins led the league and he finished with a 6-1 record. He went 6 or more innings in ALL 8 of his starts, including 9 innings of shut out baseball in his only playoff appearance.
In the regular summer season he tallied 30 strike outs and 9 walks. In his last 30 innings he did not give up an earned run. He didn't record a wild pitch, only hit two batters and finished with an opponent BA of .218 and Soto gave up no home runs.
By about every metric but K's Soto out did Bret Marks.
Second place. That's what 52 strikeouts meant for Zach Warren. 53 would have tied him for the league lead. He pitched 43.2 innings, exactly one more than Bret Marks. Second place. That's what happens when your real team mate (Soto) gets 6 wins and you only get 5.
Warren finished with a 1.85 ERA, 52 K to 17 BB and only gave up nine earned runs over the course of the summer.
He went 6 innings or more in 6/8 starts and 5 innings in the other two. 3 wild pitches, 2 HBP and a home run were charged to Warren.
.146 is the opposing BA.
Bret Marks' opposing BA was .215
Again, by about every metric Warren out did Marks' 2014 summer. Obviously they both out shined Kyle Serrano's 2014 summer as well. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come from a couple of guys who didn't get a lot of opportunity in SEC ball last season.
more pitching to come...
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2014 Kyle Serrano (Alaska)
4.39 ERA, 9 G, 8 GS, 28.2 IP, 20 H, 20 R, 14 ER, 33 BB, 42 SO, 0-2 w/l, 0 SV, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 WP, .183 BAA
2015 Kyle Serrano (Cape Cod)
3.68 ERA, 9 G, 8 GS, 36.2 IP, 29 H, 17 R, 15 ER, 13 BB, 38 SO, 3-2 w/l, 1 SV*, 0 HR, 7 HBP, 6 WP, .210 BAA
Obviously the big take away is the improvement in SO/BB ratio. When Orleans made the playoffs they used KS as a relief pitcher/closer and he had a 0.00 ERA through 3.1 IP, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks while striking out 7 which makes his K/BB 45/15.
In getting his 3 wins, he went 5 innings and the 2 losses he got pulled in the 4th. That has been the story at UT for Serrano and whether he can overcome that will be the story this season. He certainly improved and he was facing great competition. His 38 K's tied him for 6th in all of the Cape.
Jordan Sheffield finished the regular Cape season with a 5.49 ERA and after the playoff performance it was 7.20, the flip side is Dakota Hudson from MSU finished with a 4/3 w/l and a 1.43 ERA...KS is somewhere between those guys as a starter. I agree with those here that say he looks more comfortable coming out in relief, hopefully he can make a jump.
It should be said that he did better in the Cape than either Andrew Lee or Drake Owenby last summer, as did Hunter Martin.
* the save was collected in the playoffs.
2015 Hunter Martin (Cape)
3.17 ERA, 8 G, 4 GS, 22.2 IP, 21 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 13 BB, 15 SO, 0/1 w/l, 2 HR, 2 HBP, 3 WP, .247 BAA
A 3.17 ERA in the Cape is respectable and he finished strong in his last start going 6.2 IP of shutout baseball for Brewster in the playoffs.
Over the course of his 2 seasons at UT his BAA is .285, so hopefully HM is feeling healthier and can get back to his freshman year form.
While neither KS or HM proved dominant against the competition in the Cape, both proved they belong...in what role going forward is the question.
more to come...
4.39 ERA, 9 G, 8 GS, 28.2 IP, 20 H, 20 R, 14 ER, 33 BB, 42 SO, 0-2 w/l, 0 SV, 0 HR, 0 HBP, 4 WP, .183 BAA
2015 Kyle Serrano (Cape Cod)
3.68 ERA, 9 G, 8 GS, 36.2 IP, 29 H, 17 R, 15 ER, 13 BB, 38 SO, 3-2 w/l, 1 SV*, 0 HR, 7 HBP, 6 WP, .210 BAA
Obviously the big take away is the improvement in SO/BB ratio. When Orleans made the playoffs they used KS as a relief pitcher/closer and he had a 0.00 ERA through 3.1 IP, allowing 3 hits, 2 walks while striking out 7 which makes his K/BB 45/15.
In getting his 3 wins, he went 5 innings and the 2 losses he got pulled in the 4th. That has been the story at UT for Serrano and whether he can overcome that will be the story this season. He certainly improved and he was facing great competition. His 38 K's tied him for 6th in all of the Cape.
Jordan Sheffield finished the regular Cape season with a 5.49 ERA and after the playoff performance it was 7.20, the flip side is Dakota Hudson from MSU finished with a 4/3 w/l and a 1.43 ERA...KS is somewhere between those guys as a starter. I agree with those here that say he looks more comfortable coming out in relief, hopefully he can make a jump.
