Day two of the Area Code Games got me thinking about the amount of talent that we saw on the field today. I mean, in a big-picture kind of way.
Some great young players have graced Blair Field these last few days. The kind of talent that makes coaches and scouts do that proverbial salivating thing and could also really infuse our college game with some high-quality baseball over the next few years. I could totally see some of these guys lifting national championship trophies and National Player of the Year plaques in the years to come.
Notice how the scout section of Blair Field is so chock-full? Yep, there's a lot of attention being paid to these soon-to-be senior high schoolers.
But let’s face it, the chances are slim. The guys that are starring out here in Dirtbag country are probably going to be signing the high-dollar contracts at this time next year and never stepping a cleat on one of our college campuses.
I think the best line I’ve heard all week… nay, maybe even all year, came from Cal head coach Dave Esquer, who told me, “These guys you see here are all going to be pros really soon. The players you really want are the ones that don’t quite make the cut to be here. Those are going to be your program builders, not these guys.”
Interesting comment. But probably true. Except for the occasional Karsten Whitson, Dylan Covey or Gerrit Cole, these guys will be signing their way to the minors next August.
But I have to admit, they’re still a blast to watch.
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GAME SEVEN
Athletics – 021 000 1 – 4Â 8Â 2
Rangers – 020 113 0 – 7Â 7Â 2
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The Texas-based Rangers seemed to get all the clutch hits in the later innings of today’s first game, helping lead them to a 7-4 win and improving their Area Code record to 3-0. On Friday they outlasted the White Sox 9-5 before Saturday’s 6-4 win over the Reds.
Sporting a swift, athletic out field of Nick Williams, Courtney Hawkins and Leon Byrd, the Ranger D snuffed out a lot of potential big hits early in the game, while pitchers Ty Culbreth, Chad Hollingsworth and Willie Schwanke seemed to induce key groundouts at just the right time. The Athletics were able to get just one ball through the infield from the 4th inning on.
The Rangers were paced by an uber-impressive performance from Acadiana HS talent Stryker Trahan, an Ole Miss commit, who sliced a sonic double to the wall in his first at-bat and an equally screaming triple in his second plate appearance. It was funny to hear the scouts and coaches in the stands collectively gasp with each hit too.
But it was Nick Williams, a Galveston Ball product, who provided the most offense for the Rangers, getting three singles in his three plate appearances, and just having that look of a more polished, more mature athlete on the field.
The game-changing sequence came in the 5th inning where Geonte Jackson led the inning off with a double and was knocked in by Hunter Kopycinski’s RBI double a couple pitches later. That run would put the Rangers up 4-3 count and they would never trail again.
Three more 6th inning runs were provided with the help of a pair of walks, one with the bases loaded, and a bad throwing error by the A’s outfield that plated two unearned runs.
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PICS
Future Duke Blue Devil James Marvel put on a good show, working quick and possessing a fastball that moved all around the plate, inching into the 90s at times. His 75-78 curve was pretty devastating too.
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Mark Mathius gets congratulated from coach Jermaine Clark, a former San Francisco Don, after smacking a leadoff triple in the 3rd inning.
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C.J. Hinojosa was slick at times, like on this well-fielded groundout, but also had some dubious moments, like when he got picked leaning off first base by Marvel. Hinojosa was also 0-for-3 with a walk on the day at the plate.
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Ole Miss-bound Stryker Trahan got the most reaction from the crowd of scouts after a pair of sharply hit balls in his only two at-bats. Talk about some fundamental swings and amazingly quick hands... damn.
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Big Eddie Heard, a 6'4-210 specimen, threw only one inning today, but showed flashes of that 80mph slider and cut-curve he uses so well.
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9-hole hitter Hunter Kopycinski was magical with the bat today, stroking an RBI double and getting another RBI with a bases loaded walk to lead the Rangers in runs batted in.
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Ranger reliever Chad Hollingsworth picked up the win. The 6'2-190 RHP is a Texas commit and actually wears his hat way up high on his head as you see here, which is odd in this day and age.
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GAME EIGHT
Yankees – 002 021 0 – 5Â 7Â 3
Nationals – 000 004 0 – 4Â 8Â 4
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This was one of those “eh-it’s-an-all-star-game” kind of game. The Yankees jumped out to a 5-zot lead, with the help of a handful of walks (one with the bases loaded) and a couple of Nats errors of course,
But then the Yankees nearly crapped the nest themselves, allowing four runs in the 6th inning to make a game of it. The Nationals plated three of those runs with two out including consecutive singles by Tomas Nido, Vincent Jackson and Vance Vizcaino. Two errors helped the cause as only one of those runs was an earned run.
Eventually, reliever Kenny Koplove, a Philly product, would put the clamps on the Nats’ comeback hopes.
