Scouts Can’t Snooze in This Hotbed

Jose Garcia went into an area code all-star tournament last July as Mr. Nobody--a lanky right-hander pitching for the 818 area code team against the 909s.

He went to the mound in the middle of a game, an unknown who the program said had gone 3-4 as a junior at Baldwin Park High in 1995.

Most of nearly a dozen scouts and the fans in the stands probably had the same thought: Who’s the skinny kid with the bad record?

The 6-foot-4 Garcia gave them the answer: He struck out six batters in two innings and his fastball registered 91 mph on the scouts’ radar guns. From that day forward, Mr. Nobody became Mr. All-American.

“It went from no one coming to see him, to 10-20 scouts per game he pitches,” Baldwin Park Coach Mike Zimmerman said. “That one game did it for him. Suddenly he was popping up on All-American lists.”

Baseball America magazine listed Garcia as a third-team selection.

Like many prep baseball players in the area, Garcia was discovered by a network of scouts and coaches who comb the Southland, which produces more baseball talent than any area in the country.

Ten area players made Baseball America’s list of 48 top prospects this season; Louisiana was second with five. In 1995, the Southland had nine players; no other state had more than three.

“Every year when we talk to scouts, it seems they are talking about a lot of kids from Southern California,” said Chris Wright of Durham, N.C., who compiles the high school preseason All-American teams for Baseball America. “No one can compete in terms of the depth of talent there. Maybe the top five players in each state could compete, but no state can go as deep.”

Teams such as No. 1 Cal State Fullerton, No. 3 USC, No. 8 Cal State Northridge and No. 15 UCLA have achieved their Collegiate Baseball rankings by stockpiling local talent. USC, has 32 players from Southern California on its 40-man roster. UCLA has 28.

The annual professional draft in June resembles a California shopping spree.

“Of the probably 1,600 kids drafted each year, I would say 300 to 400 are from California,” said Terry Reynolds, director of scouting for the Dodgers. “And no place has the concentration of players selected as Southern California.”

The Southland is the epicenter of baseball talent for obvious reasons. Warm weather allows for a year-round season, so players can spend more time developing skills than a player from Nebraska. The large population also means the largest pool of athletes, which means the top prospects are likely to face other good competition.

But many players are also discovered because of the large concentration of scouts. Major league teams heavily scout Florida and Texas, but when it comes to the Southland they go out in full force.

“We have four full-time scouts here, and I would suspect that no major league team has less than two or three,” Reynolds said. “There is just too much going on here not to have a lot.”

One of the players being heavily watched this season is Garcia, evidence that talent will be noticed. He pitched well his junior season, but a losing record and lack of success by Baldwin Park brought few scouts and coaches.

“But after his outing in the area code game, the word spread quickly,” Zimmerman said. “Word gets out fast about a big kid with good arm strength.”

After the outing in July, scouts took a long look at Garcia’s junior season and were excited about his 1.50 earned-run average and 72 strikeouts in 54 innings. Twenty-five showed up at Baldwin Park’s first scrimmage this season.

Garcia has not disappointed. His 1-2 record is offset by a 1.60 ERA. In games against La Puente Nogales and West Covina, he went 10 innings each game, gave up only one earned run, but failed to get a decision. Scouts are saying he could be a first- or second-round pick in this year’s draft.

“Jose is an example of the scouts eventually finding the talent,” Zimmerman said. “He would have got some attention eventually because of his arm, but certainly not to the point where he is now.”

Skilled players such as Garcia also get other players noticed. Such was the case at Mt. Carmel High in San Diego, where Baseball America first-team selections and USC signees Eric Chavez and Eric Munson are teammates.

“We have had scouts look at them who have noticed other players on our team,” Mt. Carmel Coach Steve Edwards said. “I think talent breeds talent. Good players push other players and make them better, and then those players get noticed.”

Mt. Carmel catcher Jake Epstein went from a player with possible college prospects to being a pro prospect. He has signed a letter of intent to play at Missouri but expects to be drafted.

At Baldwin Park, 6-foot-6 junior Jerry Davis, with an 89-mph fastball, has gotten added attention because of Garcia.

Scouts say Southern California’s corner on the market is not something that will change, despite the emergence of other hot spots such as Arizona, Nevada, Denver and Seattle.

“I don’t see one place supplanting Southern California, or any state producing more than California,” Reynolds said. “There’s just too many people and too much baseball.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

BASEBALL: TOP 20 AT A GLANCE

A look at the Times’ top 20 preseason baseball ratings. Included is team’s section, division and last year’s record and finish in the playoffs.

1. Riverside Arlington, Southern Section, Division II, 23-3-1, lost to Chino, 11-0, in the second round.

2. Fontana, Southern Section, Div. I, 25-3, lost to Fountain Valley, 2-1, in semifinals.

3. Simi Valley Royal, Southern Section, Div. I, 19-10, lost to Ayala, 7-6, in quarterfinals.

4. Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley, Southern Section, Div. I, 17-11, lost to Fountain Valley, 3-2, in quarterfinals.

5. Granada Hills Kennedy, City Section, Div. 4-A, 26-4, beat Carson, 3-1, in final.

6. Chino, Southern Section, Div. II, 21-8, lost to San Luis Obispo, 7-5, in quarterfinals.

7. Santa Ana Mater Dei, Southern Section, Div. I, 20-6, lost to Katella, 5-1, in second round.

8. La Puente Bishop Amat, Southern Section, Div. I, 27-4, lost to Fountain Valley, 14-7, in final.

9. Fountain Valley, Southern Section, Div. I, 26-3, beat Bishop Amat, 14-7, in final.

10. West Torrance, Southern Section, Div. I, 22-7, lost to Long Beach Wilson, 10-9, in first round.

11. Huntington Beach Marina, Southern Section, Div. I--Lost to Ayala, 7-6, in quarterfinals.

12. Bellflower St. John Bosco, Southern Section, Div. I, 13-13, lost to Torrance, 5-3, in wild-card round.

13. Long Beach Millikan, Southern Section, Div. I, 23-3, lost to Royal, 2-0, in second round.

14. Nogales, Southern Section, Div. I, 18-9, lost to Fontana, 4-3, in second round.

15. Camarillo, Southern Section, Div. I, 17-8, didn’t make playoffs.

16. Lakewood, Southern Section, Div. I, 20-7, lost to Nogales, 1-0, in first round.

17. Redondo, Southern Section, Div. II, 16-12, lost to San Luis Obispo, 9-2, in second round.

18. Chino Hills Ayala, Southern Section, Div. I, 23-6, lost to Bishop Amat, 9-3, in semifinals.

19. Anaheim Katella, Southern Section, Div. I, 20-9, lost to Bishop Amat, 3-2, in quarterfinals.

20. West Hills Chaminade, Southern Section, Div. I, 14-10, didn’t make playoffs.