It should be said that he did better in the Cape than either Andrew Lee or Drake Owenby last summer, as did Hunter Martin.
* the save was collected in the playoffs.
2015 Hunter Martin (Cape)
3.17 ERA, 8 G, 4 GS, 22.2 IP, 21 H, 11 R, 8 ER, 13 BB, 15 SO, 0/1 w/l, 2 HR, 2 HBP, 3 WP, .247 BAA
A 3.17 ERA in the Cape is respectable and he finished strong in his last start going 6.2 IP of shutout baseball for Brewster in the playoffs.
Over the course of his 2 seasons at UT his BAA is .285, so hopefully HM is feeling healthier and can get back to his freshman year form.
While neither KS or HM proved dominant against the competition in the Cape, both proved they belong...in what role going forward is the question.
more to come...
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Zach Reid made more appearances than any other pitcher in the Coastal Plains League with 26.
Reid finished 20 games, also a league high as is his 25 games in relief.
Had he pitched 2 more innings his 1.70 ERA would have placed him 3rd best in the CPL.
Had he pitched 2 more innings his opposing BA of .177 would have been good for 3rd place as well.
He made the CPL All Star Team.
45 K, 18 BB and nobody jacked a homer off of him. He did have 10 HBP and 3 WP over the course of his 42.1 IP, his 6 saves was 5th in the league and nobody on his team had more than 3, his overall record was 5-3.
In 42.1 IP he gave up 26 hits and only 8 earned runs.
One can only play against who they have in front of them and Reid's numbers are fantastic. It's fair to say at that level he was dominant. Will it translate to the SEC? We shall see.
Reid finished 20 games, also a league high as is his 25 games in relief.
Had he pitched 2 more innings his 1.70 ERA would have placed him 3rd best in the CPL.
Had he pitched 2 more innings his opposing BA of .177 would have been good for 3rd place as well.
He made the CPL All Star Team.
45 K, 18 BB and nobody jacked a homer off of him. He did have 10 HBP and 3 WP over the course of his 42.1 IP, his 6 saves was 5th in the league and nobody on his team had more than 3, his overall record was 5-3.
In 42.1 IP he gave up 26 hits and only 8 earned runs.
One can only play against who they have in front of them and Reid's numbers are fantastic. It's fair to say at that level he was dominant. Will it translate to the SEC? We shall see.
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Eric Freeman finally got in some significant work. He red shirted the 2014 season coming off Tommy John's. For the Vols he pitched one inning in 2015, he got a K and a 9.00 ERA.
After the 2014 regular season Freeman went to Laconia for the summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He played in the most games and racked up the most innings among the relievers. He ended up with a 4.50 ERA, 24 K/10 BB through 26 IP.
Jordan Sheffield was also on that Laconia team, also coming off injury, and he ended up with a 5.14 ERA, 34 K/30 BB through 35 IP.
The difference was that Sheffield pitched significant innings for Vandy this past season and Freeman pitched 1 solitary inning in 2015.
That is the back drop for Freeman's 2015 summer, again in the NECBL, this time with the Valley Blue Sox.
Eric Freeman NECBL 2015
2.79 ERA, 11 G, 6 GS, 38.2 IP, 42 H, 20 R, 12 ER, 16 BB, 21 SO, 1 HR, 3 HBP, 5 WP, .280 BAA...
This is significant progress for Freeman. The competition in the NECBL is not that of the SEC, or the Cape, but it's nice to see him improve his numbers and because he spent two years in the same summer league, I think it is fair to compare his numbers, maybe more so than any player discussed so far.
He only had one bad outing this summer, July 11th, he gave up 5 earned runs on 8 hits in 5.2 innings pitched. in his last four appearances in relief he gave up no runs while striking out 6 and only walking 1.
Mr. Freeman is 6'5 210, he's a big kid. He's been on campus for two years. He's pitched 1 inning of baseball for the Vols. Hopefully this summer is a sign that he is healthy enough to contribute, even if it's just in the midweek.
Who am I to place expectations on these guys? This seems like a solid summer for Freeman and maybe even a bit better than I expected.
After the 2014 regular season Freeman went to Laconia for the summer in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. He played in the most games and racked up the most innings among the relievers. He ended up with a 4.50 ERA, 24 K/10 BB through 26 IP.
Jordan Sheffield was also on that Laconia team, also coming off injury, and he ended up with a 5.14 ERA, 34 K/30 BB through 35 IP.
The difference was that Sheffield pitched significant innings for Vandy this past season and Freeman pitched 1 solitary inning in 2015.
That is the back drop for Freeman's 2015 summer, again in the NECBL, this time with the Valley Blue Sox.
