AC Summer Blast
 New! Citizens Park in Aiken was alive with baseball this past weekend as the U.S.S.S.A. Atomic City Summer Blast, hosted by Atomic City Sports, took place. Our area scout, Rob Mueller, bounced around the ballpark and uncovered quite a collection of prospects. Find out who they are in our Junior Diamond Recap. To view, click here.
South Atlantic
 New! Nations Baseball tournaments are now being played in the Gastonia/Charlotte, NC area. The South Atlantic Challenge, hosted by Crystal Carolina Sports, was played this past weekend and Junior Diamond Prospects was there. Craig Shipman followed several South Carolina teams across the state line and he breaks down the action in the 9U, 10U and 11U divisions in our Junior Diamond Recap. To view, click here.
Back to School
 New! Heritage Park in Simpsonville was the site and Front Row Sports was the host of the U.S.S.S.A. Back to School Bash III this past weekend. Twenty four teams kicked into action beginning on Saturday morning, many for the first time in the 2008-09 season and Junior Diamond Prospects was there to bring you the action in the 11U, 12U Open and 14U divisions. Find out who turned a head or two in our Junior Diamond Recap. To view, click here.
C-Wildcats
 The Carolina Wildcats from Anderson finished the 2007-08 season as the #4 ranked U.S.S.S.A. 12U AA team in the state. They finished with quite a flury, winning four of the last five tournaments they entered and placing second in the other. How many youth teams can say they have a former MLB'er on their staff? You'll find out who he is and meet the players that make up this team in the Junior Diamond Team Spotlight. To view, click here.
Summer Sizzler
   The U.S.S.S.A. Summer Sizzler, hosted by Potential Tournaments, was played at the J.B. Owens Complex in Easley this past weekend (Aug. 9-10). This venue is the site of the Big League World Series, the 18U division of Little League whose most recent championship tournament was completed just over a week ago. Junior Diamond Prospects locked in on the 14U division as six teams competed for top honors. Find out about the teams and the individuals in our Junior Diamond Recap. To view, click here.
Triple Play
 White Knoll High School was the scene this past weekend as five teams in the 14U/15U division battled it out for top honors in the U.S.S.S.A. Triple Play Classic, hosted by Capital City Sports. JrDP's Sterling Dye was on site to bring you the action and prospect info from day one of the tournament. Two teams got off to 2-0 starts on Saturday and looked to be heading for a Sunday showdown for the title. Find out who in our Junior Diamond Recap. To view, click here.
Velocity
 New! Ever wonder what the average velocity is for a particular age? Check out the peak velocity of some of the pitchers we have seen perform in person. You can find it on the tool bar under Players/Player Evaluations/Pitcher Velocity or to view it now, click here. Check back often as we will be updating this information as it comes in from our area scouts.
Team Spotlight
 New! Coaches, want to have your team featured in the Junior Diamond Team Spotlight? You'll have the opportunity to share with our readers about your coaching philosophy, your team's accomplishments, be able to recognize your players individually, and much more. Junior Diamond Prospects wants to recognize your  team. Email Richard Edwards at
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and we'll let you know how to do it.
Tournaments
New! JrDP will continue to be your #1 source for baseball tournaments in the state. Check out Tournament Central for upcoming events. The next tournament(s) are ...
 Lexington, Back to School Madness, August 23-24, Capital City Sports...... Florence, Summer Slam, August 23-24, Myrtle Beach Sports...... Spartanburg, Tyger River Classic, August 22-24, Potential Tournaments...... Lancaster, Lancaster Summer Blast, August 23-24, Crystal Carolina Sports...... Myrtle Beach, Back to School Wood Bat Battle, August 23-24, Myrtle Beach Baseball
U.S.S.S.A. rankings
 Find out if your team is in the top 5 in South Carolina according to U.S.S.S.A. For a quick view of the latest U.S.S.S.A. rankings, click here or look under "Teams" on the tool bar. We will update the rankings for all divisions in ages 9 through 14 on Wednesday of each week. JrDP Note: We will begin running U.S.S.S.A. rankings for 2008-09 on September 3rd to allow teams time to develop some playing history.
Photos
 Junior Diamond Prospects subscribers can now access our "Photo Gallery" (look under "Players" on home page). View photos of some of the top young prospects from around the state in game uniforms. We have over 200 players in our gallery now. During 2008, we will be adding more and more of the better players that we see. Plus, we'll add more photos of the players already featured here. To view, click here.
Subscribe Today!
