Dirtbags Baseball - Long Beach State 49ers

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Wednesday, September 15, 2004

2005 Dirtbags Pitching - And More on Newcomers

Dr. Dan's Diamond Dust this week includes this tidbit (here's the link, but this link is always to the current DD):

"...More Dirtbag info gleaned from my hard work in the hors d'oeuvres line at the Weaver cocktail party....Hitting guru Don Barbara says that every offensive position will be up for grabs in fall ball but pitching genius Troy Buckley will rest his ace Cesar Ramos this fall and look for the rest of his 2005 starting rotation from Jamison, Anderson, Andrade, Villalobos plus a hard throwing Santa Clara transfer. Runners up will be set-up guys and closers..."

That "hard throwing Santa Clara transfer" is apparently Jared Hughes, rhp, formerly with the Santa Clara University (according to Baseball America here). As a freshman at Santa Clara this year, Hughes made 6 appearances (all starts) with the following stats: 0-1, 4.79 ERA, 20.2 innings pitched, 12 strikeouts, 13 walks, 9 wild pitches, 5 hit batters, and opponents batting average - .269. As his bio on the Santa Clara website notes, he is a hard thrower (though his other stats would indicate that he needs to work on his control):

"High School Information: A 2003 graduate of Santa Margarita Catholic High School in Rancho Santa Margarita...played baseball for coach Mike Borowski...has a 14-9 career record...advanced to the CIF quarterfinals during his sophomore year...led team to the finals his junior year, and semi-finals his senior year...playoff record was 5-0...named all American senior year with a 96 MPH fast ball...clocked over 50 hours of Christian service in high school...ranked as the top prospect in multiple area code games, the ABA tournament, and Perfect GMC Wood bat...played against Japan at the Goodwill Series in 2002.

Personal Data: Born on July 4, 1985 in Stamford, Conn...son of Bill and Barbara Hughes...has three sisters named Kelly, Becky, and Jenny...currently an undeclared Business student...Dad played basketball and baseball in college...Grandfather played baseball at North Carolina and in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization...hobbies include computers, fly-fishing, and going to the beach."

Baseball America also reports that Oklahoma infielder Kyle Bradbury, has transferred to Long Beach. He saw limited action last year, batting .133 in 17 games (6 starts), and 30 ABs. I couldn't find much more on him.

Now on to the statement that "every offensive position will be up for grabs." To that I say, yeah, right! I do think that things are more wide open than they have been in a while, but I really don't think that Troy Tulowitzki needs to worry whether his name will be in the starting lineup. Ditto Danny Mocny (unless he falls off his performance last summer, this season and this summer). If you make those two exceptions, then the "up for grabs" comment makes more sense.

posted on 9/15/2004 by Jeff Agnew

Comments:

I should have added that I have no doubt that Dr. Dan's discussions with Don Barbara and Troy Buckley did, in fact, take place in the hors d'oeuvres line.

# posted by

Jeff Agnew : 11:55 AM

Jared Hughes was selected by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 16th round of the 2003 draft.

# posted by

Jeff Agnew : 12:06 PM

The D Bag Blog is the finest spot on the web... and thanks for the nod--also look for a Orange County JUCO pitcher to get a long look...we could be okay even after the Dream goes elsewhere...and by the way the chicken with mustard sauce was good enough to pay for! (I did pop for the 40 clams entry fee...)

# posted by

Dr. Dan's Diamond Dust : 12:43 AM

Dr. Dan...thanks for the accolade. Care to share the ID on the Orange County JUCO pitcher? Very glad to hear you were separated from a quartet of sawbucks in the Dirtbags' cause! And equally glad to see you're blogging. I usually have to trade peanuts for my DD!

# posted by

Jeff Agnew : 11:32 AM

Santa Clara alumnus here, and I saw Jared pitch for the Broncos last season. He definitely can throw the ball, but does have some command problems. Every time he pitched it seemed like he would strike a guy out or walk him - and unfortunately walked the batter most of the time. He was highly touted and I was really excited to see him come to Santa Clara, but it just seemed like all that potential was never materialized. I was hearing that, before he signed his letter of intent to go to Santa Clara, that he was being looked at as a first round pick, or a supplemental first round pick - evidently the Braves were really interested in him. But, I think his national letter of intent to go to Santa Clara scared some clubs away and didn't want to risk losing the draft pick, which is why he fell to the 16th round. He's a raw talent with a blazing fastball, he just needs some more polish.

# posted by

Sean : 11:41 PM