2016
righthander Xzavion Curry, who is committed to Georgia Tech,
took the mound for the East Cobb Yankees in Friday night’s action
of the 2015 WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2. Curry is a player on a very
talented Yankees team loaded with 11 commitments as well as others on
the team who should soon follow. Curry showed off a dominant fastball
in his outing that routinely worked in the 86-90 mph range and hit 92
to finish off one of his 10 strikeouts. His fastball showed good
movement as well with heavy sinking action low in the zone. He worked
very quickly and showed a very balanced, online delivery on the
mound.
Curry’s
most impressive offering was his 70-74 mph curveball that
consistently made hitters look lost at the plate with its depth. He
kept his breaking ball low in the zone, or in the dirt, generating
weak contact or swings and misses all together. Curry threw two
different variations of his curveball. One kept 11-to-5 break while
the other had more of a 10-to-4 shape with two-plane break. Keeping
hitters off balance was key in Curry’s start as he mixed his
explosive fastball with his sharp breaking ball very well and showed
good command of both throughout the outing.
Also
for the Yankees, 2016 shortstop Carter Kieboom (Marietta, Ga.)
showed well. Kieboom, a Clemson commit, showed impressive bat speed
at the plate and continued to make hard contact that became well
known at the PG National Showcase. Kieboom projects very well with an
athletic 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame with good present strength. He
delivered an RBI single up the middle in his first at-bat that
registered 95 mph off the bat per TrackMan. He displayed quick wrists
and strong hands through the zone that give him an advanced feel for
the barrel. Kieboom also showed off good instincts and speed on the
bases as he swiped a bag in his team’s win. Defensively, he was not
given many opportunities, but did make a nice ranging play up the
middle to keep a hard hit ground ball from reaching the outfield
grass.
Another
player who thoroughly impressed in the tournament’s first game was
Carolina Prospects shortstop Victor Major. Major, an
uncommitted 2016 from Mount Pleasant, N.C., showed off intriguing
skills in the field and at the plate for the Prospects. From the
three hole, Major ripped a double down the left field line to bring
home the first run. In his second at-bat, Major waited back on a
curveball and drove it out to dead center field, generating good
backspin. He showed a patient approach at the plate with the ability
to recognize spin and a good feel for the barrel as well as present
bat speed at the plate. In the field, major made a slick play as he
ranged to his left and threw out the runner at first with a throw
across his body. Showing good footwork and a good arm at the
position, Major should have the ability to play up the middle going
forward.
The
night game at LakePoint featured a loaded Team Elite Prime 18u squad
that sent Tennessee commit Connor Darling (Suwanee, Ga.) to
the hill. The 6-foot-4, 197-pound Darling pitched well downhill and
showed an easy arm action. He featured a short arm circle in the back
and used a three-quarters slot. His fastball sat between 83-85 mph
and topped out at 86. Darling also used a sinking changeup that was
usually thrown in the upper-70s and also mixed in a slider that he
seldom used. He has the ability to add more velocity going forward,
and with some modest tweaks he could turn his slider into a
formidable pitch.
Following
Darling out of the Team Elite bullpen was lefthander Connor Thomas
(Omega, Ga.), a Georgia Tech commit. Thomas showed a low
three-quarters arm slot and topped out with his fastball at 90 mph.
In his relief outing he sat between 88-90 and offered a great change
of pace curveball that sat 76-78 mph. His fastball jumped on hitters
and offered subtle run. His curveball showed 11-to-5 or 2-to-7 break
and had sharp, late break that froze hitters. Thomas showed the
ability to elevate his fastball for a strikeout as well as place it
low in the zone showing strong command and control. He was
particularly effective pitching inside to lefthanded batters and then
finishing them with a curveball at the knees. With the development of
a third pitch, Thomas could prove even more effective against
righthanded hitters. Thomas struck out the first six batters he
faced.
The
catcher for Team Elite Prime was Georgia commit, Austin Biggar
(Lilburn, Ga.). With a strong and athletic 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame,
Biggar possesses the durability and arm strength to stick behind the
plate. He displayed soft, sure hands with good framing ability to go
with sound footwork. At the plate, Biggar showed good bat speed and
present power. With quick hands through the zone and a strong
slightly elevated swing plane he has the ability to drive the ball to
all fields. His barrel control and feel give him a good hit tool to
go with a strong defensive profile.
On
the opposite quad, outfielder and lefthanded pitcher J.J. Bleday
(Panama City Beach, Fla.) showed off on both the mound and at the
plate for the North Florida Prospects. The Vanderbilt commit stands
at 6-foot-3, 195-pounds and has a very athletic overall frame with
room to add strength. On the hill he pounded the ball low in the zone
with a three-quarters delivery that he showed the ability to repeat.
Bleday topped out with an 85 mph fastball and sat comfortably in the
82-84 range. He mixed in a 70-73 breaking ball with 12-to-6 shape.
The breaking ball offering shows good depth and sharp, late bite
helping him to strikeout all six batters in his two innings. At the
plate, Bleday showed impressive bat speed and big raw power launching
a three-run home run to right that registered as 94 mph off the bat.
Bleday continuously showed good, natural lift and with a fluid swing
through the zone. With his potential as both a pitcher and hitter,
Bleday is a true two-way talent.