2,210 MLB PLAYERS | 15,134 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story  | 6/26/2018

14u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 4

Jheremy Brown      Vincent Cervino      Greg Gerard     
Photo: Riley Stanford (Perfect Game)

14u WWBA National Championship: Event Page | Daily Leaders
Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3

Matt Heavner (2022, Lincolnton, N.C.) had a nice day and has been impressive both in the field at shortstop and at the plate in the three hole for the South Charlotte Panthers. In the 8 a.m. game, Heavner was able to muster a pair of hits in two of his three plate appearances. In the first inning Heavner doubled to left field putting his quick hands to the baseball and ripping the ball to the pull side. What is more appealing right now with Heavner is his athletic action at shortstop. Heavner takes really quick steps to the baseball and can cover an impressive amount of ground to either side laterally. His clean glove skills show up often at the busy shortstop position. The quickness he possesses has showed up in this game and as well as all tournament long. The rising freshman from North Carolina beat out an infield bunt single in the contest as well and is worthy of a closer look as he continues to mature.

Carter Stanford (2022, Mobile, Ala.) made his second appearance on the mound of the event and showed projectable stuff starting with his 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame. Stanford’s mechanics are unique but he produces plenty of velocity especially for his age. Topping out at 81 mph on this day and 82 in the first viewing Saturday, Stanford throws with conviction of his fastball around the plate. Stanford throws only from the stretch starting with his hands in a very high position before separating them as he comes to the plate. His arm stroke is a bit offline but it is loose while coming through to the point of release. Now the release point is a bit inconsistent at times, but when extended out front Stanford generates some plane and lives down in the zone to either side of the plate. His arm slot is from a low three-quarters angle making an at-bat tough on a righthanded hitter.

Carter Boyd (2022, Lewisville, N.C.) has shown some of the better velocity of the event thus far and it comes easy for him due to his outstanding and truly advanced arm strength. Boyd is not overly physical at a listed 6-foot, 175-pounds, but his arm is quick and compact and gets lots of drive from his lower half. Boyd is around the zone with his fastball that sat 80-85 mph while also touching 86 mph. Boyd is a 2022 graduate which makes his velocity that much more remarkable being at such a young age. Boyd also showed a low-70s curveball with big potential when he lands it for strikes. The righthander will be interesting to follow closely as he continues to mature since he can already produce mid-80s velocity from the mound.

Derek Cease (2021, Plymouth, Pa.) is a shortstop with plenty of athleticism and quick-twitch about him. Cease has really smooth actions up the middle for his talent-filled MVP ball club as well as the ability to hit the baseball and run down the line quickly putting pressure on the defense. Cease led off the game in a loud way ripping a line drive single back up the middle. Cease’s quick hands are direct to the baseball and play well into his swing. He later bunted his way on for a single displaying the mentioned quickness he has down the line. The young 2021 graduate is still growing and, although not overly physical, there is still plenty of time for him to continue to grow and fill out.

Zachary Root (2022, Fort Myers, Fla.) is an intriguing young lefthanded pitcher with lots of room to fill and a highly projectable 5-foot-10, 135-pound frame. Root has plenty of tempo to his delivery with some deception to the windup. His arm works quickly through the back while staying loose and full through the full rotation of his arm circle. His fastball worked up to 83 mph in this contest while shortened by an unfortunate rain delay. Root’s arm works as well as his demeanor on the mound. He has an advanced feel for pitching and will on get better in time. The rising freshman from southwest Florida also featured a downward biting curveball that flashes the potential to be a true pitch with proper development. From the early looks of Root on the mound, the young pitcher is going to throw hard in due time.

Root’s teammate John Locker (2021, Birmingham, Mich.) ran into a baseball in a big way on Monday afternoon. Prior to the rain delay that subdued play for quite some time, Locker unloaded on the first pitch he saw, a fastball on the inner third of the plate that he did not miss. The 153rd-ranked player in the 2021 class playing down an age group due to his young age put a strong swing on the pitch that left his bat very quickly reading a 96 mph exit velocity per TrackMan. Locker is a strong kid and it is noticeable on his 5-foot-11 frame. He is listed as a primary pitcher, but what Locker showed on Monday he can swing the bat as well.

