When
you see an arm like Braxton Garrett (2016, Foley, Ala.), even
amongst a sea of quality arms like we’ve seen this weekend, it
simply looks different. Garrett is the best arm we’ve seen at the
JetBlue complex during this event, and in his Saturday morning outing
he had the look of a seasoned college or minor league pitcher, not a
junior in high school. A Vanderbilt commit, Garrett carved up the
lower quadrants of the zone with a late moving two-seam fastball at
87-89 mph. The ball comes out of his hand extra easy, and he gives
you a sense that he’s cruising along without really having to exert
himself. He carried that velocity with ease into the late innings out
of his outing.
As
impressive as he was commanding his fastball, his curveball was his
standout trait. Armed with a 76-78 mph breaker, Garrett can command
it to both sides of the plate and flashes plus, late depth. He varies
the shape at times, but it mostly has 2-to-8 action, and he was
particularly adept at dropping it over the outside corner against
righty hitters. Garrett later flashed an 80 mph changeup, but he was
able to mostly pitch off his fastball-curveball combination.
How
well Garrett stays back over the rubber, gathers himself, and pitches
downhill is a rare trait for a pitcher of his stuff at his age. He
has a highly advanced idea of how to mix pitches and he can executive
on his plans because of his repeatable delivery and good extension.
He’s going to add velocity as he strengthens his lean 6-foot-2
frame, and is on a path to being one of the elite arms in the 2016
high school draft class.
In
what stacked up as one of the marquee pitching matchups of the entire
tournament, another elite southpaw was sent to the mound for SCORE
International 17u to lock horns with Garrett and the East Cobb
Astros. Michael Sandborn (2016, Tampa, Fla.), who we’ve seen
touch 88 mph with his fastball over the summer, came out of the gate
with his best stuff on Saturday, jumping up to 91 mph consistently in
the first inning. He eventually settled at 87-90 mph and dipped to
85-88 mph later on, but in the early going he was wielding
swing-and-miss stuff and good command down in the zone.
Sandborn
works from a short, compact arm action and shows outstanding arm
speed. He mixes in a sharp curveball at 76-79 mph with late downer
depth. He will need to command better from the stretch but right now
has two outstanding pitches.
Nick
Bennett (2016, Cincinnati, Ohio) stands out as soon as he steps
on the mound with his prototypical 6-foot-4, strongly built frame. He
worked consistently at 84-86 mph with his fastball, consistently
topping out at 87 with life through the zone. The Louisville commit
also mixed in a slurvy slider as well as a straight change. This is a
powerful lefty that with some mechanical adjustments and cleaning up
his arm action will see more and more velocity in the coming years.
He will need to be monitored very closely, given his present fastball
life and remaining projection.
Jay
Wilson (2016, Cincinnati, Ohio) showed off the one better power
arms we’ve seen yet this weekend, touching 90 mph with his fastball
with big late life through the zone. He entered the game in a closing
role for Midland and the Georgia Tech commit and pounded the zone
exclusively with his fastball at mostly 87-89 mph. He works from a
clean delivery and has a fluid, repeatable arm action.
Ian
Anderson (2016, Rexford, N.Y.) has a lean, 6-foot-3 frame and
showed off a lively 87-89 mph fastball while offering outstanding
projection. He topped at 90 mph, pitching mostly off his fastball and
pounding the lower parts of the zone. He has more velocity in the
tank and will have to be monitored closely. A recent Vanderbilt
commit, Anderson is beginning to get major attention on the national
scene, and that will continue with more strong outings like we saw
from him on Saturday.
A
day after standing out in a big way with the bat, Cal Coughlin
(2016, Lake Forest, Ill.) showed off his plus arm strength on the
pitcher’s mound. The strongly built righty works out of a compact
delivery, and attacked the zone on Saturday with a hopping 86-88 mph
fastball. He spotted consistently and showed he could repeat his
mechanics. He also continued his hot hitting, chipping in another
hard hit double.
Ulysses
Cantu (2016, Saginaw, Texas) showed off one of the day’s best
raw arms, pumping 88-90 mph fastballs in a one inning outing. He also
flashed a sharp downer curveball at 75-76 mph with big 11-to-5
action. We’ve seen him up to 87 mph in the past, but clearly he’s
taken a step up in raw arm speed.
