| By Jason A. Churchill |  | By 03-13-2010 |
In the past few days I have seen a handful of the state's top draft prospects, as it's a little better crop this year than in 2009.
That crop is led by Blanchet High School's Josh Sale, a left-handed bat with some athleticism, probably best suited for right field as a pro.
Sale stands about 6-feet tall and is listed at 205 but may be as heavy as 215 -- all muscle, mind you -- but he still runs well -- at least average, probably a tick above -- and he has the arm for right field, too.
But Sale's stock is seeded by his ability to hit and hit for power, both things he does to well above average levels.
Sale, a Gonzaga commit, generates good leverage and loft with a quick swing, thanks to strong wrists thrown through the strike zone. The swing is compact and he controls the strike zone well. He's still a little raw in terms of plate coverage, but the bat speed is there for him to simply trust that he can hit pitches on the outer half.
Two area scouts told me this week that Sale's recognition of the breaking ball is about average, but that he will get out in front and try to pull the ball too much -- though that was based on last season since his first game was Friday night.
Sale could sneak into the Top 10 in June, and may ultimately be a legit Top-10 talent when the time comes, though there are a ton of prep arms that scream frontline stuff and some college bats that could push Sale into the middle or latter parts of the round, but Sale, like Everett native and former Blue Jays first-round pick Travis Snider, is an easy Top 20 prospect.
Elsewhere
I went out to the Jamboree at Newport High School Saturday and saw Newport shortstop Trace Tam Sing and Issaquah outfielder Spencer Rogers. Didn't brave the cold to see Skyline's Adrian Simpson, probably among the Top 10 prospects in the state, but Tam Sing and Rogers played twice each -- two-inning games -- before I left.
Tam Sing is an athletic infielder who showed a good arm, probably a 55 on the 20-80 scouting scale, but certainly not more, and fluid action, both in the field and at the plate.
He's an above-average runner and the right-handed hitter showed a good swing, though he looked bad against good breaking stuff in this event.
Tam Sing's a strong 175 pounds, but I'm not sure how much stronger he can get because his frame up top is thinner -- what is the opposite of broad shouldered? He reminds me of Michael Garciaparra some athletically, but with a swing better engineered for some gap power.
I think he could stick at shortstop long term, and could fit somewhere between the fifth and seventh rounds, barring a big uptick in offensive production. While I see no reason for him to do so, he shows the athleticism and instincts to move to center field as well.
Rogers is a kid that is probably headed for school, as he does not project as an early pick, but brings raw power to the table with a power swing. He does dip his back shoulder which leads to a big upper cut at times. This will lead to contact problems against better competition at higher levels of the game.
Rogers plays center for IHS, but profiles more as a corner guy with the arm to play right field -- he won't play center field in pro ball due to a lack of ideal foot speed. At 6-foot-3 and about 215 to 220 pounds, the size and strength is there but the mechanics and approach are a little behind.
A couple of years in school could push him far enough to become a first-day pick.
Others I will see this spring include Highline 2B Ryan Brett, Meadowdale 2B/SS Taylor Brennan, Fife LHP Cam Booser and SP (that's "s" for switch)/OF Drew Vettleson of Central Kitsap. There are others that could step up, too, such as Skyline RHP Adrian Simpson, Woodinville RHP Luke Taylor and Kentlake RHP Doug Christie -- son of, yes.
