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February 15, 2020
Several former ACBL players put up outstanding performances as the NCAA D-1 baseball season opened on Friday.
Justin Fall (Arizona State, Ocean Gulls, 2018), the Top ACBL Prospect in 2018, tossed six shutout innings as the third-ranked Sun Devils defeated Villanova 4-1 in their home opener. The 6-6 LHP struck out six and allowed three hits.
Evan Bergman (High Point, North Jersey Eagles, 2019-20) went four-for-four with five RBIs including a sac fly as the Panthers defeated Lafayette 16-8. Bergman played first base and had two doubles plus a triple.
Jordan DiValerio (Saint Joseph’s, Quakertown Blazers, 2017) did not allow an earned run over five innings as the Hawks defeated Ohio State 7-3 in the Sunbird Classic. The 6-3 senior RHP struck out nine and allowed only one hit to pick up the win.
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February 11, 2020
Veteran shortstop Nick Ahmed (UConn, Westhampton) tops the list of former ACBL players at MLB spring training sites in 2020. The two-time Gold Glove shortstop played in 158 games for the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2019 and posted a .254 average with nineteen home runs, 82 RBIs and a .753 OPS. This is the current list of players at MLB spring training sites including Non-Roster Invitees.
PITCHERS
Kevin McCarthy (Marist, Sag Harbor) RHP Kansas City Royals
Lou Trivino (Slippery Rock, Quakertown) RHP Oakland A’s
Cody Carroll (Southern Miss, Center Moriches) RHP Baltimore Orioles
Kyle McGowin (Savannah St. Sag Harbor) RHP Washington Nationals
Nick Tropeano (Stony Brook, Riverhead) RHP, NRI New York Yankees
Aaron Slegers (Indiana, Riverhead) RHP, NRI Tampa Bay Rays
Zack Godley (Tennessee, Southampton) RHP NRI Detroit Tigers
CATCHERS
Seby Zavala (San Diego St. Riverhead) Chicago White Sox
Nick Dini (Wagner, Center Moriches) NRI Kansas City Royals
P.J. Higgins (ODU, Lehigh Valley) NRI Chicago Cubs
INFIELDERS
Nick Ahmed (UConn, Westhampton) Arizona Diamondbacks
Frank Schwindel (St. John’s, Riverhead) NRI Detroit Tigers
OUTFIELDERS
Zack Granite (Seton Hall, Staten Island) NRI New York Yankees
Josh Palacios (Auburn, Staten Island) NRI Toronto Blue Jays
Tim Mayza (Millersville, Quakertown) is currently in rehab after arm surgery. The left-handed reliever topped the Toronto Blue Jays with 18 holds in 2019. RHPs Matt Festa (East Stroudsburg, Staten Island) and Heath Fillmyer (Mercer CC, Trenton) had been designated for assignment by the Seattle Mariners and Kansas City Royals respectively. Casey Lawrence (Albright, Kutztown) recently signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins.
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September 14, 2019
 LHP Tim Mayza (Millersville, Quakertown Blazers, 2011) was removed from the Blue Jays game last night after injuring his arm. The diagnosis is a torn UCL and he will undergo T-J surgery.
Mayza was the key left handed reliever for the Blue Jays and made 68 appearances, 4th highest in the American League. He posted a 4.91 ERA with 55 strikeouts in 51 innings and opponent batters recorded a .230 average.
Blue Jay manager Charlie Montoyo summarized the team's feelings best when he said, "Everybody loves Timmy. He pitches, he doesn't complain. He pitches every day and he's got a smile every day."
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September 3, 2019
Brian McKenna (Post University, North Jersey Eagles, 2013-14) transitioned from a catcher to pitcher over the last four years while playing Independent League baseball. He put up big numbers with the Florence Freedom of the Frontier League and was signed as a free agent by the Miami Marlins in July. He then made six appearances for Jupiter, the Marlins’ High A team in the Florida State League where he posted two holds and finished three games with a 0.96 ERA. In 9.1 innings he struck out 12 with only one walk and a 0.75 WHIP.
Two former ACBL pitchers had good starts to their pro careers after pitching a lot of innings this spring in college.
Nick Snyder (West Virginia, Trenton Generals, 2017-18), an 11th round draft pick of the Arizona D-backs, did not allow an earned run in 16 innings for the Hillsboro Hops of the short season Northwest League. The 6-6 LHP struck out 27 with a 0.69 WHIP.
Chris Kachmar (Lipscomb, Quakertown Blazers, 2016-17), a 28th round selection of the Chicago Cubs, posted a 4-0 record for the Eugene Emeralds in the Northwest League with a 1.56 ERA in seventeen innings with 24 strikeouts and a 1.27 WHIP.
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August 20, 2019
David Melfi (Wagner, New York Phenoms) and Francis Driscoll (Colby, Allentown Railers) earned the bulk of the post season awards for their outstanding performances.
Melfi was selected for the Santy Gallone Most Valuable Player Award and also won the Hitting Award with a league leading .406 average and the Slugging Award with a league best .667 slugging percentage. Melfi will be a freshman at Wagner in the fall and he mostly caught for the Phenoms this summer, but did DH and play the outfield at times.
RHP Francis Driscoll (Colby, Allentown Railers) will receive the Darrin Winston Most Valuable Pitcher Award. He had the league’s lowest ERA at 1.20 in thirteen appearances over 30 innings during the regular season. He struck out 49 with only nine walks while posting five saves. He will share the Relief Pitcher of the Year Award with Michael DeLeon Torres (PSU-Harrisburg, Allentown Railers) who also posted five saves.
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