Here’s
further proof that pitchers' raw stuff can improve at any point and
often for no discernible reason. The Orlando Scorpions 2014
lefthander Colton Campbell threw in his 20th Perfect Game event last night. The 5-foot-11, 160-pound southpaw
topped out at 82 mph at this event last year and was still only
topping out at 84 mph at the WWBA 17u Memorial Day tournament.
Scorpions coach Matt Gerber says he was solidly in the mid-80s all
summer for the Scorpions. Last night Campbell was 87-91 for four
innings to go with a mid-70s breaking ball and an 80 mph changeup.
Gerber says there are big name schools scrambling to try to open up
scholarship money in advance of the November signing date.
A
couple of young 2015 Scorpions pitchers showed solid arms while I was
watching. Lefthander Nick Swan has a polished delivery and
good arm action and was up to 85 mph with a sharp breaking curveball.
Righthander Ryan Welsh is a 6-foot-3, 175-pound classic
projection right hander with a present mid-80s fastball and a loose,
easy arm action.
Watching
highly ranked 2015 shortstop Brendan Rodgers hit is always a
pleasure as it seems to come so easily to him. He looks like he’s
grown some in the last few months and is stronger to go with it.
Scorpions
third baseman Cody Brickhouse attends Sarasota High School but
was playing for the Scorpions at this event, which created some light
hearted moments when he faced up against his Sarasota High School
teammates in the Scorpions/Sarasota quarterfinal matchup. Brickhouse
is a 6-foot-1, 190-pound righthanded hitter with very good strength
and power and is definitely a young prospect to keep an eye on.
Jacksonville
Warriors first baseman and outfielder Keenan Bell is listed in
the PG database as a 2015 but we’re told he is actually a sophomore
at Stanton College Prep. He’s also listed at 6-foot-1, 210-pounds
but appears to be closer to 6-foot-3 at first glance. What is known
for sure is that the young lefthanded hitter has a nice swing with
tons of power potential. He blasted a triple off the right field
wall at the Twins complex Sunday morning and consistently takes a
strong, full swing.
I
neglected to mention a precocious young freshman righthander I saw
Saturday morning in yesterday’s notes. Robert Touron
attends Gulliver Schools along with the rest of his South Florida
Raiders teammates. He’s a slender and projectable 6-foot-1,
170-pounds and has a loose, easy arm action that accelerates quickly
through release. He was up to 84 mph Saturday and showed a mature
three-pitch mix, with a very nice 73 mph changeup and a curveball
that flashed hard spin but was a bit twisty out front at times.
2015
shortstop Jose Rivera from the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy
Yellow team showed nice actions at shortstop with soft, quick hands.
He made a couple of difficult plays look routine Sunday morning
against the Scorpions with advanced footwork that put him in perfect
position to make quick, accurate throws.
I
didn’t see him pitch but our Perfect Game field scout told me about
a 6-foot-7, 180-pound righthanded pitcher on CBC 16U Riverhawks who
is a player to watch. Jack Becker is a 2015 from Mandarin
High School in Jacksonville; he topped out at 85 mph with good
downhill plane, a good arm action and solid overall mechanics to
build on.
One
of the more interesting young pitchers I saw all weekend was 2016
lefthander Andrew Baker from Chet Lemon’s Juice and Haines
City High School. Baker isn’t very big at 5-foot-10, 160-pounds
but he has a very fast arm that produced a fastball that was
consistently 85-87 mph with frequent sharp cutting action. His
breaking ball was a 75-78 mph slider that was nasty at times as well.
I couldn’t help thinking of former MLB southpaw Chuck McElroy when
watching Baker throw four solid innings.
One
of the first players I mentioned in the scout notes on Friday was FTB
Chandler 2015 first baseman and righthanded pitcher Jason
Heinrich, so I might as well finish up with him as well.
Heinrich slammed a pair of home runs in Chandler’s first playoff
win Sunday afternoon and the one I saw was a no-doubter to deep left
centerfield on Brett Field at Terry Park. I’m also told he was up
to 89 mph on the mound in a pool play game. He’s an exciting young
prospect.