Lefthander Nick Lodolo is perhaps the PG All-American with the shortest and least nationally known resume. That is bound to change over the next few months if his outing on Friday for the San Gabriel Valley (SGV) Arsenal against the Orlando Scorpions is any indication.

When I last saw the 6-foot-6, 185-pound Lodolo a year ago he pitched in the 82-84 mph range but his potential was obvious with additional strength. He's taller and a bit stronger now but is still just scratching the surface physically. He threw five innings Friday morning, allowing an unearned run while striking out seven and walking no one. Lodolo pitched at 88-92 mph with a nice fading change up and a soft upper-60s curveball that had surprising spin and depth for its velocity. He had feel for all his pitches and threw to spots.

The overall impression was of A.J. Puk, who is currently performing at a high level at the University of Florida. Puk had a bit more strength in his hips and core but it's fundamentally the same body and the same delivery/arm action. With Puk looking like a potential No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 draft, there is no reason not to dream that by the time he's 21-years old Lodolo might be the same type of pitcher.

If there is an All-American with a lower national profile than Lodolo, it would be NorCal righthander Matt Manning. But that, too, will change quickly. Manning drew the start Thursday night against the supremely talented EvoShield Canes and was simply outstanding, fanning 10 hitters in five innings while allowing only a pair of hits and an unearned run. That run was the only one posted in a 1-0 Canes win.

After warming up at 91-92 mph, Manning ramped it up to a steady 93-95 mph in the first inning, although he was a bit overamped and rushed his delivery, missing up in the zone frequently. After throwing about 20 straight fastballs to open the game, he started mixing in a sharp breaking 74-77 curveball and settled in at 90-93 and spotted the ball more effectively down in the strike zone.

Manning has an athletic delivery with Max Scherzer-style mechanics and very good extension to the plate. He's 6-foot-5, 190-pounds with a young body and has enormous physical projection. His father is 6-foot-11 former NBA power forward Rich Manning. Based on this look it would be easy to put him among the top four or five righthanded pitching prospects in the 2016 class.

One thing that becomes immediately clear when watching standout hitters (there are approximately 18 PG All-American position players here) face good pitching is that the best hitters can hit breaking balls far better than just a good hitter. Carlos Cortes crushed a double off the top of the right-center field fence on a 1-1 slider after seeing two fastballs from a new pitcher. Bo Bichette drove a curveball in the first inning over the right fielder's head for an RBI double. Nicholas Quintana got on top and in front of an inside curveball and lined a double into the left field corner. Nicholas Kahle – the 17u WWBA National Championship MVP and an outstanding prospect – took a nice simple cut at a two-out curveball with a runner at third base to single to center field and drive in a run. The highest level hitters looked timed up and anticipated breaking balls whereas other hitters are hoping they are balls or they can fight them off.

Cubs top prospect Dan Vogelbach is in Phoenix rehabbing a oblique injury and helping coach his former team, FTB Tucci.

"The best hitters intuitively know when they are going to see a breaking ball,” Vogelbach said before FTB's evening game. “It isn't so much that they are up guessing and they are smarter than the pitcher on that pitch, they just feel what the count and situation is and make their adjustments. That's why they're the best hitters."

The most surprising team result of the day didn't really involved a team upsetting a heavy favorite but rather how it was done. The EvoShield Canes and FTB Tucci are two of the very elite teams in the country and are fairly evenly matched in any single game. But the Canes controlled the entire contest from the beginning and led 5-1 entering the seventh inning. Righthander Logan Pouelsen had been in complete control up to then for the Canes but came out flat in the seventh looking for the complete game and FTB took advantage, scoring six runs to eventually emerge with a 7-5 win. Rightfielder/first baseman Zach Zientarski, who just seems to perform at every PG event, hit a bases loaded three-run, two-out double for the key blow. Bichette and shortstop Morgan McCullough each had three hits for FTB.

A single play in that Canes/FTB game resonated with anyone who was at the PG National Showcase or was watching the game that was broadcast on MLB.com. In that game Grant Bodison made an incredible leaping catch going back into center field from his second base position and ended up No. 2 of the day's highlights on ESPN. Bodison made a similar, albeit slightly less spectacular, diving catch going straight back again in this game.

The final time slot at 7:30 p.m. gave a quick snapshot of just how much talent is here at this 20-team elite event. In addition to 18 or so PG All-American position players, at the Reds quad Matt Manning was throwing on one field against the EvoShield Canes, a young pitcher from Oregon was throwing 88-92 on the next field, a Elite Squad righthander was throwing 90-93 on another and a 6-foot-6 lefty topping out at 88 mph threw a complete game no-hitter with 12 strikeouts on the last diamond. It was just some very high level baseball on display.


