Diamond Notes October-November 2006

November 28, 2006

The AZ Pack claimed the championship in the 2006 Turkey Shoot tournament in Mesa with a 13-3 victory over All Star baseball Academy Blue. The Pack is comprised entirely of Chandler High players.

The Tucson Wildcats took home the hardware in the 18U Super Series Thanksgiving shootout, downing the Arizona Finest in the championship game.

The 16U division was won by the Arizona Desert Blaze.

     Mark Damon (L) deals for the Wildcats as P.J. Ortega lays a bunt down

Higley High catcher Justin McDavid has signed a Letter of Intent with New Mexico State University.

Tucson Amphitheater Catcher/Utility Rafael Neda has signed with the University of New Mexico

Ryan Moser (C/OF) of Tucson Sahuaro has signed with New Mexico State University.

Former Pinnacle  and current Scottsdale CC pitcher Scott Summers has signed with Wofford College.

2005 Scottsdale Coronado graduate and current Scottsdale CC Artichoke Phil Ortez has signed with Cal Poly.

2006 Mesquite grad and current Chandler Gilbert CC player Seth Furmanek has signed a letter of intent with Oral Roberts University for the 2008 season. Furmanek was recruited as a 2 way player.

Kyle Van Dusen (2005 Sunnyslope HS) of Scottsdale CC has signed with Santa Clara for the 2008 season.

 Former Gilbert High and current Chandler Gilbert CC catcher Ryan Cisterna has inked a deal with the University of Arkansas for  2008.

November 13, 2006

Hamilton RHP Justin Lindsey will sign a Letter of Intent with Kansas State University. The 6-3 righty has really come on strong in the last several months and will anchor the staff for Mike Woods' Huskies in the 2007 season.

  Hamilton's Justin Lindsey

The date and time for this weekend's Next Level Workout has been changed. The event will be held at Scottsdale Community College on Sunday November 12 from 12:00 -3:00 P.M. Email info@nlasaz.org

Today marks the first day of the one week early signing period, and one of the state's most sought after arms and one of the top middle infielders have announced their intentions.

Agua Fria Lefty Sammy Solis will ink a letter of intent with the University of San Diego, ending the pursuit of a number of big time D1 programs. The 6-5 southpaw also strongly considered Notre Dame and LSU among other schools. He'll join Brophy shorstop Tony Strazzara in the Torreros 2007 signing class.

Sammy Solis heads to USD

Chandler High shortstop Landis Ware, another of my favorite players in the 2007 class, has  signed a letter of intent this morning with the Baylor Bears.

Landis Ware ( here pitching for Chandler High) is a Baylor Bear                

Horizon RHP Tim Alderson, widely regarded as the state's top prospect in the class of 2007, has announced that he will sign a letter of intent with the Oregon State Beavers in this week's early signing period.

Tim Alderson joins the national champion Beavers

Alderson's Horizon teammate Kevin Rhoderick has decided to sign with his original choice, the Georgia Bulldogs.

Cactus High righthander Matt Tassinari has given a commitment to the UNLV rebels and will sign during the early period.

Matt Tassanari of Cactus is a Rebel

I'm pleased to announce the return of a local baseball camp that I have referred many of you to in the past.

The PHD-Pro Baseball Camp will be held December 27-29 at Papago Sports Complex and is designed for high school aged players who are looking to improve their game.

The camp is directed and staffed by the key personnel who worked with former D'Backs Minor League director Tommy Jones camp in years past. This is one of the events I've always recommended to serious high school players. Click here for further info.

Congratulations to 2006 Mesa Mountain View grad  and current Chandler-Gilbert CC player Nick Shannon for being named the 2006 Arizona Baseball Coaches Association/ Pro-Line Player of the Year.

Mesa Mountain View grad Nick Shannon

The MLB Players Association and MLB Owners reached agreement on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement last week that had some significant changes that will affect high school players in regards to the major league draft.

The most significant change is the new rule requiring MLB teams to sign all their draft picks (with the exception of college seniors) by August 15 or else lose their rights. The new rule will eliminate the concept of "draft and follow" where draftees play junior college ball while under the control of their drafting team and have an opportunity to be signed prior to the next years draft. CVlubs now have only a 60 day window to negotiate.

With the new rule coming into play, expect to see MLB reduce the number of rounds in the draft from 50 to around 30 or so. This has been discussed for some time and makes a great deal of sense now.

I've posted the first list of early commits from the class of 2007 today.

If you have a name to add please e mail me at rb@azdiamondreport.com

Photos from the AZDR Fall Showcase workout are available for viewing and purchase. Click here to view the shots at Arizona Action Photography

The AZ Pilots took home the championship in the Arizona Junior Fall Classic this weekend. The Pilots dropped All Star Baseball Academy 5-2 in the championship game.

