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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/13/2017

16u WWBA Day 6 Scout Notes

Photo: Perfect Game

Daily Leaders | Player Stats | Day 1 Notes | Day 2 Notes | Day 3 Notes | Day 4 Notes | Day 5 Notes

Jacob Meador (2019, Burleson, Tex.) got the start in the Dallas Tigers’ playoff matchup on Wednesday night, a game they ultimately lost. Meador was still quite impressive in his five innings, where he was the recipient of some bad luck that led to four unearned runs. He still struck out nine while not walking anyone and scattering six hits.




A TCU commit, Meador still has a good amount of room to fill out his frame remaining, and his arm speed combined with that projection gives him pretty significant velocity projection moving forward. Meador throws from a high three-quarters arm slot with the ability to generate good plane when working down in the zone though he was successful in getting a good amount of swings-and-misses up in the zone, where his fastball really showed significant life to the arm side. He worked up to 90 mph with that fastball settling in around 86-89 mph and doing a pretty good job of holding that velocity over the course of his 88-pitch outing. He worked in a curveball in the mid-70s with 11-to-5 shape and good depth thrown with conviction and the ability to land it for strikes.

On the other side of the diamond Deion Walker (2019, Marietta, Ga.) struck the really decisive blow when he ambushed a fastball for a line drive grand slam to the pull side taking the Team Elite lead from 4-2 to 8-2 and really icing the game away. Walker is an extremely slender, highly-projectable righthanded hitter ranked No. 147 in the class of 2019, and it’s easy to see why considering he already has significant power in his bat with a ton of potential for more as he continues to physically develop.

The playoffs got underway at LakePoint in Wednesday evening with big-time matchups across the 7:30 p.m. slots. The Motor City Hit Dogs won their first round matchup after being one of the final few teams into the playoffs behind a five-inning shutout performance from Benjamin Hyndman (2018, Macomb, Mich.) who did a very good job pitching out of trouble all day and keeping the talented Virginia Cardinals off the board. Hyndman consistently pounded the zone, working up to 82 mph with his fastball and showing the pitchability and feel to work in both his curveball and changeup at will, with all three pitches for strikes.

The All Out Pack 16u club won their playoff matchup over the GRB Rays with Dylan Maria (2019, Blackwood, N.J.) getting the win on the mound and doing it with the bat as well. He worked up to 86 mph on the mound while generating some sink and showing a smooth arm action but more impressively was the extra base hit he recorded in the second inning. He stroked a ground rule double one hop over the wall in very deep right center field that left his bat at 98 mph, then came around to score one batter later as the Pack took an early lead. There’s legitimate strength to his profile both in terms of arm strength and hitting power and he showed both on Wednesday night.

– Brian Sakowski


Antonio Lorenzo Gauthier (2018, Lake Charles, La.) is a small built middle infielder with big tools. He started at third base in Wednesday morning’s game but projects as a second baseman at the next level. Gauthier can really run. Each time he was on base it seemed like he was bound for third base stealing three bases in the contest and just missing a fourth stolen base by a hair, and recorded a 4.19-second home-to-first time as well. Speed is not the only tool Gauthier displayed on Wednesday. The uncommitted prospect also swings the bat well and shows very good actions in the field. The lefthanded hitter has a line drive swing plane and does a good job of consistently putting the ball in play to use his speed to beat out throws. His actions at third were quick and crisp showing soft hands and a strong arm with the ability to throw on the run.

Garrett Casey (2019, Smyrna, Del.) started on the mound for Tri State Arsenal Prime Wednesday and showed lots of potential as a lefthanded pitcher. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound lefthander – who seemed bigger that what he was listed – showed good command especially to his arm side. His fastball sat in the 84-86 mph range that he maintained for the duration of his outing. His arm action is short and his arm is quick. When the ball came out of his hand from his three-quarters arm slot his fastball showed heavy arm-side life. Casey showed a four-pitch mix during his outing that included a 12-to-6 curveball with late bite, a short-breaking slider and a low-70s changeup. Casey is going to continue to grow and add strength with plenty of room to do so, and with his arm speed it’s easy to imagine increased velocity.

