Daily Recaps: Day 1




2017 righthander Johnny Kuhn (Lakewood, Calif.) started on the bump for CBA Marucci, and is immediately an imposing presence when he takes the mound. Standing 6-foot-5 with long limbs and tons of physical projection remaining, Kuhn certainly looks the part of what evaulators want to see in young pitchers. He worked in the 82-84 range with his fastball, topping at 85, and showing the kind of arm speed and general projection that will definitely lead to big velocity gains in the future. As with any teenager with that kind of size, he struggled to control his body a little bit in his delivery, which led to trouble repeating said delivery, which in turn led to some issues with command and the overall effectiveness he had. When right, he was downhill with good plane and command to both sides of the plate, generating swings and misses on his fastball in addition to weak contact on the ground. He complemented his fastball with a slider that showed legitimate bat missing potential, working in the low-mid 70’s with good two-plane break and snap. He would get to the side of the slider at times, flattening the pitch out and making it easier to hit. There is certainly a lot to like—and a lot to project—from him moving forward.

Kuhn’s CBA Marucci teammate, 2017 shortstop/second baseman Tyler Freeman (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) was impressive on Saturday as well. Starting early by laying down a perfect bunt down the third base line and showing off his plus speed, clocking a 3.88 time down the line, Freeman showed the kind of high-end athleticism and overall feel for the game that is nearly unmatched in his class. He’s another highly projectable prospect who already has the particulars down offensively as far as handling the bat with clean swing mechanics and bat speed; and will only add to his offensive prowess as he develops physically. Playing second base in this matchup, he has no problem with arm strength and projects to have enough to play the left side of the infield consistently. He’s light on his feet with range to both sides and fluid actions throughout, making him a high-end prospect in every facet of the game.




2017 righthander Tyler Ahearn (Jupiter, Fla.) has been a well-known commodity to Perfect Game for quite awhile now, as the Florida State commit has been lighting up radar guns for over a year. As one would expect with 2017 prospects, he’s always been raw with command and feel for offspeed, but on Saturday he took a step forward with both. Coming out of the chute working 88-91 and touching 92 a couple times, Ahearn shows the kind of loose arm action and projectable arm speed that makes projecting more velocity gains pretty easy from evaluator’s perspectives. Early on, Ahearn consistently pounded the bottom of the zone with his fastball, working to both sides, and showing quality arm side life on the pitch. He’s a plus athlete on the mound as well, fielding his position well and doing a better job of using that athleticism to repeat his delivery with more success than he’d done before. His curveball flashed as an excellent pitch, with hard snap and depth with 11-to-5 shape. He gets to the side of it at times and turns it a bit slurvy but for the most part it was a consistent pitch for him, showing above-average potential. He still has a bit of violence in his delivery in the form of some head whack, but given the strides he’s made in the last year, it’s easy to think he can make similar strides moving forward and catapult himself towards the top of the draft rankings in 2017.

2018 shortstop Jordan Groshans, a Texas commit and the No. 11 overall prospect in the class of 2018, continues to show why he’s one of the highest upside positional players in the class on both sides of the ball. With easy bat speed and a pretty simple overall approach to hitting, Groshans shows off legitimate present gap power that will turn into more HR power as he continues to develop. In the field he’s very light on his feet with excellent range to both sides, showing off smooth actions as well as very good arm strength. Obviously athletic, Groshans projects to stay right where he is at shortstop at the next level and be an impact player on both sides of the ball.

2016 lefthander Jared Pettitte started opposite Ahearn, and did a very good job keeping the Scorpion hitters off balance with a three-pitch mix and impressive physicality. As one might expect given his bloodlines, Pettitte’s overall mechanics and delivery are very advanced and repeatable right now, something that will only benefit him moving forward as he continues to add strength to his already well-built frame. Working in the 80-82 range with his fastball and touching 84, Pettitte commanded the pitch well to both sides while generating good downhill plane from a high three-quarters slot. His fastball had the typical 'lefty run' that was very effective at missing barrels when located down in the zone. He also featured a hard biting 1-to-7 curveball with very good depth and impressive overall command of the offering. He has advanced feel for the changeup as well, with fading action on the pitch in the low-70s, showing good deception out of the hand with a clean release the same arm speed/arm slot as his fastball.




