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I think it will be a competitive year for ye ol' Concord District (5): there's really no one that jumps out as the clear leader. But whereas in many previous years the run to the state title goes through the Concord, I don't think that will be the case this year.

LB, West Springfield, Madison and Battlefield: those are the four that I'm watching. 

Two sophs to watch: Zach Agnos (Battlefield) and Seth Richards (Oakton).

It's an ambitious task to try to list top players, especially since, unless you really know a kid, it's hard to say someone is going to have a breakout year.  Or, maybe you have a kid who was on JV last year, or backed up behind a senior last year, who's ready to step up.

So, I don't blame anyone for missing a few key guys.  But here are some fairly prominent guys that I couldn't find on any of the lists (though because I have trouble keeping track of who's 4A, 5A and 6A, I may have overlooked them by scanning the wrong list):

Aaron Robinson, 2017 C at Monacan, is the area's most feared HR threat, committed to Norfolk State.

Hunter Andrews, 2018 OF/RHP formerly at Monacan but now at St. Chris, is a premier hitter and will carry a fair share of innings as well.

Logan Amiss, 2018 C at Powhatan, is a good bet to hit .450 or better; committed to VCU.

Drew Camp, 2017 1B at Thomas Dale, figures to follow in Robinson's footsteps as a HR threat this year and next.

I don't see any Prince George guys on here (?) and that means they missed conference POY Tevin Tucker (2018 SS, committed to WVU), 2018 OF Michael Peterson (Longwood), and 2019 C/3B Justin Starke.

Preston Eacho, 2018 LHP at Atlee, missed a lot of last season and so is easy to overlook.  Don't.

Scott McDonough, 2018 RHP/3B at Godwin.

 

The above comes with the disclaimer that I haven't tried to ID everyone, and I am also not including those already listed by PBR.

 

joemktg posted:

I think it will be a competitive year for ye ol' Concord District (5): there's really no one that jumps out as the clear leader. But whereas in many previous years the run to the state title goes through the Concord, I don't think that will be the case this year.

LB, West Springfield, Madison and Battlefield: those are the four that I'm watching. 

Two sophs to watch: Zach Agnos (Battlefield) and Seth Richards (Oakton).

I have personally made the "Concord" bet these last couple years and will double-down again this year for a few reasons I need not get into st the moment. With that said, I think Madison is the clear 6A North favorite in my humble opinion.

I really don't have a feel yet for which teams will rise to the top.  It's always nice to have highly regarded individual players, and they correlate to which teams do well, but a lot more goes into who wins as a team.

For example, I've seen Cosby twice now.  They seem to have some good young arms and some respectable older arms.  Their sticks haven't really shown up just yet.  But experience shows us we should count on them being around come playoff time.

Manchester has been hot throughout the lineup thus far.  I'm not sure how their pitching will hold up, though.

Among private schools, I wonder if anyone has a lineup as loaded as Benedictine's.  Cal Sigler is the premier leadoff guy in our area and, for my money, simply the fastest player in RVA.  Will Simon, Eli Ottinger and Greg Ryan make for about as solid a set of 3-4-5 sticks as you could ask for.  Eli is surely one of the leading pitchers around in this, his senior year.  But again, there are so many teams I haven't seen yet, I really can't say how it'll all shake out.

Midlo Dad posted:

I really don't have a feel yet for which teams will rise to the top.  It's always nice to have highly regarded individual players, and they correlate to which teams do well, but a lot more goes into who wins as a team.

For example, I've seen Cosby twice now.  They seem to have some good young arms and some respectable older arms.  Their sticks haven't really shown up just yet.  But experience shows us we should count on them being around come playoff time.

Manchester has been hot throughout the lineup thus far.  I'm not sure how their pitching will hold up, though.

