Cape Leads Prospect League in Numerous Categories
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (June 12) – The 2023 Prospect League season is not quite two weeks old, but with 10 games behind them, the undefeated Cape Catfish not only have the league’s best record, but are also setting the pace in a number of team performance categories.
As of Monday, the Catfish leads the Prospect League with 121 runs, even though they’ve played one or two fewer games than six of the other 16 teams in the league. The team with the second-most runs, the Chillicothe Paints, have scored 92 runs in the 12 games they’ve played to date, 29 fewer runs than the Catfish have scored in two fewer games.
The Catfish also lead the league in the following categories:
- Team Batting Average: .394
- OBP (On Base Percentage): .502
- SLG (Slugging Percentage): .578
- Hits: 137
- Total Bases: 201
- Runs Batted In: 111
- Extra Base Hits: 40
- Triples: 8
As of Monday, the Catfish are also ranked 2nd in the league with 8 home runs and 24 doubles.
Catfish center fielder Chris Hall from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee, is the league’s hottest hitter, owning a .625 batting average (25 for 40) and a 10-game hitting streak. He also has three doubles, three triples, a dozen stolen bases in 13 attempts, and 13 runs batted in. In addition, he has scored at least one run (and twice scored four runs) in every game so far this season.
His teammate, Brody Chrisman from Purdue, has the league’s second-highest average at .514 and has driven in a league-leading 25 runs thanks, in part, to his five home runs including a pair of grand slams. His slugging percentage of 1.027 also leads the league. (Hall has the league’s second-highest slugging percentage at .850.)
Other Catfish players listed with some of the league’s highest batting averages include Justin Carinci, .488; Landon Godsey, .400; Jeff Clarke, .375; and Kevin McCarthy, .345.
Several other Cape players – including Quinton Borders, Kolten Poorman, and Jude Putz – also have batting averages above .300, but don’t have enough plate appearances at this point in the season to qualify for listing among the league leaders.
Catfish pitchers have a combined earned run average of 3.62, the second-lowest team ERA in the league. Eddie White (Southeast Missouri State University) has appeared in four Catfish games and has an ERA of 0.82. He has allowing just one earned run in his 11 innings on the mound and has a record of 2-0. Teammate Dylan Peck from Florida State College at Jacksonville also has a 2-0 record after three mound appearances. His ERA as of Monday stood at 0.90, having surrendered one earned run over 10 innings.