Baseball Beginnings

By John Klima
August 7, 2009

Little known little guys like Ryan Brett and John Pustay have to make the most out of big stages, even if it is in front of a small crowd late in the afternoon in Game 9 of the Area Codes Friday at Blair Field in Long Beach, Calif.

Center fielder Ryan Brett (Highline HS, Seattle) has proven that he has above average speed but will constantly have to re-prove himself because of his 5-8, 170 build. Facing right-hander Jason Adam a few pitches after Adam hit 90, Brett hit a hard single back up the middle. He broke for second on the next pitch and advanced to third when Adam’s pitch was in the dirt. Adam (Blue Valley NW HS, Overland Park Kan.), at 6-4, 225, has the frame to develop more power, but must develop his body and improve command and control. He does have good arm speed, so he’s got the basic tools. He was the only White Sox pitcher to touch 90 in this game.

John Pustay (Pine Creek HS, Colorado Springs, Colo.), a left-handed hitting 5-11, 170 outfielder, hit a solid opposite field double late in the game and showed plus 4.1 speed and aggressive play. His size might scare some pro teams off coming out of high school, but the skill set he presented here would be ideal for college baseball and the wood bat summer route. Mike Maddle (Tell City HS, Tell City, Ind.) followed with a hard-hit single to score Pustay, who also beat out an infield single in his next at-bat and stole second base.  He scored from second on a firmly hit single by Jackson Laumann (Boone County HS, Florence, Ken.) and showed his speed again. No points were deducted for Pustay’s enthusiastic belly flop slide into home plate. A last-minute roster addition playing in front of only a handful of scouts, Pustay made the most out of what opportunity he was given. If he can’t win over pro scouts, he’s going to make a college coach extremely happy.

Jacob Rice is one of the more intriguing position players on the White Sox. He has a good baseball frame at 6-3 and is listed at 190, with room to physically mature. He’s a good runner for that size, getting down to first base at 4.16 from the right side. He also shows signs that his wrists work well with a wood bat, as he flicked several consecutive pitches foul in one at-bat before grounding out. He ran well but didn’t make hard contact in the at-bat.

Categories: 2010 Draft, 2011 Draft
Tags: Area Code Games, Jackson Lauman, Jacob Rice, Jason Adam, John Pustay, Mike Maddle, Ryan Brett