FORT MYERS, Fla. – The teen-aged prospects that populate the Miami-based MVP Banditos’ roster at this week’s 15u PG BCS Finals are as talented as any on the other 70-plus teams in attendance here, and after four days of play at the seven-day tournament, they’ve done a nice job of showing it off.
The Banditos improved to 4-0-0 in pool-play after Monday morning’s 9-3 victory over Collier Select 2019 from just down the road in Naples, and showed they’re capable of achieving remarkable results in a very unorthodox manner. In a game played on the field at Dunbar High School, five MVP pitchers combined for a six-inning no-hitter in the win but managed to surrender three earned runs thanks to eight walks and a hit batsman. Unusual to say the least, but effective in a sloppy sort of way.
“I wanted to give everyone an inning to get them ready for the playoffs,” MVP Banditos head coach and general manager Mike Sagaro said when asked about his revolving pitching carousel. “We want them to get the jitterbugs out and get them all ready and get then loose for the elimination round. Our goal is always to win the whole thing, and we try to setup our pitching the best way possible to have all our arms ready and complete.
“With all the new pitching rules, it’s important to have everyone ready for the playoffs. … If you don’t have the pitching depth in this tournament, it’s going to be hard to come through. It’s a long ride and you definitely want to take care of your arms.”
Sagaro used 11 pitchers in the Banditos’ first four games and only 2019 left-hander Parker Foss (Weston, Fla.) worked as many as four innings. 2019 left-hander Armani Davis chipped in with three innings pitched – in three appearances.
The Banditos face Chain National-Jones (4-0-0) from Warner Robins, Ga., in their final pool-play game Tuesday. The outcome is important only from a playoff seeding standpoint as both teams are already assured of berths in the 24-team bracket-play field. It’s been a fun ride to this point and college recruiters have every reason in the world to continue to pay attention to MVP during what has the potential to be a decent playoff run.
The Banditos may be young but many of them are already experienced veterans of playing on big stages at the national level. Several of the players were scattered among MVP rosters that won last year’s 13u Perfect Game World Series, finished runner-up at the 13u PG BCS Finals and third at both the 14u PG World Series and the 14u PG BCS Finals.
2020 catcher/outfielder Joseph Cruz (Davie, Fla.), 2020 right-hander/outfielder Albert Hernandez (Davie, Fla.), a University of Miami recruit, and 2020 right-hander Victor Mederos (Grapevine, Tex./Miami) have been invited to attend the USA Baseball 15u National Team Trials in Cary, N.C., July 16-21; 2018 middle-infielder Luis Tuero (Miramar, Fla.), also a U. of Miami commit, is invited to the USA Baseball 17u National Team Trials in Chicago July 18-22.
Additionally, nine players on the MVP Banditos roster attend or will attend in the fall Archbishop McCarthy High School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Left-hander/first baseman Yordani Carmona (Hialeah, Fla.), left-hander Armani Davis (Miami) and right-hander/outfielder Michael Machin (Miami Lakes, Fla.) – members of the class of 2019 – each contributed as freshmen to the Archbishop McCarthy squad that won the Florida Class 6A state championship this spring. It was the Mavericks’ six state title in the last seven years under head coach Rich Bielski, who is coaching third base for the Banditos this week.
“These guys treat the game a little differently than everybody else,” Sagaro said of his top prospects. “A lot of them moved their lives over here from Puerto Rico and California and other states just be in the Florida atmosphere and play baseball 24/7. It’s their passion, it’s their life; they’ve made the decision that this is their career.”
The Banditos hit .376 collectively in their first four games and eight of their 35 hits went for extra bases. Those included a home run and double from Machin, who went 3-for-8 (.375) with six RBI and five runs scored.
Tuero, ranked No. 95 nationally in the 2018 class, is 6-for-12 (.500) with a triple, six RBI and three runs; 2020 left-hander/outfielder Chase LeBlanc, the MV Pitcher at last year’s 13u PG BCS Finals, is 4-for-8 (.500) with two doubles, two RBI and five runs, and Carmona, ranked No. 85 in the class of 2019, is 4-for-9 (.444) with a double, an RBI and four runs. Carmona recently de-committed from Florida International University and has re-opened his recruiting.
“All the teams out here are good, and we’ve just been playing baseball and having fun. It’s fun out here swinging the metal bats again,” he said after Monday morning’s victory. “We expect to go out here and play hard and we’re expected to win every tournament that we’re in. We always push each other to the limits.”
Sagaro likes the way his team has pushed itself in these sweltering days leading up the to the playoffs – teams seeded Nos. 9 through 24 play first-round games Tuesday afternoon – and he expects that to continue. The MVP Banditos know a lot eyes have been and will continue to be on them as they work towards winning a second Perfect Game national championship in a little less than a year. And they also know those eyes are connected to brains that may one day have a say in where these kids end up for the college – or professional – careers.
“We just want to get them mentally focused,” Sagaro said. “This is a long tournament – seven days long – so you want to keep them focused. … There are a lot of distractions for these kids but as soon as they walk on the field it’s all business; there’s no ifs or buts about it. In our organization they all know there’s a guy waiting right behind them ready to take over their spot (in the lineup).”