2015 PG/EvoShield Underclass National Championship: Day 1 notes | Day 2 notes




2017 righthander Johnny Kuhn, Jr. (Lakewood, Calif.) helped CBA Marucci advance in the playoffs and defeat a very talented SACSN team. Kuhn, a 6-foot-5, 205-pound righty earned the win by throwing seven quality innings in a tightly-contested game. The Long Beach State commit has an extra-large frame and still projects well as he has long limbs and a high-waist, so he should continue to get stronger and add muscle as he matures over the next few years. Kuhn had good success in the early going because he was able to spot his fastball down in the strike zone and to either side of the plate. The heater, which sat consistently in the 85-86 mph range over the seven innings, touched 88 mph on a few occasions, and Kuhn showed that he could ramp it up in the latter innings when he felt that the extra velocity was necessary.

The long, lean righty generates solid downhill plane and does a solid job of repeating his delivery for a bigger body. At times, Kuhn will work a bit across his body and yank his frontside out which can cause his arm to drag, but over the course of his seven innings those instances were few and far between and he did a good job of maintaining a direct line to home plate.

To go along with his fastball, Kuhn worked in both a slider and a changeup, showing solid feel for both, and in particular the slider. In the early innings the slider registered as high as 81 mph and showed sweeping action to the gloveside. As he worked his way through the order Kuhn was able to manipulate the velocity, depth, and shape of the offering to give hitters different looks. Both the slower 74-75 mph and harder 77-79 mph sliders were effective, with the offerings in the lower velocity band showing a bit more depth and shorter tilt and those in the higher band displaying more horizontal tilt and finish. He didn’t use his changeup as frequently as he did his breaking ball, but the pitch still showed solid potential, and Kuhn did a solid job of maintaining his armspeed and replicating his normal arm action.

Kuhn mixed his pitches very well, even pitching backwards to a few hitters after working through the order a couple of times, and he displayed the confidence and ability to throw any of his pitches for strikes in any count. The combination of present size, projectability, and pitchability make Kuhn yet another California prep arm to keep an eye on in the coming years.

Tyler Lasch (Lake Forest, Calif.) was a Junior National Showcase participant this past June, and the class of 2017 catcher has continued to impress as the summer winds to a close. Lasch, one of the rare Mississippi State commits out of the state of California, turned some heads earlier this summer at the 17u WWBA National Championship when he turned on a fastball from 2016 righthander Forrest Whitley (currently ranked 20th in the 2016 class) and hit a line-drive home run over the right field fence that got out in a hurry.

After showing off some of his power potential earlier this summer, Lasch has shown off a balanced and patient approach this weekend. The lefthanded hitter has very good strike zone awareness and he rarely gives in to a pitcher or expands his zone, working numerous walks over the past few days and hitting the ball where it is pitched. The 5-foot-9, 180-pounder tracks the ball very well and shows that he can manipulate the barrel with his quick hands and strong wrists, with solid line-drive contact to both sides of the field.

Perhaps even more impressive than his offensive game is his work behind the dish. Lasch receives the ball very well and is quiet and smooth in his actions. Despite his compact frame, he’s an absolute wall behind the plate as he’s blocked nearly every ball in the dirt thanks to good instincts, lateral quickness, and an ability and willingness to get into the right position.

2017 shortstop Dylan Criquet-Danielson (Marshall, Minn.) was mentioned in an earlier iteration of the tournament notes, but he’s a very intriguing player that should be monitored carefully. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound infielder has the projectable, well-proportioned frame and athletic build that evaluators and coaches tend to covet. He played shortstop on Sunday and flashed the athleticism and footwork necessary to handle the defensive requirements of the position. Additionally, he runs well, turning in a plus home-to-first time of 4.2 seconds from the right hand side. Finally, Criquet-Danielson showed off solid bat speed and a line-drive swing plane, putting a very good swing on a ball and ripping it off of the barrel into left-center field for a single.

