As the 2020 Futures Collegiate Baseball League season winds down, the league handed out its annual end-of-season awards Tuesday afternoon and two members of the North Shore Navigators took home hardware. Boston College star and Lexington native Sal Frelick was named the 2020 Top Pro Prospect, while Northeastern star Ben Malgeri took home Defensive Player of the Year honors.
Frelick, who also won the Top Pro Prospect award in 2018 after his first season with the Navs as a just-graduated high school senior, returned to the league and delivered another stellar season to take home the award again. The rising Eagles junior has seen time in both the infield and outfield over his 22 games this summer, posting a league-leading .411 average with 25 runs scored, a .485 on-base percentage and .622 slugging percentage. Frelick started the season on a 17-game hit streak and has reached base in 20 of his 22 games. He is ranked 18th overall by MLB.com among 2021 draft prospects.
A 2019 FCBL All-Star, Malgeri has been a mainstay in North Shore’s lineup for a second consecutive summer. The rising Northeastern junior from Stratham, N.H., has played in all of the Navs’ 36 games, recording 66 putouts over a league-high 73 total chances on the grass. He has also been credited with five outfield assists and helped turn a pair of double plays. Malgeri has been a steady defender all while standing among league leaders in numerous offensive categories, hitting .314 with 25 RBI and a league-leading 44 hits, 42 runs, six triples and 18 stolen bases.
The Navigators wrap up the regular season Wednesday afternoon (2:05) against the Brockton Rox at Fraser Field.