Catcher Buck McCarthy (2-for-3 with a walk) and Jose Cuas (2-for-3 with a double) led the Northeast-based Yankees at the plate, while Karl Keglovits pitched the first three innings of the game giving up just two hits and also striking out four Nat batters.
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PICS
Karl Keglovits gets high-fived after one of his three effective innings of work. As I tweeted about earlier today, the big dude was 87-90, touching 92 a couple of times and went 78-80 with his change up, 72-73 on his curve.
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Rice-bound left fielder Beau Rathjen had a nightmarish day, making a throwing error that led to an unearned run and also having this bouncer go between his legs and allowing for another Yankees run in the 5th inning.
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To make matters worse, Rathjen also got rung up looking in his final at-bat. Better days lie ahead there son, better days indeed.
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Imposing Arkansas-bound righty Ty Buttrey reminded me a lot of Taylor Jungmann with his lanky frame which makes him appear he's almost dropping the ball into the catcher's glove. At 6'5-205, he'll get stronger and add more velocity to his easy mechanics.
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Nationals 3rd baseman Vance Vizcaino was a slick fielder, but also led them with a pair of hits and a walk.
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Rhett Wiseman is committed to Vanderbilt and could become five-tool talent for coach Corbin's crew. Though today wasn't his best day, flying out meekly twice, but he did earn this walk in the 6th inning. Too bad he didn't get a chance to flash that cannon arm from right field.
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In the 6th inning, the Yankees started getting sloppy with a few errors that made the game close again.
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Ole Miss commit Dalton Dulin could be the best firestarter out here at the Area Code Games. He started the 6th inning with a single, a steal of 2nd base, a steal of 3rd base and then scored on a flyout to left field. Call him the one man run-manufacturer.
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Wire-framed Kenny Koplove, another Duke commit along with James Marvel, showed great movement and confidence on the mound. Staying mostly in the mid-80s range, the wirey 6-foot, 155 was crafty and showed a classic slider that swept across two zones.
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Mega-star in the making Jesse Winker will head to Florida, if he doesn't decide to go the pro route next year. In the first two games here in Long Beach, the Windermere, Florida product is 0-for-5 with a walk.
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OTHER NOTES.
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TRACKMAN.
Josh Orenstein and Ethan Levitt, the two high-techie boys at TrackMan are on hand this week with their modern measuring device that measures the speed of pitches, batted balls and distance and hang time of batted balls too. And for good measure, it also can measure the amount of spin that a curve ball has. How cool is that? After the first two days of play at the Area Code Games, this is what their technology found as the best of the best:
Top Exit Speed of batted balls:
- Kevin Ross (Skokie, IL), White Sox… 100mph
- Nathan Mikolas (Kenosha, WI), White Sox… 100mph
- Courtney Hawkins (Corpus Christi, TX), Rangers… 100mph
- Theo Alexander (Kirkland, WA), Royals… 99mph
- Clint Coulter (Camas, WA), Royals… 97mph
Longest Hits:
- Clint Coulter (Camas, WA), Royals… 353 feet, 4.2 sec. hang time (double)
- Austin Aune (Argyle, TX), Rangers… 328 feet, 4.3 sec. hang time (out)
- Bralin Jackson (Raytown, MO), White Sox… 323 feet, 5.0 sec. hang time (out)
- Nick Williams (LaMarque, TX), Rangers… 318 feet, 3.9 sec. hang time (out)
- Geonte Jackson (Sugar Land, TX), Rangers… 303 feet, 4.4 sec. hang time (out)
Top Velocities:
- Ty Hensley (Edmond, OK)… 93.3mph
- Grayson Long (Baytown, TX), Rangers… 92.8mph
- Zachary Quintana (Las Vegas, NV), Reds… 92.6mph
- Kevin McCanna (The Woodlands, TX), Rangers… 92.3mph
- Kayden Porter (Spanish Fork, UT) Reds… 91.9mph
Curve Spin Rate:
- Tony Blanford (Phoenix), Reds… 2,649rpm… 75mph
- Brady Lail (Jordan, UT), Reds… 2,642rpm… 75mph
- Michael Rucker (Lake Tapps, WA)… 2,556rpm… 77mph
- Ryan Warner (Colorado Springs)… 2,536rpm… 70mph
- Andrew Pullin (Centralia, WA)… 2,454rpm… 70mph
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THE MEA CULPA.
Here’s the text message I got from LSU coach Paul Mainieri, when I sent him a message that I had found out that LSU had left Easton and will be using another bat company for the coming season:
“Unfortunately that is true. Tough decision. Are you mad at me?”
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COLD HARD FACTS.
Just to prove I wasn’t lying about the morning temperatures in Long Beach so far this week, here’s the readout of my car temperature gauge when I showed up at a very overcast Blair Field this morning for the 8:30 game. Yep, that’s 61 degrees.
