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Inside Pitch – 2013 Archives

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November 19, 2013

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Admin

The 2013 Arizona Fall League was once again represented by a healthy number of AZ high school alums.

The most notable performance was turned in by Mountain Pointe and University of Utah product CJ Cron. CJ, an LA Angels farm hand, led the league in hitting with a .413 Batting average. He was second in homers with 5 and second in RBIs with 20 in 20 games.

CJs Angel teammate Taylor Lindsey (Desert Mountain) hit .270 with 10 RBI and Pinnacle grad Brett Nicholas hit .273.

Agua Fria grad Sammy Solis had an excellent fall on the mound. Sammy tossed 29 innings with a 2.17 ERA and led the league in wins with 5 and strike outs with 29.

Horizon product Jeff Urlaub tossed 13 innings with an ERA of 2.77

Thunderbird grad Alex Sogard threw 12 innings with an ERA of 3.65

Desert Ridge grad Jake Barrett had a couple of rough outings out of the bullpen that skewed his numbers, but he still averaged over a strikeout per inning in 8 innings pitched. Expect to see him in the DBacks pen at some point next season.

Merrill Kelly (Desert Mountain/ ASU) made 9 appearances in relied in the fall with an ERA of 4.91.

Aaron- Altherr- (Agua Fria) hit .200 in 45 ABs.

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There is a very nice piece in Baseball America on The Arizona Fall Classic Tournaments and the Heid family, who runs the events. Very well done by BA’s Clint Longenecker.

http://www.baseballamerica.com/draft/heid-family-develops-arizona-fall-classic/

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October 15, 2013

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Admin

Week one of the Arizona Fall Classic series is in the books after the normal cavalcade of college coaches and scouts descended upon the valley for the AZ Senior Classic last weekend. The 67 team showcase format event was, as always, very well attended by coaches and MLB scouts.

Despite the fact that I’ve seen most of the AZ senior players multiple times throughout the spring, summer and fall, it seems like every year somebody makes a late jump in performance going into their senior season.

In 2013 that player was RHP Austin Schnabel from Notre Dame, who is now at the University of Arizona.

In 2014, that guy may be 2014 RHP Trenton Stoltz from Paradise Valley HS.

The 6-4 190 pound Stoltz has the prototypical pitcher’s frame. When I saw him in the spring and the early summer, he was a low 80s RHP with an average high school breaking ball. Like a lot of young pitchers with his body type, he had a lot of moving parts that didn’t quite synch up.

Fast forward 4 months to this weekend, and it’s a completely different story. Stoltz worked a couple of innings for the AZBC Dodgers on Thursday, and blew me away with his development.

He sat comfortably at 88-89 with an easy loose arm action. The ball comes out of his hand very cleanly. The breaking ball is now a firm 76 MPH slurve with good 2 plane movement and some late life to it. He mixed in an upper 70s change up with some good arm side fade.

Trenton Stoltz

Most importantly, Stoltz looks much more athletic, not to mention confident, out on the hill. There’s clearly more to be seen down the road and I’m looking forward to watching his progress in the spring.

Spencer Moran

I saw Mesa Mountain View’s Spencer Moran on Friday for the AZ Prospects. Moran is a top notch academic guy with a real projectable 6-6 190 body. He’s developing nicely, with the velocity up to 86-87 comfortably. His performance drew the attention of at least one D1 coach who called for more info about him later that day.

O’Connor LHP Cameron Ming had a good weekend. I missed him on Thursday but heard he was impressive. On Saturday he worked one inning and used a 3 pitch mix to absolutely baffle the 3 hitters he faced while striking out the side.

I spent a good part of the weekend taking another look at the White Sox Scout Team from Tucson, who I had seen a few weeks ago against Gateway CC. This is, without a doubt, the most talented group that Coach Brian Huie has had in many years.

It starts with the pitching. 2015 RHPs Jio Orozco (Salpointe) and Sati Santa Cruz (Sahuarita) are both front line arms.

Orozco, an ASU commit, worked at 90-91 on Saturday with very good feel of a change up and a a12-6 curveball.

Santa Cruz was up to 92 and has a 75-76 MPH slider with some bite to it.

I mentioned 2015 Catcher Cesar Salazar from Sahuaro, and he’s quite simply the best defensive catcher in the state. He routinely shows pop times around 1.8 in pre game and has a lightning quick transfer.

2015 Canyon del Oro outfielder Erick Migueles continues to impress me with the bat. He swings it from the left side and has a flat plane that keeps the barrel in the zone a long time. He will also jump on the mound and show 87-88 MPH.

2014 OF/RHP Andre Jackson had a couple of hits for the Sox as well, and Salpointe shortsop Ryan Ramsower had a nice weekend defensively and with the bat.

Saguaro RHP Stephen Wright threw a couple of innings for All Star Baseball Academy on Sunday and looked impressive. He was up to 89 with the fastball and showed a good slider at 79-80. When he throws strikes he’s one of the livest arms in the class of 2014.

All in all it was another great weekend hosted by Ted and Tracy Heid and family. I’m looking forward to the AZ Junior Classic this weekend.


September 25, 2013

Posted on September 25, 2013 by Admin

The sheer number of summer and fall Club/Travel/Scout/Academy or whatever you want to call them teams that are popping up all around the valley and the state as a whole are making it very difficult to separate the players from the impostors.

It was only a few years ago that the talent was clustered in 5 or less teams. Unfortunately, the number of teams has exploded, and a lot of players are participating in these so called elite events that are no more than run of the mill high school players.

Need proof?

29 Arizona teams were entered in the Perfect Game events over the last 2 weekends.

Not a single AZ team won their pool and advanced to the championship round.

We can and should represent better than that. But when the talent is diluted like it is right now it isn’t going to happen.

Of course, in fairness some of the better AZ teams did not participate in these events.

I’m all for kids playing the game (obviously), but this showcasing/exposure industry has, quite frankly, watered down the talent so bad that it has almost become a waste of time for colleges.

More so than ever before, if college coaches do not know who you are before they get to the event, you are flat out wasting your time if you hope to get attention from schools.

