Day 1 Recap | Day 2 Recap | Day 3 Recap | Day 4 Recap | Day 5 Recap
Lawson
represents Cali well
FORT
MYERS, Fla. – The recent history of the Perfect Game National
Showcase tells a tale of the tape that lists an extraordinary wealth
of marquee pitching arms from the state of California.
Last
year’s PG National put on display Cali kids like Kolby Allard, Drew
Finley and Kyle Molnar; the 2013 event showcased Brady Aiken, Luis
Ortiz and Jack Flaherty. In 2012, there was Ian Clarkin and Jonah
Wesley; 2011 gave us lefties Max Fried and Hunter Virant.
Those
were just the biggest names. There was enough pitching depth from the
Golden State serving as a supporting cast to fill the PG All-American
Classic West Team roster and, down the road, college, minor league
and major league rosters as well.
The
15th annual Perfect Game National Showcase that concluded
its six-day run at JetBlue Park on Monday lacked that extraordinary
California depth. But the top two guys that were here – Southern
Californians Reggie Lawson and Kevin Gowdy – represented their
state extremely well and belong right there among those names listed
at the top of this essay.
Gowdy,
a right-hander from Santa Barbara, threw late last week, while
Lawson, a righty from Adalento, got his turn in the smothering
Southwest Florida heat and humidity Sunday afternoon. Lawson is an
athletic 6-foot-4, 205-pounder and was one of the stars of the event,
showing the others in attendance that these California guys are still
forces to be reckoned with.
“This
was a great experience, knowing that you’re here with guys that are
on the same level as you,” he said Sunday. “And they’re nice
guys, you know? It’s nice to meet new guys from all around the
country, and it’s neat to see where they come from and where I come
from and how we relate with that.”
At
previous PG tournament events, Lawson’s fastball had sat 87-89 mph
and never got any higher than 90. On Sunday, he sat 90-92 and topped
out at 93. The scouting report also noted he was delivering a
hard-running, two-seam fastball at 89 mph and breaking balls at 74
mph.
The
other top pitchers at this year’s PG National arrived from states
like New Jersey, New York, Alabama, Texas, Mississippi, Tennessee
and, of course, Florida. “They go about their business a little bit
differently than we do,” Lawson said, “but what they’re doing
is working. They’re out there playing with us so it must be
working.”
Lawson
has been playing baseball for as long as he can remember, or at least
back to when he was 3 or 4 years old and a cousin who was a few years
older than him showed up wearing a baseball uniform and carrying a
glove, a bat and a ball. Lawson was sold immediately and insisted it
would be him wearing the uniform and carting around a glove, a bat
and a ball very shortly.
Adalento
is in San Bernardino County in the High Desert portion of Southern
California’s Inland Empire and is considered part of the Greater
Los Angeles Area. The area is very temperate and allows youngsters
like Lawson to play baseball the year around.
This
is the summer between Lawson’s junior and senior years at Victor
Valley High School, in Victorville, Calif. The Jackrabbits, under the
direction of head coach A.J. Le Day finished 16-10 this spring after
losing in the quarterfinal round of the CIF Southern Section Division
4 playoffs.
Lawson
was 6-4 with a 2.25 ERA, and allowed 17 earned runs on 34 hits in 53
innings pitched with 67 strikeouts and 16 walks. Lawson gives Le Day
a lot of the credit for the progression of his baseball career.
Lawson became acquainted with his coach even before he got to Victor
Valley HS, having played as a youngster on a club team that Le Day
operated.
“He
has basically made me the baseball player that I am today,” Lawson
said. “He disciplined me when I needed to be disciplined and he’s
always done what he needed to do to make me better.”
It
wasn’t until his freshman year at Victor Valley that Lawson began
taking pitching seriously. He had been playing primarily infield
positions before some of the people around him realized his potential
as a pitcher.
Lawson
spent last summer and fall – and even January of this year –
playing with West Coast powerhouse CBA Marucci. He was with CBA at
the 2014 15u PG MLK Championship, the 16u PG WWBA National
Championship, PG California World Series (Underclass) and the 2015
18u PG MLK Championship.
He
was named to the all-tournament team at both PG MLK events (he was
also named all-tournament at the 2013 PG/EvoShield Underclass
National Championship while playing with the Colton Nighthawks). He
has especially enjoyed working with executive director/coach Jon
Paino and underclass coach Daylon Monette since joining up with CBA.
“That’s
a great program with a lot of great people,” Lawson said.
“Especially the coaches – they really care about you and they
take care of you. My experiences with them definitely got me prepared
for an (event) like this.”