2018 righthander Conner Thurman (Mesa, Ariz.) has been clocked as high as 88 mph earlier this summer, and while the young righty did not run his fastball quite as high on a hot Sunday afternoon, he showed good competitiveness and battled against a tough and talented Southern California Bombers team. Thurman’s fastball consistently sat in the 82-84 mph range and touched 85 in the early going, and the offering showed considerable tailing life from his natural lower three-quarters arm slot. When he was able to locate the offering down in the strike zone it showed quality late sinking action and was a difficult pitch to lift and barrel. Thurman also flashed some potential in his sweeping breaking ball, which shows more of a 10-to-4 shape from his lower arm slot. The pitch, which sat in the low-70s has some two-plane depth and late glove-side finish.

2017 righthander Trey Dillard (Phoenix, Ariz.) only pitched briefly on Sunday, appearing out of the bullpen for SACSN in their playoff game against CBA Marucci, but he displayed some big arm strength. The 6-foot-2, 200 pound righty has an up-tempo, high-energy delivery and he comes at you with a fast arm from a high three-quarters arm slot. In his quick cameo, Dillard worked in the 86-89 mph range, touching 90 mph with his heater on one occasion. He has a loose, fluid arm-action and also flashed some developing offspeed pitches in his 74-76 mph breaking ball and 78 mph changeup.

Similarly, Southern California Bombers’ Jorge Arellano (Cudahy, Calif.) came on in relief and showed off an impressive fastball. The 2017 lefthander was up to 89 mph, working predominately in the 86-88 mph range with his heater. The UC Santa Barbara commit has a long, loose arm action and the ball comes out of his hand well.

2017 outfielder Kenji Henderson (La Verne, Calif.) hit well over the course of the tournament. The uncommitted 5-foot-10, 195-pound outfielder has a very sturdy, well-proportioned build and it looks like he has the body and athleticism to play running back or safety at the Division I level. Henderson makes good use of his particularly chiseled upper-body, using his raw natural strength to his advantage in his swing. He has quick hands and strong wrists that allow him to whip the bat through the zone and generate considerable carry off of the barrel. At present he doesn’t incorporate much of his lower-half into his swing mechanics, but he’s still able to produce impact contact into the gaps because of his strength and bat speed. As he continues to develop, Henderson should see a handful of his numerous doubles turn into home runs.

– Andrew Krause



Tyler Freeman (2017, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) has continued to play well throughout the tournament and has helped lead his team into the quarterfinals while playing an integral role in CBA’s opening round victory over SACSN. A 6-foot, 170-pound shortstop who’s committed to Texas Christian University, Freeman put together very solid and noteworthy at-bats to begin the morning, each time effectively using the opposite field. Not trying to do too much in his first plate appearance, Freeman saw a sinking 89 mph on the outer half deep before staying short to and through the ball and lining it into right field to get his team on the board.

Coming to the plate again with a runner in scoring position Freeman did a nice job of keeping his weight back and recognizing slider out of the pitcher’s hand before lining to the opposite field gap for a standup double, giving him to impressive hits in consecutive at-bats. Along with the bat Freeman also shows very sound actions up the middle and made a difficult play look rather routine on a soft chopper in which he came charging in on and delivered an off balance strike to end the inning.

Speaking of defensive web gems, Donta Williams (2017, Las Vegas, Nev.) made one during the 8:00 a.m. time slot out in center field to take away easy extra-bases. The University of Arizona commit put his sound instincts and quick first step on display as he reacted instantly to the crack of the bat and came charging in towards the left centerfield gap before getting fully extended to make the grab.

Blake Peyton (2018, Lakeside, Calif.) made his Perfect Game debut yesterday for the San Diego Show Black and it was a good one as the young left-hander opened some eyes. Listed at 6-foot, 180-pounds Peyton has a strong look to him already and it’s a frame you can project on moving forward. Currently uncommitted per his Perfect Game profile, Peyton showed a short and quick arm action in the back side while remaining balanced throughout his delivery. He came out in the first inning sitting around 85 mph with nearly every pitch though he did bump an 87 and showed later life to his arm side rather consistently. Though his stride is a bit short at present and remains a bit upright at release Peyton was able to generate downhill plane to his fastball which left his hand easily and induced steady ground ball contact when put in play. He flashed both a curveball at 71 mph and a changeup at 73 mph but pitched mostly off his fastball and was consistently around the strike zone with it. You can add Peyton’s name to an impressive list of young, uncommitted left handers who left a positive impression in the minds of the college recruiters on hand throughout the tournament.

