BB: Pre-season All-American Teams

Started by Jim Dixon, January 17, 2008, 07:41:31 PM

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Ralph Turner

I also think that these boards have seen a quantum leap in the knowledge base to which the fans have access.

This is the third season for the message boards and the second season in this format for D3baseball.com.

We know that the South and the West, start out early.  We see features on the players in those areas.  Those areas start winding down, or getting into playoff and tourney mode, as the northern and northeastern schools start going strong.  The concentrated nature of those schedules give us a more natural look at the players, especially if they are playing four or five games in a week, as opposed to the drawn out schedules we get in the West and the South.

I fully expect the sophistication that these sites afford the D3 baseball community will mean a better understanding of Division III Baseball.

This is gonna get even "funner"!  ;)

kscer

Quote from: Ralph Turner on January 20, 2008, 12:28:34 AM
.  The concentrated nature of those schedules give us a more natural look at the players, especially if they are playing four or five games in a week, as opposed to the drawn out schedules we get in the West and the South.


In regard to the scheduling... here in the northeast we have a very short sometimes truncated season. A sub-par week due to an illness or an injury can take a player out of the running for statistically driven honors. Or start poorly on a spring trip with twelve games in seven days. Clutch players will still perform in clutch situations regardless what the stats say.

Bob Maxwell

As we will recall... we had a nice discussion of the merits of the differences in the seasons based on geography and what works best for individuals and teams when it comes to post season.  I think there was merit in both points of view...

As for the AA teams, who was on it, who was considered and who may have been snubbed... this is a best practices/information situation, as last years statistics/reputaions and team achievemetns were used.  Many of the players onthe list will end up on the post season list... some will drop out because of a "down" year (if hitting .350, 3 HR's and 30 something RBI's is a down year...  ;D )

There will be those that aren't even on the radar that jump up and demand recognitino... bot individuals and teams.

This is a process that causes lively discussion... and as we all have read, that is exactly what is happening.  I love it...

And Ralph is correct... the d3sports and baseball sites really are great as they give a wealth of information, knowledge and opinions...  EXACTLY what all of us want and enjoy.

Thanks!!!

BaseballFan

Did Zach Lutz turn pro? I know he was drafted but could not find him on any rosters for the Mets and Alvernias website has not ubdated their roster. Im guessing he did turn pro or we would be a preseason all American since he was the player of the year

Jim Dixon

Quote from: MIAC baseball on January 20, 2008, 02:26:08 PM
Did Zach Lutz turn pro? I know he was drafted but could not find him on any rosters for the Mets and Alvernias website has not ubdated their roster. Im guessing he did turn pro or we would be a preseason all American since he was the player of the year

Yes Zach Lutz did leave Alvernia early. Eric Focht is slated to replace him at 3B.


UWP SID

UW-Platteville's Ross Bennett earned first team preseason all-American honors last year by this site and followed it up by hitting .357 with 13 doubles, three triples and nine home runs. Hard to believe that he "dropped" so much as to not even receive a mention or even be part of the question about overlooked players. 

John McGraw

Quote from: Jim Dixon on January 20, 2008, 02:51:22 PM
Quote from: MIAC baseball on January 20, 2008, 02:26:08 PM
Did Zach Lutz turn pro? I know he was drafted but could not find him on any rosters for the Mets and Alvernias website has not ubdated their roster. Im guessing he did turn pro or we would be a preseason all American since he was the player of the year

Yes Zach Lutz did leave Alvernia early. Eric Focht is slated to replace him at 3B.



Lutz played one game for the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League. Either during the game or shortly after that he was hurt and missed the rest of the season. I suspect he'll go to extended spring training this year and then either back to Brooklyn come June or to the Mets affiliate in the South Atlantic League depending on his progress.

bbnag101

OK – all you stat guys......Since all the regular season games are over (at least I think they all are)  How have the 2008 D3 Preseason All-American faired? 

Here is the list from the front page.  Any surprises?   Who should be added/dropped?  Who should be Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year?  Any FASTER way of comparing their stats other than going to each schools web site?

First Team 
Pos Name, School
C Mike Zaccardo, Cortland State.
1B Drew Hedman, Pomona-Pitzer.
2B Ricky Angel, Illinois Wesleyan.
3B Derek David, McMurry.
SS Adam Frost, St. Norbert.
OF Marc Blakeley, Augustana .
OF Blake Eller, St. Scholastica .
OF Hunter Owen, Millsaps .
DH Brad Ketterer, Thomas More .
UTL Kurt Yacko, Chapman .
P Matt Aronson, Illinois Wesleyan
P Wayde Kitchens, Chapman
P Adam Samson, Wooster

Second Team
Pos Name, School
C Matthew Pexa, St. Thomas
1B Brent Voorhees, McMurry .
2B Joe Roth, Emory .
3B Richard Gomez, CCNY .
SS Jonas Fester, Johns Hopkins .
OF Bryan Burke, Kean .
OF Joey McDaniel, Ohio Wesleyan .
OF Alex Weber-Shapiro, CMS .
DH Nate Nelson, Worcester State .
UTL Shawn Gilblair, Eastern Conn.
P Robert Flanagan, Rhodes
P Aaron Saeubling, Wartburg
P Ahmed Shelton, Averett
P Anthony Trapuzzan, Wooster
UTL Shawn Gilblair, Eastern Conn.

Honorable Mention
C: Brandon Sales, Pacific Lutheran;
1B: Daniel Vanaman,
Rhodes; 2B: Matt Stanziano, Pitt-Greensburg;
3B: Jack Walker, Concordia-Chicago;
SS: Luke Enman, St. Joseph's (Me.);
OF: Mitch Kuczek, Transylvania;
OF: Michael Sims, LaGrange;
P: Dan Remenowsky, Otterbein.

