As we move towards the end of June, here is a look at how our VT baseball players fared in summer league action during the week of 6/15. Overall, there were some highs and lows but it included a really nice pitching performance from Ethan Grim in the Cape Cod League. Given how uneven his performance was as a freshman and how large of a role he will have on next year’s pitching staff, seeing him perform well in the Cape Cod League would be a huge boost for next season’s team. Player(s) of the Week • Ethan Grim (Brewster, Cape Cod League) – He made his Cape Cod and Summer League debut this past week, getting the starting nod on 6/18 for Brewster and he didn’t disappoint. In his outing, he went 3.0 hitless and scoreless innings with 2 walks and 6 strikeouts in what ended up being a Brewster 3-1 victory. • Aiden Arnett (Madison, Northwoods League) – Arnett bounced back nicely and had a good week that saw him log 14 pa in 4 games while flashing his developing power with another hr and finishing the week with a slash line of .364 avg / .500 obp / .636 slg / 1.136 ops which brings his summer slash line to .269 avg / .457 obp / .500 slg / .957 ops. He is striking out at a fairly high rate (31%), but he continues to produce at a high level, so he is someone to watch as a possible impact outfielder for us in 2027. Other Notes • JM Szefc (Pulaski, Appalachian League) – Szefc continues to be a model of consistency, producing good output at the plate on a regular basis. This past week, he finished with a slash line of .400 avg / .625 obp / .400 slg / 1.025 ops on 16 plate appearances and for the summer is sporting a slash line of .317 avg / .463 obp / .439 slg / .902 ops. To underscore his consistency, he has had at least one hit in 9 of 11 games this summer and has also reached base safely in all 11 games he has played in. • CJ Oxendine (Zebulon, Coastal Plain League) – He made his first appearance of the summer back on 6/10 and since then, he has had a good start to his summer at the plate. This past week, he had 26 plate appearances across 6 games and posted a slash line of .273 avg / .385 obp / .455 slg / .839 ops with a 2b, hr and 5 rbi to bring his summer slash line to .282 avg / .417 obp / .410 slg / .827 ops. He struggled at first behind the plate as he had 3 errors and a passed ball in his first two games at catcher this summer, but he has settled down in his last 3 games at catcher with 0 errors or passed balls on 24 total chances. • Ethan Ball (Yarmouth-Dennis, Cape Code League) – Ball made his Cape Cod debut this past week on 6/15 but has gotten off to a slow start. For the week, he played in 5 games and across 16 plate appearances went 2-for-13 and finished with a slash line of .154 avg / .313 obp / .154 slg / .466 ops and had an elevated 44% strikeout percentage. • Brady Elrod (Pulaski, Appalachian League) – After getting my nod as VT Summer League Player of the Week for the week of 6/8, he followed that up with a week of struggles as he went just 1-for-9 (.111 avg) in 13 plate appearances including 4 strikeouts which is something he had been doing well in limiting. Despite the poor week, he has a summer slash line of .244 avg / .370 obp / .289 slg / .659 ops and a respectable 15% strikeout percentage. • Nate Bennett (Trenton, MLB Draft League) – Our recent transfer commitment from Niagra is pitching for Trenton in the MLB Draft League this summer. He started out really well in his first 4 appearances as he logged 2 saves across 5.0 scoreless relief innings while allowing just 1 hit, 2 walks and striking out 5. Since then, in his last two outings, he has given up 10 er in 5.0 innings including a 3.0 inning start this past week where he gave up 4 er on 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out 5. • Jake Wise (Pulaski, Appalachian League) – He made his third appearance of the summer this past week on 6/20 and it did not go well as he went 2.0 innings while giving up 6 hits, 6 earned runs and 4 walks. The one positive this summer is that he is striking out batters at a good rate (19.5 so9), but otherwise it has been a rough summer for him, especially with his command (15.0 bb9 and just 57% strikes) which has contributed to his 10.50 era and 2.83 whip.