2015 WWBA Freshman World Championship Event Page
Not
too long after righthander Nolan Crisp (McDonough, Ga.) threw
three impressive innings in the opening time slot of the WWBA
Freshman World Championships he took care of his college commitment
with a verbal to Mississippi State. Listed as 6-foot 165-pounds Crisp
came out of the gate sitting in the 84-86 mph range, bumping an 87
all the while filling up the strike zone. He may not be the tallest
of players in the tournament just yet but the twitchy righthander did
a nice job of consistently working on top of the ball with his long
arms, generating downhill plane with some late running life to his
arm side. With a full arm action through the backside the newly
minted Bulldog showed balance in his delivery as well as the ability
to locate to his glove side. A pitch that’s continued to develop
nicely since the summer circuit is a slider, a 73-76 mph offering
that features tight spin and short tilting life to the bottom of the
zone while mimicking the arm action of his fastball.
Anthony
Volpe (Watchung, N.J.) could best be surmised as a baseball
player with sound actions on both sides of the ball. A primary
shortstop, the 5-foot-8, 165-pound Volpe shows soft hands that play
well at the ball as well as good arm strength across the diamond.
Volpe takes his reps from the righthanded batter’s box and shows a
quick barrel through the zone while exhibiting a feel for it at
contact as well with nice jump coming off to his pull side.
Outfielder
Tyler Kehoe (Prospect Park, Pa.) made an immediate impression,
and by immediate I mean first pitch he saw of the tournament, with
the bat and set the tone for the rest of the tournament for himself.
A strongly built 5-foot-10, 160-pound lefthanded hitter, Kehoe stayed
through the ball with excellent balanced and connected for a long
home run that was easily lofted over the right field fence. Over the
first couple of pool play games Kehoe consistently found the barrel
of the bat and showed comfort and confidence hitting to all fields
with hard jump coming off. Kehoe has shown off a direct path to the
ball all weekend along with the ability to backspin hard line drives,
something that’s only going to become more prevalent as he adds
strength to his broad shouldered build. Spending time at different
positions in the outfield, Kehoe nearly made a fully extended diving
catch in center field after taking a solid first step on a ball that
was flared just over the infield dirt behind second base, again
showing athleticism and instincts.
A
primary middle infielder, Sanson Faltine III (Richmond, Texas)
displayed interesting two-way potential throughout the weekend with
both his swing and on the mound. With a long and lean 6-foot-1 frame
Faltine remained very balanced with a deliberate pace through his
delivery before filling up the strike zone with a fastball that sat
80-82 mph early in the outing. He’s able to create some nice whip
through the backside and did so while remaining on top of the ball
with his high three-quarters release for consistent downhill plane
and subtle running life. Another aspect of his game on the mound is
the pitchability and his feel to throw a full three-pitch mix with
comfort and conviction. While creating angle on his fastball at
release, Faltine featured a low-70s and wasn’t afraid to throw it
in on righthanded hitters, locating well to his arm side with short
and late fading life. As he continues to incorporate additional lower
half into his release the velocity will continue to climb though his
curveball already proved to be a swing-and-miss pitch in the
upper-60s with late depth. Listed as a switch-hitter who took a
majority of his reps righthanded, Faltine shows looseness in his
hands and solid bat speed through the zone all while staying balanced
just as he did defensively up the middle.
If
you walk from field to field throughout the four-day tournament you
might not find a player bigger and more physically impressive than
6-foot-2, 215-pound Justin Kapuscinski out of Marlboro, New
Jersey. The primary catcher for Baseball U Futures, Kapuscinski
employs his strength well both behind the plate and with his
righthanded stick. Starting with a crouched stance in the box,
Kapuscinski’s physicality comes into play as the barrel meets the
ball and produces loud contact just as it did when he jumped on
fastball and lined it to the right-center field fence for a standup
double. A big target behind the plate the New Jersey native is one of
a handful of young catching prospects who stood out this weekend,
particularly with his advanced arm strength and carry. With a low set
up behind the dish, Kapuscinski gave a pop time of 2.01 in between
innings showing both the strength and accuracy that carried over into
game action.
Rece
Hinds (Niceville, Fla.) is listed at 5-foot-11, 165-pounds but he
has the type of frame you can quickly look at and tell he projects
very well with longer limbs and an overall athletic sense to his
game. A primary shortstop, Hinds shows sound defensive instincts up
the middle with a quick first step and lateral range to couple his
soft hands and arm trength across the diamond. It’s with the bat
however that Hinds really made an impression with hands that are
amongst the quickest in the tournament. Showing a very smooth and
fluid stroke with consistent barrel land contact skills, Hinds also
creates leverage in his bat path with the ability to turn on an inner
half fastball just as he did for a standup double down the left field
line.
With
an impressively strong 6-foot-1, 185-pound, broad-shouldered frame,
righthander Aaron Wainwright (Kingsland, Ga.) took the ball
for Chain National and impressed during his time on the mound.
Showing an easy arm action through the back and coming to a higher
release point, Wainwright did a nice job of working downhill with his
fastball that peaked at 84 mph. There isn’t much tension at release
and as a result is able to maintain his low-80s velocity out of the
stretch and projects for more with continued incorporation of his
lower half. Though able to miss bats on the strength of his heater,
Wainwright would flash a mid-70s slider and a nice 11-to-5 curveball at
72-73 mph with which he did a nice job of repeating his release point
and would throw for strikes.
