Inside the Clubhouse: Jarren Advincula

Since entering high school, senior Jarren Advincula of Archbishop Mitty High School (San Jose, Calif.) has been quietly making strides to improve his game, doing anything in his power to help him get to the next level.

“Once high school hit, I just wanted to get my numbers up in the weight room, getting bigger, faster and stronger,” Advincula said. “I’m really just working on little things everyday, trying to turn my weaknesses into strengths.”

Standing at 6 feet with a 180-pound frame, Advincula is one of Prep Baseball Report’s biggest risers after a breakout 2022. PBR ranks the left-handed hitting shortstop No. 20 in the state amongst the 2023 class. 

The Cal commit is a twitchy, bouncy athlete that poses a tough out at the plate due to his high bat-to-ball abilities. He’s also a frequent threat on the base paths, applying pressure on defenses because of his speed and awareness. Defensively, he boasts an above average arm and has a knack for making the plus plays.

The 2022 high school baseball season was a magical one for Advincula and the Mitty Monarchs. He hit .422 over 188 plate appearances, with 38 hits, 26 RBIs and 33 runs scored. He ripped off eight doubles, two triples and two home runs, and his contact skills were on full display as he only struck out three times in the 33 games he played. 

Despite finishing third in a tough West Catholic League, Advincula and Mitty closed the season winning six games in a row, clinching the CIF CCS D2 championship and the inaugural CIF NorCal D2 championship.

In the summer that followed, Advincula garnered more eyes as he participated in the Northern California ProCase, then at the Area Code tryout. He ultimately earned a roster spot on the Area Code Athletics and was touted as one of the best players on the team. 

Advincula talked about how surreal it is to be in his position now, but he remembers that he’s just going out there and playing his game.

“You look up and there’s a bunch of scouts watching you. I’m at a loss for words because it just happened so fast,” Advincula said of the recent attention he’s beginning to receive. “But at the end of the day, I’m here for a reason. Just play and have fun.”

Much of Advincula’s success thus far is attributed to the support from his parents, who he says are his biggest role models. Both his mother and father have athletic track records that have had a heavy influence on him growing up.

His dad Jeremy is a well-respected figure in the local baseball community, having spent his collegiate baseball career at San Jose State. He currently serves as a coach on the Mitty staff. His mother Karol also attended San Jose State where she played soccer. Jarren’s older brother Jonah, who is also an alumnus of Mitty’s baseball program, is now competing in the PAC-12 at Washington State. 

Being from an athletic family, Jarren’s upbringing involved participation in multiple sports. On top of baseball, Jarren played football as a wide receiver and defensive back in football at Mitty up until his senior year. Before that, he also played basketball and volleyball during his childhood.  

“(My parents) have always wanted to push me to play different sports growing up and honestly, I appreciate it because it made me more athletic going into baseball,” Jarren said.

At 11 years old, there was even a moment where it looked like soccer was going to be his calling and baseball was going to be put on hold.

“He got a lot of encouragement from a soccer coach who told him, ‘you’ve got a shot at soccer, but you have to make a commitment,’” Jeremy said. “I really felt that no matter what sport he would’ve chosen, he’d be in the same situation that he’s in now because of his talent and athleticism.”

But Jarren’s love for baseball came back and the hiatus from the diamond was short lived.

“After a year and a half, I thought that I had to go back into baseball because I really just missed it,” Jarren said. “Ever since then, I’ve really honed-in on baseball and trained for it every day. I’ve been really focused up until now, with all the opportunities I’ve had.”

One thing about Jarren is his determination and drive behind closed doors. His father says that these traits have helped propel him into the position he’s in now as a top-rated high school baseball prospect.

“The skillset was always there. But it’s his mentality from being disciplined to do what he needed to do outside of the baseball field, whether it was academics, his spirituality or even his diet. He doesn’t eat what dad eats—no lumpia, no pancit or all that stuff,” Jeremy said, referencing dishes in relation to the Advincula family’s Filipino heritage. “He’s really disciplined because he sees himself playing at the highest level.”

