Contributing: Jordan Stroschein

2015 PG/EvoShield Upperclass National Championship Notes: Day 1 | Day 2

This scout was finally able to watch the BPA DeMarini team play on Sunday. BPA, as this is written, has reached the quarterfinals with a perfect 5-0 record and has outscored those five opponents by a total margin of 55-0. All five games have resulted in run rule decisions. Along with a team ERA of 0.00, BPA is hitting an even .500 as a team (49-for-98).

It is important to emphasize the word "team" in summarizing BPA's run thus far. There isn't a top 100 prospect on this team or a dominant single performer. One really gets the sense that this is a Team over anything else group of players. Manager Jared Sandler was heard to shout today at a player "Don't be the weak link!" after a rare misplay. No weak links have been evident thus far, especially with the hitters. This is a polished group of hitters who all have a very similar approach at the plate. It is patient/aggressive.They don't swing at balls (26 walks in the five games) and they attack strikes (only six strikeouts as a team). They hit to all fields with balance in their approaches and bat speed and extension through contact. It really is fun to watch as a veteran scout.

Two players were especially impressive today. Third baseman Blake Berry (2016, Petaluma, Calif.) has a sweet lefthanded swing that has produced a .667 average here (8-for-12) and it's easy to see why. He has outstanding barrel control and recognizes where pitches are and where he should hit them hard. Berry got an inside fastball in his first at bat and lined it to right centerfield. He saw an outside change up with two strikes his next at bat and lined it down the left field line. Both contacts were made with essentially the same swing mechanics. This was a common theme with all the BPA hitters. They had the same balance and the same bat speed and approach regardless of where pitches were located. They took what the pitcher threw, recognized it and squared it up to the proper part of the field. It sounds easy, but it obviously isn't.

It would be easy to cite lefthanded pitcher Jack Owen (2017, Coto de Caza, Calif.) for his prowess with the bat, as he's 7-for-11 (.636) with six runs scored and eight RBI this far. But he threw five shutout innings in Sunday's first playoff game and is an early commit to Mississippi State due to his ability on the mound. The 6-foot-1, 165-pound Owen has, in this scout's opinion, as about as easy and effortless a set of pitching mechanics as one is ever going to see. They are as close to perfect as it gets. He throws in the 82-85 mph range now, with a 73 mph change up and a 68 mph curveball and throws each pitch pretty much where he wants to virtually every time. The velocity will come with additional strength and physical maturity. No pitching coach should ever touch the mechanics.

Center fielder Ryan Novis (2016, Tempe, Ariz.) of Canyon Thunder had a good day today, with a single, double and triple over the course of two playoff games, with the two extra base hits being pulled hard into left field. Novis has a slender 6-foot-2, 175-pound build that projects well and already has some whippy bat speed. He looked like a very good runner as well.

Canyon Thunder's 4-3 win over the CrabFest All-Americans in the first round of the playoffs was one of the more enjoyable games of the week, with the back and forth affair going down to the last pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. CrabFest loaded the bases with one out in the final inning with hot hitting outfielder Tony Schultz (2016, Sparks, Md.) coming to the plate. Schultz had hit a sharp single and a no doubt home run earlier in the game and he absolutely crushed a line drive in this at-bat. It was right at the third baseman for an out and almost a game ending double play, however, instead of a game winning double into the left field corner.

The ball seemed to be traveling much better Sunday at the Indians complex than it had the first two days of the championship and the outfield walls got a workout even with the playoff caliber pitching. North East Baseball's talented middle infield duo of shortstop Trent Brown (2016, Victoria, Texas) and second baseman Scott Ogrin (2016, Valencia, Calif.) did their share. Ogrin launched a home run in top of the first inning of North East's 11-0 win in the first round of the playoffs to get his team off on the right track and Brown followed with a pair of doubles to left field, the second of which hit half way up the left field fence. Both Ogrin, a Cal Poly commit, and Brown, a Texas commit, were impressive all weekend on both sides of the ball.

