AZ
T-Rex Baseball Club has stood out for a number of reasons, not the
least of which is their 3-0 record and spot in the playoffs. T-Rex
is run by former MLB standout Luis Gonzalez and his brother and
features mostly 2017 players from the Phoenix area, including
Gonzalez' son infielder Jacob Gonzalez (2017, Scottsdale,
Ariz.). Another aspect of the team is the size of the athletes on
team; Gonzalez is every bit of 6-foot-3, 180-pounds with lots of room
to grow and he was playing second base in that lineup.
Gonzalez
is a player that baseball fans are going to hear about consistently
going into the future, as he has a strong righthanded swing with lots
of present bat speed and projection. It was also instructive
watching him play second base, as it's obvious that he already has
the internal baseball clock that only comes with instincts and deep
exposure to the game.
Second
baseman and outfielder Zach Baptist (2017, Phoenix,
Ariz.) played exceptionally well for T-Rex on Saturday, going 4-for-4
one game and making an outstanding running catch in left field in the
other game. 6-foot-4, 190 pound shortstop Boyd Vander Kooi
(2017, Mesa, Ariz.) showed a loose and fast righthanded swing and
lots of athleticism, and third baseman Scott Mehan (2017,
Scottsdale, Ariz.) also showed notable bat speed and hitting ability.
Righthander Joseph Montenegro (2017, Farmers Branch, Texas)
pounded the strike zone with a heavy 83-86 mph fastball while tossing
a complete game for T-Rex.
So
Cal NTT righthander Justin Willis (2017, West New York, N.J.)
made his second trip out to the western time zone in five weeks and
made it very worthwhile, throwing a complete game 3-hitter with 12
strikeouts in a 2-1 comeback win over the CBA Bulldogs. Willis also
participated in the PG Underclass All-American Games at the
University of San Diego immediately following the PG All-American
Classic in mid-August. Willis has a middle infielder's 5-foot-11
build and is very athletic on the mound, with a couple of different
delivery looks and a true four-pitch arsenal that is really tough to
hit when he's throwing strikes. His fastball topped out at 87 mph
Saturday but he got a lot of swings and misses on his big frisbee
slider and plenty of called strikes with an outstanding 77 mph
changeup.
Another
righthander who competed at the PG Underclass All-American Games and
who stood out Saturday was GBG Marucci Navy righthander Johnny
Morell (2016, Temecula, Calif.). The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Morell
needed only 31 pitches to throw three perfect innings in an 8-0 GBG
run rule victory. Most of those 31 pitches were hard sinking 87 mph
fastballs at the bottom of the strike zone. It was an impressive
display of one dominant pitch that Morell just pounded the strike
zone with.
Another
young 2017 pitcher who was impressive was CBA Marucci 2017
righthander Charles Nies (Coto de Caza, Calif.). Nies topped
out at 86 mph in throwing a complete game victory over a strong
Colton Nighthawks White team while also showing a curveball with hard
spin and a feel for his changeup. TrackMan
has a radar set up on three of the Reds fields at the Goodyear
complex and the 6-foot-1, 180-pound Nies was getting extension on his
release over the seven-foot mark on many of his pitches, a mark that
is above Major League average in that category. Watching Nies from
the side it was evident that he could get even more use from his
lower half in his delivery that could lead to immediate velocity
improvements and even more extension to the plate.
Certainly
one of the most exciting players to watch at this event, and probably
most other events, is Phenom Texas shortstop
Donovan Langston (2017, Frisco, Texas). Langston is generously
listed at 5-foot-9, 160-pounds but is a wiry collection of
fast-twitch muscles that give him lightning quickness and speed on
the bases and in the field. He stole second base with ease standing
up once on Saturday despite everyone on the field and in the stands
knowing that he'd be running. Langston also has real righthanded bat
speed at the plate and is one of the few players you'll see at this
age who shows an obvious two-strike approach, with a less pronounced
shift into contact and a shorter swing path to the ball. With
Langston, of course, any time he makes contact and puts the ball on
the ground the defense is going to have to make a good play to get
him. Defensively, Langston has plenty of arm strength to stay at
shortstop and was up to 83 mph off the mound on Friday.
