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2016 righthander Zach Linginfelter may not have had the most consistent outing on Thursday morning, but the stuff that he flashed could certainly make him worthy of first-round consideration next June. Sporting a 6-foot-4, 225-pound workhorse frame and build, Lingenfelter worked at 92-94 and touched 95 mph with his fastball in the first two innings, painting it at the knees to both sides of the plate with a little bit of sink, and just dominated with the pitch. Complementing the fastball was a slider that showed legitimate plus potential early on, but lacked overall consistency and feel throughout the outing. At it's best, it’s a hard pitch with two-plane break, deception and tight spin that can either be thrown for a strike or buried down out of the zone as a chase pitch. Using those two pitches, Linginfelter cruised through the first two innings without a problem. He ran into a bit of an issue in the third and beyond, noticeably struggling when pitching from the stretch. However, he certainly flashed enough plus stuff—both on Thursday and at the PG National—to warrant potential first-round buzz.

Hugh Fisher of the Dulin Dodgers 17u took the mound in relief on Thursday and was impressive. Fisher is a long, lean and highly projectable 2017 lefthander with a very long and very easy arm action. He throws from an extended high three-quarters slot with quality downhill plane, working his fastball in the 86-88 range with plenty of projection for more velocity as he continues to fill out his 6-foot-4, 175-pound frame. His feel for the changeup stood out, and though it didn't have a big velocity differential from his fastball, it still was quite deceptive with action that mimicked the fastball well out of his hand and some fade to the arm side. He’s certainly one to watch moving forward.

2016 lefthander Cole Ragans of the Scorpions Prime has been talked about before in these recaps, but he threw again in the playoffs on Thursday and deserves to be mentioned again. Generating excellent angle and plane, Ragans worked at 89-92 mph with his fastball and missed 17 bats with that pitch alone. It’s a really tough pitch to pick up out of his hand, and when combined with the extension and plane he creates, makes it seem a legitimate amount faster to the hitter. That led to 14 strikeouts in just five innings. With the high-end physical projection he has, it’s easy to project him to gain even more velocity moving into next spring and eventually the 2016 MLB Draft.

We cannot possibly do a recap of Thursday’s action without mentioning Rylan Thomas of Elite Squad Prime 17u. After hitting a home run early in the day, Thomas then hit a walkoff three-run shot to advance Elite Squad to the quarterfinals. Then, in the quarterfinal game, he homered again early on, giving him three for the day, before delivering yet another walkoff hit to send Elite Squad to the semifinals against CBA Marucci, to be played on Friday morning. Thomas is a big, physical third base prospect with plus raw power and a swing geared to do damage all over the zone. Generating very good bat speed with natural loft and good plate coverage, he’s a threat to leave the yard whenever he steps into the box.

After an impressive showing earlier in the week, 2016 lefthander Jesus Luzardo delivered another outstanding performance for Elite Squad Prime when it mattered most. After showing a solid fastball in the 89-92 range with a quality slider earlier this week, Luzardo took another step forward on Thursday afternoon, ramping his heater all the way up to 93-94 with above average command, and showing an even better slider than before, rounding out his arsenal with a quality changeup that projects to be a very good third pitch for him. Pounding the zone consistently with all three pitches, Luzardo showed the ability to miss bats all over the zone with those three pitches as well. Perhaps most impressive, however, was his overall feel for pitching, which allowed him the wherewithal to throw sliders in 3-1 counts and changeups in 3-2 counts. In those situations, he was able to escape nearly any kind of danger he found himself in. It’s hard to argue that any player has done more this week to raise their national stock than Luzardo.




2017 shortstop Nick Allen of CBA Marucci is another name we at Perfect Game have known for quite some time, and he hasn't disappointed this week. With a very simple approach to hitting, Allen has a swing that is geared for hard, line drive contact all over the zone and as a result, all over the field. He’s patient with a very advanced understanding of the strike zone and is more than willing to take a walk. Aside from hitting, Allen is a highly athletic defender with instinctive shortstop tools, making plays to both sides with good range and more than enough arm to stick on that side of the field at the next level. He’s a very heady player overall, and one who is certainly in the conversation for early round potential in the 2017 MLB Draft.

