After an outstanding season in junior college, Trevor Casanova makes our top 100 countdown at 81.
The 6-foot, 205 pound utility player began his college career at Lane Community College where he hit .277 with 2 home runs and 33 RBI as a freshman.
He transferred to El Camino College this past season and exploded onto the scene by hitting .390 with 8 home runs, 40 RBI, 66 runs scored, 8 stolen bases and a .492 on-base-percentage. Impressively enough he walked 37 times and only struck out 24 times. He also had 14 doubles and 7 triples in 210 at-bats.
Casanova hit .455 with 15 runs scored in the postseason, while leading his team to the Final Four.
As you can imagine, he received a number of awards following the 2017 season. Most notably he was named the 2017 American Baseball Coaches Association Pacific Association Division National Player of the Year.
That incredible season led to him being drafter in the 14th round of the 2017 MLB Draft by the Seattle Mariners. However, he decided that opportunity could wait and will play for California State University, Northridge (CSUN) in 2018.
Casanova is a bit unconventional as he bats left-handed and throws right-handed, which is important as he plays catcher.
He looks a lot bigger than 6-foot in the box. The left-handed hitter starts with an open stance, then does a toe-tap before stepping towards the pitcher. While this helps keep him from pulling off the baseball, all that movement can lead to timing issues.
The key with Casanova is finding him a place to play. If he continues to hit like he did in junior college, he’ll need to get out from behind the plate. To me he profiles more as a corner outfielder, but we’ll see where he plays for CSUN this spring.
This will obviously be a huge season for Casanova, because if he can build upon his success from 2017 — and this time do it at the Division 1 level — he’ll fly up draft boards.
