Relievers Angle their Way to Edenton
April 14, 2014 - Coastal Plain League (Coastal Plain)
Edenton Steamers News Release
EDENTON, N.C - The Edenton Steamers of the Coastal Plain League announce today the signing of two relief pitchers for the 2014 summer. Alex Posey and Zach Eden are the newest members of the Clams.
Posey, a junior from the University of Illinois-Chicago in the NCAA Division I Horizon League, is a right-handed, late-inning, short reliever for the Flames this spring. The Cary, IL native stands at 6-7, 215 pounds and spent last summer pitching for the El Dorado Broncos in the Jayhawk League. For the Broncos in 2013, Posey served as the closer and pitched 19 innings; he struck out 25 batters to issuing only four walks and held opposing hitters to a .205 batting average against.
Posey is a very difficult pitcher to get a look and hit off of, as he works in short outings and creates tremendous deception with a lower arm slot coming from a 6-7 frame. Batters see a lot of arms and legs before the baseball appears from a different release point. He has plus stuff from underneath with a fastball into the high 80s and a slider with whip-like action that is especially tough on right-handers.
Posey's only Achilles heel has been his control, which was not an issue last summer with the Broncos, and he must conquer this to reach his ceiling this summer in Edenton. In 15 appearances this spring spanning 10.1 innings, Posey has only been touched for a .171 opponent average but has also walked 10 batters and hit four others.
Eden, a middle reliever from the University of Nebraska-Omaha in the NCAA Division I Summit League, is a sophomore from Arvada, C.O. The 6-0, 210- pounder transferred to Omaha after one season as a dominant closer at Hutchinson Community College (KS). He throws from a sidearm angle but creates an even stranger look from that slot with a dead-leg delivery and very little bend in his motion. Eden brings a more conventional profile for an arm-angle righty with a low 80s fastball featuring plus movement and a frisbee slider. Like Posey, he has struggled with control to the tune of seven walks through six innings over six appearances. He has only allowed four hits and one extra base hit (a double) while holding opponents to a .174 batting average against.
Both Posey and Eden follow a prestigious lineage of Steamer arm-angle, right-handed relievers. Joe Smith (Wright State University, 2005) has been a big-league mainstay for years. Coleman McKellar (Angelo State University, 2005-2007) boasts the most career wins in modern CPL history with 15. Coty Woods (Middle Tennessee State University, 2009) is in AAA with the Colorado Rockies. Coty Saranthus (Delta State University, 2010) set numerous records en route to CPL Pitcher of the Year honors. David Teasley (Mercer University, 2011-2012) set the NCAA Division I career record for appearances as a 2013 senior and Jeremy Bales (Lee University, 2013) tied the team record for reliever ERA (0.47) last summer.
The Coastal Plain League is the nation's hottest summer collegiate baseball league. Celebrating its 18th season in 2014, the CPL features 14 teams playing in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia. The CPL gives college players the chance to refine their skills with the use of wooden bats. Players are housed with local host families for the summer and past experiences have been very positive for both players and hosts. The CPL has had over 1,100 alumni drafted and 65 of those - including 2011 AL MVP and Cy Young winner Justin Verlander - make their Major League debut; while another notable alum - Russell Wilson - won Super Bowl XLVIII. For more information on the Coastal Plain League, please visit the league website at CoastalPlain.com, and be sure to friend us on Facebook (at www.facebook.com/coastalplainleague) and follow us via Twitter (as CPLBaseball).
Coastal Plain League Stories from April 14, 2014
- Relievers Angle their Way to Edenton - Edenton Steamers
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