Danny Coulombe: An Arizona Pitcher to Watch

This is all you need to know about Danny Coulombe: Anytime he pitches, Scottsdale Chaparral has a chance to win. A great chance. This year, Coulombe has been virtually unhittable. So far, he is 7-0 for the 18-6 Firebirds with an earned run average under 0.7 and an amazing 109 strikeouts in 51 innings pitched. He has walked just 11. On April 22 in a 9-1, one-hit victory over Phoenix Paradise Valley he struck out 20 of a possible 22 hitters (one reached base on a dropped third strike).

It might be the most dominant pitching performance over an extended period in the storied history of Chaparral baseball, a program that has produced Paul Konerko of the Chicago White Sox and Brian Bannister of the Kansas City Royals. Chaparral, frequently ranked in the nation’s top 20 high school programs, also has sent Charles Brewer to UCLA and Ike Davis and Jason Jarvis to Arizona State, among others.

Coulombe is similar but different. Similar because of his credentials and performance. Different because of low-key demeanor and his unimposing physical appearance. He’s quiet and less than 6-feet tall. He’s also left-handed and very good. The closest to Coulombe among the names above is the right-handed Bannister, who went to the University of Southern California essentially unrecruited, but with the heritage of his father, Floyd, the former star at Arizona State and 15-year Major League pitcher. Under the direction of John Savage (now the head coach at UCLA). Bannister got bigger, stronger and better at USC and is now a burgeoning star in the American League with a velocity above 90 mph and a very intellectual approach to pitching.

Coulombe is already strong and has the attention of professional scouts. “I have never seen him get hit hard, even when he is struggling,” says Rodney Davis, Four Corners area scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks, who has watched Coulombe develop since he was 14 or 15. “Even when he has difficulty with his control or command, his stuff locks down a lineup. He may not be tall, but he is strong and he is very competitive at the highest levels.”

Because of Coulombe, Chaparral is regarded as a favorite to claim its eighth Arizona state championship. In all-important region games, Chaparral is undefeated.

Before this season even began, Coulombe was recruited by virtually every major college program in America and, like Bannister before him, will play at USC, where he committed last fall.

The stuff to which Davis refers and that nearly always befuddles hitters consists primarily of breaking balls – one thrown harder than the other – delivered effortlessly with command and movement that make them ever so elusive to those hoping to make contact. It, in fact, is a hope that is nearly never fulfilled. And if a batter manages to hit the ball, it is mostly with embarrassing feebleness. Add to that a fast ball that has improved each year and that can reach into the 90s and it is no surprise that Coulombe has become so important to Chaparral and so impressive among high school pitchers in the West.

“He is the key to our team,” Chaparral Coach Jerry Dawson says matter-of-factly. “On the days he is pitching, we can beat anyone.”

Coulombe always has been good, but he first truly emerged on the Arizona baseball scene two years ago in USA Baseball’s Junior Olympics, an event that includes intense recruiting of players throughout the 64-team field. Coulombe was not overlooked, but was not hotly pursued. All he did was demonstrate that he clearly among the top pitchers in the tournament and led an under-the-radar Scottsdale Storm team (comprised mostly of Chaparral junior varsity players) to a finish among the event’s final 8. He beat a high-level Los Angeles team 2-0, handcuffing the bigger and stronger opponents through seven innings and allowing just two hits. Later that summer, he was important to the Arizona Firebirds as they went on an amazing run to the Connie Mack World Series championship. Last year, he impressed professional scouts and college coaches with his late-game pitching heroics in an extra-inning quarter-final victory over Avondale Agua Fria and ace Sammy Solis, now starring at the University of San Diego.

Coulombe is better now, says Dawson.

“He is a pitcher this year no matter what the circumstances,” says the coach. “Last years, at times he would revert to being a thrower. His understanding and approach makes all the difference. Even when he does not have his best stuff, he locates and changes spots. He knows how to get people out.”

But that is not all. Coulombe, who splits time between the outfield and designated hitter when he is not pitching, leads Chaparral with a .488 average.