Trevor Cahill

When shoulder surgery sidelined lefthander Gavin Brooks of Rancho Buena Vista High, Cahill emerged as San Diego's top prep player. Primarily a shortstop his first two seasons, Cahill had thrown just 19 innings prior to 2006. He was sitting 86-88 mph with his fastball in the fall, but came out in the spring dominating hitters with two average pitches and surprising feel and command for such an inexperienced pitcher. Cahill has pitched at 90-91 with his fastball most of the spring, touching 93 mph, and has a swing-and-miss breaking ball. It's usually described as a spike curveball with excellent downer action, and hitters have been overmatched when Cahill commands both of his primary pitches. He's a solid athlete and outstanding student. While his Vista rotation mate, Cal State Fullerton signee McCullough Dean, had attracted heavy recruiting interest, Cahill committed to Dartmouth of the Ivy League. Academics are important to Cahill, and buying him out of school will be expensive. That may be a more difficult proposition for teams after a May start when a weakened Cahill, fighting off a case of strep throat, struggled in a three-inning stint in front of several crosscheckers, then didn't pitch for more than 10 days.