The best individual performances of the
day at the Mariners and Padres complex in Peoria Friday was from the
first game at 9:00 a.m., as Iowa Select Black and Impact Player
Baseball played to a 0-0 tie. Both righthanded starting pitchers,
6-foot-4, 215 pound Cole Baker (2015, Grimes, Iowa) and
6-foot-4, 235-pound Gabe Armstrong (2015, Fullerton, Calif.)
threw complete game four-hit shutouts.
Baker was extremely impressive,
cruising through the first five innings using only 60 pitches, mostly
with a fastball that sat steadily at 88-89 mph and touched 90. The
Iowa commit showed a much better curveball than he had his last
outing at the Midwest Top Prospect Showcase in late August, as well
as a changeup that could become a real weapon for him. When Baker
got in his only real jam of the morning, a bases loaded no out tangle
in the top of the seventh inning, he pounded 88 mph fastballs to pick
up two strikeouts and a weak ground ball to get out of it.
Armstrong, who has no college
commitment, was no less impressive in striking out 13 hitters against
only one walk. He topped out at 87 mph early but sat mostly 83-84
mph with a very heavy sinking fastball that he simply filled the
bottom of the zone with. He threw both a slider and curveball
effectively, picking up a number of his punch outs on those pitches,
with the slider in particular being a pitch he could have used more
often.
To emphasize how well both big
righthanders threw, Iowa Select Black won their second game of the
day 9-0 in five innings, while Impact picked up a 6-3 win.
The top team performance at Peoria on
Friday was even easier to choose. Team Northwest, featuring eight
players with Division I scholarships on their roster, looked strong
in their morning game, taking a 5-1 decision from ABD Nevada behind
6-foot-6, 190-pound lefthander Mark Finkelnburg (2015,
Portland, Ore.). They sent one of their aces, righthander
McKinley Lefore (2015, Camas, Wash.), an Oregon commit, to the
hill against GBG Orange County. But if GBG Orange County even knew
they were the underdogs, they certainly didn't show it. They jumped
on Lefore, who was throwing in the 86-88 mph range despite having
trouble keeping the ball down, for nine runs in the first inning.
That led to an early exit after GBG Orange County hit more three-run
home runs (two) than Lefore got outs (one), although three errors
were also committed in the inning.
Outfielder
Ryan Carpenter (2015, Tustin, Calif.) hit the first of the
aforementioned three-run home runs, a deep blast to left-center field
that was gone the moment it left the barrel. The 5-foot-9, 175-pound
Carpenter later spanked a double to left-center field to pick up two
more RBI and made numerous nice catches in left field. He plays with
the type of energy and hustle that one loves to see in a young
player.
Righthanded pitcher and first baseman
Aaron Lizziraga (2015, Buena Park, CA) hit the other three-run
home run in what ended up as a 13-1 GBG Orange County win.
The most impressive Team Northwest
players over the two games was shortstop Jack Johnson (2015,
Seattle, Wash.). The Washington commit has a very nice righthanded
swing that produced a hard line drive triple to right field and an
RBI single up the middle in the first game, plus a long double to
left field in the second game. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound Johnson has
plenty of filling out to do to add even more power to his stroke,
although he looks like he might eventually profile best at third base
defensively.
CBA Marucci rolled to a 13-1 win over
Team Avenue Aces behind three shutout innings from righthander Tim
Holdgrafer (2015, San Diego, Calif.). The St. Mary's commit has
a quick and easy right arm and a very projectable body. He sat at
85-87 mph for most of his outing and pounded the bottom of the strike
zone with hard sinking action. The CBA Marucci starting lineup
featured seven players with Division I scholarships in addition to
Holdgrafer, including standouts such as third basemen Niko Navarro
(2015, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) and Tyler Nevin (2015, Poway,
Calif.), as well as outfielder Luke Williams (Laguna Niguel,
Calif.). The team should be a factor deep into the playoffs if they
can get steady pitching like they received Friday.
Perfect Game's Jeff Dahn portrays
Nevin, who hit a booming triple to left-center field to highlight his
own game, along with the entire CBA team in this separate story
posted on Friday.
Maverick Handley (Lakewood,
Colo.) of Slammers Black-Holzmer is one of several talented 2016
prospects at this Upperclass event. Handley is a high energy catcher
with an extremely quick release on his throws and an accurate arm.
He threw out a pair of runners in the first three innings of the
Slammers 3-2 loss to MAP Baseball and would have had a third at 1.87
on the stop watch had the infielder caught the throw cleanly.
Handley also showed nice bat speed while batting third in the
Slammers lineup, picking up a single and a walk in three trips to the
plate.
SoCal NTT middle infielder
Dylan Doherty (2015, Santa Ana, Calif.) packs a lot more power
than one would expect from a 5-foot-10, 160-pound lefthanded hitter.
He went 3-for-4 on Friday, including a pair of triples, one of which
was a deep and high blast that went off the right-center field wall
(the fields at Peoria are 340 feet down the lines and 410 feet to
center field). There wasn't much of an opportunity to observe
Doherty's defensive actions and tools, but it was hard not to see the
potential in his bat.
The
first time slot of the day in Goodyear featured one of the top 2015
draft prospects in the state of Arizona as shortstop Alejo Lopez
(Glendale, Ariz.) and his Arizona Baseball Club teammates opened up
pool play against the Colorado Travelers. While he lacks the big size
that is typically found in top ten round draft prospects in the high
school ranks, his smooth and well coordinated actions in the middle
infield and surprising power at the plate profile very well up the
middle. Those actions were on display at short in his team's first
game and he will be watched closely throughout the tournament.
