July 11, 2011
COLUMBIA, Mo. - As we look at this week's Mizzou baseball summer update, there was a notable addition to the list for the Tigers. Junior Conner Mach, who was drafted in the 46th round of the MLB Draft by the New York Yankees last month, has joined the North Shore Navigators for the rest of the summer, adding to the list of players in summer leagues. Below is an update of the Tigers so far this season, with Mach as the newest addition.
Conner Mach - North Shore Navigators, NECBL
Mach has played in four games since joining the Navigators this summer and currently ranks second on the team with a .313 average through his first four games. He has five hits in 16 at-bats and has a run scored and a pair of runs driven in. Mach opened his stint with the Navigators on July 4, going 1-4 with an RBI in a 3-1 loss to Laconia. He followed with a 2-4 outing against Old Orchard, posting a run in the 5-3 win. His most recent outing came on July 9 and he went 2-4 with an RBI in an 8-7 win for the Navigators.
Eric Anderson - Falmouth, Cape Cod League/USA Baseball Collegiate National Team
Anderson has not pitched since his stint with USA Baseball came to an end. Anderson started his final game from the Team USA Collegiate National Team over Fourth of July weekend and earned his second win of the summer after firing seven shutout innings against the USA Baseball 18U National Team. He led Team USA in ERA (0.00), wins (two) and was second in innings pitched with 12.0 while allowing just two walks and eight hits in his two starts. Combine his Team USA line with the two starts that Anderson has had in the Cape Cod League this summer, the Tiger righty has put together a great summer so far. He has thrown 24.0 innings and allowed just two earned runs, good for an ERA 0.75 in four starts this summer.
Eric Garcia - Falmouth, Cape Cod League
Garcia has been on a tear as of late for Falmouth and he has seen his average improve from .118 to .228 over his last eight games. He had a huge week since our last update, going 4-10 with two runs scored and four RBI. He had a huge game against Gateman, going 3-4 with four RBI, two runs scored and his first home run of the summer. He followed that with a 1-2 outing against the Braves on July ninth as well. He has played in 19 games this summer and is ranked second on the team in RBI with nine while his 10 runs scored are tied for third.
Brannon Champagne - San Luis Obispo
Despite starting very hot in as a member of the SLO Blues, Champagne has seen his average dip to .190 this summer. Despite the decline in his batting average, Champagne has done plenty of good things that have helped him remain in the starting lineup as he has scored 15 runs and swiped a team-high 12 bags. He also had walked 11 times - which is third-best on the team - helping him boast an OBP of .330 despite the low average. He has driven in five runs while helping guide the Blues to a 22-9 record this summer.
Sal Belfonte - San Luis Obispo
Belfonte, a reserve outfielder for the Tigers last season, is playing with Champagne for the Blues and has put together a very impressive season so far. Belfonte is hitting .267 in 24 games played and leads the team in walks (19), runs (23) and steals (12) while ranking second in OBP (.430). He has also driven in four runs and has three doubles on the season so far. He has started 22 of 24 games as well and is second on the team in at-bats at 75.
Blake Brown - Santa Barbra Foresters, California Collegiate League
Brown was just named to the CCL All-Star team last week after putting together a very impressive summer so far. Brown, who is playing with the Santa Barbra Foresters this summer, is hitting .303 with four home runs and has been one of the team's top run producers with 15 RBI and 15 runs scored. He is also slugging .579 with an OBP of .382 with 10 walks. Brown also is 6-7 in the stolen base department this summer. He has started 22 games and also owns a perfect fielding percentage on the summer. The Tigers' starting right fielder has continued to show extra-base power this summer, just as he did during the second half of the season last year. He has 23 hits on the year and 12 have gone for extra bases, including seven doubles, a triple and four home runs.
Jeff Emens - Sedalia Bombers, MINK League
Emens continues to shine as a member of the Sedalia Bombers in the MINK League. After compiling an ERA of 1.77 through his first seven appearances this summer, Emens struggled last week, allowing five earned runs in 5.2 innings pitch as he gave up seven hits and three walks. Still, his numbers are impressive with a 2.44 ERA this summer in nine games. He owns a 3-1 record and a very impressive 36-9 strikeout-walk ratio.
Kenny Burton - Sedalia Bombers, MINK League
Playing on the same team with Emens, Burton did not pitch last week. Overall, he is 0-2 and he has a 6.30 ERA. He has started four games and appeared in six total. In four of those six outings, he has given up less than two earned runs and none in three of those outings.
Drew Carlile - Saskatoon Yellow Jackets, Western Major Baseball League
Carlile, a backup catcher for the Tigers last season, continues to swing a hot bat for Sakatoon this summer. He is hitting .309 with 15 runs and 14 RBI while tallying four extra-base hits on the season. Last week, the Tiger catcher went 5-14 (.357) with three runs and one RBI. His best game came in a 9-4 win over Yorktown when he went 2-4 with two runs scored. He also went 2-4 in a 5-4 loss to Melville. He has played in 27 games this summer and has tallied 94 at-bats so far.
James Hudelson - East Texas Pump Jacks
Hudelson, a reliever for the Tigers in 2011, has assumed the same role with the Pump Jacks this summer. He appeared in one game last week, allowing no earned runs in 1.2 innings pitched in a 6-2 win over the Bombers on July 7. He now owns a 2.73 ERA in 26.1 innings pitched this summer and boasts an 19-8 strikeout-walk ratio.
CJ Jarvis - East Texas Pump Jacks
Jarvis started the season hot, hitting .308 through his first six games, but he has struggled since then as he is hitting just .154 this summer. He did not play in a game for the Pump Jacks last week. He has six runs scored and three RBI.
Dusty Ross - Klamath Falls Gems/East Texas Pump Jacks
After compiling a 1-1 record with a 4.50 ERA with the Klamath Falls Gems, Ross switched teams and joined with Hudelson and Jarvis as a member of the Pump Jacks. So far, Ross has started a pair of games and thrown 8.0 innings while allowing just two earned runs. He has struck out 12 batters in the 8.0 innings of work as well and walked just three. He has also allowed only four hits in his limited action with the Pump Jacks. He should continue to get plenty of work in East Texas as he owns a 2.25 ERA so far.
Scott Sommerfeld - Mankato MoonDogs, Northwoods League
Sommerfeld, who was the Tigers' starting first baseman for the majority of the season in 2011, is having a good summer so far with Mankato. He is hitting .233 in 16 games and has 12 RBI and a home run. He has 14 hits in 60 at bats and has struck out just twice as he continues to put the ball in play. He had four RBI in a 9-3 win over St. Cloud on June 5 and drove in three more runs with a home run on June 3 against Rochester. He did not play last week.
Ryan Yuengel - Cowlitz Black Bears, West Coast League
A righty for the Tigers, Yuengel has been sharp out of the bullpen for the Black Bears this summer. He had a rough week last week after lowering his ERA from 10.39 to 3.86, but he gave up four earned runs in 2.1 innings last week, moving his season ERA back up to 5.51. All four runs came in an outing on July 5 in which he allowed four runs in 1.1 innings of work. He came back and fired a scoreless frame against Klamath on July 8, striking out two of three batters faced.
For all the latest on Mizzou baseball, including weekly updates of all of the summer league players, stay tuned to MUTigers.com and be sure to follow the team on twitter @MUTigerBaseball.