all-region

who do you think should be on the all-region team? if i had it my way, i would select only two players from each team, so each team is represented WELL since it is the all-REGION team.

REGION 4:

LONE PEAK- Adam Kelsch has been pounding the ball all season.
Daniel Sechrest is getting it done at the plate and on the mound.

SPANISH FORK- Tyler Hanks is flat-out the best hitter on a loaded team.
One of the Duke brothers (you pick) for their work on the mound.

TIMPANOGOS- Gentry Croft, well you can probably guess why.
Gotta give the other one to Taylor Lyons for his intangibles.

AMERICAN FORK- Bo Fisher has been incredible. Should be MVP of the valley.
Josh Mooney has impressed me when I see him play.

PLESANT GROVE- Regan Walker is not really known around the league, buthe was one of the most reliable at the plate.
Aaron Neuenswander, another quiet star. But he's a pitcher.

LEHI- Josh Swenson and Derek Hermansen. Thats all I really know about them. Hate to say I don't really follow Lehi as much as I could.


REGION 7

MOUNTAIN VIEW- Sam Roden, definitely. He is the best all-around player on the best team in the region.
Mark Garrett comes in a close second.

OREM- Nate Adamson has been the biggest suprise in the state and I love how this kid pitches.
Goose Kallunki, has like 5 home runs, including 2 in one game once.

SPRINGVILLE- Ben Doxey is a beast at the plate, he must have had averaged 10 RBI's a game or something.
Brian Whatcott and his two no-hitters and 1.00 ERA or something.

PAYSON- Tyson Memmott, I think is the best pitcher in the region. Someone prove me wrong.
Dalton Smith, this kid plays hard every out of every inning of every game. I have never seen him take a break, and throw in a .450 batting average as well.

PROVO- Brad Rigby took on the ace position when Bigelow had issues, and embraced it well.
Andy Isom, still gotta remember he is just a junior.

TOOELE- Zac Clausing, I would be interested to see where he would rank with UV pitchers, because he owned many region 7 batters.
Matt Gochis, hits like .500 and gets an extra base hit every game.

TIMPVIEW- Ben Daniel, too bad he doesnt get any attention, playing for a terrible team, because he is such a great hitter.
Dominique Moe- had an off year, but still blasted 4 homers, and there is no one else to pick from Timpview.

That is quite a list. I am amazed at your picks. Few people around the Valley or the state for that matter are that informed on each team in both regions.
Very impressive.
I actually love you picks and would have only a few changes, but I do take issue with your suggestion of taking two players per team. Does Timpview and Mountain View deserve to have the same amount of players on the team? Should Lone Peak, Timpanogos and Lehi all have the same number of players on the team?
All-region teams are picked by the coaches and you will see when they come out that they won't have two players on each team. The better teams will have more players on the first team.
It should represent each team, but I don't think even Lehi believes it should have the same number of First team players as the region champs.
Zuke

I understand what you're getting at Zuke about amounts of players from each team, and I would have to say I agree with you now. But isn't there a rule or something that every team has to be represented at least once? Or is that for something else?

Regardless, I would love to see your who your picks would be and see how closely I matched with the Zuke.
Everyone else, put yours too. I'm interested in other people's opinions.

Okay, you talked me into it.
I will give you a first and second teams (nine players on each team) All-Region 4 and 7. I reserve the right to change my team based on what happens in the state tournament.
First Team
MVP - Tyler Hanks (Spanish Fork)
LONE PEAK- Adam Kelsch, Daniel Sechrest
TIMPANOGOS- Gentry Croft, Bret Lopez, Taylor Lyons
AMERICAN FORK- Bo Fisher, Josh Mooney
SPANISH FORK - Brock Duke
SECOND TEAM
LONE PEAK - Dillon Robinson
SPANISH FORK - Gentry Mitchell, Adam Duke
TIMPANOGOS - Rhett Nelson
PLESANT GROVE- Regan Walker, Riley White, Sean Stevenson
AMERICAN FORK - Jake Murphy
LEHI - Josh Swenson


REGION 7
MVP - Mark Garrett
MOUNTAIN VIEW- Caleb Loveland, Tanner Young
OREM- Nate Adamson, Goose Kallunki
SPRINGVILLE- Ben Doxey, Brian Whatcott
PAYSON- Tyson Memmott, Dalton Smith
PROVO- Brad Rigby
Second Team
MOUNTAIN VIEW- Kyle Kendall, Sam Roden
OREM- Jeff Mella
SPRINGVILLE- Kurt Averett, Corey MacMurdo, Isaac Allred
PAYSON- Cody Ferguson
PROVO- McClain Griffin
TIMPVIEW- Ben Daniel
This is off the top of my head, so I'm sure I have left someone out. Feel free to add your own list.
Zuke

zuke- just wondering why you didnt include any tooele players? did it just slip your mind or was there a purpose for excluding them?