Eric Freeman NECBL 2015
2.79 ERA, 11 G, 6 GS, 38.2 IP, 42 H, 20 R, 12 ER, 16 BB, 21 SO, 1 HR, 3 HBP, 5 WP, .280 BAA...
This is significant progress for Freeman. The competition in the NECBL is not that of the SEC, or the Cape, but it's nice to see him improve his numbers and because he spent two years in the same summer league, I think it is fair to compare his numbers, maybe more so than any player discussed so far.
He only had one bad outing this summer, July 11th, he gave up 5 earned runs on 8 hits in 5.2 innings pitched. in his last four appearances in relief he gave up no runs while striking out 6 and only walking 1.
Mr. Freeman is 6'5 210, he's a big kid. He's been on campus for two years. He's pitched 1 inning of baseball for the Vols. Hopefully this summer is a sign that he is healthy enough to contribute, even if it's just in the midweek.
Who am I to place expectations on these guys? This seems like a solid summer for Freeman and maybe even a bit better than I expected.
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The rest of the pitchers...I have a surprise...
Richard Jackson and Quint Robinson went to the Hamptons for the summer. My expectation for freshman who don't play much in the regular season and go off for the summer are pretty low. They sat on the bench all year and are a year removed from high school.
Jackson ended up with a 5.30 ERA and Robinson ended up with a 6.45 ERA. They pitched 18.2 and 15.1 innings respectively. Jackson had more walks than strike outs. Robinson, all appearances in relief 14 K/2 BB...in 10 appearances he only walked 2 batters...yeah I'm looking for a positive and that is one.
It's too early to draw any conclusions on these two, they gained some experience and while it is good to hope that they go off and dominate, I don't know how realistic it is. No where to go but up.
Soooooooo, I was messing about today and I found out out that Tei Vanderford reported to the Victoria Harbour Cats in July. Vanderford had a red shirt year in 2013, so he's been on campus for 3 years. I thought he had an injury that would prevent him from playing this summer and of course he was not included in any of the updates that UT put out.
Turns out he had an okay summer...
3.30 ERA, 9 G, 0 GS, 16.1 IP, 16 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 12 SO, 1-0 w/l, 1 SV, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 0 WP, .262 BAA
Going into his final outing and after 8 appearances his ERA was 2.25...he gave up 2 ER on 2 H and walked 2 batters in 0.1 IP...in his other 8 appearances he allowed just 1 walk. Such is the life of a reliever I guess.
All in all, I think it's fair to say that this is the best summer performance by a group of pitchers since CDS has been here, I don't think it's even close. I wish Westphal was healthy, but other than that and barring some other injury...I think there's a lot to be happy about overall as far as the pitching is concerned.
hitting/position players tomorrow...GBO!
Richard Jackson and Quint Robinson went to the Hamptons for the summer. My expectation for freshman who don't play much in the regular season and go off for the summer are pretty low. They sat on the bench all year and are a year removed from high school.
Jackson ended up with a 5.30 ERA and Robinson ended up with a 6.45 ERA. They pitched 18.2 and 15.1 innings respectively. Jackson had more walks than strike outs. Robinson, all appearances in relief 14 K/2 BB...in 10 appearances he only walked 2 batters...yeah I'm looking for a positive and that is one.
It's too early to draw any conclusions on these two, they gained some experience and while it is good to hope that they go off and dominate, I don't know how realistic it is. No where to go but up.
Soooooooo, I was messing about today and I found out out that Tei Vanderford reported to the Victoria Harbour Cats in July. Vanderford had a red shirt year in 2013, so he's been on campus for 3 years. I thought he had an injury that would prevent him from playing this summer and of course he was not included in any of the updates that UT put out.
Turns out he had an okay summer...
3.30 ERA, 9 G, 0 GS, 16.1 IP, 16 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 12 SO, 1-0 w/l, 1 SV, 3 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 0 HBP, 0 WP, .262 BAA
Going into his final outing and after 8 appearances his ERA was 2.25...he gave up 2 ER on 2 H and walked 2 batters in 0.1 IP...in his other 8 appearances he allowed just 1 walk. Such is the life of a reliever I guess.
All in all, I think it's fair to say that this is the best summer performance by a group of pitchers since CDS has been here, I don't think it's even close. I wish Westphal was healthy, but other than that and barring some other injury...I think there's a lot to be happy about overall as far as the pitching is concerned.
hitting/position players tomorrow...GBO!
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Elite Stanford Arm Making Strong Progress - D1Baseball.com
This guy had TJ surgery in March, Westphal had his in late May...fingers crossed.
This guy had TJ surgery in March, Westphal had his in late May...fingers crossed.
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