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Comments
The following 22 comment(s) for this article are shown below:
| 1. By: griggs on 03-13-2010 22:25:11 Vettleson! |
| 2. By: tkeister22 on 03-14-2010 00:45:50 Last summer I helped run the press box for the State Legion Tournament down here in Tacoma Tam Sing and Rogers both played for the Lakeside Recovery American Legion team who won the State Tournament and made it all the way to the regional championship game. Tam Sing is an impressive athlete. Along with Mario Sanelli who now plays for Columbia Basin and was named the Legion Player of the year for 2009, made an exceptional middle infield. Rogers was named the State Tournament's Player of the Tournament. He hit the crap out of the ball and was one of the largest reasons Lakeside won the state tournament. Glad HS baseball has started back up. Vettleson may get the nod Monday when CK comes down and plays last year's 4A runner up Puyallup at Heritage Field (Rogers HS) at 7:30. |
| 3. By: Slurve on 03-14-2010 01:13:32 Funny seeing a familiar name: KL's Doug Christie. |
| 4. By: Lailoken on 03-14-2010 10:21:53 Any Husky recruits in that list? |
| 5. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-14-2010 13:00:30 Only Sale is a legit star in the making... let's get that straight before I get 50 questions on Vettleson being a first-round pick. tkeister, I'll be at that game, weather permitting -- Puyallup has a catcher -- Alex Sloan, who is worth checking out. Lailoken, Not many. The vast majority of the top players in Washington go to Oregon State, Gonzaga, or the Junior So Cals, such as Fresno State, USD, SDSU, UCR, etc. |
| 6. By: tkeister22 on 03-14-2010 13:32:23 Sloan is a stud. Puyallup is pretty loaded again. It will be interesting to see who their horse is on the hill this year. Losing Cimber (to the Huskies) will hurt them, but they have a few others (Scott Kuzminsky, for one) that could help them win the SPSL again. All of the coaches in the SPSL know that the road to the championship will take us through Puyallup again. And as a Zag alum..I hope Sale spends at least one year in Spokane. |
| 7. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-14-2010 13:40:00 Since Sale is going to be a first round pick, I'd be shocked to see him pass it up for Gonzaga. And if he did, he'd have to stay two years minimum. He would be a sophomore-eligible in 2012 because he turns 21 within 45 days of the draft date that year. |
| 8. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-14-2010 15:01:11 Oh, and I'm seeing Vettleson in april -- won't be in Puyallup tomorrow. |
| 9. By: masonb on 03-15-2010 00:24:50 Jason, do you think we will ever see a one-and-done rule in baseball, where kids are required to go to school at least one year like in college basketball? I know its far fetched and off topic but it just seems like it would make the college game so much better and maybe provide better competition than what a lot of players would see in rookie ball. Maybe if college agreed to go to wood bats? |
| 10. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-15-2010 07:21:01 No... never. Adds value to nobody, not pro, not college... Many teams that think a kid could be one and done won't recruit such players as much. It wouldn't help the NCAA -- and why would we even want to help that nazi group, anyway? |
| 11. By: Slack on 03-15-2010 08:30:59 Jason, Any idea what's next for James Paxton? |
| 12. By: rocketdawg31 on 03-15-2010 14:21:10 All of the coaches in the SPSL know that the road to the championship will take us through Puyallup again. Some things never change, I guess. Puyallup HS was the 800-lb. gorilla in the area even back when I played high school ball twenty years ago. |
| 13. By: JohnMcD on 03-15-2010 17:32:47 JAC: Are there any prospects coming out of Tahoma High in Maple Valley? I have a friend that coaches for them and am just curious since I haven't talked to him about the team this year. They always seem to put together a pretty good squad. |
| 14. By: masonb on 03-15-2010 17:51:11 not that this would have any bearing on next year, but the reason for my question Jason is because of the situation facing USD. They have a loaded recruiting class with Wolters, Bryant, Sweeney, Covey, and combined with who could come back next year the team could be unbelievable but I know that similar situations occur every year anyways. |
| 15. By: PositivePaul on 03-15-2010 22:43:36 Some things never change, I guess. Puyallup HS was the 800-lb. gorilla in the area even back when I played high school ball twenty years ago. And no matter how good a team we had up the hill (RHS), Puy-town always always ALWAYS kicked our butts at football. I think there was a 15-year losing streak or something like that. But, yeah, our baseball team wasn't very good... |
| 16. By: tkballer22 on 03-16-2010 00:10:41 Just got home from the Puyallup-CK game. Vettleson didn't start and Puyallup put up a 6 spot in the first inning. They brought him in to throw in the 2nd and he looked pretty impressive. He was having a bit of control problems, but he was still hitting 91 on the gun consistently. He has one of the dirtiest breaking balls I have seen from a HS kid in a while. It breaks at the absolute last minute and he wasn't afraid to throw it in any count. Puyallup matched CK with a sophomore LHer. He threw four pitches for consistently for strikes. When I left, it was 9-0 Puyallup to start the fourth. |
| 17. By: Hawkfan on 03-16-2010 13:52:26 Keep a very close eye on Gig Harbor HS. Lost 5-4 in 11 innings to Puyallup last Friday night at Heritage. 3 D-1 pitchers, solid defense, and several college prospects in the field, including Spencer Manjarrez (Jr) in CF who looks to be going to Oregon State. Should have a solid year with a run to States. |
| 18. By: JHamlin22 on 03-17-2010 19:32:31 Cliff Lee just got suspended for the first 5 games of the season for throwing at Snyder's head. Interesting. |
| 19. By: brockfs1 on 03-17-2010 20:38:22 JAC you gonna be spending anytime at meadowdale? if so i live 2 mins from their HS and it would be awesome to see a game with you |
| 20. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-17-2010 22:13:42 brock, I think I'm slated to see Brennan on 3-23, but at Lynnwood HS. No reason for me to see him twice. |
| 21. By: brockfs1 on 03-17-2010 22:40:13 lynnwood works im 7 mins from there... what time is the game |
| 22. By: Jason A. Churchill on 03-18-2010 00:20:10 4pm |
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