Central Region Spring Preview

Brad -

On this rainy November day its great to start thinking about spring baseball!

You've pointed out some good points. Small correction....DSF's RHP is Stephen Godfrey (not Godsey). He has had a great 2010 from spring to summer to fall. DSF did lose some bats though. They will also have to replace a catcher, SS (Nick Poulos UR), and 2B (Alec Keller - Princeton). They did pick up a LHP from the west coast that could help them on the hill.

JRHS will surely be a force for the next couple of years.

Will Hicks and Deep Run will have a nice LHP/RHP combo in Brooks and Patrick Gardner. They are also heavy in the 2012 class.

Kevin Elrod at Atlee is very excited about the next couple of years. You may remember that last year they had freshman and sophomores all over the field.

Never discount Charlie Dragum's Hanover team. Chris Childres and Bryant Lowry are 2 guys that can win games. They will have great team defense and will be prepared to play anyone at any time.

Hermitage will be very athletic again. Could make noise up here in the colonial. Pauley, Burnett, Jones, Rooker, Smith are all super athletic.

Powhatan may run the table this year.

Private schools....St C's lost 2 dominant arms...tough to rebound from that.

Steward will have 2 RHP that will lead them far (Hayden White 2012 ECU and Patrick Phillips) combined with some good sticks (Gary LeClair, VMI, Joe Rogers, Michael Sims just to name a few).

Benedictine is an easy pick. Perhaps repeating as state champion. RHP Andrew Woods (VMI) and LHP Zach Joseph will be the 1-2 punch on the hill. Zach Matthews (HS-C) will take over behind the dish. David Geary will hit in the middle of the lineup. Their outfield is fast, fast, fast with Childress and Konvicka.

Those are just a couple of thoughts. Can't wait for spring!

Winter is a great time to contact college coaches. I'm working with ball players weekly so feel free to contact me to schedule a filming. www.playinschool.com

Rich

quote:

DSF's RHP is Stephen Godfrey (not Godsey).

Oops, brain cramp on my part, I've edited above to fix my mistake.

I agree with your comments on Deep Run. I also like Burnett and Rooker on the mound for Hermitage, though I'm less knowledgeable about their offensive potential. That should make for a fun duel in the Colonial.

Powhatan --- all I can say is, I wish they'd just go on and move into the Dominion District. What great rivalries that would create. (Not to mention the hours those kids would save from their current bus rides!) Though actually I think their peak may be a year away yet, or even two, you may be right, they may have enough to dominate even now and thus for all three years.

I wasn't thinking about private schools so much in my original post, but I have to agree that Steward will run through their division with the pitching and pop they have. And I plan to spend more than a few days scouting Benedictine for future prospects.

I always like Hanover because although I don't know their coach, I conclude that he is very good from the fact that his teams are always there at the end, no matter who he has or doesn't have in any given year. Atlee I've heard has had some turmoil in the coaching ranks, though, so I'm not sure what all will come forth come game time.

I know we've got some Central Division afficionados here so I'm wondering if they can bring us up to speed on what's up down in the Tri-Cities area.

Dinwidie, Dinwidie, Dinwidie.....

Matoaca lost far too much to be the cream of the crop this year - too many kids filling roles with almost no experience at the varsity level. Similar situation at Thomas Dale - although the Tonga boy (LHP / 1B) returns they are looking to replace around 75% of their innings with the graduation of Cullen and Moore. PG could be the sleeper here with a returning cast of Juniors with varsity experience....

..... but Dinwidie has Christopher and Bridgemon on the mound and that will likely be enough to run the table south of the city.

Some others that haven't been mentioned:

Lee-Davis returns Boze, Parsley, Thomas and some other pieces, and they're always well coached so they'll be part of what I see as a three horse race in the Capital (with Hanover and Atlee).

Atlee's head coach is going into his third year, but there has been turnover among assistants. As PIS said, there were freshman and sophomores every where last year. They return their entire outfield, plus their catcher, 3B, SS, and some good arms.

I see Henrico taking a step back this year. They lost three seniors last year who had been the backbone of that program during their high school careers.

Godwin lost four (I think) D1 guys plus some other solid players, but they still have Lees and Garrett and they never lack for talent. They will be in the mix in a strong Colonial District (shocker).

I agree that Hermitage should be solid (I liked them last year as well as they were my pick to surprise). From what I hear Deep Run is absolutely loaded with talent in each class.

I generally stay north of the river, so I won't comment on the Central or Dominion Districts, other than to say I do think this will be the first of several consecutive years where I think Deep Run and James River will be the class of the region.

Also, one question- will Manchester be down a lot, or is there more talent in the pipeline to keep them rolling?

quote:

Originally posted by Midlo Dad:

I was thinking, there have been three times I've seen a team have 3 Division I-bound pitchers all at once. James River 2007, James River 2008, Menchville 2009. What they all have in common is the AAA state championship trophy.

Midlo Dad,

Not trying to hijack your thread away from Central Region, but thought you'd be interested to know that WT Woodson, which reached the state quarterfinals in 2010, will have three D-I senior pitchers. John & Joe McGillicuddy are going to Marshall, and Washington Post says Bryson Hough has received a couple offers. And that's not counting their other quality senior, Tyler Wislocki, who started a lot the games in their playoff run last year.

"Tyler Wislocki, who started a lot the games in their playoff run last year."

I think Tyler recently committed to Longwood University.

Interesting point! All other things equal, you have to give the edge to the one with all the seniors.

Though in reality, once you get into the states, it's single elimination and anything can happen. A bad bounce here, a tough injury, a bad call can turn the tide. I think in 2008 a lightning/thunderstorm probably changed the composition of the final 4.

Now we just need to remember to resurrect this thread in June and see if the theory proves out!

Brad -

Good point. I'd love to see the Preseason Predictions from winter 2009/2010 prior to last season.

What we need to remember is that they still have to play the game between the lines. And that "they" are "kids" and kids are unpredictable. Unlike the MLB, I remember everyone predicting the Giants beating the Rangers last spring and go figure, it happened!

Rich

Benedictine made a heck of a run last year and they definitely have some talent-Joseph and Woods are both solid pitchers with bright futures. That said the favorite to win the states in Private Schools this year will be St Annes. They are loaded top to bottom and have a legit top 10rd prospect in Kevin White. White can really play and Spinosa is a tough ace. The Private Schools this year really should be STAB, Benedictine, and everybody else.

Yeah correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like runs will be at a premium this year in the Colonial District.

Deep Run has Stephen Brooks, junior, throwing 90 and receiving interest from everywhere.

Godwin has Matt Lees (VCU) and Reed Garrett (VMI).

Freeman has Godfrey.

Tucker even has D.J. Engler and Micah Gorman (mighta spelled that wrong).

Seems like anyone can beat anyone on any given night.