Top 10 questions for the 2012 high school baseball season

The high school baseball season got underway for several states this past week, giving us the opportunity to wonder about the potential stories that could shape 2012 season. 

1. How potent will the pitching combination of Lucas Giolito and Max Fried be?
When Max Fried transferred to Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) from Montclair Prep, the immediate conclusion was that the Wolverines had the best pitching combo in the nation. That's certainly true considering that Lucas Giolito is considered the top righthander in the nation and Fried is considered the top lefthander. Will this necessarily translate into wins? MaxPreps has Harvard-Westlake ranked No. 19 in the Preseason Xcellent 25 Presented by Reebok, based mostly on the talented duo. Perfect Game was more rewarding with a No. 2 preseason ranking for the Wolverines. How much offense the Wolverines can provide behind Giolito and Fried (who lost a combined four games last season with Fried losing three at Montclair Prep) will be the key in determining just how good the Wolverines will be.

2. Can the No. 8 Farragut Admirals recover from the loss of Xander Taylor?
When pitcher Xander Taylor was lost for the season due to shoulder surgery, the hopes of the Farragut (Knoxville, Tenn.) Admirals seemingly went with him. After all, Taylor was the top returning pitcher for a team expected to challenge for a fifth-straight Tennessee 3A championship. Surely the Admirals cannot overcome the loss of their top pitcher? Uh, not so fast. We've seen this act before. In fact it happened just last year when Farragut lost Philip Pfeifer, the all-time winningest pitcher in Tennessee history, to arm troubles. All the Admirals did was go 37-8 and win another state title. The pitcher who stepped in and led the way? Xander Taylor. Now the Admirals will need someone else to step in for Taylor. Who that will be at this point is anyone's guess, but there is no reason to count out a Farragut team, steeped in tradition and deep in talent, from winning another state title.

3. Who will emerge as the champion from the maiden National High School Invitational Tournament?
Easily the best high school baseball tournament in the country this year, the National High School Invitational features 11 teams from the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 Preseason Top 100. But which team will win? It would be easy to pick our No. 1 team, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas), which has plenty of hitting and lots of pitching on this year's squad. However West Coast teams don't always travel well to the East Coast and this year's invitational is in Cary, N.C. Therefore an East Coast team might be the pick. While the Gaels definitely have the talent to get the job done, we won't be surprised to see Washington (New York City), with a strong pitching staff and two All-Americans in Fernelys Sanchez and Nelson Rodriguez, hoist the tournament trophy.

4. Who will win the Texas 5A state championship?
The favorite doesn't always win the Texas 5A state championship. The favorite doesn't always make it to the final four. A team needs a good combination of offense, pitching depth and resiliency to get through the best-of-three format that makes up much of the 5A tournament. Last year, Brazoswood (Clute, Texas) emerged as the team with the necessary depth to get the job done. All signs point to Carroll (Corpus Christi, Texas). It has the experience (it's been to the state tournament final four the past two seasons), it has pitching depth (Courtney Hawkins and O'Shea Dumes both rank among the best hurlers in Texas) and it has kids who can swing the bat.

5. How much will the new bats affect home run hitting?
Most states have changed over to the new, reportedly safer, aluminum bat which will help reduce the potential for injury to pitchers on line shots back at the mound. However, as shown in college baseball last year, the new bat will also likely reduce the number of home runs hit this season. Just how much home runs will decrease is uncertain, but a good place to observe would be Arizona, where baseballs fly out of the park on a regular basis thanks to the high elevations and dry air. One team to watch could be Mountain Pointe (Phoenix), which set a state record last season with 87 home runs and returns hard-hitting Joey Curletta (21 homers).

6. Who is the best five-tool high school player?
While high school pitchers tend to go first in the MLB first-year player draft, one player who is getting plenty of attention is Appling County (Baxley, Ga.) star Byron Buxton. Blessed with great speed and a strong arm, Buxton has also shown the ability to hit for power and average. According to his coach, Buxton could be the No. 2 pick overall by the Minnesota Twins. He has reportedly decided to eschew college.

7. Which football standout will have the best baseball season?
There are several candidates, including Buxton, Jameis Winston of Hueytown (Ala.) and Anthony Alford of Petal (Miss.), to name a few. Alford might have the most impact for his team since Petal is the defending state champion and he is the top returning performer.

8. Who is the top player coming out of the North?
The northern part of the United States always gets a late start on the high school baseball season, as their seasons are just getting underway while states like Alabama and Florida are already conducting playoff games. As a result, players from the north often get overlooked when it comes to national awards. However one player rising on MLB scouts' radar is Matt Smoral of Solon (Ohio). A 6-foot-8 left-handed pitcher, Smoral was not listed as a first-round pick in mock drafts conducted six months ago. Now, Smoral has been ranked as high as the No. 12 pick overall.

9. Can Portsmouth and Martensdale-St. Marys keep their win streaks alive?
Portsmouth set the national record for consecutive wins last year with 83 only to see Martensdale-St. Mary's (Martensdale, Iowa) amazingly pass the record during the summer (Iowa plays its high school baseball in the summer) and finish with 87. Portsmouth (N.H.) is now in the unique position of reclaiming the record on April 25 (weather permitting) against Windham. Should Portsmouth complete another undefeated season, or top the record and then falter somewhere along the way, Martensdale-St. Marys will have the opportunity to set the record when it begins play in late May. Martensdale-St. Marys has the best chance to lengthen its streak as it returns all but one player from last year's team that went 44-0.

10. Which team not currently in the preseason Xcellent 25 could vie for a national championship?
The Xcellent 25 is loaded with perennial state champions, such as Farragut, Owasso and Bishop Gorman, but a team to watch just might be Olympia (Orlando, Fla.). With two potential first-round draft picks in Jesse Winker and pitcher Walker Weickel, Olympia could make a run at a Florida 8A state championship and thus a national title as well.