CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- The Appalachian League announced the 2023 All-Appalachian League Team. This year’s group is led by Johnson City’s Logan Sutton, the Appy League’s Player of the Year, and Kingsport’s Ricky Reeth, who earned Pitcher of the Year honors.

The All-Appalachian League Team features five infielders, four outfielders, three pitchers, one catcher, one designated hitter and a two-way player. Eight of the 10 Appy League teams are represented this year, with Johnson City and Kingsport's three selections leading the way. Bluefield, Bristol and Burlington had two selections, while Elizabethton, Greeneville and Pulaski had one each. Fourteen of the 15 selections are either from or committed to Division I schools, and Elon and Tennessee are the only programs with multiple selections.

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2023 All-Appalachian League Team

C: Tommy Harrison, Bluefield (Miami OH)

Harrison hit .345 (30-for-87) with two home runs, four doubles and 23 RBIs in 26 games. He posted a .928 OPS, thanks to a .468 OBP that was the fifth-best mark in the Appy League (23 games min.). Harrison went 3-for-4 with his first home run of the season, a double and two RBIs against Johnson City on July 20. He homered and collected a season-high four hits against Burlington on July 22, finishing 4-for-5 with a walk, two runs scored and two RBIs. Harrison started behind the plate for the East in the 2023 Appy League All-Star Game on July 25 in Kingsport after a runner-up finish in the Home Run Derby the previous night.

1B: Dalton Bargo, Bristol (Missouri/Tennessee)

Bargo hit .357 (51-for-143) with one home run, nine doubles and 19 RBIs in 38 games. He finished second in the Appy League in hits and doubles (tied), was third in average and ranked sixth and seventh in total bases (tied-65) and OBP (.446). Bargo recorded a season-high five hits and four runs scored in a 5-for-6 performance at Pulaski on June 23. Bargo hit his only home run and was 3-for-4 with a season-high four RBIs at Johnson City in Bristol’s final regular-season game on July 29. He was the starting catcher for the West in the 2023 Appy League All-Star Game, going 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly, and made 14 starts behind the plate for Bluefield during the regular season.

MIF: Tyler Cerny, Greeneville (Indiana)

Cerny hit .336 (38-for-113) with five home runs, six doubles and two triples, posting a .558 slugging percentage and .934 OPS in 27 games. He tallied 23 RBIs, scored 26 runs and was 3-for-3 in stolen-base attempts. The Flyboys shortstop recorded a hit in 23 games and had 14 multi-hit performances. Cerny finished tied for fourth in SLG, sixth in average and OPS, eighth in total bases (63) and ninth in home runs (tied). Cerny homered in his Appy League debut on June 23 and hit two home runs in a four-game span to begin July. He concluded the season with an 11-game hit streak, during which he batted .392 (20-for-51) with eight extra-base hits, 12 runs scored, 12 RBIs and eight multi-hit games. Cerny also collected a team-high two hits and scored a run as the starting shortstop and leadoff hitter for the West in the 2023 Appy League All-Star Game.

MIF: Mike Mancini, Kingsport (James Madison)

Mancini hit .318 (42-for-132) with 24 stolen bases and 34 runs scored in 40 games. He had 10 extra-base hits and 17 RBIs and finished the season with more walks (24) than strikeouts (22), posting a .434 OBP and an .862 OPS. He ranked among the Appy League leaders in stolen bases (3rd), runs (6th), hits (7th) and OBP (8th). Mancini had 12 multi-hit games and stole at least two bases in a game on four occasions. The left-handed batter hit his only home run against Bristol on June 24, when he was 3-for-5 with a season-high three RBIs. On July 22, Mancini set season-best marks in hits (4-for-4), runs (4) and steals (4) at Princeton. The starting second baseman and two-hole hitter for the West in the 2023 Appy League All-Star Game, Mancini garnered MVP after his first-inning RBI triple off the right-field wall helped the West top the East, 3-2.

3B: Jack Doyle, Bluefield (Northeastern)

Doyle led the Appy League this season in average (.389), OBP (.491) and OPS (1.049) while playing in 27 games. He finished with 37 hits and 21 runs and 21 RBIs, hitting two home runs, eight doubles and one triple en route to a .558 SLG that was fourth-best (tied) in the league. After batting .190 (4-for-21) in seven June games, Doyle batted .446 (33-for-74) over 20 games in July, safely hitting in 18 games behind nine multi-hit efforts. The July Player of the Month authored a 13-game hitting streak from July 1-18, during which he batted .444 (20-for-45) with 11 RBIs. He recorded five multi-hit performances in a six-game span (July 8-15), including a pair of three-hit games. After producing back-to-back three-hit games on July 21-22 and going 3-for-6 with a home run, a double, three runs scored and three RBIs in the latter contest, Doyle went 4-for-6 with a double, two runs scored and two RBIs against Burlington on July 23.