 Junior Diamond Prospects is a subscription-based site. In order to bring you top-flight coverage across
South Carolina, JrDP is offering you a membership on a monthly or on an annual basis. Get all the insider information for just "pocket change" a day. Try a monthly subscription for only about 30 cents a day. Or better yet, take out an annual subscription for only about 15 cents a day. If you wish to subscribe, set up an account with Paypal first if you don't have one already, then return to JrDP, register (click on register under "Login Form" on left of home page) and connect the dots!
Baseball News
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Last-Minute Shopping
There were almost as many bonus records set at baseball's Aug. 15 signing deadline as there were in the Water Cube at the Beijing Olympics. Before the clock struck midnight—and in one case, afterward—teams spent like never before. Three of the four largest up-front bonuses ever were paid out, led by the Giants giving No. 5 overall pick Buster Posey $6.2 million. The 27 first-round picks who signed received an average bonus of $2,484,963, more than $300,000 than ever before, and an increase of 18.4 percent from 2007, the biggest jump in the era of Major League Baseball's recommendations for bonus slots.
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Landing A Bargain?
When the Giants drafted Jason Jarvis in the 23rd round of June's draft, it looked like the team was taking a flier on a talented arm, but one surrounded by plenty of question marks. Two months later, the Giants may have gotten a steal.
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ESPN SportsNation Chat With Jim Callis
Jim Callis talked about the deadline signings and prospects in our weekly ESPN.com chat on Aug. 20, 2008.
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Pirates Land Prospect Bounty
General manager Neal Huntington talks about the Pirates' deadline dealings.
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New! August 22-24 Tournaments: Capital City Sports will play host to the "Back to School Madness" tournament in Lexington. To register for that event, click here. Myrtle Beach Sports will play host to the "Summer Slam" in Florence. To register  for that event, click here. Potential Tournaments will play host to 31 teams (ages 9U, 11U-14U) in the "Tyger River Classic" in Spartanburg. To view brackets, click here. Crystal Carolina Sports will play host to the "Lancaster Summer Blast" in Lancaster. To register for that event, click here. And Myrtle Beach Baseball will play host to the "Back to School Wood Bat Battle" in Myrtle Beach. To register for that event, click here.
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 New! Adam Bender: Since the story of 8-year old cancer survivor Adam Bender was published in the Lexington (KY) Herald-Leader, and on www.kentucky.com, on June 1, 2008, the one-legged catcher has been invited to throw out first pitches at a Chicago White Sox game, a Cincinnati Reds game, a Houston Astros game, and has been invited to a Garth Brooks benefit in Las Vegas. He is also being profiled for a story that will air on ESPN. On Sunday June 6, 2008, Adam threw out the ceremonial first pitch to Adam Dunn of the Reds. Because of cancer, Adam Bender had his left leg amputated when he was one but that hasn’t stopped him from playing baseball. To view this amazing story of courage and determination, click here.
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Watch baseball, earn ca$h. JrDP Scouts needed! Do you consider your baseball background good enough to cover USSSA, AAU, Little League or Dixie Youth games? If so, we could use your help to write up contests in the 9-14 age groups across South Carolina, especially in the Florence, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston areas. Anyone interested in being an area scout for Junior Diamond Prospects - and being compensated - should contact Richard Edwards at
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 Who is looking for players? New! 9U Spartan Sluggers, New! 10U Spartanburg Phillies (Spartanburg), New! 10U Carolina Indians (Simpsonville/Mauldin), New! 11U Wolves (Moore/Woodruff), New! 12U Blue Ridge Tigers (Blue Ridge area), New! 12U Upstate Tsunami (Easley/Pickens area), New! 12U Carolina Dream (Taylors/Greer), New! 12U Carolina Storm (Travelers Rest), New! 14U Carolina Shockers (Seneca), & more. To view all, click here.
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Who is looking for a team? New 11U 3B/SS/RHP in Enoree/Woodruff/Laurens area, New 11U C/3B/1B/OF relocating to Greenville from Florida, New 11U IF/OF/P in Spartanburg/Greer area, New! 12U RHP/3B/OF in Anderson area, New! 13U C/3B/P in Columbia area, 13U/14U SS/P in Spartanburg area, To view all, click here.
