Jun
6
Written by:
Angels Web Admin
6/6/2011 2:42 PM
As Major League Baseball prepares for the 2011 amateur draft and young high school and collegiate baseball players from every state in the US hope for their name to be called by some organization, the Angels Amateur Baseball Academy in Tempe Arizona has been steadily introducing players each year to this draft and the college recruiting process. Since 1999, there have been more than 100 former players from this program who have had their name called. In fact more than 25 of those players have had their named called two and even three times. Current Angel farmhand (Arkansas Travelers) Dillon Baird from Prescott has had the thrill of hearing his name called three times first in 2006 by the twins, then 2007 by the Nationals and eventually signed with the Angels in 2009. Ryan Cisterna (Gilbert) had a similar feeling by being called in 2006 by the Royals, then 2007 by the Nationals and eventually signing in 2009 with the Angels. Some other players who have had their named called more than once and signed with the Angels after working their way through this southwest based program are Julian Laurean (Hamilton), drafted in 2004 and 2005 by the Angels and Jim West (River Valley), drafted in 2003 by the Royals and 2005 by the Angels.
The most recent success story of a two time drafted player is Carlos Ramirez (Sunnyside), drafted in 2007 and 2009 both times by the Angels. Ramirez is a great example of how the program works to help players move along and to get where they need to be. After starting with the academy in his freshman year of high school, the coaches had the opportunity to get to know him, his work ethic, his dedication and his knack for playing big in pressure situations. After high school, Ramirez attended Chandler-Gilbert Community College (CGCC) to continue to develop and gain experience. Following CGCC, Ramirez caught every inning of every game for Arizona State University (ASU) in their 2009 run to the College World Series. Ramirez is not a big catcher and will not impress many scouts with his size when he walks onto the field, therefore a high importance for him was placed on showing his durability, his knack for hitting in the clutch and shutting down the oppositions’ running game. In order for Ramirez to keep playing at the highest level he had to be on the field and needed to find the right opportunities for him to do this at the college level. At both CGCC and ASU, the coaching staffs allowed this to happen and Carlos is now with the Double A Arkansas Travelers and progressing nicely in pro ball.
As noted earlier, not everyone will have the opportunity to play at the professional level but having a goal, an honest understanding of your strengths and weaknesses and the desire to work on those things to follow a plan will typically put a high school baseball player in a good position to have a successful life after college. That’s what the Angels Amateur Baseball Academy is all about. The academy is the brainchild of veteran baseball scout, John J Gracio who began his scouting career in 1985 with the New York Mets, then worked for the Chicago Cubs for 20 years and now is the Four Corner Area Scout for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. As many scouts can attest, seeing talent is the easy part of evaluating baseball players, but finding out what the players are really about inside and what makes them tick is many times more important to finding the right fits for each major league organization.
In Gracio’s case, through his program he has had the opportunity to completely get to know each player and get a better understanding of their chances of having success at the next level. This is a good reason why players like Ramirez and 2010 first round supplemental pick Taylor Lindsey (Desert Mountain) have the chance to find success after high school. Like Ramirez, Lindsey began in the program as a freshman and continued to develop but maybe more importantly, our coaches became very familiar with him that allowed Gracio to get much more comfortable with him and the Angels called his name as the 37th overall pick. The goal of the academy is to identify and discover players who have the desire to play at the next level. For almost all players that level is college but for some it could be professional baseball.
The first step is to make an honest evaluation of each player and place them within the academy that best suits their skill set and goals. The Academy then provides quality (in most cases former professional players) coaching to help to evaluate, teach and coach each player through their development. The program’s focus is on attaining coaches who believe in the ideals set forth by Gracio and to not necessarily focus on winning summer baseball games but to focus on teaching each player the correct approach, the importance of consistency and continued improvement in the game. A key ingredient in the program’s success over the years has been the relationship Gracio has developed with the high school coaches in Arizona. For the players to have success, the high school coaches have to have the confidence in the program, they have to trust that they will get a player back who has matured in the program, improved and gained confidence. With so much baseball being played in the southwest on a year round basis, the communication and coordination between the high school and Angels coaches is critical and has been one of the keys to the success of the program. High school coaches have done and continue to do a terrific job of teaching the importance of winning and competing. The Academy tries to focus more on improving upon some of the player’s weaknesses and be the third party evaluator who makes sure the players understands where he is at and what he needs to improve upon. Many times, if a high school coach tells a player what he needs to improve upon, it is met with resistance. If the Angels Amateur Baseball Academy tells you that you should focus on a certain area, it’s certain that the player should be working on that.