Michael Allen (2022, Greenville, N.C.) has made a really nice first impression at the plate with a patient eye and raw bat speed. The outfielder waits for his pitch at the plate and did not miss his on Monday afternoon. Allen was struck a double loudly to the pull side gap for a sure double out of the box, Allen used his speed around the bases to turn the sure double into a triple. Allen is physically advanced for his age with more growing still to do given his young age. The righthanded hitter only had two at-bats in this viewing due to a rain delay with the first being the squared up triple and the next being a grinded out walk showing the aforementioned patience at the plate. Allen has been followed closely by PG scouts this tournament thus far and with the way he swings the bat, his ceiling could very well reach a high level.

– Gregory Gerard





A long and ultra-projectable righthander, Riley Stanford (2022, Gainesville, Ga.) was handed the ball for the Georgia Bombers and it was a tale of two starts for the young Georgia native, though he showed the ability to settle in and battle through some early bouts of wildness. In the opening frame Stanford started the game with a couple of walks but quickly found his release point and was able to maintain his impressive velocity deep into the outing without trying to light up the radar gun.

He projects very well physically with his high waisted, long limbed 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame but there’s also plenty more in the tank as he continues to refine his overall delivery and begins to incorporate additional lower half into his drive to the plate. All that said, Stanford still ran his fastball up to 88 mph once on the gun and maintained 85-87 mph deep into his four inning, showing the same quick right arm that he did on pitch one. The velocity itself can overmatch many at the 14u level and while he may only have notched two strike outs, Stanford induced plenty of weak contact to the opposite field off the barrel.

Stanford was able to work heavily off of his fastball, a pitch that looked almost like a cutter as he was able to generate late cutting life due to his release and finish. He did mix in a curveball every so often in the mid-60s, generating 11-to-5 shape on the pitch which will only become more of a weapon as he works on maintaining his arm speed at release. There’s no doubting the arm talent possessed by Stanford and he’s shown repeatedly he’s one of the harder throwers in 2022 class at this current juncture.

After making a brief appearance out of the bullpen Sunday in which he was up to 86 mph, righthander Bauer Brittain (2022, Shawnee, Okla.) got the start Monday morning for Tri-State, throwing 50 pitches over 2.2 innings to ensure he could come back later in the tournament. While he’s not overly physical at 5-foot-11, 150-pounds, Brittain shows a quick right arm and again showed some impressive velocity, running his heater up to 84 mph while punching out two.

Working from a high three-quarters release point, Brittain shows a quick right arm to help generate the velocity but more impressive was his ability to fill the strike zone. His overall mechanics will continue to develop as he can continue to implement additional lower half drive towards the plate. The fastball features subtle running life, which when paired with his ability to create plane, helped elicit weak contact around the field. His breaking ball showed 10-to-4 shape up to 71 mph with some sweeping finish and like his fastball, repeatedly found the strike zone.

On a Canes National roster that features plenty of exciting prospects, Ethan Ott (2021, Chesapeake, Va.) has picked up at least one base hit in each of his team’s first four games and Monday was no different with a 2-for-3 performance. Ott, who’s hitting in the middle of the Canes’ order, is a strong and physical 6-foot-2, 190-pounds and he knows how to incorporate that strength into his righthanded swing. In his first at-bat of the game Ott showed plenty of strength to his hands, as well as quickness, as he stayed short and direct to the ball on a hard line drive single over the shortstop’s head.




While there aren’t many promises in 14u baseball, I feel pretty confident in saying you won’t miss Trenton Shaw (2022, Desoto, Texas) when he steps onto the diamond, especially when he’s taking the hill. Already listed at a strong 6-foot-4, 210-pounds with long limbs and physical strength, Shaw could blend into a collegiate lineup right now and nobody would think twice. And while the raw stuff he was able to produce and detailed down below was mightily impressive, Shaw’s athleticism and ability to pound the strike zone was even more noteworthy.

