2016 Year in Review: College | Draft | High School (Tues., Dec. 27)
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The 2016 Perfect Game tournament and showcase schedules will officially add their names to the history books when the PG National Underclass Showcase-Main Event in Fort Myers, Fla., concludes on Dec. 30. That block-buster, three-day event is the last of 51 showcases that filled the 2016 schedule, and the largest in the number of participants with more than 450.
Thousands of high school prospects (grades 9-12) attended those showcases and most of those same players joined travel ball teams after their high school seasons concluded. They participated in hundreds of Perfect Game World Wood Bat Association (WWBA) – including seven PG World Series – Baseball Championship Series (BCS), Super25, Youth Tournaments and the newly created Perfect Game Baseball Association (PGBA).
It all added up to another memorable year for PG in its continuing efforts to create opportunities for young players while continuing to grow the game both nationally and internationally. PG moved into full compliance with Major League Baseball’s and USA Baseball’s “Pitch Smart” initiatives in 2016 with everyone working together to make sure these young ballplayers can continue to enjoy baseball injury-free when they move on into the college and professional ranks.
What follows here is a recap of roughly a dozen noteworthy happenings in 2016, highlighting both team and individual accomplishments:
PG Baseball Association debuts, PG Series charges ahead
The Perfect Game Baseball Association (PGBA) debuted in 2016, becoming the official governing body for all Perfect Game amateur baseball tournaments. The PGBA, which covers all ages and competition levels, provides more value to travel teams and players while providing resources to host the highest quality events in all areas of the country.
Just more than 150 official PGBA events went off in 2016, each one organized and overseen by regional directors. That number does not include the 168 PGBA tournaments that were held to get the ball rolling and were ran by PG’s full-time staff; more than 1,600 teams competed in those PGBA tournaments. Eighteen states from coast to coast and Alberta, Canada, hosted PGBA events in 2016.
Florida Travel Ball (FTB) founder/owner/general manager George Gonzalez was brought on board to become the PGBA’s first North Florida State Director, a hire that brought instant credibility and respectability to the new association.
“Having the opportunity to help create this sanctioning body for PG and bring in a platform such as this at a younger level is just amazing,” Gonzalez said in August. “… We created that platform at FTB where we are given a chance to alter a kid’s life and be helpful in that direction, and there’s nobody better at that than (PG). … With what we do at FTB and the platform (PG) offers, how could I not want to be involved with doing that for younger players.”
There are already 500-plus PGBA events scheduled in 2017, Perfect Game tournament officials announced this month.
Just more than 1,200 players in the 11u, 12u, 13u, 14u, freshman and sophomore age-groups participated in six PG Series Classic events at the jetBlue Park Player Development Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., in July and August. The PG Series is a developmental program directed at pre-teen and teenage athletes that will “set out to test players … with its ultimate goal of improving every athlete at every skill level” through training and hard work.
The inaugural PG Series Florida Challenge was held at Terry Park in Fort Myers on Dec. 17. The 2017 PG Series Classic schedule includes six age-group events running from July 8 through Aug. 6.
PG Super25 crowns 9 national champions
Thousands of teams from across the country competed in 172 PG Super25 state, regional, qualifier, super qualifier and national championship tournaments in nine age-groups in 2016. With the non-high school age-groups playing throughout the spring and into early summer and the older teams picking things up in June, national tournament qualifiers were determined and the national championships were decided in Fort Myers, Fla., in July.
The 2016 PG Super25 champions were: 9u: Pro Player Canes (McHenry, Ill.); 10u: Gulf Coast Monarchs 10u (Estero, Fla.); 11u: Tri-State Arsenal 11u Prime (Mount Laurel, N.J.); 12u: Dallas Tigers-Polk (Coppell, Texas); 13u: EvoShield Canes 13u-Pate (Apex, N.C.); 14u: GoWags Lumberkings (Camp Hill, Pa.); 15u: East Cobb Colt 45’s (Marietta, Ga.); 16u: East Cobb Astros 16u (Marietta, Ga.); 17u: 6-4-3 DP Cougars (Marietta, Ga.).
“This was a fantastic tournament, it really was,” Canes 13u-Pate head coach Rick Pate told PG after his team topped Chain National (Warner Robins, Ga.) 12-6 in the 13u national championship game played at jetBlue Park. “It was very well-ran, and then to top it off and come into this stadium and play for a national championship, it doesn’t get much better than that.”
Twenty-six more PG Super25 regional, qualifier and super qualifier tournaments were played in the Northeast, South and Southeast between early September and late October as teams started the process of qualifying for the 2017 PG Super25 national championship tournaments.
Banditos Baseball rules 15u, 14u tournament scene
The Tomball, Texas-based Banditos Black and Banditos Elite finished ranked No. 1 in the final PG 15u and PG 14u National Travel Team Rankings, respectively, and the Miami-based MVP Banditos finished No. 3 in the 15u rankings. The squads combined to win four PG national championship titles along with two more runner-up finishes.
The Banditos Black won titles at the 15u PG WWBA National Championship and the 15u PG World Series; the MVP Banditos won the championship at the 15u PG BCS Finals and the Banditos Elite won the PG WWBA Freshman World Championship title and finished as runner-up at both the 14u PG WWBA National Championship and the 14u PG World Series.
The 15u teams were led by 15 prospects that earned at least two all-tournament citations while competing during the summer and fall. 2018 Texan Derrick Cherry (U. of Houston commit) was named the Most Valuable Player at the 15u World Series after a mind-blowing single-day performance in he which he combined to hit 5-for-5 with two home runs, a double, nine RBI and four runs scored in the Banditos’ (playing under the Elite name) semifinal and championship game wins at the 15u World Series, at PG Park South-LakePoint in Cartersville, Ga.
