tennessee12

if the d1 kid from bearden being referred to is lane thomas id say you are way off base. that kid is a very good, very projectable high school player. plus arm, plus bat, and pitches well (doubt he pitches past high school). defensively he is above average for high school but still has work to do and he could get faster. with that being said he could still be a draft pick next year, possibly high. Soxfans opinion, although clearly not popular with the OR supporters, is not far from reality. mcdaniel is a good solid player. d1 colleges do not just recruit a kid that can hit .500 in high school. they have to play a position well enough to compete at the D1 level. I dont believe soxfan was knocking the kid, just pointing out things that might be preventing bigger and better offers from coming his way. The district does have a few decent pitchers but they are concentrated on 2 teams, OR and HVA. Hitting .500 against the rest of that district is great and all, but you have to look at the quality of the pitching when talking about kid projectability at the D1 level. I dont think D1 coaches are looking on coacht for recruiting tips either.

Anyone know what Bearden has other than Thomas?

Actually I think that farraguts 3 and 4, whoever that ends up being, are as good or better than HVA's 1 and 2.

Neely and Weiler are okay, but not nearly the best 1-2 in east TN. They arent even the best 1-2 in West Knoxville by a long shot. Serrano and Raby from Farragut are the real deal, proven winning pitchers. Until HVA, and Neely and Weiler in particular, win games outside of their district they cannot be considered the best 1-2 in E. Tenn. Heard Dobyns Bennett has 2 or 3 good arms this year too.

Bearden has Lane Thomas and a bunch of unproven guys. No clue what powell and karns have. HVA has wieler and neely, after seeing them in district play I would say neely has better stuff. Farragut has one of the states best pitchers in kyle serrano followed by 4 guys with alot of varsity experience and success.

Bearden is going to be a really tough matchup for HVA, not the other way around. They bring alot to the table offensively and they are probably going to throw Broyles who is going to give HVA problems. You have to score a bunch to keep up with Bearden and I just dont see HVA putting up the runs it will need to compete. There are alot of hitters in that lineup that are too smart and savvy to chase junk and they typically will make teams pay for mistake pitches. If Weiler (Waylor?) is going to rely on his breaking ball it could be a long night for the Hawks. Farragut is playing at a very high level right now and with a rested pitching staff, I would look for them to make a statement on Monday. Halls will have to get a game of a lifetime out of their starter to keep runs off the board. With a rested pitcher (whoever it is they decide to go with), and the offensive capabilities of Farraguts first 8 hitters... its going to be hard to come in and steal a game from them. They seem to be hitting thier stride right now with a rested starter and Newby in releif, Halls will have to execute perfectly to stay in this game. Just my opinions

Halls and HVA have their work cut out for them with Bearden and Farragut playing so well right now. Bearden has the talent to go far (they are mashing the ball right now) and Farragut is picking up momentum... much like they have in the past 4 years. Should be interesting but I see both Bearden and Farragut advancing.

Not even close. Pfeifer is a whole different animal. We are talking about the best high school pitcher in the history of the state. Weiler has yet to beat anyone out of his district. Pfiefer flat out dominated just about everyone he faced. There's no comparison until weiler can win on a higher level than just district. That statement is so ridiculous. There is no comparison for pfiefer.

they have a better defense than farragut?

its Buckner! hes been offered the job and has accepted! what a turn of events! hes leaving the admirals immediately!

thats pretty good for a freshman. how did he handle powell

how hard

super comment. what mediocre school are you affiliated with?

No question about that. Coach Pharr is the best coach around. I was only talking about AAA, but CAK would have to be in that conversation if money was no object. The parents do have to take some credit being able to provide their kids with lessons and travel teams to play on... but more importantly they can instill a work ethic in them. Thats free. Thats what the Farragut Baseball program has been based on for years. Its been a while since ive been near the program but I know that it started with Coach Pharr and continues with Coach Buckner. Yes there have been very talented individuals to go through the program, but realistically those great players didnt get that way with lessons. They got that way by working harder than the next guy: i.e. Michael McKenry, Kyle Waldrop, Craig Cobb, Nick Williams, Nicky Delmonico, Philip Pfeifer, etc. They all had an incredible work ethic that rubbed off on the rest of the team. That is what the program has been built on... not money.

If I moved into Knox County and my choice of baseball programs were Bearden, West, Karns, Catholic, Lenoir City, etc, etc, there would be no question I would have chosen Farragut. Cant blame Serrano for that. Not to mention his future shortstop and center fielder are playing at Farragut right now. I would have done the same thing.

What players did they pull in?

Bottom line is, there are great players at both levels. Obviously players from both levels have not only gone on to play, but play exceptionally well. Thats the beauty of baseball. The game doesnt discriminate based on your high schools classification. If you can play, someone will find you and give you your opportunity to stay on the field. Im just happy to be a part of it at the high school level and I love how the level of play in Tennessee is at a high level right now... A through AAA. Enjoy it