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Preseason Countdown: No 22 Mullen

March 11, 2015

By John Cackowski
State Director

Leading up to the start of the high school season, we will count down the top 50 preseason teams every day as part of our comprehensive season coverage. The top 50 teams are picked from all classifications, and are not divided up by class level. To see the entire list click here

Team: Mullen
Preseason Rank: 24
2014 Record: 8-12
Conference: Centennial
CHSAA Class: 5A
Head Coach: Vince Porreco
Playoff Run: Lost to Fairview 8-3 in first game of districts
2014 Final Rank: 47
Returning Starters: 6
Returning Pitchers: 4

TOP PLAYERS:
Maverick Handley, 2016, C/MIF Stanford Commit
Dominic Duran, 2015, RHP/1B, South Mountain C.C.
Jim Dobrash, 2015, RHP/OF, South Mountain C.C.
Landon Urban, 2015, RHP/OF
Sam Oswald, 2016, C/1B
Jonathon Miranda, 2016, OF/2B
Rocco Porreco, 2017, 3B/P

X-FACTOR:
Maverick Handley: Handley did not get a chance to play his sophomore year due to an ankle injury. Now at 100% what is the Standford commit win against replacement player number?

NEW PLAYER TO WATCH:
Jonathon Miranda: 5-foot-9, 165-pound, left-handed hitting outfielder.  Over-the-top release, long/loose arm action, clean exchange, plays thru the ball, 81 MPH positional velocity, mostly accurate throws. Offensively, athletic stance, good lower half at contact.  Bat plane is level through the zone and quick hands produce an 84 MPH exit velocity, 4.25 home-to-first.  Plays second base as well.

KEY PLAYER LOST:
Alex Watson: Graduated

STAT RAT:
The Mustangs OPS as a team in 2014 was only .763, and their OBA was only .369. With most of their lineup coming back that number should definitely improve.

BOTTOM LINE: 
The Mustangs could be the surprise team in 2015 like Arvada West was in 2014. Lets start with Maverick Handley. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound right-handed hitting catcher is a highly physical 2016 prospect, Handley posted an exit velocity of 90 MPH from the tee at the Preaseason All-State event on 3/1, and recorded event best 1.78 pop time. Handley is physically impressive, and it is obvious to see he puts in hard work and should progress at a steady pace. The right-handed hitting catcher is a high follow in Colorado and the region. The Mustangs also might be one of the few teams in the state that can throw out three starting pitchers in South Mountain Commits Jimmy Dobrash and Dominic Duran. Both players can throw in the mid 80's and bring back 49 innings of experience from 2014. Both also hit as Duran will start at 1B hitting .400 in 2014, and Dobrash will start in the OF. Landon Urban has a shot to be the No. 3 pitcher and will also start in the OF. Urban hit .302 in 2014 and was second on the team with 13 RBI's while providing some pop in his bat. Sam Oswald is a physical presence at the plate at 6-foot-2. Oswald got some time as a sophomore in 2014, and at the recent Preseason All-State Event on 3/1, he had an 89 mph exit velo off the tee. The Mustangs also will be returning a lot of underclassmen in 2015 who had a chance to gain some experience in 2014 which included 2017 3B/RHP Rocco Porreco who started for the Mustangs as a freshman. The Mustangs have the talent. If they can put it all together they can be a scary team in 2015.

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