Moving and shaking in the latest Rivals rankings

The newest Rivals250 was released this morning and there was quite a bit of movement among local players, with Arroyo Valley’s Michael Philipp and Los Osos’ Richard Brehaut shooting up while Cajon defensive back Marlon Pollard and Upland quarterback Troy Nunes fell a bit.

Philipp has steadily climbed the charts thanks to some dominant workouts, moving up 38 spots since the last ranking in March. The 6-foot-4, 305-pounder has been offered by most of the Big Ten and Colorado at this point.

Brehaut, a 6-3, 205-pound quarterback who committed to UCLA last month, moved up 24 places from No. 160 to No. 136. He has also climbed steadily during the process, as he started out ranked in the 200s.

Pollard, a UCLA commit prior to his junior year, fell out of the top 100 to No. 138. He has created waves of late according to Scout.com, suggesting that he’s considering taking visits to other schools. Meanwhile Nunes fell to No. 181, a roughly 30-spot drop. Nunes is still getting a ton of attention though, as he has narrowed his list of schools to 8 (Arizona State, BYU, Florida, Harvard, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Stanford and Tennessee).

A local newcomer to the rankings is Diamond Ranch cornerback Brandon Sermons, the younger brother of former USC standout Rodney Sermons. Sermons cracked the list at No. 248 and has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Colorado State, Oregon, San Diego State, Utah and Washington State.

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Recap plus a few more picks

Almost slipping through the attention of our intrepid staff was the selection of Miller graduate Reyes Dorado, a right-handed pitcher for Arizona State who was selected by the Angels. Of course, we might have missed it because this is the third time that Dorado has been selected.

Dorado was first selected by the Marlins in the 43rd round in 2004 after graduating from Miller and was drafted in the 46th round by the Pirates last year. He didn’t sign either year, which was a smart decision considering that he was selected 910 picks earlier this year.

Also, the New York Mets drafted Don Lugo catcher Charlie Hinojosa in the 39th round, while Azusa Pacific LHP Jon Bravo, a Chino HS graduate, was selected in the 23rd round by the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Dorado discovery gives the area 15 picks today and 20 in the two-day draft, which is now in the books – all 50 rounds and 1,504 selections of it. For those of you who care, pick No. 1,504 was right-handed pitcher Kyle Stroup from Grant Community HS (Ill.), who was selected by the Boston Red Sox.

Here is a quick reference list of local guys. I think we got them all, but if we didn’t, shoot us a comment.

Kyle Skipworth, C, Riverside Patriot HS – Florida Marlins, first round (6th pick)
Zach Collier, OF, Chino Hills HS – Philadelphia Phillies, compensatory round A (34th pick)
Tyler Chatwood, RHP, Redlands East Valley HS – Angels, second round (74th pick)
Andrew Liebel, RHP, Long Beach State (Damien) – Toronto Blue Jays, third round (95th pick)
Jermaine Curtis, 3B, UCLA (Miller) – St. Louis Cardinals, fifth round
Isaac Galloway, OF, Los Osos HS – Florida Marlins, eighth round
Cody Puckett, SS, Cal State Dominguez Hills (Hesperia) – Cincinnati Reds, eighth round
Danny Pertusati, 2B, Damien HS – Florida Marlins, 13th round
Reyes Dorado, RHP, Arizona State (Miller) – Angels, 14th round
Ryan Babineau, C, UCLA (Etiwanda) – Arizona Diamondbacks, 17th round
Jason Roenicke, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (Chino Hills) – Toronto Blue Jays, 19th round
Jon Bravo, LHP, Azusa Pacific (Chino) – St. Louis Cardinals, 23rd round
Ricky Oropesa, 3B, Etiwanda HS – Boston Red Sox, 24th round
Matt Long, RHP, Cal State San Bernardino – Tampa Bay Rays, 34th round
Jordan Leyland, 1B, San Dimas HS – Tampa Bay Rays, 36th round
Matt Andriese, RHP, Redlands East Valley HS – Texas Rangers, 37th round
Charlie Hinojosa, C, Don Lugo HS – New York Mets, 39th round
Tony McClendon, OF, Damien HS – Houston Astros, 41st round
Patrick Johnson, OF, Colony HS – Kansas City Royals, 44th round
Carl Uhl, OF, UC Riverside (Serrano) – Colorado Rockies, 49th round

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Uhl gets the call

UC Riverside centerfielder Carl Uhl, a graduate of Serrano High School, was selected by the Colorado Rockies in the 49th round. That gives the area 12 draft picks today and 17 in the draft dating back to yesterday.

When the draft ends (likely in the next half-hour), I’ll publish a complete list. And if I’ve missed anyone, by all means, let me know.

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Catching up on draft picks

As the draft winds down, here are some other picks of local interest.

