November 28, 2005

The 2005 Turkey Shoot Invitational was held this weekend with 20 teams from Arizona, California, New Mexico and Washington in attendance. The championship hardware was taken home by the Senators from San Francisco with the runners up going to the Riverside (Ca) Rangers.

For the Arizona contingent, the most impressive display of the weekend was turned in by the Arizona Pack, a group of Chandler High players. The Pack came out of pool play with the #4 seed and promptly eliminated All Star Baseball behind a gritty pitching performance by junior Landis Ware. 

The Pack lost to the Rangers in the semi-finals, then claimed the third place spot with a dominating performance over the Garden of Gears. Ware again shined against the Gears with a 5-5 performance,  and he played a solid shortstop all weekend.

Landis Ware legs out a triple for the Arizona Pack

I also had an opportunity to see Chase Lehr (Centennial 2006) throw on Saturday night for Rocky Mountain Baseball. I hadn't seen Chase throw in a while, but he continues to impress. He sat at 88 most of the night and was overpowering at times. He shows an effective 11-5 breaking ball as well.

Impressive performances were also turned in by middle infielder Chris Reese (Gilbert 2007) and RHP Chase Johnson (Deer Valley 2007) for All Star  Baseball. Reese is a player you like more the more you see him play. He's a grinder (my ultimate compliment) with good fundamental skills. He had a walk off triple in a victory on Saturday.

Johnson has joined the list of impressive power pitchers in a deep 2007 class. He sits 87-89 and regularly hits 90 with a good downward plane. He features a late breaking curve ball with good tilt and doesn't telegraph the pitch. Keep an eye on this one. 

November 18, 2005

The BA Top 300 list for 2007 includes the name  Tanner Peter Owens from Mesa High School, a 6-2 left handed pitcher. I've been scrambling frantically for information on this mystery lefty. Mesa Coach Steve Gourde is also not aware of the young man, but hopes he shows up at practice on February 1.

I suspect the folks at BA are referring to RUDY Owens, a 2006 lefty from Mesa High. However, Rudy is not on the 2006 list. The national reporting on this area remains a problem.

November 17, 2005

Baseball America has released their Top 300 list for the Class of 2007, and a healthy 14 Arizona players have made the grade. Contrast this with the 2006 list released in September that included only 3 Arizona names.

The BA list is prepared with much input from Perfect Game, so attendance at one of their showcases helps a players cause, and certainly has the potential to skew the lists. I see some serious omissions in the 2007 Arizona contingent. For example, Pat McCoy from Tucson Sahuaro, Tiger Duarte of Sunnyside and Manny Bareda of Sahuarita need to be included. 

Team One recently released their Top 100 2006 list and 2 Arizona players were included. RHP Charles Brewer of Chaparral was the highest rated Arizona player and 6-10 lefthander Garret Johnson of Mayer (Orme School) was also named.

I'll be releasing a Top unsigned seniors list to the coaches in the next week or two. If you have any recruiting news to report to me please do so.

There may be trouble brewing in Scottsdale after the District Athletic Director apparently directed the Arcadia basketball coach to place a junior player on the JV squad after he was previously cut. The rationale is that the player did not have a chance to try out for the JV. This is setting a very dangerous precedent.

I suspect there may be issues if similar tactics are tried on the area baseball programs. Methinks Coaches Dawson, Rice, Rudolph, Holmes and Dyer won't appreciate the input into the makeup of their rosters. Stay tuned.

November 9, 2005

Today starts the early signing period for the National Letter of Intent. Players and parents please let me know of signings.

These players have not confirmed their verbal commitments to me but I believe they are accurate:

Corey Bannister-Chaparral RHP Stanford

Justin Bloxom- Goldwater Catcher  Kansas State

Tyler Ruch- Fountain Hills   Kansas State

November 4, 2005

Scottsdale Saguaro Catcher Tyler Sanford has given a verbal commitment to the University of New Mexico to play for the Lobos. Tyler was a First team All East Sky Region performer in 2005. He's a very athletic backstop with a good arm and shows good gap power from the right side of the plate. Congratualtions to the Sanford family on a great accomplishment.

       Saguaro Catcher Tyler Sanford (above) will be a Lobo

November 2, 2005

Desert Mountain Coach Bryan Rice and his family are back home safe and sound after a harrowing experience in Cancun with Hurricane Wilma. The Rice's were flown to safety on a rescue plane late last Thursday.

Join me in congratulating Mesquite catcher Chase Frampton on his verbal commitment to Brigham Young University. Chase becomes the third member of Mesquite's 2006 class to make a D1 commitment. He was a First team All Fiesta Region performer last year and a member of the AZDR Top 30 list for 2006. BYU gets a very savvy catcher who provides some thump from the right side of the plate. He's also a top notch young man in the classroom. Chase will join 2005 Brophy grad Chris Highmark as a member of the Cougars.

Mesquite's Chase Frampton (hitting) will be a BYU Cougar