Working 3 1/3 innings out of the bullpen for the Dallas Tigers in a crucial pool play matchup, Shaw proved to be an intimidating presence on the mound and saw his velocity tick up over the first couple of innings, eventually peaking at 88 mph with his best bolt. The length of his arms, when factored with his high release point, allowed for ample angle and plane as he seemingly handed the ball to the catcher while sitting in the 84-87 mph range. And while there’s some recoil and work to be done with his lower half mechanics, Shaw had no issue finding the strike nor missing barrels as he punched out seven during his time on the mound.

Utilizing an attack mode menatility, Shaw lived mostly off his fastball and rightfully so, but he did mix in a short 2-to-8 shaped breaking ball in the mid-60s to keep hitters honest and from hunting just the fastball. There’s more velocity in the tank for Shaw and his ability to repeat his delivery well enough given his long levers is very impressive for a prospect his age.

There are arms in this tournament who throw hard but are also already physically advanced, then there are arms who show present velocity but off an abundance of physical projection. Griffin Herring (2022, Southlake, Texas) fits the highly projectable category as the young lefthander stands 6-foot-1, 165-pounds with long limbs and a loose, athletic frame. Working exclusively out of the stretch, Herring shows a loose arm stroke through the back and creates his 79-83 mph velocity with relatively low effort out of his hand. Along with the physical projection, Herring’s delivery itself will continue to develop as there isn’t much present gather on his back side no drive to the plate, two elements that’ll only help see an uptick in velocity. On top of the fastball which showed nice angle out of the hand, the young lefthander also flashed a 1-to-7 shaped curveball with depth up to 71 mph for strikes and utilizes the pitch to help pick up four strikeouts on the day.

We highlighted Rylan Galvan (2022, Sinton, Texas) earlier in the tournament for his abilities up the middle and with the bat, but this time we look at his athleticism and skill behind the plate as he offers some of the better actions back there in the entire tournament. The looseness and flexibility are what you’re looking for in a young backstop and the transfer skills and arm strength possessed by Galvan are extremely advanced for this level. His mechanics are clean and polished despite being a 14 year old and though he wasn’t challenged in live action, he did pop as low as a 1.98 in between innings and delivery a strike from his knees at 2.06.

It’s well known that players at this level can make a big jump in short periods of time, whether it’s with physical development or in terms of velocity on the mound. The latter holds true for Trent Hodgdon (2021, Smiths Station, Ala.), a primary third baseman who closed out the game for Dulins Dodgers who showed a big jump on the mound from when we saw him this past March at the 14u Southeast Showcase. Bumping 82 mph in the showcase, Hodgdon didn’t throw a pitch under 83 mph over his 1 1/3 innings of work and peaked at 87 mph early in the first. With a big gather on the backside and a quick right arm, Hodgdon lived comfortably in the 83-85 mph, creating some plane and short running life when on top of the ball while mixing a 12-to-6 curveball for strikes in the upper-60s.

A day after highlighting eXposure Prime’s Andrew Burns for his abilities with the bat, outfielder Ty Vaughn (2022, Hixson, Tenn.) put one of the more impressive swings on the ball to help his team pull back into the game in the bottom of the first inning Monday morning. Strongly built at 5-foot-10, 179-pounds with strength to his forearms, Vaughn jumped on an elevated fastball in his first at-bat and he made sure that he didn’t miss. Seeing the fastball out of the pitcher’s hands Vaughn did a nice job of getting his arms extended out front and drove the ball deep to his pull side, creating solid backspin while sending the ball 344 feet per TrackMan with an exit velocity of 91 mph.

– Jheremy Brown



The Legends Prospects are off to an undefeated start in pool play and they edged out a win over a talented DRB Elite team where the offense came alive. Brandyn Durand (2022, Somerset, Mass.) and Colin Lemieux (2021, Warwick, R.I.) were two standouts who impressed while both showed unique offensive profiles.

Durand is a physical, righthanded hitting backstop who stands at 6-foot-1, 190-pounds in the box and uses a lot of that frame to create significant impact strength off the barrel of the bat. Durand has a longer swing but creates power to all fields with his strength as he laced a 90 mph exit velocity double to the right centerfield gap in his first at-bat. The length of the swing path can be an issue at times, but the ball comes off the barrel nicely when he remains on plane and gets his wrists extended out in front. There are some minor things to sure up about the swing but he creates consistent hard contact when on time, which he showed he can do against an 80+ mph arm; his final two at-bats he smoked two line outs to the third baseman.

