Central California Summer ID: Preview Story

Wyatt Richardson OF / SS / St Bonaventure High School, CA / 2028

From 5/1/25: "...The Fr. earned his way to the varsity level after starting off the spring playing on JV as Matt Merricks the St. Bonaventure HC allowed him to get comfortable with high school baseball before exposing him to varsity level pitching. Wiry and athletically built presently there is solid athleticism with some twitch to the profile for Richardson with projection across a frame that looks to stay up the middle defensively (has experience on INF dirt in addition to CF). The operation in the box for the RH hitter is athletic with body control and shows a consistent load, feel for his rhythm/timing to land in the launch position on time while showing a quality lower ½ turn and fluid bat path with leverage through the zone. Being on the leaner side presently his bat speed is sound, but as he adds strength you can see it trending into strong to impact potential bat speed which could make him a dynamic offensive player in the future. His contact was predominantly on the ground with one line drive to the OF when he was able to get through the bottom half of a baseball for a solid L-8, but there is present bat to ball in the profile with some barrel awareness which will improve as he faces more varsity level pitching. Richardson flashed intriguing arm strength during INF/OF carrying his throws to 3B in the air from regular depth and the gaps while one hopping home plate from medium range distance with low carry, although his accuracy will need to improve as he matures. Add in quickness to his run tool and solid present instincts for the ball in the air, first step to go with solid angles he profiles to be a strong defender in CF who has impact potential in the future. With an intriguing present foundation of tools, athleticism and projection Richardson will be a no doubt follow for me in the 2028 class to see how high his future ceiling rises as he heads toward the recruiting process in the future."

Quinn Melton C / 1B / San Marcos High, CA / 2028

From 5/1/25: "...Melton continues to trend up for me with each look at the offensive potential for the LH hitting Fr. OF/C from San Marcos. Physically well built presently with interesting strength through his frame and still shows room to polish/improve as he matures to add more strength/athleticism to his profile. Melton started in LF (had DH’d and saw some time at C in my previous looks) where he looks comfortable moving around with a sound present defensive profile and could with work turn into a solid to strong defender in an OF corner for the future. But, where Melton stands out is in the batters box as a power potential profile from the LH side with an operation that features an aggressive uphill bat path that consistently lofts the ball from line to line. When the Fr. goes the opposite side of the field he can generate loft with carry from the LCF gap to down the LF line although he doesn’t have the present feel to stay behind the ball that way to drive it over the OF defense, but you can see the potential in there as he improves his feel to stay in his lower ½ and drive the barrel through a baseball to the opposite field there is real power potential to the opposite side of the field. At present though the offensive profile for Melton includes impressive raw power to the pull side where he is able to stay down in his back leg, keep his body behind the baseball at contact and explode through contact for loft with carry to the RCF gap to the RF line. Melton launched one of the deeper drives I’ve seen in 20+ years traveling to San Marcos High School as either a player or recruiter/scout when he uncorked on a ball that landed 100+ feet past the 330’ RF foul pole just foul. While the overall profile for Melton is closer the floor of his raw ability than the ceiling of his polished future how high that ceiling can rise as an offensive piece from the LH side has me high on the San Marcos product and will be a must follow for me in the 2028 class going forward on the Central Coast."

Davin Arth C / Foothill Technology, CA / 2027

From 3/22/25: "...Each time I see Arth I grow more and more convinced of his future as a college level player and getting to see him against quality velocity over three at bats (84-90 MPH) ticked that belief up even further. The hands in Arth’s swing have long worked well with loose quickness and that quickness played against stronger velocity then I had seen him consistently against previously turning on a 84 MPH FB in his first at bat for a double down the LF line (LD over 3B’s head) and then barreled 86 MPH for a hard grounder to the 5-6 hole which the Castaic SS made a nice play on to record the out before his final at resulting in a double off the RF wall on an 89 MPH FB from Foster on the outer half which Arth drilled. Add in an impressive day behind the plate where his athleticism showed up on a trio of impressive catcher pops that he hauled in including staying with one that got caught in the wind and he had to corral on the run just steps from the fence. Once again I left the field after seeing Arth perform (three live looks and three events) with his profile taking a tick up in my book and will be a name for college programs to keep their eyes on going forward in the 2027 class."

