upcoming freshmen and sophomores

These players all had good seasons last year as 9th graders

Soph- Jack Roberts-James River
Mac Caples-James River
Jamie Rooker-Hermitage
Luke Scherzer-Powhatan
Porter Reinhart-St C
Luke Bolka-Atlee
Andrew Kizner-Hanover
Darian Carpenter-New Kent
Bryce Harmon-LC Bird

Upcoming freshman expected to contribute

Jack Gerstenmaier-Freeman

Ryan Hall is another good one at Cosby but may have to play JV. They are usually pretty deep.

Have to wait and see the other freshman develop.

I appreciate the good pub for our Cardinals guys, including Caples and Scherzer.

I would add Tyler Allen of Powhatan, a premier hitter who had a very strong freshman year and figures to produce big numbers the next three springs.

I think you can look forward to Jack Roberts (James River/Richmond Braves) potentially becoming an Aflac All-American in 2012. He's already 87-89 in games and 90+ in bullpens, and given his tall/lanky frame I have a feeling we'll be seeing mid-90's by 2012.

True on Jack Roberts. I forgot about Tyler. You are right about him. That class has a lot of talent.

Connor Jones - Great Bridge '13
Charlie Cody - Great Bridge '14
Kurt Sinnen - Kellam '13
Sam Sinnen - Kellam '13
Turner Bishop - Kellam '13
Alec Bettinger - CD Hylton '13
Thomas Rogers - Lake Braddock '13

I helped work with a youth team that Connor McGehee put together, VA Shredders. Great old national tournament team that is now coming of age to help their high schools. Thought I would show some love to all the young guys that continue to stand out with their desire and work ethic. Looking forward to the coming years and will continue to see these great young men chase their dreams.

Virginia Shredders
Joe Bagnerise - Dematha (MD)'14
Chris Barlow - Chancellor '13
Alec Bettinger - Hylton '13
Derek Casey - Hanover '14
Charlie Cody - Great Bridge '14
Kyle Farkus - Freeman '14
Will Frazier - Hylton '14
Jack Gerstenmaier - Freeman '14
Marc Jimenez - Woodbridge '14
Garrett McGehee - Woodridge '14
Craig McLane - Steward School '14
Nick Tangora - Bishop Ireton '14
Jackson Walker - Enid, OK (prev. Chesapeake, VA)'14
Jake Walker - Enid, OK (prev. Chesapeake, VA)'14

Others that impressed (IMO):

Saul Aguilera - Osbourn Park '14
Josh Barrick - ???
Michael Carpenter - Varina
Trevor Denton - Hanover '14
David Edwards - Colonial Forge '13
Ryan Hall - Cosby '14
Jack Hamner - Osbourn Park '14
Mark Henry - Kettle Run '14
Stephen Hepper - Lee Davis '14
Will Hodges - Deep Run
Reid Leonard - Deep Run
Kyle McPherson - Western Branch '14
Brian Mims - Forest Park '14
Jason Morgan - Chancellor
Chase Upham - Woodbridge '14

Other 2013s to watch:

Turner Bishop - Kellam
Denathan Dukes - Osbourn Park
Logan Farrar - Woodbridge
Andy McGuire - Madison
Luke Nigro - Hermitage
Jackson Rogers - Potomac Falls
Jordan Sergent - Atlantic Shores
Drew Walters - Osbourn

Players below either get lessons or work out at RBAWEST. There are many others but these are the ones we teach and believe will be a big contributor at the Varsity level for the Freshman and Sophomore class.

SOPHOMORES:
#1.Porter Reinhart-CF- Sophomore at St. Christophers. Porter has speed and power along with a low 80's arm from the Outfield. Reed Keagan has him listed as low as 6.8 sixty and is a very good base runner. Great Student and he will be a big time player for the next 3 years! Porter's been getting lessons and played on our teams for 3 years.

#2.Darian Carpenter-INF- Sophomore at Varina.
Darian stands over 6 foot and around 220 pounds. Strong as a ox and has hit 99mph on the radar gun with his Bat speed. Strong arm and hardest working kid out there. 1st year.

#3.Luke Nigro-OF- Sophomore at Hermitage. Luke is not the biggest player, but barrels everything from the left side. He has tremendous hands and hits balls to all fields with power. Good speed in OF and gets great jumps. 5 years training.

Other Notable Sophomores:
#4.Mike Sims-C-Steward (3 years training)
#5.Luke Bolka-LHP-Atlee (first year)
#6.Chance Pauley-UTL-Hermitage (first full year)
#7.Jamie Rooker-LHP-Hermitage (first full year)

FRESHMAN:
#1. Jack Gerstenmaier-SS- Freshman at D. Freeman is by far one of the top young players in Richmond area. He is now standing over 6 foot and weights around 180pounds. He is currently running a 6.65 sixty and arm in the lows 80s from infield. He is very polished at the plate with above average bat speed and glove is very solid too. 2 years training.

