9/25/10 Odds & Ends

All the random bits for the past week or so.

PG agreed with the league and picked Piscotty
to be the #1 prospect of 2010.

Hey guys. What a week it's been; we had three articles posted right off the bat and then I got bogged down in that dang Goldpanners draft eligible list (which I posted last night). But I had time to jot down some quick odds & ends for the week, and there's some decent ones here this time, so check out these little pieces of news from around the ABL world:

- 2007 AIA Fire OF Kirk Nieuwenhuis, now one of the top prospects in the New York Mets' farm system, is apparently joining the contingent of ABL players in the Arizona Fall League. According to Adam Rubin of ESPN.com's Mets blog, Nieuwenhuis was headed to the Dominican winter league before some roster shuffles deposited him in Arizona.

- It seems like the last season just barely ended, but the teams are out there recruiting like crazy. According to Miners GM Pete Christopher's statement on the team website, they've recruited about 80% of a team for next year. One of those players appears to be UMass Lowell standout Cam Kneeland, who made appearances in both the Cape and New England collegiate league last summer.

2010 Player Profile: Stephen Piscotty

#25 Stephen Piscotty
UTIL - Peninsula Oilers
Height: 6'3" - Weight: 190lb
Bats: Right - Throws: Right
School: Stanford
Year: Freshman
Hometown: Pleasanton, California
More articles regarding Stephen Piscotty

Hailing from the most pleasant town in California (Pleasanton) comes Stephen Piscotty, the big right-handed play-anywhere (including pitcher) guy who has been turning heads all summer in the ABL. Believe it or not, I was actually going to write this profile before he took home league honors for Best Prospect and Silver Slugger in 2010, and that only fuels my desire to get as many words written down about this dude as possible, because it's obvious that he's going places.

Piscotty is a strong pro draft candidate, having been previously selected out of high school in the 45th round by the Dodgers. However, he committed to Stanford and went to school this last season to play for their ball club (making him next draft-eligible in 2012). Down in Palo Alto he paced the DI team with 17 doubles, hit .326 and put up a .454 SLG%. Since coming up with the Oilers he's proven to be one of the team's most consistent hitters, batting out of the meat of the order, and has definitely earned the aforementioned acclaim (and did I mention, 49th State Hardball Player to Watch status?).

2010 Players to Watch: Peninsula Oilers

The Kenai River: legendary fishing destination for tourists
and Oilers baseball players alike.
Photo credit: CC/Frank K.

Late last night I posted the Glacier Pilots' Players to Watch. I figured, what the heck, why not rally and whip out the Oilers' PTW while I'm at it? So I did. The following is the list of players who I have found interesting on the Oilers 2010 roster. Once again, these are not necessarily the best players, but the ones who have some interesting combination of things like talent, notable performances, background stories, prospect buzz, etc. At the end are a list of "peripheral vision" guys, ones to keep track of who are also interesting but I didn't really have enough to write a whole blurb about. And of course, I'm always open to the idea that there could be a hidden gem just waiting to be discovered on the team, so if you've got a bead on a guy that I overlooked please let me know!

As an aside, one thing that I found particularly hilarious is the number of recruits who, under the "personal" section of their biography pages on their school websites, have "loves fishing" written. I'm really curious as to whether or not that has anything to do at all with their decision to play in Alaska, particularly Kenai. I've been reading the great book Diamonds in the Rough and it seems like the one constant in this league throughout the years has been the guys who come up to play baseball and end up spending more time on the river than the field.

RHP Kyle Barraclough
St. Mary's
Sophomore - 6'3" 200lb

Barraclough was the workhorse of the 2009 Oilers' phenomenal pitching staff, leading the team's starting pitchers in ERA (1.42), starts (9), and IP (57.0). He finished the year with a 2.61 (47/18) K/BB ration and a BAA of .178. He will obviously be a key second-year player for the Oilers in 2010. Can he do it again, or was 2010 a fluke? We'll find out.