September 28, 2005

I'm hearing from a number of people regarding different summer teams and asking for recommendations. I'm more than happy to give you my opinion, and it has prompted me to address the issue again in an article. I wrote on this topic in April, 2004. here's an updated piece revisiting the issue of Choosing a Summer Team

I'm in the process of developing a system to take testimonials from families who have attended a showcase, played with a travel team, attended a camp etc. and making this info available to the readers of this site.

There are unfortunately many instances of bad experiences and hopefully this can help with decision making.

As an aside note, there will be some changes to this site in the future. As you're no doubt well aware, I've created and maintained the site with no memberships or annual fees required. I have charged member coaches a fee to access the Coaches section.

During my summer hiatus in the hospital, I had a great deal of time to think about the site and if it was accomplishing what my original intentions were. Specifically, were we adequately promoting Arizona baseball and its players?

We've seen a significant increase in players being recruited to out of state schools in the last couple of years. I think we've had at least some impact on this.

However, the process of signing up coaches is cumbersome and has been very time consuming and a pain in the backside. Dealing with college administrations and purchase orders is a handful and frustrating to say the least. For this reason, I have now eliminated the subscription for coaches and am making the info available at no charge. Bottom line....the site was designed in large part to communicate with coaches. Charging them a fee seems to retard the process. As a result, we've recently added a large number of new member coaches and will continue to do so.

Obviously this leaves a gaping hole in the ol' revenue stream. While I've never planned on making a profit from the site, my time and expenses have to be covered. The meager amount of advertising revenue does little to help and I have no plans to go into the advertising sales business. 

I put on a ton of miles traveling to games from my south Tempe office and with $3.00 per gallon gas it's becoming a much bigger issue.

Therefore, in the not too distant future expect to see some sort of very reasonable charge to access the site. 

As always, your comments are always appreciated.

Baseball America has released its Top 300 prospects for the class of 2006 and three Arizona players are named. 

Chaparral RHP Charles Brewer is the highest rated Arizona player at #82 on the list. Yuma Kofa middle infielder Luis Tovar made the list at #131, and Hamilton's Jason Kudlock appears at #156.

September 22, 2005

Today marks the first day of autumn and scoreboard watching begins in earnest for MLB fans. All 3 divisions in the AL are going down to the wire, as the Yankees and Red Sox duke it out in the East, the White Sox, who once held a 15 game lead, try to avoid a monumental gag job to Cleveland in the Central and the Angels and A's go toe to toe in the west.

In the NL, the only legitimate race is the wild card where Houston holds a 2 game lead over the Phillies.

Keep an eye on these upcoming series:

Boston vs New York Sept. 30- Oct. 2

Chicago WS vs. Cleveland Sept. 30- Oct. 2

Oakland vs. Angels Sept. 26-29

As Hurricane Rita churns in the Gulf of Mexico, it is drawing a bead on many of the coastal playgrounds of South Texas. Galveston, in particular, was the getaway of choice during my college days. Carloads of us would caravan the 4 1/2 hour drive from north Texas and cram 8 college kids into a room at the Flagship Hotel, which sits perilously over the water on a pier jutting 1000 feet into the Gulf. This is an incredibly vulnerable area and the size and strength of this storm could mean total devastation to dozens of coastal communities. Here's a shot of the Flagship,  which you'll know doubt see featured prominently on CNN over the days to come. http://www.galveston.com/flagship/

A Chandler base runner takes a lead against Dobson on Wednesday

September 19, 2005

I was able to make it over to South Mountain CC again yesterday to check out the first game of the double dip against the Diamondback's Scout Team. 

Pitching wise, Mesquite senior Seth Furmanek stood out amongst the high school arms. Seth has always had a handy curveball and a very effective circle change, and now his velocity is reaching the level where D1 schools have to consider him a legit arm. Yesterday he sat 85-88 comfortably and with the command of the changeup and curveball, he has to be considered a player who can contribute as a 2 way guy at many programs.

Mesquite's Seth Furmanek

Offensively, Brophy junior Matt Newman and Mesquite senior catcher Chase Frampton caught my eye. Newman had a couple of hits and squared up another ball that was caught by the right fielder. Frampton also had a pair of hits, including a missile he cranked over the 380 sign in left center field.

September 12, 2005

Raoul Torres (Brophy 2006 below) is the latest local product to give a verbal commitment to Arizona State to play for the Devils in 2007. Raoul will graduate as a three year starter at Brophy. Congratulations to the Torres family. 

I had a chance to catch most of the first game on Sunday between All Star Baseball Academy and South Mountain Community College.

Several things caught my eye. For starters, the ASBA bunch is one of the more athletic collection of players I've seen around here. There's a lot of speed (which is comparatively rare around these parts) and some physical specimens in the lineup. Pitching wise they can trot out the likes of Nick Shannon, Tyler Ruch, Jerry Pajak, Kyle Brule, Chris Love and many others.

I was particularly impressed with the 2 innings I saw from Justin Hendrick (Desert Mountain 2006). He's worked on some mechanical issues and has humped up his velocity a bit (I had battery issues with my gun so didn't get a reading, but conservatively mid 80s). Justin has a knee buckling curveball and a very nice changeup. His stuff is certainly no issue.

Chris Rouches (Cactus 2006) is one of my 2006 sleepers that had a coming out party in the second game. He went 3-4 with a single double and triple. He has played 1B at Cactus but this is a legit 6.7 runner who will get time in the outfield and 3B with ASBA this fall. Keep an eye on this one. 

