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At The Yard Podcast: New Episode LIVE now!

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - Martin Luther King Jr. weekend has become the unofficial kickoff to the spring high school baseball season in SoCal and it’s all the brainchild of JSerra Head Coach, Brett Kay who has been the organizing force behind this event for the last decade. 

The event has grown from a handful of teams to its current incarnation of 60 teams all getting some game action in preparation for the spring season. While not a tournament, teams will play anywhere from three to five games over the long weekend giving scouts and evaluators an early look at some of the top talent from the state of California, Arizona, Washington, and Nevada. 

The event usually draws a who’s who of teams and their talented rosters. Scouts come out in droves, particularly this year as it was the first weekend MLB scouts could attend games in person since October. 

The weekend is also loaded with college team camps that also draw some top teams. The University of San Diego and USC have long hosted a team camp this weekend that is usually loaded with teams that will be in the mix for playoff runs come May. 

For me the weekend took me to JSerra and USC to see some of the top MLB Draft prospects from the state along with underclassmen who will undoubtedly fit that billing in coming years. 

So, without further ado, let’s dive into some names from the weekend that will be, if they’re not already, household names for college coaches and MLB Scouts to know. 

MLB DRAFT PROSPECTS:

James Tronstein OF / SS / Harvard-Westlake, CA / 2026 Rankings  StateRank: 7 / POS: 2 OverallRank: 32 / POS: 6 Tronny Barrels as he’s been tabbed by our staff continues to be one of the best hitters in the class not only in California but nationally as well. And despite some significant swing changes, he continues to elevate his status. In the summer he had a more traditional setup with a slight knee bend and hands up around his shoulder/ear area with the barrel pointed straight up. He is now more upright, almost straight legged, with his hands closer to the armpit and the barrel tipped backwards towards the umpire. He still gets the barrel on plane regularly, but now the barrel is staying in the zone longer and more consistently with the same results of loud contact coming from the barrel. Tronstein is playing shortstop for Harvard Westlake this season, and while his long term projection is likely in the outfield, he has demonstrated through the fall that he can handle the shortstop position from not only a talent standpoint but also a leadership one.