2016 righthander Xzavion Curry, who is committed to Georgia Tech, took the mound for the East Cobb Yankees in Friday night’s action of the 2015 WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2. Curry is a player on a very talented Yankees team loaded with 11 commitments as well as others on the team who should soon follow. Curry showed off a dominant fastball in his outing that routinely worked in the 86-90 mph range and hit 92 to finish off one of his 10 strikeouts. His fastball showed good movement as well with heavy sinking action low in the zone. He worked very quickly and showed a very balanced, online delivery on the mound.

Curry’s most impressive offering was his 70-74 mph curveball that consistently made hitters look lost at the plate with its depth. He kept his breaking ball low in the zone, or in the dirt, generating weak contact or swings and misses all together. Curry threw two different variations of his curveball. One kept 11-to-5 break while the other had more of a 10-to-4 shape with two-plane break. Keeping hitters off balance was key in Curry’s start as he mixed his explosive fastball with his sharp breaking ball very well and showed good command of both throughout the outing.

Also for the Yankees, 2016 shortstop Carter Kieboom (Marietta, Ga.) showed well. Kieboom, a Clemson commit, showed impressive bat speed at the plate and continued to make hard contact that became well known at the PG National Showcase. Kieboom projects very well with an athletic 6-foot-2, 185-pound frame with good present strength. He delivered an RBI single up the middle in his first at-bat that registered 95 mph off the bat per TrackMan. He displayed quick wrists and strong hands through the zone that give him an advanced feel for the barrel. Kieboom also showed off good instincts and speed on the bases as he swiped a bag in his team’s win. Defensively, he was not given many opportunities, but did make a nice ranging play up the middle to keep a hard hit ground ball from reaching the outfield grass.

Another player who thoroughly impressed in the tournament’s first game was Carolina Prospects shortstop Victor Major. Major, an uncommitted 2016 from Mount Pleasant, N.C., showed off intriguing skills in the field and at the plate for the Prospects. From the three hole, Major ripped a double down the left field line to bring home the first run. In his second at-bat, Major waited back on a curveball and drove it out to dead center field, generating good backspin. He showed a patient approach at the plate with the ability to recognize spin and a good feel for the barrel as well as present bat speed at the plate. In the field, major made a slick play as he ranged to his left and threw out the runner at first with a throw across his body. Showing good footwork and a good arm at the position, Major should have the ability to play up the middle going forward.

The night game at LakePoint featured a loaded Team Elite Prime 18u squad that sent Tennessee commit Connor Darling (Suwanee, Ga.) to the hill. The 6-foot-4, 197-pound Darling pitched well downhill and showed an easy arm action. He featured a short arm circle in the back and used a three-quarters slot. His fastball sat between 83-85 mph and topped out at 86. Darling also used a sinking changeup that was usually thrown in the upper-70s and also mixed in a slider that he seldom used. He has the ability to add more velocity going forward, and with some modest tweaks he could turn his slider into a formidable pitch.

Following Darling out of the Team Elite bullpen was lefthander Connor Thomas (Omega, Ga.), a Georgia Tech commit. Thomas showed a low three-quarters arm slot and topped out with his fastball at 90 mph. In his relief outing he sat between 88-90 and offered a great change of pace curveball that sat 76-78 mph. His fastball jumped on hitters and offered subtle run. His curveball showed 11-to-5 or 2-to-7 break and had sharp, late break that froze hitters. Thomas showed the ability to elevate his fastball for a strikeout as well as place it low in the zone showing strong command and control. He was particularly effective pitching inside to lefthanded batters and then finishing them with a curveball at the knees. With the development of a third pitch, Thomas could prove even more effective against righthanded hitters. Thomas struck out the first six batters he faced.

The catcher for Team Elite Prime was Georgia commit, Austin Biggar (Lilburn, Ga.). With a strong and athletic 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame, Biggar possesses the durability and arm strength to stick behind the plate. He displayed soft, sure hands with good framing ability to go with sound footwork. At the plate, Biggar showed good bat speed and present power. With quick hands through the zone and a strong slightly elevated swing plane he has the ability to drive the ball to all fields. His barrel control and feel give him a good hit tool to go with a strong defensive profile.

On the opposite quad, outfielder and lefthanded pitcher J.J. Bleday (Panama City Beach, Fla.) showed off on both the mound and at the plate for the North Florida Prospects. The Vanderbilt commit stands at 6-foot-3, 195-pounds and has a very athletic overall frame with room to add strength. On the hill he pounded the ball low in the zone with a three-quarters delivery that he showed the ability to repeat. Bleday topped out with an 85 mph fastball and sat comfortably in the 82-84 range. He mixed in a 70-73 breaking ball with 12-to-6 shape. The breaking ball offering shows good depth and sharp, late bite helping him to strikeout all six batters in his two innings. At the plate, Bleday showed impressive bat speed and big raw power launching a three-run home run to right that registered as 94 mph off the bat. Bleday continuously showed good, natural lift and with a fluid swing through the zone. With his potential as both a pitcher and hitter, Bleday is a true two-way talent.