Daily
Recaps: Day 1
| Day 2
| Day 3
| Day 4
| Day 5
| Day 6
Trying
to find a successful switch-hitter in high school baseball isn’t an
easy task, especially when looking at players who are entering their
sophomore year of high school. Harder than finding a player who can
hit from both sides is finding a pitcher who is able to pitch with
both hands and do so at a high level. Anthony
Seigler
(2018, Cartersville, Ga.) is able to do both and put his talents on
display throughout the tournament and into the East Cobb Astros
playoff run.
With
a strongly built 5-foot-11, 182-pound frame Seigler showed the same
balanced approach at the plate from either side and did equal amounts
of damage in the championship game. After hitting a double to begin
the Astros rally in their semifinal win, Seigler put his team on the
board in the championship game with a big two-run double to the
left-center field gap (batting lefthanded) after fouling off several
tough pitches. His next time to the plate Seigler matched up against
a lefthanded pitcher to which he simply stepped in the righthanded
batters and singled back up the middle, plating another run for the
Astros.
As
impressive as the switch-hitting is, Seigler’s ability to change
hands on the mound as the hitter strode to the plate was even more
impressive. Over the last two weeks Seigler has jumped on the mound,
once relieving himself righthanded after throwing five innings
lefthanded, but until the championship he hadn’t brought out the
six finger glove to throw. Up to 82 mph in his previous lefthanded
outing, Seigler worked comfortably in the upper-70s, but it was his
off-speed that held hitters at bay as he showed a comfortable feel
for both a curveball and changeup.
When he’s not pitching he takes
a majority of his reps throwing righthanded when he’s at third or
behind the plate so it would make sense that he showed more velocity
from the right side on the mound. The uncommitted Seigler ran his
fastball up to 85 mph and held it thoughout the game while exhibiting
the same strong feel for his secondaries. To complement his 11-to-5
curveball in the upper-60s Seigler also showed a late diving changeup
in the low-70s, leaving his hand just as his fastball would.
Detailed
in prior recaps, the highly athletic Jared
Hart (2018,
Marietta, Ga.) put his defensive prowess on display in center field
Friday morning in a big way. With the bases loaded and two outs in
the semifinal game against Phenom Signature, Hart got a good read off
the barrel and a quick first step to track down a deep fly ball to
the left-center field gap, showing off incredible range for somebody
heading into his sophomore year, and more importantly save at least
two runs from plating in a very tight winner-take-all game.
The
other half of the Astros' quick-twitch middle infield duo – joining
Ryan Bliss – second baseman Jarrett
Ford
(2018, Decatur, Ga.) had a solid playoff on both sides of the ball. A
high-end athlete, Ford continuously showed good defensive routes up
the middle, whether it was ranging to his left or right, and he was
always able to get behind the ball well and work through it. He
proved that his bat was just as loud as his defensive ability as he
showed a short and quick path to the ball from the right side
creating solid line drive contact off the barrel gap-to-gap. Once he
puts a shot into the gap Ford’s able to showcase another, and
perhaps his loudest, tool in his speed as he rounded first today in
4.34 seconds.
Though
they each only made a brief appearance on the mound during the
Houston Banditos run through the playoffs and into the semifinals,
young righthanders Nolan Crisp
(2019, McDonough, Ga.) and Nate
Wohlgemuth
(2020, Owasso, Okla.) didn’t look out of place with either their
poise or overall stuff.
The
athletic Crisp is no stranger to Perfect Game events as he made his
showcase debut last fall and has played in several tournament both
prior to and following the showcase. After the rain thwarted an
elongated start earlier in the tournament Crisp came out of the
bullpen and didn’t disappoint. Working from a full hands-over-head
delivery, the young righthander sat in the 84-86 mph range with his
fastball and topping out at 87 while showing nice running life to his
arm side. He does a nice job of remaining balanced though his
delivery and when he stayed on top of the ball he was able to
generate downward plane on his fastball and in turn was able to
induce ground ball contact. His first couple of breaking balls were
soft 11-to-5 shape curveballs before he brought out a harder version
that took the shape more of a slider at 72-73 mph with tight rotation
and short bite at the end of the pitch.
Coming
in to pitch the sixth inning of the semifinal game for the Banditos
was Wohlgemuth, who despite not entering high school for another full
year showed overall stuff that already belongs at that level. With a
strong 5-foot-10, 180-pound broad-shouldered build, Wohlgemuth came
out and sat in the 86-88 mph range, peaking at 89 and did so without
much effort. Along with the velocity the life he generates on his
fastball is rather impressive and was evident by the two bats he
broke by riding his fastball up off the barrel and onto the hands of
righthanded batters. Wohlgemuth also did a nice job of maintaining
his arm action on his 11-to-5 shape curveball and showed tight
rotation with short depth at 72-73 mph.