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A number of players were selected to the ginormous All Tournament team from last weekend’s PG Evoshield Upper-class tourney

Tommy McCarty- All Star BB 17 -Mingus HS

Alan Vega- Watsonville Aggies- Cibola HS

Dallas Riggs- AZ Pilots- Bradshaw Mtn HS

Jacob Weiss- Warriors- Pinnacle HS

Najee Gaskins- Tucson Bobcats- Cienega HS

Kobie Foppe-Watsonville Aggies-Notre Dame Prep

Alex Verdugo-Prospects National-Sahuaro HS

Alejo Lopez- Athletics- Greenway HS

Alfredo Villa II-Tucson Bobcats-Rincon HS

Luis Valenzuela- Tucson Cowboys-Salpointe

Devin Young-All Star BB-Notre Dame Prep

Chris Romero-AZ Wildfire-Coolidge HS

Tyler Frost-AZ Athletics-Greenway HS

Dimitri Johnson- Warriors- Kellis HS

Chaz Montoya- AZ Prowlers- Centennial HS

Matt Contreras- AZ Wildfire-Campo Verde HS

Taylor Graff- P2 Pirates- Basha HS

Spiro Valasakos- AZ Prowlers-Liberty HS

Stephen Wright-All Star BB-Saguaro HS

Adan Vega-Watsonville Aggies- Cibola HS

Tyler Weninger- Mountain West-Hamilton HS

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I had a chance to see the AZ Athletics 18U team scrimmage Phoenix College at Grand Canyon last week. There really wasn’t much new to see, but the A’s have one of the more solid groups of talent in the area.

Tyler Frost was on the hill to start and if I have to win a game he’s probably the AZ RH pitcher that I want with the rock. He was 86-88 and I’ve seen him up to 91 in the past. His slider is a plus pitch that is too much for the majority of high school hitters. He’s very polished, works fast and pounds the zone.

Degan Harte from O’Connor is with the A’s this fall as well. The big righty was 86-87 with a mid 70’s 2 plane slurvish breaker that shows some promise. He mixed in a change up at 77-78.

I like lefty Brandon Browne from Boulder Creek. He was solid in the summer and will be a good college pitcher. The velo is low 80s and he’s a bit of a slinger that’s hard to pick up.

Fountain Hills LHP Nick Wojtysiak continues to improve. He was 85-87 and has a good low 70s curveball with a lot of tilt to it. His changeup is very good and I wish he would throw it more often.

Another guy to keep an eye on is Sunrise Mountain 6-7 RHP Dallas Litscher. This guy has a lot of upside. He plays basketball so isn’t really in prime baseball condition, and he typically takes a while in the spring to get cranking. However, the arm is loose, the delivery is directional to the plate and downhill and he is creeping the velo up slowly (83 on this night). His breaking ball is a pretty firm mid 70s slurve and he mixes in a mid 70s change as well.

2015 SS Alejo Lopez from Greenway is a slick defender and a legit switch hitter with bat speed.

His teammate, Payton Squier, is one of the best left handed bats in the state and a scrapper that can play a number of positions.

I think Sunnyslope catcher Ryan Oberg has more potential than any backstop in this class. His receiving and blocking skills improve daily. He has made great strides. He has a great arm…one of the few high school catchers who routinely breaks 80MPH on throws to second. At 6-1 200 he’s physical and durable and the bat has a chance to be in the middle of a lot of batting orders.

Division 3 Player of the Year Andrew Bryniarski from Fountain Hills is a specimen at 6-4 205 and he has a knack for getting the barrel to the ball. He’s a power bat who uses the field very well.

Finally, I’m a big fan of Desert Ridge’s Jaden Eggiman, another guy who can play a number of positions and who plays with a ton of energy.

On Saturday I saw the White Sox Scout team from Tucson scrimmage Gateway CC. This Sox team is the best looking group of players that they’ve assembled in a number of years.

I was only able to stay for the first game of the doubleheader before heading to Peoria, but some solid arms took the mound.

Tyler Falwell

2014 RHP Tyler Falwell from Palo Verde is a 6-4 guy with some arm speed. He was 84-85 and looks to have more in the tank. His low 70’s 2 plane breaking ball had some good late life to it.

Gabriel Benevides is a 6-2 175 pound lefty from Canyon Del Oro. He was up to 84 with a decent change up.

Cienega’s Andre Jackson is one of the better athletes in the class of 2014 and is a potential 2 way guy for a lot of college programs. He was up to 90 on the mound and showed a change and curveball as well, but he changes his arm slot when he goes off speed and needs some work with that. At the plate he had a couple of knocks and put a really good swing on a ball he lined to the centerfielder.

Jio Orozco

Salpointe junior RHP Jio Orozco is a very polished guy on the hill. He’s a legit 3 pitch arm who was up to 91 on the gun and showed a really nice change up.

Donnie Sands

Junior Donny Sands is probably more of an infield prospect, but on the mound he worked at 86-88. Sands has reportedly given a verbal to ASU.

This team also features Sahuarita’s Sati Santa Cruz, but the U of A commit was throwing in game 2 so I didn’t see him this day.

Cesar Salazar

This Sox team has some solid catchers, but the stand out was 2015 Cesar Salazar from Sahuaro. He’s one of the most impressive defensive guys I’ve seen behind the plate in a while. He has baby soft hands and receives and frames effortlessly. His feet are nimble and he moves laterally with ease. He also has a lightning quick transfer and playable arm strength.

Catalina Foothills OF Luis Gonzalez, one of the state’s top outfielders, did not make the trip up to the valley due to a sprained knee.

In addition, Sahuaro 2015 RHP Javier Medina, another guy I wanted to see again, did not throw.

Ryan Ramsower

I’ve always liked the energy and production from Salpointe infielder Ryan Ramsower. He’s just a baseball player who clearly enjoys being on the field and he always makes things happen when I see him.

Erick Migueles

Nick Ames

I like 2015 OF Erick Migueles from CDO. I saw him pitch in the summer and liked him on the mound as well, but he’s a high energy OF who can run a little and handles the bat real well. Another CDO junior, Nick Ames, is a big powerful left handed hitting first baseman who can do some serious damage at the plate.


September 19, 2013


The Colorado Rockies Scout Team from CO hosted a small showcase event at Talking Stick last weekend that featured the Diamondbacks Elite Scout team and the Arizona Baseball Club Dodgers. It was the first time out in the fall for a number of guys and like last weekend most of the pitchers weren’t at full strength. I had an opportunity to see Desert Mountain 2014 LHP Thomas Wright for the DBacks for the first time since earlier in the summer. It’s a clean arm stroke that works in the 82-84 range normally although he was 81-82 on Saturday. He also features a mid 70s change with some fade and a low 70s 2 plane breaking ball that shows some promise. Saguaro 6-5 LHP Nick Meservey worked a couple of innings as well. Nick has enormous upside. He was 83-85 in his first time out in a while. He had been pretty comfortably in the upper 80s and touched 90 a few times this summer. It’s an over the top arm slot that allows him to work downhill very well. Mesa Mountain View’s Kyler Kocher is an interesting guy on the hill. He has a good frame at 6-3 170 that has a lot of room to fill out. The arm is quick. He was 86-88 and flashed a 77MPH slide piece with some late life to it.

