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SoCal JUCO Coverage: Citrus vs. Ventura College

April 2, 2024
Steven Hardesty
Central Coast/North LA Area Scout

  

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Ventura, Calif.-

After several weeks of being unable to fit a JUCO game into my scouting schedule there was finally a slot in the week to go catch some So Cal JUCO action with a Western States Conference crossover game. The Ventura College Pirates from the WSC-North played host to the Citrus Owls from the WSC-South on a Friday afternoon. 

Ventura jumped all over the Owls starter when they plated 7 runs over the first 3 innings of the game. After the Owls went to the bullpen they were able to stymie the tide and slowly picked away at the Pirates advantage plating 3 in the top of the 4th inning and 1 more in the 8th they got within striking distance of tying the game, but VC retired the Owls in the top of the 9th scoreless and held on for a 7-4 victory just minutes before the rain arrived.

Each program featured 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.

Ventura College: 

RS SO. 1B Haiden Letzing 6’3 205 lbs (Uncommitted)

Letzing is a Canada prep product who is having a very good Redshirt Sophomore campaign for the Pirates. Presently hitting .330 with a .413 OBP and a .385 SLG with 1 HR (Ventura is a cavernous park which makes it difficult to hit for significant HR power). There is physicality in the frame with a good RH swing that shows leverage in the path, but is more quick/direct in the path with high contact and an ability to drive the ball through the middle of the field. He plays a solid 1B with good feet around the base and soft hands. There is enough athleticism that he could potentially play LF, but is probably best suited to stay at 1B long term. He shows strength and in a more normal sized field Letzing will flash more HR power. Does have some swing and miss in the profile, but the offensive profile can make a strong impact on a 4-year program.


RS FR. C Dylan Jackson 6’1 205 lbs (Uncommitted)

A local product from Thousand Oaks High School, Jackson has taken over the fulltime catching duties now that previous Pirate backstop Andrew Savage has moved on to play for Pepperdine University. With physicality in his frame and mobility in his lower ½, Jackson sets a good target behind the plate with effective receiving/pitch presentation while showing a fringe average throwing arm with consistent low 2.0 pop times between innings. Hitting in the 3 hole for the Pirates he showed a disciplined approach staying within the strike zone on his swing decision and flashes bat speed with the potential to provide offensive impact out of a premium defensive position profile. Jackson is presently hitting .268 with a .390 OBP and a .427 SLG while picking up 3 HR’s which will increase not playing his home games at a large field. A very solid catching prospect out of the JUCO ranks for college programs to be paying attention to who can add offensive impact to their lineup.


SO. 3B Mason Reid 6’3 210 lbs (Uncommitted)

Reid had a very good FR. campaign and was a 2-way player, but has focused on hitting this year and while the numbers are not as impressive in his Sophomore campaign the hitting tool with power is still very apparent and should have college programs taking a run at committing Reid for their JUCO transfer class. Mason shows balance in his swing with strength through the contact zone and lift in his bat path. He picked up a pair of RBI’s in the game with a single through the middle and a deep SAC fly to CF before in his last two plate appearances driving balls to LF with authority narrowly missing extra bases on each. The ball comes off the bat of Reid with carry and he has legitimate power while showing solid actions at 3B with plenty of arm strength to be a solid average defender at the spot. 


SO. OF/1B Aaron McLeod 6’6 210 lbs (Uncommitted)

McLeod is another  Canadian prep product who is playing his JUCO baseball at Ventura College. A physically imposing 6’6 frame which has athleticism at 210 lbs he runs solid average and played an impressive LF moving around with good body control (including a catch ranging to LCF up the beginning of a small hill in the VC outfield). McLeod stung 3 baseballs in game with a middle to pull side approach and a bat path which works uphill showing lift/carry to the pull side. He smoked a line drive out to the 2B in his first at bat, singled through the right side in his 2nd, crushed a loud F-9 to the RCF gap before striking out in his 3rd at bat. His size and uphill nature of the path may cause some swing and miss, but the power potential in his frame/carry at contact with the ability to play an OF corner should have 4-year colleges taking a look at McLeod for their JUCO transfer class.

