USC Baseball summer performance report: California Collegiate League

John Thomas

Thomas has been the biggest contributor to the Trojans among their five players in the CCL. The infielder hit .231 with 7 RBI in eight starts and 25 games overall as a sophomore in 2018.

He’s had an excellent summer for the Arroyo Seco Saints in nearby Pasadena. He leads all Saints regulars with a .341 average, good for fifth in the league, and has just six strikeouts in 108 plate appearances.

With Dillon Paulsen off to bigger and better things with the Dodgers’ organization, Thomas will be vying for his starting spot at first base.

Christian Moya

Moya actually saw a lot more action in 2017 than he did this past season for USC. He hit .174 in 69 at-bats as a freshman, but did not record a hit in 13 at-bats as a sophomore.

Moya’s strengths have been his defense and speed. He was repeatedly used as a defensive replacement in the outfield late in games in his inaugural year with the Trojans, but with Lars Nootbaar and Blake Sabol playing a lot of outfield this spring, Dan Hubbs could not afford to take their bats out of the lineup.

The Diamond Bar, Calif. native has shown significant improvement with Arroyo Seco, hitting .242 with two home runs and four stolen bases in five tries. There is one open starting outfield spot with Nootbaar’s departure to the pros, though it’s more likely Moya assumes a role similar to his freshman year next season, at least initially.

Bart West

West was 0-2 at the plate in his first year in the cardinal and gold. He’s making a remarkable journey from his high school ball in Singapore.

West is getting an opportunity for the Conejo Oaks in the San Fernando Valley, seeing consistent playing time at first base. He’s at a solid .255 with one homer and 17 walks, second on the club and fifth in the CCL, though he leads the team in strikeouts with 33.

Emilio Rosas

Rosas was a shortstop for the powerhouse and USC Athletics feeder Mater Dei High School (see Daniels, J.T.) and stayed home this summer to play for the Orange County Riptide. Rosas was considered a potential draft prospect but did not hear his name called in June.

In four years of varsity baseball, he hit .362 and struck out just 28 times. Total. That wouldn’t be terrible for one season.

He only has 12 at-bats and is hitting .167. It’s no surprise to see older, experienced college players getting more action.

Even with another influx of infield captains heading to Dedeaux Field, Hubbs has shown he will find a way to get producers in the lineup—late last season there were four shortstops within the starting nine—so Rosas should have every opportunity to live up to the hype as the No. 107 player in the country and the 14^th highest rated in the state.

Marco Martinez

Incoming freshman Marco Martinez is getting the hang of playing with a few of his future teammates on Arroyo Seco. He plays both shortstop and third base; versatility is the easiest way for a college freshman to get on the field.

Martinez played his high school ball in La Puente, about 20 miles East of USC. He was the 37^th highest rated Californian in his class, and the 51^st highest rated shortstop in the country.

He has a .174 batting average in 23 at-bats, appearing in about a quarter of Arroyo Seco’s games. Yet he has 12 walks in just 38 appearances, an incredible rate and a great sign.