Phenom
Texas got a strong pitching performance from righthander Jerry
Quemeda (2016, Upland, Calif.) on Saturday morning in a complete
game performance. Quemeda topped out at 88 mph early in the game
from a loose over-the-top arm slot and maintained his velocity well
through the middle innings. He also threw a slider up to 77 mph that
showed good depth at times.
It's
rare to see a 2018 grad hitting in the three hole of a team composed
primarily of 2016 players and it catches the eye, especially with
14-16 fields in play at some times. That was the case with the Playa
Vista Orioles Saturday morning and their young right fielder Branden
Boissiere (Riverside, Calif.). Boissiere has a very athletic
5-foot-11, 165-pound build for his age and just looks like a baseball
player and athlete from the way takes his lefthanded stance in the
box and runs the bases. He showed a strong swing with present bat
speed and spanked one hard single to right field that really jumped
off the bat well.
Perfect
Game's Jeff Dahn wrote a story Friday about Gamers Baseball Alaska, believed to be the first team from that state ever to
compete in a WWBA/BCS tournament. There were a couple of players
worth noting on that team from a talent perspective as well.
Lefthanded pitcher and first baseman Jordan Bonk (2016,
Ketchikan, Alaska) passes the eye test as well as any prospect in the
country with a very projectable and athletic 6-foot-5, 195-pound
build. He has the nicest swing on the team, with a well leveraged
lefthanded stroke that drove one mid-80s fastball Saturday hard into
right field that was 88 mph off the bat. On the mound, Bonk has a
smooth delivery and loose arm that produced a 78-81 mph live fastball
and 70 mph curveball with some tightness and depth.
Bonk's
catcher, Julito Fazzani (2016, Anchorage, Alaska) also passed
the eye test at a solid 5-foot-10, 205-pounds. He threw out three
runners attempting to steal in consecutive innings on Saturday with
pop times of 2.08, 2.10 and 2.11 and almost back-picked another
runner at second base later in the game. Fazzani's throwing
fundamentals were outstanding and his arm strength plenty good enough
to play at the next level.
One
of the most exciting teams in the field this weekend was the San
Diego Show, and with big physical 2017 righthander Kyle Hurt
(Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) on the mound, there were prospects all over
the field for the Show. Hurt topped out at 88 mph and showed heavy
sinking action on his fastball. He has shown the ability to locate it
to both sides of the plate in the past, though he was less sharp on
the glove side in this outing but his stuff was plenty good enough to
dominate anyway. Hurt struck out eight and allowed just an unearned
run over four innings on two hits.
2016
outfielder Mickey Moniak (Encinitas, Calif.) made hitting
look easy in a 3-for-3 effort. He showed his usual quick hands and
athleticism, but it was the approach that made this level of
competition look unchallenging to him. Moniak stepped into the box
with a plan and adjusted that plan as at-bats unfolded, and by only
swinging at pitches he could square up he was able to put loose and
easy low effort swings on the baseball getting the barrel to it on
time. When watching Moniak in game situations it's easy to forget
that he has power hiding beneath the surface because he rarely sells
out to reach it and typically only taps into it when at-bats unfold
in a way that present him an opportunity to do so. He also stole
three bases and scored a pair of runs in the Show's rout of the SCBC
Huskies.
Another
standout in the Show's offensive outburst was 2017 shortstop Zach
Sehgal (La Jolla, Calif.) who went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles
and a loud flyout. Sehgal has highly projectable tools, and while he
lacks the level of polish of the top ranked prospects in the 2017
class, with development he has a chance to move into that group. He
has shown steady improvement with the bat this summer and his
defensive ability in the infield has been his greatest asset since he
showed up on the national scene last summer.
