The Nationals team at Short Season Vermont Lake is called the Monsters, and relief pitcher Evan Bronson has been just that -- a monster. The 22-year-old lefty from Trinity (Texas) has video game numbers is his first pro season. Bronson made the New York-Penn League all-star game with a .72 earned run average. He's since lowered that to .64 in 17 appearances spanning 42.1 innings. Bronson is 2-0 with four saves, a 31:2 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 26 hits allowed for a .171 average against. His current regular-season scoreless streak is at 18.1 innings dating to July 28. Bronson's teammates include fellow D3 players Ronnie Labrie and Jack Walker.
Want some more video game numbers? Check out Zach Foster from Pitt-Bradford. While at the Pirates Short Season club at State College, the 22-year-old is 2-0 with one save and a .84 ERA. It goes without saying that he joined fellow D3 player Evan Bronson at the New York-Penn all-star game, where it must be stated Foster (three) and Bronson (one) combined to give up all four runs and Foster got the loss. But enough with the bad news. In 21.1 innings Foster has allowed 10 hits for a .139 opponents' batting average. Left-handed batters have hit just .063 against the right-handed Foster. They're nearly all good, but two more stats from Foster -- he hasn't given up a regular-season run since July 24, and he's allowed three hits this month (8 innings).
Relief pitcher Ryan Flannery (FDU-Florham) has been an effective workhorse for the Yankees Short Season club at Staten Island. The big righthander leads the New York-Penn League with 29 appearances. Flannery, 23, has finished 16 of those games to go along with eight holds. His games finished rank ninth in the NYP. His holds are good for second. The reason for all of the work? Flannery is 3-2 with a 1.64 ERA and is holding batters to a .209 average. In 38.1 innings Flannery has struck out 36 and allowed 29 hits, none of which has left the yard. Flannery didn't have the same success in his six games at Single-A Charleston, where he had 10 strikeouts in 5.1 innings, but he also gave up six runs on 12 hits.
Shortstop/outfielder Dan Kaczrowski, a former D3baseball.com All-American from Hamline, is still producing while leading off for the Yakima Bears, the Diamondbacks Short Season affiliate. He is among the Northwest League leaders in stolen bases (13th), runs (13th), hits (10th), doubles (8th) and at-bats (5th). Kaczrowski, 22, is batting .273 (63-for-231) with one HR, 19 RBI, 35 runs, 15 doubles and 10 steals.
After a rocky start, relief pitcher Chez Angeloni (Johns Hopkins) was recently promoted from Rookie ball to Short Season in the Red Sox organization. At the Rookie level, Angeloni was 3-1 with a 3.42 ERA in 13 games and 26.1 innings. The 22-year-old righthander made his Short Season debut for Lowell on Aug. 23, going two innings with one walk, one hit and one earned run. Overall, Angeloni has tossed 28.1 innings, struck out 13, walked eight and allowed 25 hits for a .221 opponents' batting average. Angeloni is a teammate of D3 alums Jeremiah Bayer, Drew Hedman, Thomas Di Benedetto, Drew Dominguez and Sean Killeen.
Relief pitcher Jeremiah Bayer, the 2009 D3baseball.com Pitcher of the Year from Trinity (Conn.), is back with the Red Sox Short Season affiliate in Lowell after spending time on the disabled list in early August. Bayer is 0-0 with one save and a 3.66 ERA. In 19.2 innings over 10 games, the 23-year-old righty has 22 strikeouts against four walks. His 15 hits allowed has led to a .211 average against. The lifelong Red Sox fan is teammates with fellow D3ers Drew Hedman, Sean Killeen, Thomas Di Benedetto, Drew Dominguez and Chez Angeloni.
Starting pitcher Robert Whitenack (Old Westbury) is 0-3 with a 4.30 ERA in 12 games (11 starts) for the Cubs Short Season affiliate in Boise. After an up-and-down first pro season, Whitenack may have found his groove. The 21-year-old righty has given up one run over his past two starts and 11 innings. For the year Whitenack has thrown 44 innings with 27 strikeouts and a .277 average against. He has allowed 49 hits (one home run) and 14 walks. Whitenack was the first D3 player chosen (8th round) in the 2009 draft.
