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The story of Albert Belle can be summed up in one word: controversy. His talent on the field was matched by very few, and his propensity to deal with the media the way he did, made national headlines.
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By Douglas Benton
The United States U-18 baseball team fell 7-0 to Korea and ended up with a silver medal after going 7-1 on their tour. With a team batting average of .330 and a team ERA of 1.88, there was talent to be had for Team USA. Here are the top ten players from the tournament.
10. Jacob Turner 6-foot-4, 205 RHP St. Charles, Missouri
Turner made two starts and showed good stuff with 19 strikeouts to just two walks in 10.1 innings. He did give up eight hits and four runs, second highest on the team, in his two starts, though.
9. Jake Barrett 6-foot-4, 235 RHP Mesa, Arizona
He made three appearances out of the bullpen and got two saves in the process. He had 11 strikeouts to two walks and only gave up four hits throughout the tournament. His .160 opponents’ batting average was second best on the staff.
He only made one start but was a quality one in which he threw six innings of one-hit baseball. He struck out nine guys to only two walks and, thanks to some timely fielding, he only faced one batter over the minimum.
7. Nick Franklin 6-foot-1, 170 LF Longwood, Florida
Franklin had the second highest batting average on the team among those who started all eight games with a .367 mark (11-30). He had an OPS of .957 and was tied for third on the team with runs scored at seven.
6. Harold Martinez 6-foot-3, 190 3B Miami, Florida
Named as the third baseman for the tournament all-star team, Martinez hit .233 (7-30) with one home run and seven RBI. He was also errorless in his 12 chances in the field.
5. Matthew Purke 6-foot-3, 180 LHP Spring, Texas
While Purke’s stats weren’t outstanding, he did throw a complete game as part of his two starts and 13 innings of work. The left-handed pitcher for the tournament all-star team had 18 strikeouts to just one walk but did give up 12 hits and six runs, as well. He gave up eight hits and six runs in four innings against Korea in the gold medal game.
Seeing a lot of time at designated hitter during the tournament, Maddox went 11-30 (.367) with six extra base hits and eight RBI, good for second on the team in both categories.
3. Nolan Fontana 5-foot-10, 175 SS Winter Garden, Florida
Fontana was also named to the tournament all-star team at shortstop, where he hit .357 (10-28) with six RBI and a team-high 12 runs. His .526 OBP was second highest on the team among those who played in the majority of the games.
2. Ryan Weber 6-foot-0, 170 RHP St. Petersburg, Florida
Weber was 2-0 with a complete game and led all pitchers on the staff with 17 innings of work. He allowed just one unearned run and struck out 19 batters to just two walks issued. Out of the 12 hits he allowed, only one was for extra bases.
1. Jeff Malm 6-foot-3, 225 1B Las Vegas, Nevada
A tournament all-star, Malm was outstanding at the plate and was the cornerstone for the team USA offensively. Among full-time players, Malm led the team in batting average (.464), extra-base hits (6), RBI (11), SLG (.679) and OBP (.529). He only drawback was two errors in eight games.
Who was the top player for the U-18 team? Email your picks to Douglas.Benton@realgm.com
