2005 Sophmores playing Varsity that will make real contributions!

Ok folks are there any "hot as hades" Sophmores or even Freshmen playing up this year that will contribute significatly to their team's effort this season?
Lets hear it!

 

sophmores

Wil Honeycutt West Stanly
Matthew (jewbel) Burrelson West Stanly
Daniel Tucker Albemarle
Daniel Thorpe Albemarle
BJ Byerley Albemarle
Jeremy Shaver North Stanly
Nathan Furr West Stanly

 

Sophs:

There are a bunch. Two that jumped into my mind at this early hour:

Justin Jackson, TC Roberson: This kid is going to be special. Varsity last year at the powerhouse program up there. He opened up lots of eyes. Keep an eye on him. One of the best young infielders in the state.

Madison Bumgardner, South Caldwell: Good young pitcher. Beat Alexander Central last year for their only regular season, in conference loss. He pitched well for Post 29.

Fresh:

This is so hard to tell. Part of the problem is the number of upper classmen ahead of them. They larger the school, the lower the odds on a freshman playing varsity. You will get a sprinkling of these guys around the state in the 4A ranks ... more as you move down in school size. I'm keeping my eye on a couple at North Meck and Hopewell, but I don't think any of them will be able to crack the varsity rosters at that size of school.

Someone is going to leap out and surprise people at a large baseball school though. It happens every year. A large part of it is skills & tools, yes .... but another very large part of seeing underclassmen excel is opportunity.

 

Question: West Charlotte had a little lefty freshman pitcher last year who shows a lot of promise. Does anyone know his name?

He looked to have an idea of what to do with the ball and promising arm strength for a freshman. He didn't get a lot of defensive support so I know his record wasn't good, but he looked like he would be with the right defense behind him.

He tried to nibble a bit too much and make perfect pitches just off the corners on every pitch. That's a pretty difficult task ... trying to win games by yourself off the mound as a freshman, but he looked like he had the potential to get good hitters out.

Thanks for the help on this one guys. I wanna follow how this young man does.

 

Thank You NCBBallfan,

I think we are all aware of the talent a sophmore or freshman must posess, or the opportunity a coach must give the kid to play up at a 4-a school, but 80% of the players in the state don't play at a 4-a school, that leaves quite a bit of room for sophmores and even freshmen to step up across our state.We were just wondering if you could identify who some of the more talented kids may be?

Thank you again for the response,
Watcher

 

Watch this kid!

I believe that you are referring to Alex Hill. Alex was the only real threat on the West Charlotte squad last season. He is much more of an offensive power than a pitcher. Watch this kid, he can crush it! I am not sure how many HR he had as a freshman. As far as pitching, he struggles with control and hitting his spots. He definitely has potential with a lot of movement on his fastball. He is working with David Darwin on his pitching mechanics, and plays for the Copperhead TPX 16's: mainly as DH & OF. Alex carried the West Charlotte squad with both his pitching and his bat. He has now transfered to Vance HS for 2005. This is actually his home school. Dont pitch him inside.... He is a great young man!

 

west forsyth- greg holt and john stamper-both played varsity last year as freshman and both made all-conference. may look at a few more sophomores this year. matt sapp, chris rogers, tyler cox, chad jarvis just to name a few. very talented sophomore class. 14 in the program

 

I wouldn't have thrown the ball over the middle of the plate for West Charlotte last year either. Their defense "struggled" at times. They really need a JV team there. I expect he'll have a much better year this coming season at Vance and will be a great addition to that team.

 

At West Henderson it will be Matthew Pruitt and Seth Grant. Pruitt was the starting SS and Grant the starting 2b last year as freshman.

 

Whit Merrifield of Davie High should be a big contributor for Davie this year. he started varsity last year as a freshman and just barely missed getting all-conference. he is a good middle infielder with great range and a good arm. he should be a big part of Davie's sucess this year.