Tuesday
marked the second day of playoff competition for the teams fortunate
enough to advance from pool play. As one would expect, the teams
that remained in the playoff bracket trotted many quality pitchers in
an attempt to stave off elimination for another day.
One
of the more impressive pitching performances of the day came courtesy
of Chain National’s Zack Brockman
(2017, Savannah, Ga.). Brockman, whose exploits in Chain’s
very first game of the tournament were touched upon last week,
raised his game to another level on Tuesday. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound
righty ran his fastball up to 89 mph and consistently sat in the
85-87 mph range, a few ticks above what he had shown earlier in the
tournament. He was able to locate the heater well, which again
displayed late life and downhill plane when located at the bottom of
the strike zone. He similarly had food feel for his sharp, biting
curveball in the low-70s and was able to throw the offering to both
sides of the plate and bury it to the backfoot of lefthanded hitters.
Brockman, currently uncommitted, was very efficient and aggressive
within the strike zone, not afraid to challenge the plethora of
talented Easton Rockets 16u hitters, and he located his fastball
extremely well to the glove side. He allowed just two hits and
struck out four over six innings to help Chain National win their
early morning game and advance further in the playoffs.
Tyler
Myrick (2016, Lake City, Fla.)
also pitched extremely well. Myrick, who is currently committed to
Alabama State, is very athletic and has a well-proportioned build and
present strength in his 6-foot, 170-pound frame. Myrick has a strong
lower half and does well in using that strength to his advantage by
driving off of the mound with good momentum and burst. While he lands
slightly closed and works a bit crossfire, he generally does a solid
job of rotating his upper body to work online and pound the strike
zone. There’s some further deception in his game as Myrick will
occasionally drop his arm slot from his typical three-quarters
release point and work to a sidearm and near submarine slot. Myrick
has a very quick arm and he consistently sat in the 88-92 mph range
with his fastball, even scraping 93 mph on one occasion. The heater
has some natural tailing action and is especially effective when
located to his arm side and near the bottom of the strike zone.
While there’s some effort in his delivery, Myrick did pretty well
to repeat his mechanics and he also held his velocity pretty well,
hitting 91 in his seventh and final inning of work. He predominately
lived with and succeeded using his fastball, but Myrick also
showcased a solid breaking ball in the mid-70s with 11-to-5 shape
that flashed hard downer bite and late break.
Although
his Team Elite Louisville Slugger 16u team came up on the short end
against Myrick’s FTB squad in their playoff matchup, Dylan
Gentry (2017, Danielsville,
Ga.) showed very well in his one inning cameo from the
bullpen. The southpaw is listed at 6-foot-1, 180-pounds but looks to
be a bit bigger, with broad shoulders, a tapered waist and an
athletic build. Gentry displayed a loose, clean arm stroke and also
hid the ball well, which helped his already quality stuff play up
even more. He located his 86-88 mph fastball pretty well and showed
that he could work to both sides of the plate without any issue.
Furthermore, Gentry flashed very good feel for his breaking ball, a
mid-70s offering with late break and the sharp bite to induce whiffs
and chases out of the strike zone. With those two quality offerings,
solid command and good feel for mixing pitches Gentry was able to
strike out all three batters that he faced.
Nicholas
Storz (2017, Brooklyn, N.Y.)
is well-known for his talent on the mound, but he did not pitch
in either of his Elite Prime 16u team’s victories on Tuesday.
Instead, he got a few at-bats as a designated hitter. The big,
6-foot-6, 245-pound righty displayed some big raw power at the Junior
National Showcase, and he did not disappoint in Tuesday’s game
action. Storz went 2-for-2 in Elite Prime’s second game, a 12-2
victory over PBC Gameday Elite. In his first at-bat Storz picked a
double, a well-struck high line drive that carried over the head of
the center fielder. In his second at-bat Storz demolished an
elevated off-speed pitch and deposited it over the left field fence
for a three-run homer.
A
number of other Elite Prime hitters stood out on Tuesday, as one
would expect given their 15-0 and 12-2 victories. Ivan Johnson
(2017, Atlanta, Ga.) and Pat DeMarco
(2017, Staten Island, N.Y.) were both discussed briefly in
this section earlier in the tournament, but both merit another
mention. Johnson hit a number of balls hard, went 3-for-5 with two
doubles on the day, and again displayed above-average bat speed and
an advanced feel for the barrel to go along with a mature approach.
DeMarco also has some serious bat speed and he went 3-for-5 with a
double of his own.
Colin
Hall (2017, Alpharetta, Ga.)
has a simple, repeatable swing from the left side that is conducive
to line-drive contact. Hall’s feel for the barrel has been
impressive, and it seems like he’s reached base safely in all of
his plate appearances in the tournament. On Tuesday, Hall went a
combined 4-for-5, and the currently uncommitted outfielder just looks
like a natural high-average hitter.
Morgan
Copeland (2017, Loganville,
Ga.) is an extra strong 6-foot-1, 230-pound catcher that
displays big tools on both sides of the ball. At the plate Copeland
has an aggressive yet controlled approach, and he’s able to succeed
with his deep hand load and bat wrap because of his big-time bat
speed and easy, natural strength. He went 2-for-5 with a double on
the day and has impact potential with juice to the pull side.
Defensively, Copeland moves well for his size and shows the ability
to get into good blocking position. Furthermore, he has a strong arm
and solid footwork and mechanics that should serve him well if
runners try to test him on the basepaths.
Chase
Sanguinetti (2018, Tampa, Fla.)
homered for the second straight day. The lefthanded hitting
first baseman participated in the Junior National Showcase two weeks
ago and displayed some pull-side power when he was able to sync up
his upper and lower halves, and his timing has been good for much of
this tournament. One day after he blasted a home run to right field,
the Florida State commit did it again on Tuesday, placing a middle-in
fastball over the right field fence to help his FTB Pride team
advance to the semifinal round of the playoffs.
At
a listed 5-foot-8, 175 pounds Mason Robertson
(2017, Savannah, Ga.) will not overwhelm anybody at first
glance, but simply put he is just a solid all-around baseball player.
The compactly-built infielder has been stellar defensively while
manning second base for much of the tournament, showing good
instincts, solid range, and soft hands. At the plate, the lefthanded
hitting Robertson has a good feel for the strike zone, and while he
didn’t get a base hit on Tuesday, he has an advanced approach with
the ability to put the barrel on the ball and use the entire field.
Robertson’s
Chain National teammate, Austin Thompson
(2017, Rincon, Ga.) came on in relief to earn the victory in
the team’s second playoff game, a tight 6-5 win over the Harrisburg
Senators. Thompson is a primary infielder, but he showcased some arm
strength on the mound, consistently throwing his fastball in the
86-88 mph range over his 1 1/3 innings of work. He also flashed a
quality high-70s changeup with good fading action, which was
particularly deceptive because he threw the offering with the same
arm speed and slot as his fastball.