Debates
What is the Best Tool On the Island?
One of the common phrases thrown around baseball is “five-tool player”. Those are, of course, being able to hit, hit with power, run, field and throw. For purposes of this article we will focus on which players possess the best individual tools. For example, if a base stealer is faced with the obstacle of stealing against an elite catcher, and he can still succeed, he has an elite set of wheels. If a power pitcher matches up against a power hitter, and can still strike him out, he has an elite fastball. We’re going to add a couple more tools for fun. Here are the top tools right now. 1. Vito Friscia’s Power As we’ve alluded to in the past–this kid has some game-changing power. He won the Power Showcase in Miami two years ago. He hit baseballs to parts of...
Ranking the Offenses
It is way too early to make definitive proclamations, but with the season one month away we can form some well-informed opinions based on the rosters to rank the NCAA-affiliated teams on Long Island by their offense. This is not based on pure statistics from last year but which teams have the best chance of success in their respective conference based upon their talent and the overall scope of the conference. 1. St. Joseph’s This is a unit that hit .319 as a team with a .404 OBP last year and will be returning almost all of their impact players. They can expect a similar type of performance. Between Brendan Sullivan (.384 AVG), Nick Girardi (.383), Anthony Bonilla (.351), Joe Lynn (.402), Joseph Calabrese (.368), James Nakashian (.314) and Ryan Walsh (.310) they will pose some seriou...
Ranking the Pitching Staffs
It is still way too early to make definitive proclamations because anything can happen prior to Opening Day, but here is a breakdown of the pitching staffs among the NCAA-affiliated programs here on Long Island. This list is not simply based on who throws the hardest and who has the most Div-I caliber pitchers, but which group has the best chance of success in their conference. 1. LIU Post [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDUdt5uR9qc] Projected Rotation: 1. Jake DeCarli 2. Dan Jagiello 3. Chris Anderson 4. Joey Arena/James Varela Analysis: This is a dynamic rotation. They have the two dominant and experienced aces at the top that will go deep into most games, eliminating the need for bullpen depth. They could really cause problems for the ECC hitters and make some noise if they mad...
Players Poised for a Huge Season
Matt Seelinger, Farmingdale: As a freshman in 2014, Seelinger recorded the win–pitching 6.0 innings in the Skyline Conference championship against Old Westbury. He won three games and compiled a 3.86 ERA that season and held the opposition to a program-record .198 AVG. It was a continuation of his terrific high school career in which he was an All-State pitcher and twice won the Nassau County championship for Clarke HS. Last season he continued to limit the base hits but he struggled to find his command–walking 22 batters over 29.0 IP. Looking at his strikeout total of 43, it shows that he simply needs to regain the command of his fastball to be a dominating pitcher. I think he will regain that and become a lights-out pitcher this season for the Rams. To read the rest of the ar...
Ranking the Carl Yastrzemski Award Winning Seasons of Past 10 Years
CLICK HERE to sign up for National Scouting Report–the nation’s No. 1 scouting agency. If you are a talented player that is serious about playing at the next level, they will land you a scholarship. The most coveted award for Suffolk County high school baseball players is the Carl Yastrzemski Award. Every year players lace up their shoes in March with their eyes on this prize, being handed the award in front of 700+ guests at Villa Lombardi’s in Holbrook, vindicating their success and hard work that led them to this point. Here is a ranking of the past 10 award winning seasons. 10. Jesse Berardi, 2014 Key Stats: .423 AVG, 13 extra base hits, 25 runs scored This has nothing to do with the lack of production, but the sheer talent of this list. Berardi was a standout player during his ...
How To Approach Choosing Your College
At this point of the year, many of the best high school seniors have already signed their national letter of intent and are preparing to play their senior year with the peace of mind of knowing where they will be playing in college. For the juniors and underclassmen there is much work to be done. If you follow these basic steps, however, it will make your decision-making process much easier. Decide if you want to stay home or go away– This is the first step because it immediately narrows down your decision. If you want to go away, you can still narrow down your choices based on what region you want to be in. Many players from Long Island, and the northeast in general, would love to flock to the south in pursuit of beautiful weather and top-tier baseball. Narrow it down to a region an...
Coach’s Take on Takeout Slides
The irony of baseball is that everyone understands it wasn’t meant to be a contact sport, but yet when a player gets injured due to an overly-aggressive play, many people argue that you cannot fault a player for playing hard. During a regular season game the story blows over by the time the next game starts, but in the playoffs it’s a whole different animal and the debate will never end. After watching the now-infamous slide tackle by The Notorious C.H.A.S.E., I decided to consult with a couple of the brightest minds in high school baseball here on Long Island to get their take. Their opinions fell in line with what I expected. “I’m all for hard nosed play but it can’t be dirty. I felt his slide was dirty for two reasons: 1) It was so late that he passed the b...
Which Team Had the Best Recruiting Class?
"This is a program-altering class"
Which team had the best pitching staff in history?
With all the recent talk of the Mets’ vaunted quartet of Matt Harvey-Jacob DeGrom-Noah Syndergaard-Steven Matz, it got me thinking; which Long Island team had the best starting staff in history? I had to do some fact-checking and talk to some people who have been around longer than I have to get an educated answer to this question. After much deliberation, here is the top six. 2007 Islip: Rob Rogers- Los Angeles Dodgers (32nd Round) Chris Burke- San Diego Padres (18th Round) Ed Macaluso- Iona This team has a top three you could match up with anyone. The first two guys went on to play pro ball–albeit as an outfielder for Burke after smashing 31 HRs in his college career–and Macaluso won the Paul Gibson Award a senior with a 7-1 record and 1.05 ERA. As a unit, this team we...