While
there were several big hits in the Houston Banditos and Chain
National semifinal game, Leonel Perez (2017, Palmview, Texas)
and Brandon Howlett (2018, Auburndale, Fla.) each provided one
of the louder, more clutch hits for their respective teams.
Down
four in the top of the seventh with two outs and the bases loaded
Leonel Perez found himself undeterred as he was down in the count 0-1
with a championship berth on the line. After a quick mound visit by
the Chain coaches Perez was thrown an elevated fastball and he
certainly didn’t miss as he sent the ball past the left field fence
for a game-tying grand slam, simultaneously erupting the Banditos’
bench.
With
a similar situation in the bottom of the seventh, Howlett came to the
plate with a runner on first, down one and with two outs. Though he
didn’t go yard like Perez he did create solid extension in his
swing and singled back up the middle to tie the game that Chain would
eventually walkoff as winners.
Chase
Wilkerson
(2018, Headland, Ala.) was given the ball again for Chain National
and up until the double by Seigler he was able to keep the Astros
bats at bay and posted zeroes over the first three innings. Up to 90
mph earlier this summer, the projectable 5-foot-11, 165-pound
righthander sat in the 85-87 mph range showing an overall clean set
of mechanics which he repeated well with a fast arm coming through
the back. He generates his velocity rather easily, and given his
lean, quick-twitch frame it’s easy to see more velocity on its way.
After seeing Wilkerson’s first start of the 15u WWBA National
Championship another thing that stood out from his championship
performance was his overall feel for his curveball. Working into the
low-70s with the pitch, Wilkerson was able to generate depth and nice
shape consistently as he stayed on top of the ball.
When
there’s a young 6-foot-2 lefthander on the mound you usually take
notice and that was the case as Patrick
Wicklander
(2018, San Jose, Calif.) toed the rubber for Phenom Signature in
their quarterfinal victory. With long limbs and a lean, projectable
build Wicklander came out sitting in the 82-85 mph range and
continued to fill up the strike zone thanks to his short and
repeatable arm action through the back. The uncommitted Wicklander
shows a quick arm and with his release point is able to create solid
angle on his fastball and located well down in the zone. He also
showed an advanced overall feel for pitching as evidenced by his
ability to throw four pitches for strikes, all coming out of the same
slot, and by pitching off of his breaking stuff his fastball played
up another tick. His slider worked in the mid-70s and showed shorter,
more subtle life where his curveball showed bigger depth in the
mid-60s while locating both to either side of the plate. Rounding out
his arsenal, Wicklander flashed a changeup in the 72-73 mph range and
featured late diving life on the pitch.
Two
of the more consistent bats throughout the weekend for No. 2 seeded
Phenom Signature, third baseman Jordan
Keller
(2019, Moreno Valley, Calif. ) and catcher Brendan
Tinsman
(2018, Cape Elizabeth, Maine), continued to swing hot bats though the
first two rounds of the playoffs.
A
rising freshman, Keller has shown a strong feel for the barrel of the
bat throughout pool play and frequently created hard line drive
contact up the middle and to his pull side. Thursday morning Keller
put his righthanded power on display and turned on a ball for a loud
home run over the left field fence.
Already
committed to Wake Forest, Tinsman has shown advanced tools for a
player his age, both behind and at the plate. With quick hands and a
strong 6-foot-2, 175-pound build, Tinsman showed off his strength as
he put a solid swing on an outer-half fastball and drove it into
right field for a hard double.
It
was only a quick look at Gunnar
Hoglund
(2018, Hudson, Fla.) but the long and projectable 6-foot-4
righthander made a lasting impression despite throwing to less than a
handful of batters in his relief outing. With a long and loose arm
action coming through Hoglund is able to create incredibly easy
velocity to the point that it looks like he’s playing catch in the
upper-70s when in reality the radar gun read anywhere in the 86-89
mph range, peaking at 90. Hoglund uses his long levers to his
advantage on the mound as he’s able to get on top of the ball and
create hard running life to his fastball. And along with the velocity
and life he showed the ability to harness the life and would bring it
back over the outer black to righthanded hitters. The late life of
his fastball was enough to stay off barrels and induce weak ground
ball contact, but to give hitters a different look Hoglund flashed a
curveball in the 73-75 mph range and showed a solid changeup as well.
The changeup showed flashes of becoming an above average offering as
he maintained the same loose and whippy arm action generating late
dive in the mid- to upper-70s.