Simi Valley’s Whitley Bursts Into Bloom on Time

The arrival of spring brings more than just flowers to Simi Valley. An unheralded player usually sprouts on the baseball roster at Simi Valley High the same time each year.

In 1990, it was Joe Gordon, a second baseman who hit six home runs in his first eight games. Gordon finished with 15, tying Scott Sharts’ 1988 school record and finishing one shy of the Southern Section record.

Last season, Brian Vasey emerged from quasi-anonymity to lead the Pioneers to their fifth Marmonte League title in the past six years. Vasey, a pitcher and shortstop, was 10-1 with a 2.09 earned-run average. He batted .460.

This season, the Pioneers find themselves rich in big-name players such as junior center fielder Kevin Nykoluk, senior first baseman Aaron Fischer, junior shortstop Ryan Briggs and sophomore third baseman Ryan Hankins.

Meanwhile, Aaron Whitley--a junior with no varsity experience--was best recognized as a wide receiver on the varsity football team. Whitley caught 29 passes for 347 yards, an average of 12.0 yards.

His reputation on the varsity baseball team was no bigger than his 5-foot-7, 160-pound frame.

Whitley, however, has played a large role in the Pioneers’ 4-1 start. The right fielder is batting .647 (11 for 17) and has two home runs.

In Simi Valley’s 6-4 win over Crespi last week at Pierce College, Whitley tripled and scored the go-ahead run in the sixth inning. In the seventh, he added a two-run home run that provided the eventual game-winning run.

“I think he goes along with the mold that Gordon and Vasey fit,” Simi Valley Coach Mike Scyphers said. “Nobody expected them to put up the numbers they did. I always hesitate to talk about unproven players early in the season . . . but I knew Aaron was going to be a great contributor.”

Thus far, Whitley has carried a lineup weakened because of ankle injuries to Fischer and Hankins. Fischer, a No. 4 batter who hit nine home runs and had a region-leading 38 runs batted in last year, missed two games and has yet to hit a homer. Hankins, a No. 5 hitter, underwent surgery and is not scheduled to return for at least three weeks.

Whitley, who bats second behind Briggs, has stepped up and hit in all five games.

“I expected him to hit between .350 and .400 this season,” Scyphers said. “But I didn’t expect him to hit home runs.”

Neither did Crespi pitcher Phil Aghajanian nor Crespi Coach Scott Muckey.

In the first inning, Aghajanian, a right-hander with a submarine delivery, caught Whitley looking at a third strike that caressed the outside corner, grating on Whitley.

“It was weird because (Aghajanian’s) release was so low,” Whitley said. “I was just trying to get used to it.”

It did not take long. Whitley, a left-handed batter, singled to left in his next at-bat. In the sixth, Whitley drove a 2-and-2 fastball that one-hopped the fence in right for a triple. He scored on Nykoluk’s single to give Simi Valley a 3-2 lead.

Whitley hit a drive in the seventh that sailed 360 feet, a two-run homer that gave Simi Valley a 6-2 lead.

“We had to pitch to him because we didn’t want to pitch to Nykoluk or Fischer,” Muckey said. “But we certainly didn’t expect him to hit a home run.”

Neither did Whitley, a hit-and-run specialist who will sell his soul to get on first base and use his speed. “It’s funny because I try not to hit home runs,” said Whitley, who attributes his recent power surge to an off-season weightlifting program that peaked with a 230-pound bench-press.

Although Scyphers prefers to leave the power to the middle of his order, he is not upset by the emergence of yet another home run hitter at Simi Valley.

“I thought I’d let Aaron Whitley arrive on his own,” Scyphers said.

And Whitley needed just five games to bloom.