Maria Carrillo @ Analy, 3/9/11 and Santa Rosa HS phenom

Not every game I attend is going to have lots of players that stand out or have ability that might translate to college baseball.  The Maria Carrillo HS vs Analy HS game is one of those games.  There were some capable ballplayers on the field, in a game won by MCHS 17-5, but by and large, the top players likely will head to a JC, and some will head off to smaller, D3 programs or something of that nature... and that is OK by me.  Having the chance to keep playing ball after high school, while getting an education, that is what it is all about.

There weren't any Analy players I had particular interest in but there were a couple of Maria Carrillo players that certainly could and likely will continue to develop and improve as players.  Senior C Brandon Mahre (R/R) is a big kid, with a catcher's size.  He showed me some arm strength and some potential pop in the bat.  His stroke is decent and as I have said before, never give up on a catcher, especially one that can throw a bit and has some size.  

There were a couple of underclassmen on MCHS that got a couple of hits, but in a game like this, when hitters are facing sub-80 mph pitching and not very good secondary stuff, and those hitters miss a number of "meat" pitches, I can't put too much stock into the hits they do get.  Performance is good to have and believe me, I understand that hitting is difficult.  However, in an at-bat when a kid fouls off or swings through 77 mph at the belt at some point but then eventually hits a line drive, the misses of the 77 at the belt stick in my memory much stronger.

Seems as though I should have attended the other game I had on my docket yesterday... Santa Rosa HS at Healdsburg HS.  SRHS has a junior RHP named Gabe Cramer who is putting up RIDICULOUS stats and yesterday he struck out 17 in a 7 inning complete game.  So far he has 33 K in 14 innings.  Yikes!  He is an outstanding student too and has verbally committed to Stanford already.