Who should we be following for the 2007 season

What about Ben Gibbs (RHP)? Looks like Hickory has a nice crop of prospects.

 

TC Roberson

Should be another good year for TCR.....here are three to watch in 07.

Justin Jackson - SS
John Ramsey - C/RHP
Jonathan Wright - OF/RHP

 

To quote WNCBB (with a couple of minor edits - LOL)

Should be another good year for ACR.....here are four to watch in 07.

Ian Haley - RHP, 2B, C
Kyle Paeplow - LHP, 1B, OF
John Hinson - SS
Sam Runion - RHP

 

Ben Gibbs is also a player to watch next year. Great movement and great location are his strengths. Is not going to blow it by many batters but he sure does know how to get outs. Combined record of 15-3 in his past 2 seasons with a 1.6 ERA.

 

Mac Williamson

Was told Saturday that Mac Williamson ('08 Catcher WF Rolesville) was selected to play on the USA Baseball Youth National Olympic Team. What a tremendous honor to a great young man.

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/usa_baseball/roster_youth.jsp

 

Preston Shuey

Big boy (6'5) who has shown continued improvement. After breaking into the South Meck line-up second half of the season,had and excellent summer season with the South Charlotte Panthers. Should be one of the premier hitters in the SW4A in '07 and can pick it at 1B as well.

 

Brandon Johnson-West Carteret High School--3rd baseman, pitcher. Throws hard from a weird angle, ball moves a ton

CJ Fallin-West Carteret--smooth up the middle, be it at 2nd or ss. probably needs to strengthen the arm to play short at a d1 school, but he can definitely hit at that level.

Shelton Merrill-East Carteret--absolutely fearless pitcher. won't overpower anyone, but has a nasty breaking ball that allows him to get his fastball past you. change up is coming along but isn't great yet.

 

2007 NW4A Sleepers

Freedom- Zach Daw and Austin Attaway

Both rising senoirs, Daw was a better pitching prospect after his soph. season but slipped a bit as a junior on the mound. He has trained for 4 months under Denny Lail, pitching coach for the Charlotte Heat/7th inning Stretch and the results have been amazing. At 6'4", 220, Daw has improved his velocity, control and stamina over the summer season. Over the final month, he came on very strong and can now be mentioned in the conversation along with Heat teammates Dustin Harrington and Ben Gibbs as the Heat's featured pitchers. He has Maddux-like movement on his FB(81-85), a wicked change-up and has developed a late breaking slider. In his last 4 starts of the summer season, he has flirted with no hit games and pitched into the late innings. He is also fields his position well. Considered mainly a pitching prospect, Daw led his HS team in HRs(4), hits(26),RBIs(25), and TB. He is very strong defensively at 1st base and led his HS team in Fldg %.
Attaway returns as an All Conference performer and a 4 year Varisty starter. His primary position is 2B but can play SS, 3B and can catch if called upon. He is also a good pitcher. Attaway has a 12-6 CB and throws in the low to mid 80's. He had a very good year with Legion Post 21, playing 3B. He did not pitch much for Post 21 but delivered a complete game win in the playoffs. He batted .400 for Post 21, led the team in doubles and had a walk off home run. He has very good speed and can steal bases.

Corey Rhoney- East Burke
Maybe the best Freshman in the conference in 2006, Rhoney is hardly a sleeper. He can literally do it all; Hit, Run, Throw, Steal bases, Pitch, Field.He has impressed this summer with his all-round play. As a pitcher, he has good velocity (80's) and mixes his pitches well. He can play infield but was primarily the Heat Centerfielder this summer. He was superb in tracking balls, covering the gap and making the catch. His arm is top notch as well as he had mulitple assists on the year. A superb athlete, he is forgoing football this year to concentrate of baseball.
At the plate, Rhoney came on strong late, finishing with .300 BA and 10 RBI's.
Just a sophomore, Rhoney will be a top prospect by his senior year.

 

Wright, Ramsey, and Jackson - TCR (Home of the State Wachovia Winner)

Jonathan Wright and John Ramsey at T. C. Roberson should definitely be two key players to watch. Both hit over .450 last year with 5 and 6 homeruns a piece respectively. Ramsey hit 6 dingers despite missing the first several games due to his participation on the basketball team. Also, both are very versatille fielders/players. Wright has pitched and played the outfield while Ramsey, who is a talented infielder that made all-conference his sophomore year at third base, moved to catcher last year because the team had no one else to catch Josh Thrailkill. Ramsey made all-conference at catcher last year. Ramsey was also clocked at 89 mph as a relief pitcher. Both of these players could be a steal for some college because they have obvioulsy been overshadowed the last several years while playing with Cameron Maybin, Josh Thrailkill, and Justin Jackson.

So...put Wright and Ramsey with Jackson, ranked number two prospect in the nation by Baseball America, and the team should advance well into the state playoffs.

 

McDowell has Justin Johnson, Jeremy Freeman, and Josh Huskins that all are good players. East Burke also has Josh Mcdaniel who done a great job for Burke's legion on the mound.