With the 2019 high school baseball season just around the corner in California, we have begun rolling out team previews from around the state. Today we focus on the Walnut Mustangs from CIF-SS Division 3.

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Team: Walnut High School

Nickname: Mustangs

Section: Southern Section, Division 3

League: Hacienda

Head Coach/Years at school: Hank Sprinkle (3rd Year)

Team Twitter Handle: @_walnutbaseball

2018 Overall Record: 13-14 (6-9 in League)

2018 Postseason Finish: None

Number of Returning Starters: 3 

Number of Returning Pitchers: 4

Top Returning Players:

'19 LHP/1B Manny Casillas, '19 P/UTL Chris Lara, '19 P/3B Jared Medina, '19 P/UTL Eric Amaya, '20 SS/OF Manny Salinas, '20 SS/2B Joseph Aijala

Other Players to Know:

'20 C Nate Min, '20 OF/P Abel Garibay, '21 OF/P Panama Greenwood, '21 P Joseph Russo, '21 SS/2B Mark Diaz, '21 UTL Mikey Mercado, '22 C Ivan Guitierez, '22 C/P Matthew Leyva, '22 OF/P Kyle Calzadiaz,

College Commitments:

'19 LHP/1B Manny Casillas  - New Mexico State, '19 P/UTL Chris Lara - Hope International, '19 P/3B Jared Medina - Hope International

2019 Outlook:

After missing out on the playoffs last year, look for Coach Sprinkle’s squad to take some big steps this year. Led on the mound by Manny Casillas (2019, LHP/1B), a New Mexico State commit, this looks to be the area that will be their biggest strength for the Mustangs. Chris Lara (2019, P/UT) and Jared Medina (2019, P/3B), both Hope International commits, will serve as the other anchors to this pitching staff. This team should be in every game with a wealth of experience on the mound. The big question for them will be if they can execute their offensive plan. With the strength of this team being on the rubber, it will not take much offensively for them to win games. Look for this team to make some noise in the CIF-SS Division 3 playoffs if their offense can find consistency during the 2019 season.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
Solano-Sac Junior Future Games Trials	CA	02/24	Vacaville Christian HS
SoCal Junior Future Games Trials	CA	03/09	O'Malley Field - Harvard Westlake
East Bay Junior Future Games Trials	CA	03/24	Athenian School
North Bay Junior Future Games Trials	CA	04/28	Clyde P. Smith Field - Cardinal Newman HS
Northern California Future Games Trials	CA	05/26	Islanders Field
SoCal ProCase	CA	06/08	Hart Park

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