MLB – Nothing But NESCAC

Pitching is the Catalyst: NESCAC Baseball Stock Report Week 3

Stock Up:

Messing with Hitters

This weekend Wesleyan Freshman Klevin Sosa a.k.a. the lefty Johnny Cueto of the ‘CAC, showed us that he means business. Sosa pitched an absolute gem of a game against reigning runner-ups Middlebury to give the Cardinals a win in the second game of their series sweep. Sosa tossed 6 ⅔ dominant innings to stifle the Panthers, racking up 11Ks and only allowing 2 walks and 2 hits for no runs. With a season ERA of 1.16 and a K/9 of nearly 12, Sosa is not only making a case for a NESCAC Rookie of the Year spot, but maybe a First Team bid as well if he keeps this going through conference play. His keys to success are his changes in timing, slidestepping, double-leg kicking, holding at the bottom, and generally messing with hitters. He has some of the same flair as Johnny Cueto and Marcus Stroman, and was able to pitch like them last weekend:

Preseason Awards List Accuracy

If you thought Sosa’s performance was good, then you missed the real gem. LHP Mike McCaffrey ’19 didn’t just quiet Middlebury bats, he silenced them, combining for a no-no with Pat Clare. I would like to personally thank Mike for starting to live up to my prediction (https://nothingbutnescac.com/?p=5845) that he will be this year’s West Division Cy Young. His rocky starts in non-conference matchups did have me worried and his 4.28 ERA is still not where it needs to be, but clearly McCaffrey knows how to get hot when it counts. I would also like to offer my condolences to my editor and friend, RHP Colby Morris ‘19 (Middlebury), who pitched a CG loss for the Panthers against McCaffrey’s Cardinals. With the way that Midd was hitting in Game 1 they may as well have let Colby have a shot at hitting McCaffrey. But as anyone who has seen Colby hit knows, he probably would have fared just as well as his teammates.

McCaffrey was three outs a way from a CG no-no. A combined no hitter isn’t too bad though.

Amherst’s Weightlifting Program

The upperclassmen duo of Nick Nardone and Ariel Kenney wreaked havoc on the ERA of Williams’ pitchers this weekend. Both Nardone and Kenney managed to hit doubles in every single game of their 2-1 series win against the Ephs. Combined, these two hit .500/.577/.773 on the weekend powering the Mammoths to 11-9 and 16-4 wins along with a tight 5-4 loss. On the season Nardone now has a very respectable .876 OPS and Kenney boasts a ridiculous .431 BA. Halfway through conference play it’s looking like Amherst could be contending with West Division rival Wesleyan for the top spot in the NESCAC. These two clubs will face off for their final in-conference series later this month in what could turn out to be a NESCAC Championship preview. For now, the Mammoths will be traveling to Vermont next weekend to take on a staggering Panther team, which could lead to further inflation of these already noteworthy stats for Kenney and Nardone.

Bates Pitching

Holding another team to only 5 runs in a series is usually unheard of in NESCAC baseball, but the boys on the mound for the Bobcats were able to pull it off this past weekend. Starting off the series for Bates was LHP Connor Russell ‘18 who shut down rival Colby College on their own turf, going the distance in a complete game shutout. Although he didn’t need it, Russell was aided with copious run support in an 11-0 blowout. Bates took that momentum into Game 2 in which, RHP Nolan Collins ‘20, went 7 strong innings, only surrendering 1 run to the Mules. LHP Jake Shapiro ‘18 then came in for the Bobcats and finished off Game 2, not allowing a run in his 2 innings of relief. Although Bates did lose Game 3, they still got a scoreless 3 ⅓ IP of relief on a combined effort by Alex Simon ‘19, Miles Michaud ‘20 and Jake Shapiro ‘18. After a fairly ugly preseason, I’m sure that the Bobcats are fired up to see that things are starting to click on the mound. Although Colby doesn’t appear to be the strongest competition in the NESCAC, teams have to take every conference win that they can in order to contend for a playoff spot. In a conference of hitters, finding a way to get it done on the mound is invaluable.

