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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/10/2017

Fall Champ. Day 2 Scout Notes

Jheremy Brown      Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Perfect Game

2017 PG Fall Underclass National Championship Protected by G-Form: Day 1 Notes | Daily Leaders

Just looking at Jake Blawn (2020, Corona, Calif.) walking to the mound you can immediately see how projectable he is and after a handful of pitches you begin to see just what the Southern California coaching staff saw when they committed the young lefthander. And while he may not show the velocity of other arms detailed in the recap, yet, he does possess the ability to pitch and locate his fastball all around the plate at will.



At 6-foot-3, 162-pounds with a high waist and square shoulders, the physical projection is there for Blawn, as is a quick left arm that helped produce an 80-82 mph fastball early in the contest. Utilizing a rather simple set of mechanics of which he can still continue to incorporate additional lower half, Blawn came out and attacked hitters with his fastball, living at the knees with subtle yet late running life to stay away from barrels. He allowed just a single hit over three innings and punched out four while showing the ability to repeat his mechanics well with athleticism on the mound. He also flashed a changeup at 74-75 mph with short life and he maintained his arm speed well on the pitch.

In the Day 1 recap Will Armbruester (2019, Sammamish, Wash.) was mentioned for his abilities at the plate, and while he did pick up another hard line drive single in his third game, it’s for his performance on the mound in game two that he earned another write up. In his six-inning, four-hit performance Armbruester managed to strike out eight and did so while maintaining his velocity throughout.

Listed at 6-foot-5, Armbruester certainly looks the part on the mound and a full, loose arm action through the back and his overall athleticism, the uncommitted Washington native continued to pound the zone from his opening frame to his last. Sitting in the 82-84 mph range with relative ease, Armbruester did an excellent job of working on top of the baseball to generate plane from an almost over-the-top release point while staying on line and balanced towards the plate. Though somewhat true in shape in regards to his fastball he showed comfort in challenging hitters on the inner half of the plate and flashed a short and tight 12-to-6 shaped curveball with late bite at 72-73 mph for strikes.




Dylan Crews (2020, Longwood, Fla.) and his abilities with the bat are far from a secret as he’s currently ranked within the top-ten players in his class and continues to get stronger with every look we at Perfect Game take in. Listed at 5-foot-11, 160-pounds Crews isn’t done growing in terms of physicality but that doesn’t stop him from creating some of the loudest contact on a regular basis, and to all fields, thanks to loose wrists and strong hands which allow him to whip the barrel through the zone.

In his first two games with the SACSN National Team, Crews managed to reach base in every plate appearance with four walks and three base knocks. He got things going early with what appeared to be a single in his first at-bat with a liner into right-center field but with his instincts and foot speed he took second base thanks to the read he got on the opposing outfielders. He also tripled later in the gap to the opposite field gap, getting extended out front and driving the ball with hard jump off the barrel.

While Crews had a big day at the plate, third baseman Ethan Long (2020, Gilbert, Ariz.) made an even louder impression going 4-for-4 in the second of his team’s two games which included a single, two doubles and a long home run to left field. Physically built at 6-foot-2, 199-pounds, Long continues to develop and add strength without losing flexibility or looseness to either his swing or defensive abilities.

With a powerful right arm that was on display at the PG Underclass All-American Games, Long obviously has the arm strength for the hot corner and on Saturday he showed the strength with the bat that’s often associated with the position too. He’s able to generate big bat speed through the zone and showed the ability to put the barrel on the ball regularly, ripping doubles down the pull sideline in back-to-back at-bats which jumped off the barrel though not quite to the extent of his fourth at-bat. Striding to the plate with a runner on, Long managed to once again get the barrel out front and with leverage to his path blasted a no-doubt home run over the fence in left-center field.




Listed as a primary first baseman, righthanded pitcher Joey Cammarata (2019, Scottsdale, Ariz.) came out of the bullpen and impressed for his couple innings on the mound as he showed a simple set of mechanics while producing the top fastball velocity on the day. Strongly built with broad shoulders at 6-foot-2, 235-pounds, the uncommitted Cammarata came out in attack mode from the bullpen and filled the zone with his fastball, working in the 87-89 mph range.

Still able to get additional drive out of his lower half, Cammarata worked from a high three-quarters release point while staying short and compact through the back, hiding the ball well until release. He was able to miss bats throughout his two innings while flashing both a curveball and changeup, the latter of which he showed a more consistent feel for at release and was up to 75 mph with the pitch.

A two-way player who’s still uncommitted and currently ranked No. 300 in his class, Sean Rimmer (2019, Mesa, Ariz.) picked up a couple of hits in his team’s two games yesterday with both a single and a triple. Physically impressive at 6-foot-3, 210-pounds, Rimmer does a nice job of staying short to the ball with a linear path and incorporates his physical strength well, impacting the ball off the barrel. That was just the case with his triple which came in the form of a hard line drive to the left-center field gap, jumping hard at the point of contact.

