@CodBall
Fan coverage of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
Mountaineers Coming to Brewster
by Dave B. in News
One of the many intriguing newcomers to the Cape League this year is Jedd Gyorko, middle infielder from West Virginia. Gyorko will be playing for the Brewster Whitecaps. After playing second base for the Mountaineers as a freshman, Gyorko was moved to shortstop this year. A Morgantown native, Gyorko turned down other scholarship offers for the chance to play for his hometown university.
As a freshman, Gyorko started all 56 games and batted .409 with 8 HR and 63 RBI while earning freshman All American honors. He hasn't missed a beat this year for WVU as he is currently batting .406 with 8 HR and 50 RBI - even though he is seeing fewer pitches to hit. With a .475 OBP and a slugging percentage of .668, Gyorko has terrorized opposing pitchers. While hitting for an incredible average, Gyorko produces impressive power from his 5'10", 195 lb. frame.
Coming off a season in which he won the Big East Rookie of the Year award, Gyorko was named to the preseason 2009 Brooks Wallace National Player of the Year Watch List.
One of the knocks on the West Virginia program is that they play a very weak non-conference slate. Even so, WVU is regarded as one of the best hitting teams in the nation. They are so strong offensively, that Gyorko's .406 / 8 / 50 numbers place him third on the team in each of those categories.
Gyorko is expected to be joined in Brewster by WVU teammate Tobias Streich. Streich, a sophomore catcher, is having an impressive year of his own. He is batting .324 with 6 HR and 51 RBI. He played in the Alaska Baseball League last summer and was picked as a league First Team All Star. A heavy workload does not seem to be an issue for Streich. He started 54 of 56 games for the Mountaineers last year and he has followed that up by starting 47 of the team's 49 games this year.
Coming out of high school, Streich was a 26th round draft pick of the Oakland A's. Streich is not completely unfamiliar with the route to the Cape as he was a participant in the Cape Cod High School Classic Showcase, held at Spillane Field.
There could be a battle for playing time at the catcher position for the Whitecaps between Streich and Miami's Yasmani Grandal. Grandal was among the first 17 invitees to the Team USA trials.
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