Price, Wylie Honored for Stellar Summer Play
08/19/2018 | Baseball
TUCSON, Ariz. – Coach Jay Johnson announced Sunday that right-handed pitcher Preston Price has been named the Arizona Baseball's Summer Pitcher of the Year, while newcomer Justin Wylie was named the program's Summer Player of the Year.
Price, a rising junior from Vista, California, had an impressive summer in the Alaska Baseball League with the Anchorage Bucs. Price logged 41 innings over eight starts and posted a 3.07 ERA. Price went 3-2 on the summer, while striking out 35 and walking 11.
Wylie, a graduate transfer from San Diego State, had a strong summer at the plate for the Bethesda Big Train of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. In 32 games, Wylie, an outfielder, hit .414 with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 25 RBI, while drawing 26 walks. He went 5-for-13 in four playoff games with a double and a home run.
Wylie led the league in hitting, finished third in home runs and was tied for second in doubles. The Chandler native started the season with a bang, hitting four home runs in the first seven games of the summer. Wylie was a second-team All-Mountain West selection for San Diego State in 2016 and one season of eligibility remaining.
While Wylie tore up the plate on the East Coast, Price rolled in Alaska for the Bucs. The righty from Cathedral Catholic High School had his most dominant start of the summer on June 27 when he tossed seven shutout innings against the Matsu Miners. Price allowed just three hits, while striking out six in the win.
Price also starred on July 21 when he allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out eight in a 3-1 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. Price was 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 12 appearances for the Wildcats last season as a sophomore. He helped the Wildcats earn a 6-2 victory at Arizona State, earning the win and tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Price and Wylie weren't the only Wildcats to have strong summers, as several others were considered for the honors. Other strong performers included:
Catcher Austin Wells, Pacific Union Financial Capitalists, California Collegiate League: The incoming freshman hit .357 in 112 at-bats. The Las Vegas native had seven doubles, five home runs, 23 RBI, 23 runs scored and drew 27 walks.
Infielder Cameron Cannon, Falmouth Commodores, Cape Cod Collegiate League: The 2018 All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection finished tied for third in the league with 28 RBI. He hit .263 in 42 regular season games with six doubles and a pair of home runs. Cannon had a walk-off hit in the playoffs for the Commodores.
Infielder Nick Quintana, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, Cape Cod Collegiate League: Quintana, a 2018 All-Pac-12 First-Team selection hit .261 in 37 total games for the Red Sox with five home runs and 23 RBI. He helped his team to an East Division championship.
Infielder Kobe Kato, Danville Dans, Prospect League: Kato finished fifth in the league with a .346 batting average over 49 games. He had nine doubles and 19 RBI, while stealing 27 bases, which ranked fourth in the league.
Outfielder Blake Paugh, Danville Dans, Prospect League: The sophomore from Scottsdale finished third in the league with 12 home runs in 50 games. He hit .269 with 12 doubles and 37 RBI.
Pitcher Jonathan Guardado, Matsu Miners, Alaska Baseball League: The rising sophomore righty went 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 44 innings for the Miners. He struck out 34 and had his best start of the summer on July 12 when he allowed one run over seven innings against the Anchorage Bucs.
Outfielder Ryan Holgate, Pacific Union Financial Capitalists, California Collegiate League: The incoming freshman hit .316 in 144 at-bats. He finished with nine doubles, one triple, four home runs and 23 RBI.
Outfielder Ryan Archibald, Utah Marshalls: Archibald, an incoming freshman, hit .373 in 54 games. He had 15 doubles, three triples and three home runs to go with 45 RBI.
Infielder Dayton Dooney, Utah Marshalls: The incoming freshman hit .343 with 11 doubles, two triples, one home run and 41 RBI in 54 games for the Marshalls.
