On a loaded TPL National roster, 2017 outfielder Myles Christian stood out (Olive Branch, Miss.) among the likes of Joe Gray Jr and Jordon Adell. Christian has a highly athletic 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame with room to continue to fill out physically. He has long limbs and works from an open stance with an active hand set and elasticity with his hand load. Christian uses a leg lift timing mechanism into his swing and stays short to the ball with a quick barrel through the zone. He generates leverage out front with his swing with hand speed and ability to drive the ball in the air. Due to the athleticism present in the rest of the outfield, Christian was playing left field and showed off an arm that was accurate, but needs additional arm strength. He took smooth routes to the ball with good reads off the barrel.
In the second time slot at lake point a pair of talented lefthanded arms threw for both Team Elite 17’s Prime and East Cobb Baseball. 2018 Justin Wrobleski (Canton, Ga.) tossed for Team Elite and carved in his two innings recording five strikeouts. Wrobleski, a recent Clemson commit, worked from an extended three-quarters arm slot with a very up-tempo and quick delivery and arm action. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 168-pounds with a very lean, slender frame and plenty of room to continue to add strength. His fastball worked up to 88 mph with good arm side life to the lower third of the zone. It flattened out when he left the ball up and struggled with command to his arm side. When he did miss though he did so out of the zone and not in the middle of the plate. He continued to show off his sharp 10-to-4 shaped slider with good late tilt. The pitch continued to be his go-to offering with two strikes and worked hard away from lefthanded hitters. He mixed in a changeup in the low-80s as well with short fade. He landed online for the most part down the line with a heel turn finish towards third base.
Turning in a pair of high quality swings for Team Elite was 2018 outfielder Parker Meadows (Grayson, Ga.). He collected a pair of doubles and showed the ability to adjust at the plate with each one. Meadows, like Wrobleski, is a Clemson commit and is also the brother of former Pirates first rounder Austin Meadows. He stands at 6-foot-5 with an immensely projectable frame and already looks to have gained some physicality back from the summer. His first double of the game was a shorter, more compact swing staying inside the ball and pulling it down the rightfield line. He generated much easier extension and lift in his second at-bat with a crushed double to the left-centerfield wall. His bat speed continues to improve at the plate and there is power potential in his swing with his attack angle to the ball and plane through the zone.
On the adjacent field for East Cobb Baseball, Georgia Tech commit 2018 Luke Bartnicki (Marietta, Ga.) took the mound. Bartnicki stands with a very physical 6-foot-3, 190-pounds with strength through his lower half and long limbs. He starts with a very deep hip turn showing his back completely to the plate with limited torque through his hips. He uses a short stride to the plate with a closed landing and works over his front side. Bartnicki has a long arm action through the back with a soft stab at the end of his arm circle. He has current trouble finding his release point and that showed in the first inning after quickly retiring the first batter and walking the next three. When on and working around the zone, his fastball was over powering, coming out clean with above average arm strength. His fastball worked 85-89 mph and topped out at 91 mph early on in the first inning. The pitch shows tremendous arm side life when he works on top of it with plane to the lower third of the zone. His best command worked from the lower part of that velocity band and showed the ability to get to both sides. When working across his body to get to glove side his fastball showed good cut in on righthanded hitters. He recorded a strikeout for all six of the outs he recorded in his two innings of work.
Leading off for East Cobb was highly athletic 2017 outfielder Zachary Daniels (Stockbridge, Ga.) who uncorked on the third pitch he saw and delivered it well past the scoreboard to deep left-center field putting windshields beyond the wall in danger. The ball left the bat at 98 mph and per TrackMan traveled 395 feet. Daniels has a very raw swing at the plate with good bat speed and ability to clearly generate lift and carry off the barrel. It shows long at times and could be susceptible to higher quality spin, but the power and bat speed are present.
The Southern Athletics cruised to a first round victory behind the help of leadoff man and College of Charleston commit, 2017 outfielder Bryson Ward (Gaffney, S.C.). Ward is a tad undersized at the plate likely checking in below his listed 5-foot-11 size, but he plays bigger than that on the field. His swing is very quick and short to the ball with above average hand speed through the zone. Ward’s instincts and ability to pressure opposing pitchers on the bases was apparent as well, constantly looking to advance on anything in the dirt. He does not possess above average speed, but does moves well down the line. He notched a double in his second at-bat of the game and then took second when a routine fly ball found the turf in the infield without hesitation.
Hitting behind him in the order was 2017 outfielder Bryce Teodosio (Simpsonville, S.C.). Another Clemson commit, Teodosio rarely left empty handed at the plate collecting a trio of base hits in his four trips to the plate, all coming off the barrel with loud contact. Teodosio has another very physical frame, listed at 6-foot-2, 170-pounds with strength throughout and room to continue to add. His barrel gets on plane so early and looks like it is staying in the hitting zone forever. He has very easy, impactful bat speed that works well through the ball with a line drive, leveraged swing. His feel for timing and the barrel give him the ability to drive the ball all over the field, which he did, and showed power as well. He delivered a three-run home run in his second at-bat that hit the top of the maintenance building beyond the left field wall. He has the ability to generate backspin with enough strength in his frame to force the ball out.
