Crack of the Bat
by Blaine Clemmens
ORANGE COUNTY, CA – I focused much of my first report from the National Classic (www.national-classic.com) on Jesuit (CA) HS first baseman Lars Anderson and all the attention he is getting as a potential upper round selection. My intention after day one was to start identifying the top players from each of the 16 teams in this outstanding tournament. But, true to form for me, I am going to veer off course a bit for this report.
Before I get to my main focus for this report, I suppose I should actually tell you that the final game was won by De La Salle (CA) over Esperanza (CA). Esperanza has an outstanding tradition of strong teams and also of playing well in this tournament and this year was no different. However, De La Salle had the top pitching staff in this tourney, with three/four legit D1 starting pitchers no fewer than five D1 caliber position players. They are talented, they pitch, and they play fundamentally sound baseball.
The consolation game also has an outstanding match-up… Cypress (CA) vs. Riverside Poly (CA). When the tournament started no one would have been shocked if those two teams had ended up in the regular final, not the consolation game. They are both outstanding high school teams with many very good players, including a couple of the top 07 players in the nation, 3B Josh Vitters of Cypress and RHP Kyle O’Campo of Riverside Poly.
On Wednesday night I saw Cypress senior right-hander Michael Morrison in action as they defeated West Boca (FL). Morrison was good early but very good in the mid-late innings. Early on he was in the 87-89 range, but in the 4th and 5th innings he was in the 89-91 range and was really sharp with his 72-73 mph biting curveball. There was a sizable crowd of scouts to see Morrison, as per usual. He is one of the top high school arms in Southern California and is expected to be drafted anytime after the top couple of rounds.
I will get to more about Morrison when I report on the top seniors. For the bulk of the remainder of this report I want to focus on the “other” first baseman that has had a pack of scouts following him… Casey Haerther of Chaminade (CA). In my opinion Haerther has done very well for himself in this tourney… today in particular when he had at least four hits and I think it was actually five.
Besides being R/R and playing first base, Haerther is not going to be confused for Anderson, who is L/L. Anderson is a “plus” body guy and today he showed average speed, going 4.28 down the line. He even showed the ability to steal a bag today. Haerther’s build is not his strong suit. As a matter of fact, there was more than one premier college program that did not recruit him because of his body type. In the fall he signed with UCLA and if he ends up in college, I think the Bruins have an All-American in Haerther, earlier rather than later in his career.
Haerther is listed at 6’2” 210, which is fine, good in fact. However, it is not a real athletic type body. He is not a real good runner, at best a 4.6 runner down the line, but more frequently in the 4.7 range. He is not an overly agile defender, but as an average defender at 1B, I am sure that any coach or organization he plays for would be happy.
What Casey Haerther does is hit. He flat out rakes and when it comes down to it, the hit tool is the one tool that matters most. Not only does Haerther hit for average but he is “country strong” and he punishes the baseball. I had been hearing that Haerther was having a very good spring and that crosscheckers were going to see him and in the last few days, I saw why.
Haerther has what appears to be “plus” hand/eye coordination. He hits with his hands and can even be fooled or late on a pitch and still hit it hard because of his ability to fire his hands. I did not see much lower half in his swing which for some scouts may be an issue. All I know is that when the ball was in the hitting zone, in, middle, or away, Haerther consistently put a good swing on it and hit the ball hard from gap to gap. The ball simply explodes off his bat. Haerther doesn’t even have to get it good to hit the ball hard.
He is short and quick to the ball, he hit the fastball and offspeed pitches. Haerther can get beat on the inner half, but like a pitching coaching friend of mine said today, it is easier to execute a pitch away to get a guy out than to have to execute on the inner half to beat a guy. Make a mistake in the middle or out over the plate to Haerther and he will put a good swing on it.
What does all that mean? Does it mean Haerther is a first round talent? Probably not, but hey, Hank Sanchez was and he was not exactly a good body guy. Sanchez’s tools that got him drafted in the first round were his power and his ability to hit for average. Though he has a well above average arm and for some a “plus” arm, that did not play into Sanchez being a first round pick.
Haerther does not look like the same pure hitter that Sanchez is, but looks can be deceiving. His hands are quick, his swing trigger works, his swing plane is flat, he keeps his head quiet during the swing, he has good timing, and he is some kind of strong. I know there were numerous crosscheckers and at least one scouting director following Haerther the last few days, the same scouting director that was on Anderson. You draw your own conclusions.
Anderson or Haerther or Parmelee? All are legitimate prospects. I feel good about saying Parmelee is going to go ahead of Anderson and Haerther. If I asked 30 different scouts which one they would take, Haerther or Anderson, my gut tells me that more would say they would take Anderson before Haerther. I suspect that has more to do with Anderson being L/L with average speed, “plus” raw power, and passing the eye test than him being a better hitting prospect than Haerther.
Why? Well, first of all, a premium is placed on left handed hitters; score one for Anderson. Secondly, as an average or near average runner, Anderson has more athleticism and could be moved to the outfield; score two for Anderson. Thirdly, Anderson is simply more appealing to the eye; score three for Anderson.
When it comes to power, both Anderson and Haerther have plus raw power; call that a draw. When it comes to bat speed, score one for Haerther. When it comes to hitting approach, score two for Haerther. Haerther also has family history on his side; his brother Cody is a touted prospect in the Cardinals organization; score three for Haerther.
When it all comes down to it, the question that needs to be asked is which player has more to offer that will help an organization win more games. Feel free to ask me which one I would take if I was ever paid to make that decision (which clearly I am not) by sending me an email at bclemmens@perfectgame.org.
In my next report I will report on the top seniors in this tourney. Included will be a number of players that are still uncommitted for college and hopefully that report will help some of those players.
This column represents the thoughts and opinions of the author and are not necessarily those of Perfect Game.