Summer of Swat: A Weekly Mizzou Baseball Roundup
By Kyle Jones
Welcome to the first edition of the Summer of Swat, your one stop shop for keeping up with what Mizzou baseball players are doing this offseason.
We have officially reached that dreaded time of year where virtually no Mizzou teams are playing meaningful games, or games at all for that matter. But that doesn’t mean the fun has to end.
For collegiate baseball players, summer is the perfect time to hone your skills in one of America’s many wood-bat baseball leagues. Let’s see how the participating Tigers are doing so far.
Appalachian League (Stats as of June 21)
CJ Cepicky-Danville Otterbots
Cepicky’s had a pretty slow start to life in the Appy League. Hitting .167 through 12 games, he hasn’t been able to get quality contact and sits near the bottom of Danville’s team rankings in batting average.
To his credit, Cepicky has drawn 9 walks and only struck out 8 times in his 36 plate appearances so his plate discipline seems to be sound.
Cepicky has grounded out 15 times this season. If he can start finding the gap he’ll start finding success.
Brenner Maloney-Danville Otterbots
Maloney’s ERA of 8.53 is incredibly misleading when assessing his season thus far. The rising Junior has 13 Ks in 6.1 IP, and has only issued 2 walks.
He got roughed up by Burlington on June 15, allowing 6 runs to score and torching his ERA, but he has been solid in the other 2 games that he’s appeared in so far.
The Otterbots are 8-8, sitting second in the East Division, 5.5 games behind the first place Princeton WhistlePigs.
Trevor Austin-Greeneville Flyboys
Austin has appeared in 13 of Greeneville’s 15 games so far, and he is one of the team’s top run-getters.
Slugging .417 in 48 at-bats, Austin is one of only 4 Flyboys with a home run this season. He leads the team in triples with 2, and has a solid on-base percentage of .393.
Austin ranks third on the team in RBIs with 10 off of 11 hits. His one blemish is his 10 strikeouts, but a bit of patience and plate discipline can fix that. Overall, Austin is having a great start.
Austin Troesser-Greeneville Flyboys
Troesser has been lights out to begin the season. Through 6.2 IP he has fanned 13 batters and allowed 2 hits.
Batters simply don’t know what to do with Troesser’s stuff, hitting a stunningly low .091 against him. Through 4 appearances Troesser has a 1.35 ERA and a record of 1-0.
For Troesser, the trick is to not be complacent. The more batters face him, the more familiar they will become. If he can keep his stuff, while maintaining variety, he’s in line to be one of the top pitchers in the league.
Greeneville have started well, leading the West Division with a 10-6 record. But they need to be on their guard, as they only lead second place Bristol by half a game.
Tre Morris-Princeton WhistlePigs
Tiger fans know Tre Morris as a team leader, and he’s been a team leader for Princeton so far this summer. His .350 batting average leads the team, and his .481 on-base percentage ranks third.
Morris has managed to keep his strikeout count low, only 7 in 40 at-bats, but his RBI numbers are also low.
A batter hitting third or cleanup, as Morris has been for most of the season, is expected to bring runs home. Morris, however, only has 6 RBIs. Of course, he can’t control if people get on base before him, but you would expect more from a hitter of his consistency.
The WhistlePigs have been near-perfect so far, leading the East Division with a 13-2 record.
Ross Lovich-Pulaski River Turtles
Lovich has been a decent player on a decent team so far. Hitting .316, he ranks second on the team in batting average after 57 at-bats.
Lovich has drawn an impressive 10 walks so far, but has struck out 12 times. The River Turtles seem to be a very strikeout-happy team, which has contributed to their subpar start to the season.
For Lovich, when he’s not striking out or walking he’s making great contact. Of his 18 hits, 9 of them have been for extra bases (4 triples!).
Lovich is showing off his speed to start the season. If he can continue to utilize that as a weapon, he’s set to have a good summer.
Garrett Rice-Pulaski River Turtles
Rice is having a similar season to his Pulaski teammate Lovich. Rice’s .314 batting average is solid, but he has struck out 21 times in 51 at-bats.
With 9 RBIs, Rice ranks third on the team, and he has been perfect in the field with no errors and 62 putouts.
Rice brings a sure hand to third base, but he needs to start making more contact and limiting the strikeouts.
Jackson Beaman-Pulaski River Turtles
Pulaski’s strikeout theme continues with Jackson Beaman, who has 16 so far this year. His .245 batting average leaves room for improvement, though he can be happy with the 6 walks that he has drawn in 13 games played so far.
