Championship Sunday produced a pair of thrilling championship games, with CBA Marucci capturing the crown in both the Upperclass and Underclass divisions. 2015 outfielder Luke Williams (Dana Point, Calif.) crushed a walk-off grand slam to take home the upperclass title, while 2016 outfielder Dominic Fletcher (Cypress, Calif.) broke a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth with a double into the gap to lift the Underclass.

The championship and semifinals at USC's Dedeaux Field saw a number of highly talented underclassmen competing in highly intense games that allowed them to shine. Fletcher capped off the weekend with a strong finish, not only driving in the winning runs of the championship game, but also nailing down the save in the semfinal while topping out at 88 mph.

Co-MVP 2017 shortstop Nick Allen (San Diego, Calif.) put on a show defensively in the title game. He was the pivot man on a triple play in the second inning, turned two double plays and converted all seven defensive chances he had in the championship to go 17-for-17 on the weekend. He made plays on the move, to both sides, showed a quick release when necessary and was able to reach back for extra velocity when he had time. The championship game came down to stellar defensive play in a pitcher's duel that remained tied at one a piece deep into the sixth inning, and Allen set the tone.

Allen wasn't the only standout shortstop from the 2017 class in the championship game however. Drew Williams (Hollister, Calif.) moved over from second to shortstop as his double-play partner from the the semifinal game, 2016 Justin Sanders (Morgan Hill, Calif.), took the mound for the championship game and Williams made the most of the opportunity. Williams showed good range to both sides in the third inning, making consecutive plays while ranging deep each direction.

The first was on a sharply hit ball to his left, where he set his feet quickly and made a surprisingly strong throw off of his back foot with some carry to nail the runner at first. He proved it wasn't a fluke by quickly moving up the middle and getting to a ball behind the second base bag on the next batter and completed that play as well. He also has a smooth, low-effort lefthanded swing with a direct hand path and picked up a single to potentially spark a rally to finish the tournament 6-for-11. Sanders also delivered in the championship game, firing five innings of one-hit ball against a loaded CBA Marucci lineup and earned tournament Most Valuable Pitcher honors.

The biggest standout for CCB's underclass squad that made a run to the championship game was 2016 infielder Andrew Vaughn (Santa Rosa, Calif.). The Cal commit crushed a rising line drive that left center field in Dedeaux Field for what proved to be the game winning run of the semifinals before taking the mound and nailing down a four out save while topping out at 89 mph. His arm strength suited him well at third base when he wasn't on the mound during this tournament and he's seen time at second as well.

The champion CBA Marucci Underclass featured a very formidable lineup, and in the semifinals it was 2016 outfielder/first baseman Aaron Greenfield (Los Angeles, Calif.) who stood out amongst the talented bunch, drawing a pair of walks while going 1-for-2 with an RBI triple. He also made a spectacular save to complete the triple play during the championship game at first base, somehow managing to keep his foot on the bag while laying out to snare a wide throw with plenty of mustard on it.

2016 outfielder Josh Stephen (Chino Hills, Calif.) continued to show maturation as a hitter, staying back well on an off-speed pitch and driving it into left field in one at-bat, while also looking to unleash his pull power, getting under one for a loud out later in the same game.

While there was plenty of high velocity pitching on display, most glaringly exemplified by 2017 righthander Hans Crouse (Dana Point, Calif.), who ran his fastball up to 92 mph on Saturday, the most advanced present pitchabillity prospect of the weekend was 2015 righthander Noah Davis (Huntington Beach, Calif). Davis has touched 90 mph in the past and worked in the upper-80s in his start against the EJ Sports Warriors on Saturday, but it's the sharp running action to the arm side on his fastball that makes him so effective. He controls that run well, throwing 19 of his 27 fastballs for strikes despite working just off the corners and allowing the run to pull it back into the strike zone. He induced five ground balls and struck out a pair over three scoreless innings and didn't issue a walk. Davis showed the kind of polish that could potentially make him a candidate to win a spot in the weekend rotation as a freshman at UC Santa Barbara.

While PG's class of 2015-17 rankings already highlight most of the top players who were competing in the inaugural California World Series, the class of 2018 is beginning to emerge. There were a handful who stood out already while facing competition two years their senior.

2018 outfielder Jake Allred (San Diego, Calif.) of the San Diego Show has already established himself well after winning MVP honors at the 2014 14u PG/MLK Championship back in January. He also earned a highly impressive PG grade of 8 at the 2014 Sunshine West Showcase while running a sub 7.0 60-yard dash before ever setting foot on campus at Cathedral Catholic High School.