Jarren’s offseason routine differs day-to-day, but his weekly regiment often includes off-the-field work such as strength and conditioning four times a week, and agility and sprint workouts three to four times a week.  He’s even incorporated daily yoga sessions to prevent injury and help him stay flexible and mobile. 

If he’s not in the gym, you’ll often find Jarren putting in work on the field with his brother and father. Defensively, they do progressions, work on short hops, picks and take regular ground balls. Offensively, Jarren and Jonah have a built-in BP thrower in their father, while also incorporating tee work and machine work. 

The pandemic was a major turning point for Jarren in his career. Jeremy attested that the unprecedented break had actually been a positive for Jarren in his work ethic.

“We have a home gym and that’s what separated Jarren,” Jeremy said. “You can go one of two different ways during COVID. We had extra equipment at school so I took that home, then we bought a squat rack. There was no excuse to not stay in shape. So when we got back to school, there was a noticeable difference.”

Brian Yocke has been the head baseball coach at Mitty for nearly a decade. He’s had the opportunity to coach both Jarren and Jonah coming up through the program. Yocke remembered Jarren coming to Mitty as a freshman and has seen a huge improvement in how Jarren plays the game.

“He was a very skinny, small kid his freshman year with a ton of athletic ability. Now, he looks like a college baseball player,” Yocke said. “His first couple of years, he would just put it in play on the left side and use his speed. Now he’s hitting for power when he still has the speed element.”

However, there are certain intangibles that all young athletes need to find success at the next level. Yocke expressed how impressed he was watching Jarren grow as a person, especially with the maturity and the ability to lead others.

“We have a saying in our program that good players make themselves good, and great players make the ones around them good,” Yocke said. “I’m starting to see him take himself from that really good player that does everything he possibly can to make himself good, to now, where he’s starting to recognize that he can keep doing all that, but now he has the space to do that for the people around him.”

Erick Raich is the head director of California Club Baseball (CCB) and has coached Jarren in travel ball since Jarren was in eighth grade. One characteristic Raich pointed out was Jarren’s competitive spirit.

“With him, he’s the kind of kid that if he takes ten swings, he expects all ten balls to be driven,” Raich said. “He pushes himself with such internal competition that I think that’s what takes his game to another level over some guys who are talented or share similar traits of him. If you put him against other guys who are really good, it’s going to make him elevate his game because of the competitive nature that he has.”

Raich also praised Jarren’s ability to put the ball in play and his peskiness at the dish. There was a 13-pitch at bat that Raich remembered that exemplified Jarren’s grittiness on the offensive side.

“I can count on one hand the amount of times he struck out in his entire career with (CCB),” Raich said. “He had an at-bat where he just wore out the pitcher, spoiling pitches, including a tough take on a ball down away that a lot of guys would chase. They eventually tried to go in on him, and he ended up just not moving and wearing it.”

Jarren’s play defensively never ceases to amaze his head coach at Mitty as well. Yocke remembered a play where a ground ball was hit deep in the hole at short. Hoping Jarren would just eat the ball once he got to it, Yocke was shocked to see him fire it across the diamond.

“I’m screaming from the dugout, ‘hold it, hold it.’ And he’s throwing it across the infield and still gets the guy,” Yocke said. “You never get used to some of the defensive plays he makes. He makes all the routine ones, but his plus play ability is absurd, especially when he’s going into the hole.”

As somebody who wasn’t on too many radars at the beginning of his high school tenure, to now catching the attention of Major League scouts, Jarren has advice for young players looking to be in his shoes one day.

“Work harder. Be disciplined. Be consistent. And always have confidence in yourself. I feel like that’s the number one thing—having confidence,” Jarren said.

With his final high school season coming up, Jarren knows he’s got plenty of decisions to make regarding his future. He’s continuing to take things day-by-day and add to his case for competing at the next level, whether that’s suiting up for the Golden Bears at Cal under head coach Mike Neu or as a professional baseball player.

UPCOMING EVENTS