On Saturday afternoon D.L. Hall (2017, Valdosta, Ga.) toed the rubber for the first time of the 16u BCS Finals tournament. Hall, a Florida State commit, is an athletic lefthanded pitcher that turned heads at the Junior National Showcase just under two weeks ago. Listed at 6-foot, 170-pounds Hall is not a particularly imposing figure, but his stuff is very loud. While he was not as crisp as he was in his two inning stint at Junior National, Hall still displayed a fastball up to 91 mph, living consistently in the upper-80s. He maintains a nice, deliberate pace in his delivery and works into a high leg lift before bursting to the plate with some late momentum and energy. At times he will spin out of his delivery and fall off to the third base side at release, but he’s such a good athlete that it is not always a hindrance to his command. He struggled a bit with a consistent release point on Saturday, and his fastball command was not as sharp as it has been in the past, but Hall competed very well and showed good confidence in his curveball. The mid-70s breaking ball is a true weapon when it’s located, and the offering flashes good depth and late bite. Hall showed an aptitude to alter the tilt on the pitch with the curveball showing 1-to-7 shape at times and more sweeping break and gloveside finish in other instances.




James Marinan (2017, Boynton Beach, Fla.) is yet another physically imposing member of the Easton Rockets. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound righthanded pitcher and corner infielder has a strong, sturdy build. With a loose arm stroke that is a bit shorter on the backside, Marinan hides the ball pretty well in his delivery. His arm works well and gets through the path quickly where he works to a three-quarters arm slot. The rising junior showed the ability to repeat his delivery well, although at times his front side could open up a bit early. Regardless, Marinan was able to pound the strike zone effectively with his fastball, which consistently sat in the 84-86 mph range and touched 88 mph a handful of times. While he relied heavily on his fastball, Marinan flashed a quality upper-70s changeup. He maintained good arm speed on the offering which showed some fade and dive at the bottom of the strike zone. He also flashed developing feel for a low-70’s breaking ball with 11-to-5 shape. Marinan also shows some potential at the plate, as he shows some bat speed, strength, and an aggressive swing from the right side.




Kristofer Armstrong (2018, Jupiter, Fla.) turned in yet another solid performance on Saturday. After some of his exploits were noted after the first day of the tournament, the 6-foot-3, 185-pound switch hitter excelled again at the plate. Hitting from the left side, Armstrong roped two doubles on the day, both solid line drives into the right-center field gap. Additionally, Armstrong came on in relief of Marinan, and while he’s listed as a switch-pitcher, he worked exclusively from the right side on Saturday. With a traditional, hands-over-head windup, Armstrong shows a good rhythm in his delivery and displays a looseness and ease to his arm action. Delivering from a three-quarters arm slot, Armstrong generates natural tailing action or arm-side run to his fastball, and while there is some effort and energy at release, he’s still able to stay online to the plate and maintain solid balance. His heater mainly sat in the 85-87 mph range, but in the early going Armstrong worked more consistently in the 86-88 range, bumping 89 a couple of times. Like Marinan, Armstrong used his fastball often—a smart choice given its effectiveness—but he did flash a few curveballs in the low-70s, which displayed 11-to-5 shape and decent depth. Just a rising sophomore, Armstrong shows big-time potential on both sides of the ball and he’s already on the radar of college coaches and area scouts.

Tarik Latchmansingh (2017, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.), who like Armstrong, was already mentioned in a previous recap, hit a home run into the power alley in left-center field. The righthanded hitter has easy plus strength and has a good weight transfer at the plate.

Outfielder and first baseman Jared Turner (2017, Tuckahoe, N.Y.) and catcher/outfielder Brett Holtz (2017, White Plains, N.Y.) are both intriguing players from New York state. The DB Hawks teammates flashed some interesting hitting tools. Turner, a 6-foot, 190-pound righthanded hitter has a large, athletic frame with a sturdy build and he roped a single through the left side. Holtz, a long, lean lefthanded hitter has some present strength in his 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame, but he projects to add even more muscle and athleticism at maturity. He also struck a single to his pull side and worked a walk. Jason Wolfthal (2016, Elmsford, N.Y.) threw a four inning no-hitter in the DB Hawks’ victory. Wolfthal threw a lot of strikes with his 78-82 mph fastball and flashed a solid 65-68 mph curveball with good depth and sharp 11-to-5 break.

Parker Pillsbury (2018, Inverness, Fla.) has a large, well-proportioned and projectable 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame. The primary outfielder also pitches, and he came on in relief for the GCBA Black Sox on Saturday. Pillsbury has broad shoulders and a wide back to go along with his strong, sturdy build, so while he currently has some present strength, he should be able to add tack on more muscle as he continues to mature. Working from a higher arm slot, Pillsbury has some natural funk and deception in his delivery. While his fastball sat in the 79-82 mph range, the pitch flashed some life down in the strike zone and should be an effective pitch with more refined command and some additional strength. Pillsbury also flashed two serviceable off-speed pitches in a low-70s changeup with slight fade and a mid-60s breaking ball with some depth and three-quarters tilt.

Justin Bryan (2018, Palm City, Fla.) is another interesting lefthanded pitcher. Like Pillsbury, the All American Prospects 16u pitcher, only made a brief cameo in relief, but Bryan had a deceptive delivery with later hand separation and a whippy arm action working to a three-quarters arm slot. While he still has some pieces to iron out in his delivery and could incorporate his lower half more consistently, Bryan has good arm speed and flashed the ability to throw his 81-84 mph fastball for strikes to both sides of the plate.

Another All American Prospects 16u player, Zach Young (2018, Sebastian, Fla.) showed off serious defensive chops at shortstop. The rising sophomore displayed good range to both his left and right side and has advanced footwork and body control. He made a number of quality defensive plays. To go along with his soft hands, smooth actions and good instincts, Young worked through the ball well and consistently fired over strong and accurate throws across the diamond.