June 2, 2009
Complete Summer Release in PDF Format
Highlights from the Week 5/25-5/31: Rochester Honkers 5, Mankato MoonDogs 3 >Zach Robertson went to an early 1-0 on the year for the Rochester Honkers. Robertson went six innings, allowing two runs, none earned on four hits with seven strikeouts.
>Kurtis Muller has been on fire in the leadoff spot for the Madison Mallards. He is hitting 9-for-20 his first four games, and five of those nine hits have been doubles.
>Kyle Heim still has a pefect 0.0 ERA in his second year with the Madison Mallards. The southpaw has appeared in two games, pitching a total of two and one-third innings with five strikeouts.
>Phil Keppler is has the third-best batting average on his Waterloo Bucks team (.333). Keppler is 4-for-13 so far this season, with a team-best one home run and .538 slugging percentage.
>The Prospect League, New York Collegiate League, Great Lakes League and Coastal Plains League all kickoff their seasons in June. (Either later this week or next week.)
Bio of the Week – Zach Robertson:
Iowa Central transfer Zach Robertson finished his first season at Iowa with a 2-3 record and some things to work on. Where better to work on these things then in Rochester, playing summer ball?
“[This summer] I need to work on my fastball command,” Robertson said. “I struggled this past season with missing locations with my fastball so I got behind hitters and they were able to sit on a certain pitch.”
Robertson has played in the Northwoods League for the Honkers the past three seasons. This season, he got to start the season opener, getting a 5-3 win over the Mankato MoonDogs.
“I felt as good as I could have felt on the mound that night,” he said. “I was able to go out, throw a good game and give my team a W.”
Getting the win against Mankato wasn’t a typical win, Robertson had to go against fellow Hawkeye and roommate, Ryan Durant.
“It was weird because we both knew each others strengths and weaknesses, it was like having the ultimate scouting report on each other,” he said. “I just tried to not look at him as he was coming to the plate and just focus on our catcher like he was any other hitter.”
With an early 1-0 record, Robertson’s summer looks bright.
“[I just need] to take advantage of it by mixing all my pitches in for strikes and keep the hitters off balance.”
Where are they?
NORTHWOODS LEAGUE
Tyson Blaser – Madison Mallards
Nick Brown – Alexandria Beetles
Ryan Durant – Makato MoonDogs
Kyle Heim – Madison Mallards
Zach Kenyon – Brainerd Blue Thunder
Phil Keppler – Waterloo Bucks
Zach McCool – Waterloo Bucks
Kurtis Muller – Madison Mallards
Zach Robertson – Rochester Honkers
Patrick Schatz – Waterloo Bucks
PROSPECT LEAGUE
Sean Flanagan – Dupage Dragons
Corey Glieden – Quincy Gems
Jarred Hippen – Quincy Gems
Kevin Lee – Quincy Gems
Mike McQuillan – Springfield Sliders
Phil Schreiber – Springfield Sliders
Chett Zeise – Quincy Gems
NEW YORK COLLEGIATE LEAGUE:
Michael Jacobs – Albany Dutchmen
IOWA VALLEY LEAGUE
Andrew Ewing – Norway Bandits
GREAT LAKES LEAGUE:
Dallas Burke – Lake Erie Monarchs
Andrew Host – Grand Lakes Mariners
Jeff Pacha – Grand Lakes Mariners
COASTAL PLAINS LEAGUE:
Trevor Willis – Wilmington Sharks