2012 all-district predictions - Dominion District

Rawlings Cumbea Midlo had pretty good year too.

certainly had the upset of the year when he upended JRHS.

If you were going to put a Clover Hill player in there, I would have to say Keith Roberts.

As far as OF goes, I have seen Jacob Stephens (Midlo) in the paper on almost every game all season long, and he has to have like 4 or 5 HR's to go with it

Yea, Jacob Stephens

I'm thinking those 2nd team MIF positions are not going to hold. Too many JR guys to get through one coaches' meeting, for one thing. For another, while Wood has been an outstanding defender, the bat has been inconsistent and he's even been DH'ed for some games. I could easily see Roberts taking that slot (though I have to agree that Miltenberger gets the 1st team 2B slot hands down). I'm also wondering if there might not be a tight vote for 2nd team SS. I know Cosby's Adam Meeker has had a solid year, but there are too many teams I haven't seen much of to say who's possibly getting slighted there.

What is Stephens' position?

Also wondering if Midlo's Tavenner might not get some votes for 2nd team catcher.

Jacob Stephens OF (Midlo) is deserving of a spot somewhere on the all-district teams. Not sure of his exact stats, but he has to be hitting around .400 with at least 3HRs and 10-15 stolen bases. He has played a major role in Midlothian's offense this year and has had several clutch hits.


Shortstop Adam Meeker (Cosby) was putting up all-district numbers and playing great defense until injuring his knee. I hear he expects to be back in the lineup Monday. Not sure how much his missed time will factor into it.

Jacob Moore (Midlo) second team all-district last year has got to be one of the slickest fielding second baseman in the district. He not only makes all the routine plays, he makes the tough plays look routine.

Agree that Keith Roberts of Clover Hill deserves some consideration also.


IMO Harmon was the second best pitcher in the district this year.

Talent alone, Harmon is the 2nd best pitcher. Echo the comments of Jacob Moore....maybe the best defensive IF in the district, at any position.

Jacob Stephens deserves consideration for 1st team OF, and definitely 2nd team...He has at times carried the Midlo team with consistent clutch hitting..many 2-out hits to drive in runs..most games he's had 2 hits and has made some great throws from RF.

Keith Roberts for 2nd team SS, a very good fielder and clutch hitter

I don't think anyone has had a BETTER pitching record this year than Hunter Williams. Don't remember him ever having a bad game on the mound.

Michael Trentham has been a great catcher for JR, but if flexibility is needed, he could be considered for OF also.

Under-rated catcher is Adam Bondurant of Bird. I don't think he started the season as the starter, but he is now and has a gun. I think he's next best catcher after Lowrey.

Austin Joseph has had a very good year for Midlo, winning I think 4 games...has pitched some complete games in must-win situations

Agree that too many JR on the initial proposal..if I counted right, 7 out of 8 position players on both teams...

I realize Bickford is not as well known as Harmon, but if you line up their stats it's not really close. I think Harmon gave up more earned runs YESTERDAY than Bickford has all spring.

quote:

Agree that too many JR on the initial proposal..if I counted right, 7 out of 8 position players on both teams...

I haven't seen enough games this year to really weigh in on who deserves to be ahead of whom for some of these positions. I think you'd expect Cosby and JR to have a bunch of guys, given the way the season has gone overall.

My point was not a matter of who's deserving and who isn't. My point was, if you're trying to make predictions of who'll get the honors, you have to take into account that when 7 coaches meet around a table, there's going to be some lobbying for guys from all the schools, and some horse trading in the voting. Irrespective of who might be the more deserving, you're going to see broader representation of the district in the final results. Call it politics if you want, it's just a reality.

Has Lawless not cought much for JR this year? Has he been hurt?

interestingly enough - when I was editing I left Stephens off by mistake when i was moving him into the 1st team spot that Guyer was in.

Same for Roberts as the DH.

As for Woods at 2B - agreed as far as his bat goes but his defense was so good I felt compelled to recognize him - beyond that I didn't see any 2B that blew me away.

Regarding Meeker and Lawless - they both would have easily been in the mix except for the unfortunate fact that they both missed significant District play with injuries. Real shame too - both seniors who are fantastic players but hard to justify inclusion when a player misses 5 or 6 district games.

Again, All just my opinions. And - as always, these are players I think are deserving in their own right. I am sure there are other deserving players but like anything else - usually more deserving players than there are spots.

