The big leagues have come calling and Sweetwater Valley Little League alumnus Ariel Armas must make a decision, and hopefully the right one.
Armas, who helped the Sweetwater Sluggers capture a third-place finish in the United States Division at the 2015 Little League World Series, was selected in the fifth round of the 2024 Major League Baseball Draft (153rd overall) by the Chicago Cubs on Monday.
Armas, the 2024 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year as a junior catcher at the University of San Diego, will need to decide whether to take what the Cubs will offer or wait a year to see if his draft position improves, and along with that, an offer of more signing money.
There are a lot of unknowns. Should Armas elect to sign with the Cubs, his path to the majors will almost certainly include time in the minor leagues, perhaps several seasons.
If he elects to wait to be re-drafted after his senior year with the Toreros, there are several factors that could weigh in for more money or conceivably less money.
A spectacular senior season for the 2024 Gold Glove winner would likely result in a bump up in the numbers. But what could happen if he suffers a serious injury? A collision at the plate could take out his entire baseball career.
It will not be an easy decision either way. But if the Cubs show him enough money and the desire is there to test his mettle against the nation’s best, it might be a no-brainer.
But if the St. Augustine High School alum wishes another year to develop at the collegiate ranks, no one could deny him that option.
The slot value for his draft position is $435,600.
MLB clubs have a lot of money to throw around. The bonus pool value for all teams in the 2024 draft is a stunning $334,375,000 — up from the 2023 draft value of $307,335,300.
Armas is among five Toreros taken in this year’s MLB draft. Joining Armas are junior pitcher Josh Randall (pick No. 85 by the Detroit Tigers), first baseman/outfielder Jakob Christian (No. 149 by the San Francisco Giants), senior utility player Jack Costello (pick No. 300 by the hometown Padres) and redshirt junior pitcher Drake Frize (pick No. 524 by the Arizona Diamondbacks).
Randall’s slot value is $892,600 while Christian’s slot value is $453,300.
Christian is another St. Augustine alum while Randall attended Capistrano Valley High School. Both are transfers. Randall previously attended the University of Arizona while Christian came over from Point Loma Nazarene.
Christian topped USD this past season with a 0.364 hitting average to go with 14 doubles, 26 home runs and 67 RBI (0.828 slugging percentage).
Randall posted a 4-2 win-loss record with a 3.73 earned-run average and 84 strikeouts in 72.1 innings.
Costello (Simi Valley) hit 0.291 with 45 runs scored, 17 doubles and seven home runs while Frize (Orange) rang up a 3-1 record in relief with a 2.38 ERA and 41 strikeouts in 22.22 innings.
Armas batted 0.298 with eight doubles and 29 RBI. His 0.998 fielding percentage led all Division I back-stoppers in the nation.
Also to contemplate for the talented trio is a completing a college degree.
The Toreros finished the 2024 season with a 41-15 overall record, 20-4 in conference play, including a 3-0 sweep of Gonzaga and Portland to claim the WCC championship tourney title.
Otay Ranch alumnus Ali Camarillo (Texas A&M) was tabbed in the 12th round of the draft by the Oakland A’s, the 346th player overall.
Red and Black
San Diego State University finished the 2024 season with a 17-37 record, 10-20 in Mountain West Conference play.
Two players — infielder Finley Bates and starting pitcher Omar Serrano — chalked up conference awards prior to the start of the MW championship tournament, which SDSU hosted May 23-26.
Bates earned honors as the Mountain West Freshman of the Year while starting Serrano received First-Team All-MW honors.
Bates (Castle Park, Colo.) becomes the fourth Aztec to receive the conference’s Freshman of the Year award, joining Stephen Strasburg (co-2007), Jaden Fein (co-2019) and Irvin Weems (co-2022). It was the first career all-Mountain West award for Serrano (Downey).
Bates played all 30 games against MW competition, leading the team in batting average (.375), hits (48), total bases (67) and on-base percentage (.438), while ranking second in runs scored (23), slugging percentage (.523) and walks (13).
For the season, Bates started 52 of 53 games, earning 28 starts at shortstop and 24 at second base. He hit a collective .292 with three home runs, 11 RBI, 35 runs scored and a team co-leading 14 doubles.
Serrano, meanwhile, posted a 5-5 record against MW opponents, posting a conference-best 3.06 ERA. The SDSU junior hurler ranked third in the league with 60 strikeouts.
In 10 starts against Mountain West foes, Serrano allowed one earned run or less on six occasions while striking at least five batters in each of those contests.
For the season, Serrano posted a 4.02 ERA with 77 strikeouts in 80.2 innings. Against No. 15 UC Irvine on April 20, he tied his career high with nine strikeouts.
Serrano was part of an Aztec pitching staff that led the Mountain West during the regular season in strikeouts (494), opponent batting average (.267), fewest hits allowed (481) and fewest home runs allowed (35).
Graduate student Jacob Riordan (Atlanta) hurled a no-hitter on March 29 to underscore a 13-0 win by the Aztecs over New Mexico to complete a double-header sweep.
Senior infielder Xavier Gonzalez (Hilltop/Southwestern College) completed his second season with the Aztecs with two home runs and 10 RBI in 28 game appearances. He appeared in 53 games as a junior with one home run and 21 RBI, scoring 17 runs.
Three SDSU players earned additional accolades with selection to the College Sports Communicators Academic All-District Team for their performance in the classroom: junior Dylan Hawkes (3.60 GPA), redshirt junior Brady Lavoie (3.60 GPA) and sophomore Aidan Russell (3.67 GPA).
To be eligible for nomination to the 2024 CSC Academic All-District Division I Baseball Team, candidates must have had at least a sophomore standing and maintained a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 or higher, played at least 90 percent of the team’s competitions or started at least 66 percent of the time. Additionally, pitchers must have appeared in at least 17 games or completed at least 25 innings.
Hawkes (Syracuse, Utah) finished 1-0 with 16 strikeouts in 12.1 innings of relief while Lavoie (La Costa Canyon) topped the Aztecs with a 0.486 slugging percentage. Russell (Vacaville) pitched in 20 games this season, posting a 1-2 record with 39 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.
The CSC Academic All-America program separately recognizes baseball honorees in four divisions: NCAA Division I, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III and NAIA.
Four teams qualified for this year’s four-team double-elimination MW baseball championships at Tony Gwynn Stadium: No. 1 Air Force, No. 2 New Mexico, No. 3 San Jose and No. 4 Fresno State. The seedings were established after 30 regular season conference games.
Air Force (27-28) was upset in losses to San Jose State (16-9 in Game 4) and Fresno State (10-3 in Game 5) while New Mexico (28-26) was upset in losses to San Jose State (8-5 in Game 1) and Fresno State (6-1 in Game 3).
Fresno State (33-29) defeated San Jose State (24-33) by a scores of 8-5 and 16-11 in the finals.
