Prep Baseball Report

CCS Focus (CA): 4/12/19


Ryan Ozella
N. California Area Scout

Central Coast, CA - Today's Central Coast Section (CCS) Focus covers my road trips from 4/9-11/19 and two games; Santa Cruz at Scotts Valley and Soledad at Pacific Grove. With so much talent in the Central Coast Section, I wanted to give all players a chance to be seen and today’s version of the CCS Focus has game notes, player notes and in-depth player notes with videos.

As always, you can click the highlighted name for bio information, previous notes, stats, video etc.

GAME NOTES:

4/9/19 Santa Cruz at Scotts Valley: Santa Cruz wasted no time getting on the board as 2019 1B Javier Felix drove the 2nd pitch over the RCF fence to put the Cardinals up 1-0. They added to the score in the 3rd inning when a HBP and 2 walks turned into 2 runs when 2020 SS Kinsal Plunkett took a hanging CB through the middle of the diamond. Santa Cruz made it 4-0 in the 4th when an error at SS came around on a 1B by 2021 2B Jacob Pappas. Scotts Valley got on the board in the bottom of the 4th capitalizing on 3 errors to pick up 2 runs. Santa Cruz kept their foot on the gas pedal with 3 runs in the 5th and 2 more in the 6th to take a 9-2 victory.

4/11/19 Soledad at Pacific Grove: Pacific Grove and Soledad have both been playing well in the PCAL-Mission Division and I went down on possibly the coldest and windiest day of the year. The Breakers got on the board first when 2021 2B Justin Heyn reached on an error getting to 3rd on two wild pitches before being knocked in by 2019 SS Trevor Heyn. They got a 2nd in the 2nd when 2019 CF Hunter Hanes walked and got to 3rd on a 1B by 2019 LHP Kevhan Ebron before a wild pitch scored him. In the 4th 2021 C Nathan Wood was HBP and came around to score on an error making it 3-0. The Aztecs had chances in the 1st with runners on 2nd/3rd and 0 outs but couldn’t get a run out of that. They had another chance in the 4th with runners on 1st/2nd and 0 outs but again couldn’t execute against Ebron. They finally broke through in the 5th loading the bases and getting one on a groundout. The Breakers added another run in the 6th when a wind pop-up dropped and came in to score on a Sac Fly by Trevor Heyn making it 4-1. The Aztecs weren’t going away showing their fortitude scoring 2 in the 7th with two outs and loading the bases, but a groundout ended the rally and the game 5-4 for Pacific Grove.

PLAYERS OF NOTE:

2020 SS Kinsall Plunkett (Santa Cruz): Uncommitted. Plunkett continues to swing a hot bat for the Cardinals going 2-3 with 3 RBIs reaching base in all 3 of his plate appearances. Drove a hanging BB through the middle of the diamond to score 2 runs before driving a 2B into the RCF gap in his last AB picking up another RBI. Showed his team-first ability executing a Sac Bunt that led to 3 runs in the 5th inning. Defense at SS was ok making a mistake on a ball in the hole, but shows the footwork to stick in the middle of the diamond. Strength in upper half starting to show up more in games.

2020 OF Brady Chavez (Santa Cruz): Uncommitted. Another Cardinal who is swinging a hot bat drove two balls his 4 ABs. Turned a FB right at the 1st Baseman before a long 2B in RCF. He’s athletic out of the box showing good stride length and the ability to use his athleticism in RF. Arm is compact with ability to throw through targets.

2019 LHP Clayton Ray (Santa Cruz): Uncommitted. 5IP, 2H, 2R (0ER) and 4K. Stuff was down a bit from previous viewings, but competitive nature and ability to attack hitters never changes even with lesser stuff. Spotted FB to both sides of plate working CHG off similar path showing consistent arm speed and being able to pull the string. Also worked in a 2-level CB that was deep and tight showing good feel. Swang bat well later in the day picking up 2 hits and 3 RBIs.

