What Are The Biggest Storylines of 2020 (High School)

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We spent much of the past week recapping the biggest stories of 2019 but now the calendar has flipped to January and that means no more looking back.

College baseball is just 6 weeks away and high school baseball is right around the corner as well. Players are gearing up for the season and now is the time to preview the upcoming season. First we look at the high schools and see what the major storylines are.

Here it goes:

Can West Islip’s ‘Even Year’ Success Continue?

This is a pretty amazing phenomenon.

West Islip captured the Suffolk County Class AA Championship in 2014, 2016 and 2018. Maybe there’s nothing to it, or maybe they are due for another run. Despite graduating Mike LaDonna and Anthony Cinquemani from the pitching staff, they should still be well positioned with Bobby DiCapua and Brad Battaglini. As we’ve seen from them, they always have another diamond-in-the-rough that will probably go undefeated. Their league will feature Bellport, North Babylon, Comsewogue, Deer Park, Smithtown East and East Islip so there’s some good competition there. I’ve learned never to count out the Lions, specifically in a year like this.

Can Anyone Stop Massapequa?

Similar to the AFC East with the Patriots, it’s foolish to pick against Massapequa until someone actually de-thrones them. After their third consecutive Long Island Championship, they proved that they play their best ball when it matters. In addition to the momentum they are carrying into 2020, they have dudes everywhere. We all know about their trio of Division-I players Johnny Castagnozzi, Travis Honeyman and Wade Kelly which should be the most potent top of the order on the island. They also have Danny Sohn, Bobby Stang, Tyler Sohn, Joe Reda, Connor Kelly, Tommy Fasano and Alex Rende. Honeyman will be moving to the outfield and Castagnozzi will likely be at third base. Expect plenty of scouts at their games to watch those both.

They are in good hands with senior Bobby Conlon anchoring the rotation, but the rest of the staff is up for grabs. That will be the X-Factor of the team because we know they will put up runs with any team and probably average 8-10 runs per game.

They won four consecutive Long Island Championships from 2006-2009, and they will be looking to match that unprecedented run.

The ‘Year of the Hitter’?

I wrote an article on this back in October and it is based on the assumption that most of the Division-I caliber players on Long Island are hitters which is in stark contrast to previous years. We all know the northeast is known more for their arms but this could be the season that the pendulum starts to shift back. Here’s some players that are game-changers at the plate, in no particular order. Apologies to anyone I forget to mention:

Brock Murtha, Sayville

Nick Papageorge, Wheatley

Travis Honeyman and Johnny Castagnozzi, Massapequa

T.J. Wachter, The Stony Brook School

Idris Carter, Roosevelt

Tommy Verga, William Floyd

Don Wille, Sachem East

Rob Copozzi, Center Moriches

Carlos Hidalgo, St. Dominic

Kevin Bowrosen, Miller Place

Matt Brown-Eiring and Alex Ungar, Connetquot

Joe Pellegrino and Jack Reardon, Commack

Robbie Manetta, Farmingdale

It’s nice to change the balance of power back in favor of the hitters.

The Impact of Brooklyn/Queens Schools on the Catholic League?

The Chaminade Flyers are the 2019 NSCHSAA Champions with a 3-1 victory over St. Anthony’s pic.twitter.com/czHcPb827e

— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) May 27, 2019

This is the great unknown as this is the first year that they will be joining the CHSAA. With teams like Holy Cross, Iona Prep, St. Francis Prep, Xaverian and Archbishop Molloy, there are some serious contenders. Chaminade captured the title last year over St. Anthony’s. I haven’t gotten to the previews yet so I’ll hold off on any predictions just yet. We do know that St. Dominic now has Matt Prokopowicz at the helm after one season with Brian Anderson as Head Coach. Two key changes involving players was the addition of LHP Justin Arciniegas from Hauppague to St. John the Baptist and the subtraction of OF Cameron Leary from St. Anthony’s to P27 in South Carolina. Despite the loss of Leary, St. Anthony’s is still loaded.

Who might get drafted?

This is so hard to predict. Last year at this time the consensus from almost everyone who had followed this was that Tim McHugh, Joey Savino, David Falco and Jason Diaz were near locks to get drafted and it wound up being Logan Koester who propelled himself into the spotlight and was drafted by Philadelphia. For various reasons, things change over the course of a season. The biggest reason obviously is performance; you need to distinguish yourself as one of the very best players in the country. Aside from that, there’s the asking price. Some players price themselves out by asking for close to 7 figures and not justifying that with their play. The third reason is having a strong commitment to college. Sometimes a team is not willing to take a risk on a player that seems hellbent on going to school for three years. The last reason is injury. Sometimes a balky elbow or back can give cause for pause in terms of a team trusting an 18-year-old with $250,000. That said, on pure talent I think Murtha is clearly a guy that can play at the next level. Honeyman is a guy that hasn’t gotten a ton of love but when you watch how often he barrels the ball up and his blood lines and work ethic, I think his best days are ahead of him. Don Wille is a player that makes scouts drool with his combination of size and power potential, now he needs to go out and do it between the lines. Copozzi is a player that somehow has gone relatively unnoticed, but he has the best power in the class. With his bat speed, Bowrosen can play pro ball as well. Lastly, Idris Carter is someone that’s already gotten interest due to his freakish athleticism. Guys like that tend to get a shot at the next level as well.

Can someone beat Center Moriches?

After going undefeated in 2019 and winning another NYS Championship, it’s going to be hard for them to top that but that doesn’t mean they aren’t the team to beat in Class B. They might not win by 10 runs per game every day but they still have a pretty strong core with Copozzi, Jordan Falco (6-0, .394 batting average), Leyton Pulsipher and Jack Rupe.

Who’s a Darkhorse Candidate to Compete for a County Championship?

Last season, Port Washington put everything together and nearly won a County Championship before losing to ‘Pequa. That was probably the biggest surprise of all the County Finals. In Nassau A it was a match up of the favorites in Clarke and Division. Suffolk AA was the two best teams and Suffolk A was Sayville and the reigning champs in Rocky Point. Of Class AA and Class A if I had to pick one team that could make a bid and play in the Finals, I will go with MacArthur as they had only seven returning innings on the mound from 2018 and one starting player, Justin DeMaria. Still, they went 15-8-1 and reached the semifinals before losing to Clarke. They are bringing back their entire team and they should be a force in Nassau A.