Since their inception four years ago, Dodgers Nation has gradually morphed into one of the top organizations on Long Island culminating in a Number 15 ranking for the Mid-Atlantic by Perfect Game at the 17u level.
Christian Byrnes, founder of the organization, is very pleased with their progress.
“We’re going to be very good at most of our age groups this year,” said Byrnes. Aside from their 17u team coached by Sean Burns, he is also expecting a very strong 14u team coached by Al Marazzo as well as 9u and 10u. He stated that the 9u team is coming off a great season in which they won the LI Hot Stove League and the 10u team got some new talented players into the program this winter.
It’s become common to be at a Perfect Game or any local tournament and see one of their teams competed in the championship game. The 2021 group was especially strong, led by a pitching rotation anchored by Cortland-commit Patrick Dalton and Adelphi-commit Phil D’Aguanno. They are both seniors at Bethpage and are reliable two-way players. Their team was runner-up in the inaugural Axcess Invitational this past July.
I was down at their workout tonight at LI Sports Dome in Massapequa and came away impressed.
The organization is now up to 30 teams, but tonight it was just the older age groups.
The format was pretty simple with the players getting their arms loose to begin, then broke into groups in which some players did infield drills, others did outfield drills, other hit in the batting cage and pitchers threw bullpens.
Brendan McCann (Kellenberg 2022) is a thin-frame left-handed pitcher that is not going to overpower anyone, but like most effective lefties, pitches to contact, can work backwards and of course has that nasty breaker. He is one of their grittiest pitchers and can be counted on in big spots.
Brendan McCann (Kellenberg 2022) pic.twitter.com/1lx3NUja4h
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 18, 2021
Will Stewart (Hicksville 2021) is one of the top uncommitted senior arms remaining. He’s a mentally tough pitcher. He was 79-80 MPH but that will tick up during the season. He is a perfectly serviceable Division-III starter or Division-II reliever. He pounded the bottom of the zone and he has been very effective for them in games.
Uncommitted RHP Will Stewart (Hicksville 2021) pic.twitter.com/5SfYjsav7q
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 18, 2021
Patrick Dalton and Phil D’Aguanno did not pitch, but they can swing the bat extremely well. I think they will both be at least given an opportunity to play both ways in college. They are extremely athletic. Dalton is a lefty hitter that plays outfield, D’Aguanno a righty that plays shortstop.
Danny Jasmin (East Meadow) is a left-hitter and pitcher. On the mound he is very raw, but at the plate he showed a ton of bat speed and the ability to barrel the ball up and smack it back through the middle. With the athleticism, he has very high upside.
Christopher Downes (Bethpage 2022) was extremely impressive behind the plate at framing low pitches. That’s how you steal strikes. Byrnes said he’s the best framer he’s ever seen.
Overall, the program is going to win through pitching and defense. They are not going to bludgeon the opponents and that’s fine. Pitching and defense can win games at any level.
