Regardless of where you’re from, who your parents are, what size you are and what your nationality is, if you’re good you will be found.
People love to diminish baseball for being a sport that is tilted towards the upper-middle class that can afford to travel the nation. That is simply not the case. A good scout will locate the top players in their area.
Look no further than Kyle McGowin, who hails from the smallest town in New York (Sag Harbor) or Franklin Parra who came from the Dominican Republic and made a name for himself in extremely quick fashion at a school not commonly associated with baseball prowess (Copiague).
With the 2019 season right around the corner, I will attempt to name the tools associated with being an impact baseball player and name the players that possess the best of each.
Hit Tool:
2. Kevin Bowrosen, Miller Place
I’m a huge fan of Bowrosen. The JMU-commit is only scratching the surface of his potential as well considering he’s only 165 lbs and still has an exit velocity of 90 MPH. He’s able to generate that with extremely quick wrists and terrific hand-eye coordination. I think in another year he will be in the conversation for getting drafted, not just because of his hitting ability but his abilities at SS as well, where he can throw the ball 87 MPH across the diamond. Miller Place doesn’t get the love that some other programs get but I think he will generate plenty of buzz, which will, in turn, generate buzz for the program as Sam Kessler did for Mount Sinai in 2016.
1.Jake Lazzaro, Oceanside
Credit to St. John’s for not only noticing Jake as a 10th grader but also recognizing that he was an extremely underrated player. At that time (spring 2017) he was a second baseman that was a good player on a good team. St. John’s typically doesn’t recruit “good”, they recruit “great”. Coach Hampton is enough of a talent evaluator that he had the foresight to see what was beneath the engine, so to speak. Lazzaro has exceptional hand-eye coordination, emerging power and a plus-plus makeup. He had a .576 SLG% last season and scored 34 runs. What really stood out was his performance in the Nassau Finals against Massapequa in which he began the game 3-for-3 with a single, double and triple. In his fourth AB, with the Sailors trailing by two runs in the seventh inning he came to bat with a runner on first base. Obviously, a HR ties the game and completes the cycle. At SUNY Old Westbury, the right-center field alley way is death on left-handed batters. It’s roughly 390 feet away. Not many college hitters–let alone high school kids–put it out that way. Lazzaro drove one directly into death valley. From my vantage point down the first base line, it had a shot. It was caught at the warning track, with the CF back against the chain-linked fence. It would’ve been a storybook ending to an amazing season for him, but instead it’s just a footnote on an otherwise disappointing ending to the season for the Sailors. To me, Lazzaro’s performance was heroic. He’s the best all-around position player on Long Island and certainly one of the best hitters.
Power:
2. Kyle Rausch, Longwood
2018 was a coming out party for Rausch and because of it, I think he has an outside chance of getting drafted. The Naval Academy-commit is a high-intensity player. He nearly willed Longwood to the Class AA Finals on the heels of a monster 8-for-13 postseason run which included a game-winning home run against Hills East. He rode that momentum right into the summer where he hit 4 HR over a two-game stretch in Georgia which coincided with his commitment to the U.S. Naval Academy. He has recorded an exit velocity of 94 MPH and he also is a talented CF that can throw 87 MPH from the outfield. I expect him to be among the league-leaders in HR this season.
1.Tim McHugh, Commack
This one is clear. The TCU-commit has some of the best power in the nation. He is built like a middle linebacker and he is young for his grade which makes him extremely appealing to MLB scouts. He is very likely to hear his name called on Draft Draft this season if he can match or exceed his 2018 season in which he batted .490 with 6 HR and won the Blue Chip Prospect Silver Slugger Award for top hitter in Suffolk County. McHugh is another player with plus-plus makeup, and he will once again have Commack competing for a county championship along with fellow classmates Jake Krzemienski and Drew Silverman plus emerging players like Joe Pellegrino.
Best Fastball: Tie: David Falco, Center Moriches/Jason Diaz, Kellenberg
Not much for debate here; there’s only a couple high school seniors that can sit in the low 90s. Diaz has been on the radar since 2015 while Falco has been more of a newcomer since Center Moriches won the Class B State title in June. Both will generate plenty of interest from scouts. The question with both has nothing to do with velocity; both have the radar-gun popping numbers. For Diaz, can he prove he is back to being the fierce competitor he was in 2017 when he took the CHSAA by storm. As a reliever, Falco will have to allow close to nothing. You have to grade his performance on a scale. As a flame-throwing reliever against small schools, he will have to be dominant from day one. When you touch 94 MPH in high school, that is typically the case.
Best Slider: Roman Dorosh, Sachem East
Dorosh could also be considered for best fastball, but he is a tick or two behind the aforementioned two. Regardless, he has the best slider on Long Island. Between his arm slot and his velocity, it’s just too much for a varsity hitter to handle. There might only be a couple hits against it all year and I certainly don’t expect any extra-base hits against it. He doesn’t give it away, and with his fastball velocity hitters need to respect the heater. That adds up to ugly, defensive hacks. Even in League I. Dorosh will have a chance to get drafted this year. He’s a similar size to Brian Morrell, very athletic, I give him the slight advantage in terms of his tenacity on the mound.
Best Curveball: Jake Krzemienski, Commack
Jake is almost an automatic win. With his ability to command all quadrants of the strike zone with his fastball and his 12-6 curveball, he often makes it look easy. The Boston College-commit is a huge difference-maker because not only does he prevent runs, but he doesn’t walk anyone so he often riches complete games. His curveball ties both lefties and righties into knots and if I was going against him with the season on the line, I would not be confident about my chances.
Best Defensive Infielder: Tie: E.J. Exposito, St. John the Baptist/T.J. Werner, Mount Sinai
I’m not an expert at defense. I’ve never taught it, I can’t diagnose mechanical flaws but I can say I know when it looks good. I grew up watching Rey Ordonez and to me, T.J. Werner reminds me of him. He’s one of the shortest varsity players on Long Island–maybe in the country–and he was still able to land a Division-I scholarship to Radford University. Werner makes the routine plays in his sleep and can pull of the spectacular play on occasion. He’s fun to watch. Exposito is certainly a more well-rounded player in the sense that he can hit in the top or middle-of-the-order and also will see plenty of innings on the mound this season after his brief cameo as closer for SJB last season in the playoffs. He can get it up in the mid 80s. At SS, though, he is stellar. I’ve seen enough of him to put him in this spot. He has a very strong ability to close the gap on the length of the throws after fielding the ball. Very quick-twitch-y and plays the game very smooth.
