16u WWBA Day 4 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 fourth day.

One of the top pitcher’s in the 2016 class, Anthony Molina (2016, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) took the mound for Elite Squad 16u Prime and turned in one of his better performances to date. Standing at 6-foot-5, 190-pounds, the University of Miami commit threw three innings of no-hit baseball, missing bats and mixing speeds well.

Throwing from a long, loose arm action, Molina seemed as though he was on cruise control over his outing, sitting 89-91 mph and touching 92 in both the first and second innings. His arm is lightening quick and is how he generates his velocity, and he will throw even harder once he begins to incorporate his lower half in his delivery more and lengthen his stride. The biggest difference in this outing for Molina that I noticed was his ability to spot his fastball to either side of the plate with intent, locating knee high consistently with the pitch.

To make a statement that he would be able to throw any pitch for strikes when he wanted to, Molina started the game off with an 89 mph fastball, a 71 mph changeup, and for strike three threw a curveball at 74 mph. He does slow his arm action down slightly on his off-speed, but he showed such a feel and ability to throw them for strikes and mix three pitches that it was a non-factor yesterday. His curveball shows 11-to-5 life, topping at 74 mph, and the changeup, although a developing pitch, showed promise with fading life to his arm side and proper spin on the pitch.




Alejandro Toral (2017, Davie, Fla.) may only be a rising sophomore, but the only thing that would suggest his age would be his graduation year. At 6-foot-1, 205-pounds, Toral is more physical than most players his age and also plays at a higher level. He shows an advanced approach at the plate, never expanding the zone and is selective to make sure he gets his pitch. When he does find the one he likes, he whips the barrel through the zone and generates hard contact, doing so again on Monday, driving a pitch deep to the right-center field gap for a stand-up triple.

Standing at 6-foot-8, Mitchell Stone (2017, Edmond, Okla.) is well coordinated for his size, controlling his long levers well. Although listed as a primary lefthanded pitcher, Stone showed well with the bat from the left side of the plate showing a short path to the ball with natural lift and drove the ball over the right field fence.