GLENDALE, Ariz. – During the summer and fall of 2015, Stockton, Calif., top-500 catcher/shortstop Tyler Lozano was a participant at the Perfect Game Series Classic 2018 Grads event in Fort Myers, Fla., and played for the North Coast Reds Underclass team at the PG California World Series Underclass tournament in Fresno, Calif.
Lozano’s CWS Under appearance in early October, 2015, was the last look PG scouts and evaluators got of the talented, 6-foot, 165-pound junior at Stockton’s St. Mary’s High School until the weekend of Dec. 3-4. That’s when he resurfaced at the PG National Underclass West Showcase at the Camelback Ranch Cactus League spring training complex.
The versatile Lozano spent this past summer and fall playing with California-based Club All Star and the Red Sox Scout Team at various events before deciding to make the trip east to the Arizona desert to reacquaint himself with the Perfect Game community. And he arrived hoping his attendance at the National Under West might help him in reaching what is, to say the least, a very lofty goal.
“I’ve heard a lot about these Perfect Game showcases and I just kind of wanted to get my name out there a little bit more to see if maybe I can (get invited to) the East versus West game,” Lozano said, referring to the prestigious, invitation-only PG All-American Classic held annually in August at San Diego’s Petco Park. “I want to get more into Perfect Game now that I’m committed and see what can come after that.”
Lozano has already committed to the University of Southern California and now can relax and try to show the national scouting community that his game continues to develop, progress and improve. That’s why he and his father, Stephen Lozano, felt it was important that he got back into the PG fold.
Stephen Lozano, an infielder/outfielder at Fresno State University from 1987-89, said he is certainly aware that Perfect Game has a “very well-respected scouting program.” When Tyler first started to show his interest in possibly being invited to the PG All-American Classic, Stephen knew he needed to get his son in front of Perfect Game scouts to set in motion what is, at this stage in Tyler’s career, a bit of a long-shot.
Before Tyler Lozano can even dream on an invitation to the Classic, he must first earn an invitation to the PG National Showcase. And as a top-500 prospect in the 2018 class, he's going to have to show the PG scouts a tremendous amount of upside over the next six months just to receive that National Showcase invite; his dad thought the National Underclass West Showcase was a good place to start.
“He’s earned this,” Stephen Lozano said. “He’s done some pretty good things (on the field) so far. He’s a great student, he’s a great kid and he’s committed to a great (college) program, so I think he’s earned the right to try to make it as far as he can; in order to do that he had to be here. Perfect Game is a very highly respected organization so we took the time and made the commitment to come out here.”
Lozano stood out during the workout session of the showcase, conducted on a sunny Saturday morning in the Valley of the Sun, but also a very chilly early December morning with the temperature only in the 40s.
Working behind the plate, he recorded an event-best 1.88-second Pop time with and event-best 79 mph throw from home to second base; he also posted an event-best 83 mph throw across the infield. He ran a 7.13-second 60-yard dash (better than the event average of 7.54-seconds but slower than the sub-7-second times he posted at other events, according to his father). He was named to the showcase’s Top Prospect List, with a PG scout writing:
“Lozano has a verbal commitment to Southern California and especially stood out at this event for his defensive tools. He’s quick and athletic behind the plate with a strong arm that posted a 1.88 Pop time. The right-handed hitter drives the ball hard to the gaps on offense.”
“I’m here to get better and see the other competition to see who I can stack up with,” Lozano said. “I just love playing baseball and being around other baseball players – especially great baseball players – and you can’t do any better than that.”
Lozano has taken a somewhat circuitous route to declaring himself a primary catcher on his PG Player Profile Page. He did some catching as a youngster but then stepped away from it to concentrate on becoming the best middle-infielder he could be; he decided to return to catching once he became a freshman in high school.
Although Tyler Lozano lists catcher as his primary position, his dad said he was recruited by colleges as both a shortstop and catcher. There’s an advantage to playing multiple positions at just about any level, especially for the typical young prospect who only wants to player early and often. Lozano has that “anything I can do to get on the field” attitude and his versatility should serve him well at the college level.
“All the great coaches I’ve had (up to this point), they’ve taught me a lot,” he said of the way his game has progressed. “I’ve kind of tried to soak it all in and see what works for me and what I can do better.”
While proudly wearing his “Dad Cap”, Stephen Lozano likes to take the approach that if his son is smiling and obviously enjoying himself while playing the game, they’ll continue down this path. Based on his own experiences being a part of a very prominent NCAA Division I program at Fresno State, he knows that baseball at the highest levels can become a grind.
And with his unique view from the top of the hill, Stephen Lozano does his due diligence with routine checkups to make sure Tyler doesn’t get burned-out. “He loves the game, so it’s hard to make him not want to do these things,” the dad said.
And Stephen is also careful, based on his own personal experience, not to force things upon his son. He admits that he likes being “a dad first” and gladly defers to any coaches that may be able to provide both input and insight.
Tyler Lozano has been receptive to what the old man has to say but Stephen has also gone out of his way to allow his son to visit with some of his old FSU teammates and other people who have been around the game. Everyone has something to offer, but don’t believe for a moment that Tyler doesn’t appreciate dear old dad.
“He’s always been there for me and has kind of helped me through the process,” Tyler Lozano said. “He can be hard on me – he knows how it is and what it’s like to play in college – so he’s always been my toughest critic. But he’s always there for me and he just wants what’s best for me. We talk everyday about all the different stuff and the (experiences) he had in college; it’s awesome.”
The decision to commit to Southern Cal was an easy one for Lozano, who cited the school’s prestigious academic reputation and a coaching staff led by head coach Dan Hubbs and associate head coach Matt Curtis as the deal-closers; Curtis is also the program’s catching coach.
“Every aspect of it was great and I love being able to stay in California more than anything,” Lozano said. “And the Pac-12, that’s one of the best conferences there is.”
As Tyler and Stephen Lozano prepared to return home to Stockton early in the afternoon on Dec. 4, the son reiterated that his decision to return to a Perfect Game event was to see how he stacked-up against his age-group peers, improve his PG ranking and PG grade and see if he can possibly receive one of those coveted invites to the PG National Showcase. The dad was a little more expansive in his thoughts.
“This is a good experience for him to get in a showcase environment,” Stephen Lozano said. “What do you do in a very short skills-testing (session) and how do you prepare for it and what could you have done different to do better in a particular area. …
“Rather than Dad pushing him to do it he gets to find out for himself at a young age, so when he does things like this (later in his career) and that funnel gets really, really small, he knows how to be prepared for it.”