The MLB Draft League announced that Trenton’s Connor Maryniak was named Most Valuable Player of the second half.
Maryniak, 23, hit .331 (54-for-163) with four home runs and 27 RBI in 42 regular season games. The Thunder shortstop had six doubles, two triples, 27 runs and OPS of .891. Maryniak ranked top 10 amongst the league in his home runs (third), hits (third), total bases (third), batting average (sixth), on-base percentage (.425, eighth), OPS (eighth) and slugging percentage (.466, ninth).
Kicking off the second half, Maryniak recorded two extra base hits with a home run in the sixth followed by a double in the seventh for three RBI. Along with his introductory game, he recorded 18 multi-hit games with as many as four in a performance twice and two stretches of four consecutive games. Both of those streaks contained his four-hit games, both coming at home with two RBI and two runs. The first of his streaks highlighted an overall 12 game hit-streak where he went 24-for-40.
Named to the MLB Draft League’s All-Second Half Team, the shortstop stood out in the month of August where he tied the league-lead with 52 total bases. He also finished top 10 in the full month of the professional half in triples (2, second), hits (40, second), batting average (.404, third), on-base percentage (.500, third), OPS (1.025, third) and slugging percentage (.525, sixth).
On defense, he played all 42 games at shortstop, he committed four errors on 177 total chances and played a role in 21 double plays for the second-most in the half.
The Reading, Pa. native joined the MLB Draft League after completing his senior season at Charlotte where he recorded an .822 OPS with 11 home runs in 58 games. In 2024, he was named the 2024 NCAA Div. III Player of the Year with Misericordia University as a two-way player with a 1.050 OPS (13 HR, 70 RBI) and a 2.44 ERA (11-3, 76 strikeouts, 84 2/3 innings) as a starting pitcher.
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