These Banditos rosters featured many of the top-ranked 2019s and 2020s in the country. From the 2019 class, there was Texas right-hander Matthew Thompson (ranked No. 3 nationally, a Texas A&M commit); Tennessee outfielder Maurice Hampton Jr. (No. 15, Louisiana State); New Jersey shortstop Anthony Volpe (No. 37, Vanderbilt); Texas shortstop Sanson Faltine III (No. 40, Texas); California catcher Jared Thomas (No. 44, Miami); Pennsylvania outfielder Tyler Kehoe (No. 50, Louisville) and Florida left-hander/first baseman Yordani Carmona (No. 95, Miami).
The most highly ranked 2020s in the program were almost all Florida prospects, except for Texas shortstop Aaron Nixon (No. 18, Texas). The others included right-hander Albert Hernandez (No. 20, Miami); middle-infielder Samuel Infante (No. 53, Miami); right-hander Nicholas Regaldo (No. 59, Miami) and catcher Joseph Cruz (No. 76, uncommitted).
“That’s why we go to Perfect Game events, because we know there’s something at stake every tournament,” Banditos founder/general manager/manager Ray DeLeon told PG in November. “We’re not going to show up just to showcase – what fun is that? College scouts want to see these kids in the grease. They want to see them in a bases-loaded situation with two outs, 3-2 count and see what that kid’s going to do.
“Those are the guys that get the scholarships, the ones that perform in the grease,” he continued, “so we’re trying to give these kids as much grease time as we can. And that 15-year-old team has a lot of that. They’ve got a lot of guys that have been in the grease for a long time, and that core group is second to none.”
Another top 15u team was the No. 2 Phenom Signature with No. 4-ranked right-hander Wesley Scott. The Signature won the PG/EvoShield Underclass National Championship and was a third-round playoff participant at the 15u PG WWBA National Championship. On the 14u side, the No. 2-ranked Elite Squad 14u Prime 2020 won the 14u PG World Series and finished third at the 14u PG BCS Finals.
Central Florida Gators a tough out at upper and underclass events
With championships at the 16u PG World Series and the PG WWBA Florida Qualifier, quarterfinal-round playoff appearances at the PG WWBA World Championship and the 16u PG WWBA National Championship, a third-round playoff showing at the 17u PG WWBA National Championship and a playoff berth at the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship, the Altamonte Springs-based Central Florida Gators proved to be a tough out in 2016.
The Gators’ combined record at those six events was 36-6-1, including 30-5-1 at five PG national championship tournaments. They went 7-0-0 while winning the 16u PG World Series; 8-1-0 at the 17u PG WWBA; 8-1-1 at the 16u PG WWBA, 3-1-0 at the PG WWBA Underclass World, 4-2-0 at the PG WWBA World and 6-1-0 at the PG WWBA Florida Q. They finished the 2016 summer and fall campaigns ranked No. 1 in PG’s 16u National Travel Team Rankings.
“Obviously, this is a very talented group,” program founder and manager Joe Mercadante told PG in November. “There is a lot of strength for them with the fact that they’ve played together for such a long time and at such a high level against such great competition that they’re pretty battle-tested. They’ve been up against guys that were bigger and stronger when they were young, and we’ve instilled in them since day one that you don’t play the competition, you play the game.”
The top 2018s on the roster included Arizona infielder Nolan Gorman (ranked No. 7 nationally, an Arizona commit); Florida outfielder Elijah Cabell (No. 9, LSU); Florida catcher/right-hander Mason Denaburg (No. 13, Florida); Florida right-hander Carter Stewart (No. 19, uncommitted); Arizona left-hander Matthew Liberatore (No. 77, Arizona); Florida right-hander Gunnar Hoglund (No. 122, Ole Miss); Pennsylvania shortstop Connor Ollio (No. 126, North Carolina); Arizona right-hander/third baseman Connor Thurman (No. 163, Arizona) and Florida right-hander/infielder Bret Neilan (t-500, uncommitted).
The top 2019s included Florida shortstop Tyler Callihan (No. 15, South Carolina); Florida right-hander Joseph Charles (No. 18, North Carolina) and Florida third baseman Andrew Roberts (No. 35, Florida).
All those players, except for Cabell, were named to at least three all-tournament teams during the 2016 season. Denaburg, Stewart, Liberatore, Ollio and Neilan were all-tournament selections at the big-4: the PG WWBA World, 17u PG WWBA, 16u PG WWBA and 16u PG World Series. Stewart was the Most Valuable Pitcher at the 16u PG World Series, Roberts was the MV Player at the same event and Liberatore was the MV Pitcher at the PG WWBA Florida Q.
“Everyone on that team is a big-game player,” Denaburg said. “No matter who it is, someone is going to get the job done. Anyone, one-through-nine and whoever’s pitching, we’re all really competitive, no matter what the situation is. … It’s really a competitive team and we all love each other, and it’s just fun being around each other.”
The East Coast Sox Diamond out of Columbus, Miss., won the 16u PG WWBA National Championship title and finished No. 2 in the national rankings; the Noblesville, Ind.-based SF Giants Scout Team-Christman won the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship and wound-up at No. 3.
MLB-Breakthough Series team debuts at Under World; SF Giants Scout Team-Christman wins title
The 2016 PG WWBA Underclass World Championship will be remembered as the tournament a team representing the MLB-Breakthrough Series made its PG debut. Its roster consisted primarily, although not exclusively, of kids from areas of the country where economic realities might otherwise limit their ability to attend an event like the PG WWBA Under World.
