World Underclass Day 1 Notes

The Tri-State Arsenal have had an outstanding summer and from the looks of the Arsenal 2017's roster, they are giving it their best shot at adding a WWBA Underclass championship to their 2015 resume. They posted a 9-0 run-rule victory over the Indiana Prospects 17u Thursday afternoon to start off the tournament.

Tri-State threw three high level pitchers who they probably have in mind to hopefully throw again on Sunday or Monday. Lefthander D.L. Hall (2017, Warner Robbins, Ga.), the eighth-ranked player nationally in the 2017 class, started and worked two innings, pitching in the 89-92 mph range with his fastball. Hall has a high-waisted and long-armed 6-foot-2, 170-pound projectable build and a loose and fast arm from a high three-quarters arm slot. He had a better breaking ball Thursday than the previous time I saw him, working from 74-77 mph and flashing hard 1-to-7 biting depth. Hall wasn't consistent getting out front with the pitch but he showed its potential.

Another lefty, John Kodros (2017, Coppell, Texas) followed Hall to the mound and struck out five hitters in two innings. Kodros, who is listed at 6-foot-4, 180-pounds and looks more like 6-foot-5, 160-pounds, is the polar opposite of Hall in pitching style. He works from a very extended low three-quarters crossfire delivery with extreme angle to the plate and looks like a nightmare at-bat for lefthanded hitters. Kodros worked in the 84-86 mph range but his best pitch was a 75-78 mph slider with hard spin and big depth that he'd start straight at a lefthander's hip and break over the plate.

Righthander Sam Fuller (2017, Smyrna, Ga.) was impressive in his own right in throwing the final inning, topping out at 88 mph with a late sinking low-80s two-seamer and a power 74 mph curveball with good depth.

Tri-State, which is based out of New Jersey, has gone across the country to fill their lineup for this event, bringing in a quartet of talented infielders in shortstop Garrett Kocis (2017, Omaha, Neb.), first baseman Chase Sanguinetti (2018, Tampa, Fla.), shortstop Zach Sehgal (2017, La Jolla, Calif.) and third baseman Jonathan Windham (2017, Spring, Texas). Sehgal went 2-for-2 with two runs scored, two RBI and two stolen bases to lead the Arsenal's attack, while another infielder, Tyler Juhl (2017, Newark, Del.), had the game's best swing, a triple off the right field fence that would have been out of any field in Fort Myers except the Terry Park Stadium field.

Righthander Brandon Birdsell (2018, Willis, Texas) almost matched Hall in the velocity department, pitching at 89-91 mph in relief for the Marucci Elite 16's. An early Oklahoma commit, Birdsell has a solid 6-foot-2, 190-pound build and sound, relatively fast-paced mechanics. His breaking ball was a 81-83 mph slider that had power and late sharpness and will be a high quality second pitch for him. He also had two hits in the game.

The game ended up as a 11-1 win for the Charlotte Panthers over the Jersey Boyz Scout Team but the game was a 1-1 tie headed into the bottom of the 5th inning, more than enough to entertain one of the bigger crowds of college coaches at Terry Park during the day. Both starting pitchers drew attention, although they were very different types of prospects.

Lefthander Justin Fall (2017, Beachwood, N.J.) threw the first four innings for the Boyz and had a loose and fast arm that produced a 80-83 mph fastball and a hard-biting curveball up to 74 mph. Fall is 6-foot-5, 182-pounds and very projectable and it wouldn't be surprising to see him take a big jump in velocity over the next few years.

The Panthers starter, southpaw Alec Burleson (2017, Stanley, N.C.), had the opposite body type, with an extra strong 6-foot-1, 200-pound build. He struck out nine hitters in 5 1/3 innings with a polished three-pitch mix that included a fastball up to 85 mph, a big breaking upper-60s curveball that he had plus feel for and his go-to pitch, a 75 mph changeup with late sinking action that was a real weapon for him.

