Lefthander
Nick Lodolo is perhaps the PG All-American with the shortest
and least nationally known resume. That is bound to change over the
next few months if his outing on Friday for the San Gabriel Valley
(SGV) Arsenal against the Orlando Scorpions is any indication.
When
I last saw the 6-foot-6, 185-pound Lodolo a year ago he pitched in
the 82-84 mph range but his potential was obvious with additional
strength. He's taller and a bit stronger now but is still just
scratching the surface physically. He threw five innings Friday
morning, allowing an unearned run while striking out seven and
walking no one. Lodolo pitched at 88-92 mph with a nice fading
change up and a soft upper-60s curveball that had surprising spin and
depth for its velocity. He had feel for all his pitches and threw to
spots.
The
overall impression was of A.J. Puk,
who is currently performing at a high level at the University of
Florida. Puk had a bit more strength in his hips and core but
it's fundamentally the same body and the same delivery/arm action.
With Puk looking like a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2016
draft, there is no reason not to dream that by the time he's 21-years
old Lodolo might be the same type of pitcher.
If
there is an All-American with a lower national profile than Lodolo,
it would be NorCal righthander Matt Manning. But that, too,
will change quickly. Manning drew the start Thursday night against
the supremely talented EvoShield Canes and was simply outstanding,
fanning 10 hitters in five innings while allowing only a pair of hits
and an unearned run. That run was the only one posted in a 1-0 Canes
win.
After
warming up at 91-92 mph, Manning ramped it up to a steady 93-95 mph
in the first inning, although he was a bit overamped and rushed his
delivery, missing up in the zone frequently. After throwing about 20
straight fastballs to open the game, he started mixing in a sharp
breaking 74-77 curveball and settled in at 90-93 and spotted the ball
more effectively down in the strike zone.
Manning
has an athletic delivery with Max Scherzer-style mechanics and very
good extension to the plate. He's 6-foot-5, 190-pounds with a young
body and has enormous physical projection. His father is 6-foot-11
former NBA power forward Rich Manning. Based on this look it would be
easy to put him among the top four or five righthanded pitching
prospects in the 2016 class.
One
thing that becomes immediately clear when watching standout hitters
(there are approximately 18 PG All-American position players here) face good pitching
is that the best hitters can hit breaking balls far better than just
a good hitter. Carlos Cortes crushed a double off the top of
the right-center field fence on a 1-1 slider after seeing two
fastballs from a new pitcher. Bo Bichette drove a curveball
in the first inning over the right fielder's head for an RBI double.
Nicholas Quintana got on top and in front of an inside
curveball and lined a double into the left field corner. Nicholas
Kahle – the 17u WWBA
National Championship MVP and an outstanding prospect – took a nice
simple cut at a two-out curveball with a runner at third base to
single to center field and drive in a run. The highest level hitters
looked timed up and anticipated breaking balls whereas other hitters
are hoping they are balls or they can fight them off.
Cubs
top prospect Dan Vogelbach is
in Phoenix rehabbing a oblique injury and helping coach his former
team, FTB Tucci.
"The
best hitters intuitively know when they are going to see a breaking
ball,” Vogelbach said before FTB's evening game. “It isn't so
much that they are up guessing and they are smarter than the pitcher
on that pitch, they just feel what the count and situation is and
make their adjustments. That's why they're the best hitters."
The
most surprising team result of the day didn't really involved a team
upsetting a heavy favorite but rather how it was done. The EvoShield
Canes and FTB Tucci are two of the very elite teams in the country
and are fairly evenly matched in any single game. But the Canes
controlled the entire contest from the beginning and led 5-1 entering
the seventh inning. Righthander Logan Pouelsen had been in
complete control up to then for the Canes but came out flat in the
seventh looking for the complete game and FTB took advantage, scoring
six runs to eventually emerge with a 7-5 win. Rightfielder/first
baseman Zach Zientarski, who just seems to perform at every
PG event, hit a bases loaded three-run, two-out double for the key blow.
Bichette and shortstop
Morgan McCullough each had three hits for FTB.
A
single play in that Canes/FTB game resonated with anyone who was at
the PG National Showcase or was watching the game that was broadcast
on MLB.com. In that game Grant Bodison made an incredible
leaping catch going back into center field from his second base
position and ended up No. 2 of the day's highlights on ESPN. Bodison
made a similar, albeit slightly less spectacular, diving catch going
straight back again in this game.
The
final time slot at 7:30 p.m. gave a quick snapshot of just how much
talent is here at this 20-team elite event. In addition to 18 or so
PG All-American position players, at the Reds quad Matt Manning was
throwing on one field against the EvoShield Canes, a young pitcher
from Oregon was throwing 88-92 on the next field, a Elite Squad
righthander was throwing 90-93 on another and a 6-foot-6 lefty
topping out at 88 mph threw a complete game no-hitter with 12
strikeouts on the last diamond. It was just some very high level
baseball on display.
Quick
Hits, Pitchers
• The
EvoShield Canes emerged victorious over Manning and NorCal due to the
efforts of righthander Tyler Benninghoff, who threw five
impressive innings with less fanfare and just about half the pitches.
