SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: Baseball Midseason 2023 Report

We take a look at the teams, the top talent and the top pitchers in the area with our midseason awards.

BASEBALL MIDSEASON 2023 REPORT

We have reached the midway point of the baseball season and, with a little wrinkle here and there, we haven’t seen the surprise teams that we’re used to seeing. But there has been a bit of shuffling of the deck since we published our preseason rankings back in February.

Here were our preseason rankings.

1. La Mirada

2. Charter Oak

3. South Hills

4. Maranatha

5. San Dimas

6. Bonita

7. La Salle

8. Bishop Amat

9. Northview

10. Arcadia

Here are the rankings heading into this week.

1. San Dimas

2. Bonita

3. Arcadia

4. La Mirada

5. La Serna

6. Maranatha

7. South Hills

8. Bishop Amat

9. Damien

10. El Rancho

As you can see, some teams have lived up to expectations and others haven’t. In playing Saturday Morning QB, we probably bought too much into the Charter Oak hype before the season started. However, they are playing very well right now and could land back in the top 10 in the next couple of weeks. Anthony Vasquez has been a delight to watch in two of his starting assignments that we’ve seen.

When it came to filling out our preseason top-10, the last two teams on our board were Arcadia and Damien. We took the Apaches at the end of the day, which turned out to be the right call. But don’t look now but Damien is playing very well – and we’ll get into them later on in this column. You have to give credit where it’s due and that is with Mike Regan at San Dimas and Ryan Marcos at Bonita. Both teams have delivered big performances and will be flying the SGV flag in Division 1 when the playoffs start.

There are still questions on the street as to the quality of Maranatha. The Boras Classic, which starts on Monday, will go a long way to determining the genuineness of the Minuteman.

Let’s take a look at our midseason awards from a person that has seen 18 area baseball games this year and 17 different area teams.

Eddie Garcia and Nick Williams are two outstanding pitchers for La Serna in 2023. (Escarcega)

BIGGEST SURPRISE OF THE YEAR: La Serna

We knew that La Serna was going to be solid, but did anyone have them going 14-2 on their bingo cards? Probably not. The only two losses were to San Dimas (which is looking better with each passing week) and Arcadia. They also have a win against Mater Dei on their resume that was no fluke.

We all knew that Nick Williams was going to be a solid pitcher (5-1, 0.59), but the Long Beach signee has been very impressive in 2023. The only loss came to San Dimas and well just mark that a “bad day.” What also was a surprise was the performance of Nick Allred (3-1, 2.80) and Eddie Garcia (3-0, 1.48).

When you couple the pitching with a batting lineup that causes havoc for pitchers from spots 1-4, it makes you understand how real this team is.

La Serna just ripped off a 16-1 win over California on Monday, which is one more indication that this team is poised for a big playoff run.  

Honorable Mention: El Rancho and Nogales.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT OF THE YEAR: Northview

The Vikings entered 2023 as the defending Valle Vista League champions, but they are 2 ½ games behind San Dimas at this point in the race.

Let’s be honest, a team that has Dean Curley, one of the area’s premier players that is going to the University of Tennessee, and quality pitcher Sal Batres should not have a record of 5-11. I can understand losing to Bonita (2-1) and Damien (2-0), but losses to Kaiser, Brea-Olinda, and Trabuco Hills don’t look good.

Having seen them in person against Charter Oak, the talent is there, but there is something missing there and I can’t put my finger on it. For now, let’s just say, they need to start picking it up if they want to make the playoffs. The home-and-home series against West Covina could be the mother of all series in the final week of the season.

THE TEAM WITH THE BIGGEST QUESTIONS: Maranatha

This is not a knock on the Minuteman, but I still don’t know what to make of the team. Are they uber-talented? You bet. This is a team that is peppered with Division 1 talent all over the place. But I don’t know what the ceiling is with this team.

