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Ventura, Calif. - While the world of High School baseball in Southern California never really comes to a complete stop with the weather we afforded here to be able to get outside and play consistently, the MLK holiday weekend generally serves a launching pad for the rapidly approaching CIF High School baseball season. With multiple tournaments being hosted around SoCal and college team camps on the campuses of several prominent NCAA D1 programs there was plenty of baseball to be seen. My travels for 2026 MLK weekend took me to two different locations taking in five games of the Newbury Park High School MLK weekend event on Saturday/Monday. On Sunday I made the quick hop over to Ventura College to take in the tryouts for the Knights Knation/Dodgers summer scout team with around 60 2027/2028 players in attendance. For this week's version of Hardy's Hits we will dive into some of the standouts at the Knights Knation Dodgers tryout.

Knights Knation is the national arm of the long time Louisiana Knights program run by Jack Cressend. This will be the second summer of the Knights Knation/Dodgers scout team program run by Tom Myers which will feature two squads with one known as the North team (North LA into Central Coast) and a South team (South LA into OC and Inland Empire). With three separate tryouts for the the various graduating classes from 2027-2030 players the summer program serves as a developmental program overseen by Myers who is an area scout for the Los Angeles Dodgers and coached by several high school coaches from around the region. Players in this program will be provided a blend of development (two practices a week) and competition (doubleheaders on Sundays during the summer). In addition, standout performers from the summer program have an opportunity to earn roster spots with the Dodgers Fall Scout team that competes in the MLB scout league held on Saturdays during the early portion of the fall schedule at various college campuses around SoCal and the Central Coast. The MLK weekend tryout was held on Sunday 1/18/26 on the campus of Ventura College and brought 60+ 2027-2028 grads from Arroyo Grande to Bakersfield and into the Inland Empire looking to earn spots on one of the two 20ish player rosters. There was a separete 2029-2030 tryout and one all classes tryout to provide ample opportunities for players to show their abilities.

At this event there was a significant group of talented players in attendance, but I will be taking a look into 10 of my personal standouts from the event. Note: a player appearing here is not assured of being on one of the two rosters, but that they stood out for me during the course of the event. Roster selections and players ability to accept an invitation to the team were not considered in my selection process. As well, I did not collect video during this event, but rather focused on evaluating the skill sets of the players.

HARDY'S STANDOUTS:

+ '28 RHP/OF Sterling Silicz - Bakersfield Christian High School 

Silicz attended the Bakersfield Summer ID in August of 2025 and flashed some interesting tools to go with his physical frame, but just weeks ahead of his participation with the State Championship game appearance Bakersfield Christian HS football team wasn't in his best baseball shape. Now with his focus shifted towards the baseball diamond and the rapidly approaching CIF season I got a cleaner look at the tools for Silicz on this day. During his 15 pitch bullpen the strongly built righthander showed a sound delivery with life on his FB and breaking ball out of the hand. It was solid control of each offering and repeatability to his operation. During the position player portion of the day his arm stood out during the OF throws to home plate with carry out of the hand that allowed for accurate one-hop to full carry throws for the catchers to handle. He showed tempo and body control moving to the ball which should comfortably place him with a RF future. At the plate his impact showed well with a wood bat in his hand Silicz made consistent hard contact over his two rounds of batting practice with thump to the middle-pull side of the field. The blend of physical frame, sound athletic actions, strength at the plate and intrigue to his RHP profile put Silicz easily as one of my favorites from the event and a stronger representation of his baseball future.

+ '28 INF/RHP Orion Gonzalez - Castaic High School

Gonzalez put up a loud Fr. season on the varsity level for the Coyotes of Castaic HS both as a LH hitter and leverage reliever. I had a chance to see him hit during a spring season look at the talented 2028 product, but this was my first exposure to him since that spring look. Immediately the thing that stood out with the development of Gonzalez over the last nine months was the work he has done on his body. Looking noticeably stronger across his entire frame with physicality reminiscent of an upperclassmen, but built onto a rising Soph.. I was pleased to see that the added strength to his frame did not diminish the natural athleticism to his actions at the plate or on the INF dirt. Where the strength really helped Gonzalez was in the impact he produced at contact showing improved bat speed and loft in the bat path he launched several deep drives to the pull side and was consistently on the barrel. As well, during the INF workout his throws from SS showed increased carry with easier life out of the hand. Gonzalez is trending in the right direction and his showing here gives me increased confidence to say he is one of the top 2028's to follow in the North LA to Central Coast region I cover.