“This was a no-brainer for me,” former big-league All-Star and MLB-Breakthrough Series manager Marquis Grissom told PG when asked why he brought this team to the tournament. “To get these guys the exposure that they’re looking for and giving them the opportunity to try to compete at the highest level, to let them know exactly where they stand as players and what they need to work on and what it’s going to take to get to the next level, that’s very important.”
The MLB-Breakthrough Series squad won its pool with a 3-0-0 record and finished 4-1-0 after a first-round playoff victory and a second-round playoff loss. Six team members were named to the all-tournament team, including 2018s No. 100-ranked Basiel Williams (Hammond, La.), No. 481 Cristian Poche (Metaire, La.) and top-500s Nolan Brown (Long Beach, Calif.), Yuji Sakane (Temple City, Calif.; Pepperdine) and Jonoven Savage (Chesapeake, Va.; Virginia Tech).
“Once I found out I was invited, I was very excited to come down here and showcase myself,” Poche told PG. “I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to come out here because I know not every kid can just do this, can say they’ve gone and worked with (former) MLB players and everything to try to get better. I’m just very blessed.
Former American League Manager of the Year Jerry Manuel was among the luminaries included on the MLB-Breakthrough Series coaching staff:
“This is just an avenue to get exposure, but at the same time the level of competition throughout (the event) makes a big difference,” he said. “If you can perform at this level with Perfect Game, it gives these kids and idea of what is expected of them. This has become the place to go if you’re a college recruiter; this has become the place to come if you’re a scout. If we can somehow get involved in this process, then it gives us a chance to get others exposed to our great game of baseball.”
The Indiana-based SF Giants Scout Team-Christman beat the EvoShield Canes 17 in one of the most wild and wacky and improbable championship games in the PG WWBA Underclass World Championship’s storied history. The Giants blew a seven-run lead in the bottom of the third inning in a game scheduled for only five innings, rallied from a five-run deficit in the bottom of the eighth, and then finally scored the game-winner in the bottom of the ninth in their dramatic 14-13, nine-inning victory over the Virginia-based Canes 17.
“These guys are resilient; they just keep coming back and you leave them alone,” SF Giants Scout Team manager and San Francisco Giants Indiana area scout Kevin Christman said after the three-hour championship game marathon. “They know what they’re doing and it’s not orchestrated by a coach – it’s the unity and it’s the togetherness that they have.”
The Giants totaled their 14 runs – 11 of them earned – on 15 hits, and took advantage of five walks, three hit batters and a couple of Canes 17’s errors; they left seven runners on base. The Canes totaled 14 hits, were walked six times and plunked three other times, and left nine on base; all 13 of their runs were earned.
The SF Giants Scout Team-Christman went 9-0-0 at the PG national championship tournament, including six straight playoff victories when it was win or go home. They were led by nine all-tournament selections, including Most Valuable Player Gage Hughes, a 2018 middle-infielder and U. of Cincinnati recruit from Portsmouth, Ohio, and MV Pitcher Garrett Burhenn, a 2018 right-hander from Indianapolis. The top-ranked class of 2018 prospects on SF Giants’ roster that landed on the all-tournament team was No. 111 Jared Poland, a Louisville commit from Indianapolis.
The top prospect-laden EvoShield Canes 17 finished 8-1-0 behind an impressive effort led by 12 all-tournament selections. The talented group of 2018s included No. 4 Joe Gray Jr. (Hattiesburg, Miss., uncommitted); No. 8 Austin Becker (Sunbury, Ohio, Vanderbilt); No. 49 Anthony Siegler (Cartersville, Ga., Auburn) and No. 123 Christopher Holcomb (Osterville, Mass., Alabama).
AZ T-Rex Rawlings wins its way to top of 17u rankings
Rex Gonzalez introduced his Scottsdale, Ariz.-based T-Rex Baseball Club to the nation’s travel ball community in January 2013 when the team of freshly minted teenagers won the title at 14u PG/MLK Championship. Now, nearly four years later, AZ T-Rex Rawlings has climbed to the top of the final 2016 Perfect Game 17u National Travel Team Rankings.
With a solid core of class of 2017 elite prospects, including Perfect Game All-American corner-infielder Jacob Gonzalez from Scottsdale (No. 43-ranked, Texas Christian University signee), T-Rex Rawlings won championships at the 17u PG World Series, the PG/EvoShield Upperclass National Championship and the 18u PG WWBA West Memorial Classic in 2016. The T-Rexer’s also reached the final-four at the PG WWBA Championship in Jupiter, Fla., and went 4-2-0 while falling short of the playoffs at the 17u PG WWBA National Championship.
They finished with a combined record of 28-4-0 at those five tournaments, including marks of 7-0-0, 7-0-0 and 5-0-0 at the 17u PG World Series, the PG/EvoShield Upper National Championship and the 18u PG WWBA West Memorial Day Classic, respectively.
“I’m extremely proud of these boys,” Rex Gonzalez said after his team claimed the championship at the 17u PG World Series, an event played in searing heat the last week of July at Cubs Park Riverview in Mesa. “We had a lot of guys step up for us (and) that’s basically been our motto the whole time. We played some pretty tough competition … and I’m just really proud of these young men. We’ve been trying to get to this point since we were 14 years old and it’s a big stepping stone for us.”
Eleven full-time members of the team – all 2017s – were named to the all-tournament team in at least two of those five events, and infielder Scott Mehan from Scottsdale (No. 278, Arizona State) was cited at all five. Jacob Gonzalez, the son of former Arizona Diamondbacks’ All-Star Luis Gonzalez and Rex Gonzalez’s nephew, was named the Most Valuable Player at the 17u PG World Series, and 6-foot-5, 210-pound right-hander/infielder Boyd Vander Kooi from Mesa (No. 94, Arizona State) was the MV Pitcher at the same event.
