Team USA Alum Signs with Pippins for 2019

YAKIMA, Wash. –One of the most decorated high school baseball players in the country, Seattle native Corbin Carroll has signed to play for the Yakima Valley Pippins this summer before beginning his freshman season at UCLA in the fall, the team announced Thursday.

Carroll, a 5-foot-10, 160-pound outfielder, has put together a high-level résumé for a high school baseball player. Last summer, he was named MVP of the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego after going 1-for-1 with a triple and two walks.

Baseball America ranks Carroll the seventh-best available prospect for the 2019 MLB Draft, while MLB Pipeline tabs him as the 14th-best — two of a handful of signals that Carroll could be a high draft pick in MLB’s June amateur draft.

Recently, Carroll was named to Perfect Game’s Northwest Region High School Dream Team for the 2019 season, where he was listed with friend and fellow future Pippin Henry Gargus of Yakima’s Davis High School.

“A big reason why I chose the Pippins was to play (with Gargus),” said Carroll, who is a senior at Lakeside High School. “Really looking forward to the summer … I’m really looking to get better, get at-bats, be fresh and be ready to compete for a spot in that UCLA lineup.”

A fast and athletic left-handed hitter, Carroll has also played at the U18 level for Team USA. At the Pan-American Championships in Panama last November, he starred as Team USA won its fifth straight gold medal, hitting .500 with three home runs in eight games. He also led all players in the tournament with nine stolen bases, and homered in the gold medal game.

“I can’t say enough about that USA experience,” Carroll said. “It’s something I’d wanted to do since I was 13, 14 years old. Not making teams in the past really motivated me, so finally making the team this year felt like a great accomplishment for me, because it really showed my hard work paying off.”

By Miles Klotz

March 28, 2019