Zach Strickland is the best sophomore pitcher in the area, and there is a plethora of quality sophomore pitchers in the area, the Zdunek brothers (Dyland and Eric) are explosive hitters that can be nightmares for pitchers, A.J. Beltre just hit the field after sitting out the 30-day sit out period from transferring from La Salle, Cider Canon is one the better catchers in the area. The talent is there.

Can this team make a run in the Division 1 playoffs? I simply can’t answer that question right now. This is where the Boras Classic next week comes in. We should get a good feel for this team right away on Monday as they take on Orange Lutheran at JSerra. This could be where we find the necessary answers to a team that has a huge upside.

Honorable Mention: La Salle, St. Francis

BEST PITCHERS OF THE SEASON:

Ok, we’ll fill this out a bit differently. I have these pitchers slotted into different tiers. One note: these are pitchers that I have either seen in person or on video.

TIER 1 – Best of the best.  

Justin Santiago, Bonita: What a year it has been so far for Santiago. The senior (5-0, 1.00) just committed to Long Beach State and for all the right reasons. His fastball has been a nice movement and has been clocked in the low 90s by baseball scouts. His slider and curveball are vicious, and he has shown pinpoint control. Plus, he has a bit of a swagger when he is on the mound, which is great to see.

Sterling Patick, South Hills: Scouts were out on opening day to watch this UC Santa Barbara kid in action, and he didn’t disappoint them. The lefty showed outstanding control and made the most of the appearance. He has been a model of consistency (5-1, 0.83) and there is no reason to think that he’ll fall off any during the final three weeks of the season. He is fun to watch.

Zach Strickland, Maranatha: The sophomore came into the season with a UCLA offer in his hip pocket, and went you watch him pitch, you can understand why. He does everything so smoothly. His fastball has been clocked in the low 90s and his off-season repertoire is very impressive. He has a huge upside and could be the most important pitcher for UCLA coach John Savage when he arrives on campus. He’ll be under the microscope at the Boras Classic. He is ranked fifth for the class of 2025 by PrepBaseballReport.com.

TIER 2: Solid pitchers that would be the number 1 starter for any pitching staff

Nick Williams (La Serna) – As we have mentioned at the top, Williams has made noticeable improvements in 2023 and has been almost untouchable to Del Rio League hitters. He is very poised on the mound with a fastball that is much better than ordinary. Our take on Williams is that once he arrives on campus at Long Beach St, we can see him as a middle reliever, which would be a great spot for Williams on the staff. Pitch three innings, get in – get out, get your money! Lots to like here.

Ian Hoffstetter (Arcadia): The “Big Hoff” once again shows why coaching matters. When he arrived at Arcadia last year from Gabrielino, no one talked about him. That is not the case these days. The senior is 6-1 with a 1.15 ERA and continues to be a problem for area hitters. He has a nice fastball, but it is offspeed stuff that has taken his game to the next level. He’ll be asked to deliver more top-notch performances for the Apaches with the playoffs looming on the horizon.

Anthony Vasquez (Charter Oak): I’ve seen this kid pitch twice and I was very relieved to see the improvement he has made from the start of the season until last week. The Cal Poly Pomona (4-1, 1.82) signee pitched a gem against Northview last week (a complete-game four-hitter) and struck out eight. The Vikings couldn’t come around his fastball and his slider was on point. Love his decorum on the mound – nothing phases him at all. This is quite a pickup for Cal Poly Pomona, we can see this guy in their rotation on day 1.

Sean Suriyaniel (Bishop Amat) – When we tell you that Bishop Amat has a pitching staff that would be the envy of area coaches, we are not joking. It starts here with the right-handed hurler that has been a model of consistency all season long. He leads the team in strikeouts. He would be considered “No. 1A” on the staff. Great off-speed stuff and his fastball isn’t electric, but it’s good enough. He’ll fit in perfectly at Cal State Los Angeles and have a productive college career.