Xzavion
Curry (2016, Atlanta, Ga.) took one of the big swing’s of the
event so far, launching a long home run over the Green Monster in
left field at JetBlue Park. While it was his first hit of the day, it
was clear as it left the bat just what kind of life off the barrel he
was capable of generating. He has above average bat speed and good
athleticism. And, the shot he did on Saturday was gone when it left
the bat. We’ve also seen him throw 91 mph from the outfield in past
showcases.
Ben
Rortvedt (2016, New Glarus, Wis.) may have one of the more
intriguing skill-sets we’ve seen on display all weekend. Known to
post pop times in the 1.8s, Rortvedt is a strong, mature looking
hitter that shows outstanding bat speed. He lined a hard one-hopped
single up the middle in his first at-bat on Saturday afternoon, and
later singled again. He’s extra compact to the baseball and has
advanced strength in his hands. With his combination of lefty bat
speed and ability behind the plate, he’s a high upside talent in
the making.
Jacob
Brown (2016, Greensboro, N.C.) has a
younger, smaller athletic frame but has tools that play very loudly
in game action. He particularly stood out at the plate on Saturday,
where he barreled two very hard line drives and showed very quick
hands on the fastball. He likes the ball inside and is especially
difficult to beat on that inner third. He has a game action type of
swing and he has the bat speed to back up his aggressive approach. He
also has a plus throwing arm, which we have seen on the mound as
well.
– Frankie
Piliere
Righthander
Altoon Coleman (2017, Sanford, Fla.) entered yesterday's game as
the fourth ranked player nationally in the 2017 class and did nothing
to hurt that standing in a two inning appearance in FTB Max Bat 16u's
15-0 win over Power Drive. FTB put eight runs on the board in the
top of the first inning, and the 6-foot-2, 220-pound Coleman may have
been a little rusty from the wait to get to the mound, as he was only
85-87 mph in the first inning. He took extra time to warm up while
his teammates scored six more runs in the top of the second inning,
then unleashed his arm in the bottom half of the inning, sitting in
the 90-93 mph range with big running life on his fastball.
Coleman's
defining characteristic on the mound is how little effort he uses to
throw the baseball 93 mph. He uses a simple turn-and-throw delivery
that resembles what your normal batting practice pitcher might use,
with just about as much effort on release. Coleman's arm action is
surprisingly restricted in back and not much more extended out front,
which inhibits his ability to spin the ball at present, but certainly
not his ability to generate velocity. His release point is
three-quarters, which leads to both the big running life he gets and
the overall impression that he's just throwing BP.
Overall,
Coleman is one of the more interesting 16-year-old pitchers this
scout has seen in some time and it's hard to fit him into some of the
standard scouting axioms. He'll have to make sure to keep his big
body under control and refine his secondary pitches, but his low
effort velocity is eye opening and exciting to watch.
If
Coleman was the most interesting single prospect at Terry Park
Saturday, the 1:30 p.m. matchup between the Florida Burn 2017 Pennant
and Team DeMarini GA 17u had the most scout/coach buzz attached. The
game was played with a playoff intensity as the winner of the game
would advance to the playoffs, and both teams brought their best
pitchers to the mound.
Most
of the buzz, as most of the SEC was represented in the Stadium Field
stands, was attached to Burn lefthander
Jordan Butler (2017, Tampa, Fla.), and he didn't disappoint. The
highly athletic and projectable 6-foot-1, 180-pound Butler struck out
10 hitters in only four innings of work while allowing a pair of hits
and a run. He pitched at 86-88 mph from a mid three-quarters release
point, that would occasionally drop even lower, and got plenty of
arm-side life to the pitch, although he struggled to locate his
fastball to his glove side and hit three righthanded hitters.
If
anything, Butler's fastball was his third best pitch, though. His
low- to mid-70s curveball had big sweeping life and he commanded the
pitch extremely well. And while he only threw about a half dozen
changeups, that might have been his highest quality pitch due to the
huge sink he got on it.
