Follow @PrepBaseballCA Follow @LesLukach Follow @PBRmonkFollow @hardy03bsblFollow @HankLoForte

At The Yard Podcast: New Episode LIVE now!

Ventura, Ca. -

With a little less than month until opening day for the CIF-Southern Section high school baseball the tempo with which those programs are ramping their players up is picking up pace. Starting pitchers are stretching out to be ready for their first regular season starts, hitters are getting as many as bats as possible and coaches are refinining their teams philosophies for the upcoming spring season.

With that in mind I had held off going to see one of the more intriguing teams for me in my region the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers program to be able to get extended views at a program which boasts a collection of talent from the '25 class all the way down into the '28 class that could be the deepest not just in my region, but all over Southern California and the state.

This doubleheader look gave me a chance to see 4 innings out of one of the top '27 arms in the nation, a lengthy look at the #3 player in California and a top player nationally in the '28 class and a bevy of very talented players behind them for multiple innings on the mound and at bats at the plate.

But, what makes the Trailblazers fascinating is that even in that doubleheader day I still missed a group of talented arms who were slated to throw on Sunday in the programs doubleheader set for that day, plus two of their bats who I'm presonally very high on were not in the lineup for either game due to an injury and another one on a college camp trip. With their depth players getting shorter reps, but still showing plenty of reason to like their skillsets, as well, the Trailblazers don't look set only to have a good 2025, but potentially for years to come in the very talented Mission League and CIF-Southern Section.

Over two games I had a chance to dive in on several players who I'm intrigued by their present abilities to impact the Trailblazers fortunes in 2025, but just as much their upside to be players at the next level, some of them collegiately and a few others who may have realistic futures in professional baseball. 

Check below for my breakdown of those players plus video gathered on some of the top talents for the 2025 Sierra Canyon Trailblazers squad. 

SIERRA CANYON TRAILBLAZERS:

+ '27 RHP Sean Parrow - Uncommitted (#4 ranked '27 by Prep Baseball California)

Parrow was a big reason that I had been eyeing seeing the Trailblazers prior to the start of the season, but also why I had delayed seeing them until this weekend to be able to get an extended look at the uber-talented righthander for multiple innings. He opened the first game of the day against Shadow Ridge at 9 AM and would go on to throw his scheduled 4 innings and put on quite the display of ability. The operation to his delivery is athletic featuring good use of the lower half getting down the mound with efficient use of his hips, but the explosive arm speed he generates without effort is what has Parrow not only highly ranked, but also able to perform at such a high level. His arm path is loose and features a full length circle into a 3/4 to high 3/4 release point without recoil after release. Using predominantly a two-pitch mix at present each of his two offerings show both present ability, but have upside as he continues to develop them and is working on refiningh his CHG to add to that mix. Parrow's FB came out at 91-92 in the first inning touching several 93s with one 94 MPH reading for me and has more of a riding life to the movement pattern than arm side run (but will flash it on occasion) and the pitch has late action/life through the zone collecting 10+ whiffs in zone with multiple chases above the zone also. His primary seconday is a sharp two-plane SLD with horizontal life and vertical depth that induces whiff and chase from both RHH and LHH at present. He threw his SLD consistently at 81-84 MPH while touching 85 MPH on one offering. With loud present stuff what impressed me even more was Parrow's ability to control his arsenal throwing 80% plus strikes over the course of 4 innings and with just 3 glaring misses in that outing (2 way out of the zone and hanging SLD that got touched for the 1 hit he allowed). The power stuff he featured picked up 6 Ks over the 4 innings with 4 coming via the SLD (inducing both swinging/looking Ks) and 2 coming on FB (1 swinging/1 looking). As well, I got to see the competitive fire Parrow possesses when he punched out the final hitter of the 4th inning to silence the chirping coming from the visitors dugout you could visually see the intensity he pitches with as stalked off the mound (something I love to see when a highly touted player pitches with a chip on his shoulder and intensity). All in all the 4 inning look was well worth the wait to hold off on seeing Sierra Canyon and Parrow until I could get a lengthy look and showed exactly why he is ranked so high within the state/nation and will be a must see for me personally in the spring/future with college programs and MLB scouts going to be regulars at his outings for the years to come. 

