Players in Arizona have been eager to compete for their high school programs and it feels as we are getting close. The Arizona Interscholastic Association has announced that opening day of the 2021 season will commence on Monday, March 1st. Programs will allowed to begin practicing while holding tryouts in an official capacity before moving on to live competition. The PBR Arizona staff will start to begin its 2021 season coverage starting with our Preseason Power 25 rankings. Over the next two months and leading up to opening day, we will be highlighting some of the top programs in state in our team previews. PBR will also be publishing its state Power 25 rankings that will be updated every Monday once the season begins. Throughout the season, PBR will be pumping out coverage, highlighting individual players, games, rankings, scouting reports and nominating a player of the week. PBR looks forward to getting out there this spring to see some great baseball. 

Our Preseason Power 25 rankings coverage starts today.

Team: Mountain View

Preseason Rank: No. 22
2020 Record: 4-4
Conference: East Valley
AIA Classification: 6A
Head Coach: Jesus Arzaga
Returning Starters: 12
Returning Pitchers: 2

OUTLOOK:

Mountain View comes into our Preseason Power 25 rankings as a bit of a surprise to some. We dont see it that way as they come in at No. 22 on our board. The Toros were a very young squad in 2020 and competed against some of the top teams in the state before the shutdown. They return virtually all of their starters with a workhorse on the mound in senior right-hander, Jackson Thomas (Yavapai) who is the lone commit on the squad currently. Thomas had a great showing this past fall, running his fastball up to 92mph. He has some of the most arm strength in the class and has developed two solid secondary offerings. Head Coach, Jesus Arzaga has helped build a lot of team chemistry in this squad with a lot of his core working out together during extra time off throughout the past year. Many teams highlight their pitching and defense as their teams best attributes but this team could have one of the better offenses in 6A. One of the leaders should be senior catcher, Jeramy Krause who is currently uncommitted and could have a breakout year for the Toros. Junior, Ezra McNaughton has been making a name for himself as of late. He's really transformed his body over the past year and could be one of the top left-handed hitters in the junior class. Speaking of left-handed hitters, Junior first basemen, Sam Christiansen has been swinging it with some power in some big matchups in the summer & fall tournament circuits. Has above average athleticism for his position. Moving to the defensive side, we were really impressed with Junior shortstop, Gavin Person last year and will be interesting to see him with a year of maturity under his belt. Can't sleep on the Toros in 2021. 

KEY PLAYERS LOST:

Name	State	School	Class	POS	Commitment
Chandler DeJong	AZ	Mountain View	2020	DH	San Diego College
Logan Green	AZ	Mountain View	2020	RHP
Ethan Bradford	AZ	Mountain View	2020	RHP
Jaxon Yadley	AZ	Mountain View	2020	OF

TOP RETURNERS:

PRESEASON MVP:

Name	State	School	Class	Pos	Commitment
Zachary Krause	AZ	Mountain View	2021	C

TOP NEWCOMERS:

UNDERCLASSMEN WATCHLIST:

NAME	STATE	SCHOOL	CLASS	POS	COMMITMENT
Brock Snow	AZ	Mountain View	2023	LHP
Joe Terranova	AZ	Mountain View	2023	INF
Easton Turner	AZ	Mountain View	2023	RHP
Ryan Fernandez	AZ	Mountain View	2023	INF
Tyler Davis	AZ	Mountain View	2023	C/OF
Isaiah Csader	AZ	Mountain View	2023	RHP
Nick Masciangelo	AZ	Mountain View	2023	OF
Bradley Deutsch	AZ	Mountain View	2023	RHP
Jordan Person	AZ	Mountain View	2024	SS
Juan Hurtado	AZ	Mountain View	2024	3B/RHP

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