Queen Creek’s Chase Beal is a big strong kid who continues to develop as a prospect. At 6-6 220 its impossible to ignore him. On this day he worked at 84-86 and touched 87. I didn’t see breaking ball on Saturday, but in the past I’ve seen it be very good. He has a quick arm and will be interesting to see in the spring. Saguaro junior Luke Eigsti took a turn for the Dbacks as well. Although I still like him primarily as an outfielder due to the bat and athleticism, I’ve seen him on the mound when he was very good. Interestingly enough, last January I caught him in a preseason tournament and he was up to 88 and very effective. He really backed up on the mound in the spring and summer, though, but has rebounded nicely. He worked at 84-85 on Saturday, but was reportedly up to 88 at a PG event last month and threw 94 from the outfield.

It’s a pretty impressive roster that the DBacks roll out. The middle infield is solid with Cole Tucker , Jedd Fagg, Jeremy McCuin and junior AJ Graffanino, who is really coming into his own as a player. They’ve also added a real sleeper in Hamilton’s Justin Wylie. O’Connor’s Cameron Ming has also come on board this fall as a LHP/OF.

Jeremy McCuin

Justin Wylie

In the outfield Marcus Still (Queen Creek) is one of the fastest players in the state. Jakob Goldfarb is an Oregon commit who keeps developing with the bat. Chaparral’s Andrew Shaps didn’t play due to back pain.

Blaze Bohall

UNLV commit Blaze Bohall was on the hill for AZBC and worked at 85-86. He had been up to 89 this summer. There’s a number of guys on the AZBC roster that I really like.

Perry catcher Brady Weiss is fun to watch. His energy is infectious and he’s a solid receiver of the baseball. Most importantly, he’s going to hit at the next level. It’s a left handed swing that’s short and quick to the ball and he takes an aggressive hack when he cuts it loose.

Ernie De La Trinidad

Brady Weiss

Mountain Pointe OF Ernie De La Trinidad has been one of my favorite guys for the last couple of years. He always contributes something offensively and he gets to everything that’s hit in the air.

I like the way Perry OF Brady Hettinger plays the game. He’s a solid defender Desert Ridge middle guy Cam Richins has solid actions defensively and can handle the bat a little. First baseman Austin Zwart from Mingus is a big strong guy with some pop in the bat. Pinnacle catcher Luke Peevyhouse has really improved defensively in the last year.

Brady Hettinger

Austin Zwart

The AZBC 16U team was playing as well and has some guys who caught my eye. Big 6-4 225 2015 RHP Freddie Erlandson from Brophy is a guy to watch out for. He’s in basketball mode right now and not at full strength, but there’s some arm speed to go along with a ton of strength in the body. Scottsdale Christian 2015 catcher Marcus Skundrich is a very solid defender with a strong body (6-1 195). He has some juice in the bat as well. Perry 2015 SS Austin Bull is one of the best defensive middle guys in the state

__________________________________________________________________ On Sunday I headed out to Tempe Diablo to watch the Angels Scout team take on Yavapai College, and for the first time this spring I saw some arms that looked ready to go.

Mesquite RHP/IF James Harrington has really come into his own this year. He’s consistently upper 80s…89-90 on Sunday, and he has one of the best high school change ups I’ve seen. He’ll get some long looks from MLB scouts in the spring.

It was good to see Corona del Sol 2014 LHP Garrett Poole back on the mound. I hadn’t seen him in basically 2 years due to a litany of physical problems that appear to finally be behind him. He was one of the top guys in the state before the health issues. Garret has excellent feel of 3 pitches and although he needs to regain arm strength, he’ll be an interesting one to watch in the spring, He worked in the upper 70s with the fastball and showed a low 70s change with some good arm side movement.

Gilbert 2014 RHP Alex Goodman is an under the radar guy who just gets guys out. Velocity wise he’ll be 83-85 and I’ve seen 86. Most importantly he’s a strike thrower who keeps the ball down in the zone consistently.

Payton Squier

The Angels struggled some offensively against Yavapai, although Sahuaro’s Alex Verdugo squared a couple of balls up real well. Greenway’s Payton Squier, who always hits, was making an appearance with the Angels and also barreled a ball well, and Notre dame SS Kobe Foppe lined sharply to right field.

Kobe Foppe

Nelson Paredes

The Angels showed a pretty solid infield with Foppe at SS, Squier at 3B and Combs’ Nelson Paredes at 2B.

I like the looks of Nogales Catcher Justin Felix behind the dish as well. He receives well and has a strong frame and some arm strength. In the outfield Corona del Sol’s Nathan Chokey is quick and takes very good routes to the ball. He handles the bat well and plays with some energy.

Justin Felix

Nathan Chokey

Alex Verdugo

The big show was Verdugo’s appearance on the mound. The Tucson product is the best 2 way prospect to come out of AZ in a long time, and the small group of scouts on hand weren’t disappointed. He sat comfortably at 92-94 and spun a few 79 MPH sliders that left the Yavapai guys clueless. He’ll mix in another breaking ball that has more of a curveball shape to it just for grins. Left handed pitchers with that kind of arm strength and a plus secondary pitch tend to have handsome pay days in June.


September 16, 2013


I’ve been extremely busy with my normal activities (video etc) over the past several weeks so am a little bit behind right now. I’ll get caught back up this week.

The fall season is starting to heat up, and I’ve spent the last 2 weekends out and about taking a look at the fall scout teams.

Last Saturday 9-7 I had a chance to catch All Star Baseball against Gateway CC at Gene Autry. As is usually the case this time of year, the high school pitchers were not in top shape and the velocities always reflect that. Nevertheless ASBA always has some good arms.

The 2014 team features Calvin Lebrun from Sunnyslope, and he had a typical Calvin outing, utilizing a 3 pitch mix with very good feel. He wasn’t real pleased with his performance because one hitter squared him up pretty good, but that’s just a player being overly critical of himself. The JUCO lineup did little damage against him.

Chaparral 2014 Jack Peck is one of the more interesting LHPs in the class at this point to me. While he’s also a switch hitting outfielder with some juice in the bat, his upside on the mound is what intrigues me. His delivery is very balanced and athletic, and the arm is loose and quick. I’ve seen 86 in the summer and there’s a lot more in there for the future. His secondary stuff is developing, and with the arm action there’s no reason that a plus breaking ball won’t emerge.

