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Got out to Blair Field in Long Beach on Saturday, 12/8/12, to see a game between BPA of Orange County and the Desert Prospects out of Palm Springs.
If you know anything about Blair Field it's that the air is dense and can be bad but when it's foggy it's worse. This morning was somewhere in the middle.
Both teams had several guys that could have the chance to play collegiately if they continue to develop in a positive trend. Below are some notes on those guys that stood out.
BPA:
2015 Domenic Calachio -
OF/3B - Aliso Niguel HS - 5'10" 180 probably closer to 172. Very playable skills
both offensively and defensively. In the field he has an aggressive approach to
the ball, almost attacking it. Strong arm across the diamond and turned two in
warmups with relative ease. Charged ball well and in correct position.
Offensively he has an aggressive approach early in the count. Swings the bat
with ease. Nearly beat out a GDP. Showed his speed with a standup 2B. Was told
dad is over 6’2” and mom is tall as well. Got word from Coach Hanson that he
expects Calachio to start in CF and bat top 3 for him.
2014 Louis Raymond - RHP/OF -
Dana Hill HS - Listed at 6'2", looks closer to 6'0". Fastball
touched 83 in first inning and leveled out at 80 the remaining 3 innings he pitched. FB lost speed
but he located much better after first inning. His loopy curveball sat at
73-75 early and leveled at 70-71. Curveball got worse as he progressed. At
the plate has aggressive approach which is playable. Heads up baserunner. Not
aggressive, but not passive.
2014 Matt Ruff – C –
Valencia HS - Listed at 5’10 185 probably closer to 5’9” and 178-80. Kid
is solidly built. Physically he has a lot of tools. Receives well. Great
instincts in calling a game. Set batters up well. Consistently around 2.0 pop
+/-.1. Offensively didn’t show a lot 1st time up. 2nd
time looked better fighting off several pitches. Made good contact; robbed of
1B. Laced a base hit to CF 3rd AB. Would be heavily recruited if he
were 2” taller. Plays with an attitude.
2014 Chase Calabuig -
LHP/OF – Capo Valley HS - Listed at 6’0” 170; looked
5’ 10/11”. Looked good in relief. Mixed pitches. FB sat 81-82. Change has nice
movement. CB sat 70-71 and was out pitch. Located it perfectly when he needed
to. Disguises ball well by lagging hand well behind body. At the plate he has
some tools that will play at his level. Likely P.O. in future.
2014 Kent Burkle - 2B/SS –
5’8” 155 – Has tools that will play on this level and could translate some sort
of role in college. Strong arm across the diamond. Receives ball well and in
good position. Soft hands. Quick transition. Above average speed. Short compact
swing. Looked slap happy. Good hands with bunt game. Likely to play 2nd
base at next level.
2014 Ryan Randel - RHP -
6'5" – Didn’t pitch. Saw him throwing before game and
appeared to have a live arm. Looked good extending pre-game throwing routine.
Desert Prospects:
2014 Trevor Abshire - P -
La Quinta HS -
6'4" (closer to 6'2") 200 (closer to low 190's). Looked very
mechanical early then got into a flow. FB sat 84-85 early then settled at
82-83. FB has run into RH hitters. Located up/down easily. CB was flat early
and 74-75 it got loopy and settled 71-72 and more effective. Was working as out
pitch today. Appeared to get stronger as game went on throwing 4 innings.
2014 Clay Fisher - SS/2B –
La Quinta HS - 6’0” 160 – Very smooth glove work at SS. Fielded balls in
the holes seamlessly – backhand and regular. Strong arm across diamond. Charges
ball under control with strong, accurate, off-balance throws. Aggressive heads
up base runner taking advantage of two Bingo situations. Average bat skills.
Doesn’t appear to read ball out of pitchers hand quick enough. Struggles with
CB. Handled FB well. Handled CH okay. Has frame to fill out.
2015 Gil Saucedo – LHP –Indio HS – 5’10 170 – Closer to 5’8/9” 160 – Won’t overpower you but
locates extremely well. FB sat 75-76. Developing CB – still very slow/loopy. CH
is best pitch as he mixes slots/speeds with it. Worked well out of stretch & windup.
Less effective as game wore on. Just getting into shape physically. Needs to
continue to work in the weight room to lose some “baby fat”.