“This is an unbelievable experience, especially being the hometown team,” Jacob Gonzalez said after the 17u PGWS championship. “With all these powerhouses coming in here like CBA and EvoShield (Canes), we just wanted to come out here and compete with them, and show that a group of boys from Arizona that have been together since they were 12 years old can compete with those programs. …
“We always have a little bit of confidence whenever we go out on the field because we’ve played together for so long and we know what everyone is capable of,” he continued. “We had confidence coming into today that we could beat anybody that lines up on the other side of the field.”
Vander Kooi was named the MV Player at the PG WWBA West Memorial Day Classic and 2017 right-hander Jacob Stark from Mesa was named the MV Pitcher at the same event – he pitched a six-inning no-hitter in the championship game. 2017 infielder Trevor Hauver from Chandler (No. 170, Arizona State) was the MV Player at the PG/EvoShield Upperclass National Championship.
“This weekend was amazing,” Hauver said after the PG/Evo Upper was in the books. “These Perfect Game tournaments (bring out) nothing but excellent talent and we just try to come out here and just put our best effort in. We’ve been fortunate to come out on top the last couple of times we played in one.”
No. 176-ranked first baseman/left-hander Nick Brueser from Chandler (Stanford), No. 206 outfielder/infielder Blake Paugh from Scottsdale (Arizona), No. 242 right-hander/corner-infielder Matt Schroer from Phoenix (Louisiana State), No. 313 shortstop/right-hander Andrew Swift from Chandler (Arizona State) and No. 447 shortstop/utility Jake Holmes from Phoenix (Arizona) were among some of the other highly regarded 2017 prospects on the 2016 AZ T-Rex Rawlings roster.
“Anytime we get a chance to play PG, we strongly encourage it and we love doing it,” Rex Gonzalez said. “We can compete on the national scene (and) like I tell our guys, every time you step out here it’s a measuring stick. There’s going to be a lot of good ballplayers out there and you’re just another guy. Everybody’s working hard and you just have to keep working hard every day and let the chips fall where they may.”
Kissimmee, Fla.-based FTB Tucci 17u took home the title at the 384-team 17u PG WWBA National Championship in Cartersville, Ga., on the strength of a roster that boasted 14 class of 2017 prospects ranked in the top-100 nationally. They included PG All-Americans Conner Uselton (No. 18, Oklahoma State); Mervyl Melendez (No. 19, Florida International); Tanner Burns (No. 24, Auburn); Mitchell Stone (No. 33, Oklahoma State); Garrett “Hunter” Ruth (No. 35, Florida); Jordan Anderson (No. 51, Mississippi State) and Logan Allen (No. 59, Florida International).
FTB Tucci 17u finished No. 2 in the final PG 17u National Travel Team Rankings, one spot ahead of the Sedalia, N.C.-based Dirtbags All Blacks. Winder, Ga.-based Team Elite 17’s Prime and CBA Marucci National out of Temecula, Calif., rounded out the top-5.
The Dirtbags won championships at the PG WWBA World Championship in Jupiter, Fla., and the 18u PG WWBA Memorial Day Classic at LakePoint. Team Elite 17’s Prime won the 18u PG BCS Finals title; was runner-up in Jupiter; reached the semifinals the PG WWBA National Qualifier, the PG WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2 and the 17u PG-East Cobb Invitational and the quarterfinals at the 17u BCS Finals.
CBA Marucci National – with Perfect Game All-Americans Nick Allen (No. 10, Southern California), Jeremiah Estrada (No. 21, UCLA), Tyler Freeman (No. 48, TCU) and Ben Ramirez (No. 71, Southern California) – was the co-champion at the Upperclass California World Series, runner-up to AZ T-Rex Rawlings at the 17u PG World Series and reached the quarterfinals at both the PG/EvoShield Upperclass National Championship and the PG WWBA World Championship.
N.C.’s Dirtbags All Black capture crown in Jupiter
After out-slugging the Chicago Scouts Association in an 11-7 exhibition game victory to begin play at the 16th annual PG WWBA World Championship at the Roger Dean Stadium MLB spring training complex in Jupiter, Fla., Oct. 20-24, the Sedalia, N.C.-based Dirtbags All Black felt ready for the start of pool-play. That official tournament-opener against a determined Team Indiana squad ended in a 1-1 tie, leaving both teams feeling a little up-in-the-air with only two more pool games remaining on the schedule.
But the Dirtbags – boasting a roster with five 2017 prospects ranked in the top-133 nationally, including No. 41-ranked PG All-American catcher and Vanderbilt signee Philip Clarke (Franklin, Tenn.) – went right to work. They won their next two pool-play games by a combined 14-1 to claim the pool championship, and then won round-of-32, round-of-16, quarterfinal and semifinal-round games to take a 6-0-1 record into the championship game opposite mighty Team Elite Prime, who entered 6-1-0.
The 12th-seeded ‘Bags proved to be opportunists of the highest order in the championship. They used three walks, three hit batsmen and a wild pitch to score three runs without the benefit of a base-hit in the bottom of the sixth inning and went on to a 4-2 victory over the 18th-seeded Team Elite Prime. It was the Dirtbags’ organization first out-right title at the PG WWBA World Championship after sharing the 2010 crown with Chet Lemon’s Juice.