Two of the game's relievers were also worth seeing and also notably very opposite in their physical appearance. Righthander Cameron Cotter of the Panthers is young and projectable at 6-foot-2, 160-pounds and worked at 85-87 mph, touching 89, with a very fast and loose arm. He also flashed hard spin on a 74 mph curveball.

The Boyz countered with their own hard throwing righthander in Michael Gutierrez (2017, Garfield, N.J.), who generated a fastball up to 91 mph from his big and strong 6-foot-2, 225-pound frame.




Righthander Johnny Buckner (2017, Mundelein, Ill.) has been up to 88 mph this past summer at PG events and worked at 83-86 mph Thursday with a hard spinning 72 mph curveball. He picked up the loss despite striking out eight hitters in three innings in the Memphis Tigers 3-2 win over Longshots Baseball.

Indiana Prospects 2017 righthander Cade Negley (2017, Butler, Penn.) has a very strong 6-foot-1, 190-pound build and a compact power pitcher's arm action that produced a 82-86 mph fastball that had lots of tailing and sinking life. He threw a five-hit complete game, working in a low-70s curveball and changeup in with his fastball and pounding the strike zone with all three pitches.

It's only natural while keying in on pitchers to notice more about the catchers that are receiving them. Two catchers stood out at Terry Park. The South Charlotte Panthers Nate Kinsch (2017, Iron Station, N.C.) is a quiet receiver behind the plate who handled Alec Burleson and Cameron Cotter's stuff easily and did a good job when called upon to block off-speed pitches in the dirt. His most impressive tool, however, was his raw bat speed. He flew out deep to right field in his first trip to the plate, then blasted a triple well over the center fielder's head his second at-bat. Kinsch is a live-bodied athlete who showed speed on the bases as well.

On Deck O's Orange 2017 catcher Patrick Bailey (2017, Greensboro, S.C.) put on the best throwing performance of the day. He popped 1.94 to get one runner at second base with a perfect throw, picked a runner off third base in what ended up as a 1-0 ball game, then had another runner picked cleanly off at first base in the seventh inning who ended up being safe on a misplay by the first baseman.

– David Rawnsley





Ranked 24th in the most recent iteration of Perfect Game’s class of 2017 high school player rankings, Jacob Pearson (2017, West Monroe, La.) slotted into the three-hole for Marucci Elite on Thursday afternoon. The Mississippi State commit has dazzled at past Perfect Game events, including the Junior National Showcase this past June and the PG Underclass All-American Games in mid-August.

Considering that Pearson is listed at 6-foot, 185-pounds one would not expect the outfielder to be the most physical player on the field, but he’s a tremendous athlete with a well-proportioned and tightly-wound, sturdy frame full of quick-twitch athleticism. He’s been clocked as low as a 6.58 seconds in the 60-yard dash, and the footspeed plays well on the defensive side of the ball. He currently slots in at center field, and he projects to remain at the position thanks to stellar reads off the bat and routes to the ball, both of which were on display on the first day of the WWBA Underclass World Championship.

At the plate, Pearson displays impressive bat speed with strength in his forearms and wrists to go along with quick hands. Although he did not record an extra-base hit on Thursday, he flashed some of his power by smashing some balls to his pull side that landed just foul but would have been easy extra bases if he was able to keep them in the field of play. Furthermore, he showcased a patient, mature approach in the early going by laying off of pitches just outside the strike zone and judging off-speed pitches out of the pitcher's hand.

Jonathan Gates (2018, Brooksville, Fla.) is typically more renowned as a pitcher, as the young southpaw has been clocked as high as 86 mph at previous Perfect Game events. The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder is currently ranked as the No. 53 player in the nation for the class of 2018 and the top lefthanded pitcher out of the state of Florida, but he also displayed some skills with the bat on Friday afternoon. Gates ripped a triple to the right-center field gap, exhibiting solid bat speed in his fluid line drive swing and maintaining good balance in the process. Although he still may possess a higher ceiling on the mound with his combination of present stuff and future physical projection, Gates has shown that he has considerable hitting tools so he could possibly contribute as a two-way player at the next level.

