Jeff
Dahn Day 1 features: Ryan Mountcastle | Gray Fenter
FORT
MYERS, Fla. – On the morning of the first day of the 2014 PG
National Showcase, Brendan Rodgers stood calmly leaning against the
railing of the third base dugout chatting with teammates and watching
the other hitters take their swings.
Rodgers
is ranked as the No. 1 shortstop both nationally and in Florida, and
No. 2 overall in the PG high school class of 2015 rankings. The
6-foot, 185-pound shortstop is a product of Lake Mary High School and
has committed locally to Florida State. His plan was to execute his
workout drills smoothly and not do anything too extreme.
“I
just want to go out there and do my best,” Rodgers said of his
mindset heading into the showcase. “I want to put on a good show in
BP, do my thing hitting and fielding, I want to field it cleanly.
Nice good, hard throws not trying to do too much just everything
smooth and easy. Just be myself out there.”
With
Rodgers’ ranking and highly touted remarks from PG scouts, he had a
successful workout at the PG National Showcase. Rodgers' 60-yard dash
time was 6.78 seconds. He also displayed his power during batting
practice, hitting two home runs, one over the replica Green Monster
wall at JetBlue Ballpark and the other to straight away center, 379
feet away. He also displayed his infield skills throwing a max
velocity of 93 mph across the infield, giving him a five-tool
profile.
His
performances in the workouts have been the result of him preparing
for the PG National and improving his performance.
“Just
working out, I mean hitting, fielding, throwing; everything that you
should be doing,” Rodgers said. “My main focus was speed so
hopefully all the work I did paid off.”
With
good results in all three areas, Rodgers will be pleased to see his
training pay off, and he welcomes the opportunity to play amongst the
top high school baseball players in the country with open arms.
“It
makes me push myself,” Rodgers said. “Seeing how I know most of
these kids out here, all of the top players, from friends, seeing
them makes me push myself to do a little better. I know them all,
it’s fun being around them, nice meeting them, so it’s fun being
out here with all these kids.”
Rodgers
will be joined at the PG National Showcase by fellow top shortstops
John Aiello and Nicholas Shumpert. Aiello is the No. 1 rated prospect
in Pennsylvania and the No 2 shortstop in the country. Shumpert is
the No. 1 shortstop in Colorado and No. 3 nationally.
Rodgers
has prepared himself for this opportunity by playing with the Orlando
Scorpions Prime, one of the most successful travel ball programs in
the country, something he has been grateful to be a part of.
“It’s
helped me so much. Getting with the Scorpions organization has
brought me from a no one to something big,” Rodgers said. “[Coach]
Matt Gerber, Sal [Lombardo] and Brian [Martinez] they all have helped
me succeed and got me on the radar and I couldn’t thank them
enough. It was mainly my parents decision to play with the Scorpions
and I felt like it was the right thing to do and it has definitely
paid off.”
The
Scorpions have had plenty of success in PG tournaments winning both
the 17u WWBA National Championship and the 2013 WWBA Underclass World
Championship in 2013. Rodgers was named to the All-Tournament team at
both events, in addition to be named to similar squad at three other
2013 tournament events. Rodgers said he believes the success his
Scorpions team has had is due in large part to the team chemistry.
“I
feel like this summer is going to be pretty much the same thing,”
Rodgers said. “We might have as good, maybe even better talent and
we’re all from Florida, we all know each other and we’re all a
team, we play as a team and know how to play as a team. So hopefully
all of our hard work will pay off.”
Due
to the talent of the Scorpions roster, Rogers said he witnessed
several of his teammates drafted in the MLB First Year Player Draft,
including first round pick Foster Griffin and third rounder Carson
Sands. While the draft stays in the back of his mind, the FSU commit
remains focused on the present.
“My
main focus is getting to college first,” Rodgers said. “Obviously
the draft is something in my mind and if I keep playing hard and well
as a team player, hustling on and off the field. Hopefully that will
be a choice one day.
“Seeing
all my buddies get drafted it’s just something unreal, it’s like
a dream come true watching them.”
