3/24/2015 11:39:06 AM
Those involved in the inner circles of baseball or who are passionate about the game understand the title of this article. For those who don’t the first use of the word “heat” refers to the large amount of scouts who gathered behind the backstop throughout the games Monday morning and afternoon. With teams coming from all over the West Coast and spring training happening simultaneously, scouts and directors are given the opportunity to see several top players for the upcoming draft in one spot. The other two uses of “heat” are a little more self explanatory as Monday marked the first day of week two, meaning all teams are fresh and usually send their top arms to the mound, often lighting up the radar guns. And it’s the beginning of spring in Arizona, a state know for their sun and Monday was no different with temperatures hovering around 90 degrees and felt even hotter.
Whenever a “pop-up” player begins making noise early in the spring, scouts are sure to catch as many starts as they can, making up for lost time and gain as much knowledge on a player as they can. The term pop-up often refers to a player who has come onto the national scene after being relatively unknown outside their immediate area. And it’s not to say that Quartz Hill senior right-hander Jonas Wyatt was a complete unknown by any means as he had already accepted a scholarship to San Diego State University but it is safe to say his stuff on the mound has taken a step forward since last spring.
A strongly built 6-foot-2 frame with broad shoulders and a long, physical upper-half, Wyatt began making noise early in the spring at a showcase in Compton where he was up to 94 mph. As the starts continued, his stuff also continued to improve and yesterday was no different. With a solid crowd of scouts looking on to what might be the hardest throwing matchup of pitchers this entire high school season, Wyatt set the tone as his Quartz Hill team was home and took the field first.
With a high three-quarter slot and a compact arm action in the back, Wyatt came out and sat 94-95 mph with his fastball, throwing a total of nine fastballs; seven of them clocked in at 94 mph and the other two at 95. In the second inning Wyatt took it a tick high, touching 96 mph with his first pitch of the inning before pitching the rest of the second in the 93-95 mph range. The ball leaves Wyatt’s hand cleanly without much effort and with his high release he is able to generate solid downhill plane to both sides of the plate when he stays on top of the ball.
A couple of defensive miscues to the first two batters of the third inning forced Wyatt to work from the stretch where he continued to show premium velocity. Just as he began the game doing, Wyatt continued to pound the zone with all his offerings and got himself out of the inning unscathed.
His fastball shows very nice run to him arm side showing the ability to get in to left-handed hitters, something that helped make his changeup become that much more of an effective pitch. Maintaining his arm speed and release on his changeup while mimicking his fastball out of his hand, Wyatt’s changeup is already an above average offering in the 83-86 mph with late fading and diving action. The pitch serves as his put away offering, generating more empty swings with it than contact. He also flashed a solid 11-5 curveball in the mid-70s, though he went mostly fastball-changeup, generating consistent ground ball contact.
Wyatt began to tire towards the end of his outing but he had a strong overall showing, continuously missing bats with both his fastball-changeup combo and continued to open eyes early in the 2015 season.
Though only a junior, Key West right-hander Gregory Veliz is a Perfect Game veteran, playing in several summer season tournaments with the Elite Squad based out of Miami along with participating in several showcases. Seeing Veliz for the last couple of years, we at Perfect Game have been able to watch as the University of Miami commit makes strides to his overall game and yesterday was another stepping stone.
Up to 95 mph in the past at Perfect Game events, we were told Veliz was touching 96s this spring and it’s safe to say he more than just touched it over the first three innings on Monday. Over those three frames the broad and very athletic Veliz sat 94-96 mph, only once “dipping” to 93 mph while pounding the ball down to the knees on either side of the plate. His arm action is long and fluid coming through the backside and he creates solid angle on his fastball from the third base side, only adding to the discomfort of digging in to face him. Veliz’s fastball featured last run to his arm side and showed riding life when he was threw up in the zone.
Up until the fifth inning Veliz carried a perfect game before plunking a hitter with his curveball and then lost the no-hitter as the ball snuck through the 5-6 hole for a single. In fact, that single was the only ball to leave the infield during his time on the mound. At one point he struck out five in a row, using his hard 11-5 curveball up to 78 mph to finish off at-bats, and struck out eight of eleven in one stretch. The future Hurricane works quickly on the mound and attacks hitters with his fastball, generating plus velocity without much effort. It wasn’t until the fourth inning that Veliz showed his changeup, the lone one he threw in the outing, coming across at 87 mph to a left-handed hitter.