Another guy with a live arm is 2014 RHP Steven Wright from Saguaro. He’s gotten limited work with the high school team due to command issues, but if he can figure that piece of the puzzle out there’s a bright future. He sat at 87 and flashed a firm 2 plane breaking ball at 77-78.

Chaparral 1B/LHP Kyle Palmer will be a 3 year starter at one of the state’s top programs, and he’s beginning to develop physically. He’s arguably the best defensive first baseman in the state, and his left handed swing has always been sweet. As the strength comes so does the bat speed, and he lined a couple of balls with authority, one to the opposite field. He jumped on the mound and is making big strides there as well.

Saguaro shortstop Turner Lace is playing football this fall, but he is coming out to games on the weekend. He’s one of the better infield defenders in the state and has been a reliable bat as well, but I would expect him to struggle a bit as most football guys do in the fall. All in all he had a nice day.

Chase Venable

Joe Roche

Jack Peck

Kyle Palmer

ASBA has added a pair of Notre Dame guys this fall. Third baseman Devin Young started for the Saints last season and is a very good defender. Offensively he’s really improved and is using the whole field very well.

Catch Joe Roche should be the starter at NDP. He’s a real take charge guy behind the dish, and at 6-2 210 he’s a physical presence at well. The bat has some legit power to it.

Cactus Shadows IF Kyle Brown has always been one of my favorite guys in this class because of the energy he plays with. He’ll be a 2B at the next level, and he’s a sub 6.8 runner that’s scrappy as hell.

Chaparral IF Joey Padish made some significant contributions for the Firebirds this spring and had a nice summer as well. There’s nothing flashy here, but he’s fundamentally sound and can play a number of positions. He’s also an excellent base runner and seems to score every game I see him play…today was no exception.

Chaparral 2014 RHP Spencer Gilbert is going to be a nice college pitcher. He’s a low 80s guy on the gun, but everything is down in the zone with sink to it and he’s a strike thrower. He’s also an off the chart academic guy.

Mountain Pointe’s Jake Alexander is a physical specimen at 6-3 195 and he’s a 6.9 runner as well. He’s a switch hitter with power from both sides of the plate.

Chaparral OF/C Tanner Bollig is another physical bat. He’s going to hit at the next level, and he’s a top level student as well.

Mountain Ridge MIF Chase Venable is a very capable defender in the middle of the field, and as he adds strength I think the bat will prove to be adequate at some level going forward. He has smooth actions and a decent arm as well.

On Sunday my plan was to catch the Angels first weekend of the fall, but mother nature washed it out.


August 2013

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Admin

August 24,2013

Former Gilbert High stud and current Seattle Mariner farmhand DJ Peterson was hit in the face with a fastball a couple of nights ago in Iowa. He suffered a shattered jaw and had surgery that lasted more than 3 hours. He’ll be on the shelf for the rest of the season with a wired jaw for 6-8 weeks. Join me in wishing him a swift recovery.

• Former Notre Dame Prep RHP Jon Cohn was named to the America East Conference All Conference First Team after compiling a 2.92 ERA in 52 IP for Univ Of Maryland Baltimore County

• August 16, 2013

Here’s some updates on some local products in minor league baseball:

Jamie Westbrook (Basha) drafted by the DBacks in the 5th round this year, has been promoted to Missoula in the Rookie Pioneer League after hitting .292 in 40 games in the AZ Rookie League.

Riley Unroe (Desert Ridge) is hitting .242 for the Rays in 36 games in the Rookie Gulf Coast League.

Cody Bellinger (Hamilton) is hitting .225 for the Dodgers in the AZ Rookie League.

Tyler Viza (Desert Vista) has made 3 starts and thrown 19 innings with a 1.89 ERA for the Phillies in the Rookie Gulf Coast League.

Dustin Peterson (Gilbert) is hitting .302 for the Padres in the AZ Rookie League.

Stephen Tarpley (Gilbert 2011) has made 5 starts for the Orioles in the Rookie GCL and has a 1.38 ERA in 13 IP.

Aaron Slegers (Notre Dame 2010) has a .75 ERA in 12 IP in the Rookie Appalachian League.

Mikey Reynolds (Mountain Ridge 2009) is hitting .316 in 133 ABs for the Braves in the Rookie Appalachian League.

Konner Wade (Chaparral 2010) has a 5.23 ERA in 43 IP for the Rockies in Short Season Season A Northwest League.

Michael Benjamin (Basha 2010) is Wade’s teammate and is hitting .256 in 156 ABs.

Dustin Peterson (Gilbert 2010) has 12 HR in only 187 ABs for the Mariners and was promoted last month to Clinton, IA in the Class A Midwest League .

Mitch Nay (Hamilton 2012) is hitting .310 in 174 ABs for the Blue Jays in the Rookie Appalachian league.

Jake Barrett (Desert Ridge 2010) was promoted to AA Mobile by the DBacks last month. For the season he has 25 saves and an ERA of 1.40. He has allowed only 1 earned run in 17 2/3 IP at AA.

Joey Curletta (Mountain Pointe 2012) is hitting .307 with 13 doubles in 153 ABs for the Dodgers in the Rookie Pioneer League.

Hank Yates (Arcadia 2009) is Curletta’s teammate and is hitting .319 in 116 ABs.

Kirby Pellant (Corona del Sol 2009) is hitting .311 in 119 ABs for the Angels in the AZ Rookie League.

Dylan Cozens (Chaparral 2012) is with the Phillies’ Short Season A team and is hitting .251 with 6 HRs in 171 ABs.

Jaycob Brugman (Desert Vista 2010) is htting .253 in 158 ABs for Oakland’s short season A ball team.

His teammate Kayvon Bahramzadeh (Tucson Catalina Foothills 2010) has a 2.70 ERA in 10.0 IP.

Cam Schiller (Prescott 2010) is hitting .211 in 199 ABs for the Rangers short season A ball team.

Willie Ethington (Mesa Mountain View 2012) has a 2.67 ERA in 27 IP for the Red Sox in the Rookie Gulf Coast League. He has 27 Ks and only 6 walks.

Taylor Lindsey (Desert Mountain 2010) is hitting .281 in 445 ABs for the Angels AA team. He has 16 HRs, 20 doubles and 6 triples.

CJ Cron (Mountain Pointe 2008) is Lindsey’s teammate and is hitting .269 in 453 ABs with 9 HRs.

Carlos Ramirez (Sunnyside 2006) is also with the Angels AA team and is hitting .252 in 123 ABs.

Chris Capper (Deer Valley 2009) is with the Dbacks Class A team in South Bend, IN. He has a 2.98 ERA in 42 IP.

