BASEBALL NOTEBOOK: RAPOPORT PUT HIS SPEED TO GOOD USE.

Byline: Heather Gripp Staff Writer

For someone expected to do so much during the upcoming high school football season, Jeff Rapoport has done very little on a football field since last season. That's because the Westlake High senior has been too busy increasing his value on the baseball diamond.

Rapoport, the Marmonte League's leading rusher as a junior, has put his speed to good use in center field for Westlake and become one of the area's most sought-after baseball players in the process.

His summer has been filled with appearances at national baseball events, with one of the biggest beginning Saturday in Long Beach. Rapoport will play for the Brewers Blue in the Area Code Games, a national invitation-only showcase that runs through Wednesday at Blair Field and attracts hundred of professional scouts and top college coaches.

``It's just a great honor to be in there with those guys,'' Rapoport said of being selected. ``To be with the best players in the country, it lets you see where you stand.''

His 6.34-second, 60-yard dash time was the fastest at the recent Baseball Express Cape Cod Classic.

Rapoport, who batted nearly .400 with six home runs last spring for Westlake, began his summer baseball rounds by playing in the Perfect Game national showcase in Georgia. Last week, he was in Wareham, Mass., for the Cape Cod Classic. After playing in the Area Code Games, he'll head to Aberdeen, Md., to play in the AFLAC All-American Game on Aug. 13.

``I've been busy,'' Rapoport said. ``I haven't had much time for football. When I'm around, I've worked out with the football team, but it's been hectic.''

Rapoport has received interest from colleges in both sports, with the UCLA, USC, Florida and Stanford baseball programs among the front-runners, he said.

``I'll play (football and baseball) this year,'' said Rapoport, whose brother, Jim, is an outfielder for Stanford. ``I'm kind of on the fence as to what I'll do after that.''

--Warm-ups: A few teams get a warm-up today before the Area Code Games' real competition begins Saturday. The Brewers Blue will play a team from Chinese Taipei at 2:30 p.m. at USC. Calabasas' Daniel Berlind, Chatsworth's Josh Ravin, Kennedy of Granda Hills' Fabian Williamson and Agoura's Robert Stock are scheduled to pitch for the Brewers.

The Brewers Gray - whose lone local representative is Quartz Hill outfielder Calvin Culver - plays an exhibition against the White Sox Midwest at 11 a.m. at Loyola Marymount.

--Pitching probables: Agoura's Jason Stoffel and Chaminade of West Hills' Kyle Thompson are among four pitchers scheduled to pitch for the Brewers Blue in Saturday's Area Code Games opener against the Texas Rangers at 1 p.m.

Ravin is slated to start Sunday's 2 p.m. game against the White Sox Midwest and Wednesday against the Brewers Gray. Stoffel is scheduled to start Monday's 2 p.m. contest against the Cincinnati Reds.

Heather Gripp, [phone]

heather.gripp(at)dailynews.com