California JUCO Notebook: Folsom Lake vs. Cypress

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As the California JUCO baseball season is continuing to ramp up with good non-conference matchups in advance of conference play a pair of premium programs squared off for an early season game. Cypress College Chargers out of the Orange Empire Conference with 5 State Championships in their history took on Folsom Lake out of the Big 8 Conference in Northern California the Falcons are coming off back to back State Final Four appearances.

The game featured plenty of offensive fireworks with some strong pitching performances out of a pair of Cypress Chargers hurlers. Cypress jumped out to a big lead early, but the Falcons would not be deterred, rallying over the course of the final few innings to eventually take a lead before the game was halted due to darkness. The Chargers would come back to plate 3 runs in the bottom of the 9th for a walk-off win when the game was resumed the next day.

While a few D1 commits headlined the standout performances of the day there were several uncommitted prospects including multiple FR. to follow for 4-year college coaches.

Check out below for an overview of the standout performers of the day and a few names to know. 

Cypress:

+ Jack Pavlovsky SO LHP 6’1 175 lbs Uncommitted Pavlovsky had a very impressive outing showing athleticism in his delivery with a clean arm action and good body control. The lefthander started the day off with an electric first inning then battled through traffic in the 2nd inning before rounding out the day with a couple more electric innings. Pitching off a FB at 89-91 touching 92 MPH with riding life out of the hand then mixing in a 74-76 MPH CB which flashes power to the break with swing/miss action and a good feel for spinning it consistently. Finally rounds out his arsenal with a quality 78-80 MPH CHG which he throws with FB arm speed and shows deception. Pavlovsky picked up 9 K’s in the outing while only giving up 1 hit. The frame, body control, athleticism, relatively easy operation to the delivery with feel for 3 pitches Pavlovsky looks like a future starter at the 4-year level who could pitch towards the front of a 4-year rotation.

+ Jack Burke SO C/OF 5’10 200 lbs University of Houston Commit Burke opened the scoring on the day with a loud drive to pretty much straight away CF for a HR on a 91 MPH FB up in the zone. It was far from the end of a very impressive day in which he collected 3 hits, scored 2 runs and drew a walk atop the Chargers lineup. The approach is advanced with good swing decisions (stayed within the strike zone outside of a 2K SLD chase) showing an impact top of the order profile. Playing in RF he moves around well with good routes and good athletic ability plus the arm strength to handle the spot where his bat will profile very well. Would be interested to see what he looks like behind the plate, but there is more than enough offensive ability and defensive acumen to be a potential top of the order run producer for the Cougars who holds down a corner OF spot.

+ Evan Rolbiecki FR INF 5’10 180 lbs Uncommitted Robliecki is an impressive offensive force who has bat speed, strength in his frame, a good approach and legitimate in game power to be an impact offensive recruit. Following Burke's leadoff HR Robliecki was not to be out done when he turned around a 90 MPH FB for a blast to LCF for a HR. He would go on to add a double and barreled up 2 more balls (just missing a 2nd HR down the LF line). A good athlete who shows a feel for what he is doing in the box with a natural feel for finding the barrel Robliecki will add offensive impact to a 4-year lineup. Moves well at 2B with good feet and his hands work well with the arm strength to be at least an average defender on the INF dirt and could easily handle a move to LF where his bat will play. 4-year coaches should be paying close attention to Robliecki as an addition to their lineup who can potentially make a big impact. 

+ Dustin Robinson FR OF/1B 6’4 215 lbs Uncommitted I first saw Robinson in spring of ‘23 during the CIF SS playoffs where his smooth LH swing with a natural feel for the barrel opened my eyes. He was playing 1B at the time, but for the Chargers he was in LF where he looks the part of an average LF defender who can be an impact offensive force. Robinson has bat speed with advanced bat to ball skills (showed ability to manipulate the barrel turning on an inside FB on a hit and run play to shoot the ball through the right side for a single). The path is flatter with more of a leverage plane that will play to the middle of the field with loud contact, but with the strength in his frame he could add loft and tap into even more HR power. It’s an impressive offensive profile from the LH side which 4-year coaches should pay close attention to as a transfer. 

