Their long spring-training home runs made headlines on MLB Network.

Now two former San Dieg-area high school stars, shortstop Marcelo Mayer (Eastlake) and centerfielder Spencer Jones (La Costa Canyon), are knocking on the door of the major leagues.

Mayer, who hit a home run against Nathan Eovaldi in a Boston Red Sox intrasquad game in 2022, is the area’s highest-rated prospect, checking in at No. 14.

Mayer was the fourth pick of the 2021 draft.

“A shoulder injury derailed much of Mayer’s 2023 season, but it did give him a chance to show how polished he is defensively,” Baseball America said. “Healthy again in 2024, he should resume hitting for average and power.”

Mayer, who opened the 2024 season at Double-A Portland, is the fourth in a series of great Eastlake shortstops.

Ben Ramirez played at USC, was drafted by the Seattle Mariners and is now at Double-A Arkansas.

Keoni Cavaco was taken by the Minnesota Twins with the 13th pick of the first round in 2019. He’s at High-A Cedar Rapids.

Casey Schmitt played at San Diego State and was a second-round pick of the San Francisco Giants. He made his major league debut last season, but is starting this season at Triple-A Sacramento.

Jones, who played at Vanderbilt and was a first-round pick of the New York Yankees, made headlines this spring with a 470-foot home run off Mason Englert of the Detroit Tigers.

“That was jaw-dropping,” said Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe. “The at-bats he puts together and how pure of a hitter he is, it’s super impressive.”

Jones, who opened the season at Double-A Somerset, is No. 46 on Baseball America’s Top 100. Five San Diego-area players are on the list.

“Jones is one of the most-athletic prospects in the minor leagues and has an extremely high upside both at the plate and in center field. To reach his potential, he will need to show much better plate discipline and rein in his strikeout rate.”

Shortstop Carson Williams (Torrey Pines) was the 28th pick of the first round in 2021 by the Tampa Bay Rays. Baseball America ranks him No. 37.

“Williams is a wizard defensively at shortstop, which has become a position of need for the Rays,” Baseball America said. “Williams has productive power as well. His ultimate ceiling will depend on how much further he can develop as a hitter and trim down his 32 percent strikeout rate.”

He opened the season at Double-A Biloxi.

Infielder Thomas Saggese (Carlsbad), a fifth-round pick of the Texas Rangers, and subsequently traded to the St. Louis Cardinals, is ranked No. 85 by Baseball America.

“Saggese just hits, plain and simple,” Baseball America said. “He is a bat-first second baseman with a knack of finding the barrell and getting the most out of his best contact.”

The MVP of the Texas League last season, Saggese opened this season at Triple-A Memphis.

Right-hander Nick Nastrini (Cathedral Catholic) was a fourth-round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021 out of UCLA, then was traded to the Chicago White Sox. He’s one of 15 players Baseball America identified as “just missing the Top 100.”

“The UCLA product struggled in college, but saw his stock jump once he joined the Dodgers’ vaunted pitching program,” said Baseball America. “All three of his pitches project as average or better, and his fastball borders on double-plus. If he improves his control, Nastrini could fit a rotation. If not, he should be a weapon out of the bullpen.”

He opened the season at Triple-A Charlotte.

More baseball

Cal State Northridge’s roster includes nine players from the San Diego Section on its roster. Senior infielder Nathan Barraza (Mission Hills) is among the team leaders, hitting .257 with a homer and 17 RBIs. Infielder Andrew Guana (Patrick Henry) is hitting .263 with three homers and 12 RBIs Infielder Shunsuke Sakaino (Rancho Bernardo) is hitting .283 with a pair of homers and 15 RBIs.

• Right-hander Mike Villani (El Camino/Palomar College) has appeared in 17 games for Long Beach State and is 1-1 with six saves and a 2.51 ERA.

• Right-hander Jake Rons (Cathedral Catholic), a transfer from Long Beach State, is 1-0 with a pair of saves at Illinois.

• Duce Gourson (Point Loma) is hitting .290 with five homers and 17 RBIs at UCLA. Working out of the bullpen, right-hander Cody Delvecchio (Mission Hills) is 1-1 with a 2.42 ERA. He has 27 strikeouts in 26 innings. Right-hander Finn McIroy (Carlsbad) is 1-1 with a 2.25 ERA.

Softball

Dezianna Patmon (Patrick Henry), a transfer from North C•arolina A&T, is hitting .429 with seven homers and 26 RBIs at New Mexico State.

• Katelyn Dunckel (Valley Center) is having a good senior season at Grand Canyon, hitting .336 with five homers and 30 RBIs.

•Alanna Thiede (Carlsbad), a graduate student who started her career at Oklahoma, is 13-3 with a 2.82 ERA at UNLV. Janyssa Martin (Central Union), a senior outfielder, is hitting .326 with six homers and 18 RBIs.

Beach volleyball

Senior Megan Kraft (Torrey Pines) and Delaynie Maple (Torrey Pines) are 23-1 playing together this season for No. 3 USC and 51-4 all-time, losing just 13 sets in 55 matches. Grace Seits (Ramona), a grad transfer from LSU, is 17-3 this season. USC (21-3) is at the Pac-12 Northern Invitational in Seattle this weekend, playing No. 12 Arizona State, No. 2 Stanford and No. 7 Cal.

• Ensley Alden (San Marcos) and partner Natalie Myszkowski of No. 1 UCLA improved to 20-1 with an 18-match winning streak and were named Collegiate Pair of the Week after sweeping through the Death Valley Invitational in Baton Rouge, beating pairs from No. 5 Florida State, No. 4 TCU and No. 17 Florida Atlantic. Jaden Whitmarsh (Torrey Pines) is 24-3 for the Bruins who face Utah, No. 7 Cal and No. 18 Arizona this weekend at the Pac-12 Northern Invitational.

• Taylor Hagenah (Mission Vista) and partner Malia Gementera (Eastlake) of No. 7 Long Beach State reached 50 wins as a pair. They are 34-5 this season. Christine Deroos (Mission Vista) is 15-21 and Megan Widener (San Marcos) is 23-14.

Women’s basketball

Point guard Te-Hina Paopao (La Jolla Country Day) of South Carolina has announced she is coming back for a fifth year.

Men’s basketball

Stanford’s Brandon Angel (Torrey Pines) has entered the transfer portal.

Men’s volleyball

Nathaniel Gates (La Jolla), a fifth-year middle blocker at Stanford, has 111 kills, 59 blocks and 32 digs.

• Freshman Wesley Smith (La Costa Canyon) has 136 kills and 73 blocks for No. 11-ranked USC. Jackson Reed (Cathedral Catholic) has 29 kills, 10 blocks and 31 digs.

• Ethan Champlin (Classical Academy) leads No. 2 UCLA (18-4) with 178 kills. He also has 113 digs, 28 blocks and 15 aces. The Bruins have won seven matches in a row.

Women’s tennis

Katie Codd (Canyon Crest Academy) is having a nice sophomore year at Duke. Ranked No. 94 in the country, she is 11-4 in dual meets and 16-7 overal, including tournaments while playing mostly at No. 3-4. Codd had match-clinching points against Wake Forest and North Carolina State in ACC play and is 2-2 against nationally ranked opponents. Duke is 12-6 overall and ranked No. 20 in the nation. The Blue Devils play Virginia Tech and No. 4 Virginia this weekend.