Although he lacks the physical projection of a player such as the aforementioned Jonathan Gates, Avery Short (2017, Hurley, N.Y.) showcased some impressive raw stuff off of the mound and turned some heads in the process. Listed at 5-foot-8, 155-pounds, Short doesn’t fit the prototypical pitcher’s mold, but he ran his fastball up to 85 mph in the early innings, settling down in the 82-84 mph range. The compact righty has an up-tempo pace to the plate, but he does a very solid job of repeating his mechanics and showed off good command of his heater to all four quadrants. Despite his height, Short was able to confidently use his fastball up in the zone, and induced a number of whiffs on pitches at the letters or above.

He also worked in a low-70s breaking ball that was very effective. While the tilt on the offering varied a bit, with some showing 11-to-5 break and others more lateral 10-to-4 break, Short was able to throw the offering in any count and locate it for called strikes or manipulate the depth and use it as a chase pitch below the knees. The combination of stuff and pitchability should allow Short to continue pitching effectively at the next level.

Jordan Henshaw (2017, New Market, Ala.) and Thomas Zazzaro (2017, Hendersonville, Tenn.) formed the backbone of the Knights Baseball infield on Thursday afternoon, with the former serving as the team’s shortstop and the latter as the second baseman. Both currently are uncommitted as Henshaw and Zazzaro have medium, athletic frames with some room to project additional strength.

Henshaw, listed at 5-foot-11, 180-pounds, showed good bat speed with strength off of the barrel in driving a double over the left fielder’s head and pulling his hands in to mash a single through the left side in a subsequent at-bat. He also displayed solid footspeed and good instincts on the basepaths.

Zazzaro, listed at 6-foot, 170-pounds is similarly athletic and he also showed solid hitting tools with quick hands and a compact, efficient line drive stroke geared to contact and gap-to-gap power.

– Andrew Krause



Dozens of collegiate coaches gathered around at Terry Park on Friday afternoon, hoping to catch a look at the matchup between Longshots Baseball and the Memphis Tigers.

Righthanded pitcher Blake Wimberley (2018, Eads, Tenn.) toed the slab for the Tigers, and the sophomore certainly flashed the stuff necessary for a solid upside. At 6-foot-1, 160-pounds Wimberley’s build is athletic with lots of projection on the body. His arm works well up to a higher three-quarters slot, generating solid downhill plane to the plate while working in the 80-82 mph range with his fastball. The looseness of his arm in combination with the room to grow he has on his body all point towards significant velocity gains in the future.

Righthanded pitcher Ralph Gambino (2017, Freehold, New Jersey) showed impressive arm speed in his time on the mound for the New Jersey Marlins. He employs a shorter arm stroke to mid three-quarters slot, and worked in the mid- to upper-80s with his fastball, topping out at 88 mph. His delivery is compact and up-tempo to go along with some deception, allowing his fastball to seem even quicker to opposing hitters.

The Midland Redskins always seem to be loaded with midwestern talent, and this year’s National Underclass team is no exception. Catcher Michael Hall (2017, Mason, Ohio) had a few solid at-bats, showing off solid bat speed and plate coverage, lining a base hit to the opposite field for a pair of RBI.

Outfielder Cam Hill (2017, Georgetown, Ky.) is committed to the University of Kentucky already, and the speedy prospect certainly fits the bill of a high on-base percentage leadoff hitter. His hands are very quick and he controls the barrel well, showing the ability to make contact on pitches throughout the zone and use his plus speed to get down the line in a hurry.

