COSTA MESA -- Baseball fans are busy debating all the trade deadline news in the major leagues and the playoff races are galloping towards the final turn.  At the same time, plenty of summer-ball teams are beginning to wrap up the season, as collegiate players look towards a return to their schools.  With some graduates and current players out on diamonds across the country and around the globe, here is a look at how a number of VU baseball players are performing this summer.
 
Jose Rojas: After getting picked up by the San Francisco Giants organization in 2022 but not getting much attention with the club, Rojas decided to ply his craft in South Korea, joining the Doosan Bears.  Rojas has not lost any power and has been productive in 2023, as he is second on the team with 11 home runs and is third on the squad with 35 RBI.  With 30 walks on the year, Rojas is batting .220 and has an OBP of .323 in 69 games.  Things are going well for the Bears in the standings, as the squad is third in the KBO with a 44-41mark.
 
Joe Johnson:  Johnson had a slow start to his development in the Pioneer League, but he is shining in 2023.  Pacing the Grand Junction Jackalopes in batting average with a .408 mark, Johnson is also leading the team with 100 hits in 56 games.  His 74 runs are top of the squad, as are his 28 doubles.  He is second on the team with 10 home runs and 65 RBI, resulting in a .490 OBP.  He is pacing the Pioneer League in hits and doubles, is second among all players with 43 extra-base hits, and his batting average is good for ninth overall.  Johnson has been on a tear, but the Jackalopes are 24-32 on the year.
 
Omar Ortiz:  The Santa Fe Fuego has been the home for Ortiz in 2023 and he is hitting .348 in 41 games, the most games played on the team.  Ortiz is second on the squad in hits with 56, has a team-leading 12 doubles, and is fourth in home runs (11) and RBI (50).  The Fuego have a 14-30 record in the Mountain standings of the Pecos league.
 
Dane Nakatsuka: The recent graduate hit.200 for the Xenia Scouts in the Great Lakes Summer Collegiate League.  In 25 games, Nakatsuka had nine RBI and 15 hits to pair with 14 walks.  The Scouts won the South division and made the playoffs, but lost both games in the best-of-three championship series.
 
Jacob Dahlstrom & Quincy Vassar:  The Washington boys returned home for the summer and are both hurling for the Wenatchee AppleSox.  Things are going well for the squad, who pace the North division standings with a 16-5 record, two and a half games ahead of Victoria.  Dahlstrom has one start and four appearances, giving up only 10 hits across eight innings of action.  He has one earned run on his ledger to pair with 10 strikeouts, giving him a 1.12 ERA.  He is tied for second on the team with two saves.  Vassar has started in all seven of his appearances and is 1-2 with a 3.78 ERA.  He has 33 Ks in 33.1 innings of work, tied for the most strikeouts on the team. 
 
Corey Jarrell:  Jarrell has made only nine appearances for the Port Angeles Lefties and he has three hits in 21 at-bats to go with three walks.  His West Coast League team is 4-17, at the other end of the standings from the AppleSox.
 
 
Coach Cameron Trudel:  Coach Trudel is back with the Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox of the Cape Cod League.  Now in his second season as an assistant with the summer club, Trudel is helping the Red Sox to the best record in the East Division at 23-17, and the squad has secured a playoff spot.  The Red Sox have the best team ERA in the league at 3.78, the second-most strikeouts, the second-most home runs, and the fifth-best fielding percentage. 
 
Beyond those, Christopher Famolaro is playing with the San Diego Stars and new addition Levi Hall is playing for the Havasu Heat.  Evan Avitia, Chris Brown, Joey Cordola, and Dakota Henson round out the other players who have found a spot to play in California during the summer break. 

While the organization did not play any competitive games this summer, Charlie Pierce and Aaron Zubiate worked with the FCA So Cal Shepherds.  Both were heavily involved in the community service trips to Big Bear and Mexico, working the weekly summer camps after that.  The duo also participated in the team's practices and live batting sessions, allowing the players who volunteered to stay in baseball shape and work on their skills.