Scout Day: St. James Sharks
By: Austin Alexander-February 12, 2008 St. James skipper Robbie Centracchio opened his gates to Diamond Prospects on a windy Tuesday for their Scout Day and scrimmage. While the trip to Murrells Inlet was prompted by the urge to view a junior southpaw, we uncovered some young players to follow in the process. Before I even made my first stride toward the Sharks well-maintained playing surface, I was greeted by St. James senior Tim Corbin in the parking lot, a senior left-handed pitcher that has signed with Presbyterian. Fortunately for him, his basketball team was headed out of town for a First Round Playoff match-up with Darlington. Unfortunately for DP, we would not see him take the hill on this night. But we didn’t come away empty handed… The Sharks were hosting Andrews High School, which pitted two teams reeling from the loss of quality players a year ago. And then the run-fest was on! Walks, misplays, wild pitches and swirling winds made for an interesting evening for both clubs, as a typical February scrimmage became a race to beat the incoming rain. Fast-forward to the reason for the trip, Kelly Wright. He took infield and threw with grace, pitched one inning and yanked a hamstring coming out of the box in his next at bat. 60 Times Name Class 60 Time David Aldridge Sr 7.46 Derrick Amann Sr 7.81 Ingram Bell Sr 7.07 David Causey Sr 7.91 Kelly Wright Jr 7.28 Tim McGraw Jr 9.09 Tyler Servant Jr 8.22 Ryan Ziegler Jr 7.59 Brunson Miller Jr 7.13 Nick Hotzelt So 7.90 Colby Crooks So 7.75 Gunnar Heidt Fr 7.62 Robert Toriano Fr 8.35 Tanner English Fr 7.62 Anthony Cossentino Fr 7.85 Catchers-Pop Time Name Class Pop Time Ryan Ziegler Jr 2.12-2.17 Top Outfield Arms Rank Name Class 1 Derrick Amann Sr 2 Tanner English Fr T3 David Aldridge Sr T3 Brunson Miller Jr Top Infield Arms Rank Name Class 1 Kelly Wright-1B Jr 2 Colby Crooks So 3 Gunnar Heidt Fr T4 Robert Toriano Fr T4 Anthony Cossentino Fr Top Infield Actions Rank Name Class 1 Gunnar Heidt Fr 2 Robert Toriano Fr 3 Colby Crooks Fr Pitchers Name Class R/L FB BB CH David Aldridge Sr R 80-81 – 66-67 Derrick Amann Sr R 75-79 – 65-66 Kelly Wright Jr L 82-83 – 74-75 Anthony Cossentino Fr R 74-75 – 61-63 Top Prospects Rank Name Class Scout Notes 1 Kelly Wright Jr Very loose and projectable arm and frame; definite follow in 09 class; plus defender at 1B but future is as a LHP 2 Tanner English Fr Stong arm, solid runner and good bat-speed with plenty of physical maturing to come 3 Ryan Ziegler Jr Solid arm strength and very accurate behind the dish with every throw; defensive skills are ahead of bat but has passion to play the game 4 David Aldridge Sr Another energized and passionate player with some two-way skills at the right school; can play past HS T5 Gunnar Heidt Fr Good swing and likely starter at SS; when he gets stronger, will project better as a 3B T5 Anthony Cossentino Fr Potential two-way player with some arm strength and pop in his bat .