ASBA also features the 2 best prospects from Prescott, Dillon Baird (3B, RHP) and Ben Kelley (OF) both from Prescott High. Both have major league bodies and can swing it. Inj addition, Ronnie Welty of Mesquite is one of the top sticks in the '06 class.

This is a group that overall is flying under the radar a bit. I suspect that will change in the weeks and months to come.

September 8, 2005

Luis Tovar, a middle infielder from Yuma Kofa, has given a verbal commitment to UC- Irvine to play for the Anteaters. Luis has played with the ABD program out of southern California and was named an Aflac All American this summer.

The Tovar commitment brings to 3 the number of AZ players who have committed to California public colleges this fall. This is significant in that very few out of state players are recruited to these programs due to the cost differential compared to instate California players.

September 6, 2005

Brent Fisher, a 2005 graduate of Tolleson High and a 7th round draft pick of the Kansas City Royals, recently completed a very successful Arizona rookie league campaign. Brent finished the season with a 5-2 record and led the league in strike outs (69 Ks in 50 IP) and ERA (3.04). He is beginning play in the Instructional League this week.

Kevin Roderick (Horizon 2007), the lone Arizona member of the USA Junior National team, has appeared on the mound in 2 of the first 3 games for the U.S. at the Pan American Junior Championships. Kevin has closed both games, throwing 2 innings and allowing 1 hit and a run. He is one of only two 2007 graduates on the Junior National roster.

I had an opportunity to get out to the Super Series event this weekend at Peoria. It was great seeing many of you again and I certainly appreciate all the well wishes. 

While this certainly wasn't a high level event in terms of the overall quality of teams attending, I did see some performances that I think are worth mentioning.

Sunrise Mountain RHP Michael Barro (2007) threw 5 solid innings for the AZ Blackhawks yesterday against the Tucson A's. The Blackhawks were playing "up" in the 18U division and handled themselves quite well. Barro held a pretty solid A's squad to 1 run and the Tucson kids had a tough time catching up to him all day. He was sitting 83-85 and touched 86. What I really like about this kid is his bulldog mentality on the mound. He constantly competes, doesn't let adversity affect him in an outward manner, and he goes out of his way to pick up his teammates when needed. For good measure, Barro also cranked a walk off homer on Saturday to complete a run rule win for the 'hawks.

 Chris Amhrein (Sunnyslope 2007) is a very athletic kid with some pop in his bat and an overall nice set of tools. He played center and led off this weekend but he can handle himself in the infield (3B) as well. He has great plate discipline and always seems to have a good at bat. He showed good power on a lead off triple over the center fielder's head late in the game against the A's.

                   Chris Amhrein takes a hack for the Blackhawks

Kyle Stiner is a 2008 Mountain Ridge player who plays 2B for the Blackhawks and has a sweet stroke from the left side. He squares up a lot of balls and has surprising power for his size.

Jake Hummel (Peoria 2007) threw on Saturday and impressed me. He has a nice loose arm action that generates 83-84 MPH velocity and he showed a nice breaking ball with some decent tilt to it. He's a big strong kid at 6-3 205 so he projects well. There's more in the tank here for sure.

Daniel Kozell (Chandler High 2007) is a powerfully built player who projects as a corner outfielder as a college player. He showed some good gap to gap power against a McClintock team yesterday with a laser beam double up the right center field gap, and a long homer to left center that put the Wolf Pack up for good.

Jimmy Patterson (McClintock 2007) threw the first several innings against the Chandler High group and allowed only one run. He's a lefty that spots the ball exceptionally well and knows how to pitch.  Patterson seemed to be in total control of this game during his stint on the mound. He also plays a solid center field and has good power at the plate.

 Marty Rover (McClintock 2006), showed why he is one of the top utility guys in the state. He's always thinking, whether behind the plate or at shortstop for the Chargers. He's also gotten quite a bit stronger over the last year. I saw him catch a game on Saturday and see some significant improvement in arm strength. He should be a nice pick up for some one in the college ranks.

McClintock's Marty Rover

I also like McClintock's other catcher, Xorge Carrillo. He's a solid receiver behind the dish, and his athleticism is developing as his physical conditioning improves.

One of the livest arms I saw this weekend belonged to Sandra Day O'Connor 2008 player Nick Carrillo. He entered a game in relief for the WolfPack and sat 84-85 and touched 87 in his one inning of work. Carrillo also has some serious arm side run on his fastball, as one Stanfield player found out after wearing an 86 MPH heater in the ribs.

September 1, 2005

Some updates on a few 2005 graduates:

It's official.....Brian Matusz (St. Mary's LHP) attended his first class at the University of San Diego this morning and will pitch for the Torreros in 2006. Brian was a fourth round selection by the Angels.

Brian Matusz will pitch for USD this season

Reid Kelly (Desert Mountain RHP) has decided to go the draft and follow route and will take the mound for Coach Doyle Wilson and Chandler Gilbert Community College this fall. Reid was scheduled to attend UNLV.  He was a 33rd round selection of the Houston Astros.

Eric Anderson (Horizon RHP) has chosen to not attend the University of Portland where he was scheduled to pitch this season. Eric, an exceptional student, has instead entered the honors program at ASU.

Reid Kelly (L) and Eric Anderson (R) both had a change of plans