Daily Leaders | Day 1 Notes
Team Elite 18’s Prime righthanded pitcher Thomas Farr (2017, Tyrone, Ga.), listed at 6-foot-1, 170-pounds with room to continue to fill out and add strength, took the mound on Friday night. He used a longer arm action and showed quickness downhill with a fastball that worked 86-89 mph. His fastball had tremendous life, but showed inconsistent with command around the zone. He used a shorter stride to the plate and landed online with balance. He did well to create angle towards the plate, but had trouble repeating in his two innings. He also showed an 11-to-5 shaped curveball as well that showed depth and average spin. Farr used the pitch selectively, but he got it over for a strike when he needed it.
Opening up for Saturday’s playoff action was the Evoshield Canes. Their leadoff hitter and starting shortstop Greg Jones (2017, Cary, N.C.) stood out offensively. He used a very short, compact swing to the ball with good bat speed. Jones started with an open stance and a high hand-set and simple load to the ball. He came closed well, but used an opposite field approach at the plate. Jones showed a repeatable line drive swing plane through the zone with good carry to the gaps. He moves well down the line from the left side showing above average tools on the bases and at short. His defensive actions showed raw, with good footwork, but developing ability to pick the ball.
One of the more impressive underclass arms to take the mound today was righthanded pitcher Nick Swanson (2018, Kennesaw, Ga.) for Nelson Baseball School. Swanson has a very physical frame listed at 6-foot, 190-pounds and broad shoulders. His performance top to bottom stood out from his physicality to his command. He struck out 15 batters over six innings and showed no signs of slowing down. His arm action was long and full through the back with slight rigidness. He landed online and repeated very well around the zone. Swanson showed clean mechanics to his glove side and threw from an extended three-quarters arm slot. His fastball was incredibly effective, working to both sides comfortably and challenging with it up in the zone. He held his velocity throughout his six innings sitting 86-90 mph and hitting 91 mph in the first inning. Swanson generated occasional life to the fastball with better arm side life in the zone and to his arm side. He cut the ball occasionally when working glove side, or saw it straighten out. The pitch came out very clean from his hand and the ability to throw it to both sides kept hitters off balance. He mixed in an 11-to-5 curveball, but the pitch was more of a change of speeds pitch than a swing and miss pitch. He’ll need to continue to refine it moving forward, but he replicates his arm speed for the pitch up to 73 mph.
A staple of East Cobb Baseball this fall has been strong outings from righthanded pitcher, and Auburn commit, Cody Greenhill (2017, Russellville, Ala.). Greenhill possesses an ideal pitchers frame, listed at 6-foot-4, 210-pounds with broad shoulders and long limbs. He uses a heavy crossfire element as well as a lower three-quarters arm slot on the mound to aid his deception. He uses a larger leg lift, well past his waist, and a deeper hip turn. Greenhill strides well to the plate with a short, compact arm action through the back. He finishes over his front side and finishes towards first base. His fastball showed heavy life at 86-89 mph and hit 90 mph later in his four-inning stint. Greenhill has consistently seen his velocity improve throughout his outing, usually opening up in the upper-80s and getting stronger as he goes. He works well inside and in on the hands of hitters, usually getting a lot of groundballs. What he did this morning though was miss bats. He struck out nine batters in his four innings, working around the zone very effectively and pairing his fastball with his slurvy breaking ball. The pitch varied in shape some, working with both 11-to-5 and 10-to-4 shape and up to 72 mph with depth. He used it in the correct counts and showed ability to sequence.
Facing off against Greenhill for Ninth Inning Royals was lefthanded pitcher Cole Tillotson (2019, Stone Mountain, Ga.). The projectable underclass lefthander matched Greenhill for four innings allowing just one run and striking out four batters. He showed a shorter arm action with a stab at the end of his arm circle. He threw from an extended three-quarters arm slot with short extension down the mound. There’s room for Tillotson to incorporate his lower half more and ramp up his delivery with additional tempo. He lands open down the mound with a quick arm through release. His fastball worked 82-85 mph with good arm-side life up in the zone. He showed a changeup as well at 74 mph that showed short fade from a slightly lower arm slot. He varied his arm speed consistently on the mound, adding and subtracting from his fastball seemingly on each pitch. He’s an impressive young arm that will be worth following in the future.
The game started by both of the talented pitchers listed just above had quite the dramatic ending thanks to a pinch hit walk-off home run off the bat of outfielder Zach Daniels (2017, Stockbridge, Ga.). Daniels stands out immediately on the field with an immensely physical and athletic 6-foot-1, 194-pound frame. He has tremendous raw bat speed as well with torque and intent in every swing. When timed, he has the ability to generate lift and carry off his barrel which was evident with the 350’ walk-off home run. His plane is inconsistent and it is violent through his load, but when it’s timed, it’s incredibly impressive.
