OK High School Preseason Spotlight: Rattan
February 23, 2021
The Oklahoma high school baseball season kicks off on March 2nd, opening day for regular season action under Ossaa regulations. Over the next several weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2021 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications, leading into a countdown through the official PBR Oklahoma Preseason Power 25 Rankings.
Perennially, we’ve submitted a Preseason Questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.
If you would like your team covered, please have your head coach email us at [email protected]
Our 2021 preseason coverage continues today.
Team: Rattan
OSSAA Class: A
Head Coach: Michael Clay
Returning Starters: 8
Returning Pitchers: 5
TOP PLAYERS
Cal Birchfield, SS/RHP, 2021, Eastern Oklahoma State JC
A top-25 prospect in the state’s senior class, Birchfield is the heart-and-soul of this Rattan team. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound left-handed hitter will do it all for head coach Michael Clay’s squad, stabilizing their lineup offensively, playing high-quality defense at shortstop, and anchoring their staff on the mound.
Another ranked prospect in his respective class, Clay will pair up with Birchfield to provide one of the better up-the-middle duos at the Class A level. He boasts an advanced knowledge of the game for someone his age and led this team in most offensive categories last fall. Like Birchfield, Clay will be instrumental in the success that Rattan has this spring.
OUTLOOK
STRENGTHS: “Cal can beat anybody one any given day on the mound. We have a couple other arms that can keep us in games and let our defense help them out to win some games. Offensively, we had a team batting average of .361 and hit 33 home runs this fall. We also have guys that can run, as we stole 99 bases this fall.”
AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: “Our outfield play could stand to improve”
Make sure to follow @PBR_Oklahoma on Twitter for the most up-to-date coverage throughout the 2021 season.