Posts belonging to Category High School Baseball

I guess the best place to start is here- from my seat on this here train.  It’s five ‘til 8 and we are on the Amtrak from Gallup, New Mexico and won’t exit this beast until we hit Fullerton, California.  What do five coaches, a 12-hour overnight train ride, four and a half days in sunshiny Anaheim, and the nation’s largest baseball convention add up to?  That’s a hell of a good question.  Be sure to check back each night to find out.  I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

#20 Archie Bradley

Arizona Diamondbacks

DOB: 8/10/1992

Previous Rank: N/A

ETA: 2014

Archie Bradley went seventh overall in the 2011 draft, but he would be the consensus No. 1 in this year’s class and in many other years.  He has reached 101 mph with his fastball and his curveball was arguably the top pitch in the entire class, and it honestly gives him a chance at two pitches that could flash 80s on any given night.  Make no mistake; Bradley is as frontline as they come with excellent projection and athleticism.

He likely will bully his way through the low Minors because no one will even come close to being able to handle him until he reaches Double-A.  He operates well on a downhill plane but still manages to sink his fastball even beyond what he naturally creates with his delivery.  Because he lost some of every year up until now to football, the length he can get out of each start probably has a way to go before he can reach 100 pitches consistently without a loss in stuff or command.

Nevertheless, this is just nitpicking.  Bradley is phenomenal, and as soon as he develops a quality third pitch he will be one of the very top prospects in baseball.  Imagine this possible rotation: Trevor Bauer, Daniel Hudson, Trevor Cahill, Ian Kennedy, Tyler Skaggs, and Bradley.  That could happen by the playoffs in 2013, something we are very confident Arizona will be a part of.

Growing up, every aspiring baseball player shares a common dream: to one day play for their hometown team.  For many, it’s a dream that dissipates over time, as the daunting reality of what it takes to even play at the collegiate level takes center stage.

But for St. Louis native Lance Jeffries (right), the dream became a breathtaking reality on June 7, when the St. Louis Cardinals selected the McCluer outfielder in the 10^th round of the 2011 MLB Amateur Draft.  Two days later, Jeffries and the Cardinals made it official when he signed his first professional contract, and was subsequently assigned to the organization’s Gulf Coast League affiliate in Florida.

As a senior, 6-foot, 205-pound Jeffries garnered Prep Baseball Report Missouri First Team All-State honors after posting a .457 batting average and .587 OBP, with 10 home runs, 38 runs scored, 45 RBI, and a perfect 46-for-46 in stolen bases.

However, it was obvious that Jeffries’ sheer athleticism extended well beyond his robust stats.  In August of 2010, the speedster opened eyes nation wide by running an event-best 6.6-second 60-yard dash at USA Baseball’s Breakthrough Series.  Then at Prep Baseball Report’s Super 60 draft showcase in McCook, IL last February, Jeffries flashed his 90+ mph arm and plus bat-speed.  In a matter of months, he had emerged as one of the nation’s more intriguing five-tool prep prospects.

Now, after an impressive inaugural campaign in the GCL, Jeffries is back in St. Louis and spending time with his friends and family. And despite his success and acclimation to life as a professional baseball player, the awe of being drafted – by his hometown team nonetheless – has hardly faded.

Continue reading ‘A dream come true year for Lance Jeffries’ at PrepBaseballReport.com >>

Hank Molina was my first, and best, boss.  Hank had been the Farmington Amateur Baseball Congress Umpire in Chief since before I was born, and he turned eighty years old the year I started working for him as an ump.  Never a large man, Hank’s body had shriveled considerably by the time I met him, and the top of his hunching head just reached my shoulders.  But he carried a spirit the size of the Bambino in that little old frame, and his mind was sharp as a spiked cleat.  He once told me, “I’ve forgotten more about baseball than you’ll ever know,” and his authority on the diamond was unquestionable. Whenever a game got ugly or coaches got belligerent disagreeing over a rule, all you had to do was call Hank.  Actually, all you usually had to do was threaten to call Hank.

But if threats didn’t work and you had to go through with the call, Hank would pull up in his old Chevy Blazer (always stuffed with so much umpiring gear that it couldn’t hold more than one passenger), make himself a parking spot as close to the gates as possible, and mosey up to the field.  He would meet with the umpires, away from any coaches’ earshot, and after a quick discussion, he would calmly inform the concerned parties that the right call had been made, and the umpires’ decision stood.  It didn’t matter if you had made the correct ruling or not, Hank always had your back and that was that.  No coach, parent, or player ever tried to argue with him about it.  Or if they did, Hank never bothered to listen.

Perhaps the most accomplished position player in the history of San Juan County, Piedra Vista HS and Strike Zone Cardinal CF, Shilo McCall, has verbally committed to Arkansas.  McCall is an excellent student with elite tools across the board.  At 6-foot-1 and 210-pounds, and just 17 years of age, Shilo is one of the more imposing players on any diamond he plays.  His mechanics have always been sound as he takes a very direct path to contact with excellent weight transfer.  Everything Shilo does on the offensive side of the ball is exceptional as he also has run 60’s in the 6.5 to 6.6 range.

Shilo still has room to grow as a player, particularly on the defensive end.  His actions in the outfield are representative of a player who is still somewhat new to an everyday outfield role.  Some have suggested that his tools play better in left, but with obvious speed and the ability to improve in terms of jumps on the ball, there is no reason that Shilo cannot stay in center.  There is also no reason that his arm can’t tick up to a point that he can be an everyday right fielder.

I’ve heard from pretty reliable sources that Shilo has a chance to get inside the top three rounds of the draft, so hopefully he is left with a very difficult choice to make this summer.  Now that he has a career in the SEC as leverage, something tells me that his stock is rising.  Good luck and congratulations!