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latazaea said......Keith Roberts for 2nd team SS, a very good fielder and clutch hitter

Agree 100%. Not only is Keith Roberts a very good fielder and clutch hitter......he has great instincts. A very smart and versatile player that should get attention at the next level. He always finds a way to get on base, or position himself to get an out.

Regardless of the 7 coaches that have to vote in this political exercise of self interest, Keith's got my vote in the HSBBWeb straw poll.


If the following pitchers are selected Kirby, Bickford, Lane and Harman that would be 3 leftys. Does anyone recall a year with 3 leftys as the top pitchers in the district?

I don't recall how the voting went, but in 2007, you would've had Austin Stadler, Sean Tierney and Matt Laney in there all at once.

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:
I realize Bickford is not as well known as Harmon, but if you line up their stats it's not really close. I think Harmon gave up more earned runs YESTERDAY than Bickford has all spring.

Midlo Dad I know you know way more baseball than I do so can you define what earn runs are? Because at best he gave up 2 yesterday. And im sure most pitchers on others teams in this district would like to have a defense like cosby has this year. Im not taking anything away from Bickford because he has had a great year but it does help having a good d behind you making the plays.

I'm not trying to denigrate anyone's knowledge. I do now recall that Bickford had one down outing in a spring break relief appearance at Halifax, not sure if those were earned or unearned. But that one time is the only time that comes to mind where anyone has gotten to him this spring.

The only thing I would observe about him is I'm not sure he's a guy who's gone 7 innings at any point. But I'm not sure that's a knock on him so much as a reflection of Cosby's having several arms that their coaches are trying to give work to regularly.

I think very highly of Harmon. I spoke up for Bickford not as a negative on Harmon or anyone else, only because I think you have a new kid on the block who isn't quite as highly publicized but who's having one heckuva year. Harmon is tall, lefty, and he can hit 90. That makes him more of a big time prospect in a lot of ways, no doubt. But the all-district honors are to recognize who had a better spring in terms of performance. I don't have either guy's numbers but it's hard to imagine that anyone's top Bickford's this year.

I think before you name POY and COY you gotta get through that match up between JR and Cosby next week.

You can wait if you want Tim. Since I am basing my predictions (emphasis on pradictions) on the body of work throughout the entire spring and not on just the final game I will stick with Kirby and Lowery. Even if JRHS manages to win (and thus sweep Cosby) I take Lowery for COY. If Cosby upends Kirby I still think he is the most dominant player in the district. He has been incredible on the bump and has also thrown in an extremely productive bat to support his cause.

That game on Thursday is going to be pretty intense - can't wait.

Lowery has certainly, again, taken a team and gone toe to toe with the elite team in the area. He does it every year....it was Manchester for two years then it has been JR for the last two years. He has a pipeline of talent but that is not the whole story...discipline and playing to make the hard decisions it takes to be on top.
This is the 6th year I have watched this District closely and like all the others before all is said and done Cosby will have a big say it the final mix.
This game Thursday promises to be just like all the other games we have been treated to recently...I will never forget the 4-2 win over Hauser and Manchester when everyone said it wouldnt be close....the 3 game sweep of JR last year - amazing..a Final 4 State playoff trip- Tournament and regular season champions, Central region Champions. All because a coach never allowed the kids to believe they couldnt accomplish greatness - a group of kids that work hard on and off the field buying into their coach - that's tough to beat!
After a big win someone would always want to take a team photo - Coach would call out..."OK team photo!"
It was amazing to see those guys group up in perfect order and pose like a professional told them where to stand, how to look, shirts tucked in, hats on straight........ I always said that reflected the discipline their coach demanded from them and what has always made the difference when it comes time to finish out the regular season and play tournemant ball. Can't wait to see hwo it ends this year! I am hoping I will get to see the game with my Cosby alum who should be home by then!

i have to pretty much agree with those predictions. i think there could be some debate for cole bushby from JR as 2nd team OF. POY no question Nathan Kirby. undefeated record (in district) two no-hitters, and a pretty solid average to support his cause. i have a hard time believing Coach Pete Schumacher from JR could win COY even if they sweep Cosby

Truth is Coach Schumacher has done a fantastic job once again this year. Everyone and their brother was calling for a State Championship (still to be determined of course) and that's a pretty heady environment to try and navigate with a bunch of 17 year olds.