In what seemed to be an endless run of physically impressive arms, BigStix righthanded pitcher, Andrew Moore (2018, Flovilla, Ga.) took to the mound as well in their consolation game. Moore certainly looks the part on the mound, listed at 6-foot-4, 200-pounds and looks every bit of it with a highly projectable build, broad shoulders, and long limbs. His delivery is very up-tempo with good pace and demeanor on the mound. He has a slight hip turn at the top of his leg lift before coming to the plate. Moore’s tempo occasionally will get the best of him as he often rushes his lower half which causes some of the release point issues he’s had. He still shows the big arm strength, topping out at 90 mph, and working consistently 86-89 mph in his four innings. He showed a longer arm action through the back with a stab at the end of his arm circle and threw from an extended three-quarters arm slot. He showed an 11-to-5 curveball as well with raw ability to spin. With his frame and current arm strength, Moore is unlikely to remain uncommitted for very long.
Josh Hatcher (2017, Albany, Ga.) impressed in Game On Stealth 2017’s second playoff game at the plate. He stands with a very projectable 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame. He’ll continue to add strength that will allow his gap-to-gap approach to project into power. Hatcher started at the plate with a very wide, spread base and quick toe tap trigger. His hand load was a little stiff, but generated good bat speed through the zone. His lower half works well to the ball with quick hands at the point of contact. He has a very strong ability to get on plane and find the barrel, getting it to all fields. Hatcher is a very impressive overall athlete with a high offensive ceiling.
Pitching for the Triton Rays in their second playoff game of the day was Myles McKisic (2017, Delray Beach, Fla.). McKisic is listed as a primary shortstop, but that likely is not where his future lies as he showed impressive raw ability on the mound. He has a very lean, slender build with lots of room to fill out listed at 6-foot-2, 175-pounds. He showed a long arm action through the back and threw from a three-quarters arm slot. McKisic worked across his body on the mound with a big crossfire element, but worked to help create angle to his fastball. The ball came out with relatively low effort on the mound and his fastball topped out at 89 mph and sat 85-88 mph. The pitch showed arm side life lower in the zone, but straightened out when left up. McKisic did a very impressive job of working through the ball on the mound with good extension down the mound. He showed a very tight spinning curveball as well with 11-to-5 shape and good break out of the hand. His command came and went as he had trouble repeating his release, but for a non-primary pitcher, he showed promising characteristics.
One of the more impressive natural up the middle talents in the 2017 class is shortstop Oscar Serratos (2017, Lawrenceville, Ga.). He moves very well to both sides with smooth actions through the ball and a very strong arm across the infield. Balanced through the ball with a well above average glove. He’s not only a prospect in the field, but at the plate as well. Serratos has quick hands and subsequent bat speed at the plate working quickly to the ball. His swing plane is a bit raw, in terms of ability to match, but he certainly has the skill-set presently.
Helping the Jacksonville Dynasty advance to the Quarterfinal round on Sunday morning was righthanded pitcher A.J. Labas (2017, Middleburg, Fla.). Standing at 6-foot-3, 220-pounds, Labas is another strong-armed pitcher with broad shoulders and big time strength in his frame. There’s good tempo to his delivery with a longer, full arm action through the back. He threw from a three-quarters arm slot with impressive arm strength through release. His fastball worked up to 91 mph and routinely at 86-90 mph through seven strong innings. He filled the zone and attacked hitters, especially high, with his fastball. It showed good arm side life and worked effectively in on the hands of righthanded hitters. Labas landed balanced and was able to repeat his delivery that does have effort at release. The North Florida commit also featured a hard slider, up to 77 mph, with above average spin. The slider showed 10-to-4 shape and he showed willingness to double or even triple up on the pitch. He showed a changeup as well at 79 mph with mostly straight action and limited fade. The pitch did come from the same slot, which helped add deception. Labas was a bulldog on the mound for the Dynasty, tossing a complete game and striking out nine batters.
– Matt Czechanski
Righthander Hunter Goodwin (2018, Sylvester, Ga.) started on the mound for Game On Stealth in the first slot of the round of 32. Goodwin has an extra-large frame, coming in at 6-foot-5 and 215-pounds, with some solid build but not much projection left on his body. He has a long arm circle with some rigid arm action and a slight arm hook in the back. Goodwin’s delivery is very simple and utilizes his quick arm speed to snap his arm forward. His fastball sat from 88-90 mph on the day and had occasional sink when he got downhill and fired forward. The pitch was used almost exclusively on the day as he was able to blow the fastball by most of the opposing hitters and didn’t have to mix in much offspeed. Goodwin threw a soft curveball with 11-to-5 shape and although the pitch didn’t have much depth it was effective at forcing hitters to keep the pitch in the back of their head. The Georgia commit is a very physical presence on the mound and although currently there isn’t much lower half incorporation his arm speed allows him to get his velocity up to the upper-80s and low-90s.
