Post by FIUFanatic on Apr 28, 2008 18:42:29 GMT -5
Pretty nice story in a Washington state area newspaper about FIU signee, catcher Doug Joyce. He is listed as the 6th best prospect in the state of Washington by baseballnorthwest.com. Seems like a hot prospect with a cannon for an arm. Let's see where he gets drafted, and whether he will enroll at FIU for mechanical engineering....
www.goskagit.com/index.php/sports/article/prep_baseball_blessed_with_a_cannon_arm/
www.goskagit.com/index.php/sports/article/prep_baseball_blessed_with_a_cannon_arm/
PREP BASEBALL | Blessed with a cannon arm
In his four years of playing baseball at Stanwood, Doug Joyce has blossomed into a 6-foot-3, 215-pound standout.
STANWOOD — As a skinny freshman, there was little about Doug Joyce that made him stand out among the handful of catchers trying out for the Stanwood baseball team.
And then he threw from home plate to second base. Straight. No arc.
“Here’s a freshman that throws the ball to second on a down angle,” said Spartans coach Tony Wolden, who first got to know Joyce when Joyce was a fourth-grader. “It really caught a lot of our coaches, including myself, by surprise. From that moment, he started out on varsity.”
Now, in his senior year, word has gotten around about trying to steal bases against Stanwood. Few have tried. None, at least to Wolden’s recollection, have succeeded.
“His arm, I don’t know. When he was a freshman he probably had the strongest arm on the team,” Stanwood senior Josh Docken said. “Now every single coach is out here talking to their baserunners when they’re out here, yelling, ‘Watch the catcher, he’ll back-pick you (at first base). You’ve got to get back fast.’ Inevitably, he’ll pick someone off.”
The rest of Joyce has caught up to his cannon arm. He stands 6-foot-3, weighs about 215 pounds and hits with power to all fields. He has five homers, six doubles, 14 RBI and a .385 batting average.
“I’ve worked hard on hitting, but it has come to me the last five years,” Joyce said. “I wasn’t much of a power hitter when I was younger. As soon as I got into high school it showed up.”
Joyce is ranked as the sixth best baseball prospect in Washington by baseballnorthwest.com, and pops up in the top 10 of some other lists as well.
“He’s a quiet guy, really funny,” Docken said. “He is ridiculously good at Guitar Hero. He just doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.
“He lets his bat speak for him.”
Scouts have listened as well.
Joyce said eight teams in Major League Baseball have sent scouts to check him out. He could be the first area player drafted out of high school since Mount Vernon’s Kyle Kendrick in 2003.
The draft is more than a month away, however, and predicting interest in baseball players is far more sketchy than in other sports.
“The first time (a scout came around) it was kind of nerve-racking, but once I started talking to them and getting to know them, they’re all pretty normal guys,” Joyce said.
“He’s drawn a lot of interest from scouts,” Wolden said. “Some scouts have come and gone, some are coming back. It will be one of those things we have to wait and see.”
The “consolation prize” for Joyce, should he be drafted late, or not at all, is a full-ride scholarship to Florida International. Florida International coach Turtle Thomas scouted Joyce while an assistant at Arizona State. When Thomas went to Florida International, the interest remained.
The pros or college? That’s the big question over the next six weeks.
Joyce is already getting asked and will have to answer dozens of times before he is either drafted and signs, is drafted and doesn’t sign, or simply heads straight to FIU to study mechanical engineering.
“Right now I’m not thinking about it,” Joyce said. “I’m just going out and playing. I just try to keep my mind off of it until the day comes around.
“I’ve got a good deal either way.”
For now, Joyce and the Spartans have the Northwest District playoffs to think about.
Stanwood will be the No. 4 seed from the Western Conference North Division, which means an immediate test from the South Division’s champion.
To win, the Spartans will need a contribution from their catcher more along the lines of the final part of the season as opposed to the first third.
Possibly feeling the pressure of being a team leader, Joyce went hitless in his first 16 at-bats.
“Maybe he was pressing a bit,” Wolden said. “Fortunately we were able to sit down with Doug as coaches, and he was really receptive. An average is an average. Things are going to equal out for you.”