#2.Trent Young-1B/C- D. Freeman-(3 years)
#3.Kyle Farkas-OF/LHP- D. Freeman (1st year)
#4.Chase McPherson-LHP- Tucker(1st full year)

maybe it's just me, but do we really care how many years they've trained w/you?

Since this has opened up to other parts of the state I'd include these sophomores/2013's

Jayme Murray-West Potomac
Alec Daniele, Bishop O'Connell
Justin Snead, Hylton
Lucas Martinez- Paul VI
Charlie Yorgin-St Chris
Jason Hager- Mountain View
Kenner Berry-Atlee
Dane Forlines-Godwin
Robbie Lathrop-Greenbriar Christian
Larry McCabe-Cox

Man this class is talented. May be one of the deepest in years.

Gerstenmaier played with the Canes last year and I saw him at 6.9 early in the year. I did not see a 6.65 out of him. I am confident he can get down to the 6.6 range by time he graduates.

IMO, if the 2013 class can be as solid as the 2012 class in VA, it will be impressive.

Reinhart played with us as well...sorry for naming the wrong guy.

RBA-West was talking about 2014-Jack Gerstenamaier, Freeman, with the 6.65. WOW!

Two solid players who started as freshman for Cape Henry last season are Tyler Ramirez (OF/1B) and Colin Ballard (IF/OF/P). Both played for the Drillers showcase team this past summer and fall, batting primarilly in the 2 and 3 spots, respectively.

interesting crop of up and coming players. for grins i googled jack gerstenmaier.

his name pops up on Reed Kagan's sports performance site under the top performances tab. Looks like RBA and Redbird 5 both have it wrong. says he ran a 6.60 60 YD. the lilnk is listed below if you want to see with your own eyes. impressive.
http://www.sportsperformancepl...age/page/3916017.htm

I don't have it wrong...he played for us last year. At ECU, he ran a 6.9. I timed it and it was confirmed by 2 other watches so that's what I had. It doesn't make it wrong. Until I see differently, that's what he runs to me. I'll let you know after January and I see him at some camps. I hope I do get him at a 6.5 or faster.

Interestingly enough, a 2012 on that site ran a 6.5, but PG had him at 6.95 laser timed. That's almost 1/2 of a second. Big difference.

yeah, sounds too good to be true. if it was the ECU camp held in early 2010, then I believe he was still 14. was that taken with a laser? Wonder how kagan does his time checks? does anyone know if he is still a Cane?

one should be careful to think that their watch is the only legitimate source.

That site also had the Shifflett kid listed at 6.3 while PG had him "laser timed" at 6.11.

It goes to show that a kid can have quite a range in their 60 times depending on a number of conditions.

I personally know many kids who have gone to Reed and he has no reason to misrepresent any times. He is truly the best speed guy around.

And the 2012 who Reed has at 6.5 but PG had at 6.95? - pretty sure that was the "slow track" day down there that everyone was harping on about on here awhile back. I had that same player timed at a 6.7 on a tweeked ankle in November at our tryout so I don't think the 6.5 is out of the realm of possibility.

quote:

Originally posted by R.Graham:
one should be careful to think that their watch is the only legitimate source.

Rich,

This one doesn't. Again, I'll be able to update his time very soon.

quote:

Originally posted by ChestCoRules:
...does anyone know if he is still a Cane?

As far as I know...yes.

quote:

Originally posted by Spartan81:
maybe it's just me, but do we really care how many years they've trained w/you?

this discussion board has been really interesting and informative, appreciate everyone's input. It will be interesting to see how many 9th/10th graders get opportunities in HS ball, i know some of the teams are so good that many good players won't get a lot of time.

As far as RBAWest comments, we all know that's a business that is promoting the value of its training, i don't see anything wrong with that...the number of years mentioned just lets me know how much credibility they have with evaluating the players -- for someone they've been with for 3 years, I probably value their input more than if someone just recently signed up with them...the main thing is, that I think all the input has been great. It's nice reading about the players moving on to college, etc, but i think it's just as interesting watching the early comments on 15 & 16 yr olds and then following the classes as they progress, and see who maintains their progress and moves into the elite class.

quote:

pretty sure that was the "slow track" day down there that everyone was harping on about on here awhile back.

Yes, if you look at the PG page for that player, there is a notation for "slow track/wet ground".

This was the Atlantic Coast Top Prospect showcase in Norfolk in August. Times were high across the board.

quote:

Originally posted by hawksball:
Since this has opened up to other parts of the state I'd include these sophomores/2013's

Jayme Murray-West Potomac
Alec Daniele, Bishop O'Connell
Justin Snead, Hylton
Lucas Martinez- Paul VI
Charlie Yorgin-St Chris
Jason Hager- Mountain View
Kenner Berry-Atlee
Dane Forlines-Godwin
Robbie Lathrop-Greenbriar Christian
Larry McCabe-Cox

Man this class is talented. May be one of the deepest in years.

Jeovan Sneed from CD Hylton is a solid player as well. Probably an oversite (or maybe you did not know there are two of them/ identical twins).