Jack Walker (Concordia-Illinois) is the everyday third baseman for the Nationals Short Season club at Vermont Lake. In 41 games and 117 at-bats, Walker is batting .222 with one HR, 16 RBI and 16 runs to go along with 30 walks, seven doubles and one stolen base. Walker's walks (I didn't have to, but I did) ups his modest average to a .387 on-base percentage. Walker's teammates include fellow D3 players Evan Bronson and Ronnie Labrie.
The 2009 D3baseball.com Player of the Year, first baseman Drew Hedman, has been driving in runs for the Red Sox Short Season club in Lowell since last week's all-star break. Hedman drove in nine in 28 games before the break but has seven RBI in five games since. Hedman, 23, is batting .252 on the year with 11 doubles and 12 runs in 33 games and 107 at-bats. Joining Hedman in Lowell are fellow D3ers Chez Angeloni, Jeremiah Bayer, Thomas Di Benedetto, Drew Dominguez and Sean Killeen.
Left-handed pitcher Aaron Dott (UW-Whitewater) has mostly started games for the Rays Short Season affiliate at Hudson Valley, making three relief appearances in 12 games. Dott, 21, is 1-4 with a 4.32 ERA. His overall numbers mask his recent performance, which includes 2.25 ERA over his last six games and 20 innings. In 41.2 innings overall, Dott has 28 strikeouts against 16 walks to go along with 52 hits allowed. Dott has yet to cede a home run.
Relief pitcher Daniel Sarisky (Oglethorpe) made the move up from Rookie ball to the Short Season level in the Astros organization. Now with Tri-City, Sarisky is a combined 2-1 with a 4.56 ERA for the season (13.1 innings at the Rookie level, 12.1 in Short Season). In his 25.2 innings, the 21-year-old righthander has 29 punchouts and a .269 average against.
Former D3baseball.com All-American catcher Sean Killeen is fighting for playing time for the Red Sox Short Season squad in Lowell. In 22 games and 73 at-bats, the 22-year-old Killeen is batting .247 with three RBI, seven runs and three doubles. Over his last 10 games, Killeen is hitting .324, dating to July 22. Killeen's teammates at Lowell include fellow D3 alums Jeremiah Bayer, Drew Hedman, Drew Dominguez, Chez Angeloni and Thomas Di Benedetto.
Relief pitcher Michael Johnson (Concordia-Texas) has not pitched for the Mets Short Season club in Brooklyn since July 26. Before his hiatus, the 21-year-old righthander tossed 8.1 innings over six games with a 6.48 ERA. He has allowed 11 hits and six walks while striking out seven. All of Johnson's runs came in two outings. Johnson is a teammate of fellow D3er Scott Grimes.
Third baseman Thomas Di Benedetto is batting .286 with one run RBI and two runs in 42 at-bats for the Red Sox Short Season squad in Lowell. The 23-year-old from Trinity (Conn.) has gone 4-for-6 since last week's all-star game. Di Benedetto is teammates with D3ers Jeremiah Bayer, Drew Hedman, Drew Dominguez, Chez Angeloni and Sean Killeen.
After 21 games in Single-A, first baseman Ronnie Labrie (Lynchburg) has now played 37 games with the Nationals Short Season club at Vermont Lake. In his two stops Labrie, 22, is batting .201 overall with one HR, 19 RBI, eight doubles and 22 runs. He also has eight triples, including a New York-Penn League leading six with Vermont Lake. Labrie is teammates with D3 alums Evan Bronson and Jack Walker.
After rehabbing for a couple weeks in Rookie ball, outfielder Scott Grimes (Keystone) is now with the Mets Short Season squad in Brooklyn. The 25-year-old Grimes has played 12 games apiece at the two levels and is batting .217 overall with two home runs and 11 runs batted in. Grimes also has three steals, two doubles, one triple and 11 runs. Grimes is a teammate of D3 alum Michael Johnson.
Left-handed relief pitcher Matt Vieira (East Bay) is on the 60-day disabled list for the Marlins Short Season team in Jamestown. Vieira, 24, has not pitched since July 17. Before his injury Vieira held a 2.29 ERA in eight games and 21.2 innings. He has notched 14 strikeouts, including six in a scoreless, three-inning outing on July 6.
Second baseman Drew Dominguez (Wesleyan) is 5-for-30 in his first pro season with the Red Sox Short Season club in Lowell. Dominguez, 22, also has one stolen base, one RBI and three runs. Dominguez's teammates include fellow D3 alums Drew Hedman, Sean Killeen, Thomas Di Benedetto, Chez Angeloni and Jeremiah Bayer.