Quick Hits, Pitchers

• The EvoShield Canes emerged victorious over Manning and NorCal due to the efforts of righthander Tyler Benninghoff, who threw five impressive innings with less fanfare and just about half the pitches. Benninghoff worked in the 88-90 mph range with a tight breaking mid-70s curveball and was content to pound the bottom of the strike zone and let his top level defense do his work for him. The Kansas native allowed only one hit while throwing just 52 pitches.

• Righthander Tyler Baum threw five shutout innings for the Orlando Scorpions to pick up a 2-1 win over SGV and Nick Lodolo. Baum worked worked 89-91 mph consistently and topped out at 93 mph to go with a big-breaking sharp 76 mph curveball that buckled some knees. Despite the plus stuff, Baum did a mature job of pitching to contact with heavy sink on his fastball down in the zone, walking no one and striking out three.

• Baseball Northwest righthander Jordan Jones is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete with a young build and plenty of projectability. He has a very rotational full back turn delivery and a fast arm that produced a 88-92 mph fastballs that jumped on hitters. Jones also threw a 77 mph slurve-type breaking ball from a slightly lower slot. He threw only 44 pitches in four perfect innings in a 14-0 run rule victory.

• Baseball Northwest unveiled another top pitching prospect in their second game in 6-foot-4, 190-pound righthander Mitchell Verburg from Oregon. Verberg went five innings, allowing three hits and an unearned run while Baseball Northwest moved to 2-0 with a 7-3 win over the Dallas Patriots. Verberg throws from a high three-quarters arm slot with a fast and loose arm that produced an 88-92 mph fastball and an upper-70s curveball that had big downer shape at times.

• CBA Marucci lefthander Jack Dashwood is extremely projectable at 6-foot-6, 215-pounds with an easy arm action and a 85-88 mph fastball that is one or two mechanical adjustments away from shooting up in velocity. He nearly notched a perfect game against Mountain West, settling for a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts and a single walk, which was quickly erased on a double play.

• Righthander Evan McKendry was extremely impressive in Elite Squad's hard fought 2-1 win over Slammers Holzemer, striking out eight hitters in three innings with a 90-93 mph fastball and a sharp curveball. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound McKendry throws from an over-the-top release point with some hard fall off to the first base side but had no problem locating his pitches and only threw 44 pitches in his outing.

• CBA Marucci righthander Jeremiah Estrada is already ranked No. 27 in the 2017 class. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Californian picked up the win with four innings of one-run work in a 9-2 win over Elite Baseball Training Chicago, pitching in the 87-91 mph range and relying almost exclusively on his fastball. Estrada's arm is very loose and tension free and he generates his velocity from a low effort release that promises more velocity in the future.

• PG All-American lefty Cole Ragans turned in three shutout innings in an 8-0 run rule win for the Orlando Scorpions, setting himself for a possible additional appearance in the playoffs. Ragans worked in the 88-91 mph range and dropped in a low-70s curveball frequently for strikes.

• 2017 righthander Alex Scherff threw a complete game five-hitter with eight strikeouts and only 93 pitches in the Houston Banditos hard fought 2-1 win over Elite Baseball Training Chicago. Scherff fits the prototype for the big Texas power pitcher at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds and he threw in the 89-92 mph range with good downhill angle from a slow and deliberate delivery.

• Lefthander Jordan Roberts of the Dallas Patriots is another extra large Texan at 6-foot-5 and every bit of 240 pounds. He has a deceptive delivery that hides the ball well and an 87-91 mph fastball that got on hitters quickly. He threw five one-hit innings with eight strikeouts in a 3-0 win over the San Diego Show. The Show's Preston Price threw a complete game three-hitter himself, also working in the 87-91 mph range.


Quick Hits, Position Players

• Elite Baseball Training Chicago catcher Sam Ferri has been a bit overshadowed in the upper Midwest by standout catchers such as Indiana's T.J. Collett, Illinois' Cooper Johnson and Wisconsin's Ben Rortvedt. But he's a very legit prospect who will get professional interest next spring as well, especially with his quick-twitch athleticism and loose and fast righthanded swing.

• Some players can just hit and the Banditos Conner Capel ranks among the best. When he hits the ball hard he gets hits and when he doesn't square it up it finds holes and when he hits a ground ball he can beat it out. Or at least it seems like that. Capel went 5-for-7 in the Banditos two games on the first day.

• Bo Bichette has really made great strides with his body and athleticism. He looks about 15 pounds lighter and his core and lower half are well defined. Most importantly, he ran a 4.38 on a jail break chopper to third base on Friday, which marked the first time I think I've ever got him below 4.7 on any home-to-first time of any type. He's clearly faster and most athletic.

• Carlos Cortes has been struggling all summer with a dislocated finger on his right hand that has kept him gripping the bat on his swing follow through and from throwing righthanded (Cortes is a switch-thrower depending on what position he is playing). It's still swollen but doesn't seem to affect his swing any longer. In addition to his near home run in the first game, he slammed a two-run home run in the Orlando Scorpions second game.