Seniors
Anthony Henriquez and
Brandon Presley put good swings on a Wyatt offering as neither appeared to be intimidated by his high-octane stuff. Presley recorded Key West’s first hit of the game, dropping the barrel on an inside 94 mph fastball over the left fielder’s head for a standup double. Henriquez is a quicker twitch athlete who moves well on his feet and showed off solid speed accelerating from first to third on his triple that he lined down the right field line.
Just by looking at West Linn senior right-hander Karsen Lindell you can tell he’s going to show you something special on them mound given his long, youthful 6-foot-2, broad shouldered build. Watching the pre-game bullpen adds to that notion and watching his first inning on the mound only confirms everything you previously thought.
With a full, fluid arm action and a high release, the future Washington Huskie showed limited effort en route to producing a consistent low-90s fastball with downhill life, peaking at 93 mph early in the outing. Early in the game he tried mixing frequently, showing a full four pitch mix but once he began pitching off his fastball he began missing bats. Showing a quick arm and easy to repeat mechanics, Lindell is the type of arm that you can look at and say “yeah, he’s going to throw even harder in the very near future”. Living comfortably in the 89-91 mph range throughout, often times touching 92 mph, Lindell was able to generate nice running action to his arm side with occasional heavy life while showing the ability to work both sides of the plate.
As for the off speed, Lindell shows potential with all three of his additional pitches, including a changeup, curveball, and slider. His changeup shows solid potential, thrown consistently in the low-80s while creating late fading action down in the zone. Of his two breaking balls, it was the curveball that Lindell threw more often showing 11-5 shape with depth in the 75-78 mph and projects for even more. Rounding out the arsenal is his slider, a pitch he flashed in the mid-80s and like everything else, showed a feel for the pitch even in the limited amount of showings.
Though only a sophomore, West Linn’s shortstop Tim Tawa shows actions beyond his years up the middle and projects to only get stronger over the next two and a half years. With Lindell pounding down in the strike zone and producing ground balls, Tawa seemed to be a magnet for the ball and like clockwork Tawa would make the play, regardless if hit at him or to either side. The Stanford University commit shows solid arm strength across and it’s only going to continue to develop as he fills out his still growing 5-foot-11 frame. Tawa handles the bat well at the top of West Linn’s lineup too, picking up a line drive single through the 5-6 hole in his third trip to the plate yesterday afternoon. And just to confirm Tawa’s athleticism he was named the 2014 Gatorade Player of the Year in football after throwing for nearly 3,000 yards as West Linn’s starting quarterback.
With a good-looking, athletic build who stands around 6-foot-1, junior middle infielder Daryl Myers dug right in for his first at-bat against Lindell. Going to the plate with a plan, Myers jumped on an early pitch, showing a smooth and fluid stroke on a ball that landed in the right-center field gap for a standup double. It caught the attention of everybody on the field as he was later intentionally walked with a runner on second base late in the game.
Senior right-hander Bryce Dietz took the ball opposite of Lindell in Monday morning’s matchup and Dietz did what he had to do to help his team come out on top over a strong West Linn lineup. Uncommitted per his Perfect Game profile, the Rock Canyon senior did a nice job of living in the low to mid-80s over the course of the game, working low to his glove side with plenty of late sink and run. With movement like that it’s expected he would get lots of ground ball contact and he did just that. Standing 6-foot, 180-pounds with broad shoulders and a compact arm action, Dietz did a nice job of filling up the zone while mixing in a 12-6 curveball in the mid-70s.
Last year Tualatin senior right-hander Karter Cook was featured in the Coach Bob blog and within the write up it was mentioned how he had made a comfortable jump from the low-80s to the mid-80s. Well it’s been another year and the Air Force commit has made another jump in terms of velocity. With an up-tempo and deceptive delivery, Cook worked comfortably in the 85-88 mph, showing solid cutting action on the pitch with the ability to locate well to his glove side once he settled in. The strongly built, 6-foot-4, 210-pound Cook did a nice job of consistently mixing in his 76-79 mph slider, a pitch that showed late life away from right-handed hitters and flashed a changeup at 78 mph.
-Jheremy Brown
Legend (CO) vs. Sherwood (OR)
-The main draw for the 30+ pro scouts on hand for this matchup was, obviously, Legend outfielder Greg Pickett, the #27 overall prospect in the Class of 2015. It may have been a somewhat quiet day offensively for the left-handed slugger, but that doesn't mean he didn't show some things. He showed off his above-average throwing arm from right field on a few occasions, and showed better athleticism than given credit for when running down fly balls and running out batted balls. He turned in a 4.31 dig on what ended up being an E4, not exactly a burner but certainly solid speed for a power hitting prospect who stands 6’4” and weighs in around 220-230 pounds.
