Believe it or not, we’re already halfway through high school baseball season. But there’s plenty of ball left to be played as most teams stare down the barrel of their league schedule and hope to position themselves for a postseason berth.
Here’s a look at the top performers in the area from the plate and mound. Stats used are from MaxPreps.com.
JAKE ANGE SHOWING POWER
Thousand Oaks, which sits at No. 4 in the latest Daily News Top 10 rankings, has arguably the biggest bat in the area in Jake Ange. Ange leads the area in home runs with six. He’s batting .325 with a .462 on-base percentage and 22 RBIs in 14 games.
Teammate Jameson Berigan is having an All-Area season, batting .434 with 24 RBIs off 23 hits and five homers.
Saugus’ Abraham Ramirez isn’t too far behind with five homers in 15 games. Ramirez is batting .400 for the Centurions and has tallied 24 RBIs. He hit two home runs against Santa Paula on Feb. 28.
A pair of Mission League standouts each have four homers this season. Alemany’s Brody Thompson and Notre Dame’s Jacob Madrid.
One of the sleepers in the area might be Heritage Christian’s Christian Boldt, who is batting .684 with 26 hits, 22 RBIs and two homers. The Warriors are 10-3 this season thanks to Boldt.
In the City Section, Monroe has been the surprise team, starting the season 13-1. Junior infielder Luis Martinez is batting .460 with 32 hits, a section-leading 25 RBIs and three homers.
In the much more competitive West Valley League, El Camino Real sits atop the standings at 4-1 in league play after beating rival Birmingham last week. Juniors Ryan Glassman and RJ De La Rosa have 15 and 14 hits, respectively. De La Rosa has a team-high 10 RBIs in 15 games.
DUSTIN DUNWOODY FANNING BATTERS
The San Fernando Valley and surrounding areas are known nationally for the baseball talent, especially from the bump. Aces from the area include everyone from John Elway (Granada Hills) and Jeff Suppan (Crespi) to recent arms like Tyler Glasnow (Hart) and Jack Flaherty (Harvard-Westlake).
Royal’s Dustin Dunwoody leads the area with 50 strikeouts in 27 ⅔ innings of work. Castaic’s Orion Gonzalez and Heritage Christian’s Christian Ahuna each have 45 strikeouts.
Notre Dame’s Beckett Berg has racked up 39 Ks in 30 ⅔ innings of work. Knight High’s Javier Santana has downed 35 batters in 28 innings. Campbell Hall’s Kyle Weaver has tallied 34 strikeouts in 26 innings.
Berg and Dunwoody each have an area-leading five wins this season along with Notre Dame’s AJ LaSota.
In the City, Northridge Academy’s Jesse Caballero has an eye-popping 58 strikeouts in 25 innings. Monroe’s Miguel Gonzalez has downed 38 batters and San Fernando’s Ray Pelayo has 35 strikeouts.
SPEEDSTERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON
Hitting, pitching and fielding are important, but great base running can turn a game on its head. Here are a few speedsters wreaking havoc on the basepaths this season.
Colin Hauser of Sherman Oaks CES has an area-leading 19 stolen bases in 12 games. Paraclete’s Julian Trejo has 18. Grace Brethren’s Daniel Morlett has 16 (in 15 games). Campbell Hall’s Nasir Akil has 14. Royal’s Noah Vasquez has stolen 12 bases in as many games.