Teams – Page 59 – Diamond Prospects

Spring Preview: Byrnes Rebels

By: Chris Carter-February 4, 2008 2007 was a great year for our baseball program at Byrnes. We finished 8-4 in our region, which landed us in second place. One of the highlights was winning the Upstate Classic tournament during spring break. In the playoffs, we played three extra inning games that were a g… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well. Username Password Remember Me Forgot Password

Scout Day 2008: JL Mann Patriots

By: Nick Nickles-January 31, 2008 DP rolled into JL Mann on Thursday afternoon to conduct its first scout day in brutal conditions in the Upstate. The temperatures were in the mid-40’s, winds 10-15 mph with on and off rain showers. Anything else wouldn’t be February High School baseball in the Palmetto State! Despite these conditions, Paul Nitto put on a rocket show during batting practice and Coach Brian Simpson unveiled his four-star class of talented freshmen that includes the sweet-swinging freshman Matt Peden. Coach Simpson will have a talented team to do battle with in the most powerful region in 3A baseball, and they could surprise many this season. Mann’s season will ride heavily on pitching coach Will Cheatham’s staff led by junior Emilio Pagan. If the other Patriot arms can pull some weight, Mann could be a very dangerous team in 2008. 60 Times Name Class 60 Time Jake Andrews Sr. 7.19 Scott McAbee Sr. 7.59 Kellen Moman Sr. – Trey Paul Sr. 7.62 Spencer Bishop Jr. 7.74 Travis Greig Jr. 7.78 Paul Nitto Jr. 7.65 Emilio Pagan Jr. 7.41 Torrey Peden Jr. 7.84 Chris Saindon Jr. 8.12 Brent Vogel Jr. 7.79 Chad Almonte Soph. 7.74 Jermemy Camp Soph. 7.82 Justin Charles Soph. 7.62 David Donald Soph. – Garrison Gray Soph. 7.5 Ross Holmes Soph. 7.72 Ward Jones Soph. 7.91 Robert Landers Soph. 8.10 Michael Lewis Soph. 8.19 Braden Roth Soph. 7.49 Cameron Saindon Soph. 8.12 Michael Thompson Soph. 8.09 Brandon Adams Fr. 7.91 Scott Bailey Fr. 8.28 J.R. Black Fr. 7.34 Jordan Esposito Fr. 8.00 Brett Fisher Fr. 8.34 Christian Haasis Fr. – Brady Hegwood Fr. 7.32 Will Hunnicutt Fr. 7.90 Justin Martin Fr. 8.19 Michael Mitchem Fr. – Reid Moman Fr. 7.62 Matt Peden Fr. 7.15 Bo Thompson Fr. 7.53 Will Vaughn Fr. 8.81 Matt Wright Fr. 9.66 Catcher’s Pop Times Name Class Pop Times Paul Nitto Jr. 2.09-2.22 Ward Jones Soph. 2.22-2.25 Brett Fisher Fr. 2.27-2.44 Bo Thompson Fr. 2.22-2.44 Top OF Arms Rank Name Class 1 Kellen Moman Sr. 2 Brent Vogel Jr. 3 Braden Roth Soph. 4 Jake Andrews Sr. T5 Brady Hegwood Fr. T5 Brandon Adams Fr. Top Infield Arms Rank Name Class 1 Emilio Pagan Jr. 2 Robert Landers Soph. 3 Braden Roth Soph. 4 Brent Vogel Jr. 5 Matt Peden Fr. Best Infield Actions Rank Name Class 1 Emilio Pagan Jr. 2 Braden Roth Soph. 3 Chris Saindon Jr. 4 Matt Peden Fr. 5 Brent Vogel Jr. Top BP Rounds Rank Name Class 1 Paul Nitto Jr. 2 Kellen Moman Sr. 3 Justin Charles Soph. 4 Scott McAbee Sr. 5 Brandon Adams Fr. 6 Emilio Pagan Jr. 7 Ward Jones Soph. 8 Bo Thompson Fr. 9 Brady Hegwood Fr. 10 Braden Roth Soph. Top Prospects Rank Name Class Scout Notes 1 Matt Peden Fr. It doesnt take long to realize this kid can be exceptional. Fastest 60 time on the day. A beautiful swing. A Richie Shaffer comparison is not far-fetched. 2 Emilio Pagan Jr. Keeps getting better on the mound, will need to have a good offensive campaign for his club to achieve big things. 3 Paul Nitto Jr. Making strides at the plate. Has all the tools to be a great catcher. He has to perform now. Hit balls in BP that went out of sight. 4 Justin Charles Soph. A hard-nosed player. He has a chance to make some noise in Region 2-AAA off the bump as a LHP. Charles is also a legit switch hitter. 5 Kellen Moman Sr. He has some tools. A little juice and a good arm from the OF. Can help on the mound if he throws enough strikes. 6 J.R. Black Fr. Draws physical comparisons to Greenville native, and former USC first-rounder Matt Campbell. 7 Robert Landers Jr. Crafty Lefty 8 Braden Roth Soph. A move to the infield is imminent. If he can make strides at the plate, expect a rise in the state player rankings as well. 9 Brandon Adams Fr. Does everything slightly above average as a freshman. Another good young player. 10 Brady Hegwood Fr. A high energy player with a little pop. 11 Reid Moman Fr. Left handed contact hitter. Projects as the future lead-off or #2 hole hitter. 12 Brent Vogal Jr. Needs to put more time in the game. A raw player with some tools at this point. Pitchers * Conditions became nasty as the tempertures dropped below 40 with wind driving rain from right to left during bullpens. Pitchers threw a couple of pitches each. * Fastballs only on quickly worsening wet mound, and some guys did not throw because of rain. Name Class MPH Kellen Moman Sr. 82-83 Emilio Pagan Jr. 82-84 Scott McAbee Sr. 77-79 Spencer Bishop Jr. 72-73 Brent Vogel Jr. 73-75 Justin Charles Soph 74-75 Garrison Gray Soph 76-68 Ross Holmes Soph 75 .

