We’ve given you the top story lines to follow this year. We’ve given you the top individuals that could get drafted. Now it’s time to take a stab at who will be the league champs when it’s all said and done. League play opens up on Monday.
Class AA Player of the Year: Peter Theodorellis (Commack)
Pitcher of the Year: Ben Brown (Ward Melville)
League 1:
There is a ton of parity in the league this year. With the emergence of Longwood last year, the expected improvement of Sachem East and the usual head-butting of Ward Melville and Pat-Med for the league title, things will get interesting. Brentwood could make some noise too with ace pitcher Justin Aviles getting rave reviews as a sleeper pick this year for All-County. Floyd has a pitching staff led by Robert Brust and AJ Verga that could turn some heads. Sachem East is coming off a down year, but with impact players like Roman Dorosh, Nick Comunale and Anthony Siroka, they will be much improved. At the end of the day, Ward Melville’s combination of Ben Brown and Max Nielsen will will be too tough to defeat in a series and they will find the offense to get it done. I think they will come out on top, although it might only be by one game. There should be four playoff teams from this group.
Champion: Ward Melville
League 2:
Bay Shore won the League last year, but the loss of Brian Weissert will be tough for them to absorb. They still have a number of talented players, but he was the biggest reason they were so successful last year. The combination of Damian Fanduiz and Matt Lawlor atop the rotation will be key for them. Connetquot is coming off a sub-par year by their standards, but their 2019 class rivals their 2015 group in terms of high-end talent. Joe Savino and the Yallon twins are difference makers. Trevor Adamo is a big-time player as well. Northport made an incredible run to the Suffolk Class AA finals last year, but the loss of Brian Herrmann and Nicholas Palmerini is a big loss for them. They will still be a playoff team, as Frankie Stola and Jacob McCarthy are two of the better hitters in the class. Ultimately, I don’t see anyone beating Commack–who just moved down from League 1. Their pitching staff is going to be intimidating. Many people that have watched Brian Morrisey or Peter Theodorellis come away stating they are the best pitchers they’ve seen. That duo alone means a playoff appearance for the Cougars. When you factor in Johnny Pohlman and James Cardinale, they are looking at a potential 16 or 17 win regular season. They have talent all over the infield as well.
Champion: Commack
League 3:
This will be a four-team race between Smithtown East, West, Newfield and Hills East. They all have a shot. I’ve been down at Newfield to watch their practice and they will be led by a pitching staff of Bobby Vath and Kyle Johnson that could keep them in every game. They will end their playoff drought this year. Smithtown West will be led by Nick Trabacchi and Anthony Amato in the rotation. Trabacchi had suffered a foot injury and was doubtful for the beginning of the season but he healed quickly and will be starting on opening day. They won 19 games last year but there is no replacing the impact that Nick Grande had on them. Outfielder Jake Torres is another important piece for them. That is a solid group but I do think Smithtown East has an edge over them with their collection of arms. They will be able to negate whatever impact the pitch count has and they have Mike Ruggerio to help guide the younger players that lack experience. That lack of experience, though, will be the difference in why Hills East wins the league. The rotation of Patch Dooley, Matt Hogan and Joe Litchhult is going to be lethal. Litchhult hasn’t gotten the praise that the others have gotten, but he is a Div-I pitcher as well and slots in nicely as the lefty in the group. When you combine that pitching staff with a shortstop like Mike Palazzolo, a solid first baseman in Elliott Goldstein–not to mention Hogan in CF, they are the favorites.
Champion: Hills East
League 4:
Yes, West Islip lost a lot but it speaks volumes to how talented their team was that they had Kyle O’Neill and Joe Valentino waiting in the wings. Both are legitimate pitchers that can step in and be top of the rotation pitchers. They don’t necessarily need to replace Ray Weber and James Kory, but they are still top pitchers in the county. O’Neill has really refined his command since last year and Valentino is an underrated pitcher, cut from the same mold as his brother, Frank, who is at NYIT. Their offense will be led by Jake Guercio and Greg Tsouprakos. There is plenty of talent in the league this year. Coach Shawn Rush noted that Bellport could pose a real threat with Anthony Jacabacci and Joe Greco in the rotation. Southpaw Jacabacci is getting courted by schools like St. John’s, Fordham and FAU since his velocity has jumped to 86 MPH while Greco is headed to Sacred Heart and is coming off a phenomenal summer. Both are talented hitters as well and they have first baseman Ryan Bouman who has serious pop. Keep an eye on sophomore Andrew Veit, who could be an X-Factor in the rotation. They will need to find the offense to replace graduating seniors Garrett Heaton and Michael Veit last year. Centereach has their big three pitchers in Eric Russo, Sean McGuinnes and Matt Hirsch, but they are not expected to have enough fire-power on offense. Expect West Islip to win it once again.
Champion: West Islip
League 5:
This will be another close league. The two-time reigning champs from Hauppauge lost almost all of their innings from last year plus the League 5 MVP in Tyler Sanderson and SS Billy Huber. It will be up to senior Chris Burns and Matt Overton to step in and replace the production of Mike Lazos and Tim Woodford. They have talented hitters such as Overton and a big-time catcher in Blake Adamo. Hills West has the best pitcher in the league in Brad Camarda–who won eight of their 13 games last year, but they are relatively young aside from him. East Islip and Kings Park will make noise as well. Kings Park is returning almost all of their team from last year, and have a few really underrated pitchers in Branden Falco, Joe Sommer and Ben Sacks, but I see Hauppauge’s experience the past two seasons being the difference.
Champion: Hauppauge