Matt Summers (Chaparral 2008) was promoted to AA by the Twins earlier this month. He has a 3.09 ERA on the year in 125 IP.

Ryan Carpenter (Cactus 2008) and Parker Markel (Mountain Ridge 2009) are teammates on the Charlotte Stone Crabs (Hi A) in the Rays organization. Markel has a 6.37 ERA in 82 IP and Carpenter has a 4.80 ERA in 110 IP.

Tayler Scott (Notre Dame 2011) is with the Cubs’ A ball team and has an ERA of 4.31 in 119 IP

Chris Jensen (Mesquite 2008) is at High A with the Rockies in Modesto, CA. He has a 4.46 ERA in 137 IP.

Zach Davies (Mesquite 2012) is with the Orioles High A team and has a 3.49 ERA in 131 IP. He has 116 Ks and only 38 BB.

Sammy Solis (Agua Fria 2006) is at High A with the Nationals. He has a 2.98 ERA in 45 IP.

Brett Nicholas (Pinnacle 2007) is with the Rangers at AA Frisco and is hitting .293 with 20 homers and 79 RBI in 441 ABs

Merrill Kelly (Desert Mountain 2007) is with the AAA Durham Bulls with the Rays organization. For the season he has a 3.66 ERA in 140 IP.

Jorge Flores (Hamilton 2010) is with the Blue Jays High A club and is hitting .243 in 218 ABs.

Drew Beurlein (Desert Mountain 2007) is at Modesto, CA (High A) for the Rockies and is hitting .267 for the year in 86 ABs

Jimmy Patterson (McClintock 2007) is in AA with the Rays and has a 4.50 ERA in 32 IP

Aaron Altherr (Agua Fria 2009) is at High A with the Phillies and is hitting .265 in 407 ABs with 10 HRs


So You Want to Play College Baseball?

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Admin

August 8, 2013- NOTE: I originally wrote this piece in February of 2004, updated it in 2007 and again this week. I think it’s a stark reminder to every Arizona player with aspirations of playing after high school that it’s a tough world out there and the competition for roster spots is fierce. The info is still relevant, though some of the numbers may have changed slightly. I’m running this again to kick off a series of articles dealing strictly with player development, college recruiting and player evaluation. My plan for the Premium section of this website has always been to educate you in the process of advancing to the next level

So you want to play college baseball…..

If you are an Arizona high school baseball player, you are one of the 475,000 players at almost 16,000 high

schools in the U.S. You share the Arizona diamonds with 7800 other players at 221 schools.

According to the NCAA, 5.6% of prep players go on to play at NCAA institutions, and another half of one percent will turn pro after high school.

When the 187 NAIA baseball schools are added to the mix, you will have a total of almost 1100 four year

colleges to consider as possible future baseball destinations.

For the Arizona player, that’s the good news.

The bad news is that only 4 of those schools call Arizona home. In a sport in which regional and local

recruiting is the norm, that doesn’t bode well.

To make matters worse, the 2 PAC 12 programs in the state (ASU and U of A) continue to have some of the

lowest levels of in state players in the conference,

Note: Here are the numbers for the non-private schools in the PAC 12 in 2013:

School In State Players Out of State Players

Arizona State 14 19

U of Arizona 13 20

Washington State 31 4

U of Washington 18 17

Cal Berkeley 33 2

UCLA 33 1

Oregon State 11 24

U of Oregon 6 29

Utah 19 12

Grand Canyon University, under Andy Stankiewicz, has done a great job in recruiting local players over the last couple of seasons. However, the ‘lopes move to D1 in 2013-2014 will change the price of poker considerably, and will likely result in GCU needing to spread its wings a bit in recruiting to compete at the D1

level.

Arizona Christian University came on the scene a couple of years ago, and the state’s only NAIA program

provides a 4th 4 year option for Arizona players to consider.

Historically, the solution for many Arizona players has been to attend one of the state’s 2 year community colleges and hope to transfer later to a four year program. However, it is important that you realize a few

things:

- Getting playing time at Arizona JUCOs is no easy task. The spots are in great demand from not

only the local players, but out of state kids as well.

- The 2013 roster of the U of A had no AZ JUCOs transfers

- The 2013 roster of ASU contained only 3 AZ JUCO transfers

- The rest of the PAC 12 has only 3 AZ JUCO transfers…all at the University of Utah

- The remaining western D1 conferences have only a handful of AZ JUCO transfers competing.

So what’s the key for the AZ player who wants to go to a 4 year school and play baseball?

For the vast majority of you, exploring opportunities outside the state of Arizona is important if you want a realistic shot at competing after high school. However, understanding and managing the process is often a

difficult task for families, and unfortunately there are no shortcuts that make it any easier.

For questions feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Ron Benham


July 2013

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Admin

July 16, 2013

Congrats to Sunnyslope 2014 LHP Calvin Lebrun for pulling the trigger and committing to Gonzaga University. The Zags had been pursuing Cal for some time and having older brother Cory currently on the roster had to make the decision a tad easier. Kudoss to an outstanding young man and a fine family.

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Shortstop Cole Tucker from Mountain Pointe, who played for the AABC team at the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars, was selected to the 40 man 18U national team Trials. He will be joined by Brophy RHP Ryan Castellani as the lone selections from AZ. Congrats to both players.

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Congratulations to the five players from AZ who were selected to the USA Baseball 17U National Team Development Program roster. The players are:

Ernie de la Trinidad OF- Mountain Pointe 2014

Andre Jackson OF/RHP- Cienega HS 2014

Jio Orozco RHP- Salpointe HS 2015

Marco Jaime IF- Gila Ridge HS 2014

Sati Santa Cruz RHP- Sahuarita HS- 2014

In addition, Desert Vista 2014 IF Cullen Bottock was selected as an alternate.

Infielder Daniel Partida, a 2017 grad from Sunrise Mountain, was the lone selection (as an alternate) to the 14U NTDP roster.

Unfortunately, no AZ players were selected to the 15U NTDP program roster.

Congratulations to a pair of former AZ high schoolers who are making the move to college coaching.

Former Brophy Prep and U of A player Josh Garcia has accepted a position as Assistant Coach at Yavapai College. Josh had been a Volunteer Assitant at U of A.

Westwood High/ Central AZ and Regis University alum Jesus Arzaga will join Todd Engelhart’s staff at Cochise College this fall. Zeus assisted Brian Stephenson this year at Desert Mountain and helped lead the Wolves to the D1 state title.

