Draft 2012 – Dario Pizzano, Tanner Rahier, Taylor Dugas, James Ramsey

http://www.collegesummerbaseball.net/2012/01/top-30-position-players-in-necbl.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter  4.  Dario Pizzano   OF   North Shore Navigators—Columbia -  Dario had an outstanding summer while patrolling the outfield this year. He hit .365 and was second in the league with 54 hits. He scored 29 runs, knocked in 27 and was tied for first with 12 doubles. He had a great OPS of 1.001 and the SABR nerd in me loves his RC number of 36.391. BA ranked him as the 9th best prospect while PG has him listed at #26 this summer.

34. Tanner Rahier — 6’-2”, SS, Desert HS (CA)  Rahier attends Palm Desert high school but doesn’t play for the team. Instead, he plays for a spring league that uses wood bats to better prepare him for the majors. He is an extremely hard-working player who has a workout regimen Rocky Balboa would be embarrassed by. His arm has been clocked at 93 mph, and his plus-range at footwork make him a legitimate shortstop at the next level. His short, compact swing generates plus-power, and his bat speed allows him to catch up to any pitch, making him a great contact hitter. Has elite speed as he runs a 6.6/60. Overall, the kid has very few holes to his game, and playing in the ABCL has given him a leg up on his peers. The talent is off the charts, but the drive is what really separates him from the rest. http://www.throughthefencebaseball.com/top-50-draft-prospects-for-2012-50-thru-26/15621/

We continue the countdown today at number 17 with Alabama senior Taylor Dugas, The Lafayette, Louisiana, native attended Teurlings Catholic High School where he was a four year starter for head coach Mike Thibodeaux. In his high school career, he batted .518 (176 for 340) with 19 home runs and 159 RBI. His senior season saw him hit .640 (57 for 86) with 10 home runs, 38 RBI, 55 runs, 17 doubles and four triples while being named a Collegiate Baseball High School All-American, LBCA Player of the Year, first-team All-State by the LBCA, and won the Rebel of the Year Award at TCHS. He decided to head out of state to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide. His freshman campaign saw him appear in 56 games (54 starts) as he hit .352 (83-for-236) with two home runs and 27 RBI in 56 games, He was able to lead the Crimson Tide in hits (83), multi-hit games (25) and doubles (20). He was honored at the end up the season by being named a Freshman All-American by the Collegiate Baseball Newspaper and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. http://ht.ly/1gG4ic

We continue the countdown today at number 16 with Florida State senior outfielder James Ramsey. The Alpharetta, GA native attended Wesleyan High School where he was a four year starter. He earned All-Gwinnett County and All-Region 6-AA honors in 2007 and 2008. In 2007, he led all Gwinnett County hitters with a .468 batting average and .883 slugging percentage, guiding Wesleyan High School to the 6-AA championship. As a freshman in 2009, he appeared in 45 games making nine starts with seven starts in left field and two more as the DH. He finished the year hitting .296 with three doubles, two home runs, 19 runs scored and 14 RBI in 68 at bats. http://ht.ly/1gHl6Q

2012 Draft Profile: - OF – Dario Pizzano

When you’re scouting a region and you’re looking for an outfielder, you spend your evenings in a hotel room, with your laptop, trying to find someone with a .654 slugging percentage. Well, scouts in New York City just have to take a subway to see that. Enter Dario Pizzano.

Pizzano is going into his big draft year and I expect he will continue to lead his team in most of the offensive stat categories. He’s that kind of prospect.

Here’s some history on Dario:

2009: Dario Pizzano has already had a lifetime of memories filled with notoriety. He has played his favorite sport on the biggest stage for Little League players, and was interviewed by ESPN — among many other media outlets — leading up to the 2003 U.S. championship game against Boynton Beach, Fla. on the hallowed grounds of LaMade Stadium in Williamsport, Pa. Now Pizzano is heading to the Ivy League, specifically Columbia University, where he’ll naturally play baseball, opting for even bigger dreams beyond that. But he hasn’t forgotten what it all means. http://www.wickedlocal.com/saugus/archive/x1373194432/From-Little-League-to-Ivy-League-Former-Williamsport-Saugus-hero-Dario-Pizzano-gets-ready-for-college#ixzz1YbKyeDlN

2011: First team All-Ivy League for the second straight season ... started 42 of 43 games he played ... voted team's most valuable player ... led team in batting average, base hits, home runs, RBI, doubles and total bases ... at the end of the regular season, led Ivy League in home runs and total bases ... hit safely in first 10 games and 16 of his first 17 ... went 4-for-5 with three doubles, three runs scored and two RBI at South Alabama ... had three hits in five at-bats, including two RBI in 5-3 win at Florida Gulf Coast ... was a single shy of the cycle at Rollins, with a double, triple and a home run and drove in four runs in 8-7 win ... batted .467 in four-game series vs. Holy Cross with six RBI ... went 3-for-5 in doubleheader sweep of Harvard with a home run, five RBI and three runs scored ... drilled a two-run homer in first inning of 6-5 win over Manhattan ... homered in each end of opening doubleheader at Princeton ... his home run in game one gave Columbia a brief lead in extra innings before the Lions went on to win, 8-5 ... in final home doubleheader vs. Penn, cranked three home runs, scored six times and drove in four. - http://www.gocolumbialions.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=9600&ATCLID=3749872