Stock Down:

William’s Starting Pitching

When you struggle to make it to the second inning on the mound, you’re gonna have a bad time. In their series against Amherst, Williams’ starters RHP Kyle Dean ‘20 and LHP Charlie Carpenter ‘20 combined to go 0-2, only lasting 1 ⅔ IP, and amassing 13 ER on 8 hits, 6 walks and 3 Ks. Now I’m sure everyone has heard of the sophomore slump, but a combined 70.2 ERA and 8.40 WHIP for the two hurlers is a little more harsh than most could even imagine. I’m just going to go ahead and say that Dean is not going to win the Reliever of the Year award, I’m man enough to admit when I’m wrong, and wow was I wrong with that one. A consolation prize goes to RHP George Carroll ‘21, who went 6 ⅔ IP and allowed 3 ER in the Eph’s lone 5-4 win. Thanks to Carroll, Williams starter’s ERA drops to 17.3 for the weekend, not great but, hey, it’s something. Williams will face both Trinity and Bates next week in a pair of battles between East and West in which they will look to bounce back from their performance against Amherst. To end on some words of encouragement for the Eph’s staff, there is nowhere to go but up, probably.

There have been plenty of runners for Williams C Alex Panstares to worry about with the state of their starting pitching.

Midd’s Playoff Hopes

As the Panthers returned east, leaving sunny SoCal, their hopes to make their way back to the NESCAC championship went south. In the NESCAC, in which you only have 12 conference games, being swept could be a death sentence for your playoff hopes. Too little, too late was the story of the weekend for the Panther lineup. Middlebury’s offense was held scoreless by Wesleyan for the first 13 innings of the series, not scoring until the 7th inning of Game 2. Maybe the reason that Midd couldn’t get their bats going is that morale was low from the get-go. At no point in any of the three games was Middlebury in the lead. This is probably due to the fact that in the first 5 innings of each game Wesleyan outscored Midd 18-4, aka too little. Although the Panthers were able to turn it around later in the game, outscoring Wesleyan 10-5 from the 6th inning on, it was, you guessed it, too late. Baseball is a game of momentum and there was none to be found for Middlebury this weekend and it showed in the box scores. A team ERA of 9.41 and team batting average of .195 is not going to get the Panthers where they need to be. Middlebury’s series next weekend against Amherst will be make or break for their season. A sweep will put them ahead of the Mammoths in the standings and back in contention for a playoff spot but in order for the Panthers to make that happen they will need their bats to get going much much earlier.

Colby’s Infield

Lack of production is the nice way of describing Colby’s infield this weekend against Bates. As a group they went a combined 6-43 (.140 BA), left 11 runners on base, grounded into 3 double plays and got caught stealing on 2 of 3 attempts. An argument could be made that as a group they did more harm than good offensively. In the NESCAC a successful team needs to find production up and down the lineup and that was certainly not the case for the Mules in their NESCAC opener. Without a 10-30 (.333 BA) effort from Colby’s outfield the series could have been even uglier than it already was. The contrast between the Mules’ infield and outfield certainly explains why they’re currently last in the CAC with 1 ⅔ runs scored per conference game. The upsides for the Mules are two-fold; the fact that they were able to steal an away win in their final game against Bates could provide some momentum rolling into next weekend’s contest against a Trinity squad who currently leads the Eastern Division. Secondly, Senior Captain Matt Treveloni still paces the team with a .442 BA (2nd in the NESCAC), .674 SLG (3rd), 1.163 OPS (4th) and 2 3B (3rd). While Treveloni makes a strong case for First Team, as of now it still seems as if Colby won’t realize the dream of reaching their 1st ever NESCAC playoffs.

‘Cac on the Farm: NESCAC Baseball Players in the Minor Leagues

Editors Note: Filling the void of Trinity baseball writers for the blog left by graduated Carson Kenney ’15 and Sean Meekins ’15 is Nick Di Benedetto ’17.

This year the NESCAC had three baseball players drafted in the Major League Baseball Amateur Players Draft. Amherst’s Mike Odenwaelder ’16 was the first NESCAC player drafted in the 16th round. The other two draftees are Wesleyan’s Donnie Cimino ’15, the Cubs 37th round pick, and Amherst graduate Robert Lucido, the Blue Jays 40th round pick.The road to the show is nothing easy, and the lower you are drafted the tougher it is to show your true potential. Typically Major League farm systems chew up and spit out the low draft picks because they invest their big time money in the top picks.

Odenwaelder was drafted high enough to where he is going to get good opportunities to showcase his talent. He was the 493rd overall pick, and the Baltimore Orioles 16th round pick. Already he has played in 34 games for the Aberdeen Ironbirds, which is the Orioles Single A Short Season affiliate team. Odenwaelder is batting .220, and for a guy just drafted over a month ago, he is settling into the minors fine. When talking with Odenwaelder, he was thrilled to be playing with the Orioles and is very content playing in Aberdeen, which has top notch facilities. He is living large at the moment especially considering he did not plan on even playing college baseball.