The Reds Area Code Team is set with players from the 4 Corners Region and Hawaii. The following Arizona players were selected:

Hunter Bross OF- Notre Dame

Peyton Squier 2B- Greenway

Luis Gonzalez OF- Catalina Foothills

Nick Meservey LHP- Saguaro

Alex Verdugo LHP/OF – Sahuaro

Ryan Castellani RHP- Brophy

Matt Duce C- Buena

Andrew Shaps LHP- Chaparral

Jakob Goldfarb OF- Desert Mtn

Gerard Hernandez OF- Pinnacle

Cole Tucker SS- Mountain Pointe

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June 2013

Posted on June 5, 2013 by Admin

June 19, 2013

The 3 tryouts for the 2013 Reds Area Code Team comprised of players from the 4 Corners, El Paso, and Hawaii, are in the books. The roster selections are being made now and should be finalized in the next coupe of weeks.

Last Tuesday’s workout at Grand Canyon University brought approximately 60 players out. With the Junior Sunbelt tournament in full swing some good players were not in attendance.

The night started off with position players running the 60 yard dash. I was immediately impressed with the numbers put up by most of the participants. At the conclusion of the 60s, one of the many college coaches in attendance asked me if I had ever seen these guys run like that. Admittedly the answer was no, and the speculation was that we had just witnessed a running of the 53 yard dash.

Don’t get me wrong. Marcus Still from Queen Creek and Tolleson’s Billy Wilson are both burners. But guys were clocking times in the sub 6.4 range and I would say close to half of the guys were under 7.0 on my watch. Something was amiss for sure.

Defensively there weren’t a lot of guys that truly separated themselves. In the middle infielders, Cole Tucker (Mountain Pointe) continues to look like the one true shortstop prospect in the 2014 class.

Several of the catchers looked decent. Horizon’s Zach Taylor showed the best arm of the lot. Brett Adams (Saguaro) and Brady Weiss (Perry) both had pop times slightly below 2.0. Two of the better guys were at Sunbelt- Matt Duce (Buena) and Ryan Oberg (Sunnyslope).

The batting practice session fell short of duplicating what we’ve seen the last couple of years. The best bat speed of the group clearly came from Pinnacle’s Gerard Hernandez. A couple of big guys, Mountain View’s Brent Baily and Austin Zwart of Mingus, took balls out of the yard.

The evening concluded with pitchers throwing to around 4 live hitters apiece.

The 2 big arms in this class are Sahuaro’s Alex Verdugo (who was not at the tryout), and Brophy’s Ryan Castellani, an AC guy from a year ago who touched 91 with the fastball and will be a repeat selection.

Lefthander Nick Meservey from Saguaro was up to 88 with the fastball and showed some good tilt with a 12-6 curveball from a high arm slot. Chase Beal of Queen Creek is a max effort guy who worked on the 85-88 range.

I always hope that when I attend this workout I see a performance that I haven’t seen before. This year for me it was Mesquite’s James Harrington on the mound. I saw him a handful of times in the spring, and he was 84-86 and effective. On Tuesday, however, he worked in the 89-91 range with the fastball and showed a bugs bunny change up that was nasty.

Horizon’s Trevor Horn showed off a live arm as well, working at 89-90 with a projectable body.

The reports out of the Las Vegas and Denver workouts indicate that this won’t be a marquee year for Arizona players at the AC Games. Colorado has a lot of pitching (again). Several Hawaiian players reportedly looked strong and Vegas always has a handful of prospects.

The bottom line- don’t expect to see more than 10 AZ guys make the roster.

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Congratulations to Bill Swift for being named the new Head Coach at Arizona Christian University. Bill pitched 13 years in the big leagues and was the Head Coach at Scottsdale Christian Academy.

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June 5, 2013

Tomorrow marks the first day of the 2013 MLB First Year Player Draft.

Selections will begin Thursday June 6 at 3 PM Phoenix time and day 1 will feature rounds 1, compensation round A, Round 2 and Compensation Round B (73 picks total). Rounds 3-10 will take place on Friday and rounds 11-40 on Saturday.

2013 is only an OK year for pro prospects in Arizona, but the high school crop at the top is much better than the college group. As I mentioned several weeks ago, we have the opportunity to see a number of high school players selected in the first 5 rounds.

It certainly looks like the first 2 high school selections will be Desert Ridge shortstop Riley Unroe and Gilbert’s Dustin Peterson.

I expect both Riley and Dustin to go in Round 2. Most clubs will send Riley out as a shortstop, while the camps are split on Dustin with some scouts viewing him as a third baseman and others as a left fielder.

Riley really helped himself this spring by adding strength to his frame and showing big increases in power numbers (10 homers). He’s a plus runner with a plus arm as well. For Dustin, the bat is the calling card, and he spent all spring smashing line drives to all fields. He handles top level velocity with no problem and has certainly been helped by the performance of older brother DJ, who will be a likely top 10 pick selection out of the University of New Mexico.

I expect to see Hamilton’s Cody Bellinger go in the 3rd or 4th round. He’s an interesting one for me, as he has a classic left handed stroke (player comparison may be former Yankee Paul O’Neil) that looks to produce power and is a super defensive first baseman. However, he runs and throws well enough to transition to a corner outfield spot if necessary. At the same time, he can jump on the mound and touch 90 with a very clean arm stroke. Still, the bat is what will draw the pick at this point. There’s some potential signability issues as Cody is headed to the University of Oregon.

Basha’s Jamie Westbrook is a wild card, partly due to his high academic standing and scholarship to Pepperdine. MLB clubs will offer the standard college package here, and that doesn’t come with private school tuition like Pepperdine at $30K+ per year. So while Jamie profiles as a round 4-5 guy, signability may be an issue. He can swing it with the best of them and has really improved his speed tool. He’ll be selected as a second baseman, but his size (5-9) will deter some clubs.

After these 4 guys I’ll go straight into speculation mode and give you my take on the other players who look to hear their names called.

Desert Vista’s Tyler Viza is a projectable 6-3 RHP who came on late in the year and opened some eyes. He’s been up to 91 and showed good command and a lot of durability. He’s signed at the University of Utah.

Hamilton RHP Patrick Murphy hasn’t thrown a pitch since the spring of 2012 after Tommy John surgery put him on the shelf. However, scouts who paid attention in his junior year saw a 6-4 190 pound righty with an athletic delivery who worked in the 89-91 range and flashed a plus breaking ball at times. Obviously selecting a guy straight out of TJ surgery carries some risk, but the history of this procedure says he should come back good as new. There’s at least one guy I know who I suspect is lobbying big time to call Patrick’s name on day 2 or early day 3. His scholarship to Oregon may pose a signability issue.

