SPORTS

Announcing the preseason ALL-USA Mid-Valley baseball team

Bill Poehler
Statesman Journal

This is the American Family Insurance ALL-USA Mid-Valley preseason baseball team for the 2017 season.

Mitchell Bell

The senior fireballer from Cascade was 6-4 as a junior with a 1.33 ERA and 102 strikeouts against 34 walks in 73 innings pitched and batted .435.

Justin Culpepper

The senior third baseman from Sprague combines speed and power and was a second-team all-state selection last season.

Sprague's Justin Culpepper slides to second base as the Olympians fall to West Linn 5-3 in second round of OSAA 6A state playoffs on Wednesday, May 25, 2016, at West Linn High School.

Jacob DeSmet

Dayton’s senior shortstop was honorable mention all-state last year and is a force for the team.

Josiah Gilbert

The senior ace of McNary’s staff was 6-2 last season with a 2.98 ERA and 61 strikeouts in 49 innings pitched.

Jackson Holstad

The senior outfielder was second-team all-state last season for Central and possesses an outstanding combination of power and speed.

Nick Orlandini

The senior shortstop from Blanchet was the conference pitcher of the year as a junior and is a force wherever he is on the field.

Brandon Piete

The Regis junior pitcher was the conference player of the year after going 6-2 with a .94 ERA and a .361 batting average.

Nick Raska

The junior pitcher and first baseman from North Salem was a first-team all-Greater Valley Conference pitcher as a sophomore with a .859 OPS average.

Aaron Zavala

South Salem’s junior catcher was first-team all-league behind the plate as a sophomore and is the core of the team’s defense and offense this season.