“My team doesn’t quit. They don’t quit,” Dirtbags Baseball founder/owner/manager Andy Partin said. “They seem to thrive with some adversity when their backs are against the wall; it seems to really bring the best out of them. This is a special group and I told them before our last game, ‘You are not the team that I’d like to play right now.’”
Ten Dirtbags were named to the all-tournament team, including Most Valuable Player Davis Schneider from Berlin, N.J. Schneider, a 5-foot-10, 190-pound third baseman and Rutgers signee ranked No. 196 nationally in the class of 2017, totaled nine hits over the course of the tournament – including five doubles and two home runs – and posted a slash-line of .409/.519/.909 with 11 RBI and eight runs scored. One of the home runs was a three-run shot that lifted the Dirtbags to a 3-0 win over powerful CBA Marucci in the quarterfinals.
“Once we beat CBA we really thought we had a chance to win it all with our pitching,” he said. “We probably came in here not knowing how far we could go into the playoffs but we shocked the world. It feels great … Being with this group, they’re like my brothers now; I just joined this team this summer and they welcomed me in. Playing against all these top prospects who will probably be in the draft next year and doing well, it just feels great.”
Partin used 11 pitchers to work 56 2/3 innings over five days and they combined to post a 1.36 ERA with 56 strikeouts against 16 walks. One of those hurlers was 2017 No. 103-ranked, 6-foot-6, 230-pound right-hander and Vanderbilt signee Mason Hickman out of Hendersonville, Tenn. Hickman didn’t allow an earned run on six hits in 8 2/3 innings, striking out 11 and walking one, including a five-inning, three-hit (all singles) shutout in an 8-0 semifinal-round victory over the Midland Redskins; he was named the tournament’s Co-MV Pitcher.
He shared the award with Team Elite Prime 2018 right-hander Ethan Hankins, a 6-foot-6, 200-pound Vanderbilt commit from Cumming, Ga., who is ranked No. 5 overall nationally in his class. Hankins pitched 10 scoreless innings in Jupiter, giving up eight hits while striking out 12 and walking two. He, too, was brilliant in his team’s semifinal victory – a 1-0 classic with AZ T-Rex Rawlings – working 6 1/3, six-hit, shutout innings with six strikeouts and one walk.
Team Elite Prime placed 13 players in the all-tournament team, including Hankins and 2018 right-hander/first baseman Kumar Rocker, yet another Vanderbilt commit who is the No. 1-ranked national prospect in his class. The Prime also had to rebound from a pool-play mishap – it lost its final pool game to the Marlins Scout Team – but won a tie-breaker with the Marlins and Palm Beach Select to claim the championship. They won their quarterfinal and semifinal games by counts of 4-1 and 1-0 to move into the championship.
At the end of the PG WWBA World Championship’s long, five-day run – played in amazing weather conditions – the central Florida Atlantic Coast region could officially be called “Dirtbags Country.”
“These guys were hungry for this championship and I’m so proud of them,” Partin said. “They played so well at such a high level against a great team like Team Elite. (Team Elite owner/manager) Brad (Bouras) and his team always do a great job … and we were joking during the game that every time we play each other it’s kind of a back-and-forth battle.”
From a pitching perspective, the more than 1,000 scouts and college recruiters saw some high heat during the tournament ran its course. Fifteen hurlers delivered fastballs of 94 mph or better, with Puerto Rican 2017 right-hander Wilberto Rivera from the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team topping at the charts at a rapid 97 mph.
Tennessee 2017 right-hander Spencer Strider from the Royals Scout team topped-out at 96 mph. 2018 left-hander Luke Bartnicki (Georgia, East Cobb Astros) and 2017 righties Nick Jodway (North Carolina, Dirtbags), Aaron Perry (West Virginia, Kentucky Baseball Club) and Daniel Richeson (California, CBA Marucci) all touched 95 mph.
14u PG Select Baseball Festival debuts in Fort Myers
The inaugural 14u Perfect Game Select Baseball Festival – an invitation-only all-star event involving 40 top prospects from the classes of 2020 and 2019 who hadn’t turned 15 years old before May 1, 2016 – was held in Fort Myers, Fla., over the Labor Day weekend amongst much fanfare.
The two-day event was held Sept. 3-4 with the players and their families housed at the spectacular Hyatt Regency Coconut Resort and Spa in Bonita Springs, Fla.; all baseball-related activities took place at the jetBlue Park Player Development Complex, the MLB spring training home of the Boston Red Sox. The game itself, played the evening of Sept. 4, was televised live on Fox Sports Networks and streamed simultaneously on MLB.com.
The East Team and West Team rosters featured 36 members of the class of 2020 (high school freshman) and four members of the class of 2019 (sophomores), representing 19 states and the Dominican Republic. Twenty-eight of those 2020 prospects are ranked in the top-50 nationally; 12 are ranked in the top-20 and eight in the top-15.
Those eight top-15’s are No. 4 Nate Wohlgemuth (Owasso, Okla.); No. 5 Liam Norris (Cary, N.C.); No. 7 Victor Mederos (Miami); No. 9 Josh Shuler (Suwanee, Ga.); No. 12 Jordan Andrade (Yucaipa, Calif.); No. 11 Ethan Long (Gilbert, Ariz.); No. 14 Robert Hassell (Franklin, Tenn.) and No. 15 Jackson Miller (Trinity, Fla.). No. 20 Maurice Hampton Jr. (Arlington, Tenn.) was the top 2019 in attendance.
“These are the best players in the country and they’re all showing what they’ve got,” Hassell said after taking part in the Home Run Challenge on the first day of the event. “I really like it and it’s where you’d love to be; it’s what you wish for.”
