Hypothetical Northeast Scouting Schedule

For the last few years I’ve graced readers with my tentative amateur scouting schedule at the onset of every spring. Despite my notable absence from the area, I see no reason to deprive you of what my hypothetical schedule would look like if I were still living in Eastern Pennsylvania. If you’re looking for a reason to see more baseball this spring (including in March when there isn’t any other way to get it) or to expand your horizons as an observer by watching baseball in a strange and interesting environment, this list is a nice guide for you to follow. In the past I’ve sorted these by conference and school, but since I don’t care to mess around with tables right now, I’d rather just do it in long form, chronologically.

MARCH

March 13th-15th
There’s a nice little six-team pool (Villanova, LaSalle, St. Joseph’s, Niagara, Wagner, Northeastern) playing in good ole Philly this weekend. It’s an efficient look at a number of teams who typically have a mid to late round guy or two. The most notable of which in this instance are Nova RHP Max Almonte, Wagner RHP Noah Long, LaSalle RHP Joe Ravert and Northeastern SS Mike Foster. 

Underclassmen (2016 draft and beyond)
Northeastern
RHP Dustin Hunt, 2B Max Burt
St. Joe’s
RHP Ryan Kelly, OF Nick Fuhrmann, RHP Dominic Cuoci, RHP Justin Aungst
Villanova
LHP Hunter Schryver
Wagner
RHP Danny Marsh, SS Phil Dickinson, OF Anthony Godino

March 18th
Make a mid-week stop at Penn State (for baseball and ice cream, of course) where the Nittany Lions take on a damn fine Canisius club that boasts OF Brett Siddall, 3B Connor Panas and flamethrowing righty Devon Stewart (though he likely won’t throw that day).

March 20-22
If you’re into heavy-hitting weekend trips then head down to Charlottesville to see Florida State take on Virginia. Potential top 10 pick, UVA LHP Nathan Kirby headlines a host of Cavaliers who are worth a long, hard look.  Included in that list is LHP Brandon Waddell, RHP Josh Sborz, SS Daniel Pinero (a very interesting prospect), 2B John la Prise and sophomore righty Connor Jones who might be a first round pick next year. You’ll also get Florida State outfielder DJ Stewart who might go in the back half of the first round this year.
Underclassmen:
Virginia
RHP Connor Jones, LHP/OF Pavin Smith, LHP/OF Adam Haseley, RHP Derek Casey
Florida State
OF Ben DeLuzio, RHP Cobi Johnson, SS Taylor Walls

If you’d rather take a shorter drive to see some lesser known guys, Fordham at Seton Hall might be the way to go. Seton Hall SS DJ Ruhlman, 1B Sal Annunziata and Fordham RHPs Brett Kennedy and Joe Serrapica are draft eligible players to watch. Be sure to peek at sophomore Rams SS Luke Stampfl. 

March 28-29
Lehigh has a four game (2 DHs) home series against Army which will give you looks at Black Knight RHP Alex Robinett and Lehigh’s trio of interesting guys in RHPs Kevin Long and Brandon Kulp and CF Justin Pacchioli, a Nazareth HS product who posts 70 run times.

March 29th
If you had a good look at the Mountain Hawks and Black Knights on Saturday you can take the turnpike south to Penn on Sunday and see them take on Dartmouth. Check the schedules to see if Dartmouth RHP Duncan Robinson pitched the day before. He’s who you’re going to see.

APRIL

April 3
Bryant takes on Saint Joe’s in Philly at 11am and then Villanova at SJU’s field right afterward. If Bryant RHP Kyle Wilcox throws in game 1 and you get good looks at OFs Adam Zaronzy, Matt Albanese (2016 eligible) and James Karinchak (’17) then zip on down to College Park to see Nebraska and Maryland at 7pm. More on that series in a bit.

April 4th
Louisville comes to UVA for a Saturday-Monday set so take advantage of that to get a rare look at Nathan Kirby on a Saturday. His opponent that day will likely be Louisville ace Kyle Funkhouser, who is also a potential top 10 pick. Be on the lookout for sophomore reliever Zack Burdi as well.

April 5th
Nebraska takes on Maryland in College Park all weekend and while the Huskers only have Super Sophomore Ryan Boldt, Maryland has a slew of mid-level prospects for this year’s draft. LHPs Alex Robinson and Jake Drossner , 2B Brandon Lowe, RHP Kevin Mooney and, a personal favorite of mine, 3B Jose Cuas are all going to get drafted. Sophomore Terp righty Mike Shawaryn should be on your radar as well. Double dipping on the 3rd is a good idea if you’re going to cover as much as possible.

April 11-12
Columbia stops at Princeton. Check the schedules to see what day Princeton’s Cameron Mingo and Columbia’s George Thanopolus will be starting.

April 15th
Coppin State makes a mid-week stop at Lehigh which is a bit of a lottery ticket as it’s unlikely, but not impossible at this point, that either LHP Anderson Burgess or RHP Yahya Muhammad will pitch. Those are the two arms to watch for 2015. Beyond that, however, Coppin State has interesting sophomore outfielders in Jack Craft and Barrett Arnold as well as soph SS Bryant Miranda. You’re basically guaranteed to see those guys. Sounds like a nice excuse to take a half day to me.

April 17th
Head down to Newark, DE where the Delaware will take on the College of Charleston at 3pm. Hopefully RHP Chad Martin will be throwing for the Blue Hens and RHP Taylor Clarke for the Cougars. Get a good look at them and CofC 3B Carl Wise. All three are on the draft radar for this year so bear down on them and leave the long list of interesting underclassmen in this game for next year because you’re leaving this game early to get to….

Cal State Fullerton at Maryland in College Park at 7pm. It’s rare for a powerhouse west coast school to venture this far east at all, let alone at this point in the season. Stick around for Friday and Saturday’s games to see RHPs Justin Garza, Tommy Eshelman and just about everybody else on Fullerton’s roster because they’ve always got guys.

April 19th
Head back up to Philly for Xavier at Villanova and/or VCU at Saint Joe’s. Depending on how rotations shake out you might see Matt Blanchard throw for VCU or either of Adam Hall or Jake Bodner pitch for Xavier. You can also check in on Musketeer SS Andre Jernigan.

April 24-26th
Back to State College for Illinois LHP Tyler Jay and more ice cream.

MAY

May 8th-10th
Back down to Charlottesville to see all of UVA’s kids one more time as they play Duke and potential 1-1 selection RHP Mike Matuella. It’ll be one of if not the last look at Matuella pre-draft so it’s a biggie. Assuming he’s still healthy at that point.

That's just college stuff. Do what you can to see Stroudsburg High School righty Mike Nikorak, a potential top 10 selection who will obviously be playing all over Eastern PA all spring.

If anyone has questions, I'll answer all of them in the comments.