C Jeff Kremer
Height: 5’11″ – Weight: 210 lbs
Bats: Left – Throws: Right
2012 School: Duke
2012 Class: Junior, NCAA DI
Draft Eligbility: 2013 (DI Senior)
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
All Posts Regarding Jeff Kremer
The start of the 2012 season means it’s time to begin highlighting a new class of Alaska Baseball League players. We’ll begin this season’s coverage with an upperclassman catcher and 2013 draft prospect, Duke’s Jeff Kremer.
Hailing from the northern Oregon city of Portland, Kremer attended Lake Oswego Senior High School on the south side of town. There he was an All-State baseball player; he was All-State in football as well. After graduating, Kremer decided that his future was in baseball and made the move coast-to-coast, signing on back east as a DI freshman with Duke in North Carolina, naturally accruing more playing time with the Blue Devils as he has gained experience.
Kremer will be gaining some experience behind the plate in Alaska, manning the starting catcher role at least as long as Arizona’s Jordan Berger is tied up at the College World Series. He’s been an every day player for Duke but has spent most of his time in the DH role as the starting catcher job for the Blue Devils has been a three-way platoon. Despite that, I felt that Kremer’s defensive abilities were sound upon my initial look at him; during the opening doubleheader against the Bucs the backstop used his body well to keep most of the bad pitches in front of him. For what it’s worth, in 5 non-league games Kremer has started all of them and made no errors for the Pilots thus far.
On offense, Kremer appears to be a talented line-drive, on-base hitter. Baseball America rated him as the player with the best strike-zone judgment in the ACC this season. It’s apparent, by analyzing his stats, that he uses that ability to get a good pitch to hit, or barring that, draw the walk. In 2012 for Duke he was third on the team for walks and led in on-base percentage; he has consistently shown the ability to walk more often than he strikes out. With pitchers forced to throw strikes or lose him, it’s no wonder he’s also second on the Duke team in batting average this year. His bat has yet to wake up in the Alaska Baseball League on the young season; he has just one hit as of writing this but his walks bring his OBP up to .333. We’ll have to keep an eye on him and see if his swing will lend itself to the wood bats.
Jeff Kremer’s performance in Alaska this summer will have big implications as he heads back to Duke in the fall, probably seeking more time behind the dish, and likely hoping to raise his profile in the 2013 draft when he will enter into the pool of prospects as a senior.
49thstatehardball.com will be releasing profiles on Alaska Baseball League players from all the teams, all season long. Check back with us daily as we spotlight more players, as well as photos, game notes, scouting videos, and other info, all season long.
Jesse Jack is a life-long Alaskan (except for a stint in Montana) who studies Civil Engineering at the University of Alaska Anchorage from August through May, and lives at the ballpark during June and July. 
