Harvard-Westlake’s Jack Flaherty during defensive evaluations at the Milwaukee Brewers’ Area Code workout in Montecito. The Milwaukee Brewers’ team will consist mainly of players from SoCal. Photo: Andrew Drennen
Milwaukee Brewers hold their annual SoCal workouts as part of the selection process for the 2013 Area Code Baseball Games to be held in Long Beach August 5-10. CalHiSports.com will have wall-to-wall coverage of this prestigious event.
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Montecito — The Milwaukee Brewers’ first of two workouts at Westmont College started with 81 players and by the end of the day only 54 remained. Tuesday’s workout was slightly larger with 100 players in attendance.
One of the standout players on Monday was Jack Flaherty from Harvard-Westlake of North Hollywood. He was the 2013 Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Baseball so it should come as no surprise. Flaherty played last year for the Brewers in the 2012 Area Code Games as an infielder. He possesses a strong arm and moves well defensively. At the plate, he has a solid bat, with good approach, and has bat speed.
Luke Dykstra battled through some injuries last year and missed playing in the Area Code Games due to those injuries. His elder brother, Cutter, played for the Brewers’ Area Code team in 2007. Dykstra showed a solid bat at the plate and a good arm. He had one of the best BP sessions of the day, too. During the simulated game, he made one of the best defensive plays of the afternoon.
Their father, Lenny, was the 1981 Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Baseball, and played in the major leagues.
Outfielder Denz’l Chapman from Serra of Gardena stood out. He has some speed and has the ability to track down balls in the outfield. Chapman helped the Cavaliers win a historic CIFSS title this past year.
Some of the standout arms included Nathan Hadley from Loyola of Los Angeles. He is projectable and was up to 91 with the fastball. He has a good arm and a good body.
Another Loyola hurler was Quinn Brodey, a lefty, who was up to 88 on the gun. He showed some feel on the mound and worked quickly, too.
Day Two Standouts
The second day of the Brewers’ workout just outside Santa Barbara saw 90 players from Southern California workout for a shot at making the final USC workout next week.
D.J. Peters, an outfielder from Glendora, had one of the best arms of the workout. He’s projectable, standing in at 6-foot-6, 215 pounds. He has a strong arm and at the plate showed some bat speed. Peters also displayed some pop in the bat as well.
Sticking with the outfielders, Bishop Amat of La Puente standout Scott Hurst also showed a strong arm. He arguably had the best arm among position players of the workout. He has some speed and can cover ground, too. At the plate Hurst displayed a strong bat.
Josh Morgan is an infielder from Orange Lutheran. He showed quick defensive actions and a good arm. He made some great plays in the field during the simulated game. Morgan stands in at 6-foot, 180 pounds and moves well. At the plate, he can swing the bat with a solid contact swing and displayed a good approach.
On the mound, Jonathan Olsen from Damien of La Verne has a projectable body and threw on a nice downward plane. His fastball was up to 90 on the gun. He has good size, too, standing in at 6-foot-3, 185 pounds.
One guy who may have been under the radar coming in certainly did not leave that way. Lefty Ricky Thomas from Mira Mesa of San Diego showed a good arm and is projectable. Thomas was in the mid-to high 80s with this fastball and has a wiry frame at 6-foot, 160 pounds.
The Brewers will have a final workout at USC on July 16 that will combine the best players from the July 8 workout and the July 9 workout. Please check out AreaCodeBaseball.com for complete Area Code Baseball coverage and for a recap of the July 16 workout.
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