Posts belonging to Category High School Baseball

I recently returned to Dallas after a spring break that took me to Scottsdale and Farmington to visit the people I love as well as to visit a residency that hopefully I will be a part of once I graduate from dental school.  During my time off I was able to watch several Cactus League games at the finest baseball venue on the planet: Salt River.  Holy shit.  That place makes Camelback look like a JV complex.  After a decade in Tucson, the Rox and Diamondbacks deserve this place.

When I got home Griff allowed me to work out his C-Team guys in the infield and at the dish for a couple of days.  I was able to watch his guys play Durango (CO) High’s C squad a couple times later in the week.  A friend and former teammate of ours manages the DHS boys, and that entire program is doing a terrific job in no small part due to what he brings to the lower levels.  It was a great little break from the daily grind of dental school, and it reminded me of what makes this time of year so special.

I was fortunate enough to watch some of the younger guys for Arizona and Colorado take part in an afternoon Minor League contest on some of the practice fields at Salt River, and it was easy to see in their faces how grateful they were to be doing what they were for a living.  They were nearly all around 3 or 4 years, if ever, from breaking camp with the big club, but that was nowhere to be seen in the way they carried themselves regardless of the fact that it was Minor League Spring Training.

Over on the big field, Colorado utility guy and fellow New Mexican, Jordan Pacheco, was demolishing Cactus League pitching as he has done all spring.  It would take a real group of idiots to send this guy back to Triple-A.  He represented the state, as he has always done, spectacularly.  With upwards of five New Mexican players cracking Major League rosters this spring, there’s never been a better time to grow up a ballplayer back home.

As I worked out Griff’s boys, it was obvious how into the game the youth around Farmington is today.  Farmington High and Piedra Vista are the two best AAAA teams in the state and probably the two best regardless of class.  Shilo McCall (PVHS) is now the top draft prospect statewide following an Alex Bregman (Abq. Academy) hand injury.  PV defeated several very high quality teams in Phoenix last week including nationally ranked Santa Fe High (OK), and both Farmington schools are poised for what will prove to be a dogfight of a district season.

Perhaps the one thing that stuck out in my mind the most vibrantly while I was home was the generational aspect of the game.  Several of Griff’s kids have family members that I either played with or against or even watched as a kid myself.  Two good friends and former teammates watched the births of their first children this month as well.  This time of year reminds us all to look positively toward the future and toward the upcoming months and to treat today as exactly what it is: an opportunity to grow within the game and within life that we will never get back.  It reminds us that last season, last month, and yesterday are all distant memories and that today and every single day after it deserve to be approached positively.  Also, the weather in the desert southwest in March cannot be beat.

H/T to my colleagues from Prep Baseball Report Illinois for tweeting a link to this video earlier today.  Connor Powers was the 2006 PBR Illinois Player of the Year and currently plays in the San Diego Padres organization.

With the college season — and high school season, for the most part — already under way, speculation is swirling regarding who will be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2012 draft in June.  Due to the quality of arms, both collegiate and prep, in this year’s draft class, it’s likely that first player off the board will be a pitcher.  And considering our ongoing fascination with the prospects in the 2012 draft class, it’s only appropriate to open a poll while the season is still young.  Therefore, the staff at The Golden Sombrero is curious as to who, you, our faithful readers, believe will be the No. 1 selection in the 2012 draft:

[poll id=”10″]

RHP Lucas Giolito, Harvard-Westlake (CA)

• John Kilma of Baseball Prospect Report had another look at Lucas Giolito this past week and captured more video of the right-hander.  He didn’t touch 100 MPH as he allegedly did last week, but Kilma had him at 96-98 MPH from the stack in the first and 94-96 MPH in the third.  Kilma also states that Giolito is one of the two best 17-year-old pitchers that he’s personally scouted, the other being Felix Hernandez.

• Over at FanGraphs, J.P. Breen examines 10 high school bats that figure to be an early selection in the 2012 draft in June.  The quality of prep outfield prospects this year is particularly impressive: Byron Buxton (GA), David Dahl (AL), Courtney Hawkins (TX), and Albert Almora (FL).

• Jeff Reese and Al Skorupa of Bullpen Banter compare college right-handers Kevin Gausman and Mark Appel, both of whom hope to keep their name in the 1-1 conversation.

• The great John Sickels of Minor League Ball completed a mock draft with Matt Garrioch and without spoiling all of the results, here is a quick glance at their top five overall: 1. Kevin Gausman (Astros); 2. Lucas Giolito (Twins); 3. Mike Zunino (Mariners); 4. Byron Buxton (Orioles); 5. Mark Appel (Royals)

• Conor Glassey of Baseball America posted scouting notes and video of Stony Brook outfielder Travis Jankowski, who is currently No. 24 on their Top 100 draft board.  The video includes Jankowski’s pre-game batting practice as well as clips from a 3-for-5 performance against Eastern Carolina.  I love how quiet this kid is at the plate not to mention his ability to use the whole field.  I think I’m going to have to go check him out once it warms up a bit.

Want to discuss prospects with Mike or simply pass along a link? Then be sure to follow him on Twitter (@GoldenSombrero).