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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/12/2016

Southeast Qualifier Day 3 Notes

Matt Czechanski      Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Perfect Game


Day 1 Scout Notes | Day 2 Scout Notes | Daily Leaders

Opening up play on Sunday was lefthander Braden Hays (Stone Mountain, Ga.) for Team Elite 17’s Prime. Hays utilized very impressive deception on the mound, working with a short, quick arm action and throwing from an extended three-quarters to low three-quarters arm slot. Hays is listed with a physically impressive 6-foot-3, 190-pounds with good room to continue to fill out. He was incredibly consistent on the mound from that arm slot and filled the zone throwing 78 percent of his pitches for strikes. He used a very short stride to the plate with an online landing. He cut his extension working down the mound, but got on top of his fastball well from that slot. His fastball showed heaviness to the lower third of the zone and he consistently laid off barrels with an aggressive approach inside on hitters. His fastball worked 82-84 mph consistently over his five innings. Hays worked in a curveball with 1-to-7 shape and showed the ability to change eye levels with the pitch and keep hitters off balance. Hays’ overall delivery was very low effort and impressed with his ability to fill the zone. He fired five no-hit innings and recorded seven strikeouts on just 41 pitches.

Normally known for his impressive work on the mound, Vanderbilt commit, Kumar Rocker (Watkinsville, Ga.), delivered a pair of very loud extra base hits for Team Elite. He first came up and lifted a double and then launched an opposite field home run in his third at-bat. He generates very loud contact off the barrel, the home run leaving at 96 mph), with easy carry and backspin ability. Rocker is far from a small individual with unbelievable strength in his frame for a player just starting his junior year of high school. He’ll clearly be in favor of pitchers participation in the home run derby, but his future remains on the mound.




En route to TPL National’s capturing of the bid to the WWBA World Championship, they faced a tough quarterfinal matchup against the East Cobb Yankees and their stout roster. The sent out the always impressive Jordon Adell (Louisville, Ky.) to the mound to start. Adell was tasked with throwing the first three innings for TPL and he did with little effort, firing three one-hit innings and struck out six batters. Adell worked very quickly on the mound with a long, looser arm action and threw from a high three-quarters arm slot. He possesses easy plus arm speed and the ball explodes out of his hand. He works with a crossfire over a stiff front leg landing, but is very balanced through his delivery. Adell worked very well through the ball with plus extension down the mound. His command was spotty at times, losing his release point occasionally, but was around the zone enough to challenge hitters to swing. His fastball worked with impressive arm-side life at 91-94 mph and was miserable for righthanded hitters in on the hands. More impressive than his fastball was Adell’s slider that grades out as an above average pitch right now. The slider proved to be a wipe out pitch against the middle of the Yankees’ order that includes talented PG All-American outfielder Kyle Jacobsen and third basemen Devin Warner. It’s late dive out of the hand with exceptionally tight spin make the break hard to pick up until it’s out of the zone.

To top it off, in the championship game Adell delivered at the plate with a crushed two-run home run. Adell is known for his raw power and he waited back on a curveball and delivered it well beyond the fence in left-center field.

On an adjacent field during the quarterfinal round was East Cobb Baseball and righthanded pitcher Cody Greenhill (Russellville, Ala.) toed the rubber to help them advance. Greenhill worked with a heavy crossfire element on the mound with a very quick, compact arm action. He starts with a deeper hip turn on the mound and lands and spins over a stiff front leg at landing. He threw from an extended three-quarters arm slot and filled the zone, attacking hitters on both sides of the plate with his fastball. It worked 86-89 mph and topped out at 90 mph with short arm-side life that showed best when on top of the pitch. The future Auburn Tiger mixed in a short breaking slider up to 74 mph with 10-to-4 shape. The pitch occasionally showed slurve action, but worked as a swing and miss pitch for him and kept hitters off balance. He was efficient around the zone with close to 70% of his pitches going for strikes and collecting 5 strikeouts in three shutout innings.

One of the very long list of impressive hitters on TPL National was Ron Washington (Houston, Texas). Washington is very well known through his participation in PG events and impressed as always at the plate this weekend. He did so particularly on Sunday, following up his home run from Saturday night, with consistent, loud pull side contact. Washington is another very physical player, listed at 6-foot-1, 200-pounds with little of it wasted. His swing works directly to the ball with good bat speed. He shows a willingness to drop his back shoulder and create leverage at the point of contact. Washington’s power potential is very intriguing at the plate and he showed a more advanced approach at the plate letting the ball travel rather than chase poor spin or fastballs out of the zone.