One
of the most exciting teams in the field of the EvoShield Upperclass
National Championship is BPA DeMarini Elite, which has a core made up
of high ceiling 2017 graduates. Eligible for the 15u age division,
BPA captured the 16u WWBA National Championship in Georgia and
feature several of the top ranked players in the PG Class of 2017
rankings, including two in the top 10.
In
their opening victory they gave the ball to 2017 lefthander Jack
Owen (Coto de Caza, Calif.). Owen is immature physically and
looks a bit out of place walking out to the mound at a high level
upperclass event initially, but that changes as soon as he throws his
first pitch. While the velocity doesn't jump off of the page,
topping out at 83 mph, Owen's arm action is smooth and tension free,
he hides the baseball well through his clean, well balanced delivery
and pounds the strike zone. It is easy to dream on what the next
three years of physical development will do to his present arsenal
which features a frequently used low-70s changeup and upper-60s
1-to-7 curveball with good spin. The young Mississippi State commit
threw five shutout innings on two hits, striking out two and not
issuing a walk to pick up the win.
2015
shorstop Dallas Tessar (Simi Valley, Calif.) nearly blasted a
home run down the left field line, hooking just foul to the pull side
before crushing a double and also standing out with the leather at
short. The duo of big 2017 arms in lefty Nick Pratto and
righty Hagen Danner also showed well as position players, with
Danner showing high level catching ability.
One
of the biggest benefits from an evaluation standpoint of watching
prospects at a young age is getting a chance to watch their
development over the course of their prep careers. Not all players
develop at the same rate, and while some develop early in their
careers and then slow down, others take longer before they finally
put it together.
One
such on the rise player is 2015 outfielder Tyler Williams
(Peoria, Ariz.). Williams certainly looks the part at a chiseled
6-foot-3 and 210-pounds, and has plus straight line speed, frequently
running the 60-yard dash in the 6.5 second range. He has shown
flashes of power at times over the past few years, though the
translation of the power into game at-bats was infrequent during his
underclass career. However, over the past couple of months that has
begun to change. His approach at the plate has made tremendous
strides this summer, and while there is still a ways to go, his body
language at the plate has changed in a positive way and he seems to
acknowledge the minor "mistakes" he still makes without
allowing them to affect him on subsequent pitches.
He
started off his first game with an opposite field single followed by
a laser line drive past the third baseman that he stretched into a
triple with his speed. He flew out to left-center in his final
at-bat, but showed an improved idea of how to adjust to a two-strike
situation. The progress he's been showing of late is promising and
combined with his raw physical tools make him an interesting
prospect.
There
were a pair of blue chip, PG All-American shortstop prospects in the
2015 on display on the Reds quad during the afternoon and night time
slots that drew significant looks from four corners area scouts. Nick
Shumpert (Lone Tree, Colo.) and Cadyn Grenier (Las Vegas,
Nev.) each had quiet days at the plate in their opener, but both got
a few opportunities to show off the defensive tools that will put
them into early round consideration for the upcoming draft. Their
showing this weekend will likely be chronicled in depth in this space
over the next couple of days.
One
of the most talented teams in the field is the defending champions
GBG Marucci Navy. And they lived up to expectations on day one,
cruising to a 14-2 victory. While a constant performer on this squad,
2015 outfielder Matt Lautz (Agoura Hills, Calif.) tends to
take second billing to some of his highly talented teammates with
commitments to major Division I powerhouses. He doesn't have the same
high-end strength-to-athleticism quotient of the top prospects in the
class, but his long, lanky frame and underlying athleticism portend
for physical development that could eventually see him get to that
point.
And
the consistent bat-to-ball skills he's continually displayed give him
some upside should that potential development come to fruition. He
started off his run at the EvoShield National Upperclass Championship
with a bang, crushing a deep fly ball to left-center that one-hopped
the fence for a triple. In his second trip to the plate he repeated
it with a nearly identical swing and a second triple, and rounded
first base in 4.44 seconds with a turn from the right side. While his
highly touted GBG teammates got involved in the hit parade, Lautz was
arguably the biggest catalyst in the run-rule victory that allowed
them to save their bullpen for later in the tournament. It also put
the defending champs in a very good position after Day 1 as they head
into a buzzsaw matchup against Stanford bound 2016 righthander Jack
Little in their second game.
On
the mound for GBG 2015 righthander David Appleby (Westlake
Village, Calif.) made his second PG appearance, and the first in a
year. He showed a six mph jump since last year and is an interesting
uncommitted player on the rise. He generates big sinking action on
his 82-86 mph fastball and pairs it with a sweeping low-70s slider
that also shows potential. He added some in-and-out feel to that
sinker for an effective arsenal that will become very interesting if
he continues to develop.
Appleby
wasn't the only SoCal righthander to show significant development on
opening day in Goodyear. Marshall Peak (2016, Norco, Calif.)
also ran his fastball up to 86 mph in his second career outing at a
PG event. In his PG debut Peak worked 76-78 at the 2014 WWBA West
Memorial Day Classic in late May. He worked 80-84 for the most part
for JG Baseball, topping out at 86 and threw a shutout against a
talented San Diego Show lineup. He has a loose arm, and while he
lacks present strength, his long, lean build can handle significant
muscle mass gains without diminishing his range of motion or
tightening his loose present arm action. He showed good feel for his
fastball location and controlled his 68-71 mph curveball well.
There
was a "new" player – at least new to the PG scouting
staff – who made a big impression in the nightcap of day one; 2017
third baseman Casey Schmitt (Chula Vista, Calif.). He got the
start at third base for the San Diego Show and displayed easy arm
strength from the position with a loose arm action that projects
well. He's a well proportioned 5-foot-10 and 160-pounds right now and
projects well. His hands are quick and loose at the plate, and while
he has some adjustments to make to be able utilize his offensive
tools to their full potential, there is a whole lot to like and we
will be following his progress closely over the next three years.