5-11-11: - Dario Pizzano, the former Saugus American Little League all-star who was a pivotal member on that 2003 team that played for the U.S. championship at the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa., is now all grown up and doing quite well as a sophomore outfielder on the Columbia University baseball team. Pizzano was officially chosen Team MVP earlier this week, and then after hearing the news he sat down and answered questions posed by the Saugus Advertiser. The award is named after former Lion and New York Yankee great Lou Gehrig. - http://www.wickedlocal.com/saugus/archive/x1058159050/Catching-up-with-Dario-Pizzano-Saugus-native-earns-Team-MVP-honors-in-baseball-as-a-college-sophomore#ixzz1YbLNsRQb

7-19-11: - link  - Dario Pizzano, Columbia, 5’11 L/R, solid hitter with occ power, gap type power for extra bases, 40 arm and 40 runner, gamer with good instincts and a baseball diamond rat, just enough ability to get to ML level perhaps, 13-20 round type guy.

He was also named the starting right fielder this past summer in the NECBL All Star game and a First Team NECBL All Star outfielder, while also being ranked the league's Most Improved Player. Baseball I was also ranked the 9th best MLB prospect in the league by Baseball America

We talked with Dario earlier this week and asked him about his preparation for the upcoming season:

This offseason we have our normal fall ball schedule, which consists of 3 team lifts and 3 team conditioning sessions a week. We also have 3 practices a week through October for our fall season. In addition to our 3 team lifts, I go to the gym 3 separate times and work on other parts of my body we don't always cover in our team lifts. I use the open hours for hitting on Mondays and Wednesdays in our indoor cage, also. I want to improve my speed and my arm strength, which are considered the weakest parts of my game. To do that, I practice the 60 yard dash a few times during the week while doing other speed and foot quickness drills. I am starting a throwing program with new and improved mechanics that will hopefully greatly improve my arm strength. My main goal this year is to be a team leader and help our team capture the Ivy League Championship and compete in an NCAA regional tournament. Everything else is icing on the cake. This is what I'm doing in the offseason.

He was the starting right fielder in the NECBL All Star game and a First Team NECBL All Star outfielder, while also being ranked the league's Most Improved Player. Baseball America ranked him as the 9th best MLB prospect in the league.

With a name like this, you gotta be drafted by either the Yanks or Mets, right?

Draft 2012: - Dario Pizzano, Kenny Diekroeger, Alex Cruz, Brandon Kuter, Kevin Gausman

7-19-11: - http://www.mlbbonusbaby.com/2011/6/29/2250656/early-look-at-2012#comments  - Dario Pizzano, Columbia, 5’11 L/R, solid hitter with occ power, gap type power for extra bases, 40 arm and 40 runner, gamer with good instincts and a baseball diamond rat, just enough ability to get to ML level perhaps, 13-20 round type guy.

9-8-11: - http://www.gacksports.com/65590/2012-mlb-mock-draft-update  - 10. Pittsburgh Pirates Kenny Diekroeger Short Stop Stanford The Pittsburgh Pirates could use a shortstop to solidify the infield. Pedro Alvarez at 3rd base and Neil Walker at 2nd base makes for a great infield, but adding that shortstop who can provide some pop at shortstop could give the Pirates one of the best infields in the MLB.

9-12-11: - http://www.collegesummerbaseball.net/2011/09/top-20-position-players-in-florida.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter  - In the six-team Florida Collegiate Summer League this summer, the Sanford River Rats downed the Winter Park Diamond Dawgs to earn them the title of FCSL Champions. Individually, there were at least 25 position players that turned in great seasons. Unfortunately, I had to narrow the list down to the top 20.- 7. Alex Cruz 3B Winter Park--Georgia Tech - Cruz is the first of two Georgia Tech players on my list. He hit .337 in 98 at-bats for Winter Park. He scored 20 runs, drove in 18 and hit 4 doubles this summer. He hit his stride in the playoffs, as he hit .333 in 12 at-bats. He scored 2 runs and drove in 2 during the Dawgs playoff run. Alex was rated as the 16th best prospect in the league by Perfect Game.

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The Westhampton Aviators had the most prospects (6), including No. 1 prospect Brandon Kuter, a rising junior righthander from George Mason, but managed to compile just a 21-19 record on the season, though finished first in its division and lost in the league championship game to Staten Island.It remains to be seen where this year’s top prospect, the 6-foot-7 Kuter, will be drafted in 2012, but he was hands-down the top-rated talent in the league and actually moved to the top spot after being ranked No. 7 a year ago. Kuter topped the league in saves with a fastball that peaked at 96 mph. - http://www.perfectgame.org/Articles/View.aspx?article=6235  

9-16-11: - http://denver.sbnation.com/colorado-rockies/2011/9/16/2429660/2012-mlb-draft-top-50-kevin-gasuman  - Though he was selected by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the sixth round of the 2010 MLB Draft, Colorado native Kevin Gausman went to the Southeast and joined the LSU Tigers baseball team. The Grandview High School product had a solid debut for the Tigers, going 5-6 with a 3.51 ERA in 14 starts. He struck out 86 in 90 innings and held opposing batters to a .215 average. He will be a draft-eligible sophomore for the 2012 MLB Draft and is already receiving high praise from Baseball America in its early 2012 MLB Draft preview. The 6-foot-4 right-hander is the No. 7 prospect right now and is described thusly: