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http://allthingsvalleyleague.typepad.com/all_things_valley_league/ - Tracking teams and players from the Valley League, an NACSB sanctioned wood-bat summer league based in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia.
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And now, the big gun. Of all the former Valley League players I've covered over the three years this site has been in existence, not one matches Yonder Alonso's (Luray 06) ceiling. In ATVL's opinion, Alonso has a better chance for stardom than any other Valley League alum. Hopefully, more ...
MLB
Cincinnati Reds
Hard to believe- ATVL turns three years old today! Three years ago, I decided to scratch an itch by writing about some college guys playing baseball in my backyard. 1,295 posts, 880 comments, over 111,000 visitors and 175,000 page views later, and here we are. I've met tons of great people, ...
MLB
And here we are with the second Valley League alumnus to make Baseball America's top 10 prospect list for the Florida Marlins (subscription only): former Harrisonburg Turk Scott Cousins (05). Scott had a break out of sorts in 2009 in the Marlins' system, hitting 31 doubles, 11 triples, 12 ...
MLB
Florida Marlins
Each offseason, Baseball America lists the top 10 prospects in each major league organization, along with a scouting report that includes strengths, weaknesses, and the outlook for the future. Finding a former Valley Leaguer on one of these lists is a bit like discovering gold- it doesn't ...
MLB
Florida Marlins
Our #3 hitter, Kenny Mickens , has had a bit of a nomadic college baseball experience to this point. He began his college career at San Diego State, but after a broken hand and medical redshirt, he lost his scholarship. That led to a one-year stint at San Diego Mesa, and then a year at Los ...
MLB
San Diego Padres
Mike Easler
The former New Market Rebel John Raynor (04) has always been one of my favorite minor league guys to watch. He reminds me of a Brett Gardner (New Market 03-04) type, a small gamer-type player with speed. Unfortunately, while Gardner played in New York with the Yankees this summer (and in the ...
MLB
Florida Marlins
Brett Gardner
New York Yankees
Continuing the theme of former Valley Leaguers showing up in chats, Garrett Parcell (Covington 04) is one of several in the Florida Marlins' chat (subscription only), held by Mike Berardino. The question: Tom (San Diego): What do you think of 2 local products, Garrett Parcell who went to SD ...
MLB
Florida Marlins
San Diego Padres
The publication Baseball America has begun their year-end prospect lists for each major league organization, which means that ATVL is watching carefully to see if any former Valley Leaguers are mentioned, either in the top 10 list or in the chat that follows. The first team covered is the ...
MLB
Atlanta Braves
Mississippi Braves
If you thought that too many '07 Valley League draftees were released, hang on to your hat, dear reader: out of 23 hitters drafted in the 2006 draft, only 8 remain in pro ball. Out of 33 pitchers, 18 remain. That's a total of 26 left out of the original 56. Four players have reached the majors ...
MLB
Now we're getting into strange territory: out of the 57 Valley League alumni who made professional debuts in 2007, 30 of them did not play for an organized team in 2009. Thirty! Compared to that, only one player has reached the major league: Brad Mills (Harrisonburg 05). I would love to see ...
MLB
The higher we go on this list, the more impressive the hitting stats. ATVL's #4 hitter, Tampa's Mike Schwartz , was a mainstay in the Harrisonburg Turk lineup in 2009. In 44 games and 127 at-bats, Mike hit 323/508/535, with 23 runs, 11 doubles, 2 triples, 4 home runs, 28 RBI, and an unreal ...
MLB
Tampa Bay Rays
The Valley League does really have exceptional athletes: as proof ATVL offers up Riley Cooper, currently a wide receiver for the #1-ranked Florida Gators. Last summer, he spent a little but of time in the outfield for the Haymarket Senators, and the summer before, he spent most of the season in ...
MLB
Florida Marlins
Similar to the 2009 debuts posted a couple days ago, ATVL has updated the spreadsheet of Valley League alumni who were 2008 draftees. A total of 50 players were drafted and/or signed that June, and only 9 of the 50 were out of pro ball in '09. None of the 50 have made a major league debut ...
MLB
Like Aaron Dudley before him, AJ Wirnsberger is also a returning player to the Valley League. Also like Dudley, Wirnsberger hammered the ball in his second time through the league. AJ hit 361/417/544, with 29 runs, 57 hits, 16 doubles, 2 triples, 3 home runs, 35 RBI, 86 total bases, and a ...
MLB
At the end of each minor league season, ATVL updates his Valley League "Register:" an excel spreadsheet that includes every former Valley Leaguer that has played in the minor leagues. ATVL has separated the spreadsheets by year. For today, the focus will be on players who have made their minor ...
MLB
The College Baseball Blog, a rather informative site edited by Brian Foley, is currently running down a list of the top 100 college players. Mickey Wiswall, a Winchester Royal in 2008, has made the cut at number 84 . Wiswall had a tremendous season in the Valley in '08, hitting 336/408/557, ...
MLB
The #6 hitter in the league is also the Most Valuable Player of the league: Haymarket's Greg Hopkins . Hopkins, a current junior at St. John's, was a critical part of the Senator's lineup. (And of their soul, if ATVL's observations during the finals were correct.) He pounded the ball to the ...
MLB
Greg Aquino
Unfortunately, a few more Valley Leaguers in the minor leagues have been released (or have retired):
Eric Perlozzo (Woodstock 06)- by Cleveland. He hit 233/303/296 in 365 at-bats over 3 seasons
Derin McMains (Winchester 00)- by San Francisco. Hit 257/333/352 in 1,791 at-bats over 7 ...
MLB
Chicago White Sox
San Francisco Giants
Here's a question: how would former Valley Leaguers play in the Cape Cod League? Never fear, faithful reader- ATVL is on the case. Here is a team-by-team list of the Valley League alumni who played on the Cape during the 2009 summer. Bourne Braves Ricky Bowen (Covington 06): threw one shutout ...
