Weaver Dialed In the Right Numbers

Professional scouts love tall pitchers, so they are keeping an eye on right-hander Jered Weaver of Simi Valley High.

Weaver, 6 feet 5 and 190 pounds, pitched well for the Area Code team at the Area Code Games at Blair Field in Long Beach. The five-day tournament ends today with an All-Star game at 11 a.m.

“I like him a lot,” said an American League scout. “He’s like his brother. Kind of comes at you by way of third base.

“He’s a good-looking kid. He won’t get missed like his brother.”

Jeff Weaver, Jered’s brother, is in his second season as a starter for the Detroit Tigers. He blossomed into a 6-5, three-time All-American at Fresno State after a relatively uneventful career at Simi Valley.

Jered Weaver was 3-3 with a 2.82 earned-run average at Simi Valley last season.

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Shortstop Ryan Braun of Granada Hills didn’t play the infield all week because of elbow tendinitis, but he packed a punch as designated hitter.

Braun slugged a seventh-inning home run that bounced off a light tower in left-center field, about 385 feet from the plate, to help the Area Code team defeat the Anaheim Angels, 5-4, on Thursday.

The blast gave the Area Code squad a 3-1 lead.

Doctors told Braun the elbow should heal with rest.

“It’s been hurting for about two weeks,” Braun said. “I took pregame on Tuesday and it bothered me, so I said I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

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Pitcher-first baseman Tyler Adamczyk of Westlake, Braun’s teammate, also was relegated to designated-hitting duties.

Adamczyk, a 6-6 right-hander drawing great interest from scouts because he projects well at either position, spent the week nursing a tired shoulder.

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Second baseman Gregg Wallis of Chatsworth flashed some leather in the tournament.

Wallis didn’t bail out while completing a double play for the Area Code team in one game, getting rid of the ball as the runner bore down on him at second base.

“The third baseman gave me a perfect feed and I just turned it,” Wallis said.

Former Dodger Derrel Thomas, a coach on the team, was impressed with Wallis.

“That play gives you an idea of a player who’s gutsy,” Thomas said. “Gregg is not flashy, but he makes all the plays. He reminds me of Keith Lockhart [of the Atlanta Braves].”

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His first name is not a permutation, like his brother’s, but even if it was, the surname is unmistakable.

Michael Garciaparra is a 6-1 shortstop on the Anaheim Angels team at the Area Code Games. He is the brother of Nomar, the Boston Red Sox’s All-Star shortstop and American League batting leader.

Entering his senior year at Bosco Tech in Rosemead, Garciaparra is focusing on baseball after playing mostly soccer.

He resembles Nomar, whose name is Ramon spelled backward, especially when he taps the dirt back and forth with his toes while in the batter’s box.

Michael apparently got his name in a more conventional way. There’s no word on whether anyone in the family is named Leahcim.

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Catcher Michael Nickeas of Westlake and left-handed pitcher Chris Seddon of Canyon were selected to play in today’s All-Star game.

Nickeas played for the Texas Rangers team and Seddon played for the Area Code squad.