Day 1 Recap
| Day 2 Recap
| Day 3 Recap
| Day 4 Recap
A
few weeks ago at the PG National an interesting roster twist was that
the state of Colorado was heavily represented by righthanded
pitchers. Names like Sweeney, Weiss, Tillotson, and Eissler all drew
rave reviews from the PG Staff, as did 2016 righthander Travis
Marr.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Marr drew quite a crowd of interested college
coaches as he made his start on Tuesday morning at the 17u WWBA
National Championship, and didn't disappoint over his first four
innings of work.
Working
primarily with a fastball in the 84-87 range, Marr touched 89 a few
times early on and did an outstanding job of keeping the ball off of
opposing hitters’ barrels, resulting in several weak contact
groundouts throughout. Delivering his fastball from a medium
three-quarters slot with some crossfire delivery action, Marr is able
to generate good angle to the plate along with quality heavy life on
his fastball, making it a devastating combo to try and square up. He
mixed in a breaking ball in the low- to mid-70s with varying shape,
though one would hesitate to call it two separate pitches. It’s a
curveball look with slurvy 10-to-4 shape, though at times it will be
thrown harder and flatten out a tad when gotten on the side of. Marr
ran into a bit of trouble in the fifth, but mostly showed a very good
ability to work quickly, efficiently, and quietly through a batting
order.
After
absolutely exploding at National Underclass in the fall—and
committing to LSU as a result—2016 righthander Todd
Peterson
has been under intense scrutiny both due in part to that performance
last fall, as well as the fact that he was teammates with Brendan
Rodgers during his high school season at Lake Mary High School.
Peterson took the mound on Tuesday for the Scorpions Prime team and
had a solid outing. Touching 91 mph with his fastball early on,
Peterson settled in around the 86-88 range for the majority of his
start, adding and subtracting velocity as he worked to all four
quadrants of the zone with the pitch. He’s an extra-large framed,
well-built prospect with broad shoulders and strong legs, using all
of that strength to drive off his backside well and downhill to the
plate. His arm works pretty well throughout despite a bit of hook and
wrist wrap, and he did a good job of commanding his fastball. His
curveball flashed as a legitimate swing-and-miss offering, with
quality spin and power depth, though the command of the offering
lagged just a bit on this day.
2016
outfielder and fellow Scorps Prime member Chase Cheek turned
in a blazing fast 6.40 60-yard dash at the PG National, and followed
that up with an almost unbelievable 3.69 time down to first base on a
jailbreak bunt attempt. Cheek is arguably one of the fastest players
in the entire class, and he uses that speed to his advantage in every
facet of the game. On defense he patrols center field with reckless
abandon, knowing that he has that burner lever of speed to cover as
much ground as he may need to. Leading off for the Scorps, he employs
an approach of pure contact (along with several bunts) to try and get
the ball on the ground quickly so he can use that speed to get on
base. Once he’s on base, there’s no stopping him from stealing
second and third almost every time.
The
Team Elite Roadrunners are highlighted in one way or another in
nearly every one of these recaps, and for good reason. With a roster
stacked with outstanding talent top to bottom, the Roadrunners can
both pitch and hit with anyone in this tournament. One of their
leading hitters—and one of the best pure hitters in the state of
Georgia—is 2016 outfielder Garrett Hodges, a Kennesaw State
commit. Hodges hits third for the Roadrunners, and the 6-foot,
185-pounder projects to absolutely rake at KSU with legitimate power
as well. Presently, Hodges’ power is more of the gap-to-gap
variety, but he shows explosive bat speed with strength throughout
his swing, as well as the loft and leverage necessary to eventually
have potential plus home run power. He hits missiles from gap-to-gap,
and certainly doesn't get cheated on any swing. What sets him apart,
however, is that to go along with a swing full of intent to damage a
baseball, he has excellent barrel control and overall feel for
hitting. He’s an exciting prospect with the bat, to say the least.