During High School at Wamogo in Litchfield, Connecticut, Odenwaelder was pursuing his dream of being a college basketball player. He was greatly influenced by his high school basketball coach, Gregg Hunt, who passed away during his college basketball recruiting process. Odenwaelder, the 2nd best player in Wamogo basketball history, turned to baseball to cope with losing a coach so close to him. He ended up doing a post-graduate year at Canterbury School in Milford, Connecticut to follow his love for baseball. He became a three sport All-State athlete during his post-grad year which gave him an opportunity to be recruited for baseball. Odenwaelder was committed to play at UConn Avery-Point, but a roster spot opened up for him at Amherst a few months before his freshman fall.

Prior to the 2015 draft, the past ten years have produced six NESCAC draftees, five of whom came from Trinity College. Only one of those draftees is still playing: Kevin Heller from Amherst who was picked in 2012. On record there are only four NESCAC players who have made it to the show, all of whom were pitchers. The numbers are sparse so it is unfair to think Odenwaelder is incapable of making it to the big leagues due to the fact that he is a position player. He would be the first NESCAC position player to ever play in the Major Leagues, but he would certainly not be the first 16th rounder. There have been plenty of players picked that late who made it to the big leagues, such as James Shields and Mike Napoli.

Odenwaelder was the second of eleven Division III baseball players drafted this year. He was also drafted as a junior, which is rare in Division III baseball. Had he not hurt his shoulder during his sophomore season, Odenwaelder likely would have been drafted as a pitcher. When asked about his decision to leave college to play professionally, Odenwaelder said, “I just wanted to pursue my dream, and if I had a chance of making it to the bigs, I was going to have to leave this year.” Being a 16th round pick means he is getting some decent money to play, but it is not life-changing money. Had he stuck around another season it is possible he could have raised his draft stock, but it is also possible he could have hurt it as he would have been 23 years old by the time of the 2016 draft. By signing with the Orioles he is now absorbed in a complete baseball atmosphere. Odenwaelder gets the opportunity to play everyday for the rest of the 2015 season, facing great competition and improving more than he would have at Amherst. Instead of it just being a sport, it is now his job and most athletes’ fantasy. “I’m getting a paycheck to do what I love […] it’s a dream come true really”.

Odenwaelder is the highest NESCAC draft pick since Trinity College Pitcher Jonah Bayliss, the Royals 7th round draft pick in 2002, who made his Major League debut in 2005. He went on to pitch in the Majors for three consecutive seasons. Odenwaelder seems to have the tools to make a run for it at the next level. He has what it takes on defense as he was named to the NCAA Division III Gold Glove Team. Beyond multiple NESCAC honors, he was named to the D3Baseball.com All-American team and First Team All-New England.

In his three years at Amherst, he put up consistently great numbers. In a total of 118 games he had a career batting avg. of .372 with 16 homers, 86 RBI, and 39 stolen bases in what many are calling the “dead bat era” of college baseball. His most promising season was his sophomore year where he hit .400 with 6 HRs and 31 RBI, posting a whopping Slugging Percentage of .607. On the mound he had a career ERA of 2.55 in 24.2 innings pitched.

While Odenwaelder is busy working, he understands the importance an Amherst degree can have once baseball is over. He is dead-set on getting his degree from Amherst. He is either planning on going back for the next two Fall semesters, or just taking care of his senior year when his baseball career is over.

Wesleyan superstar Donnie Cimino was the Cubs 37th round pick. This spring he led the Cardinals to another NESCAC title, batting .399 with 3 homeruns. In his four years at Wesleyan in 645 at bats, he batted .373 with a .465 slugging percentage. He holds the record for Wesleyan’s most hits in a season with 69 and most career hits with 240. So far the minors have been a struggle for him as he is getting an opportunity to play only every few days or so. Cimino is batting just .163 in the Arizona Rookie League. The Cubs have moved him from center to left field for most of his starts. His regimen in rookie ball consists of a lot of training, much like that of a spring training player, so he is learning a lot. Hopefully he is able to make some adjustments and excel in the Cubs farm system.

Before his days of flying around the diamond as a Wesleyan Cardinal, Cimino was a star on the gridiron at Westwood High School in New Jersey. His eyes were set on playing college football, which is how Wesleyan landed the stud baseball player. Cimino, who claims he was a “late bloomer”, didn’t gain much prowess on the baseball field until his senior year of high school when he really filled out, but by that time it was the spring and most of the recruiting was done. He considered doing a post-graduate year to push for a Division I opportunity, but decided to stick it out and get a good education and play two sports at Wesleyan. The Wesleyan baseball program was very fortunate to have him knocking on their door to be a walk-on his freshman year. The Don, as he is informally known, started every game in his four year tenure with the Cardinals.

