Daily
Recaps: Day 1
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| Day 3
| Day 4
| Day 5
The
15U Houston Banditos-Black continue to dominate in impressive
fashion, running their record to 7-0-0 on Wednesday afternoon.
2018
righthanded pitcher and shortstop Brett
Brown
(Godley, Texas) showed off impressive two-way potential on Wednesday.
With a lean and broad-shouldered 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, Brown is
certainly strong already but projects to fill out even more moving
forward. Working in the 82-83 range for most of his outing, Brown got
up to 86 mph with his fastball with good downhill plane from a near
over-the-top slot. Brown did a good job pounding the bottom of the
zone with his fastball, showing solid heavy life on the pitch and
doing a good job of keeping it off the barrel of opposing hitters.
His curveball showed inconsistent shape, working somewhere between
11-to-5 and 12-to-6, but he did show good overall feel to create spin
and get good depth on the pitch. Brown is also a high-level talent as
a hitter, with an aggressive approach and advanced bat speed at the
plate. On Wednesday, he smoked two shots in his first two at bats,
one of them a line drive up the middle and the other a lofted,
backspun fly ball into the gap in left-center field for extra bases.
He will get to his front side a bit early at times in the swing, but
overall the bat-to-ball skills are advanced and there is power there
to back it up, making him intriguing as a potential two-way prospect
as well.
Brown’s
teammates, the rest of the Houston Banditos, combined to score 10
runs in their 10-0 victory, with some impressive performances along
the way. 2017 outfielder Alerick Soularie continues to impress
with his athleticism, projection and overall hitting tools, again
showing off very good bat speed on a frame that is both athletic and
has tons of room to fill. Shortstop Jordan Groshans is one of
the top players in the class of 2018, and shows it defensively even
when the bat is a bit quiet. He has great range to both sides with
the hands and arm to make the left side of the infield his home for
the next several years.
2018
righthander Jimmy Loper (Chesapeake, Va.) was very good late
Wednesday night, throwing a run rule-shortened complete game shutout
and advancing his team in the playoffs. Loper is a good sized
prospect with solid present build and room to fill and was very
simple in his approach to pitching. Sitting 81-84 for the majority of
his start, Loper kept his heavy, sinking fastball down in the zone
and got an excellent amount of weak contact as well as swings and
misses on the pitch. His delivery is balanced, his arm works well and
he has a very good feel for pitching already. He will throw harder in
the future as well, and when pairing that future velocity with his
present pitchability, his upside is very high. He got swings and
misses on both off-speed pitches as well, with a slider that showed
good two-plane tilt at 71-74 and a changeup that was a bit straight
but showed really good fastball-mimicking action and arm speed at
76-79.
2018
lefthander Justin Wrobleski of the 14u East Cobb Astros has as
advanced a feel for pitching as anyone of his age in this event, with
the ability to work at lower velocities to both sides of the plate
and then ramp it up as the need arises. Wrobleski saves his arm and
is able to go deeper into games as a result. Showing a fastball in
the 82-85 range early in his start, Wrobleski settled in around 80-82
for the majority of his impressive outing on Wednesday night. He
throws from a very tough lower three-quarters slot, but the arm
action is very loose and extended, giving him some added deception
and giddy-up on that fastball. At 6-foot-1, 150-pounds, Wrobleski is
going to put on plenty of weight and overall strength, which could
send that fastball velocity soaring towards the 90 mph plateau, and
could do so relatively soon.
2018
righthander Tyler Polk of the Midwest Elite, a well-built
5-foot-11, 180-pound prospect from Duncan, Okla., was impressive on
Wednesday. With a delivery requiring effort while falling off pretty
severely to first base side without much balance, Polk got up to
86-87 with his fastball before settling in at 83-84 for the majority
of the outing. He has advanced feel for his curveball, showing
11-to-5 shape with very good depth and overall snap, making it a
weapon pitch for him right now, working in the 67-68 range for the
most part.
2018
lefthander Jack
Aldrich
threw already earlier in the week, but was impressive yet again for
the San Diego Show on Wednesday night. Working very comfortably in
the 79-82 range and touching 83, Aldrich’s smooth, near-effortless
arm action allowed him to pitch to both sides and get swings and
misses on the fastball. He has a very good overall feel for pitching,
knows how to (and when to) add and subtract velocity from his
fastball, can pitch to all four quadrants of the zone and shows
advanced feel for the curveball with 1-to-7 shape and good depth.
