Patriots' Sprague Out To Make A Point

Tyler Sprague might have been a relative unknown on the high school baseball scene last year, but the perception of the emerging underclassman from Viewpoint School could be changing.

Sprague has been working out with the Patriots coaching staff since the season ended about a month ago with a disappointing loss to Santa Monica Crossroads in the first round of the CIF-Southern Section Division VI playoffs.

The early indications are that the junior is much improved and Sprague's unwavering desire to make a name for himself has been the driving force.

"I was taught, from an early age, that you can always get better,'' Sprague said. "That's my goal for the summer and for the rest of my future in high school. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get better ... whatever it takes.''

His numbers as a sophomore, when selected as the co-most valuable player in the Liberty League, are a good indication of the tremendous upside he possesses.

His hit.465 and led Viewpoint in RBI (35), hits (33), runs (28), extra base hits (12), on-base percentage (.506) and slugging percentage (.704).

"Tyler is the best prospect that we've had around here in quite a while,'' Viewpoint coach Frank Pontello said. "Best thing about him is that he's never satisfied. He has a great work ethic. You can't teach something like that.''

Sprague is a talented hitter, but he might be even better on the mound.

Thing is, he was troubled by a bothersome right elbow for a majority of his sophomore season and ultimately, his effectiveness was limited.

"Tyler ended up playing a lot of first base and third base for us and he can play either one of those positions at the next level in college,'' Viewpoint coach Biff Sherman said. "But honestly, if he continues to work on the fundamentals, I can see him developing into a Division I pitching prospect. His future is on the mound.''

Over the past couple of weeks, Sprague has been a fixture at Viewpoint's training facilities, constantly working on building his arm strength.

"I feel good,'' Sprague said. "Practice, practice, practice. That's what it's all about. I haven't felt this good in a while.''

The lingering injury appears to be a thing of the past these days.

"He has showed the ability to absolutely dominate, take over games in the past, and from what we've seen over the past month, we think he's capable of doing the same moving forward,'' Pontello said. "He's the engine that makes us go.''

The future is bright for Sprague and Viewpoint. The program will have 12 players returning from a season ago. That said, successfully repeating as league champions could be an attainable goal.

Ultimately, Sprague figures to be the difference.

"I can't wait for the opportunity to go out there and show everyone how hard I've been working and what I can do,'' Sprague said. "I'm ready to put my name out there.''