All-Area baseball: Kyle Smith, Santaluces, big schools player of the year

Saturday, June 04, 2011
by Matt Porter

While he cares little about statistics, Santaluces senior ace Kyle Smith led the area in several important pitching categories this season, including strikeouts (116), ERA (0.40) and regular-season victories (8).

In a region filled with quality pitchers, Smith was the most consistent.

The right-hander, who will play for the University of Florida if he doesn't turn pro, pitched Santaluces into the semifinals of the District 9-6A tournament. It was the Chiefs' first playoff victory in three seasons.

With a fastball that reaches 94, a sharp-breaking curveball and an effective changeup, Smith often gives hitters very little chance at the plate.

"Everything was clicking this year, and everything was working for me," said Smith, who was 9-1 with a 0.40 ERA.

He didn't allow an earned run until a 4-1 win over then-top-ranked Palm Beach Central. He allowed just four earned runs, and 14 in total.

In 69r innings, he allowed just 46 hits. All but four were singles.

He struck out 116 and walked 14, or more than eight strikeouts for every walk.

He's a candidate to be drafted somewhere in the mid-to-late rounds of the major-league draft, which begins Monday.

"It's an honor. If you had told me I'd have this opportunity freshman year, I would have laughed," Smith said.

Smith (6 feet, 180 pounds) said his summer goal is to put on more weight and continue to develop his command. He'll pitch for the La Ley Legends travel team based out of Homestead, playing a schedule that includes opponents from Cuba, Venezuela and Japan. After learning how to establish his fastball this year, he's working on throwing his changeup for strikes.

"You can never have too good a command," he said. "If you can command all your pitches, you're going to be dominant nine times out of 10."

~matt_porter@pbpost.com

FIRST TEAM

J.C. Coban

Boca Raton

Sr. C

Stout, Penn State-bound backstop with great arm and instincts. Hit .419 with 5 HRs and 23 RBI.

Mike Tallet

Boca Raton

Sr. IF/P

Big lefty hit .449 with 4 HRs and large-schools best 35 RBI, posted 2.58 ERA.

Tyler Greene

West Boca Raton

Sr. I

Five-tool shortstop, a Georgia commit, hit .383 with 5 HRs, 24 RBI to anchor state champion.

Trea Turner

Park Vista

Sr. IF

Hit .456 in regular season and over .500 in Cobras' run to states.

Ryan Harris

Jupiter

Sr. IF/P

Florida commit with low-90s; went 6-2 with 0.99 ERA and 64 strikeouts in 63 1/3 regular-season innings.

Bobby Poyner

Palm Beach Central

Sr. OF/P

Lefty went 6-1, 1.91 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 40 1/3 innings before shoulder surgery ended season. Hit .394.

Dominic Jose

Boca Raton

Sr. OF

Stanford signee has speed and cannon arm in center field. Hit .352 with 5 homers, 30 RBI.

Andrew Istler

Wellington

Sr. OF/P

Duke-bound righty hit .451 and was 5-3, with 1.23 ERA.

J.J. Crespo

Jupiter

Sr. OF

One of area's best table-setters, top-flight center fielder hit .466.

Michael Kelly

West Boca Raton

Sr. P

Florida signee with mid-90s fastball; 10-1, 1.81 ERA and five shutouts for state champion Bulls.

T.J. Farjad

Seminole Ridge

Sr. P

Palm Beach State signee was 5-1, 1.51 ERA and struck out 95 in 55 2/3 innings.

Calvin Greener

Jupiter

Sr. P

Palm Beach State commit went 7-0 with 0.97 ERA.

SECOND TEAM

C: Robbie Coman, Park Vista, Sr.

IF: Matt Adamowicz, Dwyer, Sr.

IF: Tyler Kendall, Park Vista, Jr.

IF: Tommy Williams, Palm Beach Gardens, Sr.

IF: Marcus Mooney, Seminole Ridge, Jr.

IF/OF: J.D. Underwood, Palm Beach Gardens, Sr.

DH: Justin Bryant, Royal Palm Beach, Sr.

OF/P: Parker Danciu, West Boca Raton, Jr.

OF: David Vandercook, West Boca Raton, Sr.

P: Brad Borosak, Dwyer, Sr.

P: Ryan Pistey, Park Vista, Sr.

P: Mike Murray, Forest Hill, Jr.

HONORABLE MENTION

Atlantic – Rigo Beltran, Nick Garito, Spencer Kasmere, Anthony Mazzaccari; Boca Raton – Andrew Flint, Sean Gallagher, Hector Rojas; Dwyer – Cheynne Bickel, Bradley Emery, Tim Lynch, Patrick Pinak; Forest Hill – Jose Crespo, Jamal Martin; John I. Leonard – Juan Barrera, Noel Canete, Dairo Gonzalez, Eddy Morel, Devin Vargo; Jupiter – Jon Corbitt, Kyle Keats, Victor Gonzalez, Cole Johnson; Lake Worth – Spencer Steele, Josh Stewart; Palm Beach Central – Ian Hagenmiller, Daniel Hernandez, John Magner, Gage Morey, Brady Roberson, Joey Stark; Palm Beach Gardens – Tim Jeffrey, Nick Karmeris, Maxx Smith, T.J. Trujilio; Park Vista – Trey Amburgey, Alec Saikal, Chris Wurster; Royal Palm Beach – Christian Benhart, Frankie Caceres, Kyle Houck, Justin Lauginiger; Santaluces – Ryan Church, Brandon Crawford, Mikey Cohen; Seminole Ridge – Robert Henderson, Courtney King, J.J. Salazar, Mike Roy; Spanish River – Jimmy Leo, Dylan Perry Luca Rispoli, Derrick Werner; Wellington – Clint Knoblauch, David Koos, Mitch Morales, Peter Rivera, Alex Tannone, Jared Tosner; West Boca Raton – Michael Barash, Matt Mulroy, Thomas Stallone, Todd Vandercook.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Larry Greenstein, Park Vista

With his two best pitchers recovering from injuries for most of the year, he led hard-hitting Cobras to Class 6A state semifinals.