Diamond Notes

Horizon pounded out 14 hits in the first 3 innings against Pinnacle starter Sean Glennon led by Tommy Joseph, 3 for 3 with two doubles. Brandon Snyder, Johnny Strickland and Joey Danner all had multiple hits for the Huskies. Horizon’s Dillon Scott showed some nice glove work in center lying out on a ball in the gap and Brandon Snyder went the distance on the bump for Horizon giving up five hits in five innings work

Justin Winters hit a first inning bomb for Pinnacle and Ashton McCoy doubled in Ryan Plantier who had singled for Pinnacle’s only other run. Like many teams in this tournament Pinnacle is playing without a number of varsity starters.

In a pretty sloppy game, O’Conner outlasted Pinnacle with Tyler Doolittle leading the way for the Eagles going 2-3 with a Jack.

I've been beating the streets to several of the fall scout games over the past couple of weeks.....here's some observations:

- As always, the Diamondbacks squad is very solid, with many of the upper level 2009 arms competing for area scout Rodney Davis.

Desert Ridge's Jake Barrett continues to be strong...working in the 91-93 range with the fastball and pounding the zone. The breaking ball is crisp with good downward tilt as well.

Andrew Walter of Cactus may be the guy who ultimately rises to the top of this class as a RHP. He has a prototypical frame at 6-4 and 190 lbs to go along with a lose arm that delivers 90-91 gas with significant arm side run. The slider has some bite to it as well.

NW Christian's Tom Lemke continues to add strength to his 6-8 frame, and the velo climbs right with it. He worked at 88-90 the other night, touching the magic nine oh mark on 4 occasions in his 5 hitters of work. He absolutely oozes projection to the scouts.

One of the guys who tends to get lost in the crowd when we talk about arms is Hamilton's Cory Bernard. He's back throwing on a regular basis now and the arm strength continues to be evident. He works in the upper 80s with a super clean arm stroke. If he's 6-1 rather than 5-7 colleges are all over him as a RHP. He's also one of the state's top infielders and RH hitters.

Notre Dame's Jordan Luvisi is an athletic 6-3 lefty who throws a ton of strikes, works downhill and has an above average breaking ball.

Deer Valley's Chris Capper really opened my eyes last week in an outing against the Dodgers squad at ASU. I have seen little of him on the mound in the last couple of years and not at all since the spring. He showed a very quick arm, working at 87-88 with an outstanding change up that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Very good deception and he works fast which I love.

As far as position players, Matt and Drew Ozanne both played very well this week against Chandler Gilbert. The Santa Clara signees are both in excellent shape, and Drew in particular has really added some quickness to his game. Matt can run with the best of them in centerfield, and he squared a couple of balls up. Drew also jumped on the mound and showed some arm strength.... working at 85 MPH in his inning of work.

I really like Desert Ridge's Jerry Kleman as a middle infielder... excellent actions, throws well and he can run. Ditto for Millenium's Nate Ring, who has really improved his game. Both of these guys are good looking athletes.

Horizon's Tommy Joseph is arguably the top catcher in the class, and he's on the roster.. but he hasn't played when I've seen the DBacks.

Deer Valley's Blaine Schmidt is going to be a real good college player. He's a bulldog behind the plate with a playable arm and nice transfer. He receives as well as anyone in the state and has some pop in the bat. He even took a turn in right field the other night and made a web gem over the shoulder grab on a ball to the warning track.

Pinnacle's T.C. Mark, a 2010 guy, is a physical specimen behind the dish (6-2 200). He throws well and is a powerful bat from the left side.

- The Dodgers Scout team is comprised primarily of underclassmen, and Tom Thomas (Dodgers' West Coast Scouting Supervisor) has assembled a nice looking group.

Desert Vista 2009 RHP Trent Wilson threw last week, and he appears to be back in form after not pitching for most of the spring season. The velo is back up to 87-88 and the arm looseness and 3/4 slot creates a lot of movement.