   Brian Carr on the mound L) Nick Carrillo takes a late throw to second for the AZ Cowboys

                  Conner Hulse wings it for the Pilots

2007 Horizon RHP Kevin Rhoderick has rescinded his verbal commitment to the University of Georgia and is now planning to sign with Oregon State in next months early signing period. Rhoderick will join area 2005 grads Brian Budrow (Mountain Ridge) and Alex Sogard (Thunderbird) with the National Champion Beavers.

The Arizona Senior Fall Classic kicked off yesterday at the Peoria Sports Complex, with a number of Arizona squads taking the field in day 1. I was only able to hang out for a couple of hours in the afternoon, but several AZ pitchers caught some attention while I was there.

Horizon 2008 Conner Hulse took the ball for The AZ Pilots and showed why he's one of the top RHPs in his class. Hulse was in total control in his 3 innings of work, showing  86-88 velocity out of a quick arm. His command and pitchability are very advanced for his age. With a very projectable lean 6-2 frame, he'll be a hot commodity over the next year.

2007 Sahuarita righty Manny Barreda, a University of Arizona commit, tossed a pair of innings for the White Sox Scout team. Barreda lit the gun at 91-93 and showed a breaking ball that has a chance to be a plus pitch for him. Listed at  a generous 5-11, he had the attention of the large contingent of pro scouts on hand who will have to keep an eye on him between now and June.

The much anticipated appearance of Deer Valley's Chase Johnson for All Star Baseball was the focus of many of the pro scouts in teh afternoon. Johnson didn't disappoint, sitting 92-94 and reportedly flashing 95 a time or two. He'll be scrutinized heavily between now and the draft, and yesterday was a positive day for him.

One of the things I really enjoy is watching young players develop over time. As I see players enter high school and mature, many peak in their sophomore or junior years, while others continue to improve. The strength of the Arizona 2007 class of players lies in the depth of right handed pitching, with a dozen or so guys that I think have a chance to make a big jump in the coming months.

Tucson Sabino right hander Jerry Ahearn is a 6-4 , 220 pound specimen who gets better every time I see him. He's always been able to pitch, going undefeated last year in the high school season for Sabino and this summer in Legion Ball. When I saw him last spring his velocity was 82-84, but it has risen steadily over the year. At the White Sox scout day in August he was 85-87, and yesterday for the Sox he sat at 87-89 with some downhill plane and the ability to throw a lot of strikes. He's clearly become one of the top arms in the class, and will no doubt have a number of options available to him for the future.

   Jerry Ahearn delivers (L) while Tiger Duarte takes a hack for the White Sox Scout Team

It's been a while since I've posted an article, so I thought the "Sixth Tool" piece that is up today would be timely with the Fall Classic and our showcase workout coming up in a couple of days. Feedback is always appreciated and the message board is a great place to voice your thoughts.

Sunnyslope's Chris Amrhein (L) takes a lead for All Star Baseball as Kyle Hoyler of Casa Grande rips a base hit for the Angels in Fall Scout Team play.

The AIA is in the process of realigning conferences for the next two year scheduling block, and it appears that the 5A conference may now be aligned with regions containing only 5A1 or 5AII teams.

This is a positive development, but can I make another suggestion?

If we insist on limiting the number of teams at each level, can we go ahead and call it what it is?

Let's go ahead and create a 6A and 7A conference....who is the AIA kidding here?

For a frame of reference regarding  the conference alignment issue, it appears that the two 5A divisions will pick champions from 28 and 29 teams respectively.

By comparison, the Texas University Interscholastic League divides its 5A conference into 32 Districts (we call them regions), and each district has an average of 8 teams. In other words, they pick a champion from approximately 250 teams.

In addition, for those who complain about inequity in enrollment numbers, the Texas 5A conference members start at enrollments of less than 2000, and also contain behemoths as high as 4500 students.

I'm not suggesting we emulate the Lone Star State, but I am questioning the need to continually water down the system.

McClintock's  Kyle Heckathorn deals for the Angels Scout Team

The Arizona Fall Classic tournaments are rapidly approaching and will take place in Peoria over the next several weeks.

The Senior Classic begins next week, and the AZDR is running a Showcase workout in conjunction with APEX Baseball and Next Level Athletic Services on Thursday October 12 6:00-9:00 P.M. at Brophy Preparatory. Player invitations have been sent and space will be limited so respond ASAP if you are an invitee. College coaches and pro scouts will be in attendance.

High School Coaches: if you have 2007 and 2008 grads you would like to nominate for this event please e mail me at rb@azdiamondreport.com

The Next Level Workouts continue this Sunday October 8 at Chandler Gilbert Community College from 3:00 to 5:30.

The response to these events has been overwhelmingly positive. The workout last week was the best I've witnessed yet, with an impressive staff of professional players, scouts and coaches.

From my standpoint, it gives me an incredible opportunity to see a player up close and personal and is a huge help in the evaluation process. For the player, the developmental value is substantial.

Contact Rodney Davis at info@nlasaz.org

Remember, APEX members get a preferred rate that saves you $50 per session.