Daily Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2

The biggest story of the 17u PG World Series thus far may not be about an individual but rather about a team. CBA Marucci swept through pool play with a 4-0 record, giving them a 15-game win streak at two of the most competitive events on the Perfect Game tournament calendar; this event and the recently completed 336-team 17u WWBA National Championship. The CBA organization is headed up by Jon Paino, although Paino is not here this week.

The last five teams that CBA beat in Georgia were Dulins Dodgers, the East Cobb Astros, FTB Tucci, Elite Squad Prime and the Dallas Patriots. The four vanquished foes in Arizona have included Elite Baseball Training Chicago, the Houston Banditos, Mountain West and CCB Elite.

A rival coach, whose team is included on that list above, remarked on Sunday, "Really, have you seen the list of the teams CBA has beaten? It's absurd. It might be the most impressive thing I've seen since I got into the travel ball business."

Looking at CBA's roster and four games here, it's easy to see that they follow the time tested formula of strength up the middle, a deep roster of interchangeable parts and putting pitchers on the mound who throw strikes.

Their two catchers – PG All-American Blake Sabol and 17u WWBA National Championship MVP Nicholas Kahle – are among the best at their position in the country. Another PG All-American, Dominic Fletcher, plays center field and is, in the opinion of this scout, the best defensive outfielder in the 2016 class. Their shortstop, 2017 Nick Allen, is considered by this scout to be the best defensive shortstop in the country as well. Twelve different players have scored runs in the four games here. The pitchers have walked four hitters versus 34 strikeouts.

We'll see if the streak can continue Monday and Tuesday.


Quick Hits, Pitchers

• Orlando Scorpions righthander Tobias Myers and Baseball Northwest lefthander Nico Tellache hooked up in perhaps the best pitching duel of the tournament, with each being helped by stellar defenses behind them. Both threw complete games as Myers and the Scorpions emerged with a 1-0 win courtesy of a RBI single by Drew Mendoza in the bottom of the sixth inning. Myers struck out 10 hitters while allowing only two hits and no walks, working in the 88-92 mph range with his fastball and only throwing 88 pitches. Tellache, who only allowed five hits, helped himself with his fielding ability off the mound and his pickoff move in addition to his mid-80s fastball and sharp command.

• Southern California Bombers third baseman/righthanded pitcher Jacob Castillo threw a masterful two-day complete game two-hit shutout over the EvoShield Canes in a 3-0 win. The first two innings were Saturday afternoon before play was canceled and the 5-foot-11 righthander came back with five more outstanding innings Sunday, throwing 93 pitches total. Those pitches were distributed as follows: 34 fastballs (86-89 mph), 36 curveballs (72 mph average) and 23 changeups (78 mph average). The Canes hitters were simply not able to figure out Castillo's pitch rhythm and were especially vulnerable to his sharp breaking curveball.

• Oscar Arzaga is a 6-foot-5, 210-pound right ander who threw four innings and picked up the 9-2 win for the San Diego Show over SGV Arsenal. He's a Mexican citizen who is eligible to sign now, although we're told he is planning on attending Eastlake High School this fall and be classified as a 2017 if he doesn't. He's a dead ringer for former MLB pitcher Freddie Garcia physically and in his delivery, with a fastball that sat at 90-92 mph the entire outing. While Arzaga's arm strength is obvious and his command was solid, he only threw three off-speed pitches the entire outing and will have to improve on this aspect of his game.

• Trey Dillard is a very broad shouldered 6-foot-1, 190-pound 2017 righthander for the Dbacks Elite. His arm really works well from a high three-quarters arm slot and he impressed with a 86-89 mph fastball with good life and a hard spinning mid-70s curveball.

• North East Baseball's Weston Bizzle is another strong-bodied 2017 righthander with a big arm. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Tennessee native threw five innings but picked up the loss in a 2-0 loss to the St. Louis Pirates, working in the 89-92 mph range with his fastball.

• Continuing the theme of the last few days of highlighting starting pitchers who produce big results with few pitches, GBG Marucci righthander Zane Strand threw Sunday's most efficient game, totaling only 80 pitches in a seven-inning complete game 2-1 win over Slammers Holzemer. Sixty-three of Strand's 80 pitches were fastballs, mostly in the 85-89 mph range, and he mixed in a dozen mid-70s curveballs and a couple of changeups to go with them. He needed every strike as the Slammer's Travis Marr and Nathan Sweeney, two recent PG National Showcase participants, threw very well against him.


Ten must-see Hitters

With four games always going on at one time, the challenge is to rotate around and try to see as much as possible while also concentrating on a particular game or two. One develops a rhythm in one's wanderings to try to see particular parts of each team's lineups. Here are 10 players who this scout always tries to see come to the plate.

Elite Squad first baseman Alejandro Toral: Toral is perhaps the top 2017 hitter in the class and is always a threat to do something special each at-bat. I particularly enjoy watching him from the side, as his weight shift into contact is textbook.

Elite Squad infielder Colton Welker: Welker is going to grow on scouts as one of the top hitters in the 2016 class. He's especially adept at staying back on breaking balls and driving them hard, an immensely valuable skill for any hitter.

FTB Tucci second baseman Morgan McCullough: Does it seem unusual to want to see a 5-foot-8 leadoff hitter perform? It shouldn't be. McCullough puts together a professional at-bat every trip to the plate, has a very discerning eye and squares the ball up hard. He's 6-for-13 over four games and is always going to be a high average hitter regardless of the level.

Orlando Scorpions right fielder/second baseman Carlos Cortes: Cortes hits like he's mad at the baseball and it can be guaranteed he's not too happy with himself when he doesn't square it up. He packs huge power in his 5-foot-8, 185-pound build and shows it on a daily basis. Kolten Wong of the Cardinals has been mentioned as a worthy comp.

CBA Marucci catcher Nicholas Kahle: Kahle's swing is so simple and short to the ball and so repeatable that I find it hard to imagine he isn't going to make consistent hard contact against the highest level pitching. Include his name whenever you think about top catching prospects in the 2016 class.

EvoShield Canes shortstop Nicholas Quintana: Quintana doesn't get cheated at the plate and also tends to guess a bit, which leads to some empty at-bats, but he's a threat to drive the ball hard to any part of the field on any pitch.

Houston Banditos outfielder Conner Capel: Capel is a larger version of Morgan McCullough. You are almost guaranteed to see a professional at-bat.

GBG Marucci third baseman Spencer Steer: This scout was shocked when he looked up Steer's high school numbers from this spring and saw that he hit .330. He's hit about .450 over the last three years in WWBA games that I've watched and probably higher than that with men on base.

Southern California Bombers shortstop Shane Martinez: Martinez is a confident hitter with bat speed and barrel control and a mature approach at the plate. He'll move off shortstop at the next level but scouts are consistently talking about his bat.

Slammers Holzemer catcher Maverick Handley: It's impossible not to enjoy watching Handley play, as his enjoyment about being out on the field is so obvious. He's swung the bat very well here and has a couple of extra-base hits.