Benninghoff worked in the 88-90 mph range with a tight breaking
mid-70s curveball and was content to pound the bottom of the strike
zone and let his top level defense do his work for him. The Kansas
native allowed only one hit while throwing just 52 pitches.
• Righthander
Tyler Baum threw five shutout innings for the Orlando
Scorpions to pick up a 2-1 win over SGV and Nick Lodolo. Baum worked
worked 89-91 mph consistently and topped out at 93 mph to go with a
big-breaking sharp 76 mph curveball that buckled some knees. Despite
the plus stuff, Baum did a mature job of pitching to contact with
heavy sink on his fastball down in the zone, walking no one and
striking out three.
• Baseball
Northwest righthander Jordan Jones is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound
athlete with a young build and plenty of projectability. He has a
very rotational full back turn delivery and a fast arm that produced
a 88-92 mph fastballs that jumped on hitters. Jones also threw a 77
mph slurve-type breaking ball from a slightly lower slot. He threw
only 44 pitches in four perfect innings in a 14-0 run rule victory.
• Baseball
Northwest unveiled another top pitching prospect in their second game
in 6-foot-4, 190-pound righthander Mitchell Verburg
from Oregon. Verberg went five innings, allowing three hits and an
unearned run while Baseball Northwest moved to 2-0 with a 7-3 win
over the Dallas Patriots. Verberg throws from a high three-quarters
arm slot with a fast and loose arm that produced an 88-92 mph
fastball and an upper-70s curveball that had big downer shape at
times.
• CBA
Marucci lefthander Jack Dashwood is extremely projectable at
6-foot-6, 215-pounds with an easy arm action and a 85-88 mph fastball
that is one or two mechanical adjustments away from shooting up in
velocity. He nearly notched a perfect game against Mountain West,
settling for a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts and a single walk, which
was quickly erased on a double play.
• Righthander
Evan McKendry was extremely impressive in Elite Squad's hard
fought 2-1 win over Slammers Holzemer, striking out eight hitters in
three innings with a 90-93 mph fastball and a sharp curveball. The
6-foot-2, 195-pound McKendry throws from an over-the-top release
point with some hard fall off to the first base side but had no
problem locating his pitches and only threw 44 pitches in his outing.
• CBA
Marucci righthander Jeremiah Estrada is already ranked
No. 27 in the 2017 class. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Californian picked
up the win with four innings of one-run work in a 9-2 win over Elite
Baseball Training Chicago, pitching in the 87-91 mph range and
relying almost exclusively on his fastball. Estrada's arm is very
loose and tension free and he generates his velocity from a low
effort release that promises more velocity in the future.
• PG
All-American lefty Cole Ragans turned in three shutout innings
in an 8-0 run rule win for the Orlando Scorpions, setting himself for
a possible additional appearance in the playoffs. Ragans worked in
the 88-91 mph range and dropped in a low-70s curveball frequently for
strikes.
• 2017
righthander Alex Scherff threw a complete game five-hitter
with eight strikeouts and only 93 pitches in the Houston Banditos
hard fought 2-1 win over Elite Baseball Training Chicago. Scherff
fits the prototype for the big Texas power pitcher at 6-foot-5,
230-pounds and he threw in the 89-92 mph range with good downhill
angle from a slow and deliberate delivery.
• Lefthander
Jordan Roberts of the Dallas Patriots is another extra
large Texan at 6-foot-5 and every bit of 240 pounds. He has a
deceptive delivery that hides the ball well and an 87-91 mph fastball
that got on hitters quickly. He threw five one-hit innings with
eight strikeouts in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Show. The Show's
Preston Price threw a complete game three-hitter himself, also
working in the 87-91 mph range.
Quick
Hits, Position Players
• Elite
Baseball Training Chicago catcher Sam Ferri has been a bit
overshadowed in the upper Midwest by standout catchers such as
Indiana's T.J. Collett, Illinois' Cooper Johnson and Wisconsin's Ben
Rortvedt. But he's a very legit prospect who will get professional
interest next spring as well, especially with his quick-twitch
athleticism and loose and fast righthanded swing.
• Some
players can just hit and the Banditos Conner Capel ranks among
the best. When he hits the ball hard he gets hits and when he doesn't
square it up it finds holes and when he hits a ground ball he can
beat it out. Or at least it seems like that. Capel went 5-for-7 in
the Banditos two games on the first day.
• Bo
Bichette has really made great strides with his body and
athleticism. He looks about 15 pounds lighter and his core and lower
half are well defined. Most importantly, he ran a 4.38 on a jail
break chopper to third base on Friday, which marked the first time I
think I've ever got him below 4.7 on any home-to-first time of any
type. He's clearly faster and most athletic.
• Carlos
Cortes has been struggling all summer with a dislocated finger on
his right hand that has kept him gripping the bat on his swing follow
through and from throwing righthanded (Cortes is a switch-thrower
depending on what position he is playing). It's still swollen but
doesn't seem to affect his swing any longer. In addition to his near
home run in the first game, he slammed a two-run home run in the
Orlando Scorpions second game.