Honoring four Tigers for their key roles

After starting the season slowly against tough Southern competition, the baseball team (11-15 overall, 5-3 Ivy League) has rounded into shape and currently sits in first place in the Lou Gehrig Division. With eight of 20 Ivy games under Princeton's belt, the 'Prince' pauses to hand out midseason honors to a few of the Tigers who have had the greatest impact so far this season.

Most Valuable Player Who Will Never Touch a Bat

This one goes to junior pitcher Erik Stiller. Stiller has led the pitching staff all season. He has accumulated a record of 4-1 with an earned run average of 2.29. In addition, he has thrown two complete games, half of the staff's total. He leads the team with 34 strikeouts — the next closest Tiger has 19 — and has only given up one home run.

He was especially clutch in this past weekend's matchup against Harvard. After having dropped both games in a doubleheader against Dartmouth the previous day, the Tigers desperately needed to scrape together a win. Stiller was there, throwing five and a third innings in the seven-inning game, giving up only two runs on six scattered hits. Princeton won the game, 7-2, and avoided an 0-4 weekend.

Player Most Likely to Get Drafted — Again

Senior centerfielder Will Venable is the clear choice for this award. After being drafted in the 15th round last year, Venable has likely improved his draft status considerably. Batting second in the order, the lefty has done nothing but hit since the beginning of the season.

Currently, he boasts a robust .440 average, over 20 points higher than the next highest average. Besides hitting for average, Venable is also always a threat to go deep, as he is second on the team with six dingers. He leads the team in runs scored and is second in both hits (40) and doubles (six). He's also been known to swipe a base from time to time, thanks to his blazing speed.

Predictions for his draft spot after this season have placed him as likely to go in the top five rounds — and perhaps higher — which would be the highest a Princeton player has gone since last year, when B.J Szymanski '04 went in the third round.

Player Most Likely to Have a Huge Second Half

Sophomore hurler Gavin Fabian takes this prize. Fabian had an excellent season last year as a freshman, and expectations were high going into this season. While not performing poorly, he has so far had mixed results. He holds a 2-2 record with a 4.50 ERA. His two wins came from very strong outings, but, his two losses were very un-Fabian appearances. Most recently, he took a loss against Dartmouth this past weekend, going four innings and allowing eight earned runs.

Control has been a problem, as he has walked 19 so far this season. Fabian, however, has too much talent for this to continue much longer, and he looks to find his groove in the second half of the season, when the Tigers will need him the most.

Most Valuable Player Who Will Never Steal a Base

Junior designated hitter Ryan Eldridge is by no means a speedster on the bases. His role, as his nickname Pipes suggests, is to hit for power. And he has done that exceptionally well so far this season. Eldridge leads the team with seven round trippers, a mark that already equals Tim Lahey '04's team-leading total of a year ago.

While currently maintaining an average of .354, Eldridge has driven in more runs (24) than anyone else and is third in the hits category. With Eldridge batting cleanup and Venable batting second, the two combine to form one of the most powerful duos in the league and have paced the offense throughout the season.