– Brian Sakowski




Mason Studstill (2016, Titusville, Fla.) showed off some big natural raw power at last month’s National Showcase and on Thursday he displayed some strong potential off of the mound. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound righthander ran his fastball up to 91 mph on Thursday. The Miami commit has strength in his body with some definition and thickness to his lower half. Studsill sits back and gathers on the back side of his delivery and uses his lower half pretty well to drive out to the plate. He has a longer arm action and it works just fine up to a high three-quarters arm slot. He consistently sat in the 89-91 mph range with his heater in the early going before settling more into the 86-89 mph range as the game progressed, and he showed some ability to command the offering to the glove side with some natural slight arm-side run and life down in the strike zone.

Studstill also flashed a breaking ball in the 73-78 mph range that had two-plane depth with late glove-side finish. At times the breaker would show more slider tilt and have late break, while at others the offering would show more 11-to-5 break with bigger depth. He did well to utilize the breaking ball to keep hitters off balance and showed the ability to locate in the offering to generate some called strikes, while also using it to garner swings and misses.




Grant Gambrell (2016, Clovis, Calif) shows big arm strength and potential. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound Oregon State commit has a sturdy, strong build and physique on his larger frame and the righty has some present strength and mass in his torso and lower half. Gambrell works to a high three-quarters arm slot and has solid arm speed a clean break and loose, long arm stroke that work well. He came on in relief and flashed the ability to pound the strike zone with his fastball. At the PG National Gambrell ran his fastball up to 92 and on Thursday he consistently lived in the 91-93 mph range. The heater was pretty true, but at times the offering showed solid arm-side run when located to that side of the plate, and he generated solid downhill plane and angle. While Gambrell landed slightly closed at foot strike, he showed a solid ability to repeat his delivery and throw strikes.

His most effective secondary pitch was his 77-80 mph changeup, and he generally had solid arm speed on the offering which showed solid fading action and played well off of his fastball. He showed good confidence in his changeup and was generally able to keep the pitch down in the zone and use the offering to garner some weaker swings. Additionally, Gambrell worked in some breaking balls in the mid-70s that showed varied 10-to-4 to 11-to-5 shape and solid depth. While he’s still developing feel for the offering, Gambrell has the hand speed and athleticism for the breaking ball to be a more consistent part of his repertoire in the future.




Like his CBA Marucci teammate, Blake Sabol (2016, Aliso Niguel, Calif.) also was a PG National participant. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound Southern California commit has a leaner, well-proportioned build on a large yet lean and projectable frame. At the National Showcase, Sabol displayed solid defensive tools and a strong, accurate arm. Where he makes his mark is at the plate, as the lefthanded hitter starts from a high hand set and uses an easy, fluid and level swing to get the barrel to the ball quickly and efficiently. Sabol has quick, strong hands and flashes the ability to generate solid extension and backspin the baseball. As he continues to mature and add strength to his frame, Sabol should project for additional power. Additionally, he’s a good athlete for his size, as he turned in a 6.77 60-yard dash at the National Showcase and has regularly been timed at 4.25 seconds on his home-to-first splits.




Khalil Lee (2016, Centreville, Va.) really turned some heads at the National Showcase. The Liberty University commit showed off easy bat speed and an advanced feel for the barrel at the event last month, and as a member of the Richmond Braves National Harrison 17u team, Lee continued to impress onlookers with his overall skill-set. Lee possesses very good strength from his compact and athletic 5-foot-10, 180-pound frame. In the batter’s box the lefthanded hitter starts with a slightly open stance and generates above average bat speed from a deeper load and is able to whip the barrel through the zone with authority. He ripped a triple to right-center field and showed off of his average foot speed, turning in a 4.41 time on the turn. He has a strong arm from the outfield, which translates to the mound, where he consistently works in the 88-91 mph range with his heater.