2020 RHP Bryce Clark (Scotts Valley): Uncommitted. 3.1IP, 4R (3ER), 2BB, 3H. Clark’s stuff was also a tick behind where I’ve seen it and got too much of the plate on an early FB that got put on the other side of the fence. Settled in after that and when working from the windup has better arm consistency in getting to the bottom half of the zone. FB 80-83 with usage to the arm-side flashing run that way; times where he could also sink the ball through the zone. Mixed in a hard CB (69-73 MPH) that showed short tumble in 11/6 shape. Mainly used the CB to the armside and break was inconsistent; at its best it was sharp and late. Wide large frame has a chance to tighten and keep improving.

2019 1B Ryan Bariteau (Scotts Valley): Uncommitted. Was the Falcons best hitter having three hard contacts in his 4 AB’s. Results didn’t match the hard contact with only one hit but two liners into CF/RF flashed more gap-to-gap power for Bariteau. Wide, medium frame will limit the profile to 1B, but the bat was quick into the zone working on a slight upward path. Didn’t expand the zone and attacked mistakes.

2020 RHP Joel Barroso (Soledad): Uncommitted. Pitched 6 taking hard luck loss giving up 4 runs (2 ER) and 5 hits striking out 4. Small frame, very lean with tight waist and length in legs. Compact arm with 3/4 release showing repeatability in delivery. FB was 77-79 MPH using it to both sides of the plate and mixing in a short cutting SLD at 64-66 MPH and CHG that he could turn over at 70-72 MPH. Flashed feel for the off-speed and went after hitters.

2019 CF Andru Holguin (Soledad): Ventura City College commit. Small framed, lean, wiry-muscles speedster showed long limbs. Quick 1st step used in CF and out of the box. On base three times with 2 walks and a 1B. Stole 2nd base on 1st move from the LHP taking 2nd on the pick to 1st without a throw to 2nd base. Slappy bat fights off pitches looking to put the ball in play and use his speed. Can be a leadoff type CF at next level. Also the top pitcher for the Aztecs.

2019 LHP Kevhan Ebron (Pacific Grove): Butte College commit. Wide large frame with a high waist and strong upper half; solidly built. Showed very compact arm coming out of his ear with a M 3/4 release. Attacked with FB (77-80 MPH) to both sides with bouts of cut to the glove side. Showed very good feel for his SLD (65-67 MPH) with ability to throw it in any count and both sides of the plate. Flashed some back foot ability against RHH and 1/7 shape with short actions. Also utilized a CHG (71-72 MPH) turning pitch over for run to the arm-side. Injured hits foot/ankle hitting 1st in the 2nd inning but battled through it going 4.1 innings striking out 7, walking 2 and giving up 3 hits and 0 runs.

2019 CF Hunter Hanes (Pacific Grove): Uncommitted. Large, lean and very athletic frame. Can go get it in CF showing agility in hips and ability to use quick feet to come get ball in front of him. Arm is solid average for CF with high release and ability to put the ball on bags. On base twice with walk and reaching on error that scored a run for the team. Long, athletic stride down the line with limited effort showing good game speed (4.2-4.3 H-1st) that puts pressure on defenses. Arm also shows up on mound where he has struck out 46 in 23 innings. Two-way type of guy for next level.

IN-DEPTH COVERAGE:

2020 SS Bryce Gundersen (Scotts Valley): Uncommitted. Medium build with high waist and very lean, wiry build; strength is in the frame and wider chest suggest more size could still be coming. Put together 3 quality at-bats while also taking HBP.

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UPCOMING EVENTS:

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
South Bay Rising Stars/JFG Trial CA 04/14 Archbishop Mitty HS
N. California Underclass I.D. CA 05/26 Islanders Field - Lathrop
Inland Empire Futures Games Trials CA 06/01 Norco High School
SoCal ProCase CA 06/08 Hart Park
Northern California ProCase CA 06/09 Delta College - Stockton
Bay Area Open Showcase CA 06/26 Laney College
Inland Empire Top Prospect ID CA 07/23 Santiago High School
Norcal Top Prospect ID CA 07/24 St. Mary's College
Junior Future Games / Future Games NATIONAL 07/30 LakePoint
Rising Stars Showcase CA 09/21 Santiago High School

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