State junior player of the year Jake Rodriguez from Elk Grove and state sophomore of the year Christian Lopes of Valencia were even better than a year ago when they were chosen for their respective classes. Other top statewide individual picks named for freshmen, medium schools and small schools.

Note: Our all-state baseball teams are still to come. Congratulations to the following 2009 state baseball players of the year. Thanks to Steve Brand, Harold Abend and Paul Muyskens for providing the writeups on these players.

Juniors: Jake Rodriguez (Elk Grove)

After a sophomore season in which Rodriguez hit for .536 average and was the state sophomore of the year, he charged into last summer as a member of the U.S. Under-16 national team. In one game against Panama, Rodriguez slammed two home runs in one inning. You might have heard about a teammate of his on that team that did the same thing: Sports Illustrated coverboy Bryce Harper.

Being on that U.S. national team helped Rodriguez to decide that he couldn't afford to continue playing football for the Thundering Herd. He did just that as a sophomore and was one of the team's leading rushers.

This season, Rodriguez's batting average dipped just slightly to .522, but all of his other numbers were even better. The 5-10, 195-pounder cracked five homers with 10 doubles and four triples and drove in 47 runs. He also was impressive on the mound. In 41 innings, Rodriguez struck out 62 batters and had a 0.68 ERA with a 4-0 record.

Rodriguez may not be quite the phenom that his former U.S. Under-16 teammate has become, but among seniors in California next year he's clearly the one in the lead to be the 2010 Mr. Baseball State Player of the Year.

The last state junior player of the year from the Sacramento area was Channing Williams from Grant of Sacramento in 1982.

Sophomores: Christian Lopes (Valencia)

It's two player of the year awards down and two to go for this extremely talented shortstop as Lopes adds the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com State Sophomore of the Year honor to the State Freshman of the Year award he garnered last year.

The CalHiSports.com Boys State Athlete o the Week for the week of April 27 finished with a flurry after his ninth home run of the season in a victory over Hart of Newhall won Lopes the weekly honor.

The Vikings leadoff hitter ended up leading the 19-8 team with a .453 average on 39 hits in 86 at-bats. Lopes' 15 home runs were second in the state to recent Baltimore Orioles first-round pick Matt Hobgood of Norco. It's also a round-tripper benchmark that earns Lopes a place with a few dozen other players in the ESPN RISE CalHiSports.com Record Book and Almanac for ninth-most homers in a season.

This past season Lopes also had 12 doubles, one triple, 33 RBI, 39 runs scored, 24 walks, a .573 on-base percentage and an unbelievable 1.140 slugging percentage. Amazingly, he only struck out five times in 117 plate appearances.

As a freshman, Christian hit .408 with 10 homers, four doubles and two triples out of 40 hits to garner CalHiSports.com's honor.

With two years remaining and 25 long flys already in his column, there's little doubt Lopes will challenge for the state career record of 52 set in 2006 by Mike Moustakas of Chatsworth.

Freshmen: Ty France (South Hills, Covina)

At the CIF Southern Section Division IV finals, we noticed an impressive freshman behind the plate and then watched him hit. It turns out that France was not just a member of the South Hills varsity, but was the team's leading hitter with an average near .400.

France was a first-team all-leaguer, played on the varsity football team as a freshman and was a second-team All-CIFSS Division IV choice. Since he was such a strong player as a freshman for a team that won a CIFSS section title, France gains the state freshman player of the year honor.

Other highly-ranked teams and numerous stat lists were checked out to see if anyone could beat France. No one did. Besides, it's nice to see South Hills with another young baseball player on the rise.

Medium Schools: Ryan Wilkins (Cathedral Catholic, San Diego)

Players in the state with higher batting averages than Wilkins' .426? Lots. Pitchers with better than 8-1 records? Sure. Those with a Division I scholarship? You bet. Who helped deliver a section title? Maybe. How about a No. 1 ranking in the state in the division? End of discussion.

Wilkins has the whole package and when the season was on the line, there was no doubt to whom Cathedral coach Gary Remiker would turn. The 6-2, 205-pound Wilkins tossed a complete game 13-2 victory in the CIFSDS Div. III title showdown against Montgomery of San Diego at SDSU's Tony Gwynn Stadium where Wilkins will continue his career. He also improved his streak to eight straight wins, pushing his strikeout total to 99 in 66 innings while walking just 14, weaving a 2.23 ERA.

Another game that stands out for Wilkins came against two-time Central Section champ Stockdale of Bakersfield, a lineup he dominated with 15 strikeouts.

The pitcher/third baseman also hit .426 with eight home runs and 39 RBI with a once-in-a-lifetime game against Mission Bay of San Diego in which he went 4-for-4 with a pair of home runs, driving in eight runs and scoring three times. Wilkins, the San Diego Union-Tribune's Player of the Year, posted a .731 slugging percentage and had 15 multi-hit games as the Dons built a 26-6 record facing many of the state's top teams.

The last San Diego Section player to be state player of the year for medium schools was Sean O'Sullivan from Valhalla of El Cajon in 2005. O'Sullivan just made his major league debut last week for the L.A. Angels in a game against the San Francisco Giants.

Small Schools: Andrew Rich (Washington, Easton)

The end to Rich's high school baseball career was dream-like. Top of the seventh inning. Bases loaded. Full count. Ahead by just one run, 2-1, in the Central Section Div. IV championship game against Selma. Rich throws a fastball. Strike three. Next stop: the bottom of the dog-pile.

A very fitting conclusion, not just to the Panther star's season, but a glittering career in which he collected 36 wins as a pitcher while rapping out 180 hits at the plate. The 5-10, 170-pounder capped off his pitching career with a 10-1 record and a 2.04 ERA in 75.2 innings, allowing just 22 earned runs while striking out 62 and walking only 20.

The three-time North Sequoia League Player of the Year, who was chosen as the area's top player by the Fresno Bee, was no less of a standout at the plate where he batted .474 with 19 multi-hit games. Rich, an infielder when he's not pitching who will attend UC Davis next season, collected 54 hits, 14 of which were doubles and three that left the park. He drove in 23 runs for the Panthers, which finished 32-3 and ranked No. 1 in the state by CalHiSports.com in Division IV. That .474 batting average also lifted his career numbers at the plate to .435 and the victory gave the Panthers their 100th win against just 29 losses since Rich entered as a ninth-grader.

Rich is the second straight state small schools player of the year from the Central Section. Last year, the honoree was Clay Cederquist of Fowler.
    

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