The four-year-old West Coast Collegiate League (recently re-named the West Coast League) has rapidly become one of the nation’s better summer college leagues, and it can point to the stunning success enjoyed by college and summer-league teams in Oregon for much of its surge. In the last five years, Oregon State has won back-to-back College World Series championships and an Oregon team, the Aloha Knights, won the 2004 National Baseball Congress World Series.
No national title was won by an Oregon team in 2008, but Corvallis—home of the Oregon State Beavers and the relocated Aloha Knights—became the centerpiece of the WCL this summer. The Corvallis Knights (named originally for Peggy Knight, wife of Nike co-founder Phil Knight) won the regular-season title with an impressive 31-11 record (the 31 wins were a league record), swept through the playoffs and dominate the accompanying list of the league’s top prospects. Moreover, Oregon State’s impact on the list is equally profound.
In all, 12 of the 25 players either spent the summer with the Knights, who conveniently play their home games at OSU’s Goss Stadium, or play or previously played for the Beavers. The second- and third-ranked players, Corvallis lefthander Josh Osich and righthander Taylor Starr, are both members of a sophomore-dominated Oregon State pitching staff that could be formidable as it may produce a half-dozen picks in the first five rounds of the 2010 draft. Several of those arms pitched this summer for Corvallis, which posted a league-best 2.23 ERA and was aided by a league-high .974 fielding average.
All the focus in the WCL in 2008, however, was not on Corvallis. The 10-game cameo appearance by Washington’s star quarterback Jake Locker shed national attention on the league, and rekindled speculation that the ultra-talented Locker might eventually consider pursuing a career in baseball. Despite playing in just a handful of baseball games for the first time in two years, Locker’s raw talent was unmistakable and he was selected the league’s No. 1 prospect.
FAST FACTS
Year League Established: 2005.
States Represented in League: British Columbia, Oregon,
Washington.
Level of Competition (1-to-4 Scale): 2.
No. of Teams in League: 8.
Regular-Season Champion: Corvallis Knights.
Post-Season Champion: Corvallis Knights.
Teams, PG Crosschecker Summer 16/Final Ranking: No. 5
Corvallis Knights.
No. 1 Prospect, 2007 (per PG Crosschecker): Jorge Reyes, rhp,
Moses Lake Pirates (Oregon State; played in Cape Cod League in 2008).
First 2007 Player Selected, 2008 Draft: Stephen Fife, rhp,
Bellingham Bells (Utah; Red Sox, third round).
Most Valuable Player: Drew Heid, of, Bend Elks.
Most Outstanding Pitcher: Jared Eskew, lhp, Corvallis Knights;
Josh Osich, lhp, Corvallis Knights.
Top Prospect (as selected by league): None selected.
BATTING LEADERS
Batting Average: Drew Heid, of, Bend Elks (.403).
Slugging Percentage: Drew Heid, of, Bend Elks (.566).
On-Base Average: Colin Walsh, ss, Kelowna Falcons (.496).
Home Runs: Nick Freitas, of, Kelowna Falcons (6).
RBIs: Buck Aona, 1b, Kitsap Bluejackets (39).
Stolen Bases: Dane Yelovich, of, Moses Lake Pirates (23).
PITCHING LEADERS
Wins: Three tied at 6.
ERA: Jared Eskew, lhp, Corvallis Knights (1.32).
Saves: Taylor Starr, rhp, Corvallis Nights (8).
Strikeouts: A.J. Morris, rhp, Moses Lake Pirates (57).
Opponent Batting Average: Jared Eskew, lhp, Corvallis Knights
(.172).
BEST TOOLS
Best HItter: Drew Heid, of, Bend Elks.
Best Power: Jake Locker, of, Bellingham Bells.
Fastest Base Runner: Wande Olabisi, of, Kelowna Falcons.
Best Defensive Player: Mike Chiarelli, c, Bellingham Bells.
Best Velocity: Josh Osich, lhp, Corvallis Knights.
Best Breaking Ball: A.J. Morris, rhp, Moses Lake Pirates.
TOP 25 PROSPECTS
| |
PLAYER |
POS. |
TEAM |
B-T |
HT |
WT |
YR |
2009 SCHOOL |
| 1. |
Jake Locker |
OF |
Bellingham Bells |
R-R |
6-3 |
235 |
So. |
Washington |
| SCOUTING REPORT: Locker might have been a first-round draft pick out of a Ferndale, Wash., high school in 2006, as either a pitcher or position player, had he not also been one of the nation’s top quarterback recruits. As predicted, he cast his lot with football. He played no baseball in his first two years at Washington, and said at one point that he had no intention of returning to the game. But Locker had a long-standing connection to new Bellingham coach Brandon Newell, who doubles as the Milwaukee Brewers’ Pacific Northwest area scout. Newell’s father once coached Locker’s father, the families have remained close through the years and Newell was the only scout who was allowed to do an in-house visit with Locker prior to the 2006 draft. Newell knew then that football was Locker’s game, that teams would be wasting their time to draft him—though the Los Angeles Angels still took a stab, in the 40th round. Locker stuck to his guns and flourished on the gridiron as a red-shirt freshman at Washington, setting school records for both rushing (987) and passing yards (2,062) for a freshman. With Newell installed as Bellingham’s coach, and Locker’s cousin Brady (a freshman outfielder at Arizona Western JC) and several other players on the roster that he played with growing up, Locker decided to give baseball another shot this summer before he had to report back to football in late July. He played in only 10 leagues games (and several more non-league games) for the Bells, hitting just .273-1-3 and stealing four bases in five attempts, but his raw talent was graphically apparent. His tools were first-round quality almost across the board. Locker didn’t pitch at the request of Washington football coach Ty Willingham, but Newell (the scout) graded his power at 70, his speed at 80 (he has run the 60 in the past in 6.3 seconds), his arm strength at 70 and his defense at 70 on the standard 20-to-80 scouting scale. Only his hitting ability, rusty from not seeing live pitching in two years, graded out as average. Predictably, Locker’s game was erratic. He misplayed or even dropped a number of balls in the outfield, but also displayed excellent range and made a handful of highlight-reel catches. Once clocked at 94-96 mph off a mound, Locker’s arm action resembled that of a quarterback. Despite his big frame and rarely getting good jumps, he stole bases almost at will. He also went deep with just one hand still on the bat when fooled by a breaking ball. He hit another ball estimated at almost 450 feet to the opposite field. Even as he struggled at the plate and his swing was a little stiff, he still showed the aptitude to make adjustments from at-bat to at-bat. The competitive approach he displayed said otherwise, but Locker maintained that he played baseball this summer just for fun. Those close to him essentially affirmed it, indicating his chances of playing baseball again, particularly in the spring for the Huskies, were slim. But he also may have left the door slightly ajar if he should get hurt playing football this fall or the football team might be able to get by in spring practice without him. On both those counts, Locker’s status remains up in the air. He broke his thumb in the fourth game of the Huskies season and subsequently had surgery that was scheduled to keep him out of action for 4-6 weeks. Willingham was also relieved of his duties as coach midway through the fall season as the Huskies lost their first nine game—and a school-record 11 straight extending back to 2007. A new football coach will undoubtedly insist that Locker, the team’s best player, be on hand for all of spring practice. Though Locker’s chances of playing baseball for a living are still considered remote, it’s a very real possibility that a big league team, which recognizes his potential Hall of Fame-caliber talent, might break the bank to draft and sign him next June. |
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