There is so much that goes into the decision making process of a player as he decides between playing pro ball or going to college and that is a completely different topic, but the Academy and Gracio consistently preach getting a college education. The numbers don’t lie and the chances of actually being drafted are extremely slim but the chances of making a living at playing the game of baseball is almost zero. At the beginning of each season, Gracio discusses with the parents and players their goal of getting them into college. He discusses the importance of getting a good education and experiencing life in college. The one thing that a player should do for himself is maintain good grades and this will guarantee himself a good start in his adult life which will give him a much better chance at success through college and onward through life. For the player will professional aspirations, it allows him to stay on the field and keep playing. The only way to reach the goal of playing professional baseball is to be on the field and playing. Poor grades will keep you on the bench and away from the scouts.
Look at the opportunity former Academy members, Zach Fregosi (Salpointe Catholic) and Chris Walden (Brophy Prep) had a Trinity University in Texas. Fregosi is coaching there after playing for 4 years and Walden has become a key part of their pitching staff. Trinity was a game away from making it to the NCAA Division III college world series while in Iowa, former Horizon players Nick Stein and Zack Picciotti were one game away as well at Coe College. At the Division I level as draft day approaches, former academy players Joey DeMichele (Arcadia), Kasey Coffman (Brophy) and Joseph Lopez (Hayden) will be moving onto the Super Regional at Arizona State University while DJ Peterson (Gilbert) will have to wait another year after a stellar run this season. Peterson set records as a freshman at New Mexico and he is a prime example of being patient and finding the right college. Out in Oklahoma at Oral Roberts University former academy standouts, Lars Liguori (Desert Mountain), TJ Bennett (Red Mountain) and Cam Schiller (Prescott) are one game away from a super regional. Many other former players have had successful college seasons and many others are still playing as they work toward a college championship.
As the years have gone by and players moving on with their lives, players who have participated in the academy constantly look back with fond memories on their experience. Although some may not have agreed with the recommendations or evaluations of their abilities at the time, most will look back now and agree. The academy has stood the test of time, it has helped thousands of young men improve in the game and continue on to play college baseball and earn a degree. Honesty in each player’s ability and integrity in following through and helping them improve and get to the next level has been the backbone to the continued and remarkable success of the program. Although Gracio started his program in 1985, below is a list of players who have gone through the Academy from 1999-2010 and have had their name called on draft day.
Congratulations to all of them and for those who will be called today. If your name is not called, remember for every one name listed below there are 14 from the Angels Amateur Baseball Academy alone who did not have their name called but continued playing baseball at the college level and had the opportunity to earn a college degree!
Current Angels from Academy: Club/Year Drafted
Taylor Lindsey (Desert Mountain) Angels 2010
Kole Calhoun (Buckeye) Angels 2010
Carlos Ramirez (Sunnyside) Angels 2009, Angels 2007
Heath Nichols (Queen Creek) Angels 2009
Peter Bourjous (Notre Dame) Angels 2005
Jim West (River Valley) Angels 2005, Royals 2003
Julian Laurean (Hamilton) Angels 2005, Angels 2004
Current Angels not from program