– Chris
Real
Live Streaming
For
the third straight year the Perfect Game National Showcase is
available for everyone to watch online. The live stream to all of the
workouts, batting practice sessions, and games, and the archives for
each if you can't watch them in real time, can be found on iHigh's
dedicated Perfect Game page:
www.ihigh.com/perfectgame
Day
1 Workouts
The
first six teams started the morning by running the 60-yard dash and
then conducting outfield and catching drills. The infield drills were
pushed back after batting practice to allow the dirt to dry properly
after a round of storms passed through Fort Myers late on Wednesday
night.
Josh
Naylor set an event record by recording a throw of 93 mph from first
base. Wyatt Cross continued to show off his strong arm behind the
plate with a 84 mph throw and a 1.76 pop time.
Brendan
Rodgers posted the best infield throw at 93 mph while Yasin Chentouf
and Jordan Myrow each threw 95 from the outfield.
Tyler
Williams posted the best time in the 60-yard dash at 6.54 seconds.
Read
about all of the top performers in the workouts, as well as detailed
results from the games, in the PG scout blog:
2014 PG National Showcase scout blog
Stevie
Mangrum was one of the first players to stand out in batting
practice, launching one ball clear over the Green Monster and driving
a handful more high and deep to the left-center field gap. He
consistently hit the ball hard to the pull side.
The
next batter among the Orange hitters, Ty Buck, also continued to put
on an impressive display of power, hitting a shot to the deepest part
of the park that bounced off the top of the wall.
Jonathan
India, Ryan Mountcastle, Jahmai Jones and Braden Rollins were among
the hitters that stood out for the Gold squad.
India
displayed an easy swing with some pull-side pop, hitting one ball
out. Mountcastle has good bat speed and a direct swing path, spraying
line drive to all fields and obvious upside for more given his
slender, projectable frame. Jones had one of the best BP displays on
the day, quickly reminding everyone why he is currently ranked the
No. 5 prospect in the 2015 class by absolutely crushing a ball with
his first swing and consistently hitting the ball hard. Rollins also
hit the ball hard, getting great extension from his tall and angular
6-foot-3, 195-pound stature.
Moving
on to the Green team, Ramon Alejo packed some nice punch in his
6-foot, 175-pound frame, hitting a couple of balls up and over the
Monster.
Brendan
Rodgers had arguably the best BP display of the day by showcasing one
of the easiest, prettiest swings in which the ball jumped off so easy
and to all fields. He hit several balls to the deepest part of the
ballpark and made it look extremely easy.
Kep
Brown also showed well in the batter's box a couple of hitters after
Rodgers, with good balance in his swing driving the ball with loft to
left and left-center field. Barrel-chested outfielder Sam Finnerty
also belted some balls, hitting several down the left field line and
to left-center, including one ball that was hammered off of the Nike
Baseball The Future Gets
Faster banner at the top
of the Monster. Finnerty added an RBI single in Game 2.
Of
the lefthanded hitters from the Green team Christopher Chatfield and
Josh Naylor – who is frequently compared to Prince Fielder in both
stature and offensive profile – stood out. Chatfield hit every ball
high and deep in the air to right and right-center field while Naylor
crushed numerous balls over the wall down the right field line.
Nico
Hoerner of the Crimson squad came out smoking line drives in his
round of BP, exhibiting very good strength from his 5-foot-11,
190-pound frame.
Of
the hitters on the Navy team Daino Deas stood out despite his listed
5-foot-10, 175-pound frame. He routinely put a charge in the ball,
hitting a few hard off the wall of the Monster.
Iowa
native Luke Farley also stood out for the Navy team, hitting several
balls high and deep to left-center while pulling a couple high over
the wall in left field.
Cornelius
Randolph also stood out for the Navy team. A big, strong lefthanded
hitter, Randolph took aggressive swings at the plate, hitting the
ball high and deep to right and right-center field.
Of
the players on the Black team Bryan Scheker and Seth Beer stood out
the most. Scheker is a slender athlete with plenty of room for added
strength and hit the ball to all fields with a nice, easy stroke.
Beer,
a 2016 graduate, showed that he more than belonged with the top
players in the nation that are a year older than him. He's one of the
best looking athletes on the field as well, perfectly proportioned
with plenty of room for added strength. It took him a few swings to
get in his groove, but when he did his power potential was pretty
obvious.
