SoCal Preseason All-State: Middle Infield Analysis

1/5/19 - SoCal Preseason All-State. 5-foot-10, 185 lbs. All-around strong, muscular frame, V-shaped back, with power in legs and wide calves. Starts with a narrow, open stance to wide lower in the load. Displays some lift in his swing. Castillo is a physical presence that projects to develop into a power hitter. Committing to being more flexible, twitchy, and developing more arm strength should be a priority moving forward. Runs well for muscular frame clocking a 6.84, 60-yard dash. Future corner infield with nimble footwork and a consistent glove.

1/5/19 – SoCal Preseason All-State. Uncommitted. 5-foot-9, 140 lbs. Small frame, with lean athleticism throughout. Lacking overall strength in build at current time. Displays a clean, rhythmic right-handed swing that's on time. DeCriscio has the ability to handle the barrel and use both sides of the field. Demonstrates smooth, clean actions defensively with a current average arm that can throw from all angles. DeCriscio is an above average runner that has lead off hitter qualities.

1/5/19 - SoCal Preseason All-State. Uncommitted. 6-foot-2, 160 lbs. This is our second look at Mata at a PBR event. Lean wiry, loose, athletic frame. Long arms and legs that lacks strength on build at current time but projects to put on muscle mass and all-around strength as he matures. Mata displayed an aggressive approach at the plate with solid, loud contact during his batting practice round. Gap power currently, but with added strength will have over the fence power potential. Mata glides around defensively, typical of high-level MIF's that are rangy and can throw from all angles.

1/5/19 – SoCal Preseason All-State. SDSU commit. 5-foot-11, 175 lbs. Medium size, proportional, strong frame throughout with significant physical projection remaining. Exhibited a balanced swing with a wide, open stance, quick hands, and a high finish. Present gap-to-gap power. Demonstrated ability to pick up the ground ball consistently and had a crisp fielding session on this day. Arm is average currently, but projects more velocity on throws across the diamond as he matures. Above average runner that can steal a base and cause havoc on the bases.

1/5/19 – SoCal Preseason All-State. Arizona commit. 5-foot-11, 175 lbs. Medium size, proportional, strong, athletic frame with significant physical projection remaining. Murillo demonstrates the ability to put the bat on the ball and square it up consistently with a solid approach. Currently has gap-to-gap power with occasional ability to drive ball over the wall. Should have high doubles totals with his present approach. Displayed good footwork defensively and exhibited smooth, clean actions in his groundball session. Arm strength is enough to keep him on the left side of the infield. Throws with accuracy to first base. Quality everyday player that can add depth and offense to a lineup.

1/5/19 – SoCal Preseason All-State. Uncommitted. Seguine is no longer committed to Utah Valley State (confirmed). The 5-foot-9, 155 lb. seniors game continues to grow. Seguine looks hungry for his next opportunity, and it shows. Demonstrated a gap-to-gap approach in batting practice round with hard contact to the gaps. Maintains his barrel on a consistent path through the hitting zone. Exhibited a clean crisp groundball session where his athleticism was on display in his clean, crisp footwork and exchanges. Arm strength profiles for a move to second base. Throws were accurate to the bag.

1/5/19 - SoCal Preseason All-State. Uncommitted. This is our 2nd look at Sidebotham at a PBR event. Sidebotham has made a commitment to getting more physical as there is a noticeable change in lower half strength since last viewing. Displayed a solid batting practice round consistently squaring it up and hitting the ball hard in gaps. Has a slight bat wrap but gets square at contact. Power numbers will increase as he matures. Profiles as a corner infield in the future.

1/5/19 - SoCal Preseason All-State. 5-foot-11, 165 lbs. The UCSB commit is the #91 ranked player in the State for his 2020 class and #23 at the MIF position. Welch has a small/medium frame; athletic build that currently has some strength in the body. Welch projects to add muscle mass and still maintaining his athleticism as he matures physically. Displayed the ability in his batting practice round to handle the barrel and use both sides of the field with good hand-eye coordination. Welch exhibits excellent bat-to-ball skills that are callings to bat at the top of the line-up or turn it around. Throws faded to first base from a low ¾ slot and there was a lack of carry that we've seen from him in the past.

1/5/19 – SoCal Preseason All-State. Fresno St. commit. 5-foot-11, 171 lbs. Medium size, proportional, strong, athletic projectable frame with room to grow. Wink has a high leg kick trigger with a subtle bat wrap. Shows the ability to square the ball up consistently and demonstrated a solid approach in his batting practice round. Really aggressive approach to his ground balls and plays through the ball extremely well. Wink has a feel for the hops he wants to pick out. Exhibits slightly above average speed and is a better runner underway. He is not a burner, but definitely adequate on the bases.

1/5/19- SoCal Preseason All-State (fielding) - continues to show excellent footwork and soft hands while playing the infield. Rangy and athletic, Veloz was able to get to every ball under control allowing him to make strong, accurate throws across the diamond. Has some sneaky power at the plate where his fast hands allow him to get to the inside pitch with the barrel. Present gap-to-gap approach.