Palm Springs Power open new season with key focus on player development
On the field at Palm Springs Stadium, the game should look the same for the Palm Springs Power this season as it did in 2004, when the amateur summer league team debuted in the desert. Baseball players from throughout Southern California will hit, pitch and field for the entertainment of desert baseball fans.
But while the game looks the same, the philosophy of Power baseball has changed, said the team’s founder.
“For us, it’s not as much about we have to win a championship as we really want to advance these players,” said Andrew Starke, who started the Palm Springs Power late in 2003. “The business in year one was an individual team and franchise looking to win a championship. Now it is the player development and player advancement business.”
Starke and manager Casey Dill certainly want the Power to win as many games as they can in the 26-game schedule that starts Friday against the Orange County Legends. But the real success can be measured by seeing players from the Power leave for better opportunities as pros.
“We are still trying to win, but it is not the primary goal,” said Dill, who joined the Power in 2016 and became manager in 2017. “I think the primary goal is development and advancement. I want the Power to be professional prospects, whether they are draft prospects or graduating college seniors who can work with the MLB partner leagues."
Dill works as a scout with one of those affiliate leagues, the independent Frontier League, and hopes he can send some of the Power players there later this year.
Recent signings of former Power players show the player development philosophy is working. Former Palm Desert High School star Brian Serven played for the Power in 2015 while at Arizona State. Serven was called up to the Colorado Rockies last month as a backup catcher and in nine games has hit three home runs and is hitting .308.
From the 2021 Power team, pitcher Matt Swilley is now pitching for Lake Elsinore, a Class A team of the San Diego Padres, and Jameson Hills is now pitching for Norwich, a Class A affiliate for the Arizona Diamondbacks. Power 2021 alumni Eric Telerroja, Drew Clavenna and Bryan Leef are playing in the Frontier League.
Power players in the major leagues include pitcher Arron Brooks of St. Louis and Bryan Shaw, who has played in more than 700 games for the Cleveland Guardians. Tyler Wells is now pitching for the Baltimore Orioles. Former Palm Desert High School pitcher Brooks Kriske has pitched for the New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles and is now playing in Japan.
While the Power philosophy on players may have changed, what the team wants to present to fans hasn’t, Starke said.
“It’s let's come out, let's provide good clean entertainment for our fans,” Starke said. “Let’s get the players a great opportunity to play and let’s have people not have to drive an hour and a half to two hours to watch a ballgame. Let’s have something right here where they are going to have fun and it is cost effective.”
Tickets for individual games are $10 and $8 for seniors and students. A season ticket to the Power is $99.
More mature players than before
Fans enjoying the game will see a different kind of player than the prospects the Power once brought to the desert from Southern California high schools and colleges.
“I don’t have as many young players on the team. Whereas I would have guys going into their sophomore or junior seasons (in college), now it’s either you are going into your senior year or you are graduated and you are looking to go into pro ball and we are looking to help you get into professional baseball,” Starke said.
“The difference between an 18-year-old and a 21-year-old in mentality is significant,” Dill said. “There is a lot of coaching that has to be done with an 18-year-old. He may be wildly talented, but he hasn’t played, so how does he know how to do things? That’s why he’s here, to get that experience and get that coaching. Where now, we are getting the older, more experienced player that knows how to play, has been through a summer season like this. He knows how to handle his business.”
That maturity is important for the pitchers on the Power, players who won’t be with the team every day. Starke said the team still uses host families to house players during the season, but there are fewer host families because of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the team is still looking for hosts, the 12 pitchers on the team will come to the desert on the days they are scheduled to pitch, but will go back home throughout Southern California when not pitching.
“The offensive roster, we’ve got 15 guys on the roster, and they pretty much come out for all of our games because they want the at-bats, they want to play,” Starke said. “And they are going to be out here Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights when we have the games.”
Players with Coachella Valley ties with the Power this year include Grant Kelly (La Quinta High School) of Cal State Fullerton, Izayah Alvarez (Palm Desert) of Point Loma University, Josh Hernandez (Palm Desert) of Benedictine Mesa in Arizona and Richie Amavizca (Indio) of Santa Monica City.
If the Power have a player leave the team to sign with a professional organization during the season, the team will have no trouble filling the roster spot. The Power Summer Collegiate League is a secondary summer league for Starke, playing games at Palm Springs Stadium, the turf field behind the main stadium and the field at adjoining Palm Springs High School,
“That means we are going to have longer days, 300 players, 13 teams competing seven days a week, June 9 to July 9,” Starke said. “We have players right there during the bulk of our season that, if we advance a third basemen, we have 20 players right there that can be on the roster and in the lineup tonight.”
Palm Springs Power 2022 season
Where: Palm Springs Stadium, 1901 Baristo Rd., Palm Springs
Games: Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, starting June 3.
Game time: 7 p.m. (three games will start earlier during the season)
Tickets: $10 per game, $8 for seniors or students. A $13 ticket includes admission along with a hot dog, chips and a soda. Season tickets are $99.
Information: palmspringspowerbaseball.com or (760) 778-4487.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Palm Springs Power: Amateur baseball team aims to send players to pro leagues
