Our Baseball Team

Fred McGriff

BASEBALL – Senior Advisor Of Hitting

Fred McGriff is a 5-Time MLB All Star, 3-Time Silver Slugger, MLB World Series Champion, 2x Home Run Leader, a career .284 hitter who had 2,490 hits with 493 home runs. Fred comes to Area Scouts with 19 years of Major League Baseball playing experience as one of the best Home Run hitters in the history of the game.

Fred was born in Tampa, Florida in 1963. Was selected by the New York Yankees in the 9th round in the 1981 Amateur Draft. He made his Major League Debut in 1986 for the Toronto Blue Jays. Fred is extremely excited to give back to the athletes on the Area Scouts platform and share his extensive knowledge about hitting, approach, and the mental toughness it takes to be a star.

Gregorio Petit

BASEBALL – Senior Advisor Of Fielding

Born in Venezuela and currently living outside of Houston, Texas, Gregorio Petit played seven different positions over the course of his Major League career and finished with a career fielding percentage of (.978). Gregorio entered professional baseball in 2003 as an 18-year-old and played 16 seasons including parts of 6 of those seasons in the Major Leagues with five different teams. He made his Major League Debut with the Oakland Athletics in 2008.

Gregorio is excited to share his knowledge with the Area Scouts family as we look to build the most efficient and consistent fielders all over the world. He believes that pre-pitch routine is vital to becoming the best fielder possible.

Jose Brizuela

BASEBALL – Assistant Director Of Fielding

A native of Maracay, Venezuela, Jose’s family emigrated to Florida when he was young. There he excelled at Archbishop Malloy HS in Fort Lauderdale, where in 2011 he was drafted in the 46th round by the Cincinnati Reds. He elected not to sign and instead went on to play at Florida State, where he was a 3-year starter for the Seminoles. In his junior year he hit .321 along with a .406 OBP, 14 stolen bases and 38 runs batted in.

He was selected in the 2014 Draft by the Oakland Athletics in the 16th round and this time did sign, beginning his professional career with the AZL Athletics. He was an organizational all-star Third Baseman with the A’s in 2016. He also made three stops in the independent Frontier League, being named an All-Star 2017.

Jose was also a member of the Colombian National Team in 2019-2020. All told, Jose’s career spanned 8 seasons.

KEVIN KRAMER

BASEBALL – ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF HITTING

Kevin Kramer comes to Area Scouts after 2 seasons in MLB with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

Born in Turlock, California, Kevin was originally selected in the 2nd round of the 2015 MLB Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates after attending UCLA.

Kramer made his professional debut with the Low-A West Virginia Black Bears and was promoted to the Single-A West Virginia Power during the season. In 58 total games between the two teams, he batted .291 with 20 RBIs. He played 2016 with the High-A Bradenton Marauders where he posted a .277 batting average with four home runs and 57 RBIs in 118 games. In 2017, Kramer played at the the Double-A Level, batting .297 with six home runs and 27 RBIs in 53 games.

Kramer began the 2018 season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians of the International League and was called up to the Majors for the first time on September 4th. Kevin made his MLB debut the next day.

Kevin is very excited and honored to share his years of professional knowledge and experience in the art of hitting with Area Scouts evaluators and athletes.

Josh Zeid

BASEBALL – Senior Advisor Of Pitching

Former Major League Pitcher Josh Zeid comes to Area Scouts with more than 12 years of experience both playing and working in professional baseball. Josh played in the Major Leagues with the Houston Astros in 2013 and 2014 and was also a pivotal member of the Team Israel World Baseball Classic team that went 4-2 in the 2017 WBC. Josh was named to the All-World Baseball Classic Team in that tournament alongside Marcus Stroman, Yadier Molina, and Javier Baez after throwing 10 scoreless innings and striking out 10 as well.

Josh is the perfect fit for our National Director of Pitching position as he pitched 347 career games professionally, 70 of those as a starter, and 277 as a middle reliever, set-up man, and closer. He has also worked in professional baseball the last two years as a rehab pitching coordinator and has focused his attention and studies on return to play protocols, return to play throwing programming, and the biomechanics of the pitching delivery.

Josh played collegiately at both Vanderbilt University and Tulane University and graduated with his degree in English and Political Science. He was selected in the 10^th round by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 2009 Major League Baseball Amateur Draft after going 6-0 as a senior as a Green Wave.

Josh is also the Regional Evaluator for the State of Arizona.

Lenny Dinardo

BASEBALL – Assistant Pitching Director (Northeast)

Born in Miami, Florida, Lenny Dinardo was selected in 3rd round of the 2001 MLB Amateur Draft to the New York Mets. Lenny made his Major League debut with the Boston Red Sox during their World Series run of 2004. Over the next five years Lenny played for the Oakland Athletics and Kansas City Royals throwing in more than 250 innings as a Major Leaguer.

Lenny brings extensive experience to his role as Assistant Pitching Director as he has pitched as a starter, reliever, and lefty specialist at the highest level. Lenny has also played baseball on the international stage for both Team USA and Team Italy throughout his career. Lenny attended Stetson University out of high school, and he currently works for NESN as an in-studio baseball analyst.

Ryan Lavarnway

BASEBALL – National Director of Catching

California native Ryan Lavarnway is currently in the middle of an 8-year Major League Baseball career. He has played in the Major Leagues for 7 teams including the Red Sox where he was part of the World Series winning team in 2013. Ryan has caught almost 700 games in his professional career and is eager to share his knowledge in framing, blocking, receiving, throwing, and pitch-calling with all the evaluators and Area Scouts athletes.

Ryan also played Outfield at Yale University where he hit .476 as a sophomore and paired that with an All-Time Ivy League Record 33 home runs in 2007. In 2017 Ryan played for Team Israel World Baseball Classic and was named MVP of the South Korea Regional in the opening round of the tournament.

Ryan is also the Regional Evaluator for the State of Colorado.

Mike Medici

BASEBALL – National Director of Scouting

Mike Medici has worked in Major League Baseball for over 10 years as a Major League Scout. In January of 2020, created an unmatched scouting training and certification program that is currently being used by Area Scouts Evaluators and Scouts to learn the ins and outs of on-field player evaluation. Mike’s years of experience provides an invaluable resource to our Evaluators to be able to objectively and fairly provide our athletes with Professional Grade Scouting Reports.

Mike also worked as First Assistant Coach for the Canisius College Baseball team from 2007-09 and got his start at the College of Saint Rose as Assistant Coach in 2006. Mike graduated from Niagara University in 2006 with his bachelor’s degree in Sports Management. Receiving two different master’s degrees from Canisius College in Sports Administration and Education Technologies & Emerging Media.

Mike is also the Regional Evaluator for the State of Indiana.