2013 Alums Gerber, McBroom Earn MiLB Weekly Honors
Mike Gerber (Ocean State), Ryan McBroom (Laconia) earn POTW honors from respective leagues
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. – A pair of 2013 New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) alums have earned Minor League Baseball weekly honors from their respective leagues, as Ocean State’s Mike Gerber (Creighton) and Laconia’s Ryan McBroom (West Virginia) were named Player of the Week by the New York-Penn League and the Northwest League, respectively.
The two 2013 NECBL All-Stars have clearly transcended their success in New England to the professional ranks, as both have enjoyed stellar debut seasons with their Class-A Short Season affiliates.
Gerber, who led the Big East this past spring with 11 homers, 49 RBI and 104 total bases for Creighton, continues to mash regardless of his team, league or location. For the Connecticut Tigers of the New York-Penn League, he made his presence felt with a two-homer night that featured eight RBI on Saturday. In the first month of the season, Gerber leads the league in all three slash line categories (.488/.543/.1.073) and ranks third with 16 RBI.
Last summer, the former Wave was fantastic, ranking third in the league in batting average (.340), tied-for-first in home runs (7) and fifth in RBI (30). He finished the year with 52 hits, 10 doubles, a triple, and a .340/.391/.565 slash line, as well as a .956 OPS.
McBroom, meanwhile, made the most out of his first week in the professional ranks after the Toronto Blue Jays selected McBroom in the 15th round. The former West Virginia Mountaineer had two blasts last week, and the right-handed slugging first baseman is tied for second in the Northwest League with three homers in 11 games. He wrapped up his last collegiate season batting .341 and led the team with eight homers, 49 RBI and a .512 slugging percentage as a senior.
In Laconia last year, McBroom enjoyed a stellar summer, blasting five homers and ranking sixth in the league with 26 RBI, just behind Gerber. He finished with a .325 batting average, 39 hits, 17 runs, seven doubles and a .909 OPS, as well.
--
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a wooden bat college summer league that fields teams in all six New England states. Partially funded by Major League Baseball, the NECBL started play in 1994 and has sent over 100 alumni to the Major Leagues. For continuing coverage of the NECBL, visit NECBL.com and follow the league on Twitter and on Facebook.