Among private schools, I wonder if anyone has a lineup as loaded as Benedictine's.  Cal Sigler is the premier leadoff guy in our area and, for my money, simply the fastest player in RVA.  Will Simon, Eli Ottinger and Greg Ryan make for about as solid a set of 3-4-5 sticks as you could ask for.  Eli is surely one of the leading pitchers around in this, his senior year.  But again, there are so many teams I haven't seen yet, I really can't say how it'll all shake out.

Indeed, Cal is one speedy hombre ... I believe Manchester has Dylan Gentry holding down their middle infield ... high quality kid, especially as a teammate ... his dad is a stand-up guy too so easy to make the connection.

1)  Battlefield has the inside track I believe in the north....quality everywhere up the middle, depth, deep pitching, and playoff experience.  They have had some tough playoff luck too-they are due.  

2)  Lake Braddock has a wealth of pitching, Darcy among others can play, and they have speed and depth.  

3) Madison is always good, but appear to lack playoff quality pitching depth, are weak behind the dish, and SS, none of which helps in the playoffs.  Jake Nielsen is somehow below most radars, but is capable of dominating on the bump and is a real deep threat at the plate, Novak is a hit machine when locked in,  lots of depth away from pitching there.  

4) Patriot has a nice right/lefty combo of starters, an experienced stud catcher, and good depth.  Great lineup, might not have enough high quality pitching.  Young Eikhoff can hit.   

After that, I think it falls off to the "good" Concorde/5 district teams, but they are all flawed.  Centreville has good pitching, but lacks pop and has a a ton of question marks defensively.  Chantilly just can't do it again, I don't see a ton there, but clearly they have a coach!  I just don't see it.  Robinson, eh.  Oakton is interesting.....they don't have a complete team, but with 3 D1 caliber pitchers they can be in any game.   If Toma recovers and someone (anyone) other than those pitchers and Davis steps up they could surprise....or they could go 2-12.  That could be a fun team to watch/coach as they could do great things or implode.    

In Liberty/6:  Madison is no doubt big favorite, but has some chinks in the armor.   Hosley at Langley is a beast, and that team has parts, not sure if they can put it together consistently enough to make any run though.   South Lakes has developed enough pitching and fields a tough 9-they can compete.  After that most of the teams are 1 pitcher and not truly 9 deep.  Check that, Mclean with Slade and Groppe is a nice combo.  Projected:  Madison, South Lakes, Langley, W&L, Mclean, Fairfax, Yorktown, Hayfield.  

In 7:  Lake Braddock, a Spartan team I don't really know, a likeable West Po team, and South County.....dropoff to Woodson, and another dropoff to TC, Annandale, and another drop to Mt. Vernon.

In Concorde/5:  I dunno, not as clearly defined IMO as compared to prior years, low confidence as I think it is open.....Centreville on pitching, Chantilly on coaching, Robinson, Westfield,  Oakton, Herndon.    

Away from local 6A Kettle Run, Marshall, Briar Woods (though I don't know them).  PVI is very good, but there are D1 commits and there are D1 commits if you know what I mean-they are off from last year-still better than publics though.  

Combined Top 10:  PVI, Battlefield, Lake Braddock, Madison, Kettle Run, Patriot, Chantilly, O'Connell, West Springfield, Marshall/Centreville.

***All uninformed opinion, no harm intended, best viewed March 2018***   

Allinfun posted:

Projected:  Madison, South Lakes, Langley, W&L, Mclean, Fairfax, Yorktown, Hayfield.  

***All uninformed opinion, no harm intended, best viewed March 2018***   

Well, my son is the starting catcher at Hayfield so I'd love to prove your prediction wrong... First game tonight against Langley, if the field is playable, which is not a given at all.

I'd like to be proven wrong, love the folks at Hayfield!  Langley was pretty sloppy against W&L defensively to let that game get away. (and that was excellent base running by W&L in the end)  Make 'em throw strikes, give some OF depth and make the plays!  Starting to get "game on!" texts for tonight, so hopefully you get yours in too-good luck!

