Daily
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We
wrote about righthander Tyler Myrick
(2016, Lake City, Fla.) in a prior recap from the beginning of the
tournament and with the playoffs in full swing most teams are able to
give their top arms plenty of rest making for time slots full of
top-end talent. Only throwing three innings earlier in the week,
Myrick, an Alabama State commit, worked a seven inning complete game
shutout and did so on just 74 pitches.
Of
those 74 pitches roughly 65 or so of them were fastballs, but with
his ability to manipulate the velocity and life as well as his arm
slot it was as though Myrick was throwing a couple of different
pitches. Myrick bookended end the game with 94 mph fastballs, showing
the big velocity whenever he felt he needed to throughout the game
with three or four of his 94s coming in the last inning. With a short
yet fast right arm coming through Myrick is able to generate
extremely hard sinking life and will drop from his traditional
three-quarters slot to a lower three-quarters slot giving his heater
even more life. When he drops down, which is done with intent, Myrick
is anywhere in the 88-91 mph range and more 90-94 mph from his usual
slot.
Take
the velocity and add in the heavy sinking life and you’re going to
induced quite a high number of ground ball outs and that’s just
what the young righthander did. In fact, of the 21 outs, 11 of them
came via ground ball which allowed shortstop Kobie
Lopez
(2016, Orlando, Fla.), another Alabama State commit, to show off his
advanced range and athleticism on chopped ground balls up the middle.
Though he mostly lived off his fastball Myrick did show a curveball
which he would manipulate the shape and velocity of sometimes giving
it a slider look while other times looking like a hard, downward
curveball at 80 mph. Thrown just once or twice the rising senior also
flashed a changeup at 73 mph with fading life to his arm side.
When
an uncommitted lefthander takes the mound people usually take notice.
When they’re throwing 83-86 mph with a strong feel for a changeup
people really take notice. Both can be used to describe Dillon
Marsh
(2018, Elizabethtown, Pa.) who just recently completed his freshman
year of high school and had people circling No. 22 on Bubba
Baseball’s roster in the program.
A
strongly built 6-foot-2, 200-pound lefthanded pitcher/first baseman
certainly passes the eye test and doesn’t physically look like most
players his age. Marsh came in for relief in the second game of the
tournament for Bubba and came in again yesterday afternoon where I’m
told his stuff was up a tick from his previous outing. With a runner
or two on base and one out, the uncommitted Marsh struck out two of
the three batters he faced while working in the 83-86 mph range with
his fastball. Working from an up-tempo delivery, Marsh is able to
create solid angle on his fastball with nice running life when he
located down to his glove side. His arm shows quickness coming though
and leaves his hand cleanly, though it’s the changeup that served
as his difference maker. An advanced pitch for a player his age,
Marsh showed an upper-70s changeup that featured late diving action
while mimicking his fastball out of his hand in terms of mechanics
and arm action.
We’ve
spoke about the prowess of M.J.
Melendez
(2017, Montgomery, Ala.) previously and it’s hard not to take
notice as he seems to do something every game behind that plate that
makes you say “wow.” Another Alabama State commit, Melendez
didn’t waste much time for that wow moment as he threw out a runner
attempting to steal second base, though it wasn’t the caught
stealing that was impressive, but rather how it was done. On a
curveball down in the zone Melendez quickly exchanged the ball out of
his glove and delivered a strike to get the runner by a step, from
his knees. The arm strength has been well documented both at the
Junior National Showcase and the other night as he ran his fastball
up to 89 mph in an inning of relief, which will make for a fun next
two summers of watching him play.
There’s
no denying the two-way ability of lefthanded pitcher Jordan
Butler
(2017, Tampa, Fla.), and ever since he’s been attending Perfect
Game events he’s always wowed with his lefthanded swing and what
he’s able to do on the mound. Early Thursday morning Butler was
handed the ball for the Florida Burn, and though they ultimately
didn’t get the win, Butler did impress throughout his outing.
Currently
ranked No. 19 in the 2017 class, Butler has continued to add strength
to his 6-foot-1, 190-pound frame since I last saw him last fall, and
with the gains his stuff has taken the next step on the mound too.
