War
Eagle’s 2016 lefthander
Cooper Williams
(Gilbert, Ariz., Campo Verde High School), listed at 6-foot-2,
212-pounds, showed excellent pitchability. He worked with good
tempo and competed with a planned approach making it visible on how
well he attacks hitters. The lefty has a fluid, effortless and clean
delivery that he repeats very well. Williams has a slight turn on his
balance point with a short arm action that is very similar to Jon
Lester, which creates a little deception that allows his fastball to
play up, which sat at 80-83 mph, touching 84. Williams has advanced
command of his fastball, dotting the black on both sides, but is at
his best working inside. His 12-to-6 hammer lives at 64-67 mph,
which showed solid two-plane break. Williams can spin it as a
get-me-over strike which catches the corners and causes soft contact,
and will also start the pitch on the corner breaking out of the zone
as a legitimate out-pitch. His changeup is not fully developed yet
but shows promise at 71-73 mph for a nice straight change-of-pace.
Once both secondary pitches develop he will continue to compete with
a solid three-pitch arsenal.
NorCal
Baseball 2017 has a good one in
2017 righthander Chris Joaquim (Petaluma,
Calif., Casa Grande HS). Currently possessing a big solid
frame that projects well at 6-foot-1, 205-pounds, Joaquim uses a high
three-quarters slot with a short, compact arm action with good arm
speed. The Cal-Berkley commit has a balanced delivery that
incorporates his lower half well to generate his velocity, as his
fastball is currently a quality pitch with the potential to be a plus
pitch with maturity. The pitch sat at 85-87 mph touching 88 several
times while flashing arm-side run on occasion. Joaquin's slider was
thrown at 79-81 mph, and while it's not currently a polished pitch it
revealed some serious upside on a few that had depth and bite.
Joaquim doubled up his slider on occasion showing confidence and a
wiliness to grasp a feel for the pitch, which will lead to a
devastating power two-pitch combo.
More
upside in the NorCal program was displayed in 2018
outfielder Phillip Apodaca
(Yuba City, Calif., Yuba City HS). At 6-foot-1, 190-pounds,
Apodaca definitely passes the eye-test with a lengthy, wiry frame
that oozes with athleticism. Offensively, he has a short, quick
stroke that has no wasted movement getting the barrel in the zone
with lift and a high finish. The ball jumps off his bat when he
squares it up with a loud sound, as gap power is inevitable with more
over-the-fence power potential as he packs strength on to his
projectable frame.
First
baseman and outfielder Dylan Bonzo
(2017, Peoria, Ariz., Sunrise Mountain HS) showed the ability
to consistently make hard, loud contact with a double and a triple in
three at-bats. Bonzo has a big, burly frame at 5-foot-11, 185-pounds,
and at the plate he attacks pitches with intent to damage baseballs.
He had the tendency to sell out on his swing, but remains in with his
legs with controlled mechanics. There's plenty of juice in his bat
with current gap pop and more power potential to come.