54 replies to this topic

[Mr. KnowItAll]

Will somebody else show up this year or will Defiance win it once again?

[chestypuller]

Look for Defiance to once again win the WBL, but they'll be challenged by strong teams from Wapakoneta and Shawnee. The Bulldogs return a very good pitching staff led by A.K. with a number of good senior and junior pitchers to back him up. They should also score plenty of runs with a solid lineup 1-9. Shawnee also is strong on pitching led by T.R. and C.W. Their problem will be scoring off of Defiance's pitching. The same goes for Wapak led by J.C. I don't remember much about the remainder of the league but I believe Bath and maybe OG will finish in the upper half of the league. St. Marys could finish in the top five as well. Van Wert, Elida, Celina and Kenton will probably struggle although I've heard Kenton has a pretty good pitcher. It should be an exciting season for all concerned.

[dartmaster63]

Defiance is the team to beat until somebody else steps up and proves otherwise.
Kidston, and Zeigler make for a tough pair of starters.
Wapak may surprise some teams, while being w/o any seniors they have a great group of juniors that gained varsity experience last year and some others that will succeed at the varsity level. Add in a couple talented sophomores and you have a very strong squad.Shawnee will be very good. St Marys, Bath, Van Wert, OG and Celina all look to get their wins. While Elida has some all league players returning. Kenton struggled last year but has some talent to win some games as well.
Should make for a fun to watch season with competition being tough from top to bottom.

[dhsdawg06]

dartmaster63, on 11 December 2011 - 10:39 PM, said:

Defiance is the team to beat until somebody else steps up and proves otherwise.

This.


I know very little about the league outside of Defiance, and even when it comes to the Dogs I don't know near as much as I normally do at this time of the year. But we're being led by yet another D1 recruit, and there's a reason we're on the verge(or maybe past, I'm not real sure) of a 40 game winning streak in the league. We're the favorite until proven otherwise.

That said, I won't get all high and mighty and act like no one can beat us. That's why they play the games....and I'd agree that Shawnee or Wapak would have the best shot of doing it.

[chestypuller]

I agree with Dart that DHS has a very good 1-2 punch on the mound, and I would add, a host of other very capable pitchers. I don't see any other team in the WBL having a 1-9 lineup as solid with the bat as the Bulldogs. You are correct that the games will be played on the field and the results will determine the league champion. I do have to wonder whether DHS will keep that WBL win streak alive as both Wapak and Shawnee have shutdown pitchers. As is the case with baseball generally, pitching and defense wins games and, with the BBCOR bats, small-ball may well distinguish winners from losers. Nobody in the WBL excels at small-ball the way Defiance does,

Edited by chestypuller, 12 December 2011 - 12:43 PM.

[Sports Fanatic]

Chesty...
Who is the T.R. from Shawnee you referred to? I know Cory and the others but unsure on TR. Anyways, I don't know too much about the WBL this year, but I will say this. I've seen most of the better pitchers in Ohio, and Cory Wilder is top 5 in my book for all classes. Again, without knowing Shawnee's defense and ability to hit, when he's on the mound they should win every game. He throws harder and has a better breaking ball than Kidston. His control can be iffy, but if he figures that out he might be a top 5 round guy in the 2013 draft.

[chestypuller]

Sports, T.R. is Trey Runneals (sp?). He is a 2012 grad believe. As for Wilder, you're correct. He has great upside potential but not sure he is quite as good a pitcher as Kidston, at this time anyway. Kidston has hit 91mph during games. Wilder I believe has been upper 80s but not reached 90 as far as I know. That's not to say he won't this season. Also Kidston has a tremendous curveball and a great changeup both of which he throws consistently for strikes. The Defiance/Shawnee game, at Defiance this year, should be a very good one to watch. I also think Crawford of Wapakoneta could be trouble for both Defiance and Shawnee. He is a 2013 grad and, though he does not throw as hard as Kidston or Wilder, is a very good lefthanded pitcher who will be difficult to beat. As I mentioned above, It should be a very exciting season of baseball.

[Sports Fanatic]

I have seen all 3 of those guys pitch in the last 3 months and I agree with everything you said. Crawford will be a great catch for somebody in the future. When I saw Kidston, he was sitting at 86. And believe it or not, most scouts I talk to like him more as a hitter than a pitcher. Wilder was sitting at 90-91 with sink. Makes for an exciting season!

[chestypuller]

Wow, I had not heard that Wilder was up to the 90s. When Shawnee played our ACME team last summer, he was sitting 83-86 and occasionally touching 88 in the early innings. Kidston is an interesting two-way prospect and from what I've heard, Louisville plans to use him as both a pitcher and position player, I would guess at 1B or 3B. I wish others would join the conversation, but having just started basketball season, that's probably too much to hope for.