Allred has quick hands at the plate and a loose swing, and while he hasn't yet developed the strength to drive the ball out of the park, he has the underlying swing mechanics and quickness to grow into home run power, and he did lift a ball into deep right field with plenty of loft. He made good decisions at the plate, and while laying off pitcher's pitches put him behind 0-2 frequently in Saturday's action, he showed an idea how to adjust with two strikes and competed well while behind in those at-bats.

2018 outfielder Jake Renteria (Clovis, Calif.) doesn't possess the polished swing that Allred does, but he's already showing strength to drive the baseball when he's able to harness the leverage that his 6-foot-3 frame offers, and he's done so on a few occasions at PG events. He went 2-for-6 in the California World Series and crushed a ball to the wall on one hop at a big league spring training park earlier this summer at the WWBA West Memorial Day Classic.

Perhaps the most impressive 2018 graduate in attendance was middle infielder Brice Turang (Corona, Calif.). He sees the baseball well out of the pitcher's hand and consistently made the correct decisions on borderline pitches, seemingly recognizing the destination of breaking stuff immediately. He has a simple hand load and gets into position on time with a loose swing and impressive bat speed for his age and is already an average runner, getting down the line in 4.21 seconds on a swing. He has extensive experience in the outfield but played shortstop in this look where he showed a very quick release and read hops well.

There are still plenty of adjustments he can make to improve his game on both sides of the ball, but he's highly advanced for a high school freshman and a good athlete who projects well, giving him a chance to become of the top prospects in the 2018 class over the next few years.




There were several other players who stood out from a scouting standpoint despite playing in games that didn't have important playoff implications within the tournament.

2017 lefthander Noah Fluman (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) carved up Trosky Baseball in a consolation game, punching out nine batters in four innings and showing a projectable mix of a fastball that sat 81-83 with sharp downhill plane from an over-the-top arm slot with a long loose arm action, and paired it with a 68-69 mph 12-to-6 curveball with good spin. He also showed a sound lefthanded swing, and while he's thin and young right now, he has a chance to develop into a strong pitching prospect over the next few years.

2017 outfielder Matt Frazier (Fresno, Calif.) combined good athleticism with long strides and a strong arm in right field to impress defensively. He also showed a short, compact lefthanded swing hitting at the top of the CenCal order to produce well for them. His slash-and-run style of play can be valuable at the next level, though his size/strength projection/athleticism ratio suggests that as he gets older he'll be able to elongate his swing a bit to add doubles or better power to his game and become even more dangerous.

2017 infielder Jamal O'Guinn (Fresno, Calif.) is a big imposing young hitter who showed the ability to really sting the baseball. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder has the kind of frame that looks out of place at shortstop, and while his size suggests he's unlikely to stick at short, his hands worked well enough that with arm strength projection he could be a good fit at third base, where his power potential could still profile well above average.

2016 shortstop Will Proctor (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had an impressive showing on Saturday morning, crushing a double that one-hopped the wall in left field. He also make three different difficult plays on the run from shortstop where he utilized his long strides well and maintained control of his long levers.

Proctor's teammate, 2017 switch-hitting outfielder Johnny Deluca (Agoura Hills, Calif.), swung the bat very well from the left side, going 3-for-4 and showing very quick hands with a short, compact swing that allowed him to go with the pitch and send line drives all over the field while using his speed to stretch for an additional base.

2016 righthander Nolan Martinez (Culver City, Calif.) was effectively wild in the outing and showed big upside as a tall, lanky young hurler who touched 86 mph with a long loose arm action that projects well.

2016 catcher Erek Bolton (Elk Grove, Calif.) showed off big-time arm strength behind the plate in his PG debut. The physically imposing 6-foot-2, 200-pound catcher has plenty of strength in his swing as well and went out hunting fastballs in his game at-bats. While we didn't get to see the results, when he gets all of a ball it's pretty clear what those results would look like. He's fairly advanced as a receiver and the arm strength plays well, as he picked a runner off of first with an impressive back-pick time of 1.65 seconds and had several sub 2.0 pop times to second in between innings.

Bolton's teammate, 2017 first baseman Tate Soderstrom (Turlock, Calif.), also stood out, showing good extension out front in his swing and the ability to use the whole field. In his first at-bat he took an outside fastball to left field with a very clean stroke and followed it up with a loud fly ball down the left field line for a double that showed good leverage-oriented oppo juice.