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.

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I originally planned on writing a review of my time spent at the ABCA (American baseball Coaches Association) national convention in Anaheim.  However, every time I began to think about the idea I grew more and more tired with it.  Finally, I realized that if I were already tired of the subject, then how could I possibly expect anyone to read it without feeling the same way?  Lucky for you the reader, I ran into the one and only Trevor Bauer.

Trevor Bauer is a true class act.  I say this with the following context…Bryce Harper made an appearance at the Marucci vendor’s booth and was obviously swarmed by anyone who caught a glance of his Bieber-esque beanie covered mane.  Over and over again Harper refused to sign autographs.  I know, I know, he is a busy guy.  He had a schedule and had to stay on top of it.  If he stopped for one, he would have to sign them all.  I get it.  Bryce Harper is a big deal.  But so is Trevor Bauer.  Dude was the 3^rd overall pick in his draft.  He has hit 100 mph on the gun.  A lot of people hit deep fly balls.  The triple digit club is much more VIP.  Needless to say, Bauer had a crowd that rivaled Harper’s waiting for him after his Q and A session.  Trevor didn’t even look like he cared if he didn’t move for the next 24 hours.  He stood and took pictures, signed autographs, and carried on short conversations with each and every single person who waited for the briefest of moment with a star.  That group of people included me.  I patiently waited as every other person got their turn.  I wanted to make sure I was last, just in hopes that he might be willing to just talk for five minutes.  Lucky me.  And lucky for you too, I suppose.

After 30 minutes of waiting I got my chance to chat with Trevor Bauer, and he did not disappoint.  Trevor (that’s right, first name basis) is one educated guy.  He speaks with a purpose, but without trying to go over your head.  He seemed so comfortable with the entire situation that it was a tad bit scary.  I was also awed by the fact that he and I are the same size, with him maybe having 10 lbs on me.  Anyways, enough babbling.  What follows is my interview with Trevor Bauer.  (And mind you that this is the first time I have ever done an interview.  I apologize for the background noise, but this interview was done in the midst of 1000 other people milling around the convention center.)

Bauer interview

#8 Trevor Bauer

Arizona Diamondbacks

DOB: 1/17/1991

Previous Rank: N/A

ETA: 2012

The Sombrero considered Trevor Bauer the No. 3 prospect going into the 2011 draft, exactly where he was selected.  Granted, we had Rendon at No. 1 and Bundy at No. 2, and both were selected after Bauer, but we still anticipated Bauer being both the easiest and cheapest sign of the truly elite prospects in 2011 class.

Bauer struggled upon his call-up to Double-A, but he was severely overworked at UCLA, and Towers made the correct move to shut him down rather than including him on the NLDS roster – although he could have helped.  After earning the Golden Spikes and setting numerous records at UCLA, Bauer signed an incentive-laden deal worth as much as $7 million, but with only $4.45 guaranteed.  The contract was genius, and in a year or two will certainly look like a bargain for the D-Backs.

Bauer features some of the most unconventional pitching mechanics in the game, but he has always been tested as far as pitch counts go and has never really been injured.  We at The Sombrero are onboard in terms of challenging tradition so long as whatever challenges they may be can hold up against the empirical scrutiny of the game.

He features a fastball that can reach 98 mph, a boulder of a curveball that receives consistent 70s and the occasional 80, a plus slider and changeup, and a solid splitter.  Bauer is a tremendous athlete that has constantly overcome his lack of physicality.  He trains incredibly hard and truly knows what it means to compete.  Trevor Bauer should win a Cy Young Award or two for Arizona and represents everything that a young pitcher should desire to be.

#15 Jarrod Parker

Oakland Athletics

DOB: 11/24/1988

Previous Rank: 8

ETA: 2011

Parker missed 2010 due to Tommy John, and it took him several months of 2011 to really begin to look like he did before the surgery.  Still, his second-half and track record prior to TJ were enough to sway Billy Beane to pull the trigger on the deal that recently sent All-Star Trevor Cahill to Phoenix.

On the year, Parker posted a 3.79 ERA with 112 strikeouts to 55 walks in 131 innings pitched.  Obviously we’d like to see him striking out more hitters than that, but he still received the call to the D-Backs in September and had a very impressive six-inning start and even earned a spot on the NLDS roster.

Parker has a classic mix of fastball, breaker, and changeup, all of which grade as at least solid-average offerings.  His fastball has neared triple-digits before, but he typically works in the 93-96 mph range with his 4-seamer.  He throws a heavy sinker about two mphs off of the 4-seamer, but it digs well and even gets some swings-and-misses.  Parker’s bender is a slider in the mid-80s with tight break and good shape as well as solid command.  His change is behind, but it’s going to be an above-average offering for him and is definitely a pitch that will play in Oakland to both sides of the plate.

Parker is an ace and immediately jumps to the top of the A’s prospect rankings list.  Brett Anderson, Parker, Sonny Gray, and Dallas Braden should make a very young and formidable rotation in 2013 and beyond.

#18 Tyler Skaggs

Arizona Diamondbacks

DOB: 7/13/1991

Previous Rank: N/R

ETA: 2012

Skaggs really has nothing left to prove in the Minors in our opinion, even though he has never thrown a Triple-A pitch.  His 10 starts in the Southern League were as convincing as any collected by any southpaw not named Matt Moore this season.  He posted a 2.50 ERA for Mobile, striking out 73 guys and only issuing 15 walks in under 60 innings.  While Arizona will undoubtedly send Skaggs back to the farm for more polishing, it’s no secret that he’s ready and should find himself among the Show’s youngest starting pitchers within the next year or two.

Skaggs features three pitches that all grade as at least 55s, with his breaker a no-doubt plus to double-plus pitch.  It is a very tight 12-6 bender that features excellent shape and can get both sides of the dish out consistently, both in the zone and in the dirt.  His fastball has picked up several notches of pace in the last year and now is nearly always in the low-90s.  His changeup is behind the other two pitches, but only because a changeup inherently has less life than aggressive fastballs and breakers.  He turns it over quite well for a 20-year-old who has never needed it, though.  His delivery is athletic, fluid, and repeatable.  He gets excellent makeup grades as well.  Skaggs is a prized commodity and is simply one more stellar arm that the geniuses in Phoenix have stockpiled.

#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.