One of the few players not to stay with a host family, Williams commuted back and forth from the East Bay. “I think what Alex really found this summer is a rhythm and a tempo that works well for him and those last three or four outings he was just getting after it - and it was just awesome to see,” Zirelli said. “I think coach rewarded me for attacking hitters and getting outs,” said Williams, who led the team with 40 strikeouts over 30 1/3 innings while scattering 28 hits and eight walks. On July 24 in San Luis Obispo, a mixture of his upper 80s, low 90s fastball along with his slider and change-up produced 10 strikeouts, zero walks and the first time a PUF Cap recorded 20 outs in a single outing. “He was awesome this summer and I feel like he’ll make a major impact at Stanford as a freshman.” ![]() “Alex will go down as one of the top pitchers in Caps history,” Zirelli said. Stanford lost its top two pitchers to the MLB Draft after Mitty grad Kris Bubic went 40th overall to the Kansas City Royals and Tristan Beck was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the fourth round.īoth played for the PUF Caps in the summer of 2015, yet … These guys are a lot bigger and stronger than us and it’s just fun competing against them and see and test where we’re going to be in a few years.” “Playing every day it was truly a grind and facing the older guys obviously you really get a taste for what the next level is going to be. 237 with a home run and 15 walks in 97 plate appearances. “I think it was just a test mentally,” said Dieter, who hit. So I feel like we would’ve played another month, he really would’ve got it going.” “The best swings he took all summer and the best rhythm he was in was the last two days. “It’s kind of funny, the coaches were joking with each other,” Zirelli said. If the opportunity arises on The Farm, he’d love to impact the game on the mound.īut he prefers the infield after showing flashes at the plate and an understanding of the strike zone. “I think it’s a great spot for me to be able to play at and be the leader on the field and just show off what I can do.” “I pride myself in my defense and making every routine play, tough play, whatever it is,” said Dieter, who feels shortstop is a natural fit for him. ![]() While the middle infielder took a stab at second base, Dieter was primarily deployed at shortstop as he displayed great hands, a solid arm and always seemed to be at the right place. “We just gave him the ball every time the game was tied or we had a small lead and he converted every one of them,” Zirelli said. The result? Five saves over 13 innings in which he didn’t allow a walk and struck out 16. It’s no surprise the PUF Caps trusted him to get the last three outs with a three-pitch repertoire - high 80s, low 90s fastball, plus a cutter and slider. “All that good stuff.”ĭieter joined the PUF Caps with quite a résumé, which included 10 shutout innings for the gold-medal winning 18U USA National Team last September. “These guys are going to Stanford for baseball reasons, but also they’re such well-rounded kids, awesome teammates, fun to be around, intelligent, hard-working, respectful,” said PUF Caps founder and head coach Mike Zirelli, who’s already looking forward to the next summer’s batch of Cardinal.
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