2017 lefthander Jacob Palisch drew quite the collection of notable college coaches to see his start, and he didn't disappoint those in attendance. With a 6-foot-5, highly projectable frame, Palisch worked 83-85 consistently with his fastball, touching 86 early. He generates good angle from an extended high three-quarters slot, with some horizontal spine tilt used to try and get on top of the pitch even more so. His shorter arm circle does a good job hiding the ball from hitters but also can limit the amount of whippy arm speed he could otherwise create from his very long (even for his size) levers. He employs a slight crossfire delivery, but manages to stay balanced for the most part despite not executing with his lower half consistently. He will get off balance at times and struggle to repeat, but given his size, age, and delivery mechanics, he’s an impressive athlete on the mound. He has feel for the slider and the change, with the slider showing good, sharp tilt that is effective vs. both right and lefthanded hitters, and the change featuring arm-side run as the action with good velocity differential. His physicality and velocity are both very projectable moving forward, making him a very intriguing young arm to watch in the class of 2017.

It may have only been a one-inning look, but what 2016 righthander Braydon Cook did on Saturday night had the college coaches in attendance buzzing when talking about the uncommitted righty. In a short stint out of the pen, Cook worked with a fastball at 87-89, touching 90, with heavy, plus sink to go along with excellent command of the offering. His loose, easy arm action and good build speak to even more velocity in the future; and when combining that projection with the present stuff and pitchability, he’s certainly a legitimate pitching prospect who won’t be uncommitted for long.




Burying the lede a little bit here, but 2017 righthander Joe Boyle may have been the story of the day as far as uncommitted 2017 arms are concerned. A physical monster with equally monstrous projection, Boyle is presently 6-foot-6, 200-pounds, and will certainly be much bigger by the time he’s done growing. Certainly physically imposing, Boyle’s physicality was matched by his raw stuff on Saturday night. Working consistently in the 88-89 range with his fastball and touching 91, Boyle just consistently blew the fastball by opposing hitters with relative ease. With a free, easy arm action that allows dreaming about future velocity, Boyle’s fastball also has good arm side run and even a bit of sink when commanded down in the zone. He works very quickly on the mound, almost seeming to already be in his motion when he catches the ball back from the catcher. At times, he can work too quickly, not quite gathering himself fully over the rubber and tending to drift forward as a result, which in turn causes his arm to drag some and not catch up with his body, causing him to miss up to the arm side with his pitches. When he’s fully balanced, the delivery and overall mechanical profile are very clean, with excellent downhill plane and lower half usage. He didn't need to use his curveball very much on this night, and though the first few stayed up on him a bit, as the evening went on he snapped off several dominant breakers. With 12-to-6 shape and hard snap with tons of depth, the curveball is a bat misser and knee buckler, giving him a very impressive two pitch arsenal to go along with his impressive physicality. When one considers the overall physical projection he offers both on his body and with his stuff, it’s easy to dream on him being one of the very top righthanders in the class of 2017 within the next 12-18 months.

– Brian Sakowski



Not listed in the program, young righthander Kumar Rocker (2018, Watkinsville, Ga.) sent college coaches alike into a scramble before he even threw a warmup pitch to due to his long and loose 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame. After he delivered his first pitch it was clear he was a high end arm and after getting his name and a quick search in the Perfect Game database it was revealed that Rocker just completed his freshman year of high school, something neither his physicality nor his overall stuff on the mound would indicate.

