Organizational Details

 

  • Last VBL Title: 2018, with MVP Andrew Eyster leading a heavy-hitting lineup
  • General Manager: Bruce Alger
  • Head Coach/Recruiter: Arthur Stenberg (1st year in the VBL, but has coached in summer leagues for seven years, last winning a title in 2019 for Niagara in the New York Collegiate League) (And he gave the information for this writeup)
  • Key Alumni: Brett Gardner (2003), Chad Kuhl (2012), Jonathan Bowlan (2016)

 

2019 Season Recap

 

The 2019 New Market squad finished third in the North with a regular season record of 19-23, seven games behind division-winning Strasburg. The squad then lost two close games to Woodstock in the first round of the playoffs (10-8 and 5-4). The team was dynamic on the basepaths; it led the league by far with 103 stolen bases. The team MVP was Josh Cox (Louisiana Lafayette), team Cy Young was Christian Horner (Palm Beach Atlantic), and the “Glue Guy” was Ramon Machado (Palm Beach Atlantic).

 

Returner

 

  • The only returner at this time is Trevon Smith (Glenville State), who played in Charlottesville in 2018.

 

Key Hitters

 

Coach Stenberg notes that the incoming hitter group has performed quite well in college this spring. Potential top bats (Any stats are through Sunday, May 9):

 

  • Tyler Robertson (Louisiana-Lafayette)- nine doubles, eight home runs, 17 stolen bases
  • Joseph Mershon (Charleston)- hitting .299 with more walks than strikeouts
  • Josh Day (Missouri)
  • Evan Keller (SE Louisiana)- leads his team with .326 average and 13 doubles, adds more walks than strikeouts and 16 stolen bases
  • James Bell (Fresno CC)- 19 for 50 through 16 games, with a .380/.500/.700 slash line

 

Key Pitchers

 

Stenberg mentions that while the pitchers are, as a whole, less experienced than the hitters, they are “guys that are hungry.”

 

  • Reed Moscolo (Wake Forest)- the transfer from Seton Hall has 33 strikeouts in 32 innings this spring
  • Andrew Fron (Canisius)- is 1-1, 5.23 after four starts this spring
  • Joe Cobb (Lenoir-Rhyne)- he’s appeared in six games out of the bullpen, and started two. He’s 2-0, 1.06 in 17 innings with 20 strikeouts

 

Other Notes

 

  • Jackson Lancaster (Missouri) was a 38th round draft pick and was MACJC All-State second team in 2019.
  • Stenberg, who was hired to coach New Market before the cancellation of the season in 2020, laughed that he is the only two-year head coach in the league who is still undefeated. Seriously, though, he is pleased with the incoming players: “They have a lot of ability, a lot of talent. They are a bunch of good guys that want to work hard and play baseball.”