The University of Florida commit works from an extremely difficult
lower three-quarters arm slot which makes it hard enough to track the
ball, let alone that fact that he sat 87-90 mph with his fastball
while showing big running life to it. The arm action is very loose
and whippy, and with some added deception Butler was able to
consistently miss bats with his fastball, especially when he located
down in the zone, which was more often than not.
Staying
rather short on the takeaway into the back side, Butler is able to
generate solid angle to his fastball while spotting to either side of
the plate and still projects for more velocity in the future.
Maintaining his arm slot, Butler showed a full four-pitch mix with
his slider being the most effective of the three secondaries. With
solid sweeping life in the 77-78 mph range, Butler has the ability to
get it to the back foot of righthanded hitters, giving him a pitch
that moves in the opposite direction of his fastball.
Similar
to Weston Bizzle in Wednesday's recap, righthander Altoon
Coleman
(2017, Sanford, Fla.) is about as consistent as they come in terms of
performance and yesterday morning was no different. While his
velocity was up from his prior rain-shortened start, as he sat in the
89-93 mph range rather comfortably, the Florida State commit still
did it with relative ease holding his velocity throughout his six
innings of work. Whether it was from the stretch or out of the windup
his velocity never fluctuated, nor did his command of the zone as
Coleman continued to pound his fastball to either side of the plate
with some late running life to his arm side.
The
biggest difference and key takeaway from the start however was the
slider that Coleman showed a rather comfortable feel for, a pitch I’d
hadn’t seen him throw in about five different outings over the last
year or so. Having always gone fastball/curveball (a pitch he still
featured yesterday), Coleman unleashed some sliders in the 75-77 mph
range and did so with conviction. Continuing to miss bats with both
his fastball and slider, Coleman had the comfort of throwing the
slider whenever he needed to, showing late tilting life to his glove
side while remaining short and compact with his arm action.
Kyle
Blendinger (2017,
High Point, N.C.), another impressive and uncommitted arm from the
Dirtbags Scout Team, was handed the ball and has continued to take
his stuff to the next level, even since the spring. A nicely built
6-foot-2, 190-pound righthander, Blendinger did a nice job of staying
short yet quick through the back and in turn was able to produce a
fastball in the 87-90 mph range early in the game with running life
to his arm side. He does a nice job of staying on top of the ball and
working down in the zone, adding to the deception he’s able to
create by hiding the ball well in the back. He also showed a strong
feel for his breaking ball that sat around 73 mph and froze
back-to-back hitters to end an inning with the pitch showing nice
depth with the ability to spot to his glove side.
Kier
Meredith
(2017, Winston Salem, N.C.) made some noise from the onset of the
tournament with his blazing, top-of-the-charts type speed out of the
lefthanded batter’s box. Playing for a talent-laden Dirtbags Scout
Team, I was able to see the uncommitted Meredith get down the first
base line in 3.72 second on a bunt singe, showing impact speed that
you just don’t see on a daily basis.
– Jheremy
Brown
One
of the marquee names for the 2017 class is righthander Nicholas
Storz, a gigantic 6-foot-6, 245-pound pitcher from Brooklyn, N.Y.
Playing for Team Elite Prime, Storz got the ball in the first round
of the playoffs on Thursday morning. Storz is obviously physically
imposing on the mound, and his stuff certainly backs up that
intimidating presence as well. Working at 88-90 mph and touching 91
with his fastball early on, Storz’s command wavered and he gave up
a pair of runs in the first. He wasn't wild, far from it, but the
quality of the strikes he threw were poor, as they were right down
the middle at the belt. After escaping the first inning, Storz was
downright nasty through innings 2-4, pitching backwards and working
off of his slider and then climbing the ladder with his fastball to
tear through opposing hitters with no issue. Storz’s slider is very
deceptive out of the hand, with very late and sharp two-plane tilt.
The pitch elicited 7-8 whiffs in those innings, and has the makings
of a plus-or-better pitch moving forward. By the time the 2017 draft
rolls around, Storz could be one of the first names mentioned in
contention for the first round.
