With the conclusion of the Cape Cod League playoffs last night, summer college baseball is essentially completed. Though they’ve made a few mistakes, the official site has done a good job providing weekly updates on the Tulane players competing in various summer leagues. Now that the summer season is over, however, I’d like to make a few additional observations before returning to football issues for the next few months.
With the exception of the Cape Cod League, people should recognize that the competition in the summer is not nearly as good as what Tulane will face in the upcoming year. A quick look at the various team’s rosters shows many junior college players and players from non-scholarship Division III teams, Division 2 teams, and a large number of lesser Division 1 programs. There are very few players overall from the "elite" teams. That said, it is certainly possible (even likely) that some of these guys could be great players, but as a group they don’t compare to the day-to-day competition in the AAC or our out of conference schedule. The pitching isn’t as good and the hitting isn’t either. Regardless, Tulane players during the summer hit a combined .278 with 23 HR’s in 971 at bats. Pitchers threw 213.2 innings, allowed 188 hits, 69 earned runs, 71 walks, and struck out 175. Their combined ERA was 2.91, very good!!
Several of the players we are counting on next year including Alex Massey, Corey Merrill, and the injured J.P. France did not participate this summer. Neither did the much-heralded JC transfer, Jarrett DeHart, or the injured Grant Brown. I’m sure a lot of the incoming freshmen played in some kind of organized ball but I didn’t find much on that score.
Jake Willsey only played in one game on the Cape, going 0 for 3, before retiring for the summer. I have no idea why. Stephen Alemais also played only briefly on the Cape before calling it a summer. Again, I don’t know why. Alemais was 6 for 14 at bat (.429) in eight games (several of which he only played an inning or two in the field). He made two errors in those brief appearances, so, regardless, he still needs to “tighten up” his defense.
Most Tulane fans have already heard or read about the exploits of Emerson Gibbs and Tim Yandel in the Cal Ripkin League. They were the aces of their respective staffs, started against each other in the All-Star game, and their teams faced each other in the Championship series. Through the regular season, All-Star game, and post season, Gibbs threw 56.2 innings, won 7 and lost 1, allowed 7 earned runs, 40 hits, walked 4, and struck out 39. His ERA was 1.11. Yandel threw 55 innings, won 4 and lost 1, allowed 9 earned runs, 42 hits, walked 11, and struck out 41. His ERA was 1.47. During the “regular season,” the two tied for third in the league in wins, with Yandel finishing 4th in strikeouts and Gibbs 20th. Gibbs was 3rd in ERA and Yandel was 4th. Neither was over-powering based on their strike out totals, but their performance augers well for the upcoming season. As an aside, Yandel also played 1st base when he wasn’t pitching and hit .245 with 3 HR’s in 98 at bats. While not great, that’s a far cry from the .185 batting average he’s posted at Tulane over the past three years.
Dan Rankin also made his league’s all-star team, but he pitched very little, throwing 9 innings for an ERA of 1.00. He only allowed 5 hits and 4 walks in that time, while striking out 16, so he was pretty much unhittable in his brief stints. Patrick Duester and Jordan Gross played on the same team with Duester appearing mostly in relief, registering a 4-2 record in 22 innings. He allowed 25 hits and 9 walks, while striking out 23, for an ERA of 4.50. Gross, surprisingly, was used exclusively as a starter, throwing 52.2 innings in ten starts, and allowing 51 hits and 19 earned runs for an ERA of 3.25. The primary down side is that he walked 24. But, after the way he concluded the Tulane season, his summer’s work is encouraging.
Two guys who looked good in brief appearances for the Wave last season, Sam Bjorngjeld and Troy Ward, had rough summers. Sam had an ERA of 5.02 in 28.2 innings while allowing 29 hits and 16 walks. And Troy was “lit up” regularly, allowing 23 hits in 13.1 innings with an ERA of 8.78. Chris Oakley, the Florida transfer by way of junior college, played on the same team as Emerson Gibbs, but didn’t fare as well. Though he improved through the summer, he eventually only pitched 14.1 innings, while walking 11. His ERA was a respectable 3.77. Following a disastrous JC year in which he walked 35 in 37 innings, this is still encouraging. Finally, our kicker/pitcher, Trevor Simms threw 18 innings this summer allowing 9 earned runs for an ERA of 4.50. He allowed 16 hits and walked 11 and, based on that, doesn’t appear to be a major threat for many innings in the coming season.
All three catchers, Rogers, Burns, and Montalbano, made their respective all-star teams this summer, though Burns continued his lack of hitting (6 for 41, for a .146 average). When the all-star team was selected, Rogers was in a deep slump and on July 15 was hitting .191 (9 for 47). Since then he was 15 for 52 (.288) to finish at .258, with 3 HR’s in 93 at bats. For the Cape League, where the overall batting average was about .244, that’s pretty good. Montalbano had a good summer in the California Collegiate League, hitting .296 while finishing second in the league with 7 HR’s in 162 at bats. Whether it’s at catcher, DH, or somewhere else, that suggests he will probably see a lot of playing time this year.
