Steve Morano
MSMU Class of 2024

(9/2022) During the 2022 MLB Draft League season, teams from across the eastern United States competed in a collegiate summer league for baseball players belonging to NCAA affiliated leagues. The Draft League itself was founded in 2021 and is made up of former minor league teams affiliated with Major League clubs who, during COVID-19, became unaffiliated from their respective teams. The Frederick Keys were one of the minor league teams who lost affiliation, specifically from the Baltimore Orioles of the American League at the High-A level of the Minor Leagues. One pitcher for the Keys this summer, Luke Pryor, a senior at the Mount and Middletown High School grad, performed at a very high level in anticipation for the 2023 MAAC baseball season.

During the 2022 NEC baseball season, Pryor showed off what he could do as a pitcher, particularly regarding his longevity on the mound, notching seven starts where he pitched five innings or more. This longevity became apparent on April 2nd, when Pryor pitched a complete game, only giving up one earned run and striking out six batters as the Mountaineers defeated Wagner 7-1. However, a worrying factor to Pryor’s 2022 collegiate season was his ERA, sitting at 7.90 at the end of the season. But this summer with the Keys, Pryor has revamped his ERA and has dropped it down to 3.26 in what head coach Frank Leoni hopes will lead the Mount to a successful first season in the MAAC during the Spring.

In seven games played for the Keys this Summer, Pryor started three of them, all coming in his first three games. His first start against the Trenton Thunder, Pryor Pitched 4.0 innings and struck out three batters, but gave up three runs of five hits, being accredited with his one and only loss of the season. In his next start, Pryor struck out three and allowed two hits, only pitching 3.0 innings, perhaps being taken out to get other pitchers’ times on the mound as the Keys used up six pitchers in a 4-4 tie with the West Virginia Black Bears. His third and final start came during a 12-6 win over the State College Spikes (played in 7 innings due to league rules), while only pitching 3.0 innings on the days striking out three batters, but Pryor walked four batters and allowed two unearned runs. This would be his final game started for the Keys during the summer, being used to pitch from a new approach out of the bullpen.

In his first appearance out of the pen, Pryor came into the game during the sixth inning. With the Keys up by five runs, Pryor had some cushion to work with from his offense. After getting out the first batter in the 5th via a flyout, Pryor walked the next batter and then took a line drive off his foot to put a runner at first and second. Pryor stayed in the game, however, as the ball had come off a broken bat rather than a straight-line drive. Though shaken up by this, Pryor kept his cool and struck out the next batter, forcing the next batter to flyout to right field to preserve the shutout for the Keys.

Pryor continued his work in the 6th inning, as he showed off his composure in situations around him. A top of the order hit and a walk put runners on first and second with no outs, but Pryor forced the third batter to ground out into a double play moving a runner to third. Pryor now had two outs, but a baserunner looking him dead in the eye as the right-hander was still on the mound. With the weight of the fans in attendance to preserve the shutout and the pressure of having a runner in scoring position looking right at him, Pryor struck out the fourth batter to end the inning. With this, Pryor preserved the shutout for the Keys and became eligible for the win as the Keys went on to beat the Spikes 7-2.

After the game, Pryor noted the mental strength he endured at the end of the sixth inning, saying, "With two outs, you just have to make a pitch to get him out, because an out is an out and it ends the inning. With one out you really want to try to get him to put something on the ground. It’s not something I really worry about; you just must give yourself the best chance to get that guy out and not let the runner score."

The rest of Pryor’s appearances for the Keys in the summer came out of the bullpen in similar fashion to the game against State College, to either relieve the starter, or on two occasions, to give the best chance for the offense to do its work in the final couple of innings. In particular, the game against the Williamsport Crosscutters on July 13th stands out, as Pryor came in to pitch the final two innings in what would be a 7-2 loss for the Keys. In that game Pryor would only walk one batter while striking out three in only two innings of work on the mound. To end the season, Pryor came to a 1-1 record, 19.1 innings pitched, a WHIP of 1.448 and an ERA of 3.26, drastically improving from his ERA with the Mount in 2022, which sat at 7.90.

With the Frederick Keys now being a summer collegiate league team affiliated with the MLB Draft League, many people like Pryor have found themselves keeping sharp in leagues like this across the country. "I knew I was going to play summer ball" Pryor said, "…I knew a guy who helped me get into this league and then a scout gave me the go ahead to play in this league, and it was great, I knew Frederick had a team, so it was great to get placed here."

Head coach for the Mount’s baseball team Frank Leoni said, "Our primary goals when we place players in summer leagues are to find a competitive league that will challenge them to get better on the baseball field and to find a place that will provide a new/different geographical exposure—somewhere they may have to come outside of their comfort zone, helping them grow as people." And Pryor will certainly bring a lot of knowledge and experience to the Mount, saying, "There’s power five guys, there’s guys from different countries, we have three guys that are from the Chines Baseball Academy, which is really cool, and there are a bunch of junior college guys here, there are more different varieties of baseball here."

During the summer, Pryor has showed he can pitch in multiple different types of scenarios, whether that be as a starter or out of the bullpen as a long reliever in the middle of the game, or a short reliever at the end. It begs the question: will Pryor be used in a more dynamic role for the Mount in the spring?