Maranatha High School’s Dylan Covey joined elite company Tuesday when he was named Gatorade’s California Baseball Player of the Year.
The award recognizes outstanding athletic excellence, high academic achievement and exemplary character demonstrated on and off the field. Covey now becomes a finalist for the prestigious National Player of the Year award announced later this month. Past state winners include Derek Jeter (Michigan), Roy Halladay (Colorado) and Chipper Jones (Florida).
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound senior right-hander led the Minutemen (19-10) to the CIF Southern Section Division 5 quarterfinals, posting a 7-1 record with three saves, a 0.40 ERA, 138 strikeouts and 20 walks in 70.2 innings while batting .414 with a home run and 17 RBIs.
A 2009 Aflac All-American and the 2009 Division 5 Player of the Year, Covey is rated as the No. 2 prospect in 2010 by Perfect Game USA and No. 4 by Baseball America.
Covey maintained an unweighted 3.04 GPA and is active in his community where he has volunteered as part of multiple community service initiatives on behalf of his church’s youth group.
“Covey is the best high school pitcher I’ve ever seen and I’ve seen some good ones,” Pasadena Poly baseball coach Wayne Ellis said. “He consistently hit 94 and 95 miles per hour on our radar gun. He’s as good as anyone I’ve ever seen.”
Covey signed to play at the University of San Diego, but is expected to be an early first-round selection in Major League Baseball’s Amateur Draft on Monday.
Twenty eight of the 30 Major League teams have met with Covey over the last year. He’s expected to meet with San Diego Padres general manager Jed Hoyer.
After a tough loss to Campbell Hall in the quarterfinals last week, Covey and his family met with officials from the Milwaukee Brewers. The Padres, Brewers, Angels and Dodgers are showing strong interest in Covey. He and his family met with the head scout of the St. Louis Cardinals last Sunday and will meet with the Philadelphia Phillies tonight and the Minnesota Twins on Thursday night.
Covey hit the national radar screen his sophomore year at the PGWWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Florida. There, he struck out 18 batters in a game against the Kansas City Royals scouts, drawing rave reviews from the 350 or so scouts in attendance.
We will document Covey on Draft Day and bring you the scoop Monday.
