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California JUCO Notebook: Allan Hancock vs. College of the Canyons

February 18, 2024
Steven Hardesty
Central Coast/North LA Area Scout

 

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Ventura, Calif.-

Week 3 of the California JUCO baseball season took me to an early morning match up between a pair of strong Western States Conference opponents. Traveling out to Santa Clarita, California to see the WSC-South College of the Canyons Cougars host WSC-North Allan Hancock Bulldogs as part of the Clash at Canyons tournament. Both programs come off Regional Berths in 2023 with Canyons advancing to the SoCal Super Regional round.

Both teams would trade zeros over the first four innings with the starting pitchers for each team showing feel for the strike zone and the ability to pitch around a couple of jams. Hancock finally broke through in the 5th with 1 run to take a lead before Canyons would plate 5 runs across the 6th and 7th innings. The Bulldogs put together a rally in the top of the 8th inning scoring 2 runs to cut the lead to 5-3 before the Cougars picked up an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning and closed out the game with a scoreless top of the 9th for a 6-3 victory.

Each program featured a solid JUCO arm for the 4-year level while adding in some talented offensive pieces for 4-year coaches to take a look at as part of their JUCO recruiting classes. Read below for a breakdown on the top players from the day and a few names of note from each program to keep an eye on.

College of the Canyons

+ So. SS Colin Yeamen 6’2 195 lbs (Uncommitted)

Yeamen might be one of the most talented position players not just in SoCal JUCO baseball, but within the state of California JUCO baseball. A physical frame with good athletic ability who shows the actions/arm and feel for the position to be a solid average defender at SS, but could slide to 3B/2B where he could be above average possibly plus defensively. A good defender Yeamen is an impact profile offensive player who hits a top the lineup for the Cougars and the tools at the plate, combined with a good approach and strength should keep him atop a 4-year college lineup. The swing has bat speed with leverage to the pull side and while he is aggressive at the plate Yeamen makes good swing decisions attacking pitches he can get the barrel to consistently. Launched an absolute bomb foul in one at bat showing his power potential, smoked a double to LCF on a low FB he leveraged for a hard line drive, collected a single on a hard grounder down the 3B line showing his above average running ability. While also drawing a walk. Yeamen is currently uncommitted but will be a very good land for a 4-year program who could have MLB draft potential.

Jaquez was playing LF on the day where he looked comfortable moving around and has plenty of arm to handle the spot. I’ve seen him play SS in HS and has played 3B this season showing his versatility. He could easily handle any corner spot on the INF/OF where he will at least fringe average defensively with solid average potential. A wiry strong athletic frame he profiles as a strong offensive prospect out of the JUCO level. The approach is good with a feel for consistently finding his barrel to hit the ball hard. Swing path is slightly flatter which will play more to line drive contact through the middle and pull side leverage with the impact to project HR power to that side of the field. Collected a pair of hits on the day and barreled up a pair of outs in addition to his 2 hits. Could add more power over JUCO career, but at the very least he is a high hit tool guy with some pop in his bat who can move around the corners defensively. 

+ So. RHP Tyler Biggs 6’2 190 lbs (Uncommitted)

Biggs is a high pitchability guy who showed an advanced feel for his offspeed arsenal as he primarily attacked the Bulldogs with a SLD/CHG/CB trio which each flash above average control and ability to get soft contact. His FB will work into the mid 80’s and can touch 88 in shorter stints. The ability to mix and match his pitches with above average control of the strike zone give him the ability to start long term and he showed the potential on the day going 4.2 innings with 5 hits allowed, 1 walk, 2 K’s and allowed just 1 run before exiting. His stuff could tick up in a relief role where he could add some more intent to the FB and then mix his offspeed trio to confuse hitters in short stints. It’s an interesting profile for 4-year coaches based on where they could see him fit best, but Biggs will be a good addition to a 4-year staff in either a starter or reliever role.

+ So. LHP Jon Bahr 6’2 190 lbs (Uncommitted)

Bahr came in relief after Biggs and the whippy low ¾ slot was a funky look for the Bulldog hitters. He shows an interesting FB which worked 84-86 MPH with arm side run to it while adding a 72-74 MPH CB with some bite to its break and feel for a 78-79 MPH CHG which is his 3rd offering. The FB/CB combo helped him pick up 4 K’s in 2.1 innings of work but will need to polish his command to take advantage of his ability as a potential LH leverage reliever who will be a tough look for LH hitters. An interesting arm to follow for 4-year coaches out of the Cougar program.

Allan Hancock Bulldogs:

+ So. LHP Mason Robertson 6’2 220 lbs (Uncommitted)

A physical frame the Canadian prep LHP has started his year off with some impressive numbers and he showed why on this day. Navigating a good Cougar lineup for 5.2 innings of work Robertson punched out 7 with just 2 walks and allowed 5 hits with 1 earned run allowed. The FB is interesting coming at 86-88 MPH while touching 89 on the day and has run it up higher in previous starts. Adds a 75-77 MPH SLD which has swing/miss action to it and is tough for hitters to get a barrel on while showing feel for an interesting 79-80 MPH CHG which is a soft contact weapon for him when executed. The delivery is repeatable with a quick arm and he does a good job of attacking hitters. He can polish his command to take the next step, but throws enough strikes with quality stuff that he should stick as a starter at the next level. A very good LH arm coming out of California for 4-year coaches to be on.

Long is an advanced LH hitter who shows a natural feel for hitting and consistently finding his barrel for hard contact. The swing is compact and quick with a flat plane that will spray line drives around the field. Uses a quiet load with an up the middle approach that is tailored to high contact ability with some sneaky pop in his bat, but will profile as a high batting average/on base percentage LH hitter who can hit at the top of a lineup or add length to the back end of a 4-year line up. He is an above average athlete who runs well and looks comfortable in CF where he should be an average defender who could be fringe above average. The arm is slightly below average in strength, but he is accurate with his throws. Overall the offensive ability from the LH side with his ability to play a premium defensive spot at a solid level should make Long a name 4-year coaches are paying close attention to for their transfer classes.

Names To Know:

In a one day look not all highlights are caught or players won’t always have their best results. With that in mind there were several other players who showed interesting tools/potential or futures. The names below are ones to keep an eye on going into the spring and going forward.

College of the Canyons:

+ So. INF Angelo Aleman 6’2 210 lbs. (Uncommitted)

+ So. INF Charlie Rocca 6’1 195 lbs. (Uncommitted)

Allan Hancock:

+ So. RHP Cooper Bagby 6’1 190 lbs (Uncommitted)

+ So. OF Tommy Kendlinger 6’ 185 lbs (Uncommitted)

+ So. INF Blake Edgmon 6’2 200 lbs (Uncommitted)

 

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