Another intriguing arm to come in and pitch for TPL was uncommitted righthanded pitcher A.J. Stinson (Hattiesburg, Miss.). Stinson had played up the middle and showed highly athletic actions at shortstop prior to pitching in this game. On the mound he showed a very long, loose arm action through the back with very minimal effort at release. His lower half drive is near non-existent, despite the traditional drop and drive set up. His arm works very well through the ball with a crossfire element down the mound. He works over his front side at landing, spinning off towards first base. His arm strength was inconsistent at present, but worked in the 83-87 mph range and hit 88 mph in the first inning. He showed occasional arm side life to the pitch when working on top of the ball. He had little to no extension, cutting himself off. He replicated his arm speed very well for a changeup he showed early on in the outing. It showed tumble with harder spin than normal for a changeup but depth to the lower third of the zone. It worked up to 81 mph and then in the upper-70s after third first inning. He is a very raw product on the mound, but possesses a very fluid arm action and present arm strength to go with high end athleticism.

– Matt Czechanski



Third baseman Jecorrah Arnold (2017, Athens, Ga.) impressed on Sunday for Mission Team Baseball. The Lipscomb commit had big power on display as he cranked a home run to left field that had an exit velocity of 94 mph and traveled an estimated 372 feet per TrackMan. He has a physical frame with decent height. Arnold has a slightly open stance with a high back elbow. He has solid bat speed with a bit of a longer swing path, but he is able to reach all parts of the plate and hit the ball with authority. Arnold has a solid power profile and uses his swing and solid lower half to drive the ball especially on the pull side. Arnold played all across the infield for the tournament but looked good at third base. He made a number of plays to both sides and fielded cleanly with quick hands and transfer into the throw.

Another player who showed off his power during Sunday’s games was outfielder Nolan Tressler (2017, Canton, Ga.) for East Cobb Baseball. Tressler hit a home run that bounced high off a light pole in right-center that registered with TrackMan for a 98 mph exit velocity and an insane 406 feet distance travelled. The Georgia Southern commit has a very physical frame with good athleticism in all facets of the game. His stance is slightly open with a high hand-set and high back elbow. Tressler has a very elastic and active hand load that precedes a strong transfer of weight from his backside out front. His swing shows a line drive plane with lift to it but perhaps his strongest attribute is his advanced feel for the barrel of the bat. Tressler has a knack for squaring up the baseball with the barrel and that played a part in collecting a cycle during East Cobb’s semifinal game on Sunday. With his good weight transfer combined with strong utilization of his lower half and hips he projects for some power. Tressler’s speed is another strength. He posted above average times from home to first which helps him turn singles into doubles and doubles into triples.

A trio of East Cobb pitchers showed promise and potential on the mound Sunday. Keyshawn Askew (2018, Powder Springs, Ga.) started the semifinal game and the lefthanded pitcher showed some raw ability on the mound. The Lipscomb commit has a very lean frame, he has some height but as he continues to develop and fill out he should see some velocity increase. Askew has a delivery that involves a high leg lift and an online landing point. He has a looser arm action with a long arm circle and he slings his arm across his body. Askew’s release point was inconsistent between an extended three-quarters slot and a lower extended slot. He has some deception to delivery and his fastball was especially difficult inside to lefties. He attacked primarily with the fastball, which sat from 84-86 mph for the duration of his outing. The pitch had some cut to it but he more relied on the angle at which he released the fastball for it to be difficult on hitters. Askew also threw a slow curveball which had 2-to-8 shape to it with some depth. He struggled with command some but showed a raw arm that is only going to improve with development.

Another lefthander for East Cobb, Garrett Wade (2017, Hartselle, Ala.), showed some pitchability in the championship game. Wade has a skinny frame with room to fill out and is highly projectable. The Auburn commit has a high leg lift with a quick arm and a slight head wag. He lands balanced with a crossfire element incorporated. Wade has a long arm action and is pretty loose throughout his throwing motion. His fastball sat from 83-86 mph and he used it to attack hitters. The pitch flashed some arm-side life to it and he threw it on both sides of the plate effectively. Wade maintained his velocity throughout his outing and he mixed in a curveball as well. The pitch had 11-to-5 shape to it with some depth and was a nice secondary offering to opposing hitters.

Righthander Oscar Serratos (2017, Lawrenceville, Ga.) came out of the bullpen in the championship game throwing darts. The Georgia Tech commit has a large, physical frame and he uses every bit of it on the mound. Serratos has a quick delivery with a lot of motion and lands online. He has a quick arm with tight arm action and a very compact arm circle. Serratos has some drop and drive in his back leg and incorporates some lower half into his throwing motion. Throwing from an extended three-quarters slot with intent, Serratos attacked primarily with his fastball. In his first inning of work the pitch sat from 90-92 mph and he was able to blow it by some hitters even if he missed location. The fastball was most effective when he got on top of it and drove it into the lower third of the zone to force ground balls. He has a soft curveball with 11-to-5 shape and decent depth to it. Serratos also mixed in a changeup in order to change speeds and the pitch was solid, although he slowed his arm speed while throwing it. Overall, when he pounded the strike zone with his low-90s fastball it was easy to see his value on the mound.

– Vincent Cervino
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