Butler
left the game down 1-0, though, as he was matched by Team DeMarini
righthander Coleman
Williams (2016, Dunwoody, Ga.), who threw four shutout innings,
striking out six hitters without a walk. Williams pitched steadily
in the 87-89 mph range and showed very good command of both corners
of the plate at the bottom of the strike zone. He didn't have the
secondary pitches that Butler showed, but flashed a low-80s cutter
that was effective and dropped a couple of nice changeups into the
strike zone.
The
Burn pulled out the game in heart-breaking fashion for Team DeMarini,
scoring a pair of runs with two out in the bottom of the seventh on
an infield single and throwing error to win 2-1.
Elite
Squad 16u Prime first baseman
Alejandro Toral (2017, Davie, Fla.) draws an extra
crowd to the backstop almost every time he comes to the plate, the
type of attention that big power hitters frequently do. The
6-foot-1, 205-pound lefthanded hitter is immensely strong and may be
the top hitter nationally in the 2017 class.
Along
with his strength, Toral has an outstanding shift and rhythm into the
ball and equally outstanding bat speed. He didn't leave the park in
two Elite Squad victories Saturday, although he flew out once to the
warning track in right field, but did double a couple of times into
the right field corner. Toral's challenge moving forward will be to
increase his running speed and mobility, especially for defensive
purposes, but there is no one questioning his potential with the bat.
A
pair of lefthanders came out of their team's bullpens and threw very
well. Dante Torino (2016, Ocala, Fla.) looks taller and
stronger than his listed 5-foot-11, 180-pound build, and came at
hitters with a 86-89 mph fastball and a sharp 77 mph slider for three
innings for Gatorball Baseball Academy. He also showed a nice 81
mph changeup that he picked up one of his six strikeouts with. Torino
really gets downhill well from a high three-quarters arm slot and
pounded the strike zone with all his pitches in a dominating
performance.
Stars
Baseball 2016 Prime lefty
Jake Agnos (2016, Haymarket, Va.) didn't show Torino's command
and polish but did show off his fast arm and ability to spin the
ball, also topping out at 89 mph with hard spinning mid-70s curveball
in the Stars 5-5 tie with Team Rawlings Citius.
Team
Avenue Aces center fielder
Jonathan Imperial (2016, Wapato, Wash.) came as far as anyone to
compete in the WWBA Underclass World Championships and left a mark.
Imperial is a plus runner who showed very good range in center field
to go with strong gap power at the plate. He also showed the type of
motor and hustle that makes his plus speed play up even further,
especially on the bases.
Scorpions
2016 Prime righthanded pitcher
Deandre "D.J." Roberts (2016, Jacksonville,
Fla.) has the type of strength at 6-foot-2, 221 pounds that makes him
look like he can throw all day. He only needed 34 pitches, however,
to get through three near perfect innings in the Scorpions 5-0 win
over Deep South. Along with pounding the strike zone, Roberts topped
out at 90 mph with some hop and ride up in the strike zone. He threw
a mid-70s slurve that could be adjusted into a big breaking slider in
the future, and flashed some feel for a change up.
Team
DeMarini GA 17u shortstop
Steven Curry (2016, Alpharetta, Ga.) had a very strong game in
his team's 12-1 run rule victory over PRBAHS Red, going 3-for-3 and
handling a number of routine ground balls in the infield cleanly.
Curry's first hit was a line shot that the third baseman dove out of
the way of for self protection. The second was a hard grounder up
the middle that went through the pitcher's legs, while the third was
a big double off the left field wall at the Stadium Field at Terry
Park.
Curry
didn't duplicate his offensive performance in his team's later loss
to the Florida Burn, but did make a number of strong defensive plays,
especially charging the ball. Curry picked up a PG Grade of 8 at the
recent Southeast Underclass Showcase, but looks more like a 9 type of
player based on his overall performance at this event.
PRBAHS
outfielder
Francisco Del Valle
(2016, Santa Isabel, Puerto Rico) received a PG Grade of 7.5 at the
2013 Caribbean Underclass Showcase and looks like he's really
improved his lefthanded swing over the last year. He has a very
athletic and projectable 6-foot-1, 180-pound build and sub-7.0 speed
in the 60-yard dash, so the speed is there to go with his strength
and power potential. Del Valle also ran a couple of very good routes
in center field to make plays. We hope he'll be at November's
Caribbean Showcase so we can get another long look at him.