The Redskins are also pretty loaded on the mound, and showed that in their matchup with the Iowa Select Royal team. Righthanded pitcher Jake Schrand (2017, Cincinnati, Ohio) worked 84-86 mph across his outing, with a knack for commanding his fastball at the knees on the outside corner to righthanded hitters. He did a good job getting swings and misses with his fastball without even really needing to dip into his secondary arsenal.

Later in the game, 2018 righthanded pitcher Lane Flamm (New Richmond, Ohio) came on for the Redskins and was immediately impressive. He uses a longer arm action with a slight stab in the back of the arm circle, but he comes out of it clean and shows impressive arm acceleration through release. His fastball peaked at 87 mph, and worked in the 82-86 range for the most part. The ball comes out of his hand cleanly and with ease, giving him some serious potential to continue adding velocity as he physically develops.

– Brian Sakowski



Righthanded pitcher Jeffrey Praml (2017, Bridgewater, N.J.) is long and lean now, but there is a good amount of projection left and he will fill in his 6-foot-3 frame nicely. His arm gets cut off at times, but he still maintains good arm speed coming from his high three-quarters slot. On the mound his fastball sits comfortably at 80-83 mph with some natural cut action to it. He shows a good feel for the late movement and is able to control it enough to keep the ball from cutting out over the plate. The fastball is at it’s best when he can elevate it above the batters hands and saw them off. The Zoned RD Hawks righthander kept the opposition from sitting on fastball by mixing in a sweeping slider that comes across the plate at 71-72 mph. Praml does a good job locating this secondary offering down in the zone where he is able to generate some weak groundballs or just miss bats. Sequencing his pitches is the key to his success and he has a feel for it already.

Playing for FTB 2018, catcher Jacob Herbert (2019, Lakeland, Fla.) immediately stands out thanks to his very mature build. He stands 6-foot-2 weighing 190-pounds and has the build to be a durable backstop. At the plate, Herbert uses a high leg kick for timing and it works well for him. Staying tall and balanced, Herbert gets his hands loaded and ready to unleash on time and in sync with his front foot. The swings he puts on the ball are smooth and take a direct path. Herbert keeps his hands loose where they guide the barrel through the zone and he showed the ability and willingness to use the entire field with the ability to drive the ball to any part of the park.

Behind the plate Herbert is a solid receiver. He sits low in his crouch and presents an ideal target for his pitcher. WIth his strong hands and wrists, Herbert doesn’t stab at the ball and he is able to keep his glove quiet when the ball hits the mitt. He shows a good feel for calling pitches and communicates very well with his pitcher.

Righthander Cameron Hupe (2017, Tinley Park, Ill.) had to deal with a lengthy rain delay, but he came right out and established himself with a good mix of a 82-84 mph fastball and a short, tight-spinning curveball. The 6-foot-1 righty stays on top of his fastball and does a good job pitching downhill. His arm action is full but quick and he generates some good drive to the plate by using his lower half very effectively. Hupe brings his knee up high where he adds some deception and hides the ball for a split second, further disrupting the timing of the hitter. With the deception and angles he creates, Hupe is even tougher thanks to his repeatable delivery and consistent strike-throwing ability.

Adding to his game is his breaking ball. He has an advanced feel for this pitch and does a great job adding and subtracting velocity from it. At any time this pitch can cross the plate anywhere from 61-66 mph, and no matter the velocity on it, Hupe showed he can throw it for strikes making his opponents' job even more tough. With the constant timing disruption, there were a lot of bats being missed and some very awkward, late swings.

– Chris King



Andrew Moore (2018, Flovilla, Ga.) showed one of the more interesting overall packages on the mound, especially considering the righthander is just beginning his sophomore year. With a long and projectable yet strong 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame, Moore was able to not only show quality fastball velocity but was able to hold it throughout his outing and looked as though he was getting stronger as the innings wore on.

