Prep Baseball Report

Alabama High School Team Preview: Sparkman Senators


PBR Alabama Staff

    The 2021 high school baseball season is quickly approaching and as usual, excitement abounds throughout the state. That excitement may be at an all-time high entering this high school season as the 2020 high school baseball season was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Players and coaches have been working in preparation for the upcoming season during an offseason unlike any other and as always, there are some very talented players and teams across Alabama.

    Teams across the state have goals and aspirations to finish their seasons in Montgomery at the AISA or AHSAA state championships but there is plenty of work to be done before that becomes reality. We hope to familiarize our readers with many of the teams across the state as we preview individual teams across Alabama. We will take you right up to first pitch this season with these team previews and by continuing our scheduled podcasts and releasing our preseason Top 10 in each AHSAA classification. 

 *Please note that all information is based on team preview questionnaires that were sent out and returned by the participating high school coaches.

 

High School: Sparkman High School

Classification: AHSAA 7A Area 7

Positional Starters Returning: 7

Pitchers Returning: 10

Team Strengths: Pitching & Experience

Team Weaknesses: Lack of Speed

 

Top Returning Players:

2021 UTIL AJ Causey 

2021 RHP/1B Garrett Telaga 

2021 1B/DH Mikel Pryor 

2021 OF/MIF Jakob Lewis 

2022 SS Tucker Burns 

2023 C Jacob Haley 

2023 UTIL Ryan Strachan 

 

Top 2021 Prospects:

2021 LHP Caiden Johnson 

2021 MIF/OF Kylan Duncan 

2021 RHP/OF Chandler James 

 

Top 2022 Prospects:

2022 RHP/3B Jordan Pearce 

2022 RHP/UTIL Patrick Moody

 

Top 2023 Prospects:

2023 RHP/1B Carter Wells

 

Outlook: 

Expectations are high in Harvest this season for the Sparkman Senators as they return 7 positional starters and 10 pitchers that logged innings on the mound during the shortened 2020 season. The Senators have a ton of experience while also featuring quality depth in their pitching staff. One are where the Senators would like to improve is in their overall team speed. Speaking of picthing, one of their front line starters is senior UTIL AJ Causey. Causey (who used to be a catcher) signed with Jacksonville State as a right handed pitcher where he will throw from several different arm slots but will sit in the upper 80's and touch the low 90's with legit movement on every pitch he throws. Causey will do more than pitch for the Senators as he will counted on to drive in some runs in 2021. His teammate, RHP Garrett Telaga, also signed with Jacksonville State and will be another top shelf arm in 2021. The tall right hander creates nice downhill plane on the fastball that will reach the lower 90's while also mixing in a solid breaking ball. These two future Gamecocks five the Senators a legit 1-2 punch on the mound. You want power at the plate? Senior 1B/DH Mikel Pryor can supply that. He has major juice off the bat to the pullside gap and should be a run producer hitting in the middle of the order. Pryor has signed with Anderson University. While the Senators may not have a ton of speed across the board, one guy that has "plus" speed is senior OF/MIF Jakob Lewis. The Souteast Missouri State signee is equally adept to play both positions and also shows a line drive approach at the plate. He is a definite steal threat once he gets on base. Junior SS Tucker Burns returns in 2021 and has long been known to be an advanced defender in the dirt but he has recently shown vast improvement with the bat and is primed for a big 2021 season. Sophomore C Jacob Haley was forced into action a year ago as a freshman and performed admirably and shoudl continue to progress during his sophomore campaign. He is a quiet receiver with nice catch and throw skills while also showing a solid gap to gap approach at. the plate. Haley also doubles as a quality right handed arm. Another sophomore, UTIL Ryan Strachan, is another young player that does a ton of solid things on the field. The bat has major pullside pop and he is yet another quality arm for the Senators as he features a fastball in the upper 80's while showing a well shaped breaking ball with slider type action. Three other seniors that will be expected to contribute in 2021 are LHP Caiden Johnson, MIF/OF Kylan Duncan and RHP/OF Chandler James. Johnson shows a tremendous work ethic and is a bulldog on the mound while showing clean mechanics and typical arm side action on the fastball from the left side. Duncan is a solid defender at both positions while showing "plus" range in the field. He also handles the bat very well. James gives the Senators another quality outfielder and really attacks hitters on the mound, showing a ton of competitiveness. Two juniors to keep an eye on this year are RHP/3B Jordan Pearce and RHP/UTIL Patrick Moody. Pearce shows a clean delivery with a fastball in the mid 80's and solid secondary offerings and is solid defender at the hot corner. Moody can do several good things on the field. One of those is giving hitters a different look as he uses a side arm arm slot to create movement and deception on his pitches. Carter Wells is a sophomore RHP/1B that has continued to develop on the mound while showing some juice at. the plate. The Senators should be major players in 7A this season. 

 

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