Allinfun posted:

I'd like to be proven wrong, love the folks at Hayfield!  Langley was pretty sloppy against W&L defensively to let that game get away. (and that was excellent base running by W&L in the end)  Make 'em throw strikes, give some OF depth and make the plays!  Starting to get "game on!" texts for tonight, so hopefully you get yours in too-good luck!

Thanks. Game moved to Lee HS since their field is playable (ours is NOT, nor is Langley's). Weird to be the home team at a different diamond. Also, Hayfield will play there again tomorrow as the away team against Lee. Big kudos to HC at Lee for letting this happen on such short notice!

Since a couple have weighed in on the Concord (6A Conference 5) district, here are my thoughts ...

Centreville:  Head Coach Scott Findley had a great run last year, punctuated by their upset victory over a talented Madison team in the playoffs. This season, Carter Egbers, John Farley, and Brandon Luke will hold down pitching duties with Egbers, Cameron Edwards, Gavin Collins, and Ethan Busenitz guiding their offense. I believe Centreville lost the live arm of Cristian Sanchez to PVI.

Chantilly: In the interest of full disclosure, I am a parent. That said, I believe I know the core of this team (8 Seniors) very well having watched most of them compete against many of the players I cite elsewhere in this post. All told, this is a very talented group of boys with starting pitching being their only considerable question mark compared to last season. Coach Kevin Ford deserves a lot of credit for building this program to the point where they have been to the Virginia 6A State Championships in 2014, 2015, 2016 and finally winning it all last year in dramatic fashion against Battlefield. This game gave me the same goosebumps I felt watching my NY Mets win it all in 1986. This season, I expect Seniors Jack Fitzhugh, Bret Caslavka, Hayden Dux, and Robert Sallberg to hold down the pitching. In addition, the pitching future looks very bright as Junior Kyle Pasquale and Sophomores Dylan Siesky, Connor Pennell, and Nicholas Zampiello having impressed me as I watched them develop over the years. In terms of bats, I think Chantilly has the most formidable line-up in the entire conference. Senior Chris Pitura was a 1st Team All-Conference and Honorable Mention All-Region at 2nd base last year and will be taking over duties at shortstop this season. Batting in front of Pitura will likely be Jon Alderman and Cameron Boddie, two speedy outfielders cover lots of ground and can wear out any pitcher on any given night.Behind these three will be Siesky, Senior Garrett Thomas, and two notable Junior bats, Christian Parana and Jonathan Braden. Junior speed-demon Eric Tsai will likely be taking on pinch-running duties. Finally, the unexpected gem of this group is Freshman catcher Shane Dux, this kid might be taking over catching duties at Chantilly sooner than anyone expected. In term of results thus far, Chantilly beat Marshall 12-6 in a scrimmage on 03/07. Their season home opener is tonight at 6:30pm against Riverside HS so we shall see what this season holds but I am liking what I have seen thus far.

Herndon: Injury to Menendez will present challenges to Herndon, which will need to rely on Austin “AJ” Boynton, Cameron Bane, and Joe Wright while he recovers. Herndon bats includes Boynton at leadoff, Menendez and a kid named Matt Knox that has always been a little guy that can flat out hit ... love watching that kid compete at the plate.

Oakton: An injury to Toma Shigaki-Than will weaken the pitching rotation. However, Oakton does have Owen Lamon, Seth Richards and Jared Kimbel left to hold down the staff while he recovers. Richards, catcher Ryan Davis and Eric Lingebach will provide notable bats for Oakton.

Robinson: I think Robinson is going to surprise some folks with the balance of their team. Pitching will be held down by Will Jewel, Jack Philbin, Bret Ronyecs, and Danny Checkosky. Flynn Hopkins, Jack Quinn, and PK Cocolis are solid bats in the middle of the order.

Westfield: Westfield beat Mount Vernon 8-1 last night on 12K's over 5IP from Antonio Buckley. They also have bats in catcher Devin Kakar and Seth Hockett.