Moore sat steadily in the 84-87 mph range with his fastball, sporting a full and quick arm action while consistently working to the bottom of the zone. The velocity is noteworthy on it’s own but the amount of run/sink he was able to create was equally as impressive which in turn produced steady groundball contact around the infield. The ball comes out his hand cleanly and showed the ability to work to either side of the plate while the velocity played up thanks to his feel to mix. He does a nice job of repeating both his mechanics and arm action on his changeup, a pitch that mimicked his fastball in terms of life with late dive at 74 mph while finishing online towards the plate with his lower half. His changeup is the more advanced of his two off-speed pitches though he did show a curveball in the upper-60s for strikes, featuring short depth and some sweep away from righthanded hitters.

Brock Carter (2017, Covington, Ga.) might be listed as an outfielder in the program but he started at shortstop for the BigStix Gamers 17u and looked the part with his actions and overall footwork. Listed at 5-foot-10, 165-pounds Carter has present strength throughout his frame which was evident in his righthanded swing, showing solid bat speed with nice strength at contact. After lining a single over the third baseman’s head, in which he stayed short and balanced through the ball, Carter came back up towards the end of the game and unloaded on a fastball that he shot to the right-center field gap for easy extra bases.

Jacob Steinberg (2018, Germantown, Md.) and Zeke Gongola (2018, Frederick, Md.) are teammates in both the summer and spring as both attend St. Johns College in Maryland.

Steinberg, who’s currently uncommitted, came out and ran his fastball up to 89 mph and continued to work in the mid- to upper-80s over the next couple of innings. With a quick arm action and some effort at release Steinberg was able to generate very good life to his fastball through the zone with late running life in on righthanded hitters. Listed as a primary shortstop, Steinberg, who’s currently ranked No. 107 in the 2018 class rankings, also showed a nice feel for his 12-to-6 curveball that was up to 70 mph showing nice downward depth. By keeping both his fastball and curveball towards the bottom of the zone Steinberg was able to keep his infielders active, inducing consistent and weak ground ball contact while breaking a bat or two over his outing.

Gongola is a recent commit to the University of Maryland, as in the last handful of days, and certainly looked the part during his time on the mound. With a strong and well proportioned 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame Gongola came out and showed a true three-pitch mix which included two different types of breaking balls. His arm action remained short and compact through the back before delivering a fastball in the 85-87 mph range with hard and late cutting action away from righthanded hitters. The ball comes out of his hand cleanly and features downhill plane towards the plate with little effort at release.

His slider may have been the best breaking ball I saw throughout the opening day and also serves as a good indicator that more velocity on the way for the young righthander. Coming across between 76 and 79 mph, Gongola’s slider showed late and sharp tilting life and with the hand speed that’s required to generate that type of velocity on a breaking ball, it’s usually is a good way of knowing more fastball velocity is on the way. His curveball showed a distinct difference in shape and velocity as it showed more depth and 11-to-5 shape at 73 mph, flashing it a handful of times through his innings.

One of the youngest players in the entire tournament, righthander Kendall Williams (2019, Hernando, Miss.) fits right in with the older competition as he stands 6-foot-4 and obviously projects very well moving forward. The overall stuff already stands out at present as he worked in the 83-85 mph range in the first inning and steadily sat in the 81-84 range over the next couple of innings. With a long and loose arm action through the back, Williams showed some whip at release and was able to locate down in the zone with his fastball which projects as well as his frame.

Though the velocity standouts for a player in his graduation class, Williams threw both a changeup and slider for strikes with each showing nice potential. With the feel to mix and keep hitters off balance, Williams showed a changeup that topped at 76 mph and featured fading life to his arm side, similar to the life he was able to create on his fastball. The slider may be more advanced at present with a rather consistent feel to throw it for strikes and was able to pick up some swings and misses with the mid-70s offering.