The athleticism and overall balance on the mound is worth noting as the uncommitted Rocker did a nice job of repeating his mechanics while showing one of the easiest and loosest arm actions I’ve seen in Georgia. 'Easy' is the best word to use to describe the arm action and with it came a fastball that steadily sat in the 86-89 mph range and bumped 90 mph during his first inning of work. Rocker uses his length well to generate downhill plane on his fastball and showed the ability to consistently get low to his glove side all while harnessing the late running life his fastball possesses. While the present velocity is already impressive Rocker projects for a good bit more moving forward with the looseness and athleticism in his frame and given the fact he has three more springs of high school baseball.

To complement his fastball Rocker showed a slider that worked in the upper-70s and peaked 79 mph with some short tilting and used it to pick up his first strikeout of the outing by freezing a batter with one at 76 mph. He also flashed a changeup, once early and a handful of times later i the outing and like his slider showed a feel for the pitch. Though he does drop his slot slightly on the pitch he’s able to turn it over well at 80 mph showing some fading life down in the zone.



Tanner Allen (2017, Theodore, Ala.) had onlookers buzzing about his abilities with his left-handed swing as he’s appearing in his first national level type event with Perfect Game. A strongly built 6-foot, 180-pound right fielder, Allen quickly showed the foot speed on the bases and the overall athleticism that could make it easy to envision him patrolling center field and doing so rather easily. The starting quarterback on his high school’s football team, Allen made an instant impact in the middle of the Marucci Elite lineup with a loud triple to that burned the center fielder. Currently uncommitted, Allen was able to generate solid jump off the barrel and did so with a rather easy swing and average contact. To follow up his triple Allen lined a single to the opposite field showing a quick and direct path to the ball. Allen’s bat is a high level type tool as his the athleticism and speed as he quickly stole second and third within a handful of pitches, turning his single seamlessly into a triple.



Like a couple of his FTB Pride teammates, righthander Tyler Myrick (2016, Lake City, Fla.) is committed to Alabama State and should he make it to campus he has a chance to make an immediate impact on the mound. With more than a handful of Perfect Game events to his name already, Myrick continues to make strides on the mound especially from last fall to this summer.

Listed at 6-foot, 170-pounds, Myrick came out working from an up-tempo, high energy delivery and did so while pounding the strike zone. Myrick came out attacking with his fastball and continued to do so over his three innings of work, generating consistent heavy life down in the zone and located to both sides. Staying short through the backside Myrick is able to hide the ball well before delivering a heater in the 89-91 mph range, bumping 93 mph a couple times throughout and projects for more as he continues to incorporate his lower half into his delivery. The arm action is fast and he did a nice job of working his fastball to either side of the plate for strikes, setting up the handful of off speed offerings that he showed.

To go with the fastball Myrick showed a solid changeup with late fading life a couple of times, exhibiting a feel while working the zone. He showed his curveball less than his changeup but it was of equal quality at 76 mph with short and late depth.

The overall tool package of M.J. Melendez (2017, Montgomery, Ala.) is a well known commodity in the amateur baseball world as he shows high level tools behind the dish and with his left-handed bat. A projectable 6-foot, 160-pound backstop Melendez shows light actions on his feet with bounce in his step and a strong right arm that he isn’t afraid to show off. Last night his at-bats were what stood out most as he shows an advanced approach at the plate with a very strong knowledge of the strike zone and isn’t afraid to take his walks as evidenced by the free passes he took his first two trips to the plate. In his third at-bat Melendez was able to put his bat speed on display and lined a hard single back up the middle.

Jose Ciccarello (2017, Tampa, (Fla.), a University of Florida commit, is no stranger to Perfect Game with 23 separate events linked to his profile. With an extended look we’ve been able to see the progression the young shortstop has made and it’s continue to occur throughout the summer circuit. Similar to Melendez above, Ciccarello’s defensive exploits have been well noted as he shows plenty of arm strength and defensive action up the middle but it was the bat the was the loudest tool in FTB Pride’s run rule shortened game. After a hard line drive double down the left field line in his first trip to the plate, Ciccarello one upped himself later in the contest as he went out to left field again, this time making it to third for a triple.