The most impactful aspect of a young player being invited to the PG Select Baseball Festival was his obligation to be involved in a fund-raising effort to benefit the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida in Fort Myers. The young PGer’s and their families raised nearly $29,000, and they were both recognized and rewarded during a visit to Golisano Children’s on Sept. 3.
“This is great; this is one of the best parts (of the weekend),” Mederos said. “This is awesome being with these kids and knowing that you could be in that situation and knowing that you can help them. It’s just awesome; it’s the best part of the day. … We came here to play baseball but to be able to help the kids, that’s even better.”
The game itself was the ultimate pitchers’ duel. Nine West Team pitchers combined on a three-hitter, striking out 15 and walking four, in the 3-1 victory. Eight East pitchers were nearly as good, allowing the three runs on seven hits while striking out 13 and walking seven.
The West’s Calvin Harris, a 2020 left-handed hitting catcher/utility player from Peosta, Iowa, went the opposite way for two-run single down the left-field line in the bottom of the second inning to give his team a 2-0 lead – which held up – and was named the Most Valuable Player.
“The atmosphere out here was something else,” Harris said. “The talent of everyone out here was amazing and this has definitely been a great experience; It is definitely something that I will never forget. … Just being from Iowa makes this special, with Perfect Game starting in Cedar Rapids. I’m just proud to represent it.”
Liam Deegan, a 2019 third baseman from Richmond, Va., ranked 41st nationally, won the Home Run Challenge with a bomb that dropped above the netting on the replica Green Monster in jetBlue Park’s left-field. “It’s been a dream,” he said of the entire Select Festival experience. “(Receiving) all the gear and meeting all the players and other new people – it’s the best-of-the-best of the 14u players; it’s been amazing.”
PG event organizer and PG Series director Ben Ford enlisted the help of two local high school head coaches – Estero HS’s Gary White and Cape Coral Mariner HS’s Tom Woodley – to act as head coaches at the Select Festival. They were impressed with what the event had to offer.
“I think, as usual, Perfect Game has knocked it out of the park. Ben Ford has done an incredible job in a short amount of time setting everything up,” White told PG during a practice session at the jetBlue Park complex the morning of Sept. 3. “It goes beyond the baseball game itself. I know they’ve raised a bunch of money for the children’s hospital, which should really be at the forefront because it’s the most important thing.”
Added Woodley: “When I got the call it was a no-brainer; I didn’t even hesitate. If you love the game of baseball this is big; this is awesome. This is great for the game of baseball and for most of these kids here this is going to be the first time they’ve been around this much talent. … We’re going to see the ball, hit the ball and have fun doing it. That’s just what they’re going to do, go out there and have fun and just do what they do best.”
Position players move to forefront at PG Jr. National
The beautiful jetBlue Park Player Development Complex in Fort Myers, Fla., served as the base of operations for the 11th annual PG Junior National Showcase – the third straight year the facility hosted the elite underclass showcase – and when its four-day run concluded on June 14, the scouting reports and subsequent prospect rankings showed position players had ruled the day.
With more than 180 prospects from the classes of 2018 and 2019 in attendance – along with a handful of young international players looking forward to upcoming international signing periods that begin July 2 – the event’s Rawlings Top Prospect Lists were loaded with primary position players.
Twelve of the top-19 2018s and six of the top-nine 2019s on the TPLs were listed as position players. Five of the top 2018s and one top 2019 were listed as primary outfielders while three 2018s and two 2019s listed catcher as their primary position. There were also plenty of shortstops and third baseman in the mix.
But the guy at the top of the 2018 TPL was hard-throwing Georgia right-hander Kumar Rocker, a Vanderbilt commit who is the son of former NFL lineman and 1988 Outland Trophy winner Tracy Rocker. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Kumar Rocker – who was 16 years old when the Jr. National was held – delivered a fastball that sat 89-93 mph, a changeup that topped out at 80 mph to go with a 78 mph slider; he also swung the bat very well. The stage was his.
“These are some of the best players – top of the class players – that come around here and you get to compete against them,” Rocker said as his stay at the PG Jr. National was just getting underway. “That’s really what I’m looking forward to, to see if the skulls I have compare to theirs. You get that nice adrenaline boost to see what you can accomplish.
“You try your best to relax but when it comes down to it (the nerves) are going to kick in,” he continued. “You just do the best you can, have fun with it; you don’t get mad or anything. When I’m out there pitching in front of all the scouts, I just focus on the catcher’s mitt.”
Rocker is the No. 1-ranked national prospect in the class of 2018. He was joined on the PG Jr. National’s 2018 TPL by No. 3 Wisconsin outfielder Jarred Kelenic (Louisville commit), No. 4 Mississippi outfielder Joe Gray Jr. (uncommitted), No. 6 Georgia catcher Will Banfield (Vanderbilt), No. 7 Arizona shortstop Nolan Gorman (Arizona), No. 9 Florida outfielder Elijah Cabell, No. 13 Florida catcher Mason Denaburg (Florida) and No. 14 Florida third baseman Brandon Howlett (Florida State) among a host of other highly ranked high school juniors.
The top guys named to the 2019 TPL included No. 2 Florida third baseman Triston Casas (Miami), No. 6 Florida catcher Jake Holland (Miami) and No. 15 Florida shortstop Tyler Callihan (South Carolina).
Although the respective TPLs were top-heavy with position players, other pitchers joined Rocker with strong performances at jetBlue. A pair of Florida right-handers – No. 15 Slade Cecconi (Miami) and No. 36 Levi Kelly (Louisiana State) – were joined by No. 24 New York left-hander Brandon Neeck (Virginia) and No. 46 Indiana lefty Carter Lohman (Louisville) as the top 2018s. The top 2019 arms on the TPL belonged to No. 23 Florida righty Joseph Charles (North Carolina) and No. 35 Georgia righty Nolan Crisp (Florida).