Add in the fact that he lost Kit Scheetz and Jack Roberts from the mound for pretty much the entire season and the mighty JRHS staff was really tested. Lawless went down as well. On top of that the JRHS team fielded 2 sophomores with zero varsity experience up the middle and in left field along with 2 seniors in the remaining OF positions who had very little playing experience as well. All in all the truth of the matter is that, for all intents and purposes, JRHS played the season with 4 returners with varisty letters (Caples, Trentham, Kirby and Roberts).

Heckuva coaching job in its own right. Great job in my opinion.

But in the Dominion District it's Tim Lowery and then everybody else.

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baseballxy said....i have a hard time believing Coach Pete Schumacher from JR could win COY even if they sweep Cosby

You bring up a great point. Lowery is the best coach in the district IMHO. I think he gets the most out of his players, and is the best at managing a game. Lowery runs his high school program like a college program. However, if JR beats Cosby twice with their health situation I think Shumacher is in the conversation. We'll know more in a couple days.

quote:

Originally posted by R.Graham:
interestingly enough - when I was editing I left Stephens off by mistake when i was moving him into the 1st team spot that Guyer was in.

Same for Roberts as the DH.

As for Woods at 2B - agreed as far as his bat goes but his defense was so good I felt compelled to recognize him - beyond that I didn't see any 2B that blew me away.

Regarding Meeker and Lawless - they both would have easily been in the mix except for the unfortunate fact that they both missed significant District play with injuries. Real shame too - both seniors who are fantastic players but hard to justify inclusion when a player misses 5 or 6 district games.

Again, All just my opinions. And - as always, these are players I think are deserving in their own right. I am sure there are other deserving players but like anything else - usually more deserving players than there are spots.

Agree with most of your observations although Meeker has only missed 3 games (not 5 or 6) and he returned to go 2-2 with a Sac Fly and 3 RBI's vs. Monacan. I believe he's batting right at .500 in 8 Dominion District games he's played in this year with one game left.

I'm not sure how many games Lawless has missed but he's a terrific player also.

I do agree that missing 5 or 6 District games (half) would make it tough to include a kid.

I may have to reconsider - I had heard Meeker was done for the year which would have held him out of the last 5 or 6 Cosby games. I am glad to see he has been able to get back out there and that definitely changes things. If Lawless is able to return then same deal. - good to see seniors finishing the year on the field and not in the trainers office.

I agree with the majority of this comment, however in regards to Adam Bondurant as Under-rated? I catagorically disagree with the accolades in comparison to Lowery. He is not even the best catcher @ Bird. Austin Gammon possesses far more fundamental talent, defensive skill, and offensive pop with the stick.
Adam may gain this distinction in the coming seasons, but at present he lacks the defensive skill set needed for the position, and does not bring the necessary offense to be considered in the conversation with Luke Lowery
.
Keith Roberts from Clover Hill defensively brings it every game for a depleated team. The loss of Peyton Gryder and Kyle Flaherty really hurt CH this year. Do not understand why VHSL rules changes forces the kids to decide by allowing Spring Football Rules changes determine a kids participation in Spring Sports, but it hurts BASEBALL.

quote:

Originally posted by latazaea:
Jacob Stephens deserves consideration for 1st team OF, and definitely 2nd team...He has at times carried the Midlo team with consistent clutch hitting..many 2-out hits to drive in runs..most games he's had 2 hits and has made some great throws from RF.

Keith Roberts for 2nd team SS, a very good fielder and clutch hitter

I don't think anyone has had a BETTER pitching record this year than Hunter Williams. Don't remember him ever having a bad game on the mound.

Michael Trentham has been a great catcher for JR, but if flexibility is needed, he could be considered for OF also.

Under-rated catcher is Adam Bondurant of Bird. I don't think he started the season as the starter, but he is now and has a gun. I think he's next best catcher after Lowrey.

Austin Joseph has had a very good year for Midlo, winning I think 4 games...has pitched some complete games in must-win situations

Agree that too many JR on the initial proposal..if I counted right, 7 out of 8 position players on both teams...

