CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Appalachian League announced that Danville’s Michael Callan Moss and Greeneville’s Brock Toney were named Hitter and Pitcher of the Month for July. Both players were recently named the Appy League’s Hitter and Pitcher of the Week for the final week of the regular season.
Moss, 20, earned Hitter of the Month honors after batting .451 (23-for-51) with five home runs, 23 RBI and 14 runs scored in 16 July games for the Appy League champion Otterbots. He led all Appy League hitters during July in average, OBP (.597), slugging (.902), OPS (1.494), home runs, extra-base hits (tied-12) and total bases (tied-46). He also finished third in RBI (23) and fifth in walks (19).
Moss hit safely in 14 games for the Otterbots in July, posting eight multi-hit efforts. He had seven games with at least two RBI, highlighted by a pair of four-RBI performances (July 19, July 31) and two three-RBI games (July 6, July 24). Moss recorded 14 walks during his nine-game walk streak (July 6 to July 26) and scored a run in four straight games on two separate occasions. Moss closed the regular season on a 10-game hitting streak (July 17-31), during which he batted .429 while also racking up nine extra-base hits and 16 RBI.
Moss was 3-for-4 with a double, homer and three RBI at Burlington on July 3, which gave him three home runs in four games dating back to June 29, and he followed it with four multi-RBI performances for the Otterbots over his next seven games, capping the stretch with a 2-for-4, two-walk, four-RBI showing against Tri-State on July 19.
After winning the 2024 Appy League Home Run Derby in Johnson City, Tenn., on July 22, and then representing the Otterbots in the Appy League All-Star Game for a second straight season on July 23, Moss returned from the All-Star break to connect on a pair of home runs while going 2-for-3 with three RBI and three runs scored at Tri-State on July 24. He hit a solo homer while reaching base four times (2-for-2, two BB) the next day, and he was 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI in the series finale on July 26. Facing Burlington on July 29, Moss hit a double and triple in a 2-for-4 performance and was 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI against the Sock Puppets the next day. He racked up four RBI on the final day of the regular season, going 2-for-4 with a three-run homer and a run-scoring single.
A Brooklyn, N.Y., native, Moss was among the top offensive performers in the Appy League this season, playing 33 regular-season games for the Otterbots. He paced the circuit in batting (.371), home runs (8), OBP (.531), slugging (.724), OPS (1.255), walks (37) and extra-base hits (20) and finished third in both RBI (39) and total bases (76). Overall, Moss had 13 multi-hit games, 12 multi-RBI games and 16 games with at least one extra-base hit.
Moss received a slew of accolades this past spring as a Saint Leo University (Fla.) junior after transferring from Seton Hall, earning D2CCA All-South Region Second Team, NCBWA All-South Region Second Team and ABCA/Rawlings All-South Region Second Team selections after he led the team with a .360 average while tallying nine home runs and 44 RBI in 48 games. Moss also was named to the All-Sunshine State Conference First Team and the All-SSC Defensive Team. A three-year Appy League alum who also played for the Johnson City Doughboys in 2022, Moss is committed to North Florida for the 2024-25 college season.
Toney, 21, was named Pitcher of the Month for July after he was 1-0 with three saves and a 1.10 ERA in eight relief appearances for the West Division champion Flyboys. The right-hander registered a 0.83 WHIP in 16 1/3 innings, compiling 28 strikeouts against six walks while limiting hitters to a .167 average (9-for-54). Among qualified Appy League pitchers, Toney was first in saves (tied), third in strikeouts, seventh in ERA and eighth in WHIP.
After finishing June with four consecutive scoreless outings, Toney opened July with three more scoreless appearances, headlined but a perfect two-inning outing at Johnson City on July 5 during which he struck out four of six batters. He recorded back-to-back saves July 16 against Pulaski and at Burlington on July 19, completing a season-high three innings in each outing and matching his season-high strikeout total (7) against the Sock Puppets.
After earning the save for the West in the 2024 Appy League All-Star Game on July 23, Toney returned to action with the Flyboys to complete at least two innings with four strikeouts in both outings. The right-hander struck out four batters over 2 1/3 hitless frames against Burlington on July 25 en route to his first win of the season and earned the hold versus Kingsport two days later, allowing a hit and a walk while striking out four. He threw 41 of 63 pitches for strikes between the two outings, striking out eight of the 15 batters he faced.
A Kansas City, Mo., native, Toney was one of the Appy League’s top pitchers during the regular season, totaling 26 2/3 innings in 14 relief appearances for the Flyboys. He led the circuit by averaging 15.68 strikeouts per nine innings and ranked in the top five with a 1.01 ERA (second), 0.83 WHIP (second), .149 BAA (third) and 47 strikeouts (fifth). Toney completed at least two innings for the Flyboys on nine occasions and had seven outings with at least four strikeouts. The incoming Grand Canyon junior made nine relief appearances this past spring for the Antelopes, recording 11 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings.
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