+ '28 SS/OF Theo Swafford - Uncommitted (#3 ranked '28 by Prep Baseball California)

Another key piece of why I had been eyeing a lengthy look at the Trailblazers is the rising '28 Swafford who sits presently in the number 3 spot for our '28 class in California and after this look gives me plenty of vibes that he has the profile to make a rise up into the 1 spot potentially in the future. I've got a connection to the family having been fortunate enough when I was in elementary school to be the bat boy/ball boy for the Ventura High Cougars baseball/football programs when Swafford's father was starring there in the mid-90's (his dad held a Northwestern football scholarship before signing with the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 3rd round of the MLB draft and eventually when his baseball career ended would play D1 football at the WR spot for the Cal Golden Bears in the Pac-10). With those type of athletic bloodlines the intrigue for Swafford is high and the LHH versatile defender more than showed why in 2 games why he is going to be a high follow not only just for me personally, but also college programs and likely eventually MLB scouts during his prep career. In pre-game he took reps first in LF before coming onto the INF dirt to work at SS flashing dynamic movements around the dirt with body control, smooth actions into and through the ball, feel for his angles-range, clean hands and feel to play one handed with a solid arm (which shows the strength to play SS, but the path-arm stroke can be cleaned up to make sure he sticks at SS) and then would play the 1st game of the day in LF before manning SS for the final 4 innings of the 2nd game where he made a pair of very impressive plays showing his footwork first playing a hard one hopper that he adjusted to a tough hop on to field cleanly and with the internal clock to set his feet and make an accurate throw to 1B and then later came downhill with athleticism on a high chopper to field it cleanly and transition into an athletic accurate on the run throw to 1B. The question mark for me heading into the day was where Swafford was going to profile (I was already sold on the bat, which I'll get to shortly), but now having seeing his actions at SS both in pre-game and in-game I feel more convicted he has a long term future at SS in the years to come. Now to the bat we go and what an offensive profile it is from the talented LH hitter. Over the course of 5 at bats I got to see first the polished approach he possesses in controlling the strike zone by laying off pitches outside the zone early in counts and being selective with the strikes he elected to swing at early in counts working multiple deep counts over the day, but having the barrel control and bat to ball profile that he can adjust in a 2K count to battle against striking out. In his first at bat he worked a 9 pitch BB including 3 foul balls in a 2K count, in his 2nd at bat he drilled a 3-2 line drive right into the SS's chest (L on L at bat where he handled spin well), in his next at bat he stung a hard 4-3 groundout on the barrel of the bat again, in his 4th at bat he got an elevated pitch out over the plate and did not miss smoking a ball deep to RCF that rolled up the hill the Mustangs have in RCF and I got the chance to see Swafford's ability to run underway as he pushed it around 3B and slide in headfirst to homeplate for an inside the park HR, and he wrapped his day by drawing another BB in his final plate appearance. Swafford's operation in the box is very hitterish with a slight leg kick and a controlled forward move with intent on each pitch, but trusts his eyes and hands to track the ball into the hitting zone. He shows leverage in the bat path with the ability to drill line drives to the opposite field and elevate the ball to the pull side while turning quickly through the hips and maintaining balance in his lower 1/2 through contact. At present he looks to be a hit first profile who will wear out the middle of the field with hard contact for doubles, but there is strength through the zone and barrel control to the path that when he connects out front he can lift the ball with carry for HR power to the pullside. It's a solid athletic profile with dynamic movements to how he operates, but you can see the need to continue adding strength to the frame as the first step and burst are more solid than dynamic at present (looks to be above average runnner underway) and once those two elements can improve he profiles to be a dynamic athlete defensively, offensively and as a runner. The present ability for Swafford is very high, but the it is eclipsed by for me what looks to be an even higher ceiling as he continues to mature athletically, physically and as a baseball player all around.

Video Embed