Louisville Baseball Summer Assignment Results

Matt McGavicAugust 17, 2017

It might be the middle of the summer, but baseball never stops for the Louisville Baseball program. In less than two short months, the Cards have been hard at work training to get better and make up for all the talent lost in the 2017 offseason. Fortunately for them, most of the Cards have had the opportunity to face the best collegiate baseball talent in the country. Of the 24 players given summer league assignments to 6 different summer leagues, 8 of them were designated to the prestigious Cape Cod League. Think of it like this: if baseball summer leagues were levels of minor league baseball, the Cape Cod League would be the AAA affiliates. An additional 5 players also saw time in the New England Collegiate League, a league which has seen the likes of A.J. Pollock, Stephen Strasburg and Adam Duvall.

So how did the Cards fare this summer? Take a look below.

Cape Cod League

	Avg.	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO
Josh Stowers	.250	24	84	15	21	2	15	10	27
Tyler Fitzgerald	.169	25	65	8	11	1	6	12	22
Devin Mann	.500	1	4	0	2	0	1	0	0
	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	W/L
Nick Bennett	7.50	3	3	12.0	18	10	4	8	0-2
Sam Bordner	1.35	8	0	13.1	8	2	6	14	0-1
Bryan Hoeing	4.91	6	1	14.2	14	8	5	16	1-1
Riley Thompson	3.00	5	0	6.0	6	2	6	6	2-0
Adam Wolf	2.19	10	0	12.1	13	3	6	19	1-1

With the departure of a ton of marquee talent, a lot of pressure rests on the shoulders of both left fielder Josh Stowers and second baseman Devin Mann. While Mann only saw 1 game due to an injury, Stowers was able to bat a respectable .250, while also managing to hit a couple long balls. After a fantastic postseason for Sam Bordner, he continued with business as usual, allowing just 2 earned runs in 8 total relief appearances. Riley Thompson and Adam Wolf were able to provide sweet relief from the bullpen as well, combining to give up only 5 runs in 15 combined appearances.

New England Collegiate Baseball League

	Avg.	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO
Justin Lavey	.205	21	73	8	15	0	3	5	19
Ethan Stringer	.241	30	108	15	26	2	15	9	24
Logan Wyatt	.258	22	66	8	17	0	7	8	10
	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	W/L
Austin Dickey	5.64	10	5	38.1	46	24	14	29	3-4
Shay Smiddy	1.71	9	2	21.0	15	4	9	28	1-0

Following his redshirt season, while Ethan Stringer did post a sub-.250 batting average in summer league play, he made his presence felt as a power hitter, sending 2 balls over the wall and registering 15 RBIs. While Austin Dickey may not have had the most impressive ERA, he did post a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio, and even pitched a complete game shutout for the Keene Swamp Bats. Relief pitcher Shay Smiddy also got a taste of being in the starting role while also maintaining a solid 1.71 ERA, as well as striking out almost 30 while walking less than 10.

Northwoods League

	Avg.	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO
Zeke Pinkham	.381	7	21	10	8	0	5	7	1
Jake Snider	.395	10	38	11	15	0	2	6	6
	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	W/L
Matthew McCarty	4.14	12	6	37.0	36	17	10	24	3-2
Hunter Sullivan	4.46	12	6	36.1	33	18	36	33	4-2

Even though Zeke Pinkham and Jake Snider didn’t see as much action as his fellow Cards did in summer league play, they made the most of their playing time, with both of them batting over .380. Pitching newcomers Matthew McCarty and Hunter Sullivan both got plenty of reps from the starting pitching role, pitching over 35 inning each while still keeping a winning record intact.

Perfect Game Collegiate League

	Avg.	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO
Adam Elliott	.316	19	57	14	18	1	9	6	8
	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	W/L
Adam Elliott	0.69	5	0	13.0	6	1	2	13	2-0
Daniel Fischer	4.22	7	3	10.2	11	5	11	8	0-1
J.D. Mundt	6.10	12	0	10.1	14	10	2	12	0-0
Mac Welsh	4.97	13	0	12.2	8	7	4	11	0-1

Adam Elliot perhaps had the best summer league out of all of the Cardinal Nine. Not only was he able to bat well over .300, but he was able post an ERA of less than 1 in his 5 relief roles. Shades of Brendan McKay, maybe?

Coastal Plain League

	ERA	G	GS	IP	H	ER	BB	SO	W/L
Rabon Martin	2.92	8	1	12.1	12	4	7	11	2-0
Phillip Sanderson	4.34	14	3	37.1	42	18	9	34	2-1

Continuing his bullpen duties, Rabon Martin had a solid season, posting a decent 2.92 ERA in 7 relief appearances as well as 1 start. While Phillip Sanderson had the worse ERA, keep an eye on him for the 2018 season, as he was able strikeout over 30 batters while walking less than 10, as fellow reliever Shay Smiddy did.

Chicago Suburban Baseball League

	Avg.	G	AB	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	SO
Pat Rumoro	.219	11	32	4	7	0	3	4	3

The lone player in the Chicago Suburban Baseball League didn’t have the hottest of summers. In 11 games, Pat Rumoro was barely able to bat over the Mendoza Line, though it wasn’t for a lack of making contact, as he only struck out 3 times.