2026 VT Baseball Summer League Updates: Week of 6/15…
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.
5 Replies
1mo
I've looked all over and there isn't any film or stats to find for his 2026 hs season. Could be he stopped posting once committing to Tech. But also he isn't currently on a summer league team? I wonder if the writing is on the wall here. Nonetheless, I'm starting to think another outfielder maybe needed in the portal, especially someone familiar with CF duties. I can see Locurto in LF and Grube in RF again with Hurt, Hankins, Lutterman maybe mixed in on those corners. Guy should be given the CF opportunities, but I think they will need some depth. Arnett seems to have the bat to challenge for a spot in '27. I saw a video of him making a diving catch in LF, but I have no idea of his ball tracking abilities for CF. I wouldn't ask a freshman to play there anyways. The last freshman to play CF right away and excel was a favorite of mine in Jack Hurley. It's not often guys are ready to take that on as a 19 year old though.
(In response to this post by QCP)
1mo
and not being on a Summer League team isn't a good combination typically. With our current situation, we will likely need to trim one outfielder from our current planned players, so I envision it coming down to him and Brady Elrod as I think Aiden Arnett has shown across two summers in the Northwoods League that he has good upside and will turn 20 during early next season so he should be in a better position to impact next year's roster.
And to your point, the staff could look to bring in a transfer CF to give us more of a sure thing at that spot. After last season at Daytona State College and in the Valley League, it looked like JUCO transfer Connor Guy would be a solid option there but he was underwhelming this spring at St. John's River College and he was unremarkable this summer in 11 games in the Northwoods League so not sure how confident I am in him being a full season option in CF. If we do bring in a transfer CF, that would mean potentially both of Green and Elrod could be impacted or the staff could push Guy out of the mix.
One thing to watch will be how and where Willie Hurt and Aiden Arnett factor into the OF mix. In summer league play thus far, here is where they each have played games:
- Hurt: RF = 7, CF = 3, LF = 1, CF/LF = 1, 2B = 1, SS = 1, DH =1
- Arnett: CF = 6, LF = 4, DH = 3
The fact that Hurt has played 12 of his 15 games in the outfield leads me to believe that is where he will factor in primarily on next year's roster in addition to DH. And with Arnett, I assumed he would primarily be an outfielder but wasn't sure if he would be a corner OF or a possible CF option so it is good to see him getting a fair amount of action in CF to start the summer.
(In response to this post by Vawter Tech)
1mo
Now that you mention it he would fit well there to swap with either Locurto or Grube as DH/OF and maybe even play CF. Heck! He's got the speed. Not sure if anyone noticed, but Willie is a foul ball merchant and would always enthusiastically sprint after foul balls from the dugout. Very entertaining stuff. Love him for it. Love his contact ability too and I think he deserves a lot more AB's this season.
(In response to this post by QCP)