National
Impressions
Similar
to the 2013 National Showcase in which several notable arms (Tyler
Kolek, Kodi Medeiros and Luis Ortiz to name just a few) took the
mound in the first game, onlookers were treated to a handful of
hard-throwers, as well as a pleasant surprise, in the first game of
this year's event.
• Gray
Fenter was the first pitcher to take the mound for game action, and
came out firing, sitting 92-93 mph in the first inning while touching
94 more than once. He also showed a promising low-80s power breaking
ball.
• Ryan
Cole McKay countered Fenter on the mound and quickly passed the eye
test given his athletic and projectable 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame.
His stuff matched his stature, working in the same 92-93 range that
Fenter showed off the previous half inning while also peaking at 94.
• Corner
infielder Curtis Terry, a well put together athlete that showed nice
pull power in batting practice, was able to drive a ball off Fenter
that carried over the center fielder's head for a double.
• Chandler
Day's 6-foot-4, 162-build made scouts perk up when he took the mound,
and he rewarded their attention by working in the 90-93 range in his
first inning of work and holding 90-91 mph fastball velocity in his
second inning. He also mixed in a slurvy 79 mph breaking ball, and
overall was easy to dream on as he continues to add strength to his
tall, lanky build.
• Lefthander
Hogan Harris proved to be the pleasant surprise in Game 1, similar to
Kodi Medeiros last year and Rob Kaminsky in 2012. Harris peaked at 94
mph and worked in the 90-92 range easily with big-breaking slow
curveball. He was lights out through the first five batters he faced
before walking a batter. The courtesy runner was able to advance to
third base on a wild pickoff attempt, and scored on a wild pitch.
Harris buckled back down to fan the final batter he faced swinging.
• Dalton
Blumenfeld put a nice swing on a Harris fastball resulting in a
booming double to right-center field. Blumenfeld, a big and strong
6-foot-3, 210-pound athlete, also showed well in batting practice,
crushing a ball over the Green Monster in left-center.
• In
Game 2 Kep Brown, who as noted above had one of the better displays
in batting practice, had the offensive highlight of the day when he
smoked a laser high off the wall of the Green Monster for a double.
The hit happened in the second inning off of Game 2 starter Stephen
Kolek, the younger brother of Tyler Kolek, who was the No. 2 overall
pick in this year's draft.
• Tristin
English started the game for the Green team and looked very sharp,
peaking at 94 mph while working at 90-93. He also mixed in a 84 mph
slider and a promising curveball that hovered right around 80.
• Cole
Sands, the younger brother of Carson Sands – who was taken in the
third round of this year's draft by the Cubs – showed his prowess
on the mound in his clean, back-to-back three-up, three-down innings
of work. He induced weak contact, working in the upper-80s to low-90s
while peaking at 92 mph and mixed in a mid-70s curve.
• Athletic
two-way talent Garrett Hutson, who performed at a high level in
Jupiter last October at the WWBA World Championship, showed arguably
the loosest, live arms of those that took the mound on Day 1. His
first pitch clocked in at 92 mph, and worked consistently at 89-91 in
his two innings of work. While he threw mostly fastballs, he did
throw a couple of promising curveballs in the upper-70s.
• John
Michael Boswell and Yasin Chentouf both hit doubles in the bottom of
the eighth inning. Boswell's was crushed high off of the wall down
the left field line, while Chentouf's carried over the center
fielder's head. Chentouf's shot proved to be the “walkoff” hit as
the Crimson team scored five runs in the frame to pull out the
showcase victory, 5-4.
• A
trio of intriguing righthanders began Game 3 for both the Orange and
Gold squads. Cody Morris, Maddux Conger and Al Pesto all flashed raw
arm strength while each peaking at 92 mph.
Blakely
Brown and Juan Hillman were also both up to 92 in the seventh and
eighth innings of the game, working comfortably at 90-92.
Hillman
in particular was impressive. Although he wasn't able to consistently
snap off an effective breaking ball, he exhibited very good arm speed
and provided a fair amount of deception with his fastball. In his
second inning of work, where his fastball velocity sat at 89 mph, he
struck out the side in order.
• Game
3, with only seven hits combined between the two teams, lacked
offensive highlights and was completed in less than two hours.
To
view detailed game results please visit the aforementioned PG
National scout blogs as linked above.