Goodwin’s teammates, both of whom are committed to Kennesaw State, Beau Hanna (2017, Winder, Ga.) and Malik Spratling (2017, Leesburg, Ga.) had strong showings at the dish for Game On. Hanna is listed at 6-foot-1, 210-pounds and has a medium, but physical frame and shows strength throughout his body. He has a closed and balanced stance with a high hand set and high back elbow. Hanna has very good bat speed with quick hands and got solid extension out front on the afternoon. He had multiple hits that registered an exit velocity greater than 95 mph, per TrackMan Baseball, including a 351-foot triple to left center field. Hanna is able to generate good power with solid hip torque and some back leg drive as well. He is listed as a primary catcher and showed good athleticism on the base paths with a 4.6 second time to first base on the turn.
Spratling comes in at 6-foot, 175-pounds and has a medium build with some room for projection left in the frame. His frame shows physicality and athleticism and he showed off that athleticism on the base paths with a 4.45 second time to first on the turn. In the outfield he covers ground well and has a very strong arm from right. Spratling has an open stance at the plate with a high hand set and high back elbow. He has an elastic load and gets the barrel head out front to drive the ball to all fields. Spratling has a line drive swing path with above average bat speed and can drive the ball with backspin to all fields.
Elsewhere in the early rounds of the playoffs righthander Tyler Koprowski (2017, Canton, Ga.) got the nod for Nelson Baseball School. Koprowski has a medium build at 5-foot-11, 185-pounds. He has a longer arm action with some bend and some looseness to his arm. Koprowski pitched exclusively out of the stretch, delivered the ball online, and had solid glove side mechanics with a leg lift up to his belt. Koprowski battled through some bad luck and defensive miscues in the first but his fastball looked impressive in the zone. He sat 84-86 mph on the day and topped out at 88 mph with some run and late heaviness to his fastball. When he hit his locations down in the zone Koprowski did a good job at inducing weak contact and ground balls. He mixed in a breaking ball with 11/5 shape, solid depth, and some sharpness to it. Koprowski has some feel to spin on the pitch and it should continue to improve as he develops it further.
Jacksonville Dynasty righthander Dylan Simmons (2019, Jacksonville, Fla.) put together one of the most impressive outings of the day as he tossed six innings of no-hit baseball. Simmons has a very tall and lean frame, 6-foot-3 and 200-pounds, with room left to fill out and add strength. The Florida State commit is athletic as well and did a good job at fielding his position cleanly all day. He has quick arm action on the mound and creates good plane on his release from his three-quarter arm slot. Simmons uses a fair amount of his lower half to drive forward as his hips fire well and he gets solid drive off his back leg.
The most intriguing part of Simmons’ performance was his advanced approach to pitching. He showed a four-pitch mix on the afternoon and utilized all of the effectively and often. The fastball sat in the high 80s and topped out at 90 with some late, heavy life to it. Simmons was able to maintain his velocity throughout his start as his last fastball of the day came in at 88 mph. Simmons also threw a hard slider that came in around 77 mph and had tight spin to it with sharp break. The pitch had 10-to-4 shape and was especially filthy when it dropped off the outside corner and into the dirt against righthanders. Simmons mixed in a curveball with 12-to-6 shape that had soft break and a hard changeup in the upper-70s with some fade although he slowed his arm speed a bit on the pitch. Simmons is very polished relative to his age and it will be fun to see how he develops.
The left side of the infield showed some future potential for USA Showcase as shortstop Sevon Battle (2019, Kennesaw, Ga.) and third baseman Bryce Lawrence (2019, Dallas, Ga.) showed off tools during their games today. Battle has a younger look with a small frame of 5-foot-9 and 140-pounds but he has projection and will fill out as he physically matures. He stands with a balanced stance and has a slight toe tap for a timing mechanism. Battle has a short swing path with some quickness and a very compact swing through the zone. Speed is an asset for him defensively and on the bases and he will do a good job extending extra base hits and reaching tough outs. Battle is pretty range-y on defense and has a quick transfer with some arm strength. Although Battle is still young and has room to mature, he has solid tools that should only get better with development.
Lawrence is a bit more physically mature than his teammate, 5-foot-11 and 180-pounds, and is very lean with some projection to his frame. He has a very simple stance at the plate standing slightly open with his bat resting on his shoulder. Lawrence has a high hand set with a high back eblow and did a good job getting the head of the barrel out in front of the plate. He has a line drive swing with some lift and his quick hands allow him to adjust to pitches he doesn’t see coming. An example of this is when he had enough hand strength and power to drive a low-inside pitch to left center for an opposite field double. Lawrence should continue to develop power into his stroke and presently has some strength in his swing with barrel feel.