Spring Preview: North Myrtle Beach

By: Tim Graham-February 1, 2008 The 2008 version of the North Myrtle Beach Chiefs hopes to build on the success of the 2007 team. The Chiefs went 16-9 in 2007 including a 7-3 Region VI-AAA record and a share of the Region championship with Carolina Forest. 2007 marked the most successful season in over a decade for North Myrtle Beach. Suc… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

Spring Preview: USC Salkehatchie Indians

By: Jeff Wicker-January 31, 2008 The 2007 USC Salkehatchie Indian baseball team had a good shot at a top four finish in Region X, but stumbled down the stretch to a sixth place finish. Although the squad had a disappointing ending to the year, the team made improvements in every major category, at the plate and on the mound, from 2006 to 2007. He… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

Spring Preview: Mauldin Mavericks

By: Todd Robinson-January 24, 2008 Mauldin will be a team loaded with juniors as only five seniors return from last year’s squad. Returning seniors are: Caleb Ayscue, Cory Bishop, Rob Hardaway, Brad Huffling and Kevin Loucks. Bishop made the All-Tournament team at the IP Classic. Loucks started most of the year in centerfield. Hardaway is a hard-t… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

Spring Preview: Emerald Vikings

By: Stanley Moss-January 25, 2008 The 2008 Emerald Vikings will have a solid core group of players. This group should help the Vikings be competitive in Region III-AA. The group that will lead this team are seniors (P/OF) Stephen Gary, (P/INF) Hunter Dowis, (P/1B) Ben McIntosh, (OF/1B) Andy Davis to go with juniors (P/INF) John Woolston, (P/UTL) D… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

Pre-Season Rankings: SCISAA

-Overall- Rank Team 1 Augusta Christian 2 Ben Lippen 3 Laurence-Manning 4 Laurens Academy 5 Robert E. Lee 6 Hammond 7 Northwood 8 Wilson Hall 9 Heathwood Hall 10 Dorchester Academy 11 First Baptist 12 Porter Gaud 13 Richard Winn 14 Carolina Academy 15 WW King Player of the Year: Tyler Jackson-Robert E. Lee Pitche… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

DP Power Rankings

-2008 Pre-season Power Rankings- Overall Rank Team 1 North Augusta 2 Riverside 3 Dorman 4 Sumter 5 Laurens 6 Wando 7 Hartsville 8 AC Flora 9… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

Pre-Season Rankings: A

2008 Pre-season Team Rankings: A 1: Landrum-Losses up and down the line-up and at the top of the rotation may not allow the Cardinals to waltz through the playoffs again in 2008, but an offense led by Dustin Morris and Zeke Rollins should have Landrum knocking on the door of another ring. 2007 finish: Won State Championship. &n… The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.

Pre-Season Rankings: AA

2008 Pre-season Team Rankings: AA 1: Bishop England-Brison Celek’s potent bat will lead an offense that is rounded out by sophomore’s Alex Abrams and Corey Forrester. Anthony Rowland and Ryan Connolly will be relied on to pick up the big innings for the Bishops if a return trip to the State Championship is … The new DP website is here. For all the great DP content, subscribe. If you have any login/subscription issues, please contact our support team. Your feedback on the new experience is appreciated as well.