Storm Baseball Loaded With Top Prospects

A few hundred sports fans turned out at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore Wednesday evening to get their first look at what could shape up to be a stellar baseball team.

April 4 marks Minor League Baseball’s opening day, but for fans of the Lake Elsinore Storm the team will be on the road against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and won’t return home until April 11 when the Inland Empire 66ers come to town. So in an effort to generate opening day excitement in Lake Elsinore, the Storm’s front office decided to host an inaugural Fan Fest at The Diamond. The April 3 three-hour event gave baseball aficionados a chance to watch Storm players practice and hand out autographs.

Catching the action from the dugout Wednesday, Storm General Manager Chris Jones said he’s optimistic this year’s team could potentially draw some big crowds to The Diamond.

“We’re loaded. You don’t get that very often," he said of the Storm's three first-round draft picks and one second-round pick.

Second-baseman Cory Spangenberg, 22, and shortstop Jace Peterson, 22, were both first-round picks in 2011, Spangenberg coming from Florida’s Indian River Community College and Peterson from McNeese State University in Iowa.

Outfielder Travis Jankowski, 21, was a 2012 first-round pick out of New York’s Stony Brook University, and catcher Austin Hedges, 20, was a 2011 second-round pick out of San Juan Capistrano’s Junipero Serra Catholic High School. Austin’s ranked the fourth best prospect in the Padres’ organization.

The top talent isn’t going unnoticed. On March 29, Randy Smith, vice president of player development and international scouting for the San Diego Padres, tweeted, “Make the drive to The Diamond in Lake Elsinore, that club will be a blast to watch! Prospects everywhere.”

Some young fans may have heeded Smith’s advice. Sporting their green team jerseys, six Temescal Valley Little League players were seated with their coach behind home plate Wednesday, baseballs in-hand, ready for autographs.

As the minor league players took at-bats on the field, the little leaguers took notice.

Nolan Getz, 8, couldn’t name his favorite player this year, but last season it was Tommy.

“I can’t remember,” he said, trying to recall his idol’s full name. “He’s good!”

For 8-year-old Blake Vansuch, Wednesday was about something else. Holding up his spanking new baseball, he said, “I get to get autographs.”

Catch the Storm all season long. All games, including tonight’s 7:05 p.m. opener at the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, can be heard on 94.5’s KMYT-FM.

And catch home games in person. Tickets can be purchased online or at The Diamond’s gate. Click here for more information.