Mentioned
in the first recap, 2016 catcher Ryan January (Swampscott, MA)
showed the same bat speed and strength in Saturday morning’s game,
this time barreling up the ball and driving it down the right field
line for a three-run home run, something he does regularly for the
East Cobb program on the summer circuit. Speaking of the East Cobb
program, Perfect Game All-American Kel Johnson (Palmetto, Ga.)
also went deep in the first time slot, showing nice strength to the
right-center field gap.
University
of Connecticut commit and righthanded pitcher William Montgomerie
(2014, Lakeville, Conn.) came out firing for Salisbury in their
afternoon matchup with Faith Baptist. Montgomerie is listed at
6-foot-3, 205-pounds, and while he may not actually weigh that much,
he does have square, broad shoulders and will continue to fill out as
strength is added to his frame.
Throwing
from a three-quarters arm slot, the UConn commit creates very nice
angles from his arm side and stays low in the zone with all three
pitches he showed.
In
the early going Montgomerie topped out at 91 mph with his fastball,
also touching a 90, while sitting 87-89 mph. The ball came out clean
and easy, making it easy to project more velocity to come.
Montgomerie
also showed two different breaking balls with his upper-70s 10-to-4
slider being the most effective with tight, late break and nice
swing-and-miss potential. His curveball crossed the plate in the
low-70s with 11-to-5 shape, but wasn’t as tight as his slider. The
off-speed pitch that shows the best potential however is his
changeup, which he threw sparingly in game action but with his arm
angle flashed nice fading life to his arm side.
Righthanded
pitcher Ronny Orta (2014, Brandon, Fla.) didn’t show the
velocity he did this past fall when he topped 93 mph in Jupiter, but
he pitched just as effectively throughout his complete game victory
in the Championship game of the Academies division over a very
talented Salisbury Prep squad. Orta’s fastball sat 87-89 throughout
his outing, often touching 90 mph. What was most impressive about
Orta’s performance was on his 111th pitch of the game
Orta reached back for a little extra and hit a 91 on the radar gun.
From
the moment 2014 righthander Maikor Mora (Brandon, Fla.) took
the mound he intrigued all the scouts in attendance who were watching
fellow 2014 Gareth Morgan, who was in the dugout opposite of
Mora. Although he only stands 6-foot-1, Mora is able to work downhill
very well with a full arm circle and a high three-quarters slot.
Mora’s
frame projects well with some added strength to his lower half as his
long, loose arm moves well and releases the ball very cleanly.
Warming up at 90 mph prior to the first inning, Mora continued to
show that velocity throughout his outing, reaching as high as 92 mph.
Given his lean frame, it was surprising how well he held his velocity
throughout the game, both from the windup and the stretch. He worked
the lower half of the strike zone very well with occasional life and
also was able to work both sides of the plate.
Mora,
a Polk State commit, showed strong feel for his 75-77 mph slider with
10-to-4 break. He maintained the same arm action, and when the ball
leaves his hand it comes out looking like a fastball with late break
away from righthanded hitters.
Morgan
(Toronto, Ontario) continued to attract scouts, and in his first
at-bat Saturday morning he gave them a glimpse of what they were
looking for. Facing Mora, who as noted above was throwing 90-91 mph
consistently, Morgan jumped on a first-pitch fastball at 90 mph,
squaring it up and lining it back up the middle coming off the bat at
92.
Following
Morgan’s hard shot, 2014 third basemen Robert Byckowski
(Etobicoke,
Ontario)
turned on an inside fastball and blasted it
over the left-center field wall, a shot that was gone as soon as it
left the bat.
Freshman
center fielder Kyle Jacobsen (Acworth, Ga.) had quite the day
at the plate for the Allatoona Buccaneers, going 4-for-4 with four
singles, three from the left side and one from the right. His first
three trips to the plate were lefthanded and hit his singles to left,
center, and right field, showing a nice feel for the barrel, and his
fourth single was to left field from the left side.
Although
he is only a junior, righthanded pitcher Jordan Gubelman
(Sarasota, Fla.) has pitched in over 20 Perfect Game events with
the latest outing coming in the 2014 PG High School Showdown
Championship game.
Standing
at 6-foot-4, Gubelman still projects well as he adds strength and
will see a bump in velocity once he incorporates his lower half and
drives down the mound. Gubelman throws from a high three-quarters
slot and shows nice command of his fastball, spotting it when and
where he wants to.
He
maintained his velocity throughout his complete game effort, sitting
86-88 mph, topping 89 a couple of times, with hard run to his arm
side. Gubelman would find himself in a 3-0 hole late in the game, but
continued to compete and battle on the mound, twice striking out the
batter when he was behind in the count. He shows a full arm circle on
the mound, and despite not using much lower half, he is able to work
downhill and pounds the bottom of the strike zone.
Of
his two off-speed pitches his changeup shows the best potential with
nice, last fade to his arm side. The velocity on the pitch is a bit
firm at 80-82 mph, but he showed a strong feel for the pitch and
showed the same slot while maintaining his arm speed. When Gubelman
stays on top of his curveball it’s a solid offering with 11-to-5
shape in the low-70s. His elbow drops at times on the pitch, getting
around the ball and becoming more of a slurve. Once he gets on top
consistently Gubelman will have a solid three-pitch mix with high
pitchability and swing-and-miss type stuff.
From
last summer and fall to this spring it’s very clear to whoever has
seen infielder Dylan Busby (Sarasota, Fla.) that he has grown
a good 2-3 inches. And while his new 6-foot-4 frame may push him to
third base permanently at the next level, Busby still shows the same
athleticism and range at the hot corner that he displayed up the
middle.
Both
Keegan James and Austin Riley (both Mississippi State
commits from Southaven, Miss.) continued to swing hot bats for DeSoto
Central. A night after throwing six shutout innings and topping out
at 88 mph, James went 3-for-4, making hard contact in all four
at-bats. He doubled twice, once high off the Green Monster at JetBlue
Park, and the one time he recorded an out it was a sharply hit ground
ball to second base that came off the bat at 95 mph.
Riley
uses his strength extremely well to generate bat speed and consistent
hard contact, both up the middle and to his pull side, recording exit
velocities of 90 and 92 mph in back-to-back at-bats.