Young Stars
You'll find some of these names in the initial Class of 2028 rankings and while some will be climbing, all have continued to build off of big performances we've come to know already.
Brandon Perkins Jr., OF, ZT National Prospects 14U
Perkins has been one of the better hitters in the country this year for this age group and he was out of his mind through the first couple games in WPB, finishing at .636 through 4 games. It was 5 straight hits to start the event, 4 going for extra bases; it’s a fast bat and he continues to add physicality while his ability to drive the ball all over the yard stands out and continues to make him a highly followed young hitter who is only starting to scratch the surface across the board.
Brayden Landry, IF, SBA Bolts National 14U
Landy won MVP of the event, and for good reason as he was outstanding out of the leadoff spot for SBA all weekend. He hit well over .500 and reached base even more, while not striking out a single time in 7 games and stealing 9 bags. In the semifinal game, he led off the game with a double, then proceeded to take third and straight steal home for what would be the only run of the game. He’s a dynamic player with a short and fast swing, and he just finds the barrel a TON.
Joel Vargas, OF, Canes National 14U
Vargas is another young hitter who was so good at this event, hitting .500 and not striking out a single time either across 6 games. He’s got a great swing with big bat speed and gets as good of separation as anybody to be able to create bigger impact without being overly physical. It’s an athletic high-end hit profile with so many good young traits that’ll have him trending up more.
Luke Esquivel, 1B/LHP, SBA Bolts National 14U
Esquivel is already very much known as one of the top two-way talents in this age group and he showed why here in hitting over. 400 and then taking home MVPitcher honors for his 10 total strikeouts across 6 innings of work, most of which coming in the semifinals against the Canes. He can run the fastball near the mid-80s from the left side with big life and feel to pitch, while the swing is geared to generate big impact, but he’s showing real feel to adjust and hit already.
Striker Pence, RHP/IF, SBA Bolts National 14U
Pence is growing by the day and now stands physically as one of the more imposing young guys in this class, and it’s showing in what his output is on the field now. He’s a good hitter who hit up over .400 on the event, and has had a strong year in that regard, but it’s on the mound where the high-end prospect status lies as he’s pitching in the upper-80s now, sitting 87-89 in a big relief spot, while breaking off some nasty breaking balls in the upper-70s with a fast arm.
Brennan New, IF/RHP, Team Elite 14U
New is a plenty interesting young two-way prospect who has stood out with the bat a good bit overall, once again doing that in this event. He’s got lots of strength to the swing and gets really good separation at impact, which allows him to backspin the baseball all over the park. There’s more and more consistency with his swings as he plays in more big events, and it’s all trending well.
Yariel "Lito" Diaz, LHP, Canes National 14U
Lito is just fun to watch pitch each time out given the quality of outings he’s turning in and the confidence he pitches with at a young age. He’s one of the youngest of the group at only 13.7 right now, but you wouldn’t think it through his 6 innings and 8 strikeouts against the eventual champion SBA lineup. He’ll run the fastball near the mid-80s, holding just below that, while his feel for off-speed and command of the full mix is well advanced and certainly stands out now.
Chase Cotton, RHP, Canes National 14U
Speaking of guys trending up, no one is making quicker strides than Cotton from where we just saw him over the course of the summer circuit. He has jumped to a new peak in back-to-back weekends now, up to 88 with his fastball in this event, and it’s impressive how much he can beat guys with the heater, while also showing that the feel for spin is making excellent strides too. He’s one of the top few arms in this young class and continues to show that he should be.
Valentin Ceballos, RHP, ZT National Prospects 14U
Ceballos has a lot going right for him in terms of his young traits, and he showed that in a quick look on the mound early in the weekend. He’s in the low-80s with his heater right now, but it’s the operation, arm speed and overall components that make it easy to like, while he’s also now shown a bit better of feel for spin in terms of sharpness that adds on to the good young profile.
Sammy Garcia, MIF, ZT National Prospects 14U
Garcia is a talented young player who we like as a staff, and he has made some strides physically that helped in him hitting over .400 on the weekend. It’s a good offensive approach and the added strength allows him to use the whole field more, while he’s still excellent on the dirt with all the traits to stick on the left side, especially given overall feel and timing that he plays with.
-Tyler Russo
Colin Anderson, 3B/OF, Evans, Ga.
Anderson has legitimate impact in the stick, and it showed up in game, as he hit .412 with a pair of doubles and a triple. The Select Fest alumni has some of the best bat speed in the class and the tools across the board stand out. He also threw five 1/3 innings on the mound and ran the fastball up to 80.
Ethan Stewart, 1B/OF, Dirtbags 14U National
Stewart possesses tremendous power upside, and the ball really carries with plenty of loft. The stroke is smooth and loose, capable of backspinning it with ease. Stewart has arm strength that translated on the bump as well, punching out five over three 2/3 innings, topping at 81.
Caden Scott, 3B/RHP, Dirtbags 14U National
Scott was really impressive on both sides of the ball. The two-way talent showed big life on the fastball, topping at 83. The arm is fast, and he showed easy thump in the bat. The ball jumps with quick and strong hands.
DJ Ford, OF, Wow Factor 14U National
Ford swung a scorching hot bat all tournament, displaying advanced bat speed. He batted .700 with two doubles and two triples, showing both standout athleticism and physicality. The outfielder can run and he really impacted the ball the whole week.
Robert Upchurch, CIF/RHP, BPA
Upchurch stands at a tall 6-foot-4 and the physicality plays on both sides of the ball. He swung the bat well and the pop comes effortless. The Mississippi native also has considerable upside on the mound, running it into the low-80s with a big swing-and-miss curveball.