Prediction: I think Chantilly takes the Concord conference once again this year. What happens beyond that, I can only guess but wouldn’t be surprised if they made another serious run to cement the legacy they have established these last several years.

Last edited by Rough Diamond
Rough Diamond posted:
joemktg posted:

I think it will be a competitive year for ye ol' Concord District (5): there's really no one that jumps out as the clear leader. But whereas in many previous years the run to the state title goes through the Concord, I don't think that will be the case this year.

LB, West Springfield, Madison and Battlefield: those are the four that I'm watching. 

Two sophs to watch: Zach Agnos (Battlefield) and Seth Richards (Oakton).

I have personally made the "Concord" bet these last couple years and will double-down again this year for a few reasons I need not get into st the moment. With that said, I think Madison is the clear 6A North favorite in my humble opinion.

Update: Looks like Madison lost to Fairfax 4-3 last night.

Allinfun posted:

Liberty inverted from recent past right now.  Madison alone in last.  Langley alone in7th. Hayfield atop the conference and undefeated.  Long way to go,  but would not have predicted that!  

Eikhoff 4/4 with 2B and 3B in Patriot 13-1 win tonight. Patriot 3-0 this week.  

Coach Pudge at Madison is very well-respected so his teams are hard to count out pre-season and even this lone loss won't necessarily count them out ... with that said, I know lots of those boys at Fairfax and they should be solid this season ... plus, they added an awesome assistant coach in Keith Newcombe who is the real deal.

Last edited by Rough Diamond
Rough Diamond posted:
2forU posted:

WSHS topped Annandale in 5. I think demographic changes have finally caught up to Annandale.  Next is South County on Friday and Robinson on Saturday.  Lots of talent at WS (there was last year as well). 

Only position player I have personally seen on WS is Isaak Lyons ... that dude can play!

Isaak's brother Jared, a Junior SS/RHP can play too, he's an early GMU commit.

Rough Diamond posted:
Allinfun posted:

Liberty inverted from recent past right now.  Madison alone in last.  Langley alone in7th. Hayfield atop the conference and undefeated.  Long way to go,  but would not have predicted that!  

Eikhoff 4/4 with 2B and 3B in Patriot 13-1 win tonight. Patriot 3-0 this week.  

Coach Pudge at Madison is very well-respected so his teams are hard to count out pre-season and even this lone loss won't necessarily count them out ... with that said, I know lots of those boys at Fairfax and they should be solid this season ... plus, they added an awesome assistant coach in Keith Newcombe who is the real deal.

Oh, don't get me wrong, Madison is still the favorite....those standings are just notable for being inverse of the norm!  Pudge will do his thing, and the sting of that meltdown with Fairfax will be used as fuel every time they let off the gas!

Allinfun posted:

1)  Battlefield has the inside track I believe in the north....quality everywhere up the middle, depth, deep pitching, and playoff experience.  They have had some tough playoff luck too-they are due.  

2)  Lake Braddock has a wealth of pitching, Darcy among others can play, and they have speed and depth.  

3) Madison is always good, but appear to lack playoff quality pitching depth, are weak behind the dish, and SS, none of which helps in the playoffs.  Jake Nielsen is somehow below most radars, but is capable of dominating on the bump and is a real deep threat at the plate, Novak is a hit machine when locked in,  lots of depth away from pitching there.  

4) Patriot has a nice right/lefty combo of starters, an experienced stud catcher, and good depth.  Great lineup, might not have enough high quality pitching.  Young Eikhoff can hit.   

After that, I think it falls off to the "good" Concorde/5 district teams, but they are all flawed.  Centreville has good pitching, but lacks pop and has a a ton of question marks defensively.  Chantilly just can't do it again, I don't see a ton there, but clearly they have a coach!  I just don't see it.  Robinson, eh.  Oakton is interesting.....they don't have a complete team, but with 3 D1 caliber pitchers they can be in any game.   If Toma recovers and someone (anyone) other than those pitchers and Davis steps up they could surprise....or they could go 2-12.  That could be a fun team to watch/coach as they could do great things or implode.    