Detailed in the Day 1 recxap for his abilities with the bat, Kevin Sim (2020, San Diego, Calif.) impressed once again but this time it was on the mound, albeit for a quick one inning look. The uncommitted sophomore looks the part on the mound with a strong build and broad shoulders and with a simple, repeatable delivery and compact arm action he did a nice job of filling up the strike zone. Sitting predominantly at 84 mph, twice touching lower and once bumping 85 mph (on the last pitch of the game), Sim filled the strike zone with his fastball while generating steady two-seam life. The ball comes out clean and he was able to induce weak ground ball contact while also flashing a splitter at 70-72 mph with occasional tumbling action.

Already ranked No. 199 in the class of 2020, shortstop Fisher Pyatt (2020, San Diego, Calif.) has put together an excellent tournament thus far, hitting .429 over his team’s first three games while punching out 11 in a complete game effort on opening day. With a lean and quick-twitch build up the middle where he shows loose actions and solid defensive instincts, Pyatt is hitting in the middle of the CBA Wave Gold lineup and shows components to his swing that stand out. Listed as a switch-hitter, Pyatt dug in lefthanded yesterday and showed a direct path to the ball with loose wrists and quick hands, elements of his swing that will continue to improve as he develops physically.




The Day 1 recap touched briefly upon the projectability and overall tools of Garrett Frechette (2019, Vista, Calif.) at the plate and he once again put them on display as he collected three base hits in two games. The first of those three hits was perhaps his most impressive, going with an outer half pitch to the opposite field gap for a double, doing a nice job of getting extended and staying through the ball (see video above). Later in the day the uncommitted Frechette did a nice job of staying back on a curveball just long enough to bet the barrel to it and put a line drive over the second baseman’s head to plate a run, showing rhythm to his swing.

Suiting up for the Twin Cities Baseball Academy club this tournament, righthander Adam Parra (2019, Chandler, Ariz.) got the start and went five innings in which he punched out five and allowed just a single bat hit. Though he wasn’t up to 88 mph like he showed this summer at the 15u WWBA, the uncommitted Parra was steadily up to 85 mph and almost pitched exclusively off his heater, working with a short and quick arm action through the back. He did a nice job of staying on top of the baseball to generate plane on a consistent basis and he showed the ability to maintain the velocity out of the stretch. Parra also displayed a present feel for turning over his 70-72 mph changeup, which he mixed well and pitched off with his fastball, jumping on hitters quicker than the radar gun may have read.

Jumping from field to field and quad to quad at the Camelback complex, yesterday provided a few defensive plays that had an impact on their overall games and were pivotal at that particular point. The play of the day however belongs to Skyler Agnew (2020, Ontario, Calif.) of the CBA Bulldogs National who was manning the hot corner and showed no hesitation to go and get a foul ball just on the other side of the fence, crashing over the top while hanging on for a fantastic catch that brought some fans to their feet.

Travis Warinner (2020, Glendale, Ariz.) is the starting shortstop for the Mountain Lions and is currently hitting .375 in the tournament, though his play late in yesterday’s game proved to be a difference maker. With the bases loaded and two outs and his team up by one there was a broken bat flare just over the second base bag which Warinner managed to track down and make an over the shoulder catch to preserve the lead at that time. A primary pitcher, Jordan Moskal (2020, Temecula, Calif.) put his arm strength on display from center fielder for the CBA Bruins National team as he came up throwing to nail a runner at home plate with a perfect throw and on line carry.

– Jheremy Brown





Saturday started with a chance for teams to clinch a spot in the playoffs on Sunday, and  Peyton McGregor (2019, Cave Creek, Ariz.) had a strong offensive showing which helped push the Canyon Thunder into bracket play. The primary right fielder is a very strong and physical 6-foot-4, 205-pounds with well-proportioned strength throughout the frame. He made a lot of hard hit contact primarily to the opposite field on Saturday afternoon. He has plenty of bat speed through the swing and shifts his weight nicely forward through contact to create nice jump off the barrel. The swing is short and simple through the zone and he has a very high power ceiling when you combine the strength, bat speed, and sheer size which all combine for an interesting profile.

McGregor’s teammates Nolan Brooks (2019, Phoenix, Ariz.) and Tyler Mead (2019, Cave Creek, Ariz.) each made a couple of nice plays during their two games on Saturday and made a formidable double play duo.

Brooks started at second base and showed off his quick twitch athleticism at the position. The 5-foot-10, 150-pound middle infielder is extremely lean and has good instincts up the middle allowing him to show off his lateral agility. He made a number of plays on the run with very quick releases to make the plays quickly. Offensively, he has a short and simple swing which nicely complements his line drive approach. Brooks showed good speed out of the box recording a 4.29 second time to first from the right side.

Mead made a number of very difficult plays over at shortstop and showed very good reactions as well. His hand quickness and ability to adjust was on full display as he made a number of challenging plays either up the middle or charging in. Mead made a couple of good turns for double plays too and showed off his footwork in the process.

