Dean West of Bellingham Headlines First WCL Spotlight List
June 28, 2023 - West Coast League (WCL) News Release
Wednesday, West Coast League Commissioner Rob Neyer announced the first-ever WCL Spotlight, featuring a collection of the League's most exciting players.
"We've long been considered the West's top collegiate summer league," Neyer said, "but the WCL's talent and stories just get more impressive every year. So now feels like the right time to give our fans a dynamic list to follow throughout the summer."
This inaugural Spotlight includes only West Coast Leaguers currently playing, with the rankings reflecting not just their professional potential, but also the various other compelling reasons for tracking their progress this summer. The list is largely composed of players nominated by their teams, with input from a committee of Northwest area Major League Baseball scouts.
A new WCL Spotlight will be unveiled every two weeks, followed by an end-of-season list covering the entire season.
The first Spotlight is led by Bellingham outfielder Dean West. The UCLA commit is ranked by Baseball America as the No. 98 high school prospect for the upcoming MLB Draft.
Player Position/Team/School/Year
1. Dean West - OF/Bellingham/UCLA/FR
Baseball America's #98 HS prospect for 2023 MLB Draft
2. Bjorn Johnson - LHP/Cowlitz/Auburn/FR
Baseball America #103 HS prospect for 2023 MLB Draft
3. MJ Sweeney - INF/Wenatchee/Texas/FR
Physical bat with a lot of power; son of 5X MLB All-Star Mike Sweeney
4. Sam Stem - OF/Corvallis/Gonzaga/SO
Honorable Mention All-WCC and WCC's All-Frosh team
5. Max Martin - OF/Walla Walla/Oregon/FR
Incoming Oregon freshman, brother of Pirates MiLBer Mason Martin
6. Phillip Bryant - RHP/Kelowna/Grambling St/SR
Playing in 2023 MLB HBCU Swingman Classic during MLB All-Star Week
7. Elijah Ickes - INF/Nanaimo/Hawaii/FR
Hawaii's 2023 Gatorade Player of the Year
8. Tyrelle Chadwick - RHP/Kamloops/Illinois St/SO
Hard-throwing righty, brother of soccer star Sydney Leroux
9. Bridger Holmes - RHP/Springfield/Oregon St/JR
Spin rate and K-rate have been off the charts this summer
10. B.Y. Choi - INF/Port Angeles/Dallas Baptist/JR
South Korea native back for second summer in Port Angeles
11. Payton Graham - RHP/Yakima Valley/Gonzaga/SO
After breaking in this spring, has been overpowering in late innings
12. Morris Austin - RHP/Portland/Houston Christian/SR
via TrackMan, he's West Coast League's fastest pitcher this summer
13. Dallas Macias - INF/OF/Victoria/Oregon St/SO
Colorado's Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior
14. Tom Poole - INF/Edmonton/Dallas Baptist/JR
With 409-foot blast last week, Poole's the distance champ so far in 2023
15. Jackson Nicklaus - INF/Ridgefield/Oklahoma/JR
Big 12 All-Freshman in 2022, started 59 games for Sooners this spring
16. Ryan Rembisz - LHP/Bend/U. of Portland/JR
U. of Portland southpaw was WCL Pitcher of the Week on June 26
17. Sebastian David - INF/Wenatchee/Stanford/FR
Report: "Gifted athlete with all the tools to succeed" with the Cardinal
18. Merit Jones - RHP/Corvallis/Utah/SO
As HS senior, was top-ranked RHP in Idaho and No. 2 player overall
19. Andrew Valdez - OF/Bellingham/Fresno Pacific/SR
Batted .414 to capture PacWest's regular season batting title this spring
20. Ryan Cooney - INF/Springfield/Oregon/FR
Incoming Oregon Duck teamed in HS with super-prospect Noble Meyer
• Discuss this story on the West Coast League message board...
West Coast League Stories from June 28, 2023
- Dean West of Bellingham Headlines First WCL Spotlight List - WCL
- Pippins Offense Erupts in Blowout Series Opening Win - Yakima Valley Pippins
- AppleSox Stymied by Lefties Pitching for First Loss in Nearly Two Weeks - Wenatchee AppleSox
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