First base could be very interesting this season. I’ve heard rumors that Hunter Williams, who hit .280 last year, second best on the team, might not return. Whether that’s true or not, he had a very up and down summer, going on hitting streaks, then slumps, then streaking again. In the end, he hit .289 with 3 HR’s in 115 at bats. Surprisingly (shocklingly?) he led his team with 16 stolen bases, while being caught only once. He must be a lot faster than I realized.
The next surprise was that Lex Kaplan played first base all summer. With three returning left-handed hitters in our outfield (Johnson, Carthon, and Kaplan), and several more coming in this fall, coach is probably trying to find a spot to get one of them into the lineup when not playing outfield or DH. Kaplan could be that guy. He had a great summer, hitting .337 with 3 HR’s in 86 at bats. Hunter Hope, our primary 3rd baseman the past two years also played 1st base all summer. He continued his problems at the plate, however, hitting only .195 with 2 HR’s in 77 at bats. Contact remains a major problem for Hope as he fanned 27 times (35%), a very high number. Anyway, along with Yandel and maybe others, several guys are potentially vying for the 1st base job.
Matt Rowland played on the same team with Hope so a comparison of their batting statistics may be instructive. Rowland, after playing 1st base all season in junior college, played 3rd for most of the summer. He only played part of the summer, but hit .310 with 1 HR in 29 at bats. But, at least in this instance, came out far ahead of his team mate. Despite several incoming freshman capable of playing 3rd, Rowland may be the leader at this time for that position.
The outfield will be very crowded in the fall with the hoped-for return of Grant Brown and several newcomers who could contribute immediately. But the returning guys don’t seem willing to “give away” their positions right away. Richard Carthon started the summer late and left early for football practice, but had some solid statistics. He hit .289 in 76 at bats with two triples and stole 8 bases, being caught 3 times. As the fastest guy on the baseball team, he should be a terror on the base paths, but it hasn’t happened yet. Jackson Johnson, who started in left field much of the last half of the season in 2015, excelled in summer ball. He hit .345 in 84 at bats, made his league’s All Star game, and stole 17 bases in 19 attempts. Even against “weak” competition, that’s pretty solid.
Again, summer ball isn’t “top class” NCAA Division 1 baseball, but several of our guys posted good numbers, tried out “new” positions, and generally acquitted themselves well. Only one or two of our “key” players had disappointing summers, but that can be expected. Also, by my count, if everyone returned from last year, we could have over 40 guys on the roster. That must be trimmed by several players and I have seen limited, and possibly incorrect, information on that subject. The fall roster will be interesting but next spring should be fun.
Roll Wave!!!
With the exception of the Cape Cod League, people should recognize that the competition in the summer is not nearly as good as what Tulane will face in the upcoming year. A quick look at the various team’s rosters shows many junior college players and players from non-scholarship Division III teams, Division 2 teams, and a large number of lesser Division 1 programs. There are very few players overall from the "elite" teams. That said, it is certainly possible (even likely) that some of these guys could be great players, but as a group they don’t compare to the day-to-day competition in the AAC or our out of conference schedule. The pitching isn’t as good and the hitting isn’t either. Regardless, Tulane players during the summer hit a combined .278 with 23 HR’s in 971 at bats. Pitchers threw 213.2 innings, allowed 188 hits, 69 earned runs, 71 walks, and struck out 175. Their combined ERA was 2.91, very good!!
Several of the players we are counting on next year including Alex Massey, Corey Merrill, and the injured J.P. France did not participate this summer. Neither did the much-heralded JC transfer, Jarrett DeHart, or the injured Grant Brown. I’m sure a lot of the incoming freshmen played in some kind of organized ball but I didn’t find much on that score.
Jake Willsey only played in one game on the Cape, going 0 for 3, before retiring for the summer. I have no idea why. Stephen Alemais also played only briefly on the Cape before calling it a summer. Again, I don’t know why. Alemais was 6 for 14 at bat (.429) in eight games (several of which he only played an inning or two in the field). He made two errors in those brief appearances, so, regardless, he still needs to “tighten up” his defense.
Most Tulane fans have already heard or read about the exploits of Emerson Gibbs and Tim Yandel in the Cal Ripkin League. They were the aces of their respective staffs, started against each other in the All-Star game, and their teams faced each other in the Championship series. Through the regular season, All-Star game, and post season, Gibbs threw 56.2 innings, won 7 and lost 1, allowed 7 earned runs, 40 hits, walked 4, and struck out 39. His ERA was 1.11. Yandel threw 55 innings, won 4 and lost 1, allowed 9 earned runs, 42 hits, walked 11, and struck out 41. His ERA was 1.47. During the “regular season,” the two tied for third in the league in wins, with Yandel finishing 4th in strikeouts and Gibbs 20th. Gibbs was 3rd in ERA and Yandel was 4th. Neither was over-powering based on their strike out totals, but their performance augers well for the upcoming season. As an aside, Yandel also played 1st base when he wasn’t pitching and hit .245 with 3 HR’s in 98 at bats. While not great, that’s a far cry from the .185 batting average he’s posted at Tulane over the past three years.
