The UNCW 1?

As the season wears on, it's starting to look like the UNCW 6 will become the UNCW 1.

As Bradley Holt and his 95mph fastball continue to dominate Low-A hitters, the UNCW Low-A hitters are having continued difficulties dealing with Low-A pitching.

Daniel Hargrave became the first UNCW bopper to hit a professional home run, taking one out to left field in Vermont last Wednesday night. While that's his only hit in 16 at bats since July 9, an encouraging sign is 3 walks and 4 strikeouts since then, to go with his first professional stolen base on July 17. Equally discouraging, however, is this season's .330 OPS (.177 OBP + .153 SLG), which is so far from keeping him in the pros for next season as to be nearly hopeless. But all he can do is keep going out there when his name is pencilled into the ninth spot in the Williamsport lineup, and keep trying his best, and I'm sure that's exactly what he'll do.

In terms of playing time for Hargrave, it turns out that Jesus Villegas Andino, who was down from the Advanced-A Florida State League to put Hargrave on the bench for 6 games, was promoted back up to Clearwater, where he's starting to hit and get on base a little bit (good for him!) So, as of right now, there seems to be only one player on the Williamsport team who can play second base, Bryan Frew, the 43rd round Nebraska-Omaha outfielder cum second baseman, who has a .660 OPS, which is actually not bad for a middle infielder in the relatively low run environment of the New York-Penn league. So, Frew is getting the slight majority of the starts at 2B lately, but has been playing outfield when Hargrave starts at second. Hargrave still figures to get plenty of at bats to turn things around.

Mark Carver singled against Jamestown last night, raising his average to .157, with a .450 OPS (.254 OBP + .196 SLG). He's had only 51 at bats all season, which is not enough to tell much, and with 6 walks and 10 strikeouts in his last 40 plate appearances, is showing signs of learning a "good hitter" (his words, when at UNCW) approach as a professional. The massive power he showed at UNCW hasn't been there yet, and one has to wonder if he's just very tired after a very long, emotional collegiate season.

The other two State College catchers are helping Carver get more chances, as Josue Peley is at .204/.295/.241, and Chris Simmons is at .222/.214/.222 in 27 at bats. Peley has a 8:6 K:BB ratio, indicating that he's handling pro pitching much better than the other two (Carver is at 15:6, and Simmons at 9:0).

From Appel, little has been heard. Chuck Carree of the Wilmington Star-News called the Renegades office last week, and got the impression that Appel would not be back this season, and went on to speculate that his professional career has probably ended (with a .368 batting average!) For my part, I still hope Appel can turn around whatever is going on personally, because even a long, happy life deals very few really interesting hands, and it's a shame to muck any of the ones you get.

Nate Hall is now not only the regular third baseman in Ottawa, but seems to be the only third baseman in Ottawa. Felix Escalona, the ex-Yankee, was released on July 8. So, Nate, despite batting .179 with .273/.205 OBP/SLG, is playing solidly enough in the field, and hopefully has a chance to finish the summer in Ottawa.

It's odd that nobody is slugging at all, when these players spent the better part of the spring absolutely knocking the cover off the ball. The Rapidz first baseman, Jabe Bergeron, is batting .358 with a .432 OBP and .537 SLG, which are numbers that will get you noticed, signed by a big league club, and sent to A-ball. Hall has a ways to get there.

This, more than anything else, is probably the hardest thing about climbing the ladder in pro ball, and what is hard to appreciate until you really start following a few specific minor league players: to succeed in pro ball, you have to be special at every level. While Craig Counsell can play 80+ MLB games in 12 consecutive seasons by being a slightly below-average major league player, if you're a slightly below average minor league player, your career will be exceedingly brief, perhaps 3 or 4 years, not more.

If you're a well-below-average minor league player in the low minors, your career will generally last one season, and your place will be taken by the next year's draftees.

It's a lot of pressure, but then it is impossible to succeed at the Major League level without being able to handle pressure, so it must be learned, and in most cases, learned quickly.

Bradley Holt, as I mentioned before, is putting up eye-popping numbers, and is guaranteed promotion for next season. In 28-1/3 innings, he's got 37 K, 12 BB (which is a few more than he'd like, but pretty good for the first time as a pro), with only 1 HR surrendered, a .182 batting average against, and a 1.91 ERA. Even in a low-run environment, these are dominant numbers.

As Holt will probably not throw more than another 10-20 innings before being shut down later this fall, he can rest easily knowing that he did more than what could have been asked of him, and that his pro career, unlike his classmates, is off to a fantastic and promising start.

As for the hitters? Well, they better start to hit. Multi-hit games, extra-base hits, walks, home runs, those better start coming off the bats of Hargrave, Carver, and Hall, and start coming soon, or theirs will be the all-too-familiar career of one season and done, albeit with some great memories, and the truthful boast into old age that "I was a pro ballplayer once..."