Hamilton hopes to impress at USA tourney
Chandler Hamilton is among 16 teams playing in the USA Baseball National High School Invitational in Cary, North Carolina, with hopes of taking home the championship trophy and impressing Major League scouts.
Have a massive performance there, and it could help skyrocket draft projections.
Outfielder Gavin Turley and righthander Logan Saloman figure to be high on the to-see list for scouts.
Turley has signed with Oregon State but could become a pick in the top three rounds of June's draft. He has hit nine home runs, the second-most in Arizona. Hamilton has 30 home runs, two off of its season record set during the 2019 6A state championship season. This Hamilton team has more extra-base hits (64) than singles (63), and, take away the 14 runs Glendale Mountain Ridge scored in Hamilton's 15-14 win a couple of weeks ago, Hamilton's team ERA would be 1.20.
Saloman, 6-foot-5, 210 pounds, has his fastball clocked in the low 90 milesper-hour range. An Arizona State signee, Saloman is coming off a three-hit shutout of Chandler Basha in a 4-0 win.
He figures to take the mound Wednesday at 1 p.m. Arizona time when the Huskies (13-2) open against Fort Myers, Florida's Bishop Verot (11-4).
"This is our third time there and this might be our deepest pitching staff," coach Mike Woods said.
After Saloman, the Huskies start another strong right-hander, Kole Klecker, on the mound. He also can bring the fastball in the low 90s. The 6-2 Klecker, also a top hitter with power, has committed to TCU.
First baseman Josh Tiedemann, who was the Premier Region Player of the Year last season as a sophomore, is another very effective pitcher.
Junior shortstop Roch Cholowsky, the heir apparent to Nicco Machiol at quarterback next football season, has committed to UCLA. His MLB draft stock could rise out of this tournament. He's been on fire all season swinging the bat and has shown he is one of the best defensive shortstops in the country for the No. 22-ranked team in the nation by MaxPreps.
"This is probably the most scouted event in high school baseball," said Woods, who produced Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder/first baseman Cody Bellinger.
It's a single-elimination format to the championship, but each team is guaranteed four games. The tournament runs through Saturday with the final.
There are seven teams ranked among the top 25 in the national playing in the NHSI. Those six others are Orange Lutheran (California), Bufford (Georgia), The First Academy (Orlando, Florida), St. Johns Country Day (Orange Park, Florida), Stoneman Douglas (Parkland, Florida), and Yucaipa (California).