+ '28 SS Jonah Boyd - Ayala High School

Boyd was another standout Fr. performer who shined for the Ayala Bulldogs program both at the plate and taking over the SS position on the varsity level. Just one week after a strong showing at the San Diego Preseason All State event for Les Lukach and Vinnie Alfino, I had my own chance to see the improvements made to an already standout profile. A twitchy mover on the INF dirt and in the RH batters box, Boyd looks to have added strength to his athletic frame. Much like Gonzalez the increased strength in his frame helped him handle the wood bat used during batting practice with comfort and impact driving the ball through the deep gaps of Ventura College with solid carry to his line drives. Per usual he took a clean INF workout showing the actions, hands and arm to profile long term at SS at a high level. Once again Boyd showed his amongst the top 2028's not just in SoCal, but the state of California.

+ '27 OF Abraham Ramirez - Saugus High School

Ramirez was a 2025 CIF high school season revelation for me who stood out twice during the spring season and then put together a loud showing at the OC Summer ID. His performance at Ventura College was right along that line with one of the better workouts in the OF showing easy movements approaching the ball on the ground and impressive throws to home. The ball carries out of the hand for Ramirez and he shows a strong feel for being accurate to bases both in game and during workout settings. The batting practice portion of the day stood out for me with Ramirez who showed off the easiest bat speed in the event which comes from a strong frame with athleticism abound in his profile. During his first round of batting practice Ramirez was a little bit pull happy looking to catch the ball out front and while hitting the ball with authority was getting a bit more top spin than backspin off the bat. During round two Ramirez adjusted to stay to the pull side gap more consistently and hammered several drives with carry to the gap with an impressive opposite field gap drive that showed his full field impact. A potential elite defender in either CF or RF with an impressive offensive toolset the Saugus OF is one of my favorite 2027 players still on the uncommitted recruiting board.

+ '28 LHP/1B Xavier Mejia - Palmdale High School

Mejia was the first of the group of players who I had not had a chance to see in person prior to this event who really shined for me. It's a thicker body at around 5'10 and likely 200+ lbs., but that bulk doesn't effect the quality of his actions on the mound. Throwing just a brief bullpen there was several things about his delivery which appealed to me personally showing consistency to his sequencing, body control down the mound, clean quick arm speed and solid direction into the catcher while staying behind his front leg to release. The operation alone was enough to perk up my attention for Mejia, but the quality of the stuff coming out of his hand was equally interesting. His FB showed life out of the hand with carry into the catcher and he even flashed some run to the arm side on the offering. Backing up the quality FB was a sharp, biting breaking ball that he pounded down in the zone to his glove side with repeatable mechanics to his FB delivery. He worked out at 1B with clean hands, sound footwork and accuracy throwing to bases and the ability to manuever his way around the bag. At the plate it's an uphill swing path geared to loft the baseball to his pullside and connected with a few well struck drives over two rounds of batting practice. But, in the end the thing which shined brightest for me with Mejia was the present foundation to his pitching profile that with improvements to his frame and continued development to his overall pitching profile as he matures could make him a sneaky good name to know out of the High Desert.

+ '27 RHP Lee McWilliams - Marshall High School 

McWilliams is a wiry athletic built righthander out of the Los Angeles City Section who jumped out quickly from the first pitch of his bullpen to the close. There is tempo to his delivery with athleticism in the load, how he moved down the mound to foot strike and his ability to stay on line to pitch release and through the finish. Lee showed of quickness in the arm stroke to produce a lively riding FB shape that blended into the sharp vertically biting breaking ball he showed off. The two pitch mix built a north/south profile of attack for McWilliams and overall he showed sound control, not polished, but enough that you could expect him to throw strikes over a long outing at a high rate. Unknown to me prior to his bullpen at this event McWilliams will be a name I check back in on over the spring to see how the quality of his bullpen at this event translated into his spring performance. 