With
all of the offensive fireworks going on, it would be easy for the
shot that 2017 catcher Hunter Isbell (San Diego, Calif.)
crushed to be lost in the shuffle. But the triple to the wall would
have been noteworthy had it come against a pitching machine because
of how well he accelerates his hands through contact, allowing him to
generate surprising power for his size. It wasn't a fluke either, as
he has shown that same punch in previous viewings as well and as he
matures physically as well as in his approach at the plate he has a
chance to take a step forward and become a consistently dangerous
hitter.
The
top fastball velocity of the day belonged to 2016 righthander Jack
Little (Las Vegas, Nev.). Little has a big frame that projects to
get even bigger, with long limbs and broad shoulders, he gets plus
extension to the plate and creates deep sinking action in the
upper-80s, topping out at 90 mph. He has a deliberate pace to his
delivery with a pronounced pause at the top of his leg kick prior to
firing into his long online stride. He has very good athleticism to
his delivery, keeping his gears under control through the long stride
and managing to get out front with good extension and staying on top
of the baseball to create plane in spite of the stride length. His
arm is loose and works very well. He doesn't yet have feel for his
secondary offerings but he mixed them effectively and both his deep
curveball (70-73 mph) and changeup (72-75 mph) show promise.
The
only hit little allowed was on an impressive swing by 2017 outfielder
Kenji Henderson (LaVerne, Calif.) who lined a single into
center field that left the bat at 94 mph. Henderson is a strong and
young lefthanded hitting outfielder whose hand-eye coordination
stands out already, and he has good strength for his age, and with
development has a chance to develop into a power hitter.
The
Nick Allen show is typically the highlight of games played by
CBA Marucci 2017, and that continued to be the case as he entertained
with his premium agility and coordination at shortstop and burned the
center fielder with a cleanly struck blast for a double. But his
double play partner 2017 middle infielder Tyler Freeman
(Rancho Cuccamonga, Calif.) looked like he belonged in the same
middle infield and it was fitting that the two combined on what
looked to be an easy 6-4-3 double play to end the game, that was
actually a difficult play. Allen ranged to his right, set his feet,
scooped the ball up softly and gave an immediate feed in a perfect
spot to Freeman, who made a quick strong throw to first to seal the
victory over the Prospects National Team.
The
standout up the middle defensive ability of CBA continued past the
infield as 2017 outfielder Ezele Wickes (Whittier, Calif.)
showed off surprising arm strength in center field which paired well
with his advanced routes and reads. The tall lanky young center
fielder didn't get an opportunity to show off the depth of his range
in center field, but given how easily he got to balls that were hit
to areas medium distance away from his setup it appears likely that
if he doesn't already have plus range that he can develop it as he
gets stronger and improves his initial burst. He also shows quick
hands at the plate and projects well all around.
In
this 80 team tournament with players from around the country, there
has not been a better prospect than 2016 shortstop Nick Quintana
(Las Vegas, Nev.). He was highlighted prominently in the Day 1 recap
and his dominant play on both sides of the ball continued into Day 2
as well. He has power, arm strength and advanced actions at
shortstop. He made play after play look easy at shortstop ranging in
every direction and his bat has been a major impact in SACSN's 3-0
pool play run as they look to defend their title. The USC commit is
currently ranked in the top 20 players in the nation in Perfect
Game's Class of 2016 rankings, and he's proving he is well deserving
of that lofty spot.
Big
bodied 2017 lefthander Jorge Arellano (Cudahy, Calif.) ran his
fastball up to 87 mph in relief for the SoCal Bombers 2017 as they
mounted a comeback attempt against Southern Nevada Baseball and
struck out five in three innings.
2018
catcher and righthanded pitcher Dante DeNiro (Tucson, Ariz.)
showed very good hand-eye coordination at the plate that gives him a
chance to continue to consistently hit as he moves up the ladder. We
didn't get a chance to see him catch as he took the mound (and was up
to 79 mph) in the night cap for the Tucson Champs, but have heard
positive reviews there as well.
2016
infielder Brayden Petroshus (Littleton, Colo.) showed impressive
reflexes while manning the hot corner and made a quick reaction
diving stop to his left. He has a projectable frame at 6-foot and
160-pounds and has the makings of quality bat speed.