Beaman needs to start making contact, and fast, if he want to turn things around.
Zach Hise-Pulaski River Turtles
Not too much to say about Hise. He has made one appearance in the field, has no at-bats, and committed an error. Hopefully he gets more opportunities down the line
Pulaski has had a lukewarm start to the season, sitting at 8-8 in the East Division. Interestingly enough, they actually play significantly better on the road (6-4) than at home (2-4).
Torin Montgomery-Healdsburg Prune Packers
Montgomery seemed to be heating up towards the end of Missouri’s season, but he has hit a wall to start the summer in California.
Through 23 ABs, Montgomery is hitting .174 with 10 strikeouts. The only guy on the team who is hitting worse has a .000 average. Montgomery’s strikeout total is the worst on the squad.
Maybe it’s a mental block, maybe it’s getting used to a new lineup of opposing pitchers, but Montgomery needs to find his way quick.
Despite Montgomery’s slow start, his teammates have picked up the slack. Healdsburg currently sit at 11-1 and have steamrolled many of their opponents
Nick Schmit-Lincoln Potters
Schmit has played since May 27, when he went 1-6 with a double in Lincoln’s 19-5 win over the Gold Sox. He’s hitting .154 after 26 ABs and has struck out 10 times.
It is unclear if or when Schmit will suit up for Lincoln again. The Potters currently have a record of 11-12.
Luke Mann-Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Mann has come out of the gate looking strong, batting .400 through his first 5 ABs.
It’s early days, but Mann looks to be progressing well and making contact.
Trae Robertson-Hyannis Harbor Hawks
Robertson has only put in 1.1 innings of work, and it didn’t go well.
The Columbia native surrendered 2 walks, 4 hits and 3 earned runs in his one appearance, which gives him much to improve upon in his next outing.
The Harbor Hawks have started 1-1. Once again, early days, so stay tuned.
Spencer Miles-Wareham Gatemen
Miles hasn’t had much of a chance to show his stuff this summer. He has only pitched one inning, where he surrendered a walk, earned a strikeout, and allowed a run to score on an RBI double.
Miles’ 0-1 record and 9.00 ERA are an incredibly unfair representation of a pitcher who still has much to show us this summer.
The Gatemen have started 0-2, and still have plenty of season left to recover.
Jacob Kush-Holly Springs Salamanders
Kush is establishing himself as the ace for Holly Springs. With 18.2 innings pitched through 4 games, he has struck out 18 batters.
He has allowed 15 hits, but only 5 earned runs, and only 2 walks.
If Kush can keep up his command and keep hitters guessing, he’s set to have a great summer.
The Salamanders are in third place in the East Division as of June 23, with a record of 10-7. Kush will surely hope that his performance on the mound can keep them in the hunt for the top spot.
Ty Wilmsmeyer-High Point-Thomasville HiToms
In contrast to his Coastal Plains counterpart Kush, Wilmsmeyer has started poorly. Through 8 games he is hitting 3-14 with 6 strikeouts.
The issue for Wilmsmeyer is getting balls in play. He simply hasn’t been able to connect ball to bat and it shows. The worst part for the HiToms is that Wilmsmeyer ranks smack dab in the middle among hitters.
Despite a rather poor hitting performance, the HiToms are 10-5 on the year, and sit in second place in the West Division.
Drew Garrett- State College Spikes
Garrett’s ERA of 5.40 won’t turn any heads, but overall he has had a decent start to life in the Draft League.
15 strikeouts and a 1.7 WHIP are good to see through 8.1 innings pitched, and Garrett has only allowed 5 hits.
He has issued 9 walks so far, which is slightly concerning, but if he can manage his zone a bit better he’ll have a good summer.
Ben Pedersen-Duluth Huskies
Pedersen has had a nightmare through 18 innings pitched.
Yes, 12 strikeouts is a nice number, but Pedersen is leaking hits like the Titanic post-iceberg.
He has surrendered a grand total of 23 hits, worst on the team, as well as 13 earned runs and 6 walks. His ERA sits at 6.50
The Huskies are currently 7-15 and sit in third place in the Great Plains East Division.
Kyle Potthoff-Cape Catfish
Potthoff is having a very black and white season so far.
With 24.2 innings pitched he has notched 18 strikeouts, but he has issued 15 walks, surrendered 28 hits and let 12 earned runs get past.
Those strikeouts are nice, but they can only get you so far.
Cape sits at 12-11 and are currently on a 3 game losing streak.