By Haden Raymer
A lot of players have gotten off to hot starts early into the season, but none quite like outfielder Joe Delossantos of the Staunton Braves. His five home runs and twenty RBIs lead the league. One of the more impressive aspects of his power is that it matches almost identically with his collegiate performance at William and Mary. At William and Mary this past spring, he hit a home run roughly every 17.8 at-bats. He has hit home runs at that same rate in the VBL. He is not just a power guy either, as he has stolen seven bases, which is tied for 12th. That combination of speed and power can be dangerous.
Delossantos has excelled in every aspect of the game, with a .292/.376/.528 triple slash. His .904 OPS ranks eighth out of all players with at least 60 plate appearances, but his 101 plate appearances lead the group. In fact, Delossantos and Staunton Braves teammate Nicolas Rodriguez are both in the top three in plate appearances in the league. Delossantos has set himself up well to be in the conversation as one of the best players in the league, especially with his success over one of the larger sample sizes in the Valley Baseball League.
At William and Mary, Delossantos got limited playing time in 2020, only starting in two games. Despite more playing time in 2021, he struggled mightily, hitting .145 and striking out in 37.1% of his at-bats. 2022 is clearly Delossantos’s year, where he had a breakout year, hitting .313 in 47 games and stealing 13 bases, and hitting nine home runs. Despite being one of the top hitters in the CAA in OPS and SLG, the CAA only named Delossantos as CAA Player of the Week once.