2011 Desert Vista Shortstop Casey Thomas has very nice infield actions and some juice in the stick.

Queen Creek's Matt Schmidt is one of the top RHPs in the class of 2010. He's a physical 6-3 180 and works downhill with velo in the 84-86 range.

Desert Ridge Righty Scot Hoffman is a top 2011 arm. He's already 6-4 210 and showing mid 80s velocity.

Another Desert Ridge product is 2010 lefty Chris Ashby who moved in from California. He's a high energy guy who works fast, touched 86 a time or two and has a hammer for a breaking ball.

Desert Vista OF/LHP Jaycob Brugman is one of the top prospects in the 2010 class, as are Mountain Pointe outfielders Josh Alexander and Matt Wehrli.

This is the first year for the Tampa Bay Rays to sponsor an Arizona Scout team, and Jayson Durocher, Tim Huff and RJ Harrison have done a nice job in securing top talent.

The Rays have suffered a rash of nicked up players, with Pinnacle OF's Jake Peevyhouse and Tyler Krause both being on the shelf last week. Krause suffered a broken arm in a game and is out for the fall. Peevyhouse will return this week I believ. Both of these guys are top 2011 talents.

Desert Ridge OF Steven Bier has been out with a strained wrist but is back on the field now. He's one of the top 2009 guys at his position.

The Rays have a pair of very solid catchers in Desert Vista 2009 Sean Smedley and O'Connor's 2010 Tyler Doolittle.

Smedley has been hitting the ball very well this fall and is a very good receiver with a good arm.

Doolittle is one of the best defensive catchers in the 2010 class. He also jumped on the hill and was 82-84 the other day against Glendale CC.

Red Mountain's Derek Mendoza (2009) is coming out on Sunday's after playing QB on Friday for the Lions. He cranked a long homer at South Mtn CC in a recent game.

Mountain Pointe's Ryan Klem continues to be one of the state's more solid players. He's seeing time at short and on the hill for the Rays, and I also like him as an outfielder.

Chaparral 2010 shorstop James McDonald may be the best middle infielder in the junior class. He has excellent actions, a playable arm and he runs very well. He's also a polished switch hitter with some gap to gap line drive pop.

Pinnacle senior third basemen Justin Winters is back at full strength after missing much of the spring and summer. Hes' been hitting the ball with authority this fall.

2009 Basha RHP Matt Potter has rehabbed his way back from a nerve impingement and is back on the hill. He's always had one of the cleaner arms in the class, and is one of the RHP's that I think will open a lot of eyes in the months to come. He's 6-2 180 and has shown velo in the 86-87 range.

Mountain Ridge 2009 LHP Ryan Freberg also is back on the mound after some rehab, and he's one to keep an eye on. He's a lean 6-2 with some arm looseness and athleticism. He's also a solid left handed bat who absolutely smoked 3 line drives against Glendale on Sunday.

Another Lefty is Jake Dzuybzinski (2009 Mountain Pointe) who has some feel and works in the 82-83 range.

The Angels Scout team kicked off the falls season by facing off with Gateway College at Tempe Diablo on Sunday. Angels scout John Gracio has assembled a good looking group of players with some depth in the pitching corps.

Queen Creek's Eddie Malone

Senior Eddie Malone of Queen Creek has lot of juice in the bat from both sides of the plate

Junior lefty Rocky High had a nice stint, showing mid 80s velocity with a nice changeup.

Brophy 2009 RHP Dante Sadeghpour is one to watch. He's 6-3 with a loose arm and a competitive nature . He hit 86 on the gun and continues to climb the charts.

I was impressed by Desert Mountain junior Cam Teich who showed an easy 86-88 MPH fastball.

DM teammate Taylor Lindsey (below) continues to show that he is one of the better offensive players in the class of 2010

I really like the upside of Desert Mountain Senior Lefty Brian Foster left))