Gavin Kee (2019, Norwalk, Conn.) is a strong player with some consistent barrel-to-ball skills. Listed at 5-foot-10, 185-pounds, and physically more stout and mature than that, Kee can really swing the bat. Each ball he hit in his game Wednesday was hit on the nose with exit velocities greater than 90 mph, including a high 339-foot home run. Kee is a primary catcher who had reps in right field Wednesday where he also showed solid actions with good closing speed. Kee is physically gifted with a build that stands out and noticeable strength. His swing is compact and the bat speed is impressive through the hitting zone.

Andre Tarver (2019, Ringgold, Ga.), like Kee, is a physically gifted young man. His strength is noticeable as well with the speed of his bat through the zone. Tarver has stood out all summer and it continued early on Wednesday as he ripped a single to right that left his bat at 97 mph. Tarver is lean with strong hands and the athleticism is outstanding. Tarver is committed to Mississippi State and his ceiling is incredibly high.

Brady Harris (2019, Gallatin, Tenn.) showed really good defensive actions at shortstop throughout his game for Rawlings Southeast Prospects. Deep plays in the hole, slow rollers and hard hit balls right to him were all made with soft hands and an impressively strong arm with accuracy. The first play he made that stood out was a “Derek Jeter” type play deep in the 5-6 hole without the jump throw. Harris planted his feet and made a long and strong throw to get the runner by half a step, a player that didn’t look like it could be made as it developed. Harris has good footwork and a quick first step that helps him get into a good position to make impressive and routine plays at the shortstop position.

– Gregory Gerard



The best velocity recorded at a Perfect Game event for lefthander Michael Foltz (2019, Myrtle Beach, S.C.) was 79 mph entering Wednesday, a mark he set almost a year ago to the date. Flash forward a full calendar year and the Duke commit has blown past that mark, sitting in the 86-88 mph range early on, bumping an 89 in the first inning. Stronger than his listed 5-foot-10, 150-pounds, Foltz is able to generate solid plane to his fastball from a high three-quarters angle with heavy life down in the zone.

Beginning his delivery with a hand raise and high leg lift in unison of one another, Foltz stays balanced through is delivery and more importantly, repeats, allows for a steady amount of strikes as evidenced by his seven punch outs in 6 1/3 innings. He maintained his arm speed well on the slider as well, a 77-78 mph pitch early that offered tight rotation and late bite down in the zone. Foltz proved to have a full arsenal showing both a curveball and changeup, the latter of which crossed at 82 mph.

Foltz should continue to climb on the mound as we’ve already seen a five mph jump in the last year and looks to be a solid piece to the 2019 recruiting class for the Blue Devils.

It was a brief, and by brief I mean one inning, look at righthander Nate Rolka (2019, Dalton, Pa.) but there’s plenty of components to him on the mound to intrigue and monitor moving forward. Listed at a strong and believable 6-foot-3, 205-pounds, Rolka sat in the 88-90 mph range with his heater and pitched exclusively off the fastball for his one inning of work. The lower half mechanics in his delivery will continue to refine with added reps on the mound though the arm action is already plenty quick and a chief component in producing the velocity. His fastball offers a low spin rate according to TrackMan which means there’s heavy, sinking life and when you factor in the plane he’s able to generate with his frame, it’s going to be hard to lift Rolka’s fastball. The velocity comes easy from a higher three-quarters slot and as he continues to instrument additional lower half, it’s only a matter of time before the velocity picks up another couple of ticks.

Robert Moore (2020, Leawood, Kan.) may not be the most physical player on the field, as he’s listed at 5-foot-9, 155-pounds, but his instincts and feel for the game rival any player’s in the tournament. A switch-hitting middle infielder, the uncommitted Moore continues to make strides in the strength department and with such has seen an increase in bat speed, especially from the left side where he picked up a hard ground ball single in his team’s first game yesterday. While he shows feel for the barrel, the instincts previously mentioned are in reference to what he did on the bases after picking up that single. Making his way over to third base, Moore noticed the catcher taking his time getting the ball back to the pitcher, read the play, and took off on a delayed steal as soon as the catcher let go of the ball. With his jump and speed Moore was able to slide in safely and manufacture a run.