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New! Fall Weekday League forming in Greenville area: Space is limited, register your team now for the upcoming Fall season. Contact us now to register your team or add your name to our contact list for dates and registration events. The league will be coach / player focused with development at the center of everything we do. Let us know what you need to better teach your players and we'll try to accomodate your needs. It will be the goal of Greenville Baseball to furnish you with the tools to help your ballplayers develop their talents. Partnerships with local training facilities, clinics by local coaches and training experts will add to your abilities to help your players. If you are tired of someone else telling you which players you can have or the political nightmare that goes along with other sports groups, Greenville Baseball may be the right fit for you. For more information, click here.
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Jonathan Hurst's Tips for Kids: Jonathan Hurst, pitching coach in the New York Mets organization and former player at Spartanburg High, Spartanburg Methodist College and in the Major Leagues, gives some pitching tips for young players in this Spartanburg Herald-Journal feature. To view, click here.
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JrDP Scoreboard: In our continual efforts to improve the visibility of youth baseball in South Carolina, Junior Diamond Prospects is very excited to introduce the website's newest feature! In 2008, subscribers will have the ability to post game information on JrDP's Scoreboard for everyone to view...For more, click here. Or, to go to the scoreboard, click here.
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Polls: Tournament brackets are now up. Chime in on who you think will take home the top honors each weekend in our JrDP Polls. These can be found under the advertisement on the right side of each page.
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 Pre-Season Checklist: We want to provide every coach a complete checklist of fundamentals as his practices wind down and the new season peaks around the corner. While coaches statewide are putting the finishing touches on their preparation, it never hurts to have a reminder of something he may have overlooked. Austin Alexander gives our readers an extensive checklist of things each position player should be prepared for. To view, click here.
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 Advertise on JrDP: Looking for widespread visibility? Want to sponsor an upcoming Junior Diamond Prospects event? Your business could possibly prosper from our rapidly growing exposure. For more information, click here.
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Prospects Pitching in for Youth Baseball: Sometime in the near future, any of a few dozen young baseball players might read a baseball boxscore and see the name of a guy who helped them learn to pitch. To view this article from the Charleston Post & Courier, click here.
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Does your team/organization have a web site? Email your link to
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and we will put it on our team page. To view "Team Links", look under Teams on the front page or click here.
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 Looking at the statistics: We decided to take a look back at the first Junior Diamond Prospects Evaluation Clinic held at Riverside High School back in December and analyze some of the things that can be measured with a radar gun and a stop watch. Richard Edwards takes a look at the numbers and what they may or may not tell you. To view, click here.
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Little League Refines Baseball Pitching Rules for 2008: Following up on the ground breaking first season in which a mandatory pitch count was used in all baseball divisions of Little League, the rules and regulations for 2008 have been refined. For more info, click here.
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 Looking for players or a team in 2008? Are you looking for a player for the 2008 season? Are you looking for a team to play with? Maybe Junior DP can help. Send us what you are looking for and we will publish it. Please include city team is based out of or area that you live in, age group of the team or player for the 2008 spring season, and contact information (email address and/or phone number). Also, if your local league is having registrations soon, send us that information and we will publish it as well. Email Richard Edwards at
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 JrDP Spotlights: We've featured many talented players over the past several months, and we plan to bring you more and more spotlights as we move through the 2008-09 season. In this Junior Diamond Prospects feature, our subscribers will learn more about who the better players are, what they like about the game, what they like to do off the playing field, and more. Stay tuned!
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After the Showcase, what next? The Evaluation/Clinic Showcase and the Christmas holidays are behind you. So, what do you do now to prepare yourself for the upcoming season? Nick Nickles touches on some things you can do on a routine basis to become a better baseball player. To view, click here.
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JrDP Event a Grand Slam! An unseasonably warm Saturday afternoon, a fantastic camp staff, a great facility and an abundance of young talent made the first ever JrDP event a smashing success! In fact, 130 players were on hand at Riverside High School and many of them made quite an impression. For more, click here. (Above, USC's Monte Lee and Arizona Diamondbacks' Jeff Young during a hitting lecture)
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Want to be on JrDP's mailing list? Junior Diamond Prospects is in the planning stages for showcases and clinics this spring, summer and fall. We need your help to make these events a reality! Travel coaches/managers: Please email a list of mailing addresses of your team to
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, individuals may send in their mailing address as well.
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 Upstate Lessons: Hitting, catching and/or infield lessons are presently being conducted in the Greenville area by Jeff Young (left), a professional hitting, catching and infield instructor. For contact information, click here.
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JrDP Quote of the Week: "It puzzles me how they know what corners are good for filling stations. Just how did they know gas and oil was under there?" Dizzy Dean
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