Former Hoosier Andrew Means recorded his first home run of his professional career on Friday night.

For the Billings (Mont.) Mustangs, a Cincinnati Reds Rookie League affiliate, Means went 2-for-5 with a single and the solo shot.

In the first games of his post-collegiate tenure, Means has struck out nine times in 48 at-bats, a slightly higher clip than he had last season at IU.

Despite the K’s, however, his average over his last 10 games stands just under .300. He has swiped two bags in as many attempts and is putting together a pretty good summer season in Billings.

Sorry for the Top Gun quote, but I had to when Matt Brady told me Jerrud Sabourin was playing for the San Diego Mavericks.

Sabourin is leading the team in nearly every offensive cat. In 73 at-bats, the San Diego native is hitting .397 with 17 RBIs, 18 runs, 14 doubles, a triple, two home runs, nine walks and only two strikeouts.

The plaque for the alternates is down in the ladies room.

As the headline hints, Matt Carr is pitching the lights out for his Anderson Servants Great Lakes League team.

Carr has had three starts, winning all three and going the distance in two. The right-handed hurler has a 0.89 ERA and has struck out 14 in 20.1 innings pitched.

As reported by our readers

Andrew Means is playing very well for his Red’s affiliate. Here’s a link to his stats page.

He currently is hitting .263 in 38 at-bats with three RBIs and two stolen bases. Interesting tidbits on the page is that Means is hitting .400 (10 at-bats) against lefties, and .357 (5-for-14) with runners in scoring position.

Means’ former teammate Tyler Tufts is also doing really well. He pitched an inning last night, let up no runs, struck out one and surrendered a hit. Tufts ERA remains at nil and now has seven strikeouts in five innings with the Rangers’ rookie league team.

Cape Cod League update

Evan Crawford has warmed a little after starting slow with the Cotuit Kettleers. Crawford is now hitting .260 in 36 at-bats with seven runs and three doubles.

Two things to note about the Reynoldsburg, Ohio native, he is still making errors (7), but in the outfield. Crawford started two games at short and has started eight in the outfield. If he were to become comfortable in the outfield, it would allow Tracy Smith to move his lineup around more.

Kipp Schutz has also turned his summer around at the Cape. Finally above the Mendoza Line, Schutz is hitting .214 with a homer and four RBIs.

Schutz’s teammate, both at IU and with Wareham, Matt Bashore is struggling. Bashore has thrown only 1 and a 1/3 innings in two games and has an ERA around two touchdowns.

As reported first at the Inside Pitch, Josh Phegley is likely done for the summer and is no longer listed on the Gateman’s roster.

Lane Meyer runs a Yankees draft blog. Meyer has done a good job keeping up on what the potential Hoosier lefty is doing from the point of view that Monar is a potential Yankee.

It’s worth checking out, but be leery of the unattributed sources.

Here is Meyer’s latest post on Monar:

Blake Monar back pitching with his summer league team

July 2nd, 2008

The lefty with nasty offspeed stuff returned to his summer league team, the famous Midland Redskins last night, pitching the World Wood Bat Association powerhouse to a 13-5 victory. I don’t have a complete line on him, but through sources I know that he pitched 4 innings and let up 3 runs. He’s slated to start early next week again.

If Monar is healthy, this is a kid who needs to be signed. As we’ve discussed multiple times in the blog already, he’s got good size, he’s lefthanded, and he has absolutely dominating breaking stuff. Sure his velocity may not be at an optimal level, but it’s not out of the question to add 2-3 mph as he fills out more and receives professional coaching.

Spinning a filthy breaking ball however, is something that some scouts believe is just as natural an ability as throwing 98 mph: either you have it or you don’t. Monar has a very real chance to be a first round selection in 3 years if he dons the Crimson and Cream. He’s “only” asking for somewhere around $400K-$500K, so this has every opportunity to get done if he stays healthy and performs this summer

It takes until the beginning of July for your athletics department to recap your season.

Hoosiers Continue Ascent in 2008 Campaign

July 2, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The 2008 Indiana baseball season was a campaign to remember. While playing one of the toughest schedules in school history, the Hoosiers posted their first winning record since 2003, including wins over College World Series participant LSU and National Champion Fresno State.

Overall, the Hoosiers played 10 games against teams ranked in the top 25 of the American Baseball Coaches Association poll, going 4-6 against those squads. The Hoosiers thrived against top competition, as they were the only team in the Big Ten to defeat regular season and tournament champion Michigan more than once and the only team to win a conference series against regular season runner-up Purdue. Overall, the Hoosiers won at least two games against six of their nine Big Ten opponents.