Lawson
has committed to Arizona State in Tempe and when asked what went into
his decision to commit to the Sun Devils he didn’t hesitate before
answering “the coaches.” Head coach Tracy Smith and pitching
coach Brandon Higelin made an immediate positive impression on
Lawson, as did Phoenix Municipal Stadium – “The Muni” – where
the Sun Devils play their home games.
“When
you walk into that beautiful field with those facilities – MLB U,
that’s what they call it – it’s great, but it’s really
because of the coaches,” Lawson said when asked what made him
choose ASU. “They’re loving, caring and they tell you straight up
what you’re going to do there.”
Lawson
– and Gowdy before him – did an excellent job of representing
California’s prep pitching community at the just completed PG
National Showcase. The talent pool may not have been as deep this
year but the guys swimming at the top more than held their own.
“This
is going to help me get better and let me know what I’ve got to
work on,” Lawson said. “These guys out here, they’re going to
play in the big leagues sooner or later so they’re all hitting
their stuff. Basically, you know what you need to work on when you
leave here because you see what everybody else is working on.
“You
have all the pro scouts and college (coaches) and everyone looking at
you, this is just a great experience,” he concluded. “You get to
play with a lot of talented guys and there’s no place I’d rather
be.”
– Jeff
Dahn
National
Impressions
Although
there were only two games on Monday, there were a number of players
that made quite the impression on the closing day of the National
Showcase.
• Ryan
Orr (Encinitas, Calif.), a 5-foot-10, 170 pound catcher/outfielder,
looked solid defensively in both the outfield and behind the plate
over the past few days. On Monday morning, Orr had a showcase-high
three hits in game action. The righthanded hitter hit a hard line
drive to left field in his first plate appearance for a well-struck
singe. Later in the game, Orr again displayed his quick hands and
feel for the barrel when squared up another fastball for a hard line
drive single into the left-center field gap. Finally, in his final
at-bat of the showcase, Orr showed the ability to adjust to other
pitches and showed good balance and a mature approach by serving a
curveball on the outer half of the plate to right field for yet
another single.
• William
Jensen (Holladay, Utah) turned a lot of heads in Monday’s second
game. Coming out of the bullpen to work two innings, Jensen has the
measurables that scouts can dream on with a long, loose and
projectable 6-foot-3, 165-pound frame. With a lengthy yet loose arm
action Jensen has a fast arm coming through the back. He
consistently sat in the 86-88 mph range with his fastball, topping
out at 89 mph. The offering also had solid life and sink down in the
zone. Aside from the quality fastball, which projects for more
velocity, Jensen also showcased a very nice curveball. The pitch
featured tight rotation and sharp 11-to-5 break in the mid-70s and
opposing hitters had difficulty picking up the pitch out of his hand.
With two quality pitches, a developing changeup and the frame to add
more weight and ostensibly more velocity, will certainly be one of
the more heavily scouted prep players in the state of Utah.
• Frank
Vesuvio (Armonk, N.Y.) had impressed Perfect Game staff members at
previous events over the last calendar year and he continued to
impress this weekend. First, in the workout portion of the National
Showcase, Vesuvio displayed some of his quick-twitch athleticism by
running a 6.63 60-yard dash. He also demonstrated some arm strength
by firing a throw at 91 mph from the outfield. The arm strength
translated well to the pitcher’s mound on Monday as the
compactly-built 5-foot-11, 170-pound primary outfielder showed off a
loose right arm, firing in fastballs in the 86-89 mph range for two
innings. Vesuvio, who is currently uncommitted, also showed a nice
changeup in the low-80s which came out of his hand well and featured
fading life. His slider also showed the makings of a quality pitch
with some sharp, sweeping life.
• Another
young man who is listed as a secondary pitcher that also threw well
off the mound on Monday was Logan Boyer (Chandler, Ariz.). Boyer, a
San Diego State commit, had previously displayed solid hitting tools
from the right side and nice defensive skills behind the plate, but
on Monday showed off some of his pitching acumen. The strongly-built
6-foot-3, 205-pound Boyer generated good downhill plane from his
higher arm slot and repeated his delivery pretty well for someone who
doesn’t always pitch. His fastball consistently sat in the 86-89
mph range and he topped out at 90 mph, with the pitch showing good
late life in the bottom half of the zone. He also had solid feel for
a deceptive, fading changeup and a developing curverball with good
depth and 11-to-5 shape. Boyer certainly displayed that he has the
ability to be a good two-way talent for the Aztecs.
–
Andrew
Krause
And
that's a wrap from the 2015 National Showcase. A special thanks to
all of the players, family members and friends that participated as
this year's event, as well as all of the coaches, scouts and
recruiters that continue to make the National Showcase a can't-miss
destination on the annual scouting event calendar.
Remember
to read the PG scout blogs for notes on the players as well as
the workout results, in addition to viewing the game-by-game and
workout action in the National Showcase video archive.