Arizona Baseball Players of the Summer:
2018: Justin Wylie and Preston Price
2017: Alfonso Rivas, Cody Deason and Robby Medel
2016: J.J. Matijevic and Luke Soroko
2015: Zach Gibbons and Matt Hartman
Price, a rising junior from Vista, California, had an impressive summer in the Alaska Baseball League with the Anchorage Bucs. Price logged 41 innings over eight starts and posted a 3.07 ERA. Price went 3-2 on the summer, while striking out 35 and walking 11.
Wylie, a graduate transfer from San Diego State, had a strong summer at the plate for the Bethesda Big Train of the Cal Ripken Collegiate Baseball League. In 32 games, Wylie, an outfielder, hit .414 with 12 doubles, seven home runs and 25 RBI, while drawing 26 walks. He went 5-for-13 in four playoff games with a double and a home run.
Wylie led the league in hitting, finished third in home runs and was tied for second in doubles. The Chandler native started the season with a bang, hitting four home runs in the first seven games of the summer. Wylie was a second-team All-Mountain West selection for San Diego State in 2016 and one season of eligibility remaining.
While Wylie tore up the plate on the East Coast, Price rolled in Alaska for the Bucs. The righty from Cathedral Catholic High School had his most dominant start of the summer on June 27 when he tossed seven shutout innings against the Matsu Miners. Price allowed just three hits, while striking out six in the win.
Price also starred on July 21 when he allowed just one run over seven innings and struck out eight in a 3-1 win over the Anchorage Glacier Pilots. Price was 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 12 appearances for the Wildcats last season as a sophomore. He helped the Wildcats earn a 6-2 victory at Arizona State, earning the win and tossing 2 1/3 scoreless innings.
Price and Wylie weren't the only Wildcats to have strong summers, as several others were considered for the honors. Other strong performers included:
Catcher Austin Wells, Pacific Union Financial Capitalists, California Collegiate League: The incoming freshman hit .357 in 112 at-bats. The Las Vegas native had seven doubles, five home runs, 23 RBI, 23 runs scored and drew 27 walks.
Infielder Cameron Cannon, Falmouth Commodores, Cape Cod Collegiate League: The 2018 All-Pac-12 honorable mention selection finished tied for third in the league with 28 RBI. He hit .263 in 42 regular season games with six doubles and a pair of home runs. Cannon had a walk-off hit in the playoffs for the Commodores.
Infielder Nick Quintana, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, Cape Cod Collegiate League: Quintana, a 2018 All-Pac-12 First-Team selection hit .261 in 37 total games for the Red Sox with five home runs and 23 RBI. He helped his team to an East Division championship.
Infielder Kobe Kato, Danville Dans, Prospect League: Kato finished fifth in the league with a .346 batting average over 49 games. He had nine doubles and 19 RBI, while stealing 27 bases, which ranked fourth in the league.
Outfielder Blake Paugh, Danville Dans, Prospect League: The sophomore from Scottsdale finished third in the league with 12 home runs in 50 games. He hit .269 with 12 doubles and 37 RBI.
Pitcher Jonathan Guardado, Matsu Miners, Alaska Baseball League: The rising sophomore righty went 3-3 with a 4.09 ERA in 44 innings for the Miners. He struck out 34 and had his best start of the summer on July 12 when he allowed one run over seven innings against the Anchorage Bucs.
Outfielder Ryan Holgate, Pacific Union Financial Capitalists, California Collegiate League: The incoming freshman hit .316 in 144 at-bats. He finished with nine doubles, one triple, four home runs and 23 RBI.
Outfielder Ryan Archibald, Utah Marshalls: Archibald, an incoming freshman, hit .373 in 54 games. He had 15 doubles, three triples and three home runs to go with 45 RBI.
Infielder Dayton Dooney, Utah Marshalls: The incoming freshman hit .343 with 11 doubles, two triples, one home run and 41 RBI in 54 games for the Marshalls.
Arizona Baseball Players of the Summer:
2018: Justin Wylie and Preston Price
2017: Alfonso Rivas, Cody Deason and Robby Medel
2016: J.J. Matijevic and Luke Soroko
2015: Zach Gibbons and Matt Hartman
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