The up-and-coming Hoosiers were the surprise team of the Big Ten in 2008, rallying over the last four weekends of conference play to qualify for the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2003. IU sat in last place, at 4-12 in the conference, with four weekends to play and the top two teams in the Big Ten scheduled to come to Bloomington. The Hoosiers then rallied to finish 11-5 in the conference over their final 16 games, finishing off the regular season with a sweep at Michigan State, the first sweep for an IU team since 1999.

Once in the Tournament, the Hoosiers continued to make noise, dropping the first game of the weekend, but rallying to knock off Ohio State, Illinois and Penn State in elimination games. The victory over Penn State was the most dramatic of the three, as senior shortstop Tyler Cox smashed a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to rally IU to a 12-9 win. The homer worked its way onto SportsCenter’s Top 10 Plays that night, clocking in at No. 2 on the list.

Individually, Josh Phegley posted one of the top years in IU history in the process. The sophomore catcher was named a second team All-American by both the coaches and the writers, as he led the Big Ten with a .438 average and 80 RBI on the season. The unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection finished second in the nation in batting average and the Hoosiers, who hit .339 as a team, were sixth in the country after hitting just .269 in 2007.

Also picking up conference honors were junior centerfielder Andrew Means and sophomore pitcher Matt Bashore. Both were named first team All-Big Ten, while Bashore picked up All-Region honors from the American Baseball Coaches Association. The youthful Hoosiers also got a huge contribution from freshman first baseman Jerrud Sabourin, who was named a Freshman All-American by the National College Baseball Writers Association. Following the season, juniors Means and Tyler Tufts were both selected in the 2008 Major League Baseball First Year Player Draft, the first Hoosier teammates to be selected since 2004

I caught up by phone with skipper Tracy Smith today in southern California doing some recruiting. We talked about many things and here are some highlights I wanted to share —

On Jake Dunning, shortstop transfer from Florida Community College at Jacksonville

“He’s tall and rangy with some upside,” Smith said. “He also appealed to us with his pitching. We wanted a two-way player after losing Tyler Cox and wanted a guy with some experience.”

Dunning, a righty, didn’t pitch much with FCCJ, but the article I shared in the original post on his signing had him with an 0-1 record, a 4.00 ERA and two saves.

Smith and I discussed the possibility of going to Cox, or other position players who could pitch, while the arms were tired in the Big Ten Tourney. It never happened and next year’s staff looks to have more options in it, but a player like Dunning must be nice to have in the dugout.

I came across a story on Jake today, winning a game for his amateur team in Alaska.

On Josh Phegley, his numbers with the USA National team and the Cape

Coach said Josh is banged up right now, as one might have speculated.

“He’s hurting. He’s sore. And that was likely a factor in the team’s decision on whether to bring him on or not.”

He went on to say there is a possibility that Josh will be shut down for the remainder of summer, despite the option to play in Cape Cod.

Smith regarded Phegley as one of the best catchers in the NCAA and said Hoosier recruit Josh Lyon will be a more than valuable addition to the team. He said the two catchers will benefit greatly from one another. Phegley will get some rest while Lyon will get the tutelage.

The possible pitching staff next season

With or without Blake Monar, Smith acknowledged there would be decisions to make.

He said Bashore would be one, with possibly Monar at two. Much beyond those two he doesn’t know yet. He threw out names like Eric Arnett, Matt Carr, Kyle Leiendecker and recruit Drew Leininger.

Thanks for checking in and we’ll post more news when it happens.

After many phone calls with our media contact Matt Brady (he is speed dial No. 6) we finally have pieced together a list of where some Hoosiers are playing this summer.

*The only info I was able to get was from Brady on Sabourin. I couldn’t track down either his team or league.

Some highlights I have found from clicking about the Web:

Josh Phegley takes to the Cape

The thrice-named All-American was cut from the USA National baseball team’s roster yesterday. This isn’t a huge surprise as his numbers were lethargic — finishing the tryout period with a .087 batting average.
Phegley will now be playing for the Wareham Gatemen in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he played last summer. For the Gatemen, Phegley was second on the team in batting average at .269 with 5 doubles in 67 at-bats. Defensively, the catcher made only two errors in 19 starts.

Does Phegley’s performance have you concerned?
I know it doesn’t bother me, if you want my opinion. There could be many reasons for the low output, whether simply tired or just a slump. Phegley tore up Big Ten pitching after picking up steam in the Cape and one has to think he could do so again, and if he has another season come spring like he did his sophomore year, he would be a projected first round pick.

But what do you think? He was facing top collegiate pitching, to quote one of my favorite movies, “the best of the best.” Does the performance lower your expectations of the junior to-be? Or is it a non-issue?