Lemieux hits in the middle of the order for the Legends showing some impressive hitting tools with a broad, physical frame and requisite bat speed to impact the ball out in front. There’s looseness to his hands and quickness which allows him to turn the barrel over the inside part of the plate well; Lemieux has an exaggerated hand pump in the back of his load which aids in the creation of bat speed but could mess with his timing, though he was very on time during this look, even out in front at times. The barrel whip and present bat speed lead to some intrigue on his ability to hit for power with added loft and he showed good actions at shortstop with arm strength, was up to 81 mph on the mound later on with a good curveball, and has a well-rounded skill-set.




Turning in what might have been the start of the day was Avery Goldensoph (2021, Saginaw, Mich.) as he led Arsenal Baseball to a victory while striking out eleven and allowing only one hit over five shutout innings. Goldensoph has a lean, lanky, and athletic frame with a listing of 6-foot-2, 150-pounds. The righthanded pitcher has a fairly simple delivery with a loose, online, and repeatable arm stroke that saw him run his fastball up to 85 mph while flashing short sink when leveraged low in the strike zone. There’s some rawness to the profile but the low effort delivery, arm speed, and frame all lead one to think that there’s a lot more velocity in there with projection and cleaning up the delivery somewhat. Goldensoph sat primarily in the 80-84 mph range and attacked hitters to both sides with the fastball, but the breaking ball might have been his best pitch with good shape and feel for landing the pitch for strikes. Though he got a lot of ugly swings and misses, the curveball is a difference maker for Goldensoph.

Starting on the mound for the Keystone Bombers in what might have been the tightest game of the day was Nikolas Rubendall (2022, East Norriton, Pa.) and the physical prospect has impressed all week offensively, showing bat speed through extension and some impact strength as well. The arm strength and pitching chops were the main takeaways during this look as he turned in a gutsy performance while showing legit pitching tools as well. The arm stroke is a bit longer through the back with a soft stab, but the arm strength allowed him to run his fastball up to 83 mph in the first inning and work in the 78-81 mph range throughout. Rubendall also used a breaking ball but his best secondary pitch was a very advanced changeup. The pitch was thrown with slower arm speed, however it showed significant fading action to the arm side and gave him a neutralizing agent against lefthanded hitters.

Opposing Rubendall on the mound was righthander pitcher Cade Sharp (2022, Heath, Texas) and he showed off some interesting tools during his two inning start. Sharp battled through some command issues in his second inning, but the first frame he sat 81-84 mph while topping out at 85 mph with looseness and a very projectable 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame. Sharp generates significant arm whip from a longer, online stroke through an over the top release. This allows him to create significant downhill plane when he’s on time as the arm path is the main generator of the delivery; the lower half doesn’t generate much push off the backside or downhill, but the arm speed allows him to catch up and be on time. The velocity dropped some in the second and he mixed in a curveball in the upper-60s, however Sharp is a very intriguing prospect for this class and one to follow.

The Dallas Tigers have gotten a lot of attention for their big, physical position players, however leadoff man Owen Peck (2022, Frisco, Texas) is just as worthy of recognition as he is an absolute sparkplug of a leadoff man. Peck is a very good runner, timed at 4.2 seconds to first and 4.33 seconds on a turn from the right side, and uses that advanced speed to be a terror on the base paths. He already has five stolen bases thus far and gets very good reads off pitchers. Peck’s hand quickness and compact swing allow him to drive hard hit contact on a line to all fields as he hooked a double down the pull side line during this game to start the game off with a double. Peck’s athleticism also takes the form of good actions in the middle infield, however the offense and speed are very intriguing as he doesn’t swing-and-miss a lot and grinds out at-bats, usually ending with a positive result for him.

– Vincent Cervino
PG Special Events
Travel, Lodging, Entertainment
PG Partners
Recommended
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2025 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.