Since the slow start, there has been no stopping him. His batting average has been over .500 from that point.
“Even over the course of the year, he’s blossomed,” Wolden said. “He’s yelling more, directing traffic behind the plate,” Wolden said. “He’s really stepped it up as a captain, being more vocal with the guys. His personality over the years has become more outspoken.”
In his four years of playing baseball at Stanwood, Doug Joyce has blossomed into a 6-foot-3, 215-pound standout.
STANWOOD — As a skinny freshman, there was little about Doug Joyce that made him stand out among the handful of catchers trying out for the Stanwood baseball team.
And then he threw from home plate to second base. Straight. No arc.
“Here’s a freshman that throws the ball to second on a down angle,” said Spartans coach Tony Wolden, who first got to know Joyce when Joyce was a fourth-grader. “It really caught a lot of our coaches, including myself, by surprise. From that moment, he started out on varsity.”
Now, in his senior year, word has gotten around about trying to steal bases against Stanwood. Few have tried. None, at least to Wolden’s recollection, have succeeded.
“His arm, I don’t know. When he was a freshman he probably had the strongest arm on the team,” Stanwood senior Josh Docken said. “Now every single coach is out here talking to their baserunners when they’re out here, yelling, ‘Watch the catcher, he’ll back-pick you (at first base). You’ve got to get back fast.’ Inevitably, he’ll pick someone off.”
The rest of Joyce has caught up to his cannon arm. He stands 6-foot-3, weighs about 215 pounds and hits with power to all fields. He has five homers, six doubles, 14 RBI and a .385 batting average.
“I’ve worked hard on hitting, but it has come to me the last five years,” Joyce said. “I wasn’t much of a power hitter when I was younger. As soon as I got into high school it showed up.”
Joyce is ranked as the sixth best baseball prospect in Washington by baseballnorthwest.com, and pops up in the top 10 of some other lists as well.
“He’s a quiet guy, really funny,” Docken said. “He is ridiculously good at Guitar Hero. He just doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.
“He lets his bat speak for him.”
Scouts have listened as well.
Joyce said eight teams in Major League Baseball have sent scouts to check him out. He could be the first area player drafted out of high school since Mount Vernon’s Kyle Kendrick in 2003.
The draft is more than a month away, however, and predicting interest in baseball players is far more sketchy than in other sports.
“The first time (a scout came around) it was kind of nerve-racking, but once I started talking to them and getting to know them, they’re all pretty normal guys,” Joyce said.
“He’s drawn a lot of interest from scouts,” Wolden said. “Some scouts have come and gone, some are coming back. It will be one of those things we have to wait and see.”
The “consolation prize” for Joyce, should he be drafted late, or not at all, is a full-ride scholarship to Florida International. Florida International coach Turtle Thomas scouted Joyce while an assistant at Arizona State. When Thomas went to Florida International, the interest remained.
The pros or college? That’s the big question over the next six weeks.
Joyce is already getting asked and will have to answer dozens of times before he is either drafted and signs, is drafted and doesn’t sign, or simply heads straight to FIU to study mechanical engineering.
“Right now I’m not thinking about it,” Joyce said. “I’m just going out and playing. I just try to keep my mind off of it until the day comes around.
“I’ve got a good deal either way.”
For now, Joyce and the Spartans have the Northwest District playoffs to think about.
Stanwood will be the No. 4 seed from the Western Conference North Division, which means an immediate test from the South Division’s champion.
To win, the Spartans will need a contribution from their catcher more along the lines of the final part of the season as opposed to the first third.
Possibly feeling the pressure of being a team leader, Joyce went hitless in his first 16 at-bats.
“Maybe he was pressing a bit,” Wolden said. “Fortunately we were able to sit down with Doug as coaches, and he was really receptive. An average is an average. Things are going to equal out for you.”
Since the slow start, there has been no stopping him. His batting average has been over .500 from that point.
“Even over the course of the year, he’s blossomed,” Wolden said. “He’s yelling more, directing traffic behind the plate,” Wolden said. “He’s really stepped it up as a captain, being more vocal with the guys. His personality over the years has become more outspoken.”