UNCOMMITTED PLAYER SPOTLIGHT: 

RHP David Eichhorn caught my eye early in the season when he started on the hill in a scrimmage during a very cold evening down in Monterey. I'd heard about Eichhorn from Aptos Head Coach Jason Biancardi last season, but never got a good look as he transferred into Aptos and then was in and out of the lineup battling some leg issues. His family is known in the Santa Cruz Baseball community as his father Mark pitched in MLB for 11 seasons while older brother Kevin was a 3rd Round draft pick out of Aptos in 2008. David looks like he's going to be following the family bloodline with a projectable, long and very lean frame matched with a quick arm.

Fully healthy, he's thrived in the early season as the Ace on the hill for the Mariners starting to make promise on the flashes I saw in the scrimmage. Since that early season viewing I've kept tabs on his progress following up with coaches and reading stats lines. In his 4 starts and 14 innings, Eichhorn has 19 strikeouts to 4 walks giving up 5 hits and 1 earned run. His velocity has been more consistently at the higher range of the spectrum that I saw, while showing strong control of the Curveball and using it as a strikeout pitch. His Splitter has also flashed more consistency giving him a chance at three average or better pitches in the future. 

During my viewing in early February, Eichhorn struck out 6 in 2 innings with the Curveball and Fastball showing above-average actions and excellent feel. The FB was 84-86 T88 MPH early and that velocity looks to be just the start. The body is very lean and projectable with plenty of space for the frame to add strength and gain good weight. The arm works very well being compact and quick and with the limited reps last year, has very low mileage. His FB had great angle down through the zone and he was able to spot the pitch on both sides of the plate. The CB (68-71 MPH) was sharp with late snap in 12/6 shape through the zone generating a lot swing and miss. Again, added strength will help to increase the velocity of the pitch. The SPL was 75-77 MPH showing late bottom being best during warm ups, but flashed some swing and miss potential in the outing.

The three-pitch arsenal played up because of his ability to control all three and the attacking demeanor. Add an understanding of how to pitch and change speeds and the future is very bright for David Eichhorn. College coaches should be making their way to see him in person. I plan to catch him again next week against Santa Cruz to see how he responds against D-1 Commits and a deeper lineup. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
South Bay Junior Future Games Trials	CA	04/14	Archbishop Mitty HS
North Bay Junior Future Games Trials	CA	04/28	Clyde P. Smith Field - Cardinal Newman HS
Northern California Future Games Trials	CA	05/26	Islanders Field
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 - Nick Cecchetti Field
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	NATIONAL	07/30	LakePoint
Rising Stars Showcase	CA	09/21	Santiago High School

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