Kyle Johnson (2016, Jackson, N.J.) showed well over the course of the tournament. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Johnson has a compact, athletic frame with present strength, and he was a big reason as to why the 9ers Baseball Club Prime 17u team advanced to the quarterfinals in the playoffs. The uncommitted righthanded hitter has a well-proportioned, sturdy physique and has solid athleticism and feel for the game. Johnson uses a slightly crouched stance in the batter’s box and employs a toe-tap and wrapped load, and he’s able to generate some bat speed and keep a decent rhythm at the plate that allows him to impact the ball when his timing is in sync, as he did in his first plate appearance in a game against Chain National with a booming triple.

Josh Stephen (2016, Newport Beach, Calif.) was yet another position player that participated at the National Showcase that performed exceptionally well on Thursday. The athletic 6-foot, 180-pound lefthanded hitting outfielder displayed some power potential and the ability to backspin the baseball while at the National. He put that talent to good use in the knockout rounds on Thursday, as the Southern California commit homered twice in CBA Marucci’s win 8-7 win over the East Cobb Astros Scout Team.

Alfredo Villarreal (2016, Brownsville, Texas) pitched extremely well in the Houston Banditos’ playoff loss to Elite Squad Prime. Villarreal, a University of Houston commit, is an undersized bulldog listed at 5-foot-10, 180-pounds. The righthander has a compact frame with some present strength in his build, especially in his lower half. Villarreal uses a strong back-side load to generate some burst and power in his delivery, and he uses his lower-half well. He works pretty cleanly to a high three-quarters arm slot and he consistently held his velocity in the 88-91 mph range over the course of his 6 1/3 innings pitched.

Villarreal obviously has good arm speed, and he was able to generate some solid arm-side run and sinking action on his heater when the offering was located down in the strike zone. Over the course of his strong outing against a loaded Elite Squad Prime lineup he showed no fear in working to both sides of the plate and changing eye levels. Villarreal also worked in a mid-70s breaking ball which showed decent potential. He had developing feel for the offering, but was able to mix in 11-to-5 breaking pitch effectively enough to keep hitters off balance, and the curveball flashed solid depth at times.

Villarreal’s Houston Banditos teammate, Alerick Soularie (2017, Humble, Texas), is also committed to the University of Houston. Soularie will be a junior in the fall, but the athletic 6-foot, 175-pound outfielder has solid present strength and a solid, athletic build. The righthanded hitter generates solid bat speed in his swing and he has strong, quick hands. At times, Soularie can get off balance and drift a bit, but he possesses the solid raw hitting tools that could allow him to be a force at the next level. He was able to utilize his impressive tools in game action in striking a well-hit double on an elevated 89 mph fastball into the left-center field gap in his first at-bat against talented 2016 lefthander Jesus Lazardo.

At 6-foot-4, 195-pounds, Nick Silber (2016, New York, N.Y.) possesses the long, lean frame that college coaches and professional scouts covet. The righty has some present looseness and strength in his extra-large frame with long limbs, a higher waist, wide hips, and sloped shoulders. And while he may not project to add to much more weight at maturity, he should be able to comfortably add strength onto his frame and tighten up his present physique.

Silber participated at the National Showcase and displayed upper-80s heat. On Thursday, Silber competeted well and did not back down, as he came on to close off Team Citius’ second playoff game and then went on to earn a win in a complete game victory over Ostingers Baseball Academy in the quarterfinal round. Silber predominately sat in the 85-88 mph range with his fastball, but he displayed natural cutting action and some late life down in the zone with the offering. Using an up-tempo delivery with rocking hands (a la David Cone), Silber works to a three-quarters arm slot and has a clean break with a compact arm action that allows his fastball to get on hitters quickly.

While his fastball was a quality offering on the night on its own, Silber also mixed in an upper-70s offering with sharp, late break and good tilt and depth that plays well off of the natural cutting action on the fastball. While there is some late energy and effort in his delivery with a head snap at release, Silber is able to repeat his mechanics pretty well, and he was able to live within the strike zone on Thursday night, striking out nine and allowing just one hit over seven innings.

– Andrew Krause