Opposing
Storz, and ultimately outdueling him, was 2016 righthander Matt
Studdard
for Team Georgia Mizuno Elite. The 6-foot, 210-pound Studdard was
very effective at mixing and matching and otherwise keeping the Team
Elite hitters off balance, something a 2016 righty isn’t really
known for in general. Studdard worked in the 82-85 range throughout
his entire start, topping at 86, with solid running/sinking action on
the pitch. He also mixed in a curve, slider and change, with command
of all three, and the willingness/confidence to throw any of the four
total pitches in any count and any spot. His curveball had somewhere
between 11-to-5 and 12-to-6 shape with quality depth, used mainly as
a get-me-over strike pitch, and was used effectively to both sides of
the plate. His slider got the most whiffs, with sharp two-plane break
and deception, although he would tend to drop his arm slot to throw
the pitch. His change was very clean out of the hand with
fastball-mimicking action and good fade, giving him the kind of
advanced repertoire and command profile that we don't often see from
a prospect of his age. He outdueled Nicholas Storz on this day,
earning the complete game victory for Team Georgia and advancing them
in the playoffs.
The
catcher for Team Georgia, 2018 Knox Loposer, is still very
young and very raw but could end up being one of the top overall
prospects in the class of 2018. Loposer hits third in the loaded Team
Georgia lineup, as a 2018 no less, and the Jackson, Miss., native had
no issues at all handling a pitching staff made up entirely of
prospects older than he is. His overall catch-and-throw mechanics are
still a bit raw, as one would expect, but the arm strength is
advanced and the athleticism/physicality are highly projectable, all
of which speak to his potential behind the plate. He moves well
side-to-side, receives at a high level, and handles the pitching
staff at a level beyond his years. He also handles the bat very well
when in the box, with high-end contact skills and barrel control,
showing projectable power at times. It’s very early for the class
of 2018, but Loposer has done an excellent job vaulting himself into
the conversation for legitimate high-end potential and ranking.
Another
catcher, 2017 David Lamanna of Tri-State Arsenal, showed off
impressive tools and projection as well on Thursday. Lamanna stands
5-foot-10 and weighs in around 170 pounds right now, with easy
projection for him to get bigger and stronger, showing the kinds of
defensive tools that will have college coaches lining up for him.
He’s very quick and athletic behind the plate with lateral agility
to both sides, very good blocking skills with soft hands and
consistent pop times in the 2.0 second range with quicker pops coming
shortly in the future. The overall mechanical profile of Lamanna as a
defensive catcher is an impressive one, and when factoring in
physical projection, he could be one of the best defenders in his
class in time. He has a very simple overall approach to hitting as
well, with an easy load and tap, quick hands and balance throughout.
His swing is a bit linear right now, but he still shows strength off
the barrel with the ability to drive the ball down the lines and into
the gaps, as well as an overall patient approach with the willingness
to draw walks and get on base. Overall, it’s an impressive package.
The
Evoshield Canes 16u are just as loaded with talent as their heralded
17u team, and they put that talent on display throughout the whole
tournament into Thursday.
2017
lefthander Mackenzie
Gore
is perhaps one of the more projectable lefties in the class with a
very long, easy arm action and lots of room to fill on his body. He’s
currently working in the mid- to upper-80s, topping often at 87-88,
with lots of velocity projection. His fastball has explosive arm-side
life and comes out clean, really getting on the opposing hitters
quickly, and the athleticism in his physicality to repeat the
delivery and maintain command to both sides of the plate down around
the knees. He has some crossfire in his delivery as well, adding to
the deception he creates but showing the ability to still command the
ball to the glove side, something that can be tough with crossfire
actions. He complements the fastball with a good, sharp slider that
he likes to backfoot to righties and a fading changeup with good
deception.
Canes
leadoff hitter, 2017 Noah Campbell, showed one of the more
impressive overall hit tools on Thursday, with the ability to hit the
ball hard all over the field. He has a very simple approach to
hitting, with a contact-oriented approach, but with the strength and
bat speed required to drive the ball. He tripled up the right-center
field gap on an inside pitch, then later on showed the wherewithal to
go with an outside pitch and drive it hard into left field for a
single. He’s an explosive athlete with projection to play in the
middle of the field, whether it be the infield or outfield, along
with the offensive chops to hit at the top of a lineup for years to
come.
