Posts belonging to Category Daniel “Dee” Clark

Dominic Moreno, of Piedra Vista High School and the StrikeZone Cardinals, attended USA Baseball’s NTIS as a representative of the Mountain West region to compete for a spot with the U18 National Team.  He was not selected, but we all expect Dom to be one of the most heavily recruited players the 4-Corners region has ever produced.  He does everything well.  Low-90’s velocity with excellent command, a hammer breaker, and a highly advanced feel for a change with outstanding fade.

He will be hitting cleanup all year for PV just like he did nearly all of last year during the school’s title run.  He can play both corner spots adequately and is athletic enough to stay at third or move to right if called upon to do so.  Perhaps the most impressive part is the kid’s IQ.  He does very well in school and will probably finish as an Honor Grad.  He applies this intelligence to the game like no player his age I have ever met.  Someone is going to be very glad they signed Dominic Moreno.

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Before I begin really getting into this, I should state that I love and respect Derek Jeter.  Through his career, I have been about as up and down with the guy as any player in the game.  Nomar was without a question my favorite player during all of his years in Boston, and the man that he was while he was there is the image that I will always envision as the franchise guy.  Nomar was Christ-like while in Boston in my opinion, and so Jeter was the anti-Christ.  Once Nomar was traded, however, it became really easy to fall in love with Jeter.  Derek Jeter is everything baseball considers and hopes itself to be.  If you follow this site, you know that I previously mentioned that when Jeter retires, I think he should be handed the American presidency.  Forget that.  The man deserves a coronation.

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There are very few schools each year that land a kid in the first round.  Maybe a couple will land two.  This year Vanderbilt has a realistic chance to land three kids in the first round, including two righties who potentially could wind up in the top 10 overall.  Those two righties are Sonny Gray and Jack Armstrong.  The hitter is 3B Jason Esposito, who likely will be the second ranked collegiate 3B behind probable first overall selection, Anthony Rendon of Rice.  With guys like this, Vanderbilt has a chance to play deep into the NCAA tourney as well as help make some kids a lot of money.

Let’s start with Esposito.  The guy flies.  He stole over 30 bases last season.  His speed is rare for a corner guy and proves that he has the athleticism to stay at third in the pros.  His slashes in 2010 were .359/.455/.599.  He went deep 12 times and walked very nearly as many times as he struck out.  The guy simply shows the polish and athleticism that scouts covet from the collegiate ranks.  While he might slip to the supplemental round, he probably shouldn’t.  The fact that Esposito has a clear left-side arm and plus speed suggests that there is a realistic chance he plays short in the pros.  If he proves somewhere in the next handful of months that he can adequately do this, he is going to climb.  His hands have room to develop, but third often skews perspectives in that area.  I really like the guy because of his polish at the plate and defensive versatility.  Guys like Esposito tend to stay productive for a really long time.

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Late last Wednesday night the Farmington Caridinals lost 4-0 to the Arizona Firebirds at Ricketts Park, thus ending their run in the Connie Mack World Series. The game was very even, very clean, and seemingly very quick. The following day I was on my way back to Dallas, where I had second-year orientation Friday morning. The following week was completely full with labs, lectures, and paper discussions, and it seemed like I had never really left the Baylor basement. As a dental student at Baylor, the only summer vacation that students get is the one between first and second years. Subsequent summers will be spent in clinic with patients, far from a baseball field and even farther from a team. The last two years of my life have very heavily involved coaching baseball back home in Farmington, both school ball and club ball, and the 18 or so years before that were spent playing. To the best of my knowledge, I am going to be away from the game now for the next three years at least. There are a lot of hopeful emotions and contemplation that I’m sure will take place between now and the next time I get to be a part of a team, but there will be an even greater amount of longing and frustration. The game has been very good to me, and I have spent a great deal of my life trying to be good to it as well. Aside from my family and very close friends, baseball has been the most important thing in my life since I can really remember, and it is difficult to accept that for at least a few years, it will take a backseat to my career in another field.

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The Connie Mack World Series is always littered with draftable talent, and first-rounders are in the Series annually.  This year has been a little different, though.  The first round of this year’s CMWS has seen potentially four first round picks and a handful of guys who should eventually land within the top few rounds (or at least be paid like it).  Let’s look at East Cobb’s Daniel Norris, Arizona Firebird Jake Cole, Midland Redskin Dillon Howard, Florida Legend Luke Jackson, Farmington Cardinal Jake McCasland, and DBAT Mustang Dylan Bundy.  All seven of these guys were starters in the CMWS opening round, which took place Friday through Sunday.

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