New
York Gothams 2016 righthander Brian Rodriguez came out of the
'pen for the Gothams in their game on Tuesday night, and despite a
relatively short stint, was very impressive as far as raw talent and
stuff on the mound, though the overall refinement of pitchability and
command may need some work. Rodriguez came out pumping 88-89
consistently early on, with some of the best life/movement on the
fastball that we’ve seen all tournament. When down in the zone, the
fastball displays plus sink and run, making it not only a
barrel-misser but a bat-misser as well. Even when up the zone,
despite losing the sink, the fastball still displayed excellent run.
From a deceptive delivery highlighted by a hip coil and bit of
crossfire action, Rodriguez’s arm works well and is very quick,
making it tough for hitters to pick up the ball out of his hand.
Yet
another 2016 prospect coming off of an impressive showing at the PG
National, shortstop Grae Kessinger made his presence felt
early and often defensively, and followed it up with the bat as well.
A long and lean prospect with excellent athleticism, Kessinger
projects physically nearly as well as anyone in his class, and puts
his athleticism on display in the infield. With above average range
to both sides, quick and quality footwork, along with an above
average arm, there's no doubt he will continue to play shortstop at
the next level. He shows an innate feel for the barrel at the plate
as well with the type of swing and approach that will continue to be
successful hitting for average and develop into more power moving
forward as well, as he continues to develop physically.
– Brian
Sakowski
Elliott
Anderson (2016, Cartersville, Ga.) was not listed on the original
East Cobb Astros Scout Team roster included in the program, but he
had scouts and coaches scrambling to find out who was on the mound on
Tuesday afternoon. Anderson, a Mississippi State commit, owns a
6-foot-3, 215-pound frame and he has broad shoulders and good build
with present strength in his body. The southpaw has a pretty clean
arm stroke and path through to his high three-quarters arm slot, and
he consistently worked in the 87-89 mph range with his fastball over
the course of his 5 2/3 innings pitched. Anderson also has some
slight deception in his delivery which features a mild hip turn at
the apex of his leg lift, and he has a later hand break. He did a
pretty good job of repeating his delivery, although he started to
labor a bit in the later innings. Despite a head snap at release and
some spine tilt, Anderson was able to throw strikes with his fastball
for much of the outing. He also showed some feel for spinning a
curveball in the mid-70s. The offering had varied tilt, showing
either 1-to-7 or 12-to-6 shape, but both varieites flashed solid bite
and finish at or below the knees. Anderson also worked in a few
changeups in the upper-70s, and while they were often thrown out of
the strike zone, he showed developing feel for the offering with
similar fastball arm speed.
While
he plays for a team full of mostly Georgia-based players, Mathieu
Gauthier (2016, Quebec, Canada) is an intriguing arm from north
of the border. The Canadian righty is currently uncommitted, but he
possesses a combination of present stuff and projection that should
be of interest to both college coaches and professional scouts. The
lean 6-foot-1, 150-pounder has a very slender build, but there is
still plenty of room within his frame for him to add an additional 25
plus pounds and not sacrifice any flexibility or overall athleticism.
Gauthier has a quickly-paced delivery with a slight collapse on his
backside with a bent back knee and slight turn, coil and pause before
driving to the plate. He could use his lower half a bit more in his
delivery, but he still does a solid job of staying balanced and under
control.
Gauthier
uses an extended arm action and shows a loose path that allows him to
work pretty cleanly to his three-quarters arm slot. In his brief
two-inning stint Gauthier sat in the 86-88 mph range with his
fastball, touching 89 a couple of times. The heater showed some
riding life up in the zone to go along with occasional arm-side run
and sink when located down and to the arm side. Gauthier flashed a
developing slider in the mid-70s that showed some two-plane break
with slight depth and solid glove-side finish. At times he’d get
on the side of the ball and leave the pitch arm-side, but the
offering shows some promise.
Similarly,
Gauthier flashed an occasional changeup in the upper-80s, and he did
a pretty good job of repeating his fastball arm action and armspeed.
With additional strength and more experience, Gauthier has the
makings of another Canadian-born pitcher with the ability to pitch at
the next level.