–
David
Rawnsley
In
a sea full of top level prospects from the eastern half of the United
States it was a surprise to see lefty Miles Sandum (2016,
Apple Valley, Calif.) stride out to the mound wearing the uniform of
New York-based Next Level Baseball to face the national powerhouse
EvoShield Canes. It would have been easy for the University of San
Diego commit to tuck his tail between his legs and passively take his
lumps after watching his teammates go three-up, three-down in the top
of the first, only to watch his first pitch of the game get roped
into right-center.
However,
Sandum battled back and competed well against a talented lineup,
pitching inside aggressively to righthanders with his mid-80s
fastball, which peaked at 88, and showing the ability to spin his
slider over the backdoor corner for called strikes, and to the back
foot of righties to induce empty defensive swings. Sandum allowed
four runs over four innings, but three were unearned, and he threw
45 of his 64 pitches for strikes (70.3 percent) striking out four and
not issuing a walk.
In
addition to the mid-70s breaking ball he also dropped in a couple of
big, deep slow curves in the mid-60s that he would go to in fastball
counts to fool hitters. His pitchability is advanced for an
underlassman and he showed good feel, and while he doesn't light up
the radar gun or have a plus secondary offering yet, the sum of his
parts is quite good. If he takes a step forward physically he could
be dangerous given how well he is able to utilize his repertoire.
Sandum's
first inning matchup with shortstop Grant Bodison (2016,
Simpsonville, S.C.) turned out to be an epic battle. The pitchability
versus hand speed matchup went on for ten pitches before the
quick-twitch Bodison finally won out with a single to left field to
drive in the only earned run off of Sandum with two outs. Bodison
spoiled several quality pitches with an impressive two-strike
approach, where his hand-eye coordination allowed him to make late
decisions and react to the pitch type and location to spoil and
extend the at-bat until he finally got a hittable pitch. Bodison
would go 2-for-2 with a stolen base and a run scored in addition to
the first inning RBI.
After
Sandum's four quality innings Next Level Baseball turned to
righthander Ted Sabato (2016, Rye Brook, N.Y.), who topped out
at 89 mph and has plenty of physical projection remaining. Sabato has
a very quick arm but is raw mechanically at present with a fast paced
crossfire delivery that creates some deception, though it is also
difficult to repeat leading to effective wildness in this outing. He
showed hard spin on a big sweeping slurvy breaking ball in the
mid-70s as well, and as he matures physically he could develop into a
formidable pitcher.
The
EvoShield Canes' powerful lineup is so deep that it becomes difficult
to choose a single standout hitter, as there are several. Catchers
Blake Brady (2016, Greenville, S.C.) and Brad Debo
(2016, Durham, N.C.) both showed big strength-oriented power in pool
play, with Brady smashing a ground-rule double to left field off of
an 87 mph fastball. Debo posted a 2.00 game pop and moves well for
his size defensively in addition to his ability to drive the
baseball.
Third
baseman Joe Rizzo (2016, Oak Hill, Va.) also fits the mold of
the physically mature strength-oriented slugger whose left handed pop
fits well in the three-hole, and he also showed good arm strength at
third base.
Leadoff
hitting center fielder Edward Reese (2016, Lexington, N.C.) is
a tightly wound athletic lefthanded hitter with a compact swing and
fast hands. He runs well and has big range in center when he takes
direct routes.
Their
starter, righthander Michael Bienlien (2016, Chesapeak, Va.),
passes the eye test at 6-foot-3, 220-pounds, and he pounded the
strike zone at 85-87 mph. He paired it well with a deceptive
upper-70s changeup that he maintains his arm speed well on, and in
the game he allowed an unearned run over six innings on three hits
while striking out six and not issuing a walk.
While
no one scout can possibly see every team in the 208-team field, it is
a safe bet that the player who plays the game with the most flair in
the entire WWBA Underclass World Championship is Ramon Guzman
(2016, Kissimmee, Fla.).