You don’t hear his name thrown around in national conversation, but I’m expecting to hear David Greer of Desert Mountain be selected in day 2 or 3. Not every club is on this guy, but the tools can’t be denied. He’s a good runner, has a plus arm and a line drive swing that uses the field very well. He also plays the game with a lot of energy and carries himself like a serious baller at all times. At least a few clubs were around late in the year, an indication that something good could happen.

Notre Dame’s Austin Schnabel was the top RHP in the state this year and drew every tough game that the Saints faced. He was consistently 87-91 with a fastball that was heavy with a ton of sink. He’s a strike throwing machine with a 2 plane breaking ball with late life and good feel for the changeup. At 6-5 and 210 pounds, this is what they look like at the next level. I expect to hear his name late in day 2 or early in day 3.

Westwood RHP Hever Bueno is a late comer who has been up to 94 on the gun this spring and had scouts running around at the end of the year trying to get a glimpse. He’s had some arm tenderness since the season ended and hasn’t been able to give guys a look this summer. The question marks may be too high this late in the game, although he’s still a likely pick at some point.

I expect Cactus Shadows lefty Joey Wise to be a day 3 selection. He’s 6-3 with a quick arm that has bumped 90 this spring. The secondary stuff is a work in progress but lefties with arm strength are impossible to ignore.

Gilbert first baseman Jack Zoellner got scouts attention last summer at the Area Code Tryout when he showed good juice in the bat from the left side. He’s continued to progress and tied for the state lead in homers with 12. The New Mexico signee could go in day 3 or 4.

Desert Mountain catcher Ben Rodriguez is hard to ignore at 6-5 225. He’s progressed defensively in a big way but has a ways to go. Still….this is what pro baseball does best is develop players. He’s shown a lot of power at the plate including a towering home run in the D1 All Star game with a wood bat. However, he’s also a Pepperdine signee and its unlikely that he goes high enough to sign.

Notre Dame catcher Ryan Scott is the best defensive backstop in the state. He’s improved offensively to where he projects to handle his own quite well at the next level. He’ll be selected in day 3 or 4.

Arcadia’s Max Schuman is a left handed bat who showed off huge power potential last fall and this spring. Defensively he’s a question mark but left handed power is a premium tool. The Utah signee could be a day 3 or 4 selection.

Michael Hoard of Salpointe is another good looking left handed bat that had some good ABs at the Area Code Games. He’s physical and can swing it and should hear his name called.

Alex Robles may have been the 2013 class’ top 2 way player this spring. He’s an athletic shortstop with a big arm and showed good power as well. He’s signed at Austin Peay University but should get some love on day 3 or 4.

Desert Vista shortstop Colby Woodmansee was on everyone’s follow list early this spring. The ASU signee could be a day 3 or 4 selection.

Show Low’s Zach Winn is a loose armed RHP that has been low 90s at times. His lean body has a lot of room for projection and he should be a day 3 or 4 pick.

Other possible picks:

Brantley Bell- Mountain Pointe Brad Holland- Mesquite INF Cody Erickson-Desert MOunatin INF Brick Paskiewicz- Sunrse Mountain OF/RHP Seth Martinez Sunrise Mountain RHP Devin Harrison- Ironwood Ridge OF Jake Matthews- Ironwood Ridge IF Cooper Burton- Chandler OF Nick Jenkins- Perry OF MJ Hubbs-Pinnacle OF Joel Kuhnel- Sunrise Mountain- RHP

Look for a big number of AZ high school alums to be selected out of college with DJ Peterson early on day 1 leading the way.

I’ll have all the selections online starting tomorrow night.


May 2013

Posted on May 10, 2013 by Admin

May 28, 2013

Here is the roster for the 2013 Arizona Junior Sunbelt team :

Alexander, Jake P, OF Mountain Pointe High School Bryniarski, Andrew P, OF, IF Fountain Hills High Chokey, Nathan P, OF Corona del Sol High School Duce, Matthew C, P Buena High School Frost, Tyler P, OF Greenway High School Gabel, Collin P, 3B Chaparral High School Gonzalez, Luis P, OF Catalina Foothills High School Harte, Degan P, 1B Sandra Day O’Connor High Hasler, Kent P Hamilton High School Heibult, Matt P Mesquite High School Jackson, Andre P, IF, OF Cienega High School Lace, Turner SS, 2B Saguaro High School Lebrun, Calvin P Sunnyslope High School Lopez, Alejo 2B, SS Greenway High School Ming, Cameron P, OF, IF Sandra Day O’Connor High Oberg, Ryan C Sunnyslope High School Oxford, Billy P Sunrise Mountain High School Richins, Cam 2B, SS Desert Ridge High School Squier, Payton SS, 2B Greenway High School Wojtysiak, Nicolas LHP Fountain Hills High School

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The Arizona Athletics 18U team took home the title in the 18U division of the Perfect Game Memorial Day tourney. The A’s defeated All Star baseball 18U 5-0 in the final.

Thunderbird 2014 RHP Anthony Race worked 5 2/3 shutout innings for the win and got relief help from Seth Martinez (Sunrise Mtn 2013).

Royal Love (Sunnyslope 2013) and Nick Day (Agua Fria 2013) each drove in 2 runs for the A’s.

Coltin Motley turns it for the A’s

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Several guys had big weekends statistically.

For the A’s Josh Rojas (Millenium 2013) knocked in 5 runs and hit .417. Mike Kistler (Cactus 2013) went 4-7 and walked 3 times for a .700 OB%

Salpointe 2014 Marcus Catalano went 6-8 for 520 Elite for .750 BA.

Joe Roche (Notre Dame 2014) also went 6-8 for Nutty Buddy Select.

Peoria High 2014 Catcher Xavier Carrasco went 6-9 (.667) with 4 RBIs for the Naturals.

Calvin Lebrun (Sunnyslope 2014 threw 9 1/3 innings of scoreless baseball over the weekend for All Star Baseball, striking out 7 and only walking 1.

ASBA teammate Chaparral 2014 Jack Peck threw 6 shutout innings against T Rex.

Corona 2013 Chris Tate threw a 6 inning shutout against Nutty Buddy Select with 7 Ks for ASBA 18.

Mesquite 2014 James Harrington struck out 12 for the Angels Grey in a 7 inning complete game shutout over the AZ Gauchos.

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In the 16U division, a pair of So Cal clubs met in the final with the So cal Sox taking the title.

Both All Star baseball 15U and 16U teams reached the semi-finals.

Jonathan Abney (Millenium 2015) tossed 10 scoreless innings for ASBA 16 over the weekend. The team allowed only 5 earned runs in 33 innings.