Moises Escobedo (Bishop Amat) – Here is another quality right-hander that is impressive when you watch him in person. He looked superb in his outing against St. Paul that I saw in person, with a nice fastball and pinpoint control with his slider and curveball. If you ask those inside the program, they’ll tell you that he is their “No. 1B” on their rotation. And they will also tell you that they have no problem starting him in a “must-win” game situation. It’s an embarrassment of riches for Hoggatt at Amat, and he is set up for the future with two talented pitchers in Aaron Sundin and Izaac Muniz that will be counted on for big wins in the near future.

Kasen Khansarinia (San Dimas) – You would have little debate if you call this kid the best baseball player in the area. The buzz on this kid when he arrived at San Dimas was off the charts – and he has more than lived up to the hype. The first time that I saw him pitch this year was against La Serna and he held a very explosive lineup to two hits in picking up the win. Then I saw him on film several days ago against Bishop Amat and his control was very impressive. He limited one of the better offensive teams in the area to 2 runs on 6 hits and struck out three in picking up the win. This kid is legit, and we’ll be talking about him more in just a moment.

Eric Jeon (La Mirada) – Here is another live arm from the uber-competitive Jimmy Zurn. The right-hander showed terrific control in the one game that I saw him throw against Bellflower. A great competitor that can also swing the bat very well. He has to be considered the ace of the staff that includes the red-hot Donald Murray. He has signed with Columbia and will thrive once he arrives on the Ivy League scene.

Sal Batres (Northview) – Here is a kid that has the stuff to be a next-level pitcher and it was on display when the Vikings played Charter Oak last week. Excellent fastball and a nice slider that keeps hitters off balance. Against one of the better offensive lineups in the area, Batres limited Charter Oak to three hits. He’ll be asked for one as we come down the home stretch of the season, but from a talent point of view, he’s pretty darn good.

 TIER 3 – A notch below but still on our radar screen

Gabe Lopez (Arcadia), Aaron Sandin (Bishop Amat), Max Murillo (West Covina), Aidan Bravo (St. Paul), Wil Valenzuela (California), Jude Favela (San Dimas), Eddie Garcia (La Serna)

BEST HITTER IN THE AREA: Kasen Khansarinia, San Dimas

I’ve seen Dean Curley of Northview more than once, and I’ve seen Khansarinia more than once – and it’s not even close folks. Khansarinia made La Serna pitcher Nick Williams look like an ordinary pitcher in the semifinals of the Pizza Chalet Tournament. He’s done it to pitchers all season long. In my opinion, he is the best baseball player in the area and has a serious chance to make the major leagues once his collegiate career at UCLA is completed. It’s Khansarinia – and then there’s everyone else in the area.

MOST DANGEROUS TEAM IN THE AREA: Damien

After getting off to a bit of a slow start, the Spartans have come alive and are in first place in the Baseline League. Nathan Ries has turned the corner for the Spartans with several impressive performances and you have to love the way that JD Dunn competes on a regular basis. There are few like him – just ask his former coach Andy Nieto. Andrew Carter was impressive this past week against a very good Foothill squad. They still have to take on Rancho Cucamonga, Los Osos, and Etiwanda, but sleep on the Spartans at your own peril – this is a very dangerous team.

OK JIMMY, WHO IS THE LEAGUE THAT YOU DON'T HAVE A HANDLE ON? This one is easy – Rio Hondo League. Just went you think South Pasadena has control of the league race, they manage to let Monrovia and La Canada back into the race. There is no league that is more fun to watch than the RHL, it truly is the “Royal Rumble” of the SGV. They just beat up on each other, with the last man standing as the league champions. The last three weeks are going to be a barn burner.

There is so much I can write about. I could talk about the job that Andy Nieto has done at La Salle, the no-nonsense approach from Nick Lemas that has Arcadia competing with Crescenta Valley for the Pacific League title, the job Donnie Montanez has done in his final year at Nogales, and much more.

The fun begins as it becomes “goose bump time on the ol’ plantation,” as the late Vin Scully used to say. It doesn’t get any better than these final weeks of the season.