Nominees for Got’Em Baseball’s 13U Player of the Year

The talent at the 13U age division is truly of the charts and I’m confident this group will have numerous pro prospects & the fight for those limited number of college baseball scholarships will be fierce. What I find to be most interesting regarding the current list of nominees is that not one of them played for a top ranked team their 10 or 11U seasons. Nor would any of these players have been considered to be a top 10 player when they were 10 or 11.  These players are proof that hard work and dedication to your craft pays off.

And the Nominee’s for Got’Em Baseball’s 13U Player of the Year are….

Noah Daubin (Jr Hoots)

If we were giving out an award for the Most Improved Player since the 10U season Daubin would win hand’s down in landslide fashion.  Daubin who will be entering the 8th grade in a few weeks is one of the aces for the Nationally ranked 14U Jr. Hoots.  Daubin’s rise to the top of the 13U pitching heap imitates the jump in his velocity from 2011 to 2012. At the 2011 NTIS Daubin was sitting at a middle of the road 72MPH. Good enough to earn an invite to participate at the NTIS in North Carolina but not nearly good enough to advance past that stage. Instead of playing whoa is me games, Daubin used the experience of being passed over as fuel to his fire.  Daubin worked his tail off to get better and last month at the 2012 NTIS that was evident. Daubin was now sitting at 82MPH  a jump of 10MPH in velo.

Daubin has played in some big events this year and has had a stellar season even by his high standards. He has been instrumental in the rise of the Jr. Hoots program and has thrived in big game situations against players that are sometime 3 years older. In June Daubin was once again selected as a member of Northern California NTIS team.

Cameron Michael (River City Bandits)

Cameron Michael River City Bandits

Cameron is a five tool prospect that plays CF and is a LHP for the Nationally acclaimed River City Bandits. It’s doubtful there is a player in the division that come with as much championship hardware or individual accolades as Cameron. Cameron is the ace of the RCB staff and one of the teams leaders in all offensive categories. Cameron is a full effort guy and that effort is infectious with his teammates. Just watching him hustle out a routine ground ball is a thing of beauty.

In June while guest playing for the NorCal Blacksox in the 14U USA Baseball Championship West,  Cameron was one of only four Northern California players hand selected by the evaluators at the event to become a member of the 14U USA National Development Team. Cameron was the only 13U player from Northern California selected.

Ruben Ibarra (Waves Black)

Ibarra is without a doubt the best pure power hitter in the division in Northern California.  Ibarra’s at bats have almost become arcade-ish in the sense that all belt high fast balls usually end up on the other side of the fence. Ibarra is also a  major factor on the bump and has been a key component on his Wave team that will be competing in the USSSA Elite 32 August 5th. Ibarra was picked up to guest play for the NorCal Black Sox in Indiana at the CABA World Series last week and proceeded to lead the entire tournament in hitting including FIVE HR’s in six games.

In the Semi-Finals of the State Championship with the Waves trailing 7-4 Ibarra hit a three run bomb on field 10 that went over the left field lights.  I witnessed it with my own eyes. He actually hit the ball over the lights to tie up the game 7-7. Yes over the lights, I kid you not the ball went over the lights.

Dominic Foscalina (NorCal Black Sox 14U)

Dominic known as Domo has been one of the most consistent players on the current #1 Ranked 14U Black Sox. Domo has played almost every position at some point during the season. His ability to hit the ball all over the field made him one of the biggest threats in the line up. This summer he has been lights out on the bump and became the Black Sox go to guy is pressure situations. Domo is Definitely one of the leaders of the team and always leads with his actions. Foscalina will also be a member of the 2012 Northern California NTIS team. There is no doubt has a very bright future ahead of him.

Alejandro Lara (Jr Hoots)

Lara really burst onto the scene at the 2011 NTIS where he kept denting the the fence with line shot after line shot.  That performance earned him a nod to represent  Northern California at the NTIS. Although he didn’t advance Lara came back from that experience knowing he could compete on the national stage. Jando a tremendous athlete with dececptive range is now the  starting shortstop for the Jr. Hoots and has skyrocketed to the top of our Select 60 rankings.  Jando is the s is Jando is strong as an ox and drives the ball well to all fields. At the 2012 NTIS Jando asserted his dominance which once again landed him a spot on the Northern California NTIS. team.