+ '27 RHP/INF Mason Pugh - Vasquez High School

An experienced varsity level performer at Vasquez High School in Acton, California in the High Desert region of my coverage Pugh was a name I had heard, but had relatively little exposure too. The frame for Pugh is strong with solid present strength to it and showed quality athleticism, but while I like the foundation there is still some polish that is necessary to take him towards his potential. His bullpen session was solid with present arm speed and strength to deliver a lively FB out of the hand which he controlled well and the making of a quality breaking ball with late action to its shape. He showed solid present control in a brief bullpen setting which is backed up by two stellar to strong years of varsity level pitching experience for him at Vasquez. The actions on the INF dirt for Pugh looked to be sound with hands that fielded cleanly and solid arm strength/accuracy in his throws that would give him a quality profile for 3B long term and with a tick more athleticism to his actions a potential for 2B. At the plate he flashed impact with some strength at contact using a wood bat during batting practice. While I would have liked to see more consistency to the quality of his timing/contact, but there was enough in those flashes to interest me in his offensive potential. The collection of what Pugh showcased on the day from pitching to INF defense and interesting offensive ability will have me checking back in on the small school sensation over the course of the upcoming spring to see how he has continued to develop on a solid profile.

+ '28 LHP/1B Jonathan Torres - Chaparral High School

Torres has been a consistent performer across a variety of different looks dating back to the OC Summer ID into the West Coast Super Sophomore and the previous weekend at the San Diego Preseason All State. While I didn't get a chance to see Torres at the SD PSAS event because I was in Ventura running the LA PSID event this event afforded me the opportunity to see the continued development for the talented IE product. The LH swing for Torres has stood out for his ability to hit while hitting with authority using a metal bat during our Prep Baseball California events and that profile translated over to his rounds of batting practice using a wood bat. His natural offensive ability is a carrying tool for me personally, but he looked cleaner and more consistent with his actions at 1B during the INF workout not just in fielding, but his work around the bag receiving throws from the SS position. I didn't get to see the entirety of his bullpen session as it came towards the end of the event and I was communicating with one of the parents in attendance, but the four pitches I did see were consistent with his previous showings. At present Torres continues to show a solid overall two-way profile, but I'm starting to lean towards the upside he presents as a LHH 1B as potentially his stronger long term profile. 

+ '28 LHP/1B Hudson Hempel - South Hills High School

Hempel is a player who I've seen video of previously on social media and that video had always produced intrigue for me. I had not had a chance to see Hempel in person prior to this event and while the look was not an extended one it was a strong one at the talented Soph.. I came away slightly more intrigued with his upside on the mound showing a clean operation down the mound with present arm speed and quality stuff out of his hand. The pitchability was not as polished as the operation on the day, but with the quality of how he moves down the mound, the ease of his arm stroke and his natural athletic ability evidenced by his solid position player profile, I highly anticipate that element of his pitching profile to continue improving. As mentioned before it was a solid showing at for Hempel as a position player with some strength in his swing, but one that I would want to see more consistency with in the future. His actions at 1B are solid with sound hands, feel for his footwork both fielding/receiving throws from INF defenders and ability to throw accurately to 2B and 3B on the day.

+ '27 OF Kaden Warwick - Arroyo Grande High School

Warwich was a revelation for me on the day both in how he moved in the OF and in the batting practice portion of the day. A Jr. at the solid Arroyo Grande program he will be moving to the varsity level for the first time in 2026 and his workout on this day will make him a name I take a peak at during the spring to see how the tools translated into game performance. Wiry, but athletic in his build Warwick moves well on the OF grass with confidence coming into the baseball on the ground, cleanness to how the ball transfers from his glove into the hand and an arm that showed solid present accuracy. There were no 60's run on the day so I don't have a basis for his footspeed, but the comfort in which he moved around showed CF potential actions, but would need to see him in a better setting to really assess his potential defensive home. At the plate his rounds of batting practice came against a LH batting practice pitcher and the LH hitting Warwick showed solid present bat speed to get his barrel inside the baseball and keep the ball fair with authority as it ran in on his hands. The stroke was flatter in the path geared more towards a line drive profile, but he stroked several quality drives in the RF grass or down the line that gave evidence to an interesting offensive skill set. Solid to strong in his foundation of tools there is still upside ahead for Warwick as he matures physically, faces higher level competition on the varsity level and more going forward in his baseball career.

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