“There’s a lot of exposure here; you get to see a lot of people,” Kelly told PG. “Obviously, I’m committed to LSU, but I think it’s always good to throw in front of people and pitch against the best kids in the country. It’s important to be here just to compete. Sometimes, if you’re not going against the top guys you tend to relax, but out here you’re going to have to have your best stuff or you’re going to get exposed. It’s good just to go against these types of guys.”
Top prospects produce top results at PG National Showcase
The Perfect Game National Showcase has been considered the most prestigious showcase in all of amateur baseball since its inception in 2001, and the 16th annual PG National – held for a third straight year at jetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Fla. – lived up to all the expectations its predecessors had established.
The event provided 313 of the top rising high school seniors from the class of 2017 with an enormous stage on which to showcase their talents. And they did so in front of hundreds of personnel from Major League Baseball front offices and scouting departments, and coaches and recruiting coordinators from just about every baseball-playing college in the land.
Forty-five of the players that were named to the PG National Showcase Rawlings Top Prospect List (PG officials realize a TPL at the National Showcase is somewhat redundant because a prospect isn’t invited unless he’s already proven to be elite) parlayed their performances at jetBlue June 15-20 into invitations to the 2016 Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego on Aug. 14. That number included 12 of the top 15-ranked national prospects in the class:
No. 1 right-hander/shortstop Hunter Greene (Stevenson Ranch, Calif., UCLA); No. 2 outfielder Jordan Adell (Louisville, Ky., Louisville); No. 4 left-hander D.L. Hall (Warner Robins, Ga., Florida State); No. 6 shortstop Royce Lewis (Aliso Viejo, Calif., UC Irvine); No. 7 first baseman Alejandro Toral (Davie, Fla., Miami); No. 8 outfielder Drew Waters (Woodstock, Ga., Georgia).
Also, No. 9 outfielder Calvin Mitchell (San Diego, San Diego); No. 10 shortstop Nick Allen (San Diego, Southern Cal); No. 11 outfielder Cole Brennan (Elko, Ga., Georgia Southern); No. 12 right-hander Alex Scherff (Colleyville, Texas, Texas A&M); No. 14 Wilberto Rivera (Naranjito, P.R., Florida International) and No. 15 Jacob Heatherly (Cullman, Ala., Alabama).
Perfect Game ranks Greene, Adell, Hall and Lewis among the top-eight overall (high school, college, junior college) prospects in June’s 2017 MLB First-Year Amateur Player Draft, and as many as 14 alumni of the 2016 PG National are projected as possible first-round selections.
“It’s interesting, because I came out here and I’m familiar with all the guys that I’ve played with in other events … and it’s just a great environment, for sure,” Greene said during a short break in the action at jetBlue. “Just coming out and doing my thing and everyone else doing their thing and playing the best they can, it’s just a lot of fun. I love this event; this was great.”
No. 17-ranked outfielder Cole Turney (Richmond, Texas; Arkansas) landed high on the PG National’s TPL mostly because of his “plus left-handed bat speed and big power potential” but like a lot of the position players that were cited when the showcase concluded, he showed impressive tools in many facets of the game, running a 6.69-second 60-yard dash and throwing 94 mph from the outfield.
“I think our class is very talented and I really enjoy talking to these guys; they’re all fun to watch,” he said. “Obviously, we all have our strengths and weaknesses, but it’s fun watching some of these big guys put on shows during BP and it’s a lot of fun watching them play; I’ve enjoyed it. We’re all kind of spready out (across the country) but I’ve talked to some of these guys. Once we get together I’m sure we’re going to sit down and talk about hitting. That’s what we love to do.”
The top arms belonging to guys like Greene – who is also a standout shortstop and powerful right-handed hitter – Hall, Scherff, Rivera and Heatherly also did their part impressing the scouts. Hall, the 6-foot-2, 170-pound Texas left-hander, solidified himself atop the rankings and draft boards by showing a 95 mph fastball, 76 mph changeup and 75 mph curveball. Like Turney, Hall found the camaraderie the players enjoyed the rewarding aspect of the showcase.
“It’s fun being around a lot of guys you don’t know, but they have special talents, as well; it’s fun getting to see them showcase,” he said. “There are a lot of guys out here that are just fun to watch them play ball. You learn a lot of things out here. Some players from different areas have a little bit different personalities but you get to meet new friends and adapt to everyone that’s around you.”
There were two traditional workout records set at the showcase. PG All-American and No. 26-ranked outfielder Quentin Holmes (East Elmhurst, N.Y., Mississippi State) blistered the 60-yard dash in 6.15-seconds and No. 179-ranked first baseman Bobby Miller (McHenry, Ill., Louisville) threw 95 mph from first base. At the end of the day, every prospect in attendance put his best foot forward despite the many outside distractions.
“There is a little bit of pressure playing with the best kids in the country and all of them trying to live out the dream of making the PG (All-American) team and, obviously, trying to make it to the big leagues,” No. 37-ranked PG All-American shortstop Jayson Gonzalez (Covina, Calif., Vanderbilt) said. “There are a lot of scouts here who have their stop watches out, have their radar guns out and there’s definitely some nerves there a little bit.”
West rolls at 14th PG All-American Classic; Greene honored with Jackie Robinson Award
The 14th edition of the annual all-star extravaganza that is the Perfect Game All-American Classic will never be remembered as a thing of beauty but the game itself did nothing to diminish the level of talent on display or the memories the participants accumulated that will last for a lifetime.