Dan Rankin also made his league’s all-star team, but he pitched very little, throwing 9 innings for an ERA of 1.00. He only allowed 5 hits and 4 walks in that time, while striking out 16, so he was pretty much unhittable in his brief stints. Patrick Duester and Jordan Gross played on the same team with Duester appearing mostly in relief, registering a 4-2 record in 22 innings. He allowed 25 hits and 9 walks, while striking out 23, for an ERA of 4.50. Gross, surprisingly, was used exclusively as a starter, throwing 52.2 innings in ten starts, and allowing 51 hits and 19 earned runs for an ERA of 3.25. The primary down side is that he walked 24. But, after the way he concluded the Tulane season, his summer’s work is encouraging.
Two guys who looked good in brief appearances for the Wave last season, Sam Bjorngjeld and Troy Ward, had rough summers. Sam had an ERA of 5.02 in 28.2 innings while allowing 29 hits and 16 walks. And Troy was “lit up” regularly, allowing 23 hits in 13.1 innings with an ERA of 8.78. Chris Oakley, the Florida transfer by way of junior college, played on the same team as Emerson Gibbs, but didn’t fare as well. Though he improved through the summer, he eventually only pitched 14.1 innings, while walking 11. His ERA was a respectable 3.77. Following a disastrous JC year in which he walked 35 in 37 innings, this is still encouraging. Finally, our kicker/pitcher, Trevor Simms threw 18 innings this summer allowing 9 earned runs for an ERA of 4.50. He allowed 16 hits and walked 11 and, based on that, doesn’t appear to be a major threat for many innings in the coming season.
All three catchers, Rogers, Burns, and Montalbano, made their respective all-star teams this summer, though Burns continued his lack of hitting (6 for 41, for a .146 average). When the all-star team was selected, Rogers was in a deep slump and on July 15 was hitting .191 (9 for 47). Since then he was 15 for 52 (.288) to finish at .258, with 3 HR’s in 93 at bats. For the Cape League, where the overall batting average was about .244, that’s pretty good. Montalbano had a good summer in the California Collegiate League, hitting .296 while finishing second in the league with 7 HR’s in 162 at bats. Whether it’s at catcher, DH, or somewhere else, that suggests he will probably see a lot of playing time this year.
First base could be very interesting this season. I’ve heard rumors that Hunter Williams, who hit .280 last year, second best on the team, might not return. Whether that’s true or not, he had a very up and down summer, going on hitting streaks, then slumps, then streaking again. In the end, he hit .289 with 3 HR’s in 115 at bats. Surprisingly (shocklingly?) he led his team with 16 stolen bases, while being caught only once. He must be a lot faster than I realized.
The next surprise was that Lex Kaplan played first base all summer. With three returning left-handed hitters in our outfield (Johnson, Carthon, and Kaplan), and several more coming in this fall, coach is probably trying to find a spot to get one of them into the lineup when not playing outfield or DH. Kaplan could be that guy. He had a great summer, hitting .337 with 3 HR’s in 86 at bats. Hunter Hope, our primary 3rd baseman the past two years also played 1st base all summer. He continued his problems at the plate, however, hitting only .195 with 2 HR’s in 77 at bats. Contact remains a major problem for Hope as he fanned 27 times (35%), a very high number. Anyway, along with Yandel and maybe others, several guys are potentially vying for the 1st base job.
Matt Rowland played on the same team with Hope so a comparison of their batting statistics may be instructive. Rowland, after playing 1st base all season in junior college, played 3rd for most of the summer. He only played part of the summer, but hit .310 with 1 HR in 29 at bats. But, at least in this instance, came out far ahead of his team mate. Despite several incoming freshman capable of playing 3rd, Rowland may be the leader at this time for that position.
The outfield will be very crowded in the fall with the hoped-for return of Grant Brown and several newcomers who could contribute immediately. But the returning guys don’t seem willing to “give away” their positions right away. Richard Carthon started the summer late and left early for football practice, but had some solid statistics. He hit .289 in 76 at bats with two triples and stole 8 bases, being caught 3 times. As the fastest guy on the baseball team, he should be a terror on the base paths, but it hasn’t happened yet. Jackson Johnson, who started in left field much of the last half of the season in 2015, excelled in summer ball. He hit .345 in 84 at bats, made his league’s All Star game, and stole 17 bases in 19 attempts. Even against “weak” competition, that’s pretty solid.
Again, summer ball isn’t “top class” NCAA Division 1 baseball, but several of our guys posted good numbers, tried out “new” positions, and generally acquitted themselves well. Only one or two of our “key” players had disappointing summers, but that can be expected. Also, by my count, if everyone returned from last year, we could have over 40 guys on the roster. That must be trimmed by several players and I have seen limited, and possibly incorrect, information on that subject. The fall roster will be interesting but next spring should be fun.
Roll Wave!!!