I forgot to point out that I have not seen Tooele play so I can't put any of its players on the list. Obviously for an all-region team, Tooele would have to be included.
Zuke

SPANISH FORK- Tyler Hanks is flat-out the best hitter on a loaded team.
One of the Duke brothers (you pick) for their work on the mound.

after the game Stats for B Duke on wed. i will say he would be the one to go with..
after reading the news articles on the game it sounds as though he has stepped up and taken control. Lets hope Hanks can get ou of he slump soon Sp, Fork need someone with that kinda of batting avg. in the playoffs

note the date i posted my picks....way before hanks hit his slump so pardon me for not being able to predict the future. also, it is true that the duke brothers are "not as dominating" but one is 6-1, the other is 6-2 and both have era's under 4.00, and they probably have over 100 strikeouts between the two of them...still all-region numbers to me.

but thanks for your input yankee! i do agree mitchell is just as good of a hitter as anyone else. he will probably make all-region one way or another. i just thought of the dukes' role as more significant for the dons.

All those people out there in high school baseball land please listen. There is one Duke that deserves all-region team, that Duke is Brock. He has stepped up and pitched extremely well. His offense and defense won't get him on the team, but his pitching makes him well deserved of the honor. As far as Adam is concerned, he deserves no post-season honors. His era is NOT under 4.00. That's what the program wants you to believe, but it is not. Don't buy the hype. He has been awful the past 4 games he started. His lack of work ethic is finally starting to catch up with him. Until someone makes the kid work, he is destined to not reach his potential. He has the potential to be a great high school pitcher, but potential didn't get it done this year.

On another note, it's amazing to me that a team as talented as SF lost in the 1st round of the playoffs. All those stars and no chemistry, sounds a lot like the New York Yankees. It looks like the team that was picked to win the region, Timpanogos, is finally playing to their ability. The rest of the playoffs are gonna be awesome!

The whole SF team is in a slump, not just Hanks. Give the kid a break at one point during region play he was a little over 700 back and forth from 600's to 500's. He ( with a few others) cant carry the team the whole yr! ANy of you watch MLB funny how the BA is consistantly changing.....He is sitting now even going 0/7 at over 500. I think that is great within itself. Ill need to look at the last averages posted dont remember many of them being in the 500's???
Slump, absolutley he's a kid everyone does it to bad its now when the team needs it. But no write ups on everyone else as they go up and down on the list. And i think that the Dukes lost records are a little off, SF has lost more than 3 games so someone else has to take the loss. We know there are no other pitchers that have gotten the chance unless they are down already!!!!! Gentry has also been a consistant hitter all yr he has done very well. But his average is not up there with the rest of the higher ups. SF is a great team with alot of talent. Lets hope that they can over come slumps and become the team that everyone was worried to play. If they cant may the best team WIN

Zuke and All,

Tyler Hanks probably suffers from some of the same issues as other leading players in the county when it comes to tournament play: Here is my theory:

Kids that put up great numbers on less that stellar offensive teams face enormous pressure in tournament play. Hanks is a prime example. I gaurantee that he feels that he MUST perform offensively because of the lack of production from the rest of the team. However, other teams are going to naturally pitch around the kid. Pitchers are instructed to never give the kid a pitch to hit, if he walks - oh well. BUT with the wieght he feels to make things happen, the kid will press and his pitch selection goes out the window and he may ground out, pop up or even K in an at bat where he never gets a strike, or even close.

I think this applies greatly to weaker offensive teams: Hanks at SF great example. Kallunki at Orem maybe even better example. Those guys play on teams where the coach of the other team is not going to let that guy beat you and take their chances with the other guys in the line up. Hanks does have a much better group than Orem, but with the depth of 5A it comes out about the same. I have seen Hanks do the above and an Orem parent says Kallunki is in the same type of funk over the last 4 or 5 games with atleast 7-8 intentional walks, the exact same as SF with Hanks. That is where my theory began. I guess it's not rocket science!