Matt Carr is hurling pebbles:

Carr was named the pitcher of the week in the Great Lakes League after starting the season 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA through his first two starts. He threw a complete game in each start, including a shutout against Tyler Rogers’ Columbus All-Americans. In 14 innings of work, Carr has only let up a single run. How well the righty pitches next year will be huge for the Hoosiers. The more I study this team, the more important I feel he and potential Hoosier Blake Monar will be. Whether as the third weekend pitcher (if Monar comes to campus) or throwing midweek, Carr’s ability to save the Hoosier pen a few innings will be very beneficial to everyone’s arms (and minds). Don’t get me wrong, I think IU will have a solid staff next year, but how Carr throws will have an impact on the team.

Where do our loyal readers and Hoosier followers feel Matt Carr should be pitching? A weekend or midweek spot, or possibly somewhere else? Remember a weekend series will now only be three games. And how does everyone feel about the staff? Does IU need Monar? Excited for Drew Leininger to come to campus?

We know it’s still a long, long time from now to next season. But we at the Inside Pitch want your opinions.

Coach Tracy Smith has added another member to the 2009 season as he has signed shortstop Jake Dunning, according to Jacksonville.com.

The 6′4,” 180-pounder batted .341 with three home runs and 37 RBIs for Florida Community College at Jacksonville. Dunning also tallied a .482 slugging percentage and swiped 17 bases in 20 tries.

The Orange Park, Fla. native is currently playing summer ball for the Alaska Fairbanks Goldpanners.

The Goldpanners seem to be a fairly strong team with a good deal of tradition.

Their current roster is filled with players from top Western schools. Another interesting tid-bit is the Goldpanners host an annual midnight baseball game under the summer solstice sun. The game is quite popular has has garnered national press in the past.

The 103rd Midnight Sun game will be held Saturday if any of our readers happen to be in the Fairbanks, Alaska area.

The addition at shortstop is huge after losing Tyler Cox and David Trager.

We will add the press release to this post when we get it.

In the meantime, I’ve been tracking down Dunning’s former coach at FCCJ. When I get in touch with him I’ll throw some quotes on here.

This has been one of the most hectic summers for IU baseball in a very long time, so keep checking in Hoosier faithful.

Why should you care about Poway High School being ranked No. 11 in the nation when they are from California?

Hmm … let’s try because IU recruits Alex Dickerson and Drew Leininger were two leaders on the team which finished ranked No. 1 in the baseball rich state.

Baseball News is the organization which ranked the teams.

Dickerson is a big left-handed bat who can play first or the outfield.

Leininger will be another important lefty to add to the Hoosier rotation.

Both were selected as First Team All-Section members.

These were quotes from IU coach Tracy Smith earlier this season on the two.

Dickerson:
“I here all of the West Coast coaches saying he is one of the top hitters in Southern California if not the top hitter and is having a great spring so far,” Smith said. “He is going to bring some immediate power and more left-handed hitting to our lineup. He is going to make an impact right away.”

Leininger:
“Drew was kind of a — I don’t want to say a secret — but he is a multi-sport guy so he hasn’t really dedicated his time but is now coming into his own,” Smith said. “In his case, we feel he is just at the tip of the iceberg, and so we are anxious to see what he does when he dedicates himself to baseball.”

These two ball players appear to be studs. Dickerson sounds like he can immediately step in and provide an offensive boost in the clean-up spot around Phegley.

One might wonder, however, if moving Phegley to clean-up might be better for Dickerson so he can see some better pitches while adjusting to college baseball. Just a thought, I know many will disagree with me.

Defense is still a huge concern for this club and followers of the Hoosiers have to wonder what Dickerson is like in the field, having had no word on such.

Leininger sounds like an Andrew Means on the bump. Obviously, he has a raw physical talent being a two-sport athlete, and threw together a great season for Poway.

That is all for now. Sound off and we’ll be back soon.

Hey folks,

This just grabbed my attention, thought you might like a read. It’s a story from the Evansville Courier & Press about Blake Monar’s waiting game between the Yankees and IU. The most interesting tidbit is this one:

When the Yankees called on draft day, Monar said they were prepared to take him in the fifth round if he was willing to commit to signing.

 

“The money wasn’t enough to sign,” he said. “I turned it down.”

So if this it to be believed, Monar would have gone much higher, but his insistence on third-round money scared the Yankees off. They’re supposed to be coming back later in the summer with an improved offer from what he told Ryan was fourth-round money after the draft, but I wonder if they’d really offer him third-round money after balking at that demand twice.

Again, I think all of this truly depends on who else the Yankees get to sign, and whether they feel like they need Monar out of this draft class. Stay with us, and we’ll keep you updated as this plays out.