GBG Marucci Navy attracted a large group of college coaches for their first game against Mountain Lions and are sure to be one of the most heavily scouted teams at the event. They didn't disappoint, putting up a 12-run fourth inning to run rule the Lions 13-1 in a game that was actually very competitive for three frames.

GBG's third baseman Spencer Steer (2016, Long Beach, Calif.) was the MVP of the EvoShield Upperclass Championships and the 39th ranked player overall in the 2016 class. His raw bat speed stands out, along with his very aggressive approach at the plate. There is no mistake that the righthanded hitter is looking to drive the ball to the pull side, especially early in the count. He had a quality at-bat against Lions' righthander Tommy Lowe (2017, Glendale, Ariz.) in his first at-bat, ending up flying out deep to left-center field after fouling off several fastballs with big swings. Steer walked on four pitches and was hit by the first pitch in his only two other at-bats this game.

Shortstop Ben Baird (2016, Agoura Hills, Calif.) was the hitting star for GBG, going 3-for-3 with three RBI and showing some bat speed of his own. Center fielder Jordan Prendiz (2016, Visalia, Calif.) did his thing from the top of the order, knocking in a pair of runs with a double, drawing a walk and running a 4.26-second home-to-first time from the left side of the batter's box on a ground out to second base. Prendiz is a UCLA commit with a slashing lefthanded swing that has some gap power and a lead off hitter's ability to work counts and see lots of pitches every at bat.

Lowe was the reason the game stayed close for three innings and likely had the attention of the 15-20 college coaches that were there the entire time before he tired in the fourth and left early that inning. The righthander is listed at 6-foot-1, 140-pounds and that looks like an accurate listing. He has an unusual delivery with a full stop in the middle of his windup and an arm that is loose and clean coming through. Lowe pitched in the 81-84 mph range with his fastball with lots of cutting action and worked the glove side corner well with that cut. There were a few times when he could have picked up an out, and possibly a broken bat, with a nice 4-seamer fastball on the inside corner as he had hitter's leaning outside but he'll learn that with experience and confidence. He also spun a rare breaking ball pretty well, although from a slightly slower release point.

Righthander Brandon Moore (2016, Whittier, Calif.) picked up the win for GBG with three innings of good work featuring an 84-86 mph downhill fastball from a long and loose over the top arm action. He's a big and strong 6-foot-1, 190-pound athlete who should continue to pick up velocity given his size and the looseness of his arm.

One of the most interesting pitchers I saw all day is actually listed as a primary third baseman. Southern California Bombers' Jacob Castillo (2016, Glendora, CA) threw the first three innings of the Bombers 9-0 win over the Slammers Asnicar and was very efficient doing so, throwing only 36 pitches while striking out four hitters. Castillo pitched in the 84-87 mph range and showed precise command of his fastball to both sides of the plate. His 71-74 mph curveball had hard tight spin and his 74 mph changeup had quality and life as well. Hitters this age are really going to have a tough time with his ability to mix three quality pitches in the strike zone.

Second baseman and righthanded pitcher Cole Bellinger (2017, Chandler, AZ) is the younger brother of Cody Bellinger, the Dodgers fourth round pick in 2013 draft who hit .328-3-34 in the Pioneer League this summer. Cole certainly has the young Bellinger build, as he's listed at 6-foot, 160-pounds and looks tall and slender in his uniform. Although he went 1-for-3 at the plate with a run and an RBI in the SCBC Huskies 8-4 win over Lamorinda Showcase, Bellinger's primary role was as a pitcher, as he threw five innings, allowing only three hits and a single run. His arm is very loose and easy and projects very well, with a fastball that was presently 78-81 mph to go with a nice big breaking curveball.

Any tournament with 80 teams is bound to have some interesting team names and one that caught the eye immediately was Lasorda University, made up of players from the Phoenix area. To no surprise veteran Dodgers scout and executive Logan White organized the team in honor of long-time Dodgers Manager Tommy Lasorda, and the team features White's son Logan Jr. (2017, Gilbert, Ariz.), a catcher and first baseman, on its 15-player roster. Lasorda U. went 0-1-1 yesterday, dropping its first game to Aggies Baseball 5-3 before coming back to tie GBC Orange County later 4-4. White went 1-for-3 with a run scored in the first game and 0-for-1 with a pair of walks in the second game.

The biggest draw of the day at Camelback Ranch was the defending champions SACSN National opening up pool play against the AZ Heat in the first time slot of the tournament. SACSN flexed their muscle early and rolled to a 10-0 mercy rule shortened opening victory to start their title defense. The standout in their slugfest was 2016 shortstop Nick Quintana (Las Vegas, Nev.), who went 2-for-3 with a bases loaded double off the end of the bat to deep right-center, and a hustle double on what would've otherwise been a single to left-center. Quintana was arguably the top prospect to take the field in any of the four time slots at Camelback Ranch featuring a highly advanced offensive profile combined with high level defensive tools including a plus arm at short. He has been covered thoroughly on this site to date and will likely be discussed in this space again as the tournament progresses.

The game ended on a walk-off strike em out-throw em out double play with 2016 catcher Tyler Duval (Lebanon, Ohio) nailing a runner at second base throwing from his knees. At the plate the Vanderbilt commit went 1-for-2 with a double and a run scored and was also hit by a pitch. 2016 catcher and righthanded pitcher Logan Boyer (Chandler, Ariz.) got the start on the mound for SACSN and threw three shutout innings, working 84-87 to earn the win while also going 1-for-3 with a two-run double at the plate, and he also scored a run.

The pitching prospect who really opened eyes in the day's second time slot at Camelback Ranch was 2017 righthander Zach Chalmers (San Ramon, Calif.), who got the start for the North Coast Reds. The young righthander worked 84-86 mph with good sink and showed decent feel to each side of the plate and paired his fastball with a 12-to-6 curveball that sat 72-74 with good shape. Chalmers has added four mph to his fastball over the course of the summer since playing a significant role on the Reds' 16u WWBA West Memorial Day Championship run on the same fields in late May.




The final time slot of the day featured one of the favorites on paper to contend for the 2014 title in CBA Marucci 2017. But as their matchup with Warriors Baseball Academy 2018 proved, championships are won on the field and not on paper. CBA was held in check by 2018 lefthander Sasha Sneider (Peoria , Ariz.) who topped out at 83 mph and worked upper-70s to low-80s with an idea how to pitch. CBA was trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the sixth with two outs and a runner on second until cleanup hitting outfielder and first baseman Aaron Greenfield (2016, Los Angeles, Calif.) came through with a clutch RBI triple (see the video below) to pull even, and ultimately allow CBA to dodge an opening day loss.




Shortstop Nick Allen (2017, Valhalla, Calif.) debuted prominently in the recently release PG Class of 2017 prospect rankings, coming in at No. 13 in the country in the first edition of the class rankings. Like the rest of his CBA Marucci 2017 teammates he had a fairly quiet day at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a single, but he did make one standout defensive play that he has become well known for.




Another pitcher who stood out at Camelback Ranch was 2017 lefthander Cole Farese (Tustin, Calif.) who is currently a slender 5-foot-11, 150-pounds and topped out at 82 mph, but his long loose arm action and low effort delivery project well and his upper-60s curveball showed good shape.

2017 catcher Blake Hunt (Costa Mesa, Calif.) has a long frame that isn't typical of a catching prospect but he controls his levers well and utilizes them to create leverage at the plate. He showed good all around projection and is an interesting young under the radar player.