Another physical righthander, Max Kendall (2019, Phoenix, Ariz.) showed off one of the best fastball velocities of the day running the pitch up to 86 mph. The 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame has clear and present physicality and strength on the frame currently. Kendall has a power mentality on the mound and he attacked hitters with his mid-80s fastball which was able to be commanded to either side well. The arm action is shorter through the back and Kendall does throw with intent. He uses his lower half to drive downhill well and flashed the ability to create plane on the fastball. Kendall mixed in a low-70s breaking ball with curve-like break to it and 10-to-4 shape. The fastball was his go-to pitch and helped him strike out two over 1 2/3 innings.

One of the more advanced catchers in terms of pure catch-and-throw skills was Dustin Barry (2019, San Bernadino, Calif.). The catcher has very compact and easy throwing mechanics through the throws and gets his throws downhill well. The release stands out as he is able to get the ball down to second base very quickly which included a 2.04 second pop time in-game. The receiving skills were pretty solid as well and made for a nice overall package. Barry also showed a loose and easy swing with natural loft to it. There’s not a bunch of power but he works from more of a gap-to-gap approach presently and already has multiple extra-base hits on the tournament including a double to the pull sideline.




Righthander Brandon Smith (2019, Las Vegas, Nev.) turned in one of the best starts of the entire event on Saturday morning as he twirled a complete game shutout while only allowing three hits and striking out seven batters. The 5-foot-8, 180-pound listing probably undersells his size a bit although he does have present physicality on the frame.

Smith has a very loose and easy arm action that travels throughout a fuller arm path. He stays tall through the backside and gets a nice push down off the rubber to drive toward the plate. Smith repeated his mechanics very well on Saturday which translated well to throwing a lot of strikes, he only walked one batter and did not get into many three-ball counts. He worked primarily from a two-pitch mix featuring his fastball which sat 84-87 mph throughout most of the contest. Smith could get the pitch to either side of the plate well and his extended release allowed the velocity to play up. He showed good feel for his breaking ball which showed consistent 11-to-5 shape and could be thrown both for called strikes and be used to induce chases.

Another righthanded hitter who showed pure leadoff tools and aggressive speed was Will Bermudez (2020, Whittier, Calif.) of the SoCal Tribe. Bermudez is a very athletic, up-the-middle type player from a 5-foot-8, 145-pound frame with present twitch muscle. That athleticism shows both in the field where he moves very well laterally and at the plate where he gets very good jumps out of the box toward first base; he recorded a 4.20-second time to first on a bunt from the right side and totaled three stolen bases on Saturday. Bermudez showed pretty consistent bat-to-ball skills on Saturday with five combined hits in two games. The swing is compact through the zone and is very direct to contact with minimal separation which helps him made consistent, barreled up contact. Bermudez showed he could do it all by jumping on the mound and showing a loose and easy arm swing with feel for three pitches.

A younger but still very physical player, Joseph Silverio (2020, Phoenix, Ariz.) stands at a listed 6-foot-1, 185-pounds with tons of strength presently on the frame. The swing will get a bit long but allows him to generate raw bat speed throughout the swing path. He swings from a lower hand-set and his hands are in a good launch position to drive the ball hard in the air. Silverio impacts the ball well when extended out in front with a ton of strength through the point of contact. He showed a penchant for getting the ball into the gap with three doubles on Saturday with two of them being to the left-center field gap. Silverio also has quality arm strength and athleticism for his size and it showed early on Saturday. He made a nice ranging catch for a pop up well beyond foul territory and showed the awareness and arm strength to turn and fire to third base, nailing a runner who was trying to tag up for second. Silverio’s bat is undeniably impressive but his arm strength allows for an intriguing overall profile.

The West Coast Clippers Murrieta completed their run to 3-0 in pool play and Ryan Hidalgo (2019, Murrieta, Calif.) was a large part of their success. The lefthanded hitting shortstop occupied the two-hole for the Clippers and showed a smooth, naturally leveraged swing path. Barrel skills are undoubtedly present as he made consistent, hard hit contact to the pull side with a total of four hits on the day between two games. Hidalgo drops his back shoulder to lift the ball and swings with intent to drive the ball. The approach bodes well for a power profile as he adds more strength to the frame and, ultimately, in-game power. He also hopped on the mound to close out their final victory of pool play while topping out at 82 mph and played a key role at the Clippers’ seven-run top of the seventh to seal their pool victory.

Slammers Bote also finished 3-0 to clinch their pool and they had strong performances across the board including two-hole hitter Colby Shade (2020, Wellington, Colo.). The righthanded hitter has good present size at 6-foot-1, 165-pounds with broad shoulders and tons of room to add strength. Shade keeps his hands high above his shoulder and close to his body which allows for an easy trigger into the swing. The swing itself is pretty easy and low effort across the path and the looseness of his hands allow him to cover the plate well. The swing is lofted and Shade’s swing itself is extremely projectable as is the entire offensive approach.

– Vinnie Cervino
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