[Sports Fanatic]

It is EXTREMELY rare for a player to play both ways at a school as good as Louisville. Having said that, I'm sure Louisville has told him that because they want him to come to Louisville. 90% of coaches will lie to recruits in order to get them on campus.

[Sports Fanatic]

Chesty
I sent you a private message

[waterloowonder]

How is Ziegler's rehab going after the car accident injuries last summer? He was throwing in the low 90's prior to that.

[charliesheen]

Sports Fanatic, on 13 December 2011 - 11:00 AM, said:

It is EXTREMELY rare for a player to play both ways at a school as good as Louisville. Having said that, I'm sure Louisville has told him that because they want him to come to Louisville. 90% of coaches will lie to recruits in order to get them on campus.

Kidston played both pitcher and the field in the Showcases he went to in Florida this past fall. If pro scouts are having him play multiple positions, I'm sure Louisville likely sees that he has the ability to do that for them also.

[chestypuller]

Waterloo,
From my sources at DHS, it appears that Ziegler is fully recovered from his auto accident last summer. He has been participating in DHS baseball conditioning workouts with no apparent ill effects.

[Sports Fanatic]

I'm not saying he doesn't have the ability to do both. Quite a few guys have that kind of ability, but the reality is that big time programs want you to focus on either hitting or pitching. Unless you throw 95+ and will be the closer, you will need to choose one or the other 99% of the time

[chestypuller]

It's great more people are getting interested in baseball during the off-season. It gives us all something to talk about during the cold months.

[dartmaster63]

Sports Fanatic, on 12 December 2011 - 09:32 PM, said:

I have seen all 3 of those guys pitch in the last 3 months and I agree with everything you said. Crawford will be a great catch for somebody in the future. When I saw Kidston, he was sitting at 86. And believe it or not, most scouts I talk to like him more as a hitter than a pitcher. Wilder was sitting at 90-91 with sink. Makes for an exciting season!

Interesting to see your opinion on Crawford as a position player or as a pitcher?
I'v heard some baseball eyes like him better in the field and some on the bump.
I honestly don't know which way he projects better
Defensively I have seen some great plays in the gaps on balls that not many get to, even guys with a lot better 60 yard times.
With a bat, he is pretty darn good. Seemed to get better and better as the summer progressed and the competition improved at the regional and national tournaments.
Pitching he has always been tough to square up, lots of late movement. Last year was FB/ CU only. His developing CB will surprise some.. Its pretty good. Mechanically if he is able to repeat every time, he will have a lot of success.

[Sports Fanatic]

Dart
Johnny could play both ways at the D2 or D3 level. I think he has the potential to play at the D1 level, I just hope he gets that opportunity. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on the player, most D1 coaches don't recruit baseball players. They recruit a certain "mold" that they think is important to be a good player. Most would take a kid that runs a 6.7 sixty but can't hit or field over someone that can but runs a 7.2. There are a ton of good players that get overlooked by D1 schools because they don't run fast enough or aren't tall enough. I like guys that can play baseball...I don't care how fast he is or how tall he is. If you can hit and play defense, you are a good player.

[dartmaster63]

Sports Fanatic
I appreciate the response and I know that you have a good eye for observing talent.
I understand the "mold" that you referred to, I was fortunate to play baseball at Kent State and I saw a little of that while I was there. I'v always felt that he was better than I ever was.
Many coaches will look only at the times, 60 yard dash and home to first to as the first point of evaluation. Many get crossed off the list from a less than stellar number. I do understand that too.
Speed is important. Larger parks, more ground to cover, faster game all the way around.
Offensively there are many advantages. As they say speed doesn't slump.
Hopefully opportunities arise. As you mentioned before, somebody will get a heck of a player.

[Sports Fanatic]

To me personally, I couldn't care less about speed. Unless I'm recruiting a pinch runner only, the ability to hit, field, and throw are way more important than having speed. Even if someone is fast, it doesn't make them a great baserunner.

Baseball is the only big time sport where D3 or NAIA schools can compete with the D1 schools. The reason for that is simple...so many great baseball players get overlooked by D1 schools because of speed or size. In other sports (basketball, football, hockey) you need to be big and fast to be successful. That isn't true in baseball. A 5'8" 140lb kid that runs a 7.3 can be a better player than a 6'3" 210lb kid that can run. For the 2012 season, Marietta is probably the 2nd best team in the entire state of Ohio behind Kent St. With their pitching staff, they might even be a top 30 team in all of Division 1. Everyone wants to go D1, but it's really only the right move for a small percentage of high schoolers.