San Diego Notebook

March 23, 2023
Matt Grangetto
PBR Contributor

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SAN DIEGO, CALIF. – The San Diego Section spring season is well underway and I have taken in several standout performances by top players both committed and uncommitted. Some of those standout performances have ranged from dominant CG shutouts to clutch walk off HRs. Below I highlight 11 of those players with some scouting notes paired with some video.

’24 RHP Peyton Rodgers – Torrey Pines

- San Diego State commit Peyton Rodgers has been an impressive pitcher to watch this early spring. Standing just a lean 5-10 170lbs, he is easily one of the most athletic high school arms I have seen. Rodgers shows a compact east/west delivery, with a quick ¾ arm action producing effortless velocity. Along with the FB sitting 88-91 (T92 w/ ASR), he demonstrated advanced ability to locate a sharp biting slider up to 80, along with a CH with late fading action. What stood out was his ability to locate each pitch in multiple scenarios, demonstrating standout pitchability. The game stats speak for themselves, as he controlled the entire game giving up only 1 hit, no walks, and striking out a whopping 13 batters in a CG performance vs. Patrick Henry.

’24 C/1B Khalyl Perez – Montgomery

- Uncommited 2024 Khalyl Perez is a catcher with a strong/physical build, posing a calm yet powerful presence at the plate. As a RHH, uses a simple trigger for timing, including a hard/snappy rotation of the lower half creating raw pull side power. Perez was easily the MVP of the Montgomery vs. Madison game I took in, taking matters into his own hands and securing the victory for the Aztecs with a walk-off moonshot to left field. He also smashed a line drive single to LF earlier in the game. I was impressed by his bat speed and quick hands, resulting in consistent hard contact in each at bat. His other AB’s demonstrated a quality approach, fighting off pitches to get deep into the count.

’25 OF Ayden Munoz – Carlsbad

- Munoz is an intriguing LHH OF with an athletic, medium/lean frame. He uses a simple toe tap trigger for timing, with a slightly uphill bat path that can cover both sides of the plate. He shows current gap-to-gap power who can stretch out singles into doubles with some present speed he showed legging out an RBI triple vs Sage Creek. As a freshman, he was a starting OF for Carlsbad and racked up 23 hits with a .261 BA. Expect him to build off last year’s solid performance. Offensive outfielder having a strong spring that will be on college radars come summer.

’25 RHP Grayson Boles – St. Augustine

- Boles is easily one of the top uncommitted ‘25’s in San Diego. What stands out is his strong/mature build at 6-4 200lbs. Boles has a clean, fluid arm action while demonstrating a powerful delivery that moves with momentum and force down the mound. He showed out in his outing vs. San Marcos, throwing 5 innings while giving up only 1 hit, a walk, and striking out 6. The FB noticeably jumps out of his hand, sitting 88-90. He paired this with a slurvy CB that has shown improved sharpness to due some increased velo on it. Boles also demonstrated good feel for an occasional CH with fade at 82-83 to mix into the repertoire that induced weak contact.

’23 RHP Grayson Bonanno – Torrey Pines

- UC Davis commit Grayson Bonanno is another impressive RHP out of Torrey Pines HS. With a 6-3 195lb frame, Bonanno is an athletic/mature body. He fills up the zone with a tight-spinning slider that sits in the low 80’s. What stands out is his ability to locate the pitch on both sides of the plate, along with being comfortable to throw it on the inner half of the plate anytime in the count vs RHHs. FB was 87-88 in the game I took in, and also showed good feel for a fading CH that caused trouble for LHHs. His arm action is more compact that works to an upper ¾ slot within a consistent, repeatable delivery. Bonanno pitched deep into the game vs Scripps Ranch, going 6 innings allowing 0ER while striking out 6 batters. Expect Bonanno and Rodgers to serve as the backbone of the Falcon’s pitching staff this season.

’25 LHP Ian Fisher – Carlsbad

- LHP Ian Fisher is one of the top uncommitted 25’s out of the San Diego area. At 6-0 170lb, Fisher has a medium/strong build with some projection and room to fill. If the pitch clock was implemented in high school games, Fisher would have no problem adjusting to it at all. He works fast, moving the game along while working efficiently. He dominated Sage Creek in his two outings, posting a 0.00 ERA with a combined 13K’s in 12 1/3 innings. Fisher has shown advanced pitchability with how he mixes getting hitters off time and inducing weak contact throughout the game. His FB sits low-mid 80’s while using a larger breaking CB and downward fading CH. Fisher has established himself as an intriguing and projectable LHP that has a chance to continue to develop well throughout this season.

’25 C Shane Miranda – St. Augustine

- As a sophomore, Miranda stood out with an advanced sense of maturity behind the dish for the Saints along with some present ability to handle himself with the bat. Miranda has a wider stance with good balance, and a clean simple trigger with medium-high hands. Looks to have solid plate coverage, as he had hits off both inner and outer half pitches vs. San Marcos. Miranda is a quality receiver behind the plate with smooth, quiet hands, and also exhibited solid catch/throw ability. He looks the part of a mature leader behind the plate that will be valuable to a college program.

’24 OF Jack Haferkamp – Santa Fe Christian

- UC Santa Barbara commit Jack Haferkamp has been off to a solid start this spring. Jack currently stands a physical 6-4/200lb that moves extremely well both in the OF and on the basepaths. At the plate, uses a simple toe tap trigger for timing and holds a fairly wide stance. The hands work quick through the zone and he shows the ability to cover the plate well with a smooth/level bat path. Barrel is short and quick to the ball in the game I took in going 2-3 with a double and RBI single vs. RBV. Haferkamp is as toolsy as it gets in the 2024 class.

’23 INF Dane Lee – Santa Fe Christian

- Lee is an uncommitted ’23 that is still on the uncommitted market. At 6-0 180lb, Lee is an athletic MIF with a broad frame. He uses a medium-high handset and a brief quick toe tap trigger. He exhibited some present pull side power with a HR I took in against RBV. In some of his other ABs, he demonstrated an ability to work the count and spoil and fight off tough pitches . Lee batted .258 with 3HR’s as a junior last year for SFC, but I expect those numbers to be considerably better this spring.

’23 LHP Sage Sturgeon – Santa Fe Christian

- I took in Sage's dominant start against RBV. Sage is a crafty LHP pitcher with a lean 6-3 170lb build with room to add. He has a compact arm action at a ¾ slot, and hides the ball extremely well throughout the delivery. He showed the ability to flip over his slurvy breaking ball for strikes and mixed in a solid CH that ate up RHHs. The FB is thrown with quality control on the outer half of the plate with slight ASR. Really knows how to pitch against RHHs and demonstrated the ability to keep hitters off balance, as well as induce weak contact outs by keeping the ball away from the inner half.

’24 C Cayden Gonzalez – Scripps Ranch

- Uncommitted ‘24 Cayden Gonzalez is a 6-0 170lb catcher with a medium/strong build. As a LHH, Gonzalez uses a balanced base with even feet while the hands are calm pre-pitch. Gonzalez impresses with the bat speed and ability to adjust and stay inside the ball with quick hands. He also demonstrated good plate coverage, shooting the ball on the outer half to the left side for a hit, as well as turning on an inside pitch for a line drive single to RF. Gonzalez showed the ability of having good block technique as well as the ability to recover quickly. Showed strong catch/throw ability and received well from the ground up. With a .417 batting average over 6 games, expect Gonzalez to show out well in his junior season at Scripps Ranch.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
Rising Stars ID: Inland Empire	CA	04/16	Santiago High School
Rising Stars ID: Bay Area	CA	04/23	College of San Mateo
SoCal Rising Stars Game	CA	05/21	Cerritos College
CA FUTURE GAMES TRYOUT	CA	06/03	Fullerton College
NorCal ProCase	CA	06/04	Chabot College - Hayward
SoCal-NV-AZ-ProCase	CA	06/04	University of Southern California - Dedeaux Field
NorCal Rising Stars Game	CA	06/06	Islanders Field (morning)
Team CA Future Games ID	CA	06/06	Islanders Field (afternoon/early evening)
Bay Area State Gamess Open ID	CA	06/14	College of San Mateo
OC State Games Open ID	CA	07/11	Hart Park