UTL IF: Sam White, Pulaski (West Virginia)

White hit .317 (44-for-139) with three home runs, 12 doubles and 25 RBIs in 38 games. He posted a .382 OBP and .482 SLG and was 6-for-7 in stolen-base attempts. White tied for second in the Appy League in doubles and third in hits, thanks in part to 15 multi-hit performances, and he ranked fifth in total bases (67). He went 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and a season-high three runs scored against Burlington on July 13. Facing Princeton on July 31, the final day of the regular season, White went 3-for-4 with three doubles, three RBIs and a stolen base. He had an RBI, scored a run and was one of two East players to collect multiple hits in the 2023 Appy League All-Star Game, going 2-for-3 as the team’s starting third baseman and cleanup hitter.

OF: Jordan Austin, Bristol (Indiana State)

Austin hit .323 (43-for-133) with 22 runs scored and 15 stolen bases in 35 games. The outfielder hit one home run, one triple and seven doubles and had 16 RBIs. He finished sixth in the Appy League in hits and ninth in average, registering 11 multi-hit games. Austin recorded three hits on Opening Day and his final game of the season. He had a season-high four hits (4-for-5) against Kingsport on July 26 and hit his only home run the next day at Kingsport. Austin went 1-for-3 in the Appy League All-Star Game, starting in center field and batting ninth.

OF: Colby Backus, Johnson City (Tennessee)

Backus hit .281 (41-for-146) with eight home runs, eight doubles and 37 RBIs in 39 games. He also scored 29 runs and stole 10 bases in 13 attempts. The outfielder finished third in the Appy League in RBI and total bases (73), fourth in home runs (tied) and 10th in SLG (.500). Backus netted June Player of the Month honors after he led the Appy League in home runs (7), RBI (25), slugging percentage (.731), total bases (49) and extra-base hits (13) while batting .328 over 19 games. Backus hit two home runs against Kingsport on June 18 and twice homered in consecutive games for the Doughboys, accomplishing the feat on both ends of a June 10 doubleheader and again on June 28-29. He drove in a season-high six runs on June 29 in Danville, going 2-for-6 with a home run. Backus batted seventh as the starting left fielder for the West in the Appy League All-Star Game and was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a run scored for Johnson City in the Championship Game.

OF: Kenny Mallory Jr., Burlington (Elon)

Mallory Jr. hit .295 (44-for-149) with eight doubles, one triple and 21 RBIs in an Appy League-high 46 games. The outfielder led the league in runs scored (52), walks (45) and stolen bases (28) and finished third and fourth in hits (tied-44) and OBP (.457). Mallory had 12 multi-hit games – including five of his first seven games – 10 games with at least two walks and five with at least two stolen bases. He hit a season-high two doubles while going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, one RBI and a walk at Pulaski on June 10 and scored a season-high four runs in a 3-for-6 performance against Greeneville on July 20. He walked four times against Greeneville on July 21, drew at least one free pass in 14 of his final 15 contests and posted two stolen bases in three straight games from July 14-16. Mallory batted second and started in left field for the 2023 Appy League East All-Stars.

UTL OF: Vincent Fattore, Burlington (Duke/Elon)

Fattore hit .283 (30-for-106) with a .411 OBP and 31 runs scored in 29 games. He finished seventh in the Appy League in home runs (tied-six), eighth in RBI (tied-29) and 12th in stolen bases (tied-15). He posted the league’s fourth-highest OPS (.949), thanks to a .538 SLG that was sixth-best in the circuit. Fattore authored a 10-game hit streak from June 7 to June 21, during which he batted .327 with a 1.074 OPS, nine extra-base hits, 15 RBIs and 17 runs scored. He scored at least one run in nine straight games from June 6 to June 16 and had an overlapping eight-game streak with at least one RBI from June 7 to June 16. Fattore homered and drove in four runs in consecutive games on June 15-16 and hit two home runs in a season-best five-RBI performance against Danville on July 4.

DH: Deniel Ortiz, Kingsport (Walters State CC)

Ortiz hit .319 (44-for-138) with 10 home runs, 30 RBIs and 38 runs scored in 43 games. He led the Appalachian League in home runs and SLG (.580) and finished second in runs scored, walks (31), total bases (80) and OPS (1.035). He also ranked third in hits (tied) and posted a .455 OBP, the fourth-best mark in the league. Ortiz had 13 multi-hit games and nine with at least two RBIs. He kicked off the season by going 2-for-3 with a home run, a double and three RBIs at Elizabethton on Opening Day. Ortiz recorded his first two-homer game of the season at Pulaski on July 1, going 3-for-3 with a season-high five RBIs, and added another at Burlington on July 16, when he was 3-for-4 with three RBIs and two runs scored. He also had two hits including a home run in back-to-back games on July 7-8. Batting cleanup and starting at third base for the West in the 2023 Appy League All-Star Game, Ortiz went 0-for-2 with two walks, a run scored and a stolen base. The previous night, Ortiz put on a show during the Home Run Derby, hitting a walk-off blast in all three rounds en route to winning the event.