No comparison.... Lowery does more with his kids than Schumacher @ JR with less talent. Schumacher marches out Division I talent on the field every game, but the Cosby team is well disciplined and coached. JRHS waits for the big inning, and usually gets it, EXCEPTION: MIDLO which resulted in a loss.
Cosby "builds" it's offense with relentless pressure and good defense. Lowery can and does win 4-3 games, and currently has JR's number. He has won 3 of the last 4 meetings. He can beat you in so many ways and his kids buy in to his demanding execution.

quote:

Originally posted by fenwaysouth:

quote:

baseballxy said....i have a hard time believing Coach Pete Schumacher from JR could win COY even if they sweep Cosby

You bring up a great point. Lowery is the best coach in the district IMHO. I think he gets the most out of his players, and is the best at managing a game. Lowery runs his high school program like a college program. However, if JR beats Cosby twice with their health situation I think Shumacher is in the conversation. We'll know more in a couple days.

Thank you very much to the Dominion District Coaches who voted for what they saw on the field this season and not what they read on a website !!!

There is no shortage of D-1 talent at Cosby. No slight intended to Lowery, of course, but let's not slight the players there either. Some of them are underclassmen at the moment and therefore uncommitted, but they will get there in due time.

As for coaches not reading web sites: When have they ever? I wouldn't think anyone would come on here asking our opinion. This is all peanut gallery stuff. I enjoy the banter, but let's not get carried away with ourselves.

More to the point, it sounds like you know the list. Could you post it?

All District list link below, but not posted yet for 2012.
http://www.dominiondistrict.co...eams/AllDomDist.html

Any word on who made it? When do they publish the names?

So that I won't ruin any surprises for the players and parents, I can only tell you that 5 Midlothian players made the list.

Congrats to all the players that made the all-district teams!

I was hoping Midlo would get at least three, but five, WOW! Two first team and three second. They have come a long way in two years.

Is it posted somewhere?

It is not posted anywhere as far as I know, but the players have been notified by their coaches I would guess by now. Word travels fast amongst the players.

Just saw a tweet from RTD reporter that Kirby and Lowery are co-POY.

quote:

Originally posted by keewart:
Just saw a tweet from RTD reporter that Kirby and Lowery are co-POY.

if this is true the coaches got it seriously wrong. Kirby has shown far more than Lowery being that he produced on the mound as well as on the plate. He did not lose a game in-district on the mound and probably hit over .400 at the plate. Although Lowery had a great year, he should not deserve to be co-POY with Kirby. Let's not forget Kirby struck out Lowery three times in the first meeting.

Luke Lowery is the single most feared hitter in the district if not the region.

He also completely shuts down the running game.

And he handled a very inexperienced staff quite well this year.

So, I get it, I get it completely.

No slight to Kirby, but dissing Luke Lowery makes no sense at all.

18 for 23. I'll take it. Especially since those I didn't mention who made it deserved it - and those who didn't make it but were on my list deserved it too but as is always the case - more worthy players than available spots.

1st team:
P - *Nathan Kirby - JRHS
P - Michael Carpenter - Cosby
C - *Luke Lowery - Cosby
1B- Hunter Williams - Cosby
1B- Jack Roberts - JRHS
2B- Bryan Miltenburger - Cosby
3B- *Mac Caples - JRHS
SS- Connor Bastaich - Midlo
OF- Jacob Stephens - Midlo
OF- *Jalen Carter - Monacan
OF- Harry Lee Watson - JRHS
DH- *Bryce Harman - LC Bird
Ut- *Michael Trehntham - JRHS
(* indicates unanimous selection)

POY - Luke Lowery & Nathan Kirby

COY - Pete Schumacher

2ND Team
P - Bryce Harmon - LC Bird
P - Austin Joseph - Midlo
C - Austin Gammon - LC Bird
1B- Kevin Oakey - Midlo
2B- jacob Moore - Midlo
3B- Brad McKay - Cosby
3B- Cory Ambers - Monacan
SS- Adam Meeker - Cosby
SS- Keith Roberts - Clover Hill
OF- Nick Williamson - Monacan
OF- James Sink - Cosby
OF- AJ Nicely - Cosby
OF- Jordan Staib - Monacan
OF- Cole Bushby - JRHS
DH- Nathan Kirby - JRHS
UT- Stephen Walshak - Clover Hill

What a great selection for 1st and 2nd teams.
Congrats to everyone.
I would love to see these two teams play an All-Star game...just for fun of course.