ASU Baseball: Summer update

Many ASU baseball players have been out and about the country this summer playing in different college leagues. Here’s how they’ve been doing.

As the remnants of the worst season in nearly 50 years for the ASU Baseball program are picked up, Tracy Smith has done what he can in hiring Mike Cather to be the new pitching coach and many Sun Devils have been out and about the country this summer playing in different college leagues including five in the Cape Cod League. Many of them are flourishing so far as the summer seasons approach the end. Here’s an update on how they have been doing.

Spencer Van Scoyoc – LHP – Cape Cod League (Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox)

The lefty who struggled with command at times in Tempe seems to have figured it out up in the Cape. Van Scoyoc who has four starts on the season is 2-0 with a 0.93 ERA. With 19.1 innings pitched he has 7 walks and 13 strikeouts. In one of his more recent starts, he threw 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up just three hits, and possibly most impressive of all, just one walk. Van Scoyoc looks ready to try and take over the role of the ace come the spring.

Lyle Lin – 1B/C – Cape Cod League (Bourne Braves)

The Sun Devils hit machine just keeps doing what he does best. After being one of the leaders on the team for batting average last season (.290) he went up to the Cape and decided to do the same thing. Lin currently leads the Braves in batting average at .311, hits with 32 and RBI with 16. Lin has also kept up his solid defensive play tallying only a single error out in the field in 26 games as he has split time between first base and behind the plate.

Connor Higgins – LHP – Cape Cod League (Brewster Whitecaps)

Higgins has had a good summer for the Whitecaps as a starter. The junior has a 2.75 ERA in 19.2 IP with a 1-2 record. Higgins had a bit of a walk issue in his first three starts as he had seven in that stretch but his last start was better as he had no walks in five innings despite a loss. Higgins is one of the guys who will be battling for a full-time spot in the rotation come the spring.

Hunter Bishop – OF – Cape Cod League (Brewster Whitecaps)

The fourth Devil in the Cape is having a tougher time than some of his teammates. Bishop who was one of the team leaders in batting average last season (.301) is hitting just .200 going 16-80 in 27 games while being tied for the team lead in strikeouts with 31. Bishop is, however, drawing his share of walks. He has 15 so far in the shorter CCL season as he had 15 all of the 2016/17 season at ASU. Bishop looks to be shaping into the power hitter mold with his high strikeout number and improved walk numbers, while has no HR for Brewster, the power is definitely still there. A little work on plate discipline could easily see the walk to strikeout difference shrink come next season.

Fitz Stadler – RHP – Cape Cod League (Wareham Gatemen)

The big right-hander has been solid out of the bullpen for Wareham despite a little rough stretch in walks. In his last three outings, he’s walked five batters in six innings, but that is the only way opposing batters seem to be able to get on against Stadler. Since getting roughed up a bit in his first outing of the season back on June 18 where he gave up four runs on four hits, he has allowed just four hits since then in six appearances and 10 IP.

Alec Marsh – RHP – Northwoods League (Lakeshore Chinooks)

Marsh who had a rough freshman season out of the bullpen started off the same way for the Chinooks but he was given the chance to start a few games and he’s since shined in the role. In his last two starts, he’s gone 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA. Eight innings of shutout baseball with eight strikeouts to go with it in his start on July 12, followed up by seven innings allowing just one earned run, plus 10 strikeouts in his next start. Consistency is the biggest question for Marsh as he goes forward. If he can continue his solid pitching, a tryout for the rotation could be in line for the young right hander.

Carter Aldrete – SS – New England Collegiate League (Newport Gulls)

Aldrete has turned things around after a rough start that saw a 1-21 slump to open the NECBL season. Since July 3 though, Aldrete has been scorching at the plate hitting .339 (19-56) with a stretch where he hit home runs in three straight games while tallying 8 RBI to go along. Fielding issues have remained though as he has had five errors this summer in 22 games. The defense needs work going forward as the nine errors he had last season must improve.

Next: ASU Football: Quarterback positional breakdown

Taylor Lane – IF – New England Collegiate League (North Adams Steeplecats)

Lane has had a good summer for the Steeplecats, hitting .286 in 19 games while showing off his power with four HRs which is good for third on the team, and 18 RBI which puts him in second in in that category. Lane put together a two-HR game early in his stint with the team which made him the first player to have a multi-home run game for the Steeplecats since 2014. Had Lane joined the team at the start of the NECBL season it is not out of the question that he could be leading the team in both HR and RBI.