Jason Roenicke, RHP, UC Santa Barbara (Chino Hills) – Toronto Blue Jays, 19th round
Matt Long, RHP, Cal State San Bernardino – Tampa Bay Rays, 34th round
Jordan Leyland, 1B, San Dimas HS – Tampa Bay Rays, 36th round
Tony McClendon, CF, Damien HS – Houston Astros, 41st round
Patrick Johnson, OF, Colony HS – Kansas City Royals, 44th round

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More draft picks

Etiwanda third baseman Ricky Oropesa finally came off the board in the 24th round earlier today, as he was selected by the Boston Red Sox. The odds of Oropesa joining the world champions is remote, as he has been quoted as saying that he would honor his commitment to USC if he wasn’t drafted in the first five rounds. One wonders if his intent to honor his scholarship with the Trojans plummeted his draft stock.

Redlands East Valley pitcher Matt Andriese became the second Wildcat to go in this draft, as the Texas Rangers nabbed him in the 37th round. Andriese, who has signed with UC Riverside, will almost certainly go to UCR rather than sign with the Rangers at this juncture.

Other guys that I missed before that colleague Michelle Gardner pointed out were Cal State Dominguez Hills shortstop Cody Puckett, a Hesperia graduate, and UCLA catcher Ryan Babineau, an Etiwanda graduate. Puckett went to the Cincinnati Reds in the eighth round – the pick after Isaac Galloway – while Babineau was selected by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 17th round.

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All-Citrus Belt Softball team announced

In a break between blogging about draft picks (back to that in a bit), the CBL has released its all-league team, with Redlands junior pitcher Kimberly Bruins picking up Most Valuable Player honors.

The rest of the team:
Kimberly Endean, Sr., Fontana
Erin Fernandez, Sr., Fontana
Kayla Uphold, Jr., Fontana
Amber Berg, Jr., Miller
Emily Kakuska, Jr., Miller
Jessica Alvarado, Jr., Redlands
Jessica Garcia, So., Redlands
Savannah Garcia, Jr., Redlands
Quincy Meeker, Sr., Redlands
Reylene Coronado, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Amy Nece, So., Redlands East Valley
Meagan Silva, Sr., Redlands East Valley
Danielle Torrez, Jr., Redlands East Valley
Bryanne Evans, Sr., Rialto
Megan Allen, Jr., Yucaipa
Jessica English, Jr., Yucaipa
Shelby Vanderwall, Jr., Yucaipa

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Pertusati goes in 13th round

Damien second baseman Danny Pertusati became the second played with Spartan ties to go in the MLB Draft a few minutes ago, as he was drafted by the Florida Marlins early in the 13th round. Long Beach State senior pitcher Andrew Liebel, a Damien graduate, was taken by the Toronto Blue Jays in the third round yesterday.

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Galloway’s wait today short

After not being picked in the first six rounds of the MLB First-Year Player Draft yesterday, Los Osos centerfielder Isaac Galloway was selected by the Florida Marlins in the 8th round this morning. Galloway, the 238th pick in the draft, was at one time rated the top prospect in this year’s draft class by espn.com, so Florida – who picked Patriot catcher Kyle Skipworth in the first round yesterday – might have gotten a steal.

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Draft done…for now

Six rounds are in the books, with 44 more rounds to go tomorrow in the MLB’s First-Year Player Draft. There should be some local activity early, as two guys expected to be long gone today are still around.

Los Osos outfielder Isaac Galloway – at one time rated the top prospect in the 2008 draft by espn.com – still hasn’t heard his name called, nor has Etiwanda third baseman Ricky Oropesa – who was expected to be drafted in the first five rounds. Both players have Division I scholarships to fall back on, with Galloway signed at San Diego State and Oropesa at USC.

Also expected to go reasonably quickly is Redlands East Valley pitcher Matt Andriese. Andriese, who formed a potent 1-2 punch with Tyler Chatwood, has signed to play at UC Riverside.

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Chatwood to go pro, forgo UCLA

I wasn’t surprised by this in the least, but REV’s Tyler Chatwood officially nixed any plans to play college baseball at UCLA, where he signed a letter of intent. In talking to him for the preview story which ran today, Chatwood indicated that he would likely sign a pro contract if he was drafted high enough. He reiterated that stance just a little bit ago during a conference call with Angels’ head scout Eddie Bane.

Considering his second-round appointment to the Angels, a local team that employs his high school coach, Steve Hernandez, as a scout, Chatwood’s response of “Not at all” to the question of whether he’d play for UCLA was expected.

Another interesting tidbit from the conference call was the Angels’ plan to make Chatwood, despite his smallish height and a moderated Tommy John surgery two years ago, a pitcher. Bane went as far to say that a Sunday workout at Angels Stadium would “be the last time” Chatwood “would swing a bat in his life.” That’s somewhat overdramatic, but the point was made pretty clear.

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