Citrus Owls:

FR. CF Jaden St. Cyr 5’10 170 lbs (Uncommitted)

St. Cyr proves the theory “do not judge a play strictly on their size” with a compact athletic 5’10 170 lbs frame the tool set for St. Cyr plays much bigger than the stature he carries. An athletic mover who runs well (4.25 H-1B on a 6-3 groundout), who can cover ground in CF, shows fringe above average arm strength with online carry he can stick in CF going forward with impact potential on defense. But, don’t let the defensive profile make you think this FR. is a glove only prospect because the numbers and the bat are both loud. After the game St. Cyr is carrying a .349 avg., an impressive .470 OBP while adding an astounding .725 SLG to go with it. He has crushed 9 HR’s already this year, driven 10 doubles, 2 triples while walking 23 times and stealing 15 bases in 18 attempts. The approach is patient with quality swing decisions, he has present bat speed with strength through the zone, he finds the barrel consistently from a middle to pull side approach which drives the ball in the air to the gaps. He didn’t collect a hit in my look at him but stung 2 hard groundouts to SS, crushed a drive to CF which likely is a HR at most parks but settled into the CF’s glove almost 415’ away from home plate short of the 465’ VC CF fence, drew a walk and lined out to 2B. A freshman with plenty of upside who is performing at a very high level and can still continue to improve his game by adding some more strength to his frame, the ceiling is high for St. Cyr and he is one college programs should be keeping eyes on.


SO. 1B Connor Greene 6’4 225 lbs (Uncommitted)

An XL frame with plenty of strength across his lower and upper body Greene is an offensive force who will be able to add plenty of impact to a 4-year lineup. He shows bat speed with good use of the lower ½ in his turn, but looseness to his hands which allows him to cover the plate and drive the baseball in the air from line to line. Greene is having an impressive Sophomore season for the Owls carrying a .365 avg. to go with a .481 OBP and a .596 SLG. He lined a ball hard to RF in his first at bat which combined with a deep foul drive down the RF line later in the game shows his power to the opposite side of the field. Then turned on an inside pitch driving a 2 run HR to LF that was a laser beam line drive. Greene has added 6 doubles on the season to go with his now 6 HR’s and has walked more than he has struck out (19 BB’s to 16 K’s). He is limited to 1B defensively going forward, but presents a big target over there with good feet around the base. Despite the limited defensive profile Greene is absolutely an offensive player that should be getting plenty of interest from 4-year coaches when they go searching for ways to improve their offense with JUCO bats.

FR. SS Nathan Hellein 5’11 185 lbs (Uncommitted)

Hellein caught my eye during INF/OF with good actions at SS showing rhythm in his feel, softness to his hands, the ability to move laterally and a fringey arm (he may be better suited for 3B/2B long term, but has time to improve his arm strength as a FR.). Batting in the 2-hole for the Owls he showed a consistent bat to ball approach with a line drive path which can work the middle of the field for extra base hits and has the strength to drive the baseball to the pull side for HR potential. As well, Hellein can play the small game dropping down a quality BH bunt in which he gave me a 4.3 H-1B run time. Hellein is having a solid FR. campaign for the Owls with a present .291 avg., .408 OBP and .398 SLG which he has collected by driving 6 doubles, 1 triple and a HR while walking 16 times on the season with just 17 K’s. An interesting name to know who has one more year of JUCO baseball and a chance to continue raising his profile going forward.


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.

Ventura:

+ So. CF Bryce Elias 6’1 200 lbs. (Uncommitted) smoked 2 triples in game
+ RS FR. RHP Dominic Bayless 6’1 215 lbs. (Uncommitted)
+ FR. SS/RHP Jacob Tostado 6’ 170 lbs. (Uncommitted) clean inning of relief
+ SO. RHP Luca Staino 6’6 195 lbs. (Uncommitted) Pirates ace on the year

Citrus:

+ So. OF Mario Catalan 6’ 205 lbs (Uncommitted)
So. RHP Jake Entrup 6’3 190 lbs (Uncommitted) 3.1 scoreless innings of relief w/3 K’s FB up to 86

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

Showcase State Date Location
Rising Stars ID: VTA County CA 04/21 Thousand Oaks High School
SoCal Rising Stars Game CA 05/12 Mater Dei High School
FUTURE GAMES TRYOUT: Orange County CA 06/01 Fullerton College
FUTURE GAMES TRYOUT: Ventura County CA 06/09 Westmont College

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