The theory also says that at tourney time a team like Timp, LP and MV will have much greater results because the offensive balance is so good. Can't pitch around Lopez every at bat and hope he presses, same with Garrett and Doxey.

Good luck to the Dons, Knights, Cavemen and the Bruins, Tigers, Lions, and Devils tomorrow!

Very good insight. I agree. In baseball you must have help. Hanks, Lopez, Kallunki must take the walk when it is given and resist the temptation to try and hit bad pitches. To win at the highest level, you must get contributions from everyone.
I have not seen Spanish Fork since they beat Timpanogos and Hanks hit well in that game. But let's be real, expecting anyone to hit over .600 at the high school level is unrealistic. When I've seen Spanish Fork win, it's been because guys like Lunceford, Ward, and Mitchell have come through.
The Dons have to start swinging it as a collective team or not even their pitching will keep them in the tournament.
Zuke

I’m not sure you can give all-star invites to two players on a team and come even close to being accurate.

Some teams don’t deserve one … let alone two. Others have a handful. Take Timpanogos, they have several that are worthy of post season honors. Lopez hasn’t had a stellar year but am sure he won’t be overlooked. But what about the Melhoffs or Foster’s who has been vital to their success? Orem is another team with a handful of quality players. Are you really going to take a Mella who is hitting well (and has all season), but doesn’t come close to adding the value of say a Sargent, who has been as important to that team as anyone (both defense and offense). MV’s Loveland has been all-star in anyone’s book, but if you’re taking only two you would take just Roden and Garrett?

I know not everyone can be knighted … but you can’t go off straight stats or reputation; that doesn’t even come close to representing reality or fairness.

EVERYONE GOES THROUGH THEM . I AM CURRENTLY WATCHING A FEW BOY FROM NORTH AND SOUTH COUNTIES. I KEEP THE STATS AND FOR GOOD REASONS IT SEEMS. UT IS LOADED WITH TALENTED PLAYERS AND WILL CONTINUE. THERE ARE SOME MVPS OUT THERE AND WILL HARD TO CHOOSE. THE ONE THAT HITS, PITCHES INF/OF. OR IS CAPABLE OF ALL OF THESE? THATS THE QUESTION. NO ONE WILL PITCH SHUTS AND BAT 1000. MAKE NO ERRORS. YOU SHOULD BE PROUD OF ALL THE GOOD PLAYERS AT ALL SCHOOLS. I HAVE HEARD MOST OF THESE BOYS ARE VERY GOOD FRIENDS UP AND DOWN THE STATE. DONT PICK ON CERTAIN PLAYERS AS IF THEY ARE THROUGH.
I AM AWARE OF GENTRY CROFTS PITCHING UNBELIEVABLE WITH A SLIGHT INJURY BUT WILL COME BACK THOUGH. DEVIN NELSON HAS DONE GREAT WITH THE FEW HE HAS HAD. I KNOW THAT TYLERS BAT AV. AS OF TODAY IS ABOUT 535. SO WITH THAT SAID GOOD LUCK EVERYONE AND LETS NOT BASH THE PLAYERS IT A TIME OF CONGRATS

Please allow me to tell you how I picked the team.
First, this is for only seniors. I try to have each team represented, but I can't force it and I do not believe in two per team.
Lone Peak has just four seniors. Timpanogos has nearly a dozen. I also have to fill positions. Take catcher for example.
In Region 4, Fisher from AF is a junior. Stevenson (Jr) and Croft (Soph) are underclassman. Healey from Lehi has a great arm, but offensively didn't have an all-star season. Lone Peak's Matheson (Soph) and Spanish Fork's Lunceford (Jr.) are also not seniors.
That leaves Mitch Foster of Timpanogos as an easy pick. But other positions aren't easy. This has been the most difficult year to choose a team.
I have do have the stats, I have seen as many games as possible. I've talked to coaches on opposing teams, scouts, other writers, and college coaches. I have done my best to make an informed decision.
You all know any time there is an all-star team picked or high school team for that matter, there will be people left out. It hurts me to do that, trust me.
I want nothing more to help kids end their career on a high note and if there is anything I can do to help them at the next level, I will do that.
I hope you all understand that I have taken in all of the above to select the team and I will release the roster here within the next day or so.
Zuke