+ Tommy McGuire FR RHP 6’5 215 lbs Uncommitted McGuire came out the pen for the Chargers and his stuff shows a lot of potential as a leverage reliever both at JUCO and the 4-year level. The FB comes out the hand with good life at 89-92 MPH with room to add a couple more ticks of velocity as he continues to develop his body. He attacks hitters with the FB aggressively, but will need to harness his command of the pitch. He adds a 76-79 MPH SLD with sharp break when executed; it has swing/miss action but will need to polish his feel for it. McGuire picked up 4 K’s over 3 innings of work. It’s an intriguing reliever profile for McGuire who could profile as a late inning stopper or even closer at the next level.

Folsom Lake:

+ Max Debiec SO RHP 6’7 215 lbs University of Michigan Commit Debiec is a bounceback from Texas A&M and was ranked #2 overall in the 2021 PBR Washington class. The ceiling is very high for him with a long levered 6’7 frame and a quick arm with a pair of lively offerings in his 89-92 MPH FB which has riding life up in the zone, but needs to polish his control/command of the pitch. His SLD has power in the 79-82 MPH range with swing/miss life and he showed a good feel for the pitch, it was the best offering on the day which helped him pick up 4 K’s. Mixes in a 79-81 MPH CHG which flashes average potential. While it was not his best outing, the raw tools, pitch arsenal, frame, arm action and projection still in his game makes it readily apparent to see why scouts came out to see him throw and why he is headed to Michigan. There will be plenty of electric performances out of Debiec who shows starter potential, but with the FB/SLD combo could be a wipeout late inning reliever.

+ Nate Vargas SO C 6’3 205 lbs UCSB Commit The LH hitting Vargas looks the part of a middle of the order bat with natural lift in his path and strength in the swing through contact. He showed a pair of good at bats facing the tough Pavlovsky while collecting a single, driving in 2 runs, drawing a walk and generally looking very comfortable in the box all day long. As impressive as the offensive potential for Vargas looks, I really like the way the future Gaucho works behind the plate. He shows a natural feel for leadership with command of his team/pitching staff which combined with a good feel for pitch presentation, athleticism in the block and an above average arm with online carry/accuracy to his throws which was consistent in low 2.0 range with a clean transfer. Vargas has a very good overall profile and should be a strong addition to the Big West power UCSB program.

+ Darryl Dilworth SO OF 6’ 175 lbs Uncommitted Dillworth is a quick twitch athlete who moves around really well in CF. He showed range and a good first step to track down a couple well hit balls while coming very close to making a couple spectacular plays on loud drives from the Chargers. During INF/OF he showed a fringe average arm with good accuracy and carry to his throws. His defensive profile looks to be above average. The swing has natural lift in the path with some quickness to it and an aggressive approach. There was some swing/miss early in the day, but he adjusted as the day went on to pick up a walk after a good at bat and added a deep Sac Fly to LF where he showed his ability to drive the baseball to the pull side. Dillworth has the floor of being an impact CF defender who can add depth to a 4-year lineup, but there is the offensive potential to be potential top of the order offensive performer.

+ Logan Pruski FR INF 6’2 195 lbs Uncommitted A Nevada kickback who is physically well built with good strength to the frame, but room to continue to add 5-10 more pounds over the course of his college career Pruski slotted in at the DH spot. His in game swing has strength with good bat speed and the ball comes off the bat hard when he squares it up. The approach does need some polish still, but the raw tools are there for him to be an impact offensive profile. He looked solid during INF/OF at SS where his feet work with good hands and the arm strength is there, but could be a potential above average 3B/2B should he move off the SS spot. Will be a good one to follow for 4-year college coaches.

Names To Know:

In a one day look not all highlights are caught or players won’t always have their best results. With that in mind there were several other players who showed interesting tools/potential or futures. The names below are ones to keep an eye on going into the spring and going forward.

Cypress:

+ Albert De La Rosa SO INF 5’11 185 lbs Uncommitted

+ Nate Norman FR C 5’10 180 lbs Uncommitted

Folsom Lake:

+ Adam Reyes FR SS 6’ 165 lbs Uncommitted

+ Andy Uharriet FR RHP 6’1 190 lbs Uncommitted

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