Conor
Grady (2017, Tampa, Fla.) was impressive in his start on Tuesday
afternoon. The righty will just be a junior this fall, but Grady
showed good present stuff and poise on the mound while he and his
Ostingers Baseball Academy Green team defeated a talented Team Elite
Prime 17u team. Listed at 6-foot-2, 185-pounds, Grady has good
present strength, and with a high waist and long-limbs, he still has
the room to get stronger as he continues to mature. Grady worked in
the 88-90 mph range with his fastball, which showed mild arm-side run
and some late wiggle and life down in the zone. He mixed in a
developing breaking ball in the mid-70s that flashed glove-side
finish and bite, and an occasional low-80s changeup.
Braden
Shewmake (2016, Wylie, Texas) started things off with a bang for
the Dallas Patriots Stout team. Hitting in the two-hole, Shewmake
delivered with a two-run home run to right field in the top of the
first inning and they would never relinquish the lead. The lefthanded
hitting infielder is committed to Texas A&M and he displayed
intriguing tools on both sides of the ball that should play at the
next level. Shewmake has a lean, slender build on a long 6-foot-4,
175-pound frame, but he has some wiry strength in his forearms and
wrists that allow him to whip the bat through the zone. While his
swing path is a bit longer and uphill, he has a solid feel for the
barrel and enough present strength that he’s able to impact the
ball, as he did on Tuesday morning. Shewmake also displayed some
impressive defensive chops while playing third base. He charged the
ball well and made a very nice play on an attempted bunt for hit
attempt that rolled down near the third base line, and he displayed
good body control, athleticism and a strong, accurate arm to cut down
the runner. As he continues to add strength and muscle to his lean
frame, Shewmake should be an interesting player to watch.
Another
Texas A&M commit, Cameron Blake (2016, Round Rock, Texas),
has solid hitting tools. The lefthanded hitting outfielder has some
present strength in his 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame with a sturdy lower
half and broad shoulders that indicate that he should continue to
fill out over the next few years. Blake has a confident look in the
box and uses an aggressive weight shift and deeper load. He displayed
solid pitch recognition skills and tracked the ball very well, with a
number of quality takes. When he’s on time and able to keep his
strong, quick hands back Blake has the ability to impact the
baseball, as he did on a single to center field and on a sharply hit
groundout to shortstop.
Pedro
Pages (2016, Doral, Fla.) is one of many talented hitters on the
Elite Squad Prime team. Brian Sakowski already touched upon a number
of them in previous recaps, but Pages, a 2015 National Showcase
participant, impressed again in Tuesday’s game action. The Florida
Atlantic commit hit a pull-side home run to left field on an elevated
fastball. The strong-bodied Pages hits from a wide base and is pretty
short to the ball with a slightly uphill bat path that allows him to
loft the ball with strength and authority – as he did on Tuesday –
when he’s able to get the barrel to the ball.
Andrew
Schultz (2016, Alpharetta, Ga.) turned some heads in the 18u
tournament last week as the righty hit 96 mph on the radar gun. On
Tuesday, the uncommitted prospect toed the rubber for Team Elite
Prime 17u. While he didn’t showcase the same upper-echelon
velocity, Schultz has a lean, projectable 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame
and he sat in the 88-92 mph range with his fastball. With an extended
arm action, an elongated arm circle, and some inconsistent timing
issues with his lower half, there are some things to be cleaned up in
his delivery, but there is no denying the arm speed. Schultz’s
heater shows some arm-side run and late sinking life from his
three-quarters arm slot, and it is a quality pitch when it is located
down in the strike zone. He flashed a few changeups and maintained
solid arm speed on the pitch, providing some initial deception upon
release. Similarly, while it was inconsistent, Schultz’s breaking
ball flashes some potential, as it comes out of the same plane as his
fastball and can show solid glove-side slice and finish at times.
While further seasoning/experience and additional strength to his
frame are ideal for his future development, Schultz has some
interesting pieces to work with.
– Andrew
Krause