The doubles crown of the day didn't belong to Brown, though, but rather to outfielder Ben Lewis (2016, Scottsdale, Ariz.) of the MD AZ Blue Jays. Lewis, a tightly wound 5-foot-10, 185-pound athlete, showed a compact and very strong righthanded swing in drilling three doubles in the Blue Jays 7-6 extra innings loss to Southern Nevada Baseball. The first two were to right centerfield, where Lewis' natural swing path leads, but he also turned on one and just missed a home run to left field. This was Lewis' first Perfect Game event and we would love to get the uncommitted senior to a showcase later in the fall to see his tools in another setting.

Aside from Jack Owens' gem, the best pitching performance at the Indians complex on Sunday belonged to North East Baseball's Weston Bizzle (2017, Memphis, Tenn.), who tossed five shutout innings in the aforementioned North East victory. Bizzle worked in the 88-90 mph range from his deceptive cross body delivery and worked in his mid-70s breaking ball when needed, just as he always does. The Vanderbilt commit is quickly working his way up the charts (if such charts actually existed) of the busiest PG performers ever and still has a year to go before graduation. This was Bizzle's 23rd PG tournament of his career dating back to the 2012 13u BCS and his seventh just in 2015, along with an outing at the 2015 Junior National Showcase.

Lefthander Holden Christian (2017, Ventura, Calif) pitched Trosky Mizuno to a 4-1 win over Slammers Cornican with six innings of two-hit baseball. Christian has a fast and loose arm that produced a fastball up to 85 mph and hard spin on a breaking ball up to 73 mph and will likely throw harder as he gets stronger. He tended to elevate his fastball, often successfully, over hitter's barrels but will have to learn to work the bottom of the zone more consistently as the level of competition improves in the future.

– David Rawnsley



Sunday morning at PG/Evoshield Upperclass Naitonal Championship meant one thing: Playoff day. In the first playoff game of the day at the Cincinnati Reds Spring Training complex the T-Rex Baseball Club took on Hoots Baseball Club for the right to advance. Hoots started 2016 lefthander Jacob Hord (Freemont, Calif.), and he was very effective early. Working from a lower thee-quarters slot, nearing sidearm, the lefty did an excellent job pounding his fastball down in the zone with heavy sinking/running life. Fastball worked 80-85 for the most part, and was incredibly tough for opposing hitters to square up. He mixed in a very good slider in the 70-74 range, showing varying looks depending on the situation. The slider would be sharper with more traditional tilt in the 73-74 range, and he did a good job throwing this variation for a strike and freezing hitters. He could then manipulate the shape of the slider to turn it into more of a downer pitcher in the 70-72 range, and this offering he would back foot to righthanded hitters, getting several swings and misses over the top of it.

On the mound for T-Rex was 2016 righthander Matt Thomas (Scottsdale, Ariz.). Thomas pitches with a long, extended arm action into a slight stab in the back of his arm circle, comes out of it well and cleanly into acceleration, and release is clean. His fastball worked 81-84 with good arm side run, and he did a great job throwing strikes. He has very good feel for both curve and change, with his curve showing 11-to-5 shape and quality depth; and his changeup being a bit straighter but very deceptive out of the hand.

2016 shortstop Cameron Cannon (Chandler, Ariz.) has been very impressive at various Perfect Game events in the past (PG/MLK Championship, National Showcase) and has continued that momentum in recent weeks by committing to the University of Arizona and then playing well in this event. He’s a quick-twitch athlete with the range and athleticism to handle shortstop at the next level, and his actions to and through fielding the baseball are excellent. He’s shown the ability to hit for power with consistency in the past, and as he continues to physically develop there’s no reason to believe that his power will do anything but continue to grow.

