On
Saturday afternoon D.L. Hall
(2017, Valdosta, Ga.) toed the rubber for the first time of
the 16u BCS Finals tournament. Hall, a Florida State commit, is an
athletic lefthanded pitcher that turned heads at the Junior National
Showcase just under two weeks ago. Listed at 6-foot, 170-pounds Hall
is not a particularly imposing figure, but his stuff is very loud.
While he was not as crisp as he was in his two inning stint at Junior
National, Hall still displayed a fastball up to 91 mph, living
consistently in the upper-80s. He maintains a nice, deliberate pace
in his delivery and works into a high leg lift before bursting to the
plate with some late momentum and energy. At times he will spin out
of his delivery and fall off to the third base side at release, but
he’s such a good athlete that it is not always a hindrance to his
command. He struggled a bit with a consistent release point on
Saturday, and his fastball command was not as sharp as it has been in
the past, but Hall competed very well and showed good confidence in
his curveball. The mid-70s breaking ball is a true weapon when it’s
located, and the offering flashes good depth and late bite. Hall
showed an aptitude to alter the tilt on the pitch with the curveball
showing 1-to-7 shape at times and more sweeping break and gloveside
finish in other instances.
James
Marinan (2017, Boynton Beach,
Fla.) is yet another physically imposing member of the Easton
Rockets. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound righthanded pitcher and corner
infielder has a strong, sturdy build. With a loose arm stroke that is
a bit shorter on the backside, Marinan hides the ball pretty well in
his delivery. His arm works well and gets through the path quickly
where he works to a three-quarters arm slot. The rising junior
showed the ability to repeat his delivery well, although at times his
front side could open up a bit early. Regardless, Marinan was able
to pound the strike zone effectively with his fastball, which
consistently sat in the 84-86 mph range and touched 88 mph a handful
of times. While he relied heavily on his fastball, Marinan flashed a
quality upper-70s changeup. He maintained good arm speed on the
offering which showed some fade and dive at the bottom of the strike
zone. He also flashed developing feel for a low-70’s breaking ball
with 11-to-5 shape. Marinan also shows some potential at the plate,
as he shows some bat speed, strength, and an aggressive swing from
the right side.
Kristofer
Armstrong (2018, Jupiter, Fla.)
turned in yet another solid performance on Saturday. After
some of his exploits were noted after the first day of the
tournament, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound switch hitter excelled again at
the plate. Hitting from the left side, Armstrong roped two doubles
on the day, both solid line drives into the right-center field gap.
Additionally, Armstrong came on in relief of Marinan, and while he’s
listed as a switch-pitcher, he worked exclusively from the right side
on Saturday. With a traditional, hands-over-head windup, Armstrong
shows a good rhythm in his delivery and displays a looseness and ease
to his arm action. Delivering from a three-quarters arm slot,
Armstrong generates natural tailing action or arm-side run to his
fastball, and while there is some effort and energy at release, he’s
still able to stay online to the plate and maintain solid balance.
His heater mainly sat in the 85-87 mph range, but in the early going
Armstrong worked more consistently in the 86-88 range, bumping 89 a
couple of times. Like Marinan, Armstrong used his fastball often—a
smart choice given its effectiveness—but he did flash a few
curveballs in the low-70s, which displayed 11-to-5 shape and decent
depth. Just a rising sophomore, Armstrong shows big-time potential on
both sides of the ball and he’s already on the radar of college
coaches and area scouts.
Tarik
Latchmansingh (2017, Royal Palm
Beach, Fla.), who like Armstrong, was already mentioned in a
previous recap, hit a home run into the power alley in left-center
field. The righthanded hitter has easy plus strength and has a good
weight transfer at the plate.
Outfielder
and first baseman Jared Turner
(2017, Tuckahoe, N.Y.) and catcher/outfielder Brett Holtz
(2017, White Plains, N.Y.) are both intriguing players from
New York state. The DB Hawks teammates flashed some interesting
hitting tools. Turner, a 6-foot, 190-pound righthanded hitter has a
large, athletic frame with a sturdy build and he roped a single
through the left side. Holtz, a long, lean lefthanded hitter has
some present strength in his 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, but he
projects to add even more muscle and athleticism at maturity. He
also struck a single to his pull side and worked a walk. Jason
Wolfthal (2016, Elmsford, N.Y.) threw a four inning no-hitter in the
DB Hawks’ victory. Wolfthal threw a lot of strikes with his 78-82
mph fastball and flashed a solid 65-68 mph curveball with good depth
and sharp 11-to-5 break.
Parker
Pillsbury (2018, Inverness,
Fla.) has a large, well-proportioned and projectable 6-foot-1,
175-pound frame. The primary outfielder also pitches, and he came on
in relief for the GCBA Black Sox on Saturday. Pillsbury has broad
shoulders and a wide back to go along with his strong, sturdy build,
so while he currently has some present strength, he should be able to
add tack on more muscle as he continues to mature. Working from a
higher arm slot, Pillsbury has some natural funk and deception in his
delivery. While his fastball sat in the 79-82 mph range, the pitch
flashed some life down in the strike zone and should be an effective
pitch with more refined command and some additional strength.
Pillsbury also flashed two serviceable off-speed pitches in a low-70s
changeup with slight fade and a mid-60s breaking ball with some depth
and three-quarters tilt.
Justin
Bryan (2018, Palm City, Fla.)
is another interesting lefthanded pitcher. Like Pillsbury, the All
American Prospects 16u pitcher, only made a brief cameo in relief,
but Bryan had a deceptive delivery with later hand separation and a
whippy arm action working to a three-quarters arm slot. While he
still has some pieces to iron out in his delivery and could
incorporate his lower half more consistently, Bryan has good arm
speed and flashed the ability to throw his 81-84 mph fastball for
strikes to both sides of the plate.
Another
All American Prospects 16u player, Zach Young
(2018, Sebastian, Fla.) showed off serious defensive chops at
shortstop. The rising sophomore displayed good range to both his
left and right side and has advanced footwork and body control. He
made a number of quality defensive plays. To go along with his soft
hands, smooth actions and good instincts, Young worked through the
ball well and consistently fired over strong and accurate throws
across the diamond.