In response to Gunnar Sandberg’s recent injury, the tournament organizers of the National Classic have decided to switch to wood bats for this year’s event. The athletic director of Marin Catholic High (Kentsfield, Calif.), a participant in the tournament, sent a proposal to tournament director Steve Gullotti last week. Gullotti forwarded the proposal to participating coaches and received a unanimous response in favor of the switch.

“I had been thinking about it ahead of time,” Gullotti said. “Their athletic director called me and there was no pressure whatsoever. A big part of this was a tribute to their player. We felt the obligation to at least open up the dialogue for further research. Hopefully, down the road, we can make this a wood bat tournament.” [...] Continue Reading »

Junior Brandon Sedell is no stranger to national attention. He's been surrounded by players in the spotlight since his freshman year and has even taken his own turn in getting some recognition. Sedell is a catcher/third baseman for American Heritage High (Plantation, Fla.) and was varsity rookie in 2008, when the Patriots won a national title. That team had a loaded lineup that included first baseman Eric Hosmer (first round, Royals), catcher Adrian Nieto (fifth round, Nationals), righthander Juan Carlos Sulbaran (30th round, Reds), shortstop Deven Marrero (a 17th-round pick last year by the Reds, now at Arizona State) and third baseman Nick Castellanos (2010 All-American now at Archbishop McCarthy High in Southwest Ranches, Fla.). [...] Continue Reading »

Kevin Gausman, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound righthander from Grandview High in Aurora, Colo., is the No. 7 prospect on Baseball America's high school Top 100 list.

The Louisiana State commit features a mid-90s fastball with good sink, a changeup and both a curveball and a slider. Listen to the interview to hear Kevin talk about his time on the summer showcase circuit, including a Gold Medal run with Team USA, how his NCAA bracket is holding up and his love for Little Debbie snacks. . .

[...] Continue Reading »

PHILADELPHIA—The Northeast isn’t exactly a breeding ground for baseball prospects nor does it typically feature “baseball weather.” However, Wednesday was quite the opposite. The temperature in Philadelphia was in the 60s, the sun was out and two Top 100 pitchers were facing off in a game that attracted close to 50 scouts. Germantown Friends School (Philadelphia) was hosting Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.) with lefthander Jesse Biddle starting for Germantown Friends and righthander Keenan Kish starting for Germantown Academy.

Germantown Friends is more known for its academics and its baseball field is a little unorthodox. There is no outfield fence and the only thing keeping spectators off the field is a white boundary line up right field and wire fencing up left field. There is a backstop and athletic officials for the school roped off an area reserved for scouts. They were packed in like sardines until they made their usual trip up the lines to get side views in the third or fourth innings.

Biddle, an Oregon signee, is a solidly-built southpaw with broad shoulders. He works quickly with a fastball that ranges from 88-91 mph and mixes a slow curve that was 69-70 as well as a 79-80 change. He also works with a slider, but didn’t get much opportunity to throw it in this game. Biddle was on a pitch count since it was his first official outing and was removed in the third inning after giving up six runs, only three of which were earned.

[...] Continue Reading »

Keenan Kish is a two-way player for Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pa. and he currently ranks No. 59 on Baseball America's high school Top 100 list.

From a pro standpoint, he's more projectable as a pitcher. Kish presently throws his fastball in the upper 80s to low 90s and also mixes in a changeup and a curveball. He has an athletic frame with projection remaining and smooth mechanics that help him to throw a lot of strikes. But he's also a good third baseman that hits from the left side and plays the game hard. [...] Continue Reading »

With shortstop Garin Cecchini out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, Hommy Rosado might not have it easy from here on out, but he's certainly made it look that way so far. The Barbe High (Lake Charles, La.) catcher is absolutely killing the ball through 15 games.

In 51 at-bats he has 22 hits, 15 of which are home runs. That gives him a .431/.516/1.353 line to go with 26 runs scored, two doubles and 36 RBIs.

"Hommy bats second and Garin was leading off," head coach Glenn Cecchini said. "It was like pick your poison. They would pitch to Hommy and he'd make them pay.

"He's a real neat kid. He's real  humble and never brags. You can't say enough good about him." [...] Continue Reading »

Yesterday, NBC Bay Area reported that a high school pitcher was in a medically-induced coma after being struck in the head by a line drive. Gunnar Sandberg, a junior at Marin Catholic High (Kentfield, Calif.), was able to walk around and converse after the incident. Emergency authorities were still called and Sandberg’s status was monitored closely.

