It was time for one last go-around for a bunch of high school guys from Los Angeles Saturday at Birmingham High School in the City vs. CIF All-Star game, including Austin Wilson and Le’jon Baker.
If there’s anything better than a guy with tremendous raw power hitting in a home run derby with a metal bat, I haven’t seen it. Wilson didn’t have to do anything here except be himself. In front of a small crowd and perhaps not one scout, Wilson launched three balls in the first round, including two up in the trees. We’ve covered Wilson extensively from the summer to the spring, and as he ponders which direction his life and career will take, he redirected four more balls in the second round.
For out-of-towners and those with office cubicles at the New Busch Stadium, let me play tour guide. Birmingham High School (Los Angeles, not Alabama) is not a bandbox. It’s a solid 330 down the lines, 360 to the alleys, and 380 to center field. Rows of decades-old trees surround the outfield. Wilson killed a few branches. Wilson showed light-tower power and lasers. He hit a pair of smoked, rising line drives that soared over the 360-mark in left-center and might have dented some poor teacher’s classroom. The eyeball estimation: 380-400 feet. Give or take.
In the game, he went hitless in three at-bats, but who cares. Wilson’s smooth and effortless power can’t be missed. I’ve seen almost 50 at-bats over the year, and I think he’s getting better. He isn’t always perfect in games, and like a lot of young hitters, he doesn’t always apply BP to a game. But with age and experience, the frequency will rise. The last time I saw a guy hit bombs with metal was Griffey Jr. at Cal State Fullerton a few years back before the World Baseball Tournament.
While Wilson is the name known around the draft world, the other name that isn’t as well known but should be is Crenshaw center fielder Le’jon Baker, drafted in the 43rd round by the Atlanta Braves. The Braves love high school players – always have and always will. As a scout, it galls me that a guy with Baker’s tools lasted until the 43rd round. As a baseball person, it thrills me that the Braves took him. He is, by far, their kind of guy.
The first thing you would notice about Baker is the major league body on a high school kid. As I have often said, walk into a big league locker room and tell me how many position players don’t have hips that come up to your neck. It’s an athlete’s game and Baker has the genes. The knock most scouts have on Baker is the bat. The counterpoint is what Baker gave you in the home run contest – bat speed. Major. League. Bat. Speed.
Now, he needs at-bats. He needs to see good pitching. And he needs to learn consistency. But Baker’s hands work. He’s already got an idea of how to throw his hips. That’s why I think he’ll hit. It might not come right away because this is more about timing and coordination. This was my first look at Baker since the Academy workout in February. What I like is that he’s got the same swing. He hasn’t altered it. It’s a swing that should generate power. Among his other tools, Baker doesn’t throw very well yet, but I think his arm will grade slightly up in the future once he begins a regular throwing program. You don’t usually say that a young player’s arm can grade up, but you can’t uniformly say it won’t happen. Only in specific cases can you grade up on the arm in future years. This is one of those rare cares.
Baker’s speed has never been in question. He worked a walk to lead off the bottom of the ninth, stole second, took third on a fielder’s choice, and scored on a wild pitch. Speed is speed, and like power, you can’t give it and you can’t take it away. These are the money tools. Offensively, the same terms that apply to Wilson’s swing can be applied to Baker – smooth and explosive. Yes, my old pal Piper would like these guys.
Some day down the line, Baker might try to run on Chatsworth catcher Sean O’Connell. Drafted in the 15th round by the Chicago White Sox, O’Connell physically profiles for the position. He’s 6-3, lean and lanky, and has much physical projection in front of him. His first tool is his arm and his defense. In a crisp infield, he put the mint on the pillow at 1.8 seconds. O’Connell is a catcher with a big arm, and in this look, he wasn’t afraid to play with it, throwing from his knees at a high 1.9. Offensively, O’Connell should continue to improve as he gets stronger and gets at-bats, but at this stage, he’s a good draft for the arm, body and defense.
Speaking of arm and athletic ability, Brando Tessar continues to intrigue me. Drafted in the 25th round by the Toronto Blue Jays, who made it clear that they wanted high school players with athletic upside, he would profile for me as a position player. Tessar has the durable physicality of a middle infielder, and in my crystal ball, I see him at second base. I think he’d be a rock to try to knock over on a double play.
Shortstop Lonnie Kauppila wore his trademark elbow sleeve in red, matching the uniform and the Stanford commitment. Drafted in the 44th round by the Oakland A’s, I’m going to just take a wild guess and say Kauppila will get to Stanford. He’ll be drafted again in three years, stronger, more experienced, and still slick defensively.
Just because a player isn’t drafted out of high school doesn’t mean he’s not a potential pro prospect. Trust me, I have seen some good players overlooked so some GM can draft some front office employee’s kid. And I have seen good players meet with bad scouting. And I can’t blame some players for saying, ‘Why would I sign for slot when slot is less than college?’
Josh Mason might the best right-handed high school arm that I have seen that was not drafted. Again, I ask the question – what are scouts looking for? This was my first look at Mason since the Area Codes. At the time, I saw him at 87-89 and said he had fastball life, some downhill plane, and physical projection. He was listed at 6-3 then. I think he’s taller. Playing college baseball at Stony Brook, Mason is going to have a chance to be a dude in that league. It makes me wonder if somebody is hiding him. Eye-balling Mason without the radar gun, I wouldn’t be shocked to have seen some 88-90s. His fastball control still needs to come up in the coming years, but I think he’s also pitching through a growth spurt, which almost always plays havoc with mechanics and release points. Mason still has physical projection, even if he is as tall as he gets. He will fill out, especially in his upper body, and his lower half has room to take on muscle. When you look in the crystal ball with this guy, you can see the physicality and arm speed. My hunch says, way down the road – closer.
Pitcher Tyler Abbott was drafted as a starter. In this look, the left-hander bound for UC Irvine effectively and aggressively pitched with his fastball. He threw an occasional straight change from the same release point and slot. He threw two different breaking balls – a softer roller off the fingers and the harder one with snap. As he physically matures, that pitch is going to become a go-to pitch at the advanced levels. He remained closed and compact in his delivery points.
Ryon Healy is a guy I haven’t seen hit with wood since the Fall. I saw a few metal at-bats in the spring. Healy hit a hard ground ball single through the left side with wood. I knew it because I heard the sound of the bat. Healy will go to Oregon and I will watch him, because one of these years, I think I’m going to get right-handed power. Another guy who was not drafted who I think is worth following is Banning’s Anthony Salas. I know the draft disagreed with me. Guess what? The draft isn’t always right.