– Brian
Sakowski
There’s
no denying the abilities of Cordell
Dunn
(2017, Olive Branch, Miss.) when he’s in the righthanded batter’s
box and he’s continued to show off the hit tool and strength just
as he did last month at the Perfect Game Junior National Showcase.
Using his strongly built 5-foot-11, 179-pound frame the uncommitted
Dunn is able to generate solid bat speed through the zone and
demonstrated a consistent feel for the barrel as he twice lined the
ball hard into left field for Team Elite Prime in a game that
ultimately decided the pool.
We
talked about a fellow rising freshman arm out of Florida in Joseph
Charles yesterday and today it was Matthew
Allan’s
(2019, Sanford, Fla.) time to shine. The first time I saw Allan was
last winter at a Perfect Game showcase where he made a name for
himself sitting 80-84 as a rising eighth grader and has taken the
next step over the past six months.
Listed
at 6-foot-1, 175-pounds Allan already shows present strength
throughout his frame and projects for more as he continues to grow
into his broad shoulders. Allan came out of the bullpen in the
seventh to work a quick inning while picking up the save and in the
process showed an impressive fastball. Sitting in the 86-88 mph range
the incoming freshman was able to produce the velocity with relative
ease showing a full and loose arm action through the back with the
ball cleanly coming out of his hand.
Remaining
loose throughout his delivery, Allan is able to generate solid
downhill plane and when he does he shows his best life on his
fastball with late run to his arm side. He’s going to continue to
gain velocity and though his feel for his curveball was a bit
inconsistent in his brief appearance he snapped off a couple of late
breaking ones in warmups showing tight rotation.
The
lone player from Texas on the FTB Mizuno squad, young righthander
Seth Ochoa
(2018, El Paso, Texas) started the game on the mound and shows
interesting potential moving forward. With a 5-foot-10 but strong,
broad-shouldered build, Ochoa, a Texas Tech commit, came out showing
a very easy and loose arm action and sat in the 84-87 mph range
throughout his time on the mound, popping an 88 or two early in the
contest. Ochoa stays short and quick through the back and with high
three-quarters release point he was able to consistently work down in
the zone while showing some life to his arm side. He also possesses
the ability to harness the running life just as he did when he ran an
86 mph fastball back over the outer black to the glove side for a
called third strike.There’s more velocity on the way, especially as
he continues to incorporate his lower half, and he already shows both
a changeup in the 74-77 mph range and a low-70s curveball with short
depth and 11-to-5 shape.
Physically,
Christian Robinson
(2018, Melbourne, Fla.) appears as though he’s going into his
senior year of high school and not his sophomore year as he stands
6-foot-2 with long and strong limbs and a physical 195-pound build.
Already committed to the University of Florida, Robinson was recapped
early for his abilities both with the bat and on the mound. A
lefthanded hitter with strength and above average speed, Robinson put
both of those tools on display late in the game as he got extended
and drove an outer half fastball into the left-center field gap for a
standup double, showing a short and quick path to the ball and big
jump off the barrel.
Another
player on FTB who isn’t from the Sunshine State, righthander Travis
Lane
(2018, Georgetown, Mass.) made an impact on both sides of the ball
for his team as he showed well on the mound and drove a ball back up
the middle to give his team lead late in the game. A primary
righthanded pitcher, Lane has a strong and powerful 6-foot-2,
185-pound build and was able to produce a mid-80s fastball rather
easily while showing a clean arm action through the backside. He does
a nice job of working on top of the ball and living down in the zone
as a result and as he continues to involve more lower half into his
drive towards the plate there will be more velocity coming for his
fastball. Along with his heater Lane showed a nice feel for his 73-75
mph changeup which featured late fade and tumbling life down in the
zone from the same arm slot.
