Prep Baseball Report

2020 Preseason Preview: Oak Ridge Trojans


Blaine Clemmens
Northern CA Director of Scouting

                          

At The Yard Podcast

The Road to the California State Games begins with the 2020 California high school baseball season. With the season just around the corner, our Staff has begun putting out team previews from all around the state getting you prepare for another year of exciting coverage.

In this edition we will take a closer look at the Oak Ridge Trojans (El Dorado Hills, CA), a talented team with very realistic expectations to go WELL beyond their 1st round playoff appearance of a year ago. Their section is one of the toughest in California, but they could very well be in the mix.

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TEAM:
Oak Ridge Trojans

HEAD COACH (years at school):
Todd Melton - Starting 13th

OFFICIAL TWITTER:
@OakRidgeBasebll

CIF SECTION & DIVISION:
Sac-Joaquin - D1

CONFERENCE/LEAGUE NAME:
Sierra Foothill League

LAST YEAR’S RECORD: 
14-12, 10-5 league

PLAYOFF RUN:
Lost in 1st round to Pleasant Grove

RETURNING STARTERS:
6

RETURNING PITCHERS:
6

OUTLOOK: 
Given both the amount of college committed players (including three D1 commits) and the number of returning seniors, the 2020 Oak Ridge season has high expectations, which is nothing new. Like many outstanding programs, each season the expectations start with competing for the Sierra Foothill League title, qualify for the SJS-D1 playoffs and the ultimate goal of winning the section title. Pitching and defense are expected to be the strengths of the team, for good reason… the Trojans only have to replace around 60 innings on the mound and have up to a dozen pitchers all capable of contributing. Last season fell short of expectations due in part to a lackluster offensive season. There are talented hitters returning and they are now more experienced, which presumably will lead to more relaxation, focus, and better approaches.

TOP RETURNING PLAYERS:

Tino Bethancourt, SS, 2020, 6’2” - San Diego State

Carter Delaney, RHP, 2020, 6’6” - Pomona College

Nate Hansen, RHP, 2020, 6’3” - San Diego State

Zach Adamson, 1B/RHP, 6’0” - 1st team all-league 

Will Curtis, 2B, 2020, 5’9” - 1st team all-league

John Delaney, C, 2020, 6’1” - Lewis and Clark College

Damon Tanner, CF, 2020, 5’11” - lead-off hitter with power

Brady Routon, RHP/3B, 2021, 6’0” - returning starting pitcher

THE FUTURE:

Brent Jones, LHP/1B, 2022, 6’2” - Washington State

Nick Solarzano, 3B/C, 2021, 5’11”

Others TBD

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Central Valley Preseason I.D. CA 01/11 Clovis North HS
Winter Update Series powered by South Bay Sport Training CA 01/12 South Bay Sports Training
Winter Update Series powered by EM Sports CA 01/13 EM Sports - Rancho Cucamonga
Winter Update Series powered by Monterey Bay Pirates CA 01/17 Monterey Bay Pirates Facility
California Far North Preseason I.D. CA 01/18 Chico HS
NorCal Preseason All-State (Invite-Only) CA 01/25 Islanders Field at River Islands
Winter Update Series powered by Paradigm Sport CA 01/26 Paradigm Sport
Winter Update Series powered by EM Sports CA 01/27 EM Sports - Long Beach
Super 60 Pro Showcase NATIONAL 02/02 The MAX - McCook, IL
Winter Hitting Update powered by Mike Murphy Baseball CA 02/08 MMB - Walnut Creek

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