4A State Championship- South Caldwell vs. Ashley

I have been reading the Wilmington Star and these are some of the players from Ashley - add to this list or correct it.

Pitchers-Justin Bradley 6'4" 190 lbs. UNC-W signee-topped out at 90 mph-9 wins 1 loss IP-71.2 ERA 0.68 73 strikeouts
Erik Tello - good pitcher -7 wins 2 loss IP 37.2 ERS 0.93
Caleb Long - sophomore pitcher - 7 wins 0 loss IP 45.2 ERA 1.23
Leftfield / Pitcher - Ben Long - 15 stolen bases
Rightfield - Tony Santilli
Centerfield - David Card
Catcher - Brice Poston - great arm - someone said he looks like he is 6'4"
1st Baseman - Matt Pye - 26 RBI's
Shortstop - Tyler Stott - speed and arm strength 6' 180 lbs - saw somewhere that he is a switch hitter-Has scored 31 runs - Has successfully stolen 30 bases out of 32 attempts
2nd Baseman - Zach Mishoe
3rd Baseman - Chris Eason - plays right field, too I believe

3 batters that were leading the team: Bradley, Pye, & Santilli. They hit homeruns, but I believe they may all be good hitters.

 

Since we've mentioned pitchers....

...of all the pitchers on the state finals teams, give me Jimmy Messer every time. If you haven't seen him pitch, you've missed a treat.

 

radar readings....

what's out of control about them? they seem reasonable enough to me.

 

Ben is Caleb's older brother.... left handed stick, excellent speed fielder.

 

bumgarner has also hit 98 in a bunch of games not just once but multiple times

 

Two Comments to note:

I agree with Coach 27. While radar readings have become incresingly important in the eyes of many, I just don't see that many kids out there consistently throwing 90+. Granted, with the state champoinships we are seeing the "cream of the crop" and some outstanding arms on many of these teams. One thing we need to be careful of are comments like "I spoke with a person sitting behind a scout". That's second-hand information and we have to judge the validity of our sources. It would depend on whether that person is a coach or not also. Too many times I have seen what was actually 89 on a gun become 93-94 within 2 weeks. I have had parents say "my child throws 90, then I witness firsthand 82-83 on a gun. I am not trying to say that anybody is not telling the truth, but we need to be careful so we actually dont hurt prospects.

BTW... There is an excellent article in the Wilmington Morning Star about Matt Pye and several players on Ashley's team. Chuck Caree is the scholastic reporter for the Wilmington paper. I have known him since my days at UNC-W. He does a good job covering high school sports in Wilmington and is a good man.

Here's the link: http://www.starnewsonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2007705300451&source=email

 

90+...

I know what you mean about some people exaggerating about some of the pitchers around the state but from what I have witnessed personally with my own eyes, these numbers are being hit consistently. Madison 92-95 with a few higher readings. Jimmy Messer 88-92 with nasty breaking stuff. Justin Poovey was throwing 90-94 earlier this season. None of these numbers are out of control. Anyone may see at the state championship series this weekend. I'll bet their will be 50+ guns going up right behind home plate.

 

I did not mention names

and Im not going to. I have seen Madison and I know he is capable of throwing mid 90's. I do know other kids listed recently on here and they do not throw or pitch in those velocity ranges. If they did they would be getting drafted next week. Can they rare back and let one go in the low 90's? On a good day. Can they pitch at those speeds? NO they cant and they dont. I have seen Messer and yes he can pitch in the upper 80's and touch 90. He in my opinion is the best 08 pitching prospect in NC. But the fact is when someone says a kid is popping 92-93 all day long then if that was the case he would be popping up in the draft. Very few major college D-1 pitchers who are established guys at that level can do that. The ones that do get drafted. Go to a minor league game and see what they are throwing. Very very few are pitching in the 90's. All this talk about "They have not seen a guy like Madison all year". Of course not only the teams that have faced him have. That may be the reason he is going to be a first round pick , right? That does not mean they cant scratch a couple and then get a great pitching performance of their own and find a way to win. Will it happen? Who knows. The chances are its not going to. But thats why they play the games and dont decide them on paper.

Just to give you an idea of how these velocity reports can get crazy. We have Chris Luck projected to go 6-10 round next week. He pitches in the 88-91 range. He is also capable of pitching in the 86-89 range on a given day. He has run it up there a couple of times in the 93-94 range. But he cant pitch there. If he could he wouldnt be projected in the 6-10 round area. I can not tell you how many folks around here come up to me and tell me "Man that Luck kid is throwing 94 mph he is going to be a bigtime draft pick". If I had a nickle for everytime I heard a kid was 90 only to see him at 85 I would be a very rich guy. Go to PG site and look at the projected draft picks from NC and where they fall. Look at who is not there and then wonder why a kid "popping 92-93 or throwing 94" is not on the board period. That does not mean they are not outstanding pitchers because most of them are. But as I posted earlier these velocity readings are just flat out wacky.

 

I have no doubt about Bumgardner, Poovey and Messer as I have heard from very reliable sources that back up what has been stated on them. I am more concerned that we get too caught up in radar gun this and that... you know what I mean, and I just dont want to see that become the only standard, though a ver important one for the pro guys!!

 

10-4 coach