Top Tier Las Vegas Newsletter: March 4, 2025
The calendar has flipped to March, and with that, the youth baseball seasons in the Vegas Valley are in full swing, and the high school seasons have begun! In today’s installment of the Top Tier Las Vegas Newsletter, we’re discussing the 14U teams' weekend action at the Perfect Game Nevada Baseball Challenge and highlighting the performances of some of our 17U players during their opening weekend.
THE LEADOFF SPOT
14U Continues to Grow
The 14U team continues to knock on the door of triumph faster than anyone outside of the program anticipated, with another semifinals appearance and a pair of Gold Bracket appearances since our last check-in two weeks ago. Despite not hoisting a championship banner through their first four tournaments of the season, this group has shown flashes of dominance in almost every phase of the game and has put the rest of the competition in the area on notice.
In our last installment of the newsletter, we discussed the rapid development in this group’s efficiency on defense from their first tournament to their second. That’s stayed the course in their previous two events, with a .923 team fielding percentage in their last seven games.
That improvement was on full display in their 6-0 shutout victory over Pure Baseball Titans on Saturday, holding a competitive team scoreless on three hits and allowing zero errors. Roman Paiz tossed seven innings of shutout baseball to record his second complete-game shutout of the season in that victory over the Titans. Joshua Mendoza and Trey Webb each made highlight-worthy defensive plays at third base and shortstop, respectively.
Speaking of Paiz, his effort in the victory over the Titans moved him to 2-0 on the season, with no earned runs allowed on five hits, with 14 strikeouts and one walk in back-to-back weekends.
Opposing head coach George Alonso (Titans) complimented Paiz’s ability to attack and command the strike zone with efficiency the morning after his performance against his squad.
Offensively, Jastin Watkins has led the way the previous two weekends with a .533 batting average and a 1.533 OPS. Watkins just missed a home run on Sunday and logged three doubles, a triple, and five stolen bases in his last seven contests.
Ethan Gonzalez and Aeden Redditt swung hot bats during that span, and Justin Moreno has been a rally-starting spark plug at the bottom of the order when in the lineup.
With a weekend off on the schedule for the 14Us before their next tournament on March 15, the coaching staff will be working to improve the team’s mental toughness, which we feel is their lone missing link.
AROUND THE HORN
Performance Spotlight: Makai Adarme
Speaking of the mental side of the game, I wanted to take a moment to highlight Makai Adarme’s performance this past Sunday.
The 14U coaching staff identified Adarme as a pitcher with top-of-the-rotation stuff and placed him in high-pressure situations early in the season, including starts in two semifinals appearances.
While Adarme struggled in his first semifinal start, he was better in his second. On Sunday, with the game at a turning point in the quarterfinals, we turned to Adarme against the Titans in a rematch. He performed admirably under pressure, shutting down the Titans all game, allowing his team an opportunity to erase a sizeable deficit and have a chance to win, with the tying run at the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning on Sunday.
It’s these experiences, and the associated growth in those spots quickly, that give the coaching staff hope that Adarme will realize his potential on the mound sooner rather than later.
High school highlights: Kayne Horibe and Vinny Whitney top the list of top performers from opening weekend
Kayne Horibe hit his first home run of the season for Pahrump Valley on Saturday, and Vinny Whitney turned in a three-for-three performance with a triple for the Trojans.
On Friday, Cody Fried was dealing, delivering Pahrump Valley five innings of shutout baseball with nine strikeouts.
Here’s a look at the top performers from the 17Us opening weekend of high school ball:
Kayne Horibe (2026, Pahrump Valley): 1.397 OPS, HR, 3B, 2B, 7 RBI, 1.0 IP, 0 R
Vinny Whitney (2026, Pahrump Valley): 1.127 OPS, 3B, 4 RBI
Cody Fried (2027, Pahrump Valley): 5.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 9 K
Preston Clark (2026, Silverado): 3.0 IP, 0 R, 2 H, K
players of the week
Each week, we will select a player of the week from each age level of the program. There will be a hitter of the week, a pitcher of the week, and a gold glover of the week for teams in action the previous weekend.
14U Hitter of the Week: Jastin Watkins (2029, NV)
Watkins picked up five hits in three games last weekend, including two doubles and a triple. He drove in two runs, walked three times, and struck out only once for the 14Us.
14U Pitcher of the Week: Roman Paiz (2030, NV)
Paiz set the tone for the 14Us with a dominant shutout performance against the Titans on Saturday at Big League Dreams. Paiz tossed seven innings of shutout baseball to record his second complete-game shutout of the season in that victory over the Titans.
14U Gold Glove of the Week: Ethan Gonzales (2029, NV)
Gonzalez played lockdown defense at second base all weekend and threw out a would-be base-stealer on Saturday against Baseball 101 behind the plate. Gonzales’ steady presence at second base and behind the dish has been a staple of a vastly improved 14U defense in recent weeks.
