PGCBL
Spotlight: Josh Gardiner and John Razzino
The PGCBL season has to come to the close, with the Amsterdam
Mohawks beating the Newark Pilots in the league's championship series to claim their third consecutive PGCBL championship. The league recently announced their Player and Pitcher of the year, as well as their All-League Team and Coach of the Year.
Jayson
Yano of the Pilots, the subject of the PGCBL Spotlight a few
weeks ago, was named the PBCBL Pitcher of the Year for a dominant
summer on the mound.
Josh
Gardiner of the Amsterdam Mohawks was named the PGCBL Player of the
Year, and was an integral cog of a dynamic offense that included
several standout performers. Teammate John Razzino posted equally
dominant numbers, making undoubtedly a tough decision for PGCBL
officials when naming the player of the year.
Just
take a look at the numbers:
Josh
Gardiner (Radford)
• .415
batting average (second in the league)
• .543
on-base percentage (first)
• .511
slugging percentage (tied for fourth with Razzino)
• 56
hits (fourth)
• 56
runs (fourth)
• 29
RBI (fifth)
• 69
total bases (tied for seventh with Razzino)
• 29
walks (second)
• 10
hit-by-pitch (tied for first)
• 16
stolen bases (in 21 attempts, tied for seventh)
• 177
plate appearances (tied for eighth)
John
Razzino (Franklin Pierce)
• .370
batting average (third)
• .449
on-base percentage (sixth)
• .511
slugging percentage (tied for fourth with Gardiner)
• 50
hits (tied for sixth)
• 34
RBI (second)
• 5
home runs (tied for third)
• 69
total bases (tied for seventh with Gradiner)
• 23
stolen bases (in 26 attempts, first)
Gardiner
in particular had a knack for getting on base, whether it be via the
base hit, walk or hit by pitch. Both made the most of their time on
the bases, showing off the 6.50 (Gardiner) and 6.40 (Razzino) speed
in the 60-yard dash as recorded at the league's All-Star Game in
Elmira, by stealing bases almost at will and scoring runs in bunches.
Both
were named to the PGCBL All-League Team as linked above and helped
power the Mohawks to a 36-11 record, easily the best in the league, and the league championshp.
Around
the Cape
Garrett
Cleavinger, LHP, Oregon - Southpaws who throw 95 mph will and
always have garnered attention, and Cleavinger is no exception.
Scouts have come away highly impressed with the hard throwing lefty
this summer, and he’s been particularly sharp in his relief outings
down the stretch. Working at 93-95 mph with his fastball, Cleavinger
can miss bats even without his best off-speed command. But, when he
does have his sharp 79-81 slider working, he’s as tough to square
up as any pitcher on the Cape. Cleavinger profiles as a
swing-and-miss setup man that could likely be fast tracked to the big
leagues.
Ian
Happ, OF, Cincinnati - Happ entered the summer with high
expectations placed on his shoulders, following what was an eye
opening summer on the Cape last year. And, for awhile, he was solid
but perhaps not as eye popping as some expected. But, over the last
couple weeks Happ has taken off and begun to look like a potential
first round selection again. He’s driving the ball to all fields
from both sides of the plate, and has particularly impressive
opposite field pop from the left side. His speed and athleticism are
also big difference makers.
Andrew
Stevenson, OF, LSU - Sometimes it takes a summer of watching a
player on a consistent basis to fully appreciate what they can do on
a field. Andrew Stevenson is one of those players. He will not light
it up in batting practice or jump off the page physically, but all
this LSU standout does is perform time and time again. He’s
consistently squared up some of the league’s best pitching, using a
line-to-line approach and keep his hands back exceptionally well.
He’s an above average hit tool player with plus speed. Couple that
with his outstanding instincts on the bases and you have a made to
order top-of-the-order threat at the next level.
Kolton
Mahoney, RHP, Brigham Young - Most summers on the Cape there is
at least one singular pitching performance that everyone seems to
remember for years to come. Kolton Mahoney had one of those outings
on Wednesday night in Orleans’ playoff opening game. The Brigham
Young righty fanned 13 batters over seven scoreless and couldn’t
have looked more in command. He spotted his 91-94 mph fastball
expertly, attacking hitters and changing eye levels in the process.
He dropped in two variations of his breaking ball, including a downer
curveball at 75-76 and a two-plane slurve at 79-82. He also used his
80-83 mph changeup more than I’ve seen in prior outings.
Reagan
Bazar, RHP, Louisiana-Lafayette -
Remain patient with Reagan Bazar, because when it clicks the finished
product could be very special. Statistically, it’s been an up and
down summer for the 6-foot-8 Cotuit righty, but it’s also been a
summer of progress. Known to hit 100 mph during the spring, Bazar has
lived at 91-95 mph this summer but with improving mechanical
consistency along the way. His fastball, given his tremendous plane
and easy arm action, also plays up significantly. He flashes an above
average breaking ball as well. Given his youth and his frame, this is
an arm to watch very closely.