Guzman
has a long, lanky athletic build at 6-foot-3 with plenty of room to
fill and long strides with athletic actions. That gives him good
range to both sides while playing shortstop, and also gives him the
potential for good outfield range as well. At the plate he has a very
aggressive approach, swinging the bat with intent while generating
good bat speed with a long, line drive swing plane. In SBO Florida's
doubleheader on Saturday, he went 3-for-6 with four RBI, including
the game winning RBI in both games, giving him plenty reason to
celebrate.
Continuing
the theme of quality shortstop play, Cam Shepherd (2016,
Duluth, Ga.) and his Team Elite 17's Prime teammates drew one of the
largest crowds of college recruiters during the final time slot of
the day at the Twins complex. Shepherd had a relatively quiet day at
the plate, going 0-for-2 with a walk, as the hard contact he made was
on the ground, but he played high level defense.
Through
the end of pool play he has now converted all 16 of his defensive
chances and has looked quite good doing so in the games I've had a
chance to watch him perform in. He has very smooth actions with
impressive coordination, and perhaps the slickest play of the day
came on the final out of the game when he came charging in on a slow
roller that he cleanly scooped while on the run in the infield grass.
He then transferred and fired a strike to first base quickly with
plenty of velocity on it in one clean motion while maintaining
complete balance and body control throughout. He is the most polished
shortstop to take the field at the Twins complex all weekend and that
coordination translates well to his swing as well.
Team
Elite's starting pitcher, righthander Will Ethridge (2016,
Lilburn, Ga.) topped out at 89 mph with a compact arm action. He has
plenty of room to fill in his lanky frame and get stronger, and his
slider flashed sharp late tilt in the low-80s. Ethridge generated
plenty of swings and misses with the slider and threw his fastball
for consistent strikes. His team would play to a tie but Ethridge did
his part as the starting pitching, throwing three no-hit shutout
innings with five strikeouts and one walk.
Ethridge's
batterymate with Team Elite and Parkview High School, Austin
Biggar (2016, Lilburn, Ga.) had a good day at the plate going
1-for-2 with a walk and has developed significantly as a defender
while his raw power is beginning to emerge at the plate.
Infielder
Aaron Schunk (2016, Decatur, Ga.) also stood out defensively
at third base where his arm is an asset, and he also topped out at 89
mph in relief the previous day and went 1-for-2 at the plate in this
contest.
The
pitching matchup at the heavily scouted contest between Marucci Elite
and USA Elite Baseball 2016's National was the best of the day at the
Twins complex. Marucci righthander Jake Eissler (2016,
Littleton, Colo.) showed impressive arm strength, topping out at 90
mph while pairing the fastball with a low-80s slider.
He
was opposed by an interesting projection lefthander in Jon Dignazio (2016, Baden, Penn.) who topped out at 88 mph with a
long, loose arm action and a sharp low-80s slider as well as changeup
up to 80. Eissler threw a complete game and allowed just two runs
(one earned) while striking out six and issuing just one walk to earn
the victory, throwing 57 of his 91 pitches for strikes. Both pitchers
were uncommitted coming into the tournament, though both likely
earned several offers with their performances in this matchup.
Graham
Ashcraft
(2016, Brownsboro, Ala.) also joined the 90 mph club pitching for So
Cal NTT. His line was skewed by going back out for the sixth inning
after he was out of gas, but the big physical righthander showed a
hard biting 11-to-5 curveball at 75-77 mph that paired well with his
consistent upper-80s fastball that he threw for frequent strikes and
that was still hitting 89 in the fifth.
– Todd
Gold
Justyn-Henry
Malloy (2018, Bergenfield, N.J.) is a player who is noticed in
pre-game warmups, showing soft hands when fielding ground balls on
the side of the field and showed noticeable arm strength on his
throws back to the catcher. Looking through the program it was
interesting to see that Malloy has yet to play a high school baseball
game, but with the physicality of his frame, one wouldn’t think
twice if somebody said he was an upperclassman. Batting in the
four-hole, Malloy shows a short and fast swing, and though his swing
is presently geared towards lifting the ball, the righthanded hitting
Malloy is certainly a bat that colleges will take note of over the
next four years.
