Entering 2020, Harborfields was in as good of shape as any team in Class A. They were loaded with top-tier talent at key positions including a loaded pitching staff. After three straight seasons of first-round postseason exits, they appeared like a safe bet to change that.
The cancellation of the high school season did not do them any favors, especially graduating catcher Anthony Madigan, RHP Jack Greco and LHP Corey Phelan. The latter is now a professional pitcher in the Philadelphia Phillies system after signing in August. The signing did not just catch me by surprise, but his own head coach.
“It took me by surprise as well, in a good sense,” said Casey Sturm. “He came so far in just a few years since he got to us in high school. He looked great going into last season before the shutdown in March. His mechanics are so clean and repeatable. He was in the mid 80s on Rapsodo. He had command of everything and is so poised. When things shut down, he really went to work. Shutting down might’ve even done him a little bit of help rather than throwing in the 45 degree weather. He became a formidable lefty and linked up with the right people at the right time. It couldn’t have happened to a better kid. I’m super happy for him,” he added.
Another loss was catcher Anthony Madigan, who was widely regarded as one of the best defensive catchers on Long Island last season.
“Tony is the best – an all-timer for me. Everything he did was top-notch. Behind the plate he was a brick wall and his arm was top-notch. He picked up on all the small keys of the pitchers. He was a general on the field. All our top arms, Evan Lauda, Jack Greco and Corey Phelan would all give him all the credit in the world. I feel like it gets overused now-a-days, but he was every sense of what a captain is supposed to be. He is the glue that would’ve kept that special group together,” he added. He is now at SUNY Maritime. Greco, who was a four-year player, was at New York Tech but has since transferred to SUNY New Paltz after the program’s shutdown.
As for the 2021 team, they are led by three high-end four-year varsity players.
Bucknell-commit Sean Keys is “one of the top players on Long Island”, said Sturm. That is an accurate assessment and he was named to our first-team Preseason All-Long Island team. The lefty slugger batted .433 with 10 XBH and 13 RBI as a sophomore. He will provide punch in the middle-of-the-order.
CF Ryan Steel will man the all-important outfield position and the top of the lineup and Swarthmore-commit MIF Matt Torres will “be our chess piece”, and will play all over the diamond.
Uncommitted Matt Torres (Harborfields 2021) displaying his power pic.twitter.com/PgTGvcfGug
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) June 12, 2020
Speaking about those three players, Sturm said, “if you just look at them optically, they are just different from two or three years ago, they are men now. I’m grateful for having them this season and I think they are too. They’ll remember last season for all the wrong reasons, and I think they’ll cherish this season. They’re going to be everything for us,” he added.
“The expectation has raised a little for us each season. These seniors have elevated their play and have taken it to the next level. But the unknown is the unknown. We have positions up for grabs for kids that haven’t played varsity baseball before. That is not unique to us this year, I think a lot of teams are in that position,” he added.
While many of the positions will be filled with younger or inexperienced players, they are in a good spot knowing Keys, Steel and Torres will man 3/7 of the positions behind the pitcher.
Speaking of the pitcher, they are returning only 19 varsity innings from 2019 and that is Chris Miranda and Sean Keys. Miranda was their closer as a freshman but Sturm said he kind of got buried the next year with their deep staff. He threw 7 innings in 2019. When he’s not pitching, he may wind up with a corner outfield spot.
Keys can get it up to 89 MPH and will likely be one of their rotation arms. A name to keep a eye on is freshman Max Hilsenroth. The 6’0 RHP was slated to be on JV as an eighth grader and may push for a rotation spot this season as he has been up to 82 MPH this winter. Sturm said he has “opened our eyes”.
The rest of the staff is a question mark. Sturm said, “we have about eight or nine guys that we are excited about. Some JV players that had high-level success and we’ll see if that translates. Whether they are varsity pitchers, we’ll see.”
They will compete in Conference IV with the reigning Class A Champs from Sayville. They will open up on May 8 against Miller Place at Diamond in the Pines at 5pm.