BigPoppa

I would add Carthage's Jason Acevado:
.465 avg / 17 2Bs / 12 HRs / 65 RBIs

Baseball is not a game that builds character, it is a game that reveals it.

ILVBB

I haven't taken a hard look at the list, but I instinctively know that there are some terrific players both on an off the list.

What really makes an all-american? I tried to develop my own criteria. Is this complete, no, I am sure that we can add to it, then you can begin making an assessment of who is deserving.

Excellent stats (Ave, RBI's, power numbers, ERA, W-L)
Leadership (Team - did this person make a difference on his team)
Conference Leadership (Did this person lead his team to a conference championship, lead them to the NCAA tourney, or significantly improved the team over the last year)
Competitive Profile (Excellence against good teams or did they beat-up on the weak)
Level of Competition (what confernce did they play in, some are stronger than others)

I have seen a good number of the players on the list, all were great players, however, when you take a comprehensive view are they all-americans?


Billy 40

Safe to say Derek David will be Player of the Year?


Titan Q

#41
Illinois Wesleyan's Matt Aronson threw a complete game shutout today on day 2 of the CCIW tournament...

http://www.iwu.edu/~iwunews/sports/bb2008/cciwbb3.htm

He is now 7-0.

Interestingly, Aronson has not been IWU's best pitcher this season.  Sophomore Brent Kulavic is 6-0 with a 1.63 ERA, with 56 K's in 55 IP.

fouriscosmic

Can there ever be a lock for player of the year.  David's power numbers are impressive and other numbers are good, but should a player win PoTY just because he hits home runs (lots and lots of them)?  David's OBS is 1.435 rather impressive, but not the best in D-III.  Dan Kauffman of Junita has a 1.624 (leads D-III in OBP and BB). 

If you want a 5 tool player as player of the year then David falls short.

Power - 100% the best HR hitter in D-III
Average - Very good, but not comparable to some of the 0.500 + hitters
Speed - I have never seen him play, but his low doubles and triples combined with few stolen bases implies no wheels
Fielding ability - 0.911 fielding percentage at 3B is not strong at all
Arm - Can't judge by any numbers, not the most important for 3B.

I don't know that I can offer a better candidate, but just some fodder for thought

David has also played 46 games this year, some of his numbers should be taken as per game averages.  He ranks 6th in RBI per game despite being ranked #1 for RBI

baseballroxmysox

Here are the stats as of 5/9/08 that were posted the teams website.  I only did the First Team - will try to do the rest later.  I was surprised that some of these guys did not have the best stats on the team. 
2008 First Team - Pre Season   
                           
POS   Name   School   AVG    R   H   2B   3B   HR   RBI   SB-ATT   FLD%
C   Mike Zaccardo   Cortland State   0.401   44   55   13   1   4   42    10-14   0.960
1B   Drew Hedman     Pomona-Pitzer.   0.380   48   57   11   0   18   60   0-0   0.990
2B   Ricky Angel    Illinois Wesleyan   0.351   33   54   12   0   11   62    1-2   0.978
3B   Derek David    McMurry.   0.444   78   84   11   0   26   73    7-8   0.911
SS   Adam Frost   St. Norbert.   0.392   45   58   15   1   7   38    24-27   0.898
OF   Marc Blakeley   Augustana .   0.399   59   69   13   2   4   35   25-28   0.958
OF   Blake Eller   St. Scholastica   0.425   47   45   10   2   3   68    25-29   0.975
OF   Hunter Owen   Millsaps   0.388   61   62   11   0   16   50   23-26   0.959
DH   Brad Ketterer   Thomas More   0.382   47   55   18   0   8   43    4-7   0.984
UTL   Kurt Yacko   Chapman   0.356   40   63   11   3   10   45    8-11   0.927
                                 
POS   Name   School   ERA    W-L   SV   IP   H   ER   BB   SO   B/Avg
P    Matt Aronson   Illinois Wesleyan   1.63     7-0   0   72   66   27   16   68   0.237
P   Wayde Kitchens   Chapman   0.31    7-0    0   58.2   24   2   28   58   0.128
P   Adam Samson    Wooster   3.13     7-1    0   60.1   29   21   25   63   0.221
UTL   Kurt Yacko   Chapman   0.78    5-0   12   46   23   4   15   60   0.146


PS - I give up trying to get this excel report columns to match up.  I also tried to attached a pdf copy of this - and lost everything.   :P

mideastfan2

#44
Quote from: fouriscosmic on May 09, 2008, 03:42:31 PM
Can there ever be a lock for player of the year.  David's power numbers are impressive and other numbers are good, but should a player win PoTY just because he hits home runs (lots and lots of them)?  David's OBS is 1.435 rather impressive, but not the best in D-III.  Dan Kauffman of Junita has a 1.624 (leads D-III in OBP and BB). 

If you want a 5 tool player as player of the year then David falls short.

Power - 100% the best HR hitter in D-III
Average - Very good, but not comparable to some of the 0.500 + hitters
Speed - I have never seen him play, but his low doubles and triples combined with few stolen bases implies no wheels
Fielding ability - 0.911 fielding percentage at 3B is not strong at all
Arm - Can't judge by any numbers, not the most important for 3B.

I don't know that I can offer a better candidate, but just some fodder for thought

David has also played 46 games this year, some of his numbers should be taken as per game averages.  He ranks 6th in RBI per game despite being ranked #1 for RBI

yeah, there can definitely be a lock for player of the year, and if Derek David doesn't win it, there's something wrong!!  The kid is hitting over .440 and has driven in over 73 runs......that should be enough, regardless of the fact that he hit more home runs in a season than has been seen in quite a while.

He'll win it, hands down.