Saltiban among
top 200 MLB
Draft prospects
Hilo High School class of 2023 graduate Devin Saltiban is the No. 182 prospect for the MLB Draft, which begins a week from today.
Saltiban attended the Draft Combine last week — where he received grades of 50 for hitting, 45 for power, 55 for running, 50 for arm and 50 for fielding to gross an overall scouting grade of 40.
The 18-year-old outfielder and right-handed hitter is a student of Kaha Wong, and was a ScoringLive All-Hawaii First Team selection.
If the draft does not go his way, Saltiban has the option to play for UH-Manoa.
Saltiban’s scouting report said that “He has the chance to really hit, with a quick swing and excellent bat speed, which could point to decent power in the future. Challenging himself by competing in MLB’s Draft League ahead of the Draft, Saltiban held his own, putting up some good exit velocities and punishing fastballs, albeit in a small sample.
Saltiban runs and throws well, with a chance to play center field in the future. If he slows down as he matures, that arm would play well from a corner.”
Hilo Cal Ripken
baseball sees
success at states
The Hilo Cal Ripken League baseball 13U All-Star team competed at the state championship this week for the first time since the program’s revitalization this year.
HCRL went 2-2, taking two straight victories after starting off with an 11-0 loss to Elite, the team which went on to win the championship.
“That score doesn’t reflect how we actually played,” coach Wayne Ayudan said. “We played a good game, it was just that pitching couldn’t throw strikes and we made a couple errors here and there, walks here and there.”
After entering the consolation bracket, Hilo won 13-10 and 9-8. In its final game, HCRL fell 11-6.
Cal Ripken League baseball is the most popular youth baseball league on Oahu, so HCRL’s success gave its coaches and players hope for future excellence.
“Cal Ripken is the league to play on O‘ahu,” Ayudan said. “They have all the elite players there. We held our own. Our boys rarely travel as much as these O‘ahu teams do, so it was a good experience and it was a measuring stick.”