In Liberty/6:  Madison is no doubt big favorite, but has some chinks in the armor.   Hosley at Langley is a beast, and that team has parts, not sure if they can put it together consistently enough to make any run though.   South Lakes has developed enough pitching and fields a tough 9-they can compete.  After that most of the teams are 1 pitcher and not truly 9 deep.  Check that, Mclean with Slade and Groppe is a nice combo.  Projected:  Madison, South Lakes, Langley, W&L, Mclean, Fairfax, Yorktown, Hayfield.  

In 7:  Lake Braddock, a Spartan team I don't really know, a likeable West Po team, and South County.....dropoff to Woodson, and another dropoff to TC, Annandale, and another drop to Mt. Vernon.

In Concorde/5:  I dunno, not as clearly defined IMO as compared to prior years, low confidence as I think it is open.....Centreville on pitching, Chantilly on coaching, Robinson, Westfield,  Oakton, Herndon.    

Away from local 6A Kettle Run, Marshall, Briar Woods (though I don't know them).  PVI is very good, but there are D1 commits and there are D1 commits if you know what I mean-they are off from last year-still better than publics though.  

Combined Top 10:  PVI, Battlefield, Lake Braddock, Madison, Kettle Run, Patriot, Chantilly, O'Connell, West Springfield, Marshall/Centreville.

***All uninformed opinion, no harm intended, best viewed March 2018***   

Hard to argue with the Top Three of your Combined Top Ten, here. They all have very good pitching depth and are strong defensively.

WSHS pounded South County 15-3. Odd ending, head's up play by the SS to end the game with a throw to home from 2B (1-6-2).  SC pitching not what everyone expected - maybe an off night.

Update - Jared Lyons fracture has healed.  Cleared for light running. Will be available to play when he can run without pain.

Lots of talent on this team, some tough decision will make the team better.

Chantilly gets back in the "W" column with a 5-3 win over McLean today. Seniors Bret Caslavka & Robert Sallberg & Sophomore Conor Pennell held down the pitching while Chantilly bats woke up. Senior Garrett Thomas and Sophomore Dylan Siesky each collected three hits. Seniors Cam Boddie and Chris Pitura each collected two hits with Senior Jon Alderman leading off the game with a triple. Lots to like about today's effort coming off a loss to Loudoun Valley last night.

Last edited by Rough Diamond

Liberty reverting to norm after odd first few days.....Madison hasn't been scored on in 2 games and is 2-1, tied with South Lakes and Fairfax at the top.  This week we should find out who is real as Madison has Hayfield/South Lakes/Langley and Fairfax takes on Langley and Mclean.  Going back to the original post by Rough Diamond, after taking in a number of games I would include 2 Langley players on the list.  Hosley is a standout-best player on a good team.  He isn't a SS, but when in doubt putting the best player in the middle is a good formula.  Also, Jake Osburn at Langley has given up 6 hits, 3 walks, and 1 ER over 11 innings.  Kantor at Mclean swinging it well-worth following.  Chantilly looking like a good program (in every game, has bats, tight defense) but I'm sticking with my initial take that the pitching isn't quite enough for a run.   Full disclosure, I didn't see last year coming either.  Robinson looks good in 2 tough wins over good programs.  Nice wins.  I look forward to seeing how they do against #1 pitching.  Pulling for Oakton, 2-0 and a relatively light week leading up to Saturday's game against Madison.  Need some bats to step up.  Lake Braddock going to extras without showing #1 against St. Johns is a good sign, even in an L.   Kettle Run doing what they are supposed to do, going 3-0 in comfortable wins.  PVI loses to Georgetown Prep....I'm saying PVI v good, not as dominant relative to NoVa publics as last year.  Sticking with Battlefield and Patriot as top 4 teams, I like Patriot, need to see more though.  Bloviating done for today!    

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