Yusei Kikuchi is an 18-year old pitcher out of Japan and is considering playing professional baseball in the United States over Japan. There are eight teams considering the prep star.
Tyler Beede, out of Lawrence Academy (Auburn, Ma.) was one of two 2011 players to play on the 2009 Yankees Area Code Team. The righty is one of the top pitchers in his year. We caught up with the young arm back in August and this is what he had to say.
A member of the New York Yankees Area Code Team, Alex Farkes from Buckingham Brown & Nichols (Cambridge, Ma.), decided on Penn State, to further his education and to play baseball.
Kealani Kimball/ESPN RISE
Farkes off to Happy Valley
"I chose Penn State because of the potential of the program, along with its academic prestige, and because of their coaching staff,” the infielder/catcher said of his choice to be a Nittany Lion. Last year, Penn State finished 25-26 (8-16 in Big Ten play).
As mentioned earlier, Farkes is an infielder/catcher, but it looks like his future may be behind the plate. Because of that change in positions, Farkes knew Penn State would be a good fit for him.
"Robbie Wine was drafted in the first round as a catcher,” he said. "He also converted from the infield to being a catcher like me.” That is the same Robbie Wine who is now the head coach of Penn State.
"I saw many similarities between us two that really made Penn State the place I wanted to go, he is a great guy and I am very excited to play for him for the next three years.”
Plus, Penn State has a new stadium and it couldn't be better for Farkes in Happy Valley.
The process of choosing Penn State was fun for Farkes. "It was very cool getting phone calls from colleges that wanted you. I told Penn State that I was coming there in early August so it felt great to be secure, but I just knew it was the place for me after I took my unofficial visit there.”
Now, with the decision out of the way, he can focus on finishing up his senior year. No more stress on whether or not he will have a place to play in college. He does.
Living in the Northeast poses its own set if obstacles for baseball players. They cannot play year round, and that is not necessarily a bad thing, in comparison to players in the Sunbelt states. But not playing baseball year round was fine with him.
On the gridiron he peaked some schools' interest. "I am happy that I can enjoy other sports. I love football and I received a lot of interest from D1 schools like Duke, Rutgers, BC, and Syracuse.”
Athletics runs in his family. He has three older brothers, all of whom played in college. His oldest brother, Zak, went to Harvard and then spent five seasons in the Red Sox organization. He was drafted in 2004 in the 39th round by the Red Sox.
The second oldest, Josh, played at UConn. Then this third oldest brother, Adam, chose football over baseball and went off to the University of Maine to play quarterback. He has since transferred to Texas A&M Commerce where he is the signal caller now.
"They are the reason why I am who I am. They taught me everyday regardless of what happens to make sure I am playing as hard as I can, and not worrying about results,” he remarked on following his brothers.
"It was tough at first trying to follow in their footsteps but I really use it to my advantage because I have all their experiences in my mind and they have made me a much stronger and more intelligent person and athlete.”
Now, that the decision is made he can focus on playing the game he loves.
The New York Yankees' Area Code Baseball Tryouts will get under way, starting on Wednesday, June 17 at the home of the Washington Wildthings in Washington, Penn. This is the first of five total tryouts in which a roster will be built to represent the Northeast at the 2009 Area Code Baseball Games this August.
Courtesy of Aviles Family
Aviles looks to earn a trip to Long Beach
Last year's Yankees Area Code Team roster featured some of the best players in the Northeast led by three players who made the All-Area Code Team. Mike Trout (drafted No. 25, Angels) was the highest player on the Yankees team taken in this year's MLB Draft.
One of the players who will be at the Area Code Tryouts this year in the Northeast is Robbie Aviles out of Suffern, N.Y. Last year, he attended the tryout and made the final roster, but was unable to attend.
This year he is looking forward to the tryout and hopefully a shot at getting to Long Beach.
"I attended [the tryouts] last year,” Aviles stated, "and I couldn't get out to California.”
"It was an awesome experience,” he added. An experience that included a trip last year to Yankee Stadium, last July. The entire Yankee Area Code Team roster was invited for a tour of the ballpark, something that Aviles and his teammates experienced.
When players attend the tryout for the first time, there is usually a heightened sense of anxiety and nerves because of the opportunity the lies before all players. For Aviles there were some nerves, but going into the tryout this year he seems to be more relaxed.
"I went with one of my teammates form high school last year and we were both very nervous,” he remarked. "We knew we were playing in front of scouts and college scouts.”
"I think after going through it the first time, I should be more relaxed and perform better,” he said. He will attend the tryout at Waterfront Park in Trenton, N.J.
A player attending the tryout for the first time is Cito Culver, a utility player out of Rochester, N.Y. At Irondequit, Culver hit .437.
"First I thought it was an honor. Growing up the Yankees have always been my favorite team. It was a shock,” said Cito Culver, who is attending the tryout in Allentown, Penn. For Culver it is his first time attending an Area Code Tryout.
"I really don't know what it is going to be like, cause I have never been invited to this before,” remarked Culver, who is in the same boat as Aviles was last year.
Right now Aviles and Culver have not yet made their decisions about school. Culver said his front runner, though, is LSU.
There were two changes to the Yankees' Area Code Baseball Tryouts today. The first change is that the tryout in New England is moving from Pawtucket to Waltham, Mass., at Bently College. The second change is on June 22, the tryout is moving to the Diamond in Richmond, Va. The tryout times will remain the same.
The Boston Globe did a piece on 2008 Area Code player (New York Yankees) Mike Yastrzemski and his hall of fame grandfather Carl. The baseball gods have a sense of humor that Mike played on the Yankees this past summer.
Over the last month, Baseball America has been releasing their annual Top-10 prospect lists for all the American League Organizations. Of the 14 American League teams, six of the organization's number one overall prospects attended the Area Code Games. Not one of these prospects attended college and all but Lars Anderson (18th round) were selected within the first two rounds of their respected drafts. Listed below are the Baseball America's Organizational overall top prospects who attended the Area Code Games.
Organization: Player (year attended the Area Code Games)
Boston Red Sox: Lars Anderson (2005) Toronto Blue Jays: Travis Snider (2005) Detroit Tigers: Rick Porcello (2006) Kansas City Royals: Mike Moustakas (2006) Minnesota Twins: Aaron Hicks (2006 & 2007) Oakland Athletics: Brett Anderson (2005)
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