He was then put into a medically-induced coma so doctors could perform surgery to reduce pressure on his brain. He is expected to emerge from the coma in a couple of days.

Last night, Marin Catholic faced Drake High (San Anselmo, Calif.). To honor Sandberg, the teams decided to use wood bats instead of metal.

Owasso (Okla.) High has a rich tradition in baseball with nine state titles under head coach Larry Turner and 11 in school history. The Rams are favorites for the 6-A title game every season and never go overlooked by opponents.

When a program like that then gets a transfer who is considered one of the best pitchers in the country, other 6-A coaches around the state probably mutter a few choice words under their breath. Dylan Bundy, a 2011 righthander, transferred from nearby Sperry (Okla.) High—a 3-A program. He's easily among the top prospects for 2011 overall and even could be argued to be among the top prospects for 2010. He has a very good fastball that has already been up to 95 mph this spring and a wipeout slider. [...] Continue Reading »

The place to be for Southeastern scouts on Friday night was Pensacola (Fla.) Catholic High, where the Crusaders matched up against the Chipley (Fla.) Tigers.

About 30 scouts showed up to the game because it featured a stellar matchup on the mound: Righthander Karsten Whitson took the hill for Chipley and was opposed by another righthander, Wes Mugarian.

The main event lived up to the billing. Whitson threw six innings, allowing two runs on two hits while striking out 15. But Mugarian outshined him by throwing the first seven-inning no-hitter of his career. Over seven innings, the 6-foot-1, 190-pound Alabama commit also struck out 15 and extended his high school record to a perfect 18-0. [...] Continue Reading »

On March 9, Charlotte Christian—ranked No. 23 in the preseason poll—faced off against Forsyth Country Day School (Lewisville, N.C.). The matchup was a magnet for scouts, as Charlotte Christian features outfielder Ty Linton—ranked No. 35 in our high school Top 100—and Forsyth Country Day features righthander Adam Griffin, one of the top pitchers in the 2011 class. [...] Continue Reading »

Scott Frazier, a 6-foot-7, 215-pound righthander from Upland (Calif.) High pitched a gem in a 17-0 rout against Silverado High (Victorville, Calif.) last night. Frazier allowed no hits in his first start of the season. Only two Silverado hitters reached base—one on a walk and another on an error. He struck out 18. Reports were that he was 91-94 mph with his fastball and a good curveball that he threw for strikes. He will be featured in today's Draft Tracker. [...] Continue Reading »

Pine View High (St. George, Utah) shortstop Marcus Littlewood has grown up around the game. HIs father, Mike, played at Brigham Young University and was a 37th-round draft pick by the Brewers in 1988. Mike has been the head coach at Dixie State College since 1996, leading the Red Storm to a national championship in 2004.

Marcus is a talented shortstop—ranked No. 24 on our latest high school Top 100—and spoke with BA's Conor Glassey on March 4 about growing up with his dad at the ballpark, winning a gold medal with the 2008 16U Team USA team and learning how to switch hit.

Nick Hurtado, a lefthander for Santiago High in Corona, Calif., recently received news that he'll be out for the season after a cancerous tumor was found in his left knee. Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times originally reported the news.

"I've known the kid since he was 10," Santiago head coach Ty DeTrinidad said. "He's a phenomenal kid."

DeTrinidad said that Hurtado had complained about a sore knee before Christmas break. When the team returned to workouts the pain was still there so he went in for an x-ray. Doctors didn't like what they saw and ordered an MRI. That's when they discovered a tumor. Originally they said it was spreading quickly and they might have to amputate. Hurtado went to UCLA medical for further tests and the doctors feel there is a very good chance amputation won't be necessary, but baseball is obviously going to be put on hold for a while. DeTrinidad added that Hurtado has handled the situation very well and even said he knew baseball was out of the question and he just wanted to keep his leg. Hurtado will undergo chemotherapy for a few months and then doctors will likely cut into his femur and insert a rod. [...] Continue Reading »

Prospects Plus is Baseball America's high school scouting service featuring a database of nearly 20,000 players and scouting reports on more than 8,000 of them. The database is used by coaches and scouts to connect with players and for fans to stay ahead of the curve. Click here to subscribe.

If you were already a subscriber, you would have been able to read scouting reports on some of the game's top prospects before their senior years of high school . . .
[...] Continue Reading »