In
the second day of games of the 16u BCS Finals in Fort Myers, Team
Elite Prime 16u lived up to their name with a 12-0 victory in the
early morning time slot.
One
day after big righty and Junior National Showcase participant
Nicholas Storz (2017,
Brooklyn, N.Y.) took the mound for Team Elite Prime,
Justin Bullock (2017,
Creedmoor, N.C.) toed the rubber. A North Carolina State
pledge, Bullock also participated in the Junior National Showcase
just over 10 days ago. On Friday morning the 6-foot-1, 180-pound
righthander showed good feel for his delivery, repeating well and
displaying solid athleticism and balance up to release. Working from
a higher three-quarters arm slot, Bullock showed good life and
downhill plane on his fastball, which sat comfortably in the 85-88
mph range and topped out at 89. He also worked in a quality
curveball in the low-70’s that flashed late 11-to-5 break and good
bite.
After
his team jumped out to a healthy lead, Bullock ceded the mound to
teammate Will Sprinkle (2017,
Rural Hall, N.C.) after two solid innings. Sprinkle, a
primary shortstop, has an athletic build and shows good burst and
drive down the mound with a deeper release point. The Wake Forest
commit also does a good job of hiding the ball in his delivery, so
the ball really jumps on hitters. His 82-85 mph fastball showed
big-time life and arm-side run and was a quality offering. Sprinkle
also showed developing feel for a low-70s breaking ball.
Two
of the more well-known position players on Team Elite Prime,
outfielder Pat DeMarco and shortstop/second baseman Ivan
Johnson, both performed well today.
DeMarco (2017, Staten Island, N.Y.), a Junior National Showcase
participant, was hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance, but
the righthanded hitter showed off his quick hands and strength in
ripping a double past the third baseman in his second (and final)
plate appearance of the game. Johnson (2017, Atlanta, Ga.),
who is a very good athlete and also a switch-hitter, hit a double of
his own in the game. Hitting from the left side the University of
Georgia commit lead off the game with a line drive over the head of
the opposing center fielder, and while he lined out and flew out in
his next two plate appearances, Johnson showed off a mature approach,
quality bat speed and a mature hitting approach.
Kalen
Puckett (2017, Thomaston, Ga.)
also impressed at the plate. The righthanded hitting middle
infielder roped two doubles, one to right-center field and the other
more towards true right field. At 5-foot-10, 165-pounds, the
Thomaston, Georgia native is a compactly built athlete, and he has
very good hands and a quiet weight transfer that allowed him to stay
balanced and work to the opposite field with some power.
Sam
Hall (2017, Hampstead, N.C.)
also showed well on Friday morning. Hall, also a Junior National
Showcase participant, is an extremely projectable 6-foot-2, 185-pound
outfielder. He performed well at the showcase event, with an
impressive batting practice, a 6.87 60-yard dash time and registering
88 mph from the outfield in defensive workouts. The righthanded
hitting Hall took aggressive swings in all three of his plate
appearances on Friday morning, displaying very quick hands,
impressive bat speed and an easy rhythm in the batter’s box.
Finally,
Tyler Keenan (2017, Clayton,
N.C.), yet another Junior National Showcase participant on the
Team Elite Prime 16U squad, went 2-for-3 with two doubles on the day.
The lefthanded hitter has easy strength and bat speed in his
6-foot-3, 205-pound frame, and like many of his other teammates he
displayed good balance and confidence at the plate.
Suncoast
Select Old Hickory’s Corey Mills
(2017, Spring Hill, Fla.) is a solid athlete with intriguing
potential. Mills is still filling out and growing into his 6-foot,
175-pound frame, and the rising junior showed off easy arm strength
across the diamond. He was clocked as high as 88 mph off of the
mound earlier this month at the 16u WWBA National Championship
Qualifier, and after seeing him make a couple throws from third base
in game action it is easy to see why.
A
few of Mills’ teammates also stood out. Christopher Williams
(2017, St. Petersburg, Fla.) hit a home run to left field.
The shortstop is a good athlete with some present strength and bat
speed who should project well as he continues to add strength and
gain more experience. Justin Chevalier
(2017, Spring Hill, Fla.) is a compactly-built athlete that
plays the game with a lot of energy. Chevalier displayed good feel
for the barrel in driving a ball over the head of the left fielder
and aggressive baserunning in turning the base hit into a triple.
Zach
Williams (2017, Marietta, Ga.)
of 643 DP Cougars Sterling has some interesting tools on both sides
of the ball. On the mound, the lefty has a loose armstroke and a
well-paced, balanced and online delivery that he is able to repeat
well. Williams worked comfortably in the low-80s, touching 84 mph
throughout his four-plus innings. His fastball had good life and
arm-side run, and Williams displayed solid command of the pitch. He
also showed developing feel for a low-70s changeup, doing well to
deliver the offering with similar arm speed as the fastball, and a
quality breaking ball with 1-to-7 shape and good depth. The breaking
ball in particular showed the makings of a good pitch because while
it was thrown in the 63-66 mph range, it had tighter rotation and
flashed some late bite. Williams was also the leadoff man in the
batting lineup, and he had two hits—one a single back up the middle
that ricocheted off of the pitcher’s glove, and one a bunt single
down the third base line. On the bunt single, Williams clocked in at
4.09, a plus-run time from the lefthand side.
Jack
Ferguson (2017, Atlanta, Ga.)
is also a primary pitcher who may have the opportunity to play
both ways at the next level. The compactly-built, 5-foot-10,
165-pound athlete has a lean, slender build with room to get stronger
as he continues to mature. While he didn’t pitch on Friday, he did
show off a sweet swing from the left side and a willingness to use
the entire field on a single to left field.
Finally,
Sean Mootrey (2017, Atlanta,
Ga.) is a physical 6-foot-3, 225-pound rising junior with an
imposing figure at the plate. The righthanded hitter, who is a
primary catcher that also pitches and plays the infield, smoked a
double into deep left-center field. The ball carried very well and
Mootrey displayed an ability to backspin the baseball.
Over
at Dunbar High School there were rumblings as Chain National’s
Anthony Locey (2016,
Columbus, Ga.) took to the mound. Perfect Game staff member
Matt Czechanski was on hand and reported that Locey—a class of 2016
and Georgia Southern commit—worked his fastball up to 95 mph,
sitting in the 90-93 mph range. That lines up well with what Locey
showed last week when he sat in the 91-94 mph range at the National
Showcase. Locey will most likely pitch again later in the tournament,
as Chain National are now 2-0 in the competition and with their
talented roster they look like they are on their way to advancing
from pool play and into the playoffs.