Last month I headed out to Fullerton to see the dynamic duo of Michael Lorenzen and Dominic Ficociello. I only got to see half of the duo, as Fico was suspended for coming out of the dugout to congratulate a fellow teammate. My glimpse of Lorenzen left me wanting and needing more. He had a solid game, with a couple of hits, one being a bullet home run to left field, but his swing looked definitely pull oriented, which doesn't always translate best once a hitter starts swinging wood.
Anyway, it was a slow Monday, with few games scheduled, so I wanted to check back in on the two Fullerton boys and perhaps see them in the cage or some BP. I guess my luck regarding Fico isn't good, because he wasn't suited up for today's practice, apparently injured. Bad luck part two was when I saw that the Fullerton varsity squad was playing against the JV team.
Like last month, Lorenzen was playing SS (he started at SS, then shifted to his normal home in CF). After seeing him field ground balls at short today, I think he could slide over to third and make a home there down the line, but he is currently a plus defender in the outfield, so a permanent transition to the infield probably isn't in his future.
To me, Lorenzen is like a Jeff Francouer type, when everyone thought he was going to be a stud.
He is listed at 6'3" and 185 pounds, but he seems a little bigger than that. He's a strong kid, and you can easily see him putting on a good 20 pounds of muscle the next few years. His body resemble that of a young Francouer, thin and strong, but not bulky. Lorenzen brings the whole shed of tools as he can hit, hit for power, run, field and throw. The tools have transitioned to the high school field, as Lorenzen is currently hitting .423, .512, .803. Michael has also swiped 8 bags on 9 attempts and has a BB/K ratio of 11/4. Only seeing him in person on one occasion in an actual game, I can't tell if the walks are a byproduct of him simply being pitched around or if he truly has a firm grasp of the strike zone.
I am glad I was able to see him again at practice today, as he helped to answer a few of the questions that I had about him, and he displayed all of the tools that he possesses. My main concern was whether or not he is just a pure pull hitter, and I saw some evidence today that he is more than just that. In his first at bat (he was using wood) and hit a high chopper for an infield single, he used his plus speed to easily beat the throw at first base. His second at bat he laced a line drive to right field that was caught, but he hit the ball hard, and this was the first time I'd seen him drive the ball the other way. Then came the third at bat, and this is what excites anyone who watches this kid play. He took a pitch on the outer half of the plate and just above knees (pretty much a pitcher's pitch, especially in High School), and laced a line drive that two hopped the right center field wall. Using his plus speed, Lorenzen cruised in for a triple. If I had a better camera, I would have recorded him running the bases, the kid has a great stride. It was nice to see him use the other side of the field, it was almost like he was putting on a show for me. The only thing he didn't do that I would have liked to see, was that he never really worked the count, I believe he only saw five or six pitches in the three at bats. Then again, it was practice.
Some of the other highlights from the scrimmage regarding Lorenzen were a steal of third base, and an even more impressive feat when he scored from second base on a wild pitch. He got a great read on the pitch and there wasn't even a play at the plate, as he beat the pitcher covering the dish.
Another impressive characteristic of Lorenzen is that he comes across as a good kid and a good teammate. Throughout the game last month, and again today, he was often helping teammates with instruction, advice and encouragement. Even after the practice today, he was talking about hitting with a teammate and using a broom as his bat. Overall, I left today's practice very impressed, hopefully next time I'll get to see the other half of this dynamic duo. . .
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