The third NESCAC player drafted was Amherst’s Robert Lucido, who was cut by the Lord Jeffs during his sophomore season. Despite not playing for the Jeffs anymore, Lucido landed a spot in the Call Ripken League, a collegiate summer baseball league. He was able to earn a workout with the Blue Jays, where he did well enough to be drafted in the 40th and final round of this year’s draft. He is playing in the Gulf Coast Rookie League in Florida hitting .153 with a .313 on base percentage. He gets an opportunity to play just once every 7 or so games. In all likelihood his minor league career will last maybe a year or two, but it is possible he continues to overcome his long odds. Furthermore his ability to get into professional baseball opens up many avenues for him within the sport, and he could see a career in baseball off of the field. Teams sometimes use low draft picks on players who could potentially work in the front office, where multiple NESCAC alumni are scattered throughout. Three current MLB General Managers are graduates of Amherst. In the front office for the Boston Red Sox, former Trinity Bantam Psi U brother, baseball and football player Sam Kennedy will take over the job as President at the end of the season.

The NESCAC’s three MLB Draftees blew every other Division III conference out of the water. In addition, Wesleyan Pitcher Gavin Pittore (’16) signed on as a free agent last week with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Also, there have been two players that signed independent league contracts; Joe Jensen ’15,Hamilton’s star outfielder, signed with the Southern Illinois Miners in the Frontier League, and Nick Cooney ’15, one of Wesleyan’s aces, signed a contract with the Fargo-Moorehead Redhawks in North Dakota.

The odds are very much against minor leaguers making it to the majors. Even if they can’t make things work on the playing field, all NESCAC baseball players have a great education which allows them to venture off into different avenues of baseball. NESCAC graduates, and other Division 3 graduates are all over front offices, and coming from a small school is not a disadvantage at all. Though most players don’t make it, there are the few fortunate ones that make it to the Show. For Odenwaelder, Cimino, and Lucido, even if they never make it to the major leagues, they won’t consider their professional baseball careers a failure, but rather a great experience and opportunity.

Mike Trout Swimming for the CAC

Despite the noble efforts of the merry band of writers here at Nothing But NESCAC, the league certainly lacks national exposure. However, that is about to change with the news leaking out of the MLB’s offices early this morning. According to one of our (many, many) sources in the MLB, Mike Trout will soon be taking a leave of absence from the Angels to attend an as-of-yet undecided NESCAC school.

Trout, who was taken out of Millville High School in New Jersey in the 2009 MLB draft, has established himself as the best player in the MLB during his first three seasons, winning the American League’s Most Valuable Player award last year at just 23. However, he had recently been feeling unsatisfied with his lack of college education, and the dearth of one on one attention he was receiving from his coaches with the Angels. His teammates had reported walking into the lockerroom to see him poring over a ragged, dog-eared copy of Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, only to have him throw it into his locker and hurriedly pick up Albert Pujol’s issue of Maxim.

“Mike has always had a very inquisitive mind, and he simply isn’t feeling intellectually fulfilled in the Major Leagues anymore,” said a source close to the organization. “He feels that the small college experience will open him to a multitude of new opportunities to grow as a man, and learn more about this crazy ride we call life.”

Mike Trout could transfer to Wesleyan in order to take the class "Museum Chronotopes: Temporality and Exhibition from the Late 18th Century to the Present." — Mike Trout could transfer to Wesleyan in order to take the class “Museum Chronotopes: Temporality and Exhibition from the Late 18th Century to the Present.”

The obvious question that people are now asking is which school Trout will attend. We caught up with the star outfielder in a hotel room in Williamstown, having just finished a tour of Williams. He was sitting on the bed with his father, poring over several ethnically diverse brochures from Amherst, Middlebury and Bowdoin.

“I just don’t know, man,” the natural successor to Mickey Mantle said with a sigh. “Middlebury’s language studies can’t be beat, and it’s crucial to be bilingual in our rapidly globalizing society. But Williams has this incredible science and math department AND a museum with Picasso in it. Picasso! Shouldn’t I be at a place that can combine sciences and humanities like that?”

“But what about the girls at Middlebury, huh Mike,” his father interjected with a wink. The unanimous 2012 Rookie of the Year award winner blushed and returned to his brochures. When asked whether he would play baseball in NESCAC, he expressed some desire to, but that he really would like to try Quidditch at some point, and worried that Quidditch, studying for finals AND baseball would be too much to take on in his freshman year. “They have intramurals though,” he reasoned.

Wherever Trout ends up, his celebrity presence is sure to turn NESCAC on its head. We will have further updates on this exciting story as more details come out, but last we heard, Trout and his father were planning a drive down to Amherst to catch an information session.