Two-Way: Logan Sutter, Johnson City (Folsom Lake College/Purdue)

The Appy League Player of the Year batted .363 (58-for-160) with nine home runs and 48 RBIs in 41 games. The two-way player (INF/RHP) had seven doubles, 30 runs scored, 15 walks and four stolen bases, finishing the season with a .427 OBP and .575 SLG. Sutter led the Appalachian League in hits, total bases (92) and RBI, matching Ryan McCrystal’s (Burlington) single-season Appy League RBI record from 2022. He also ranked second in average, home runs (tied), extra-base hits (tied-16) and slugging and posted the Appy League’s third-highest OPS (1.002). Sutter hit safely in 32 games, highlighted by 17 multi-hit games, and drove in at least two runs in 12 contests. Sutter turned in his most notable performance of the season in Johnson City’s 14-11 win over Elizabethton on June 14, belting a walk-off three-run homer to finish 4-for-6 with two home runs and a season-high seven RBIs. Sutter also appeared in five games as a pitcher, going 1-0 with one save and a 0.81 WHIP. The right-hander did not allow an earned run over 11 innings, permitting three hits (.045 BAA) and two walks while striking out 13 batters. Sutter was named Appy League Pitcher of the Week for the final week of the regular season after picking up the win against Bristol on July 28, when he faced the minimum over six innings, allowing one hit and striking out four in his lone Doughboys start.

RHP: Spencer Atkins, Elizabethton (Akron)

Atkins went 1-2 with a 2.88 ERA in eight starts. He had a 1.16 WHIP and .201 BAA in 40.2 innings, compiling 33 strikeouts against 17 walks. The right-hander led the Appy League in innings, finished fifth in BAA, sixth in WHIP and seventh in ERA. After surrendering seven earned runs on five hits and six walks over 2.2 innings in his season debut, Atkins yielded just six earned runs over his next seven turns, spanning 38 innings. He completed at least five innings in those seven outings, posting a 1.42 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and .181 BAA with 32 strikeouts. Atkins pitched a season-high seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts in his June 30 start against Bluefield and recorded a season-best eight strikeouts over five scoreless innings against Burlington on July 8. He did not allow an earned run across three straight starts from June 24 to July 8, allowing just nine hits over 18 innings in that span.

LHP: Justin Guiliano, Johnson City (Canisius)

Guiliano garnered honors as the Appy League’s top left-handed pitcher for a second straight year after going 2-0 with a 1.99 ERA in seven starts. He posted a 0.76 WHIP and .142 BAA in 31.2 innings, recording 36 strikeouts against nine walks. Guiliano led the Appy League in WHIP and BAA and finished third in ERA. He did not give up an earned run in four of seven starts and permitted two or fewer earned runs in all but one turn. He completed a season-high six innings on June 13 and again on July 11 at Greeneville, when he punched out a season-best nine batters. Guiliano was the starting pitcher for the West in the 2023 Appy League All-Star Game (1.0 IP, H, K) and Johnson City’s starter against Burlington in the Appy League Championship. He allowed four hits and two walks while striking out six over five innings to earn the win and take home honors as the game’s Most Valuable Player.

Reliever: Ricky Reeth, Kingsport (Notre Dame)

The Appy League Pitcher of the Year went 2-2 with one save in 14 appearances (three starts). He finished the season with a 1.87 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 33.2 innings pitched. He allowed 21 hits, seven runs (all earned) and 13 walks, finishing the season with a 1.01 WHIP and a .174 BAA. The right-hander ranked among the Appy League leaders in ERA (2nd), opponents’ average (3rd), appearances (3rd), strikeouts (tied-4th) and WHIP (4th). Reeth went 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA as a starting pitcher and 1-2 with one save and a 2.23 ERA as a reliever. He recorded multiple strikeouts in 11 of 14 appearances, struck out at least four batters on seven occasions, and never allowed more than two earned runs in an outing. He did not allow a run over his final 13 innings. Reeth was the starting pitcher in his last two appearances this season for Kingsport. He posted nine scoreless innings between the two outings, allowing just two hits while striking out 12. Reeth completed a season-high five innings against Bristol on July 19 in his penultimate turn for the Axmen, then delivered a season-best eight strikeouts over four innings against Elizabethton on July 30. He also pitched an inning out of the bullpen for the West in the 2023 Appy League All-Star Game.

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