Akira Tamura C / RHP / Hueneme High, CA / 2026

From 4/30/25: "...Tamura had a solid showing at the Central California Preseason ID back in January and after sitting out the first 10 games of the season in the Transfer Sit Out Period he has instantly provided impact to the Vikings lineup/on the mound and I got the opportunity to see both skill sets in this look. A RH hitter Tamura makes a controlled move in getting his weight back and separating his hands from his body before landing with intent at launch with his lower ½ firing and his hands ready to attack the definition of a “yes-yes-no” approach being ready to swing on every pitch before stopping on offerings he does not want. The bat path has solid present bat speed and Tamura works uphill through the zone which produced a solid grounder right at the 3B, a solid grounder up the middle for a single and then drove a deep F-8 to the warning track in straightaway CF consistent with his middle to pull side approach. Tamura then took over in the 6th inning on the bump to throw two very impressive innings. The delivery features a short arm action out of the glove with quickness to his present arm speed while Tamura hides the ball behind his body well to help the present 82-85 MPH FB show deceptive life with arm side run as it pops out late appearing to get on hitters quicker than the raw present velocity. The righthander showed a solid present CHG in the 72-74 MPH range with fade to the arm side, but is still developing his feel to control the offering and toyed with a cutter during warmups which he did not throw in game. He was aggressive to the zone with his FB attacking early and often to get ahead of hitters with called Ks, foul soft contact and four total whiffs. Tamura punched out five of the six hitters he faced to close out the game."

Patrick Foster OF / LHP / San Marcos Senior High, CA / 2027

From 3/21/25: "...Foster has been a bit of a conflicting profile for me over several different live scouting looks (multiple in 2024 and two games over MLK weekend). I talk consistently about “baseball tools” (hit, throw, defense) or “athletic tools” (physicality, speed, athleticism, power) and Foster possesses a strong set of baseball tools from his high quality LH swing which has consistently put the bat on the baseball with a line to line hard contact approach suited for a table-setter offensive profile to his instincts moving around in CF with good routes, range, and a solid accurate throwing arm. That toolset has helped him start on varsity from day one as a FR. in 2024 and is producing a current .432/.463/.469 slash line through 10 games with one double and more walks than strikeouts at present. Those baseball tools caught my attention from day one and continue to grow on me with his ability to play high quality baseball as a younger varsity player, but for me the tick up that I saw in his “athletic tools” has Foster rising for me. With some added strength to what is admittedly still a very wiry frame his LH swing was showing improved bat speed which allowed him to stay through the zone better for more leverage (drilled a pair of hard line drives to LF and stung a one hop single to CF in game) and clocked a 4.3 home to 1B time on the single showing improved foot speed. The arm also looked to have gained strength with the maturity to his frame showing low carry throws from CF throughout INF/OF with one hop accuracy to 3B/Home Plate. While a tick upwards on the “athletic tools” is a welcome development for a high quality player the ultimate height of his ceiling in the future as a college level player will come down to how much more he can develop his physicality to his body to take his high quality “baseball tools” to even higher levels through those gains."

Colton Dunwoody RHP / 3B / Royal, CA / 2028

From 1/12/25:

Positional Profile: RHP/1B
Body: 6-1, 169-pounds. Long levers, athletic, sloped shoulders, projectable.
Delivery: Narrow setup, tall back leg into smooth stride, throws in-line downhill, high leg lift.
Arm Action: RH. Full arm circle, fluid motion, 3/4 slot.
FB: T79, 77-79 mph. Firm with late life. Able to throw on either side of the plate. T2180, 2063 average rpm.
CB: 67-69 mph. Sharp downer action, 12/6 break. T1953, 1891 average rpm.
CH: 73-74 mph. Late arm side fade. T1827, 1779 average rpm.
ATH: 7.72 runner in the 60.