Rhyse Dee (Liberty 2016) tossed 6 scoreless for ASBA 15.

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May 20, 2013

The end of the high school baseball season always brings out mixed emotions in me. On the one hand, I’m fried. After 3 months of seeing around 120 baseball games, waking at 5:30 and often not getting home until 10:00 or later, the break is nice.

On the other hand, I sat in the stadiums for the last couple of weeks watching teams strap it on and really get after it. The energy was high and the games were largely very competitive and entertaining as hell.

I couldn’t help but think how much better things would be if we could duplicate this energy in summer and fall baseball. Unfortunately, with every passing year it seems we are drifting further and further away from this goal.

This weekend marks the beginning of the summer’s seemingly endless list of weekend tournaments. The amateur baseball industry (and yes, it has absolutely become an industry) has convinced you all that these events are things you absolutely must attend, or your baseball future will be very much in doubt.

It was only a few years ago that summer tournaments consisted of the 4 Corners Classic and a couple of weeks later the USA Baseball 16U events with the 18U Connie Mack World Series Qualifier running simultaneously. Now every weekend seems to have a latest and greatest tournament with promises of planeloads of college coaches and pro scouts streaming in to watch players.

I looked at the list of teams in this weekend’s tournament and scratched my head. I count 28 participating teams in the 18U division, 25 of them from Arizona and 23 of those from the Phoenix area. As I peruse this list I can’t help but ask who in the hell are these teams?

And are they really teams? Many of these teams are formed on a pay for play basis and from week to week have a shockingly different roster. I don’t know what to call this but it doesn’t look like baseball to me.

We’ve lost a lot of accountability in summer baseball. Guys can form these “teams”, they can perform horribly over the weekend, and no one cares. There’s no standings, we’ll come back next week and start all over from ground zero and make some money at the same time.

Things have been heading this way for years, and we converted the pre high school aged kids to this weekend tournament thing years ago. Competitive league play really doesn’t exist in the younger ages, and it’s harder and harder to get high school aged summer teams to show up for mid- week games in league play.

In short, competitive league play has become inconvenient for many players and coaches, and it’s a damn shame.

We’ve modified 18U Connie Mack play this summer, consolidating much of the schedule into 4 day blocks to schedule around tournaments. The majority of the better teams in the area are competing, and it should be a solid league. Still, there are a couple of groups who went in another direction this summer, and the end result is a watering down of summer play in general. It’s too bad.

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For those of you playing this weekend, I have been monitoring the rosters that are posted online, and I would strongly suggest that you check your team out. A ridiculously large number of rosters are incorrect, with wrong high schools or towns listed for players.

This is supposedly an opportunity for colleges to get your info. If the info is bad, that doesn’t really help does it?

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May 10, 2013

The rumor mill was abuzz last night at Tempe Diablo, where the word was circulating that Pinnacle coach John Casey had been dismissed due to the events that unfolded on Tuesday.

After texting him late last night I can tell you that Coach Casey is still coaching the Pioneers.

To recap, after Pinnacle’s 8-5 loss to Desert Mountain at Diablo, there were reports of items being thrown or dropped out of the Pinnacle bus on its return home. From most reports, which are vague to say the least, a couple of the players dropped their wrist tape out the window in the Diablo lot. Another apparently threw or dropped a water bottle as the bus neared the Pinnacle campus

Here’s where the problem comes in: a couple on bicycles apparently saw the bottle and followed the bus to the lot to complain that the bottle had almost hit them. They subsequently went to the administration, apparently, and the you know what began to hit the fan.

Unfortunately, when outside entities get involved and exert pressure, it becomes difficult if not impossible to police from within. In addition, a couple of the players involved have had discipline issues in the past and have a bit of a reputation for being a tad “edgy”.

The end result was that 5 of Pinnacle’s starters sat out the Tuesday elimination game which Chaparral won 1-0.

In my opinion, most of the players involved were lumped into the issue a bit unfairly, as they’ve been pretty much model citizens during their tenure at Pinnacle. Maybe the whole thing is a mountain out of a mole hill. It doesn’t matter now, the toothpaste is out of the tube.

It was an extremely unfortunate turn of events, but accountability is an important part of our personal make up and totally ignoring the issue was not an option. I have no idea what role the administration played in the decision.

I’d like to think this was a teaching moment, but after watching the asinine behavior of one of the players involved after the Chaparral game it maybe won’t be.

I know this, you don’t fire a coach for holding his team accountable.

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Chris Nimtz

When I wrote the Under the Radar Team piece last week I probably needed to include Chaparral shortstop Chris Nimtz, who has been nails all season with very little fanfare. He’s had clutch hit after clutch hit through the post season and has been very solid defensively for the ‘birds.

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I took in the D3 state games last Friday, and some guys caught my eye.

Donny Sands

Sophomore RHP Donny Sands from Empire (Tucson area if you don’t know) is an athletic 5-11 guy with a super loose and quick arm. He worked at 86-87 throughout the game and had a curveball with 2 plane movement and some depth to it.

He’s definitely one to keep an eye on.

Bisbee has a pair of good looking middle infielders. Junior Oscar Sanchez-Estrada pitched on Friday but he’s also a shortsop who’s athletic with a strong arm. Sophomore Manny Ramirez played short in this game, and was smooth as silk defensively and also showed some arm strength.

Tom McCarty

Mingus sophomore SS Tom McCarty is a nice looking player. His brother Shaun is playing at Bethune-Cookman in Florida, and Tom looks to be following in his brother’s footsteps into college ball. He’s not very physical yet, but he looks quick and athletic and plays with energy.

James Lewis

Show Low junior LHP James Lewis is an interesting guy. He has a very athletic looking 6-1 frame and showed some arm speed. He was low 79-81 on the gun Friday, but I think there’s more in there. He throws out of a high over the top arm slot, and dropping down may help him with movement and velo.

Baylor Giannini

Another lefty who will get some looks from his body alone is Estrella Foothills’ Baylor Giannani. The dude is statuesque at 6-7 and 215 pounds. His arm slot is exaggerated over the top, and it seems to cause some command issues. Nevertheless, you can coach that out of him but you can’t coach the body.

I also liked the looks of Estrella Foothills catcher Jon Berroth. He handled things well behind the plate, showed some aptitude for throwing the baseball and has a strong 6-2 210 frame.

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Ryan Johnson connects

I talked about Combs ambidextrous pitcher and first baseman Ryan Johnson before the season, and mentioned his sweet swing from the left side of the plate. He provided the highlight of the night on Friday, when he sent a missile far over the wall in right field for a home run.

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