A
known name in the 2017 class already, Devin Ortiz (2017,
Nutley, N.J.) is ranked 44th in the first set of rankings
for his class. A young two-way prospect, Ortiz provided relief on the
mound for the Bronx Bombers and showed nice potential as he continues
to develop.
Standing
at 6-foot-2, Ortiz has an athletic frame with long, loose limbs which
he controls well throughout his delivery. Even though he had a busy
summer on the summer showcase and tournament circuit, in addition to
playing for Team USA, Ortiz showed his best velocity at a Perfect
Game event, topping out at 89 mph with his fastball and worked
comfortably in the 84-88 mph range. The uncommitted righthander shows
a quick arm coming through the back side with a full arm circle and a
high three-quarters release. He opens his front side early in his
delivery and lands open with his front foot, but with the quickness
of his arm Ortiz is able to consistently get on top of the ball to
generate downhill plane and work low in the zone.
To
complement his fastball, Ortiz showed two different breaking balls,
both with distinct velocity and shape. Of the two his slider is the
better present offering, showing late and sharp 10-to-4 life up to 81
mph down in the zone. He slows his arm action slightly on his
curveball but he generates 11-to-5 life on the pitch with nice depth
in the low-70s and showed a nice feel for the pitch.
A
well-built and physical righthander, Austin Franklin (2016,
Laurel Hill, Fla.) took the mound with a nice collection of college
coaches looking on. Franklin has a projectable 6-foot-3 frame and as
he continues to incorporate his strong lower half into his delivery
the stuff he shows projects as well. As it is now, Franklin showed a
fastball that lived in the mid-80s throughout his outing, often times
flashing 88 on the radar gun.
With
a short arm action and a compact release, Franklin creates some
deception and does a nice job of getting on top of his fastball and
working down in the zone. What sets Franklin apart from other
pitchers though is his curveball that he threw frequently and in any
count. Throwing it from the same arm action, Franklin generates very
nice 12-to-6 break on his curveball with depth in the low-70s with a
strong feel for the pitch.
With
East Coast Baseball playing a double-header in Port Charlotte, it was
hard not to notice Jack Kenley (2016, Germantown, Tenn.) while
he was playing shortstop. A lean, projectable athlete with a 6-foot-1
frame full of quick-twitch muscle, Kenley made multiple plays
charging in on ground balls, picking them and delivered strikes to
first base on a consistent basis, even though his momentum was going
against him on the throws. He moves well on his feet and shows
average foot speed along with light actions on his feet and range up
the middle.
Though
he is listed as a primary second baseman, Alex Garbrick (2016,
Mill Hall, Pa.) certainly showed his potential on the mound yesterday
throwing in relief for Flood City Elite 2016. Throwing from a lower
three-quarters arm slot, the uncommitted Garbrick showed a quick arm
that worked primarily in the 84-87 mph range until a runner reached
third base and began to bump 88 mph with his fastball pretty
consistently. The ball comes out of his hand cleanly and shows sink
down in the zone and projects for more velocity with the
incorporation of his lower half. Along with his fastball, Garbrick
showed a nice curveball in the low-70s with depth.
Standing
at 6-foot-1, Thomas Spinelli (2016, Ocala, Fla.) is a strong
lefthanded pitcher with broad shoulders and a clean arm action.
Throwing from a high three-quarters arm slot, Spinelli shows an easy
and tension free arm coming through the back side. The uncommitted
lefthander created consistent downhill plane on his fastball, working
comfortably in the mid-80s and topped out at 87 mph with the pitch.
With the ease of his delivery and how clean the ball comes out it
looks as though Spinelli is playing catch until you look down at the
radar gun. He kept hitters off balance with an overhand curveball
that showed 12-to-6 break and consistently pounded the zone with the
pitch at 77 mph.
Having
been known as a two-way prospect since he began doing national level
events, Spencer Van Scoyoc (2016, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) did his
thing on the mound two days ago and showed his talents with the bat
yesterday. Standing at 6-foot-4, the uncommitted Van Scoyoc used his
long levers to create extension and turned on an elevated fastball,
driving the ball to the right field wall for a standup double. As he
continues to develop physically and add muscle, not only will he keep
developing on the mound, but also with the bat as a legitimate
two-way player at the next level.
– Jheremy Brown