16u WWBA Day 3 notes

Editor's note: Perfect Game recognizes that there are dozens of standout performers at this year's 16u WWBA National Championship. The thoughts provided below are first-hand observations from Scouting Coordinator Jheremy Brown during the event's third day.

Brenden Heiss (2016, Lake in the Hills, Ill.) is another young arm out of the Midwest that shows high upside in the future, joining the likes of Drake Fellows and Anthony Holubecki.

Standing at 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, the righthanded Heiss shows a fast arm from a three-quarters arm slot and pounded the lower quadrants of the strike zone with his fastball which topped at 94 mph in the first inning. Working in the 90-92 mph range early on, the uncommitted Heiss has some Cobi Johnson to his delivery as he lands closed with his front foot, forcing himself to work over his front side which he was able to do. With that type of delivery, Heiss was able to create nice angle on his fastball and consistently gets low to his glove side with late life to his arm side.

He repeats his delivery well and showed two off-speed pitches, with his changeup being the more advanced pitch of the two. Throwing it at 78-79 mph, Heiss maintained his arm speed and action on the pitch with late diving action down in the zone. His curveball shows short 11-to-5 break in the low-70s but he threw it for stirkes and it’s easy to envision Heiss throwing a slider in the future with his delivery and arm action.




Garrett Gooden (2016, Decatur, Ga.) sports a very long and lean frame which is extremely projectable, especially as he continues to add strength. A quick-twitch athlete, Gooden has seen a steady rise in his velocity, with him establishing a new personal high yesterday at a Perfect Game event.

Standing at 6-foot-4, 205-pounds, Gooden shows a fast arm with the ball coming out clean and easy from his hand. He does a nice job of getting extended down the mound with his lower half and staying online through his delivery, and repeated it very well. In the early innings of the game, Gooden was working his fastball in the 90-92 mph range with nice run to his arm side before settling in at 88-90. He also flashed a two-seam fastball at 87-88 mph with late tailing action.

Although he didn’t throw it in game action, Gooden did show a changeup in warm-ups that has a chance to be a quality pitch as he becomes comfortable enough to throw it during the game. He maintained his arm action on the pitch at 79 mph with fading life. His curveball clocked in the low to mid-70s, showing 11-to-5 shape and a feel for the pitch.