2022 High School Baseball Preview Index
HS Regional Preview: Florida
Two things stand out about the Pacific Region of California and Hawaii at the moment.
The first is the nine teams that the Region has in the PG Top 50 Preseason High School rankings, headed up by No. 1 ranked Orange Lutheran High School. A perennial powerhouse, Orange Lutheran has four players on this All-Region Dream Team, headed by All-American shortstop Mikey Romero and left-handed pitcher Oliver Santos. You need to look no further for the strength of the Lancer’s than the middle of the field, where catcher Karson Bowen, shortstop Romero and precocious sophomore center fielder Derek Curiel are all the top defensive players at their positions in the region.
The second lies a little deeper and that is the incredible strength and depth of the junior class in California. Thirteen Californians rank in the top-50 in the PG 2023 class rankings, although center fielder Dean West is the highest ranked at only 14th. On top of that, the No. 1 and No. 4-ranked sophomores nationally both hail from California, Curiel and SS-RHP Bryce Rainer.
Although he didn’t make the All-Region Team, the best player from Hawaii, and maybe the best prospect from that state in several years, is 2023 shortstop Nolan Souza from Punahou High School. Souza is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound middle infielder with a big left-handed bat and a verbal commitment to Arkansas.
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