WEYMOUTH, Mass. (August 9, 2021) -- Following a vote of all eight field managers, the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) has announced the finalists for its two major postseason awards, the Most Valuable Player and Pitcher of the Year.
Statistics in the biographies below include all games as of Aug. 8.
The winners of both awards as well as the Adam Keenan Sportsmanship & Scholarship Award, Defensive Player of the Year, Relief Pitcher of the Year, Top Pro Prospects and Manager of the Year will be announced later this week. All-FCBL First and Second Teams will also be chosen following the conclusion of the playoffs.
MVP FINALISTS
Cole Bartels, Westfield Starfires, Penn State University
The Belmont, Mass., native has made the most of a summer-long return to his home state as he leads the FCBL with a .380 average, 57 hits and 86 total bases in addition to producing five home runs, 14 doubles and 19 total extra-base hits. The 2021 All-Star Home Run Derby winner, Bartels has matched Brockton’s Michael Golankiewicz as the league’s top slugger with a .573 percentage, while his .495 on-base percentage is also tops in the circuit thanks to recording more walks (29) than strikeouts (25).
Michael Golankiewicz, Brockton Rox, Merrimack College
Golankiewicz was the league’s hottest hitter at the outset of the summer and has maintained his place as a dominant bat in the middle of the Brockton lineup. The rising senior outfielder is hitting a team-best .357 with five home runs, 10 doubles, three triples, 37 runs scored, 33 RBI and eight stolen bases. Three of his long balls came in a three-game June stretch, while his month of July included a 10-game hitting streak. Golankiewicz was the only outfielder named to the Team of the Month for both May/June and July.
Ethan Anderson, Vermont Lake Monsters, University of Virginia
Playing in 29 games, Anderson has remarkably piled up all of his five home runs and 32 RBI during the second half of the season. The switch-hitting catcher saw his league-best 17-game hit streak (including 10 multi-hit efforts) come to an end on Aug. 7, but he sports a team-best .427 average and 1.189 OPS. Anderson, who has turned in a pair of five-RBI games for the first-place Lake Monsters, is the lone rising freshman among the MVP finalists.
Peter DeMaria, Westfield Starfires, Tufts University
DeMaria has represented the Division 3 ranks well in Westfield as he currently sits as the league’s top run producer with 35 RBI in 41 games. The rising senior first baseman and former NESCAC Rookie of the Year is hitting .275 with 14 doubles and five homers. The 19 extra-base hits tie Bartels for the league lead. DeMaria put together one of the best offensive days in FCBL history on July 27, going 4-for-5 with two doubles, a home run and seven RBI against Pittsfield.
Jake Hyde, New Britain Bees, Georgetown University
The Connecticut product from Darien has been one of the leaders of New Britain’s offense, hitting .310 with 32 RBI and 34 runs scored in 49 games so far this summer. Hyde, who added his first home run of the summer to his resume on Aug. 3, ranks second in the league with 53 hits and 34 walks, while a .434 on-base percentage puts him third. He finished the month of July with hits in six straight games and 11 of the last 13 for the Bees.
PITCHER OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Dillon Ryan, Brockton Rox, UMass Boston
Ryan made an outstanding case to become the second straight FCBL Pitcher of the Year from Brockton as he is tied for the league lead with five wins as part of a 5-0 record with a 1.36 ERA in 39.2 innings of work. The native of Sandwich, Mass., has held opponents to a .153 batting average on the season and leads the Rox with 66 strikeouts, fanning double-digit batters in two starts that lasted just 4.1 and five innings, respectively. He has appeared in nine games and started seven, four of which were scoreless.
Jack Choate, Worcester Bravehearts, Assumption University
Joining the Bravehearts from nearby Grafton, Mass., Choate has been a strikeout machine since the season began. The 6-foot-6 left-hander has punched out a league-leading 76 batters in 52.2 innings while posting two wins, a 3.60 ERA and holding opponents to a .179 average. The 2021 FCBL All-Star Game’s Most Outstanding Pitcher, Choate began his season with an 11-strikeout performance against Nashua and fanned another 10 in his final start of June against Westfield.
Patrick Harrington, Vermont Lake Monsters, Assumption University
After helping his home state’s Nashua Silver Knights to the 2020 championship, Harrington made his way up to Vermont and has been an ace for the FCBL’s first-year, first-place Lake Monsters. The Bedford, N.H., native is one of the league’s five-game winners and sports a 2.32 ERA with 71 strikeouts in his league-high 62 innings. Opponents have hit just .200 against Harrington, who has worked four scoreless appearances and struck out at least eight batters on four occasions. He is riding high down the stretch with wins in three consecutive starts.
Alex Amalfi, Worcester Bravehearts, UMass Boston
Choate’s teammate in Worcester, Amalfi has turned in a second consecutive strong summer for the Bravehearts as he sports a 4-3 record and 3.46 ERA across 49.1 innings of work. The Ashland, Mass., product has 63 strikeouts through his 10 starts including a league season-high 12 in his six-inning effort to beat Norwich on July 16. The righty has allowed more than three runs in just two of his outings and strung together back-to-back wins on two occasions this season, leading Worcester’s starting staff in that category.
Billy Oldham, Vermont Lake Monsters, Eastern Connecticut State University
Oldham has been a stalwart in the Lake Monsters’ starting rotation ever since joining the team following Eastern Connecticut’s trip to NCAAs at the Division 3 level this spring. The righty is 3-0 with a 1.40 ERA and 39 strikeouts in 45 innings this summer. Oldham has limited opponents to a .214 batting average and allowed zero earned runs in a whopping seven out of his 10 total starts. After throwing two-run ball in his June 6 debut, he threw 22.1 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run entering the All-Star break.
Nick Guarino, Nashua Silver Knights, Southern Connecticut State University
An All-FCBL First Team selection in 2020, Guarino is 4-2 with a 3.33 ERA and 37 strikeouts across 46 innings for the defending champion Silver Knights. The southpaw picked up three of his four wins while recording a 1.69 ERA in 26.2 innings during the month of July. Guarino entered the final week of the regular season having thrown 12.2 consecutive scoreless innings and allowed just three runs -- all in one appearance -- in a span of 23.2.
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