Cal Conley (2018, Loveland, Ohio) is a highly regarded prospect in the 2018 class as he’s currently ranked as the 44th best player in the country per Perfect Game and showed all the tools to back up the lofty ranking. A quick look at Conley and you just get the notion that he’s a baseball player and after watching him play you quickly confirm. Listed at 5-foot-10, 165-pounds the uncommitted Conley made the hard plays at shortstop look rather routine, showing the ability to throw from multiple arm slots and with plenty of arm strength. The glove plays just as well as the arm and the twitch throughout his frame is evident in his actions.

A switch-hitter, Conley showed a solid feel for the barrel throughout the game from the left side and squared up the ball in his final at-bat for the hardest hit ball I personally saw on day one. He starts his set up with a lower hand set but gets them into a good position while staying short and direct with the barrel to the ball.

The son of former MLB-er Javier Valentin, Xavier Valentin (2018, Manati, Puerto Rico) showed tools of his own, especially on defense while splitting time at both third base and shortstop. With a broad-shouldered frame that looks taller and much stronger than the 5-foot-9, 140-pounds that’s listed on the roster, Valentin showed plenty of arm strength and carry across the diamond with sound actions that were put on display for the handful of balls hit his way.

Justin Bryan (2018, Palm City, Fla.) and Tanner Baker (2018, Clearwater, Fla.) are two arms who both threw for an FTB team on Thursday afternoon on adjacent fields, with Bryan throwing for FTB Royal while Baker got the start for FTB55 Elite.

The lefthanded Bryan ran his fastball up to 85 mph and sat in the low-80s with a fast arm action and lower three-quarters release which added some late life to the pitch. He was able to get the fastball down in the zone early and showed an attack mode on the mound, mixing in a 72-73 mph breaking ball with developing feel.

Baker, who’s uncommitted like Bryan above, showed a smooth and easy arm action on the mound which also produced a fastball that peaked at 85 mph and sat in the 82-84 mph range. With a high three-quarters release Baker did a nice job of getting on top of the ball, generating downhill plane while steadily filling up the bottom of the strike zone with extension out front. The rising sophomore did a nice job of filling up the strike zone and exhibited a nice feel for his 12-to-6 curveball at 70 mph with quality depth.

Nicholas Webre (2017, Youngsville, La.) impressed at numerous tournaments throughout the summer with his lefthanded swing which was again on display for Marucci’s tournament opening win. A 5-foot-10, 180-pound catcher, Webre is currently uncommitted though his bat is a tool coaches noticed this afternoon. Getting a pitch he could handle on the inner half, Webre showed solid bat speed coming through the zone and connected for a hard double to the right-center field gap, showing solid jump off the barrel with present strength in his swing.

Brandon Cellucci (2017, Wyncote, Pa.) is a long and projectable 6-foot-4 lefthander who has been on college coach’s radar since running his fastball up to 88 mph in the summer. Though he didn’t quite run his fastball up that high he did work in the 82-85 mph range, topping at 86 mph and projects for more as he continues to fill out. Cellucci has an ideal pitcher’s build with long limbs and a high waist and shows a rather short but quick arm action coming towards the plate. Working from a three-quarters arm slot on his fastball that would occasionally raise or drop slightly, Cellucci flashed hard sinking life when he stayed on top of the ball and showed rather steady running life to his arm side giving him the ability to miss barrels with his heater. His breaking ball worked in the 67-70 mph range and showed short 1-to-7 shape with some depth to the bottom of the zone.

Tahnaj Thomas (2017, Nassau, Bahamas) is a name that will have to be followed throughout the weekend as the 6-foot-4 third baseman immediately catches your attention with the quick-twitch muscle and overall looseness throughout his frame. Watching Thomas field ground balls in between innings showed just how soft his hands are along with actions and footwork through the ball that play well. The arm strength across the diamond is another tool that stood out in between the innings, even without letting the ball go, from a short and compact arm action showing plenty of carry across the diamond. Though it was a quick look at his offensive profile, Thomas is situated in the middle of the lineup and shows present bat speed through the zone that projects well with continued strength to his frame.

– Jheremy Brown