SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: Mondays with Escarcega, April 7th, 2024

We give out midseason grades for baseball, football coaching news and much more.

San Dimas pitcher Jude Favela after throwing a no-hitter against Ganesha at the Boras Classic Tournament. (Escarcega) COLUMN 040724

We have reached the midseason mark of the high school baseball season. In the greater scheme of things, not much has changed since opening day. In our preseason rankings, La Mirada was at the top with San Dimas, Maranatha, South Hills, and Bishop Amat. This week Maranatha is #1 with La Mirada, South Hills, San Dimas, and Bishop Amat rounding out the top 5.

I can’t say we are surprised. I wanted to move Bonita into the top 5, but their losses to San Dimas and La Salle preclude us from doing that. I wanted to move La Salle into the top 5 but they have to break the kryptonite that is Bishop Amat. That’s just the lay of the land in the valley.

Unlike many years, there is not a dominant team in the area. Now, if you are using a tier system to separate teams, the top 5 teams in our rankings belong in tier 1. You can make a case for St. Francis, Bonita, La Salle, La Serna, and Arcadia to be slotted into tier 2 (and you can make a compelling argument for La Habra).

Whether you like it or not, the power of the SGV and Whittier area resides in the top five teams in the area. They are high school baseball’s version of the FAANG stocks (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, and Google).

Let’s open the envelopes and give out some midseason awards.

OK, so you’ve given us the top 5 teams – but are there any disappointments so far this year? 

There are a couple. The obvious one is Ayala. They were ranked 7th in our preseason rankings and are currently 5-9-1 on the season and are 4th in the Palomares League rankings. We all know that the Bulldogs are very young, but the standard by which we judge this team has always been high. But let’s be honest here, who in the area is going to beat Corona, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, Rancho Cucamonga? Not a whole lot. But the three-game sweep they suffered to Colony was not something that was on our bingo cards.

The other team having a disappointing season is Northview. Yeah, I know that they lost Dean Curley, who has been thriving in Tennessee, but the lack of competitiveness is something we are not used to seeing in teams coached by Dan Roddy. They have a pitcher with a bright future in junior A.J. Flores (6-5, 200), but you would like to see some performance development from the rest of the team. They are currently on a 7-game losing streak.

BEST PLAYER IN THE AREA: David Mysza, La Salle

I’ve seen all the elite players in the area, and Mysza is the only player of two players that I would pay money to watch play. He is a gazelle in the outfield with nothing getting by him. At the plate, he is a model of consistency. Two of his home runs this year came off of Arcadia’s Fernando Palencia (University of San Diego signee) and San Dimas’ Jude Favela (USC Signee). There is a reason why this kid is going to UCLA. John Savage doesn’t make many mistakes.

BEST PITCHER IN THE AREA: Zach Strickland, Maranatha.

What can be said about this kid that hasn’t been said. He should be talked about in the same light as another elite pitcher who was produced from the same program – Dawson Netz. This kid’s stuff is electrifying. In his performance against Village Christian (in which the temps were in the 50’s and he was fighting the flu), he hit 93 on the gun and ranged from 88-92 MPH on his fastball. His curveball has been untouchable, and he has a solid change-up. Not only that, but he is the designated hitter and can hit for power. You can make a case for Athen Malone (Charter Oak), Jude Favela (San Dimas), Fernando Palencia (Arcadia), and Camden Farina (Bonita), but any talk starts with the UCLA commit from the class of 2025.

BEST FAST RISING PITCHERS: Christian Santoyo (South Hills), Frane Flores (La Salle)

In the opening game of the season, South Hills assistant coach (and Pasadena area baseball legend) Mike Parisi came over to me during their game against Corona Santiago and said “Watch for this kid Santoyo. I like him a lot.” It was the best piece of advice I got all season. The freshman has been sensational all season for coach Darren Murphy. He averages 83-86 on his FB which is impressive for a freshman. Scouts talked about him as one of the top underclass pitchers at the Boras Classic. As for Flores, he has made 10 appearances this season with a 2-1 record and an ERA of 2.62. In their win over Bonita, he averaged 81-83 on his fastball. These are two of the better freshmen who will carry the banner for the area in years to come.

BEST CLOSER IN THE AREA:  Matt Moreno, South Hills

This came as a bit of a surprise to me, but when the Huskies are ahead and Murphy gives the ball to Moreno, you can pretty much call it game, set, and match. He closed out their win over La Mirada which included 2 UCLA commits and a highly regarded freshman in that inning. He has a nice velocity to his fastball, 86-88, and he also can hit for power. I think Loyola Marymount got a steal with this prospect.

BEST INFIELDER IN THE AREA: Landon White, San Dimas

His stats speak for themselves. His batting average is .500 with 4 Home Runs and 23 RBIs. He is as good as it gets at third base and is perfectly slotted in the Saints lineup behind UCLA signee Kasen Khansarinia. He part of a murder’s row on a lineup that includes Coleman, Castro, and Regan. He’ll be heading for the Big 12 with Arizona State. He is another player that I would pay money to watch.