The record books will show the 2016 Classic – played the evening of Aug. 14 at the Padres’ beautiful Petco Park in downtown San Diego – was a rout, with the West topping the East, 13-0, the most lopsided result in the event’s history. The West scored its 13 runs on 11 hits, but five of those runs were unearned because of six East errors; West left seven runners on base.
The Westerners scored five runs in the bottom of the second and had scored all 13 by the end of the sixth, so any drama that might have surrounded the game left Petco very early in the evening. The win was the second straight for the West Team and evened the all-time series record at seven wins apiece.
“When games get sideways in a hurry – out of hand in a hurry – usually guys get more relaxed,” West head coach Mike Gonzales said. “But these guys kept grinding away and they knew how important at-bats were, the guys on the mound knew how important it was to throw strikes and get ahead and our defense did a great job at playing catch behind them; it was awesome to see. That’s why these guys are the best in the country because they play every pitch, every out hard, and with enthusiasm and passion.”
No. 6-ranked 2017 prospect Royce Lewis tripled, singled, drove in two runs and scored one, and was named the Most Valuable Player.
“Our team was a really fun one for this game; it’s a really good group of guys,” Lewis told PG shortly after he had been doused with a cooler full of ice water. “This is a really good professional group of guys and they’re ready to go possibly into the pros and for sure into college. We were able to take advantage of all the opportunities that we got, and we had a lot of fun doing it, too. … Everything has been awesome; these guys are my best friends and I love them all.”
Nineteen pitchers from both teams delivered fastballs at 92 mph or faster, including the West right-hander Hunter Greene with an event-best 97 mph. West right-handers Joe Boyle, Hans Crouse and Alex Scherff, and East lefty D.L. Hall all hit 96; West right-handers Jeremiah Estrada and Kyle Hurt, East left-hander Jacob Heatherly and East righty Hunter Ruth each topped-out at 95.
Just before the start of the Classic – which was televised live on the MLB Network – Greene thrilled the more than 7,800 fans in attendance by winning the Classic’s Home Run Challenge. He hit towering home runs into Petco Park’s second-level seats in left field with each of his first five swings to top San Diego’s own Calvin Mitchell, 5-4, in the final round.
Away from the diamond, the All-Americans made their much-anticipated visit to Rady Children’s Hospital, where they were recognized for a combined fund-raising effort that brought in nearly $59,000 to benefit the hospital. The players also enjoyed what has become an annual visit to PG National Spokesman Trevor Hoffman’s Pacific Ocean beach house for a couple of hours of fun in the surf and on the sand.
And finally, the night before the big game, the 52 PG All-Americans were feted at the annual PG All-American Classic Awards Banquet held at the San Diego Hall of Champions.
Greene, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound right-hander/infielder from Stevenson Ranch, Calif., who has signed with UCLA and carries the nation’s No. 1 prospect ranking in the class of 2017, was the recipient of the Jackie Robinson Award, given annually to Perfect Game’s Player of the Year.
“This is amazing; it’s a true honor,” Greene said after receiving the award. “I’ve worn the No. 42 since I was 6 years old, so it’s all worked out perfectly. I’m so thankful to be here and to be (recognized) as the Jackie Robinson Player of the Year. I’m so thankful and I’m so grateful.”
The No. 42, of course, is the number that Robinson wore throughout his Hall of Fame career; Major League Baseball retired it before the start of the 1997 season. Robinson, who went to college at UCLA, was the first black man to play in the MLB in the “modern era” (since 1900) and Greene is certainly aware of the sacrifices Robinson made to pave the way for future generations of black ballplayers like himself.
“To be able to go the same school as (Robinson) – UCLA – it’s awesome. It’s just worked out perfectly and I’m so thankful and happy,” Greene said. “Now, I’m just so pumped up for (the game). It’s such an amazing event and I’m so excited to be able to be the starting pitcher. I’m going to go out there and just have a great time.”
There is a consensus on mock draft boards that Greene will be the No. 1 overall selection in June’s 2017 MLB First-Year Player Draft, following in the footsteps of 2015 PG All-American and fellow Southern Californian Mickey Moniak, who went No. 1 overall to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2016. That selection certainly gave Greene something to dream on.
“I’m good friends with Mickey and we played on (Team USA) together, and that was amazing to see him go first overall, and also to see all those guys that I played with go so high in the draft and be able to fulfill their dreams,” he said. “Hopefully they stay healthy and they’re able to do their thing and eventually make it to the big leagues. It would be such a great experience to go that high and do so well and be able to go to the next level and really perform like I can.”
The 2016 Perfect Game award winners were:
Baseball America Pitcher of the Year – Alex Scherff, Colleyville, Texas
Perfect Game Nick Adenhart Award – Garrett Mitchell, Anaheim, Calif.
WebGem Grunt Award – Cole Turney, Richmond, Texas
TrackMan Award – Dayton “D.L.” Hall, Warner Robins, Ga.
MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM Two-Way Player Award – Jordon Adell, Louisville, Ky.
MLB.com Pipeline Advanced Media POY Award – Trevor Rogers, Carlsbad, N.M.
2080 Prospect of the Year Award – Hans Crouse, Dana Point, Calif.
EvoShield S.W.A.G. Award – Conner Usleton, Oklahoma City, Okla.
Rawlings Defensive Player of the Year Award – Nick Allen, San Diego, Calif.
ZEPP Offensive Player of the Year Award – Alejandro Toral, Davie, Fla.
Jackie Robinson Player of the Year Award – Hunter Greene, Stevenson Ranch, Calif.