-Legend senior left-hander Justin Wick showed some interesting stuff. The slender lefty pitches from a sidearm slot and generates good arm speed with relatively loose action. He slings his fastball in the 80-82 range, working down in the zone, and absolutely dominating left-handed hitters by riding his fastball in on their hands. Showed a solid slider in the 68-71 range, obviously with more horizontal break than vertical break, but it did show some tilt at times.
Bentonville (AR) vs. Chatfield (CO)
-Bentonville starting pitcher Kasey Ford made a serious impression on Monday from the moment he took the mound through his final pitch of the game. First of all, he’s simply massive. Standing 6’6” and weighing in around 250-260, he intimidates opponents by simply walking onto the field. His stuff is pretty good too, however, His arm works pretty well and his delivery in general comes with a good amount of ease. He was up to 90 a few times, settled in around 86-88, and just pounded the bottom of the zone with hard sink and life to arm side. His command is a bit looser at present, but the junior right-hander showed the ability to throw consistent strikes with both his fastball and curveball. The curveball shows as an impressive pitch, working 72-75 with very tight spin, excellent shape, and the ability to throw for strikes and as a chase pitch. He flashed some feel for a changeup but more or less scrapped the offering when he realized he didn't need it on this day. The combination of size, ease of delivery, consistency of mechanics, and overall stuff was very impressive.
Fayetteville (AR) vs. Valley Vista (AZ)
-We’ve covered him before in this blog, but Fayetteville senior righty Andy Pagnozzi just continues to show why he’s going to be a major contributor in college from the very moment he steps on campus in the fall. He was as consistent as consistent can be on Monday, working 87-89 consistently, reaching back for 90 a few times when needed, and showing an incredibly advanced feel for pitching. He throws two curveballs, one more 12/6 and a touch slower at 70-73; and one more 11/5 with more horizontal break and a little less vertical break, this one thrown a bit harder at 73-76. He pounded the zone with all 3 pitches, repeating his mechanics as well as you’ll see a high school prospect do so, and keeping opposing hitters off balance with relative ease. Whenever he allowed a baserunner, he pretty much immediately was erased on a double play. It was a very good performance, and one that was enjoyable to watch.
-Fayetteville senior catcher Grant Koch had an excellent day as well. In Game 1 vs. Valley Vista, he hit a long home run to LF after waiting back extremely well on a breaking ball; then followed that up in his next at bat by tripling down the RF line on a fastball that was probably 2-3 inches off the plate away. He really is an excellent hitter, with a whole-field approach that doesn't sap any of his power, patience, approach, and feel for the barrel. He popped a 2.0 time to 2nd base, and showed times consistently in that range during warm ups as well.
-Valley Vista senior Terrance Robertson has been talked about in this spot before, but he warrants further discussion based on what he did on Monday. First off, he started on the mound for the Monsoon. Despite not having the results he wanted, he showed some ability to be a college prospect as a pitcher, working consistently in the 82-85 range, touching 87, and doing it all from a relatively easy, albeit raw, delivery and mechanical profile. His command and breaking ball were inconsistent, but the rawness of the profile combined with his natural arm strength and athleticism on the mound make his profile as a left-handed pitcher an intriguing one, at the very least. He still hit leadoff, and went 1-3 with a bunt single. On that bunt single, he turned in a 3.64 time down the line. This time was confirmed with 3 scouts who were attendance, as they had 3.67, 3.63, and 3.70. That’s insanely fast, but that’s nothing new from Terrance Robertson.
Fayetteville (AR) vs. Chatfield (CO)
-Fayetteville senior righty Joey Boushelle took the mound for the Bulldogs, and was impressive. He’s a very long, lanky, and highly projectable prospect; standing 6’6” and weighing around 200 pounds. He works with a shorter stride delivery, but does an excellent job of getting downhill and generating plane to the plate from his XL height. He has excellent arm speed, and combined with the projectability of his body as well as the general simplicity of his mechanics, I believe he has lots of projection as far as velocity gains going forward. He worked 88-90 early, settling in around 86-89 and still touching 90 in the 4th-5th innings. The fastball shows hard, nasty sink when Boushelle really gets on top of the pitch; and for the most part he was able to locate it down in the zone and to both arm and glove side. He consistently pitched “away” from hitters, locating his fastball to both sides, depending on the handedness of the hitter at the plate. He worked with just a FB/SL for the entirely of his outing, and showed legitimate college and professional projection on both pitches. He showed the ability to manipulate the break of his slider, showing a harder one with more tilt in the 76-78 velocity band; and one with a bit less tilt and more shape but not quite a “slurve” in the 73-75 velocity band. On the whole, it was a very impressive start for the Kansas State commit.
-Brian Sakowski