BEST TEAM EQUIPPED TO WIN A CIF-SS TITLE: La Salle

As we have found out with other teams in the past, it’s all about which division you are in. With La Salle, you have a talented team that should be able to handle what is thrown at them in Division 3. They have the pitching, hitting, and coaching to get the job done. A dream matchup would be La Salle vs. La Habra, and that could happen. Don’t be fooled by Corona Centennial at the top of the rankings. The Huskies got throttled by San Dimas, a team that La Salle beat at the Pizza Chalet Tournament. If there is a coach that can get the job done, it is Andy Nieto.

BEST SLEEPER TEAM TO FOLLOW IN THE PLAYOFFS: San Marino

The Titans advanced to the semifinals before running into Cody New of Hesperia Christian, who looked like Sandy Koufax in their win. Well, the Titans are back and look poised for another deep run. Had a chance to see their pitching ace Tomas Bilvado earlier in the season and I liked what I saw. The junior hit 86 on the gun with his fastball and was in total control in their win over Burroughs. The offense is solid and most importantly, they don’t make many mistakes on defense. They are legitimate sleepers if they catch the right bracket in the playoffs.

BEST PITCHING STAFF IN THE AREA: South Hills.  

It came down to this team and Bishop Amat. From top to bottom, no one has the depth that the Huskies have. And the scary part is their best pitchers are not available right now.

Daniel Camou (Cal Poly commit) hasn’t thrown this year and Elias Reyes (Loyola Marymount commit) has only made four starts this year (paid subscribers can get access to his numbers against La Mirada earlier this year). But that hasn’t stopped Darren Murphy from throwing young bucks like Santoyo, Carson Baker, and Justin Romero into the fire. Those are freshmen and sophomores. This is going to pay huge dividends for years to come – especially next year when Camou and Reyes are seniors. And with the Huskies moving into a new league next year – this is not the music that anyone from Alta Loma, Colony, Los Altos, and San Dimas wants to hear.

With the weather forecasts calling for sunny skies all week, it’s time to get back into the swing of things on the baseball diamond. How about Ayala vs. Bonita on Monday with the projected matchup of Camden Farina vs. Matthew Yarc? I’ll see you there.

Next week, we’ll break down the softball season to date.

ALL FOOTBALL COACHING VACANCIES FILLED 

With the announcement that Eric Elias is the new coach at Arcadia and Jimmy Welker accepting the position at Whittier HS, all the head coaching positions have been filled.

History tells us that it is usually 2-3 years before some of these programs will be looking for a coach again. The reason is simple, unrealistic expectations from parents and fans, and player disgruntlement.

The positive is that the vast majority of football insiders that I’ve spoken with love the hires some of these programs have made. The big splash was Nogales getting Matt Villasenor and Diamond Ranch tapping the shoulder of Chris Williams.

But Citos Marinez injected some much-needed energy into the Rowland program and countless people had nothing but great things to say about Louis Gutierrez becoming head coach at Gabrielino.

This is great because we need a new group of stalwart head coaches in the area. With the passing of Terry Roche, which I will talk about next week, the list of legendary coaches in the area is fading fast. No more Big Lou’s, Greg Gano’s, and now Terry Roche’s. Yes, you can call Steve Hagerty a coaching legend for the job he has done at Bishop Amat, and we still have Dom Farrar, Steve Bogan, and Mike Maggiore.

After that, the list shrinks in a hurry. Mike Moschetti and Andy George come to mind, as does Mark Carson at Rio Hondo Prep, but who else comes to mind? Brandon Rohrer is a strong candidate, but I think he needs to win a sectional title before we can put him there. Let’s hope that some of these young bucks can get the job done and become the latest candidates to be placed on Mt. Rushmore of coaches in the area.

AREA RUNNERS TURN IN TOP EFFORTS AT THE ARCADIA INVITATIONAL 

If there was anything we can glean from Saturday night’s developments at Arcadia Invitational is that South Pasadena could be the team to follow at the CIF-SS Track and Field Finals next month.

Mia Holden finished second in the seeded 300-meter Hurdles (43.82) and third in the seeded 100-meter hurdles (14.49). Keeran Murray took third in the seeded 800 meters (1:53.91) and Abigail Errington took 10th in the 3200 meters (10:09.86). Those runners will be heavy favorites to medal at the CIF-SS Masters meet.

Northview’s Dylan Ochoa, who shined on the football field as the wide receiver, ran a personal-best 47.80 seconds to finish in fourth place in the 400-meter invitational. That should set him up nicely for the postseason.

The attention of area track and field fans will now be focused on the SGV Championships that will take place this weekend at Covina District Field.

CRUISING AROUND THE VALLEY: For those that have not been to the new Mt. SAC Swimming Complex (count me as one of them), there is no excuse as the CIF-SS will be holding its Swimming Championships at the venue from April 30th – May 4th. I’ve attended two of the finals over the years and it is one of the more fun days on the section calendar. The finals will take place on May 2-4. For those who are wondering about the Diving championships, they will be held in Mission Viejo at the Marguerite Aquatic Complex on April 24-25th… Passing League tournaments are securing their dates and one that caught us by surprise is the first-ever Mark Keppel tournament on Saturday, June 8th with the field limited to 15 teams. For those interested, contact coach Robert Gonzalez at mkhsaztecsfootball@gmail.com... Santa Fe HS announced last week that they are parting ways with coach Leonard Romero and will be looking for a new boys basketball coach. West Covina is looking for a new girls volleyball coach and (in an interesting post on the CIF-SS website), Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary’s football program is looking for a new Offensive Coordinator…

Have a great week.