By Mike Penn
Michigan Director of Scouting

When someone thinks about Pontiac, Michigan, the first thing that comes to mind certainly isn't baseball. Let's just say scouts do not exactly flock to Pontiac the way they would to Hudsonville, Rockford, or Sterling Heights. But Dazon Cole has changed that.

The Central Michigan commit initially had colleges knocking at his door and now it seems that professional scouts are next.

Cole is perhaps the best athlete in the Class of 2014.  The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Cole can run, hit, and certainly throw.  He has been clocked in the low 6.6's in the 60 and as high as 93 mph on the mound.  

This summer Cole played on more Major League fields than most players will play on in a lifetime. He was named by RBI Baseball, who is affiliated with Major League Baseball, to the Breakthrough Series, which gave him a chance to play at Minute Maid Park. He also played at Progressive Field, home of the Cleveland Indians, and Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, as part of the RBI World Series.

"It was a ton of fun this summer.  I am blessed for the opportunities I was given. To play on all of those fields and meet former players like Gary Sheffield was a dream come true."

Can he see himself playing on one of those fields some day?

"That is my goal. I have to say I like Minute Maid the best."

So what is next for Cole?

He is working on fine-tuning his game. From a pitching perspective he is working on his mechanics, taking some lessons for the first time. He is hitting this offseason with Victor Roache, a former Ypsilanti Lincoln HS and eventual first-round draft pick by the Milwaukee Brewers out of Georgia Southern, and Eric Haase, a 7th round pick by the Cleveland Indians out of Divine Child. Roache hit 30 home runs for Georgia Southern in 2011.

Beyond the field however, the biggest change in Cole's game came not by his own accord.  The Pontiac school system cut funding to the high school baseball program this summer, leaving Dazon and the rest of his teammates without a place to play. 

Enter West Bloomfield High School. 

As for now Cole and his brother DeShawn have transferred to the West Bloomfield school district which significantly improves an already up-and-coming West Bloomfield program.  The transfer certainly shifts the balance of power in the state making West Bloomfield a potential state title contender. West Bloomfield is in the same District as the 2013 state runner-up Brother Rice, which should make things interesting.

It also shifts where Major League scouts will be heading this spring.