Bryan Mesa, SS, SBA Florida National 14U
Mesa displayed super easy pop to both gaps. The bat is fast, and he has the barrel accuracy to match. Mesa also flashed the leather, ranging way up the middle and showing big arm strength that also played on the mound, topping at 80.
Cam Rakaczewski, SS/RHP, Wow Factor Nation 14U
Rakaczewski showcased very good two-way talent. The primary shortstop went 5-for-9 and has fast hands along with athleticism. He also showed a live arm, throwing five strong innings and running it up to 83.
-Kyler Peterson
Jacob Gray (2028, Benicia, CA.) raked all weekend en route to a ridiculous 533/.650/.600 slash line. Gray has easy bat speed with good swing decisions and impact off the bat when he makes contact.
Madden Pike (2028, Puyallup, WA.) set a personal best with an 85-mph bullet in his start for Canes National. Pike is a dynamic mover with a quick arm and life to all his pitches. He finished with 10 strikeouts and only one hit allowed in five innings.
Chase Gockenbach (2028, Morristown, TN.) spun a complete game gem for Wow Factor. He threw 7 shutout innings with 6 strikeouts while showing off a lively fastball up to 83 mph.
Zion Avina (2028, La Habra, CA.) smacked three extra base hits for SBA Bolts National. Avina has center barrel accuracy with comprehensive plate coverage and some developing power to with it.
Aedan Tompkins (2027, Lakeland, FL.) went 8-10 with eight RBI’s and three extra base hits in just four games. Tompkins did most of his damage to the pull side with hands he keeps tight and a swing that creates length through contact.
-Jake Cosart
Up and Coming Names
Of course these players are young and have their entire high school careers in front of them, but they're already taking advantage of their opportunities, including this event down in West Palm.
Mitchell Fernandez, OF, X Team 14U
We know Fernandez a bit from his strong showing on the circuit and at the 13U National, but his offensive showing in this event should trend him up in a big way. He hit .500 and was just all over the barrel, especially so in a big playoff game with a double and a triple that were game-tying and go-ahead respectively. It’s a fast bat, good hands, athleticism and so many other boxes that he checks at a young age that make him very intriguing as he’s only been 14 a few months.
Jose angel Medina, OF, South Charlotte Panthers
Medina is a young prospect from the Dominican who really stood out in his first PG event in West Palm Beach. He’s a physical left-handed hitting outfielder with a good approach as he has a lot of simplicity to the way he works offensively, but the strength in his hands allows him to really drive balls around the yard with minimal effort. There’s good components here, and as we see him play more on the national circuit, he’s sure to continue to trend into a known prospect.
Tyler Daugherty, IF, South Charlotte Panthers
Daugherty is another super interesting left-handed hitter for this Panthers group who hit over .300 and showed a lot of good things. It’s a quick bat from the left side and can spray liners all over the field, but it’s the overall body adjustments he makes to match plane paired with the swing itself that make him such an interesting young follow that could flourish into a big name.
Leonil De Leon, SS/RHP, 303 Twins Scout Team
De Leon was a pleasant surprise that emerged from the event as he swung it well overall with things to like at his size and age, but it was when he got on the mound that things swung upward quick as he came in up to 89 with a loose and pretty quick arm, showing that he can sink the fastball easy. He’s 6’2/170 with a lot of room to grow physically, making him a very interesting young follow also out of the Dominican, especially as things naturally clean up.
-Tyler Russo
Reed Osborne, OF, Dirtbags 14U National
Osbourne showed a lot of things to like along with very hitterish traits. The left-handed stick batted .417 on the tournament and flashed juice to pull side. He employs a mature approach and is capable of using all fields.
Emerson Morris, SS, Wow Faction Nation 14U
Morris swung it well and has a well-timed and athletic swing with quickness to the hands. The stroke is short, sweet, and very functional. The South Carolina native can also pick it in the dirt and is really intriguing all-around.
Dylan Murphy, SS, Top Tier Americans
Murphy batted .375 on the tournament and has impact potential in the bat. The 6-foot shortstop has length and uses a hands driven stroke with strength to them. The ball comes off well and the Indiana native is still just 13.
Max Boehm, RHP, Team Elite 14U
Boehm has a long 6-foot-1 frame and used a whippy arm to run the heater up to 80. He threw four 2/3 innings, allowing no earned runs. The slider pair well and is capable of missing bats. Boehm has good mound presence and got whiffs throughout the outing.
-Kyler Peterson
Owen Fouse (2029, Lake Mary, FL.) made a ton of hard contact leading to a .500 batting average at tournaments end. He has advanced bat speed for his age with an accurate barrel and good foundational traits to build on.
Cooper Bliss (2028, Lutz, FL.) punched out 9 in just 5 innings of work in his weekend start. Bliss uses his physicality to run the fastball up to 79 mph with young life to it. He also shows feel to spin a breaking ball and miss bats with it.
Chase Alonso (2028, Tiger, GA.) performed on the bump and in the box. The athletic two-way player threw a fastball that peaked at 81 mph and flashed some juice at the plate with a 1.127 OPS.
Grant Arnold (2028, Merritt Island, FL.) drove in seven runs for Canes National, including three loud triples off the bat. There are a lot of hitterish traits in the swing with good rhythm and timing and fast hands through the zone.
Eddie Pineiro Jr. (2028, Cherry Hill, NJ.) garnered all-tournament honors with a video game like .778 batting average. Pineiro stays super short to the ball with a linear path and is tough to beat in the box.
-Jake Cosart