JUPITER, Fla. — Outfielder Josh Bell was beaming this morning because his favorite team, the Rangers, are headed to their first World Series. He's also just happy to be back out on the field, showing off what he can do.

"It's a lot of fun," Bell said. "When you come out here, everyone's trying to play to the best of their potential, and when you have everyone trying to play their best, it makes a good atmosphere for baseball and it's a lot of fun to play in that."

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Bell is a switch-hitting center fielder from Jesuit College Preparatory School of Dallas. He stands out physically, even at an event with more than 1,500 players. He shows power from both sides of the plate and went 3-for-3 today with a single, a double and a home run.

"I knew it was gone, but it was a good pitch," Bell said of the home run. "It was inside, so I just got my hands in and sent it, you know?"

Performing well in Jupiter is a little bit more of a bonus for Bell, because he missed two months this summer after bruising and cracking his left kneecap sliding into a base. He's back to 100 percent now.
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JUPITER, Fla. — Even without his best stuff, Jake Cave is still pretty good. The outfielder/lefthander from Kecoughtan High in Hampton, Va. made his first appearance on the mound at the World Wood Bat Championships in Jupiter, Fla., coming in to relieve righthander Jordan Ramsey (North Davidson High, Lexington, N.C.) for Canes Baseball. Cave had been warming up in the bullpen, but the Canes' offensive half of the inning ended rather abruptly and Cave went to the mound after about a dozen warm up pitches.

"I didn't have a lot time in the 'pen and today was one of those days I felt like I didn't have my stuff," Cave said. "My arm wasn't as live. I'd be surprised if I was even close to 90 (mph) today." [...] Continue Reading »

JUPITER, Fla. — The Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association World Championships kicked off today in Jupiter, Fla. and the event started with a bang. The first game of the day, on the first field scouts see when they walk in the gate, featured one of the event's must-see pitchers in righthander Jose Fernandez from Alonso High in Tampa.

While all players work hard to get to this event, Fernandez has been through extraordinary circumstances to get where he is today. Before his sophomore year of high school, he fled Cuba with his family to have a better life in the United States.

That puts things in perspective at a young age, and while he has a serious demeanor between the lines, it's easy for Fernandez to relax and have fun on the mound. The hitters he was facing, however, didn't have much fun.

"The last week and the week before that, I was working out for this event," Fernandez said. "I was working hard, really hard, to get ready for this and just wanted to come down, throw strikes, get outs and pitch my game."

That's exactly what he did. Fernandez dominated over his four innings of work, quickly getting ahead of batters and blowing his 92-94 mph fastball past them. He mixed in a hard curveball at 80-83 mph and an 81 mph changeup. He'll also occasionally drop his arm angle down a little bit and mix in a slider.
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JUPITER, Fla. — Perfect Game's annual World Wood Bat Association World Championship takes place in Jupiter, Fla. Oct. 21-25. This has become an annual scouting convention, of sorts, as a majority of the top high school players in this year's draft class will be in attendance, and scouts can also get a peek at some of the best rising juniors and sophomores, as well.

To put things in perspective, 61 of the 116 high school players taken in the top 10 rounds this year played at the event last year. With so many prospects at the event, there's a good reason to watch every team, but here are five teams that stand out from the pack. . .

ABD Bulldogs
The powerhouse program in Southern California, the ABD Bulldogs are a perennial contender in Jupiter. This year’s roster features outfielder/lefthander Daniel Camarena (2011, Cathedral Catholic High, San Diego), infielder Austin Davidson (2011, Oxnard, Calif., High), third baseman/outfielder Travis Harrison (2011, Tustin, Calif., High), righthander Ryan Keller (2011, West Ranch High, Valencia, Calif.) and righthander Kieran Lovegrove (2012, Mission Viejo, Calif., High).
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