Altoon Coleman (2017, Sanford, Fla.) is certainly no stranger to Perfect Game events having done a full summer circuit with the FTB Pride during the WWBA’s and traveled to Arizona this weekend as a member of the SACSN National Team. Already committed to Florida State University, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound right-handed came out attacking the strike zone early and often and did so while showing a feel for a nice three-pitch mix. Up to 93 mph this summer with his fastball, Coleman worked very comfortably in the 87-90 mph range and was so without exerting much effort in his delivery. With a rather simple overall set of mechanics Coleman was able to repeat well especially on his fastball and throughout the first couple of innings showed much more sinking life to his fastball than I had seen in the past. Along with the life and velocity on the fastball Coleman showed the ability to harness that life and effectively locate in on the hands of righthanded hitters, inducing steady and weak groundball contact.

Coleman set the tone early for the frequency of which he was going to mix as he showed a little bit of everything to the second batter of the game and maintained the feel for his off speed throughout. After showing a curveball in the early portion of the summer it appears as though the young right-hander as gone to his slider almost exclusively in terms of his breaking and has received nice results with the pitch when he gets it down in the zone. Thrown in the mid-70s Coleman’s slider showed sharp break at time and flashed the ability to get it to the back foot of lefthanded hitters when ahead in the count. To round out the arsenal he also showed a changeup in the 75-77 mph which featured some fading life while coming out of the same loose and tension free arm action.

He may be young but current freshman shortstop Carter Young (2019, Selah, Wash.) made a memorable impression this tournament with his loose athletic actions up the middle and his projectable righthanded swing. Listed at 6-foot, 155-pounds Young passes the eye test for a player his age and it’s easy to envision him growing both stronger and taller by the end of his four years of high school. Despite being a 2019 grad Young was the starting shortstop on Pacific Northwest 2017 Navy Team and didn’t look out of place as he made a nice play ranging up the middle with rather fluid actions before finishing it up with a strong throw across the diamond from a short and quick arm action. Similar to the arm action, Young’s righthanded swing is also short and quick and he’s already able to generate solid bat speed through the zone. In his final at-bat of the tournament he showed feel to use the opposite field as he went with an outer half pitch for a line drive single into right field.

Jack Sterner (2018, Laguna Niguel, Calif.) is listed at a very strong and believable 6-foot-4, 215-pounds which makes his present stuff even more interesting as you project down the road a little bit. A righthanded pitcher, Sterner came out showing a long and fluid arm action and uses his length to his advantage by getting on top of his high three-quarters slot and generating solid extension out front. Working in the 80-82 mph range early on, Sterner reached back for an 85 mph bullet and spilled it back over the outer half to a righthanded hitter to end the threat in the first inning. From that point on it was smooth sailing for the uncommitted Sterner who continued to work in the 81-84 mph range but did so while looking like he was playing a game of catch. While he continued to pound the fastball for strikes Sterner was also able to establish a feel for his spike-curveball, an offering that showed some depth and 12-to-6 shape and at one point threw four in a row, all for strikes to collect another punch out.

As strong as Sterner is, Jayson Gonzalez (2017, Covina, Calif.) may have him beat and he knows how to incorporate that big time strength into his righthanded swing. Already committed to Vanderbilt University, Gonzalez is able to generate some of the big bat speed with the strength in his hands and he went to the plate yesterday looking to hurt the baseball. After staying through a ground ball that he hit up the middle which was probably 95-plus mph off the bat, Gonzalez then used the opposite field in his next trip to the plate and drilled a double to the gap, this time coming off at 102 mph per TrackMan. During an at-bat in his team’s final game of the day Gonzalez was almost robbed of his second double of the day as he again drove a ball to the warning track in right field where it was almost caught by a sprawling right fielder.

– Jheremy Brown