Jake
Kelchner
(2018, Phoenixville, Pa.) made an immediate impact and announced his
presence with authority during the home half of the first inning. The
four-hole hitter for All Star Baseball Academy Futures, Kelchner
showed quick hands and big bat speed from the left side which led to
one of the harder hit balls of the week. Staying balanced with a
smooth transfer of weight through his lower half Kelchner turned on a
mid-80s fastball and lined it hard into the right-center field gap to
give his team an early lead. While his athleticism allowed him to
stand out defensively in center, it also appeared when the lefthanded
throwing Kelchner took the mound for the remaining innings. Working
in the 82-85 mph range, topping at 86, Kelchner showed a quick arm
with running life to his arm side from a short and quick arm action.
Currently
ranked No. 64 in the 2018 class rankings, Andrew
Benefield
(2018, Murfreesboro, Tenn.) certainly looks the part with his long,
high-waisted 6-foot-2, 170-pound build and showed a righthanded swing
to match. Already showing present bat speed and projecting for more
as he continues to fill out, Benefield turned on an inner half
fastball and narrowly missed a home run as he hammered the pitch 93
mph off the bat to the left-center field fence for a loud double.
He
may only be a rising sophomore but the pitchability of Landon
Marceaux
(2018, Destrehan, La.) has been on display for over a year at Perfect
Game events. Known for an advanced feel of a three-pitch mix, the
uncommitted Marceaux proved that to be very true over his first three
innings of work before the rain came.
Opening
the game with an 86 mph fastball, Marceaux proceeded to double up on
80 mph changeups, quickly setting the tempo for what was in store.
Marceaux begins his delivery with a full hands-over-the-head and
shows a balanced, steady tempo throughout with a full and easy arm
stroke coming through the back. While the command of his fastball is
rather advanced as he continued to show the ability to work either
side of the plate with the 86-90 mph offering, Marceaux’s ability
to mix his off-speed at will made his fastball that much more
effective.
Not
only does Marceaux throw both a changeup and a curveball for strikes
but he does so with the precision of his fastball and isn’t afraid
to show either when down in the count. A perfect example of this came
when Marceaux was down 3-1 in the count and located a 79 mph changeup
low to his glove side. Coming out of the same chute as his fastball,
Marceaux does a nice job of maintaining his arm speed on his changeup
as well as his curveball. The breaking ball showed sharp break and
late depth in the upper-70s and with two-strikes on a lefthanded
hitter, as Marceaux back-doored a 78 mph curveball, freezing the
hitter for a called third strike.
After
throwing a complete game, seven inning no-hitter during his first
start of the 15u WWBA National Championship, lefthander Carter
Lohman
(2018, Fishers, Ind.) began last night with another four no-hit
innings before the streak finally came to an end in the fifth inning.
Though the streak may have ended the quality stuff, the 6-foot-2
Lohman ability to produce remained consistent.
Staying
short and quick though the back with a high three-quarters to almost
an over-the-top release, Lohman was able to create solid downhill
plane and angle from the first base side, especially when he located
in to righthanded hitters. Though his high-waisted frame projects for
more strength, he already shows a quality fastball that sat in the
82-85 mph range the entire game, peaking at 86 with a consistent and
quick left arm. And while the velocity of his fastball stands out
especially given he’s lefthanded, his changeup may have been the
best one of the tournament and he wasn’t afraid to show it.
Mirroring
his fastball out of his hand in every way, Lohman consistently
spotted his changeup down in the zone with late fading life in the
76-79 mph range, and though firm it proved to be more than effective.
As he continues to add velocity to his fastball his changeup could
develop into a plus pitch in the future and was his go-to offering
Wednesday night as he collected several weak ground ball outs and
swings and misses with the pitch. The uncommitted lefthander pitched
mostly off his fastball/changeup combo, and was more than effective
in doing so, but he also showed a sharper curveball in the mid-70s
though he would get across his body at release on occasion.
With
one out in the seventh the Lids Indiana Bulls Black coach called in
Jack Perkins
(2018, Kokomo, Ind.) out of the bullpen, and for the three batters he
faced he more than impressed. Sitting in the 87-89 mph range while
peaking at 90, Perkins showed standout arm speed with hard running
life to his arm side and was able to do so rather easily. He stays
compact and balanced through his delivery, and just like Lohman, he
lived down in the zone while inducing weak ground ball contact.
– Jheremy
Brown