Sam Behrens (Pleasant Hill, Calif.), a 2016 righthander, took the mound for Lamorinda in their playoff game, and was impressive due to both stuff and durability. Regardless of talent level, it’s common to see a pitcher lose some velocity over the course of a 100 pitch start. Behrens did not do that, holding his 83-86 mph fastball velocity for well over 90 pitches in an impressive display of durability and conditioning level. The fastball showed some quality life to the arm side, keeping it off of opposing barrels, and he mixed in a solid slider and change as well. The arm works and is easy for the most part, leading this scout to believe that he has some more velocity projection in there as well.

In a highly-touted, highly-scouted playoff matchup, the T-Rex took on CBA Marucci. Neither team disappointed as far as pitching matchups, with T-Rex throwing Boyd Vander Kooi (Mesa, Ariz.) and CBA sending out Christopher Lincoln (Moreno Valley, Calif.).




Vander Kooi is a 2017 prospect committed to Oregon, a legitimate two-way talent who has the talent both on the mound and with the bat to be drafted highly as either position. At 6-foot-5, 200-pounds with broad shoulders, he has the ideal pitcher’s frame, and physically projects well moving forward. He worked 84-86 for the most part in his outing, with very heavy, bowling ball sink that makes it very tough to square up when located down in the zone. At his best, he gets weak contact on the ground and then has the ability to blow fastballs by hitters when he elevates. He gets on top of the ball well from a high ¾ slot and generates plane, despite the spine tilt in his delivery. His arm works very well and the velocity projection in his arm is almost limitless. He’ll mix in a curveball and a change as well, both with quality feel and effectiveness. He’s amongst the top two-way talents in the entire country right now, and keeping in mind that he’s only a junior, it’s a scary proposition just how good he could be.




Lincoln is a lean and long 2016 righthander that showed a glimpse of potentially super high upside. Standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 170-pounds, Lincoln isn’t quite as lean as 2015 draftee Triston McKenzie at this point in their respective careers, but the physical comparison isn’t far off. Generating excellent arm speed and getting his fastball up to 88 presently, it won’t be long until Lincoln is working comfortably in the 90s. He showed advanced ability to work with both a four-seam fastball and a two-seamer, with his four-seamer working 85-88 and showing some boring life in on the hands of righthanded hitters; while the two-seamer worked 81-84 with heavy sinking action. He mixed and matched both pitches at-bat to at-bat with good effectiveness. He mixed in a breaking ball with varying shape as well as a changeup, giving him a four-pitch arsenal with feel for all four. He has significantly high upside, and is the type that could absolutely blow up in the spring.

CBA’s 2016 shortstop and righthanded pitcher Ryan Garcia (Sierra Madre, Calif.) came on in relief and worked 84-87, touching 90 twice as well. He has a quick and easy arm that works well and allows the ball to explode out of his hand. His delivery is controlled and balanced, showing clean mechanics throughout and good rhythmic tempo.

2016 outfielder Josh Stephen (Newport Beach, Calif.) is a quick-twitch, explosive athlete with easy center field projection and top-of-the-lineup hitting tools, showing a line drive swing plane with good gap-to-gap power highlighted by very quick hands. He projects at the next level as what he is now, an excellent leadoff hitter who plays an outstanding center field.

Andrew Swift (2017, Chandler, Ariz.) plays shortstop for the T-Rex club, and is someone we need to keep an eye on moving forward. With excellent athleticism that shows up in the infield, he handles shortstop with no problem and has quality hitting tools with developing power.

North East Baseball’s Dylan Carlson (Elk Grove, Calif.) is a 2016 prospect committed to Cal State Fullerton, and he showed excellent hitting tools all weekend. He gets the bat to the zone quickly and it stays in the zone for a long time, looks to hit the ball hard with authority, overall a clean swing with easy power projection.

2017 middle infielder Michael Sandoval (Team California: Eastvale, Calif.) showed a quick bat with consistent hard contact all over the field, has natural lift in his swing and projects to have excellent power as he continues to develop.

– Brian Sakowski