GLENDALE, Ariz. – More than 170 prospects from primarily the western half of the country will gather at the Camelback Ranch Cactus League Complex this weekend for a couple of important, year-ending Perfect Game showcase events.
The PG National Underclass Showcase-Session 1 and the PG West Uncommitted Showcase will run simultaneously Saturday and Sunday at Camelback, the spring training home of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago White Sox. Workout sessions, batting practice sessions and games will take place throughout the day on Saturday, with seven games (both five and 10 innings) scheduled for Sunday.
Nearly 120 players from 14 states and Canada will participate in this year’s PG National Underclass-Session 1, one of three national underclass showcases created out of the original PG National Underclass Showcase in 2007.
The 2013 PG National Underclass Showcase-Main Event is Dec. 28-30 in Fort Myers, Fla., with the 2014 PG National Underclass Showcase-Session 3 slated for Jan. 4-5, also in Fort Myers.
Most of the prospects attending this weekend’s Underclass-Session 1 are from Arizona and California but the event is drawing players from as far away as New York and Alberta and Ontario, Canada, all in the 2015, 2016 and 2017 graduating classes.
The most prominent attendee is 2015 Lone Tree, Colo., shortstop Nicholas Shumpert, a University of Kentucky commit who is ranked No. 8 nationally in his graduating class. Shumpert, the son of former big-leaguer Terry Shumpert, has previously attended five other PG showcase events, including the 2012 and 2013 PG Junior National Showcase and the 2012 and 2013 PG Underclass All-American Games.
Other top 2015s committed to the showcase include middle-infielder Rudy Karre (Peoria, Ariz.), ranked 186th, and outfielder Daniel Priwin (Sugar Land, Texas), ranked 448th. The top 2016s expected to be in attendance include shortstop Nicholas Quintana (Las Vegas, Nev.), ranked 33rd; catcher/shortstop Garrett Wolforth (Spring, Texas), ranked 74th; and shortstop/third baseman Hudson Sanchez (Grapevine, Texas), ranked 81st. Wolforth is a Dallas Baptist commit.
Fifty-one alumni of the PG National Underclass Showcase have gone on to play in the big leagues, more than 600 have been drafted and just over 2,350 made commitments to colleges at every level.
More than 50 high school seniors from 16 states and Ontario and British Columbia, Canada, will take part in the Perfect Game West Uncommitted Showcase this weekend. The event is designed to give seniors who have not yet decided on a college another opportunity to perform in front of Perfect Game’s large scouting contingent and have detailed reports of their performances published on Perfect Game’s website.
Eleven alumni of the 2012 PG West Uncommitted went on to make college commitments after attending the event.