Although he only threw for only one inning righthander Jackson "Sonny" Dichiara (2018, Hoover, Ala.) of Viper Baseball Academy showed some deceptive mechanics and filthy fastball. Dichiara has a large frame at 6-foot-1, 205-pounds however he throws from a lower three-quarter to almost submarine arm slot. He has a very tight, almost violent, arm action with a compact arm circle and very quick arm speed. The angle of delivery makes it near impossible to hit his fastball from the right side and he hides the ball very well. In his limited time on the mound, Dichiara reesat from 87-89 mph with a lot of arm side run to the pitch. He consistently sat on the arm side of the plate especially to try to bust righthanded hitters on the inside part of the plate. Dichiara did show a breaking ball, but he only threw it once and the one he did throw had 10-to-4 slider-like shape although it was soft and didn’t break much. Dichiara’s angle of release combined with the velocity and run on his fastball make him an intriguing prospect to monitor.
In a big win to get to the quarterfinals the Chattanooga Cyclones center fielder Cade Evans (2017, Chattanooga, Tenn.) had a big day offensively and showcased some impressive tools in the process. Evans is a great athlete, as evidenced by his ability to play both shortstop and centerfield, and has a medium build with room for some additional strength on his 6-foot, 170-pound frame. He has a wide, slightly open stance with a high hand set and high back elbow. Evans has quick hands and a line drive swing with an approach that lets him drive the ball to all fields. An outstanding runner, he was timed at 4.0 seconds to first base from the right side on a bunt. The Auburn commit has impressive arm strength from the outfield and reached 88 mph on the mound as well.
In the opposing dugout for Mission Team Baseball shortstop Crews Taylor (2017, Lawrenceville, Ga.) showed off his all-around skillset. The Georgia Tech commit has a medium frame at 6-foot 1, 180-pounds. Taylor has a slightly open stance with a wide base and a medium hand set with a high back elbow. He has a simple step inward for timing with a clean stroke from the left side of the plate. Taylor has a line drive swing plane with some lift and did a good job at generating power through his hips and back leg drive. He gets good extension on his swing out in front and it showed with a home run to right that had an exit velocity of 96 mph and traveled an estimated 373 feet per Trackman Baseball. With his glove Taylor showed good footwork and gather at shortstop with a fuller arm action and above average arm strength.
Taylor’s teammate Jeccorah Arnold (2017, Athens, Ga.) continued his hot fall with yet another display of power. Arnold shows solid bat speed at the plate and good lower half drive and hip torque to drive the baseball for power. The Lipscomb commit added another home run during Saturday’s action traveling 336 feet and leaving the bat at 89 mph per TrackMan Baseball.
As Perfect Game events have become accustomed to, righthander Ethan Hankins (2018, Cumming, Ga.) put together two dominant innings for Team Elite 17’s Prime. Hankins has a very tall and large frame, listed at 6-foot-6 and 200-pounds, and very lean with a lot of projection left on his body. He has a tight arm action with very quick arm speed as his arm whips through his delivery. Hankins’ delivery is very simple with just a short turn and leg lift into his throwing motion. His fastball sat from 90-92 mph over the course of his outing and the pitch was near impossible to square up especially in the lower third of the strike zone. The pitch has late life to it and he attacked hitters all night with it. Hankins also showed a hard changeup at 81 mph with some fade away towards his arm side and he replicated his arm speed well. He also mixed in a breaking ball with 11-to-5 shape and good depth; the pitch continues to develop well and he showed solid feel for the pitch. The Vanderbilt commit continues to be one of the top overall players, as well as pitchers, for the class of 2018.
Southpaw Dylan Gentry (2017, Danielsville, Ga.) showed a live arm on the mound Saturday night and really impressed with his curveball. Gentry has a medium build on the mound, 6-foot-1 and 190-pounds, with some compact arm action and a shorter arm circle. He pitches from a high three-quarters arm slot and has an easy delivery hiding the ball well. Gentry’s fastball sat from 86-88 mph, and dipped down a bit as he wore down throughout, and was best when he was able to bear down on the pitch from his arm slot. Gentry’s most impressive pitch his was curveball which had 1-to-7 shape and some excellent depth to it. The pitch was able to be thrown for strikes or low out of the zone to be chased. He showed real feel to spin and the pitch flashed plus when his release point was on time. Gentry struggled to throw strikes later in his outing but the Auburn commit has some quality stuff headlined by his curveball.
– Vincent Cervino