Baseball Scouts Descend on Carr Field

Southern California’s top high school baseball players converged on Westmont’s Carr Field July 7-8, putting their strength and power on display in front of about a hundred major league scouts and college coaches. More than 200 prep players, who were invited by MLB scouts, are trying out for one of 25 spots on the Milwaukee Brewers Area Code Team. The scouts will whittle the number of players down to about 60 for a final tryout July 15 at Westmont before they announce their final team to compete in the Area Code Games in August at Blair Field in Long Beach.

Corey Rodriguez, Brewers West Coast supervisor of scouting, says the Area Code tryouts have produced more than 400 major leaguers including Jim Edmonds, Dmitri Young and Nomar Garciaparra.

“I would say that the overwhelming percentage of major leaguers who came through California or around the country played Area Code Baseball —  Jimmy Rollins, (Ryan) Howard, (Albert) Pujols, Jason Kendall, Prince Fielder, Ryan Braun, Roy Halladay,” Rodriguez said. This year’s All-Star Game also features a strong representation of former Area Code Baseball players, including Dustin Pedroia.

Local talent included Dos Pueblos High catcher Joseph Huthsing, Santa Barbara High pitcher Kees t'Sas, Santa Ynez High pitcher Nathan Thompson, Righetti High catcher Jake Peters and Nipomo High pitcher Ryan McNeil.

Ron Miller, an infielder out of Serra High School in Gardena, Calif., may have had one of the biggest performances during batting practice July 7, crushing several balls onto the street beyond the left field fence. Pitcher Daniel Starwalt of Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, Calif., caught the attention of scouts July 8 with a fastball clocked at between 91-94 mph.

Area Code Baseball, which is owned by ESPN, held tryouts at Carr Field for the first time last year. “This is one of the better kept secrets in Southern California as far as the facility, the playing conditions and the weather. This is a great place, a great setting, to have a tryout like this,” said Rodriguez, who’s been scouting for the Brewers for nearly two decades.

“It is a great opportunity to bring some of the best talent in California to our field and our campus,” Westmont Head Baseball Coach Robert Ruiz said. “We feel like we have so much to offer as a college and within our baseball program. The chance to get these kids on our field is a huge benefit to us in recruiting, exposure for the college and recognition of our program in the baseball community.”