2017
catcher Matthew Cooper is one of the more impressive overall
athletes in his class given his combination of size and overall
athleticism. At 6-foot-3, 210-pounds, Cooper has the broad shoulders
and tapered waist that speak to additional strength gains (he’s
plenty strong to begin with), but still turns in above average run
times from the right side along with the ability to steal bases and
stretch doubles into triples. He’s a quality defensive catcher who
can play there, or somewhere on a corner (infield or outfield), with
the offensive projection to hit in the middle of a lineup and produce
runs. He’s impressively balanced at the plate given his size, with
barrel control and overall very good bat speed, and shows the ability
to hit the ball with authority to all fields.
It’s
hard to argue the fact that 2018 second baseman Alec Sanchez
has the best overall hit tool of anyone in his class and perhaps
anyone in the tournament. With nearly otherworldly hand-eye
coordination and barrel control, we have never seen Sanchez take a
bad swing or hit the ball softly. All he seems to do is hit the ball
hard and get on base, with present extra-base power and projection
for more as well. It cannot be understated that what he does with the
bat is extremely impressive for someone in the 2015 class, let alone
someone three years younger just entering their sophomore year of
high school.
Another
member of the illustrious Evoshield Canes program, 2016 lefthander
Rian
Haire,
was featured in the daily recaps during the 17u, but was eligible to
play in the 16u as well, pitching on Thursday. Haire’s fastball
from the left side touched 93, but worked comfortably around 90-91
for the entirety of his outing. That's impressive velocity from the
left side from anyone, but Haire may just be getting started in terms
of what he’ll eventually feature. With lots of deception in his
delivery to go along with a power breaking ball that he elicits tons
of whiffs with, Haire is going to be an impressive piece of the
pitching staff at South Carolina, assuredly almost immediately once
he steps on campus.
Two
programs already mentioned here, Team Georgia Mizuno Elite and
Tri-State Arsenal, squared off in an extra-innings affair on Thursday
evening, with Tri-State eventually winning in the 10th inning to send them to the semifinals Friday morning. Each team got
an outstanding performance from their starting pitchers, opening eyes
across the collegiate ranks.
2017
righthander Zachary Dreznin of the Tri-State Arsenal, a
6-foot-4, 195-pound prospect, immediately impresses with his
physicality and projectable frame on the mound. He worked in the
84-86 range for most of his outing, topping at 87, with big-time
arm-side run and some sink when located down, doing a very good job
of missing the barrels of opposing hitters. His uptempo delivery,
when coupled with a bit of mechanical funkiness, adds some deception
to his arsenal and helps aide him in keeping hitters off balance. He
also features a 12-to-6 shaped curveball with very good depth, and a
fading, sinking changeup in the 75-77 range. He commands his entire
arsenal well and projects even better, making the uncommitted 2017
prospect one to keep your eyes on moving forward.
Opposing
Dreznin on the mound was 2017 lefthander C.J.
Smith,
another uncommitted prospect who shouldn't stay that way for very
long. Smith has good size already with lots of physical projection,
and what was perhaps most impressive was his ability to maintain his
velocity and effectiveness over lots of innings/pitches, something
that not many 2017s are able to do. Smith worked in the 81-84 range
with his heavy, sinking fastball for nearly the entirety of his start
on Thursday night, showing command to both sides and was more than
content to allow opposing hitters to just beat his fastball into the
ground and allow his defense to work for him. He complements that
fastball with a slurvier breaking ball, showing excellent overall
command of the pitch and the ability to spin it over the plate early
in the count for a quick strike on the off-balance opposing hitters.
2017
outfielder Michael Kolesar
of Team Georgia was impressive all day long, coming up with big hit
after big hit (he delivered the two-run single off of Nicholas Storz
in the early game as referenced above). He’s very short to the ball
with quick, strong hands to go along with excellent plate coverage,
just spraying hard line drives all over the field. His power is more
gap-to-gap right now, but with additional strength on his 5-foot-11,
180-pound frame, we could certainly see additional home run power
develop. He plays an excellent outfield as well, with good reads and
clean routes, making him one of the more underrated prospects in his
class.
– Brian
Sakowski