On the field next to the Southern Athletics and their many bats, the Triton Rays sent out for the second time in as many weekends, 2017 righthanded pitcher Evan Baber (Smiths, Ala.). Baber was dominant yet again, spinning 6 1/3 one-hit shutout innings and turning in 11 strikeouts in that time. His utilized the same crossfire element and closed landing down the mound. He threw from an extended three-quarters arm slot with good arm strength and a longer arm action through the back. The arm was clean through release with slight effort and repeated very well. His fastball worked 86-90 mph with good arm side life. The pitched worked to both sides of the plate and he was unafraid to challenge hitters up in the zone or work inside. Baber continuously broke out his very hard biting slider with two strikes. The pitch helped contribute the 16 swings and misses he got during the start and worked up to 82 mph. Baber has a tremendous ability to spin the ball, both his slider and his fastball have well above average spin and he commands them both well. For a pitcher that has only recently made the conversion to the mound it’s tremendously impressive for all of the success that he has had.
Providing the thunder and the offense for Triton was 2017 catcher Jacob Nemith (Pace, Fla.). Nemith delivered a pair of towering home runs to nearly the same portion of deep left-centerfield. He has a very filled out and strong frame at 6-foot, 210-pounds with a compact lower half. He torques well and generates loud impact of the barrel when timed. It’s a power-oriented approach with a pull side emphasis.
– Matt Czechanski
Shortstop Devin Warner (2018, Euharlee, Ga.) put on an offensive show on Friday as he hit two mammoth home runs from the left side of the plate. Warner has a large frame with solid height and build. At the plate he has a slightly open stance with the bat still on his shoulder. He steps inward as the pitch arrives and gets good extension with great barrel feel and solid bat speed. The ball explodes off the bat and his hand quickness allows him to turn on inside pitches. Warner has a powerful swing with a swing path that is effective for power and hitting fly balls. He has a deep and mechanical hand load and shifted his weight well in order to drive the ball out in front. The Auburn commit displayed good power, with the aforementioned home runs, and incorporated good use of his hips and overall lower half in order to show off his power. Warner played at third base where he fielded the ball cleanly, showed off some range, and displayed above average arm strength.
Warner’s teammate along the left side of the infield, and also committed to Auburn, Ryan Bliss (2018, Langrange, Ga.) put on a strong performance as well. Bliss has a smaller frame, but is very projectable and a very good athlete. From the right side of the plate Bliss has a slightly open stance with a simple leg lift stride. He has a high hand set, high back elbow, and elastic load into his swing. Bliss has a true line drive plane and gets solid extension on the ball thanks to his quick hands and good bat speed. Speed is a strength to Bliss’ game and he showed it off during his game on Friday. He had a 4.50 second home to first time on a turn and stole third base standing up. Defensively, Bliss was smooth at short. He has athletic actions with a quick transfer, quick release, and covered a lot of ground.
Righthander Jordan Ward (2017, Duluth, Ga.) impressed Friday on the mound. He has a tall body and frame with an athletic build. Ward has an arm hook in the back with a deep stab, he pitches from the right side of the rubber and his delivery is online. His fastball sat from 80-82 mph and topped out at 83 mph. Ward maintained his velocity well throughout the outing and his fastball command was sharp with some arm side run and sink to it. He worked at a swift tempo and attacked hitters with his fastball on both sides of the plate. Ward has a curveball with 1-to-7 shape and sweeping movement to it. The curveball was effective at being a change of speed and he made hitters look silly chasing it in the dirt. Ward was dominant on the mound and tossed a one-hitter shutout while striking out six batters on the day.
Playing first base on Friday was Golston Gillespie (2017, Hull, Ga.) and he showed big-time power from the left side. Gillespie launched a monster home run that bounced off the scoreboard. According to TrackMan, the ball left the bat with an exit velocity of 97 mph and an estimated distance of 383 feet. He has a large build with height and a muscular frame. Gillespie has a slightly open stance with a high hand set and a high back elbow. He keeps the bat straight up during his mechanical hand load and gets good extension on his swing. The Ole Miss commit has a longer swing path with good hip torque and a lot of pull power. When his timing was on he did a great job at hitting the ball out in front and his solid barrel feel helped him to square up nearly everything thrown his way.
Batting in front of Gillespie was Perfect Game All-American Steven Williams (2017, Albany, Ga.). He is a good athlete and has a tall build with some wiry strength. Williams has a closed stance with a small leg lift and has a medium hand set with an elastic load. He has a patient approach at the plate with great plate coverage and can go to the opposite field with outside pitches as well as pull baseballs to right field. Williams showed excellent examples of this with an opposite field single and with a line drive double to right that came off the bat at 96 mph according to TrackMan. He showed some power potential with solid hip torque and quick bat speed. Behind the plate the Auburn commit is a defensive stalwart. He showed good defensive actions and strong arm strength. Williams receives the baseball well with a quick transfer and release. He is athletic behind the plate and had an outstanding pop time of 1.88 seconds during warm ups.
Righthander Jake Brace (2017, Suwanee, Ga.) dominated opposing hitters in very efficient fashion. Brace has a medium build with a decent frame. He has a long arm action with a slight arm hook in the back. Brace throws from the three-quarter arm slot with a simple delivery and a leg lift slightly above the belt. He pitches with some intent and has a simple delivery with a whippy arm. His fastball sat from 82-84 mph and topped out at 85 mph. The fastball came in at a decent angle and Brace was at his best when he got downhill and replicated his release point. He has a breaking ball that came in from 69-71 mph and was effective at keeping hitters at bay. The breaking ball was thrown for strikes and also got opposing batters to chase out of the strike zone. Brace dominated as he retired all twelve of the batters he faced for four perfect innings and struck out seven batters.
– Vincent Cervino