Gage Vailes (2019, Marietta, Ga.) is a young 6-foot-2 uncommitted righthander who got the ball for the 643 DP Baseball Mang and though he ultimately took the loss, he still impressed with his present stuff and long-term projectability. Up to 89 mph in this look, Vailes worked in the 84-88 mph with a short and quick arm stroke through the back and generates plane on his heater when on top of the ball. Mostly true in life, Vailes was able to flash cut action when working to his glove side and certainly has additional velocity in the tank as he continues to fill out physically. He maintains his arm speed well on his slider as well, showing short tilting life in the 75-77 mph range and more depth to it by the end of the outing at 73 mph.

Starting behind the plate for the East Cobb Astros 15u, catcher Jayden Chance (2019, Bonaire, Ga.) made one of the more impressive defensive plays I’ve seen this tournament. On a soft popup near the third base on-deck circle, Chance came out from behind the plate, made a sliding catch, popped to his feet and threw a strike down to second base to get the runner attempting to tag from first. It was a fine display of athleticism, awareness, and arm strength all in one play for the 5-foot-7, 160-pound Chance who also shows an approach at the plate with looseness to his swing.

– Jheremy Brown



Starting off the day at Woodland High School was talented righthander Matt Kleinfelter (2019, Lancaster, Va.) who showed high quality stuff during his outing for the Richmond Braves. Kleinfelter was very strong over five innings in his start, racking up five strikeouts and allowing only two hits all while only allowing one run to score. The James Madison commit worked with a strong fastball and curveball combination that kept hitters off balance effectively.

Kleinfelter had a deliberate delivery with a slight turn at the top of his gather before delivering the ball to the plate. The fastball was his most effective pitch on Wednesday morning as the pitch worked 85-88 mph while topping out at 89 mph. The curveball was a very effective secondary pitch that had good shape to it and could be thrown for strikes or chases out of the zone. He did walk a couple of batters but the stuff is very good and the primary two pitch mix is a very strong base point for someone who is ranked the No. 267 overall prospect for the class.




Starting out the playoff game for the Blackhawks National team was righthander Kris Pirozzi (2018, Strasburg, Pa.) and showed some impressive features and a lot of strikes. The Blackhawks ultimately fell in the first round, but Pirozzi was strong nonetheless. The uncommitted arm is not your prototypical build of a pitcher, listed at 5-foot-11 and 195-pounds, but he has a compact and well-proportioned build. The arm action is long and loose through the back and whips through the arm path rather easily and with little effort. Pirozzi showed a lively fastball that sat 87-89 mph in the first inning but settled into the 85-88 mph range as the game went on. He did a good job at creating plane with the fastball when leveraged to the lower third of the plate along with a solid breaking pitch. The pitch had slurve-like movement and was an effective secondary pitch all evening for Pirozzi.

Limiting the damage for the Georgia Jackets was touted righthander Lukas Cook (2020, Knoxville, Tenn.) who was extremely effective to the tune of three strikeouts in two innings. The Mississippi State commit has a powerful right arm on the mound with pretty solid control and the fastball was the weapon of choice for Cook on Wednesday. The pitch sat in the upper-80s, topping out at 89 mph, and he used the pitch effectively to get ahead in counts and to get swings and misses within the strike zone. Cook used mostly his fastball but would mix in a curveball and changeup on occasion. The breaking ball was very effective at being thrown in the strike zone and was a nice change of pace pitch whereas the changeup was used sparingly but flashed potential.

Canes North stormed back to win their first playoff game thanks to the efforts of Jacob Ciccone (2019, Monmouth Junction, N.J.)  and Clark Burroughs (2019, Issue, Md.). Ciccone, in a similar vein as Cook, worked to limit the damage and keep the Canes in the ball game following an early deficit. The southpaw worked in the 78-80 mph range and was extremely efficient; he worked the strike zone well and induced a lot of weak contact. There was some deception in the delivery and the delivery itself was pretty compact and repeatable.

Burroughs had a majestic shot deep into the night to give the Canes the lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. The powerful righthanded hitter got ahold of a fastball and quickly deposited it into left field. The ball was absolutely crushed to the tune of 100 mph off the bat and traveled an estimated 358 feet. Burroughs has big power at the plate and he knew it was gone as soon as he hit it with a truly spectacular bat flip to show for it. There is natural loft to the swing path and his hands are in a good launch position that is conducive to a flyball and power approach. Burroughs and Ciccone both helped the Canes advance and they will both likely play key roles as the playoffs continue.

– Vinnie Cervino
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