Dillon Baird (Prescott) Angels 2009, Nationals 2007, Twins 2006
Ryan Cisterna (Gilbert) Angels 2009, Nationals 2007, Royals 2006
Kyle Hurst (Highland) Angels 2008
Jason Jarvis (Desert Mountain) Angels 2007
Matt Hall (Horizon) Angels 2005
Brandon Wood (Horizon) Angels 2003
Drafted by other organizations but from Angels Amateur Baseball Academy
Travis Flores (Desert Ridge) Rays 2010
Tanner Murphy (Mountain Ridge) Orioles 2010
Jake Cole (Sahuaro) Rangers 2010
DJ Peterson (Gilbert) Mariners 2010
Dan Slania (Salpointe Catholic) Red Sox 2010
Casey Upperman (Notre Dame) Diamondbacks 2010, Braves 2009
Trey Ford (Chaparral) Diamondbacks 2010, Cubs 2009
Taylor Kaczmarek (Desert Ridge) Dodgers 2010 Jason Mitchell (Mountain Pointe)
Tommy Joseph (Horizon) Giants 2009
Trent Stevenson (Brophy Prep) Pirates 2009
Matt Helm (Hamilton) Diamondbacks 2009
Aaron Altherr (Agua Fria) Phillies 2009
Jared McDonald (Sahuaro) White Sox 2009, Cubs 2008
James Pazos (Highland) Rays 2009
Gabe Guiterrez (Apollo) Braves 2009
CJ Ziegler (CDO) Giants 2008, Cardinals 2007
Taylor Lewis (CDO) Mariners 2008, Dodgers 2006
Riley Welch (Desert Mountain) Athletics 2008
Justin Harper (Greenway) Yankees 2008, Marlins 2007
Royce Bolinger (Chaparral) Rays 2008
Kyle Peterson (Hamilton) Rays 2008
Eric Sogard (Thunderbird) Padres 2007
Brad Mills (Mesa-Mountain View) Blue Jays 2007, Blue Jays 2006
Brian Broderick (Washington) Cardinals 2007
Torrey Jacoby (Notre Dame) Diamondbacks 2007
Mike Greco (Notre Dame) Diamondbacks 2007
Brett Whiteside (Mesquite) Brewers 2006
Brandon Thompson (Gilbert) Yankees 2006
Rudy Owens (Mesa) Pirates 2006
Burke Lieppman (Prescott) Athletics 2006
Matt Michael (Corona del Sol) Cardinals 2006
Quinton Marsh (Wickneburg) Diamondbacks 2006
Mike LaChapelle (Sahuaro) Reds 2006
Rene Garcia (Sunnyside) Diamondbacks 2006, Diamondbacks 2005
Donnie Veal (Buena) Cubs 2005, White Sox 2003
Jeff Larish (McClintock) Tigers 2005, Dodgers 2004, Cubs 2001
Brett Jacobson (Cactus Shadows) Diamondbacks 2005
Jeff Van Houten (Chaparral) Marlins 2005
Jordan Jarvis (Arcadia) Rockies 2005
Ashtron Shewey (Payson) Indians 2005, Indians 2004
Tyler Backus (Mingus) Royals 2005
Dustin Kaats (Desert Mountain) Marlins 2005
Anthony Hatch (Horizon) Blue Jays 2005
Doug Mathis (Show Low) Rangers 2005, Mariners 2003, Dodgers 2002
Nick Evans (St. Mary’s) Mets 2004
Travis Kaats (Desert Mountain) Reds 2004, Red Sox 2000
Josh Asanovich (Highland) Rays 2004, Rays 2001
Drew Coffey (Mingus) Royals 2004
Ryan Davis (Chaparral) Rays 2004
Curt Miaso (Chaparral) Phillies 2004
Andrew McDonald (Sahuaro) Mariners 2004
Billy Becher (McClintock) Athletics 2004
Brian McFall (Sinagua) Royals 2003
Beau Vaughan (Mountain Ridge) Red Sox 2003, Twins 1999
Bryan Opdyke (Catalina Foothills) Brewers 2003
Matt Pagnozzi (Highland) Cardinals 2005, Cardinals 2003, Cubs 2001
Steve Garrabrants (Moon Valley) Diamondbacks 2003, Twins 2000
Chris Marini (Ironwood) Twins 2003
Joey Reiman (Apollo) Blue Jays 2003
Matt Buck (Cactus Shadows) Expos 2003
Aaron George (North Canyon) Rockies 2003
Gus Jacobson (Cactus Shadows) Rays 2003
Josh Tarnow (Corona del Sol) Tigers 2003
Mike Muscato (Mountain Ridge) Yankees 2003
Dave Brockman (North Canyon) Cardinals 2002
Adam Mannon (Hamilton) Brewers 2002
Kyle Emmons (Chaparral) Cubs 2002
Jason Williams (Cactus Shadows) Athletics 2002
Randy Youtsey (Coolidge) Orioles 2002
Seth Dhaenens (Mountain Pointe) Red Sox 2002
Joe Mather (Mountain Pointe) Cardinals 2001
Chris Gill (Camelback) Athletics 2001
David Shafer (Sinagua) Reds 2001
Chris Honsa (Red Sox) Red Sox 2001
Richard Quihuis-Bell (Mountain Pointe) Cardinals 2001
Nick Cadena (Apollo) Royals 2001
Eric Doble (Casa Grande) Red Sox 2001
Joel Krump (Yuma) Orioles 2000
Chris Collins (Mountain Pointe) Mariners 2000
Mark Ernster (Ironwood) Brewers 1999
Jarrod Fuell (Palo Verde) Tigers 1999
Justin Echols (Greenway) Rangers 1999
Drew Hassler (Arcadia) Orioles 1999
Jason France (Highland) Brewers 1999, Reds 1998