California high school baseball: Preseason All Sac-Joaquin Section players to watch

Below are players to watch heading into the 2023 Sac-Joaquin Section baseball season. Nic Abraham | Franklin (Elk Grove) | P/IF | Jr.
The Oregon commit had a 5-1 record with 33 strikeouts and a 1.11 ERA.

Andrew Balentine | Pitman (Turlock) | P/1B | Sr.
Headed to Fresno State, Balentine had a .439 batting average with 28 RBI. On the mound, he went 6-0 with a 2.35 ERA and 62 strikeouts.

Conner Barth | Woodcreek (Roseville) | IF | Jr.
Committed to Oregon State, the shortstop was the Capital Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Year after hitting .471 with home runs as a sophomore.

Chase Bentley | Granite Bay | P | So.
The 6-3, 215-pound Texas A&M commit had several dominant outings in the SFL and finished 3-1 with a 1.99 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 38.2 innings.

Louie Chavez | Grant (Sacramento) | C | Sr.
Strong backstop who hit .400 with a 4.83 on-base percentage. Added 10 doubles.

Gavin Farinha | Turlock Christian (Turlock) | P/CF | Sr.
P/CF
Didn't allow an earned run and struck out 155 batters in 72 innings for a 23-5 squad. Went 12-0 with six no-hitters. Offensively he hit .319 with 18 RBI.

Jake Fields | Oak Ridge (El Dorado Hills) | P | Sr.
Headed to Long Beach State after a dominant junior season where the righty struck out 65 batters in 41 innings to pair with a 2.39 ERA.

Brent Gallegos  | Yuba City | CF | Sr.
Hit .330 and drove in 16 runs for a 16-12 team and is on his way to Sacramento State.

Adrian Garcia | Central Catholic (Modesto) | P/SS | Jr.
Had a 9-1 record with 89 strikeouts and a 0.96 ERA in 58.1 innings. Knocked in 20 RBI offensively.

Chris Garcia | Central Valley (Ceres) | P | So.
Struck out 83 batters in 62.1 innings as a freshman, wracking up five wins and a 1.35 ERA.

Jace Gillmore | Whitney (Rocklin) | P/UT | Sr.
The future Santa Clara Bronco went 11-0 and hit .337 with 11 extra-base hits on his way to being named the Sierra Foothill League MVP.

Jax Gimenez | Whitney | SS | Jr.
Wizard at turning double plays hit .308 with seven extra-base hits. Had a postseason walk-off.

Dylan Green  | Woodcreek | IF | Jr.
Oregon commit hit .280 and added 17 RBI while patrolling the infield.

John Handy  | Woodcreek | C/IF/P | Jr.
Transferred from Placer where he hit .420 with home runs and was 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA on the mound.

Payton Hawkinson | Turlock | P | Sr.
Went 6-3 with a 2.38 ERA on a playoff squad. The 6-foot-7, 240-pounder struck out 79 batters for a 4.4-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

Parker Jennings | Granite Bay | P/1B | So.
Had a 1.72 ERA and struck out 35 batters in 20.1 innings in games against Oak Ridge, Folsom, Rocklin and Del Oro.


Sean Kennedy | Lodi | P/1B | Sr.
Hit .351 with 17 RBI and contributed three wins on the mound.

Jordy Lopez | Franklin | OF/P | Jr.
The Cal commit hit .413 and went 5-1 with a 1.35 ERA on the mound.

Shon Lor  | McClatchy (Sacramento) | 2B/3B/P | Sr.
Did it all for McClatchy, hitting .308 in the batter's box and winning seven games on the mound.

Noah Madsen | Woodcreek | P | Sr.
The hard throwing right-hander had a 1.99 ERA in 24.2 innings for a 25-3 Woodcreek team. Will play his college baseball in the Big 10 at Nebraska.

Jake McKowen | Del Campo (Fair Oaks) | P | Jr.
The Oregon State commit missed his sophomore year with an injury after striking out 10 batters in 7 innings as a freshman.

Gavin McLendon | Whitney | P/OF | Sr.
Left-hander went 9-1 with a 0.91 ERA and struck out 60 batters as a junior while hitting .326. Headed to San Diego State.

Logan Mooneyham |  Stone Ridge Christian (Merced) | SS/C/P | Sr.
Slugged six home runs and batted .569 last season. On the mound had a 1.59 ERA and more than two strikeouts per innings.

Matt Moses | Del Campo | CF/P | Sr.
Hit .405 at the plate with five home runs and 26 RBI. Equally impressive on the mound with 1.96 ERA, 45 strikeouts and a 6-1 record.

Micah Nicholson | Bradshaw Christian (Sacramento) | INF/OF | Jr.
Had a .591 on-base percentage and a batting average of .471. Drove in 30 runs and had 10 stolen bases.

Austin Nye | Woodcreek | C/P | Jr.
The future Vanderbilt Commodore averaged nearly two strikeouts an inning on the mound and knocked in 15 RBI with the bat.

Russell Pettis | Elk Grove | P | Jr.
Went 3-1 with a 1.70 ERA average for the Thundering Herd. Struck out 36 batters in the process.

Michael Quedens |  St. Mary's (Stockton) | P | Jr.
The southpaw Michigan commit had a 2.13 ERA and struck out 44 in 26.1 innings of work.

Camden Rush | Downey (Modesto) | SS | Sr.
Hit .409 with eight extra-base hits for a playoff team. Headed to Dartmouth.

Nathan Schikore | Rodriguez (Fairfield) | P | Jr.
Had an 8-3 record with a 2.22 ERA and 76 strikeouts.

Brock Sell  | Tokay (Lodi) | P/SS/OF | So.
The Stanford commit had a 2.94 ERA and struck out 39 batters in 31 innings. As a freshman Sell hit .433 and got on base in 49.2% of his plate appearances.

Nolan Stevens | Franklin | P/INF/OF | Sr.
The future Mississippi State Bulldog was a Perfect Game All-American after a junior year where he went 6-0 with a 0.55 ERA in 38 innings of work and hit .385 with 12 doubles.

Braxton Thomas | Central Catholic | 1B/OF | Sr.
Hit .458 with 32 RBI and four home runs.

Carson Timothy | Pioneer (Woodland) | P/INF | Sr.
Had a 1.75 ERA with 80 strikeouts in 52 innings. The future UC Santa Barbara Gaucho hit .418 last season.

Drew Van Court | Pioneer | 1B | So.
Went 3-1 with 25 strikeouts in 21.2 innings. Committed to Oregon State.

Rex Watson | Manteca | OF | Jr.
The University of San Diego commit has a knack on getting on base with a .470 on-base percentage to go with a .388 batting average.

TP Wentworth | Central Catholic | CF/P/1B | Jr.
The three-sport athlete hit .459 as a sophomore while striking out 44 batters in 27.2 innings.

Kenny Winters | Lincoln | SS | Jr.
Hit .390 with 32 RBI on an 18-11 Fighting Zebras squad. Was perfect on 11 stolen-base attempts.

Andrew Wright | Lodi | P/OF | Sr.
Went 6-5 and had 88 strikeouts with a 2.43 ERA. The future Cal State Fullerton Titan also knocked in 13 RBI and had six extra-base hits.

Nick Zuccaro | Ponderosa (Shingle Springs) | OF | Sr.
Smashed seven home runs and hit .408 for an 18-13 Bruins squad.