He may have just finished his freshman year of high school but the left-handed swing of Alec Sanchez (2018, Jacksonville, Fla.) produces one of the better hit tools in the 2018 class and stands out in a loud way on a very consistent basis. While his high leg lift trigger at the beginning of the swing could be seen as a potential timing hiccup in his swing, Sanchez is able to remain extremely balanced while tracking the ball into the zone before putting the barrel to work. Having shown power to his pull side in the past Sanchez did a nice job of staying back on an elevated outer half curveball and threw the barrel out for a hard line drive double down the left field line.

Colin Hall (2017, Alpharetta, Ga.) has done nothing but find the barrel of the bat in the first two days of the 16u WWBA National Championship and has been one of the most consistent bats in a potent Team Elite Prime lineup. After wearing out the middle of the field in game one with barreled up line drive singles Hall picked up where he left off yesterday afternoon in his first two at-bats, lining a single up the middle in both trips to the plate. An uncommitted middle infielder, Hall wrapped up a perfect 3-for-3 day while continuing to show his barrel feel as he shot a line drive through the 5-6 hole, showing an all fields approach.

After helping his team to a championship down at the BCS in Fort Myers, lefthander D.L. Hall (2017, Valdosta, Ga.) took the mound Saturday afternoon and continued to do what he’s done all summer. He may not have showed the 92 mph on his fastball that he did at the Junior National but he did topped 90 mph early and showed a consistent feel to work ahead in the count with his fastball.

Hall’s frame is an easy one to project on at 6-foot-2, 170-pounds with long limbs and broad shoulders and as he continues to fill out his stuff is only going to get that much better. Living in the 86-88 mph range with his fastball in the middle innings, Hall did a nice job of staying on top of the ball from his high three-quarters arm slot and was able to generate solid angle while overpowering hitters on the strength of his fastball. And while he could have worked through the lineup using just his fastball Hall mixed in a sharp curveball that was a weapon itself.

Much like his fastball, Hall stayed on top of his curveball well and when he did -which was quite frequent- he showed the ability to put it on the back foot of right-handed hitters and induces empty swings. A 73-75 mph offering, Hall’s curveball showed sharp life with some late bite and depth though his feel for the pitch may have been as impressive as the pitch itself.

A righthanded pitcher from Miami, Florida, Robert Touron (2017, Miami, Fla.) was handed the ball for the Louisiana-based Marucci Elite and showed interesting stuff on the mound. Though his fastball wasn’t quite what it was at the Junior National where he topped 92 mph, the uncommitted Touron did run his fastball up to 89 mph while still showing the same loose and whippy arm action through the back. With a high waisted, long limbed and easy to project on 6-foot-2, 170-pound frame, Touron shows an up-tempo delivery before delivery a fastball from a lower three-quarters arm slot that’s capable of producing late life on his fastball when down in the zone.

His arm is quick though coming through and when he begins locating to either side it proves to be a difficult at-bat and has the life capable of producing consistent ground ball contact. Though he pitched mostly off his fastball Touron did show a couple of sliders in the low-70s and was able to pick up two swings and misses on the first two offerings, the first coming with two strikes to pick up his first strikeout of the game.

Jacob Pearson (2017, West Monroe, La.) is another lefthanded bat in the Marucci Elite lineup that has a chance to be special and has already shown consistent hard contact on the national circuit with a strong showing at the Junior National. Already committed to Mississippi State, Pearson followed up a game one home run with a second in as many games, clearing the right field wall at LakePoint. At 6-foot-1, 185-pounds Pearson uses his strength well is consistently drives the ball with loud contact coming off the barrel. The bat however isn’t his only weapon as Pearson is just an overall high end athlete and he can really run as evidenced by the 4.02 home to first time he turned in on his first at-bat.

– Jheremy Brown