Harrison
Thiel (Parrish, Fla.) set the tempo for the Chain offense
throughout the weekend at the top of their order producing steady
results. Standing at a long and lean 6-foot, 170-pounds, Thiel starts
with a tight hand set close to his body in the box but does a nice
job of getting extended at contact and stays through the ball
creating hard line drive contact to all fields. Using a line to line
approach rather comfortably, Thiel showed a sound feel for the barrel
and moves well on his feet from base to base. Though a primary
shortstop, Thiel also hopped on the mound where he sat in the
upper-70s with an up-tempo delivery and quick, compact arm action and
also flashed an 11-to-5 curveball at 70 mph.
Matt
McCormick (Orland Park, Ill.) has already made some noise prior
to the showcase and continued to show well for Chicago Scouts
Association throughout the weekend. Already physically advanced with
a strong 6-foot, 185-pound frame McCormick showed some of the bigger
bat speed of the weekend, an advanced tool that plays well from the
left side. He begins his swing with a high hand set but did a nice
job of getting the barrel to the ball and showed his strength with a
hard and loud double that he connected for early Saturday morning
down the right field line. And while a player with his bat speed and
strength may often look to hurt the ball, McCormick showed an
approach in the box and was willing to take his walks. A primary
catcher, McCormick caught one of the games during their double header
and showed off a quick transfer and solid arm strength giving low 2.0
pop times in between innings.
Center
fielder Michael Bolton (Chicago, Ill.) might not be the
biggest player on the field but he’s able to impact a game with the
biggest of players. Listed as just 5-foot9, 140-pounds, Bolton seemed
to always find himself on base whether it’s with a slap ground ball
the opposite way or one of his several free passes. Full of twitch,
it’s once Bolton reached base that he could truly do damage in
turning walks into triples within a couple of pitches thanks to his
reads, instincts, and overall foot speed. That same speed plays in
center field as does his arm strength where he showed both strength
and accuracy to make runners think twice about tagging up.
Lefthander
Avery Short (Indianapolis, Ind.) took the hill for his team’s
first game and showed well while also leaving intrigue of what he can
become. With a short arm action through the backside, Short displayed
an easy and quick arm action that projects well with continued
strength and better directionality of his lower half. Working in the
78-81 mph range with his fastball, which he pitched almost
exclusively off of, Short did a nice job of generating steady
downhill plane to the bottom of the zone. He did a nice job of adding
and subtracting to his heater while still creating run to his arm
side and also flashed a changeup at 74 mph out of the same chute.
A
loose and athletic middle infielder, shortstop Thomas Keehn
(Highland, Md.) showed nice bat speed coming through the zone with a
line drive swing plane and a feel for the barrel. He moves well on
his feet both down the line and up the middle with long and easy
strides and possesses the arm strength needed to complete the long
play evidenced by his fastball that he ran up to 81 mph while on the
mound. With a short yet quick arm action Keehn did a nice job of
working on top of the ball and filled up the strike zone while
missing bats while not allowing his first base hit until more than
halfway thorugh the game.
Ian
Remalia is a strong righthander out of Waldorf, Maryland to keep
an eye on moving forward. Listed as a primary shortstop Remalia
showed a full and fluid arm action working to a high release point
which allowed for steady downhill plane. He does a nice job of using
his long arms to his advantage in creating extension out front on his
78-81 mph fastball showing occasional run to his arm side. His
upper-60s 12-to-6 curveball served as his out pitch with nice depth
out of the same arm slot.
Isaac
Nunez (New York, N.Y.) already committed to in-state St. John’s
and after watching a single game you can see exactly what the
Johnnies coaching staff saw in the young shortstop. With a young and
projectable 5-foot-11, 160-pound frame Nunez showed some of the
softest hands up the middle of the entire tournament and has the arm
strength across to allow for that long throw. That same arm strength
translates nicely to the mound as he sat in the 81-83 mph range in
his one inning of work showing a full and fluid arm action with nice
balance and consistent downhill plane. Nunez isn’t just a defensive
presence as he hits in Team Citius’ three-hole and readily found
the barrel with a long and fluid swing that’ll only become more of
a weapon with continued physical growth.
Deion
Walker (Marietta, Ga.) has a very long and lean 6-foot-3,
150-pound frame and is a quick-twitch type of athlete who needs to be
followed as he continues to fill out his frame. Though he has some
length to his righthanded swing, Walker seemed to be on time and find
the barrel well as he connected for an easy double over the
leftfielders head showing quick hands and barrel through the zone.
Raymond
Torres (Charlotte, N.C.) only made a brief cameo in the
tournament for Team Elite Prime but he made enough of an impact for
onlookers to take notice. With a long 5-foot-10 frame and present
strength throughout Torres showed some of the best catch and throw
skills with a lightening quick transfer and top of the charts arm
strength with consistent accuracy and carry. In between innings
Torres turned in pop times in the 1.9s and did a nice job in regards
to receiving while showing quick footwork behind that plate that will
continue to develop with refinement. His defensive tools are more
than noteworthy but the North Carolina native also did a nice job of
recognizing spin in the batter’s box as he kept his weight back on
curveball and lined it to the left-center field gap for a well struck
single.
He’s
just beginning his eighth grade year but catcher Alek Boychuk
(Buford, Ga.) made noise last week at the WWBA Underclass World
Championship and did so again this weekend with players who are just
one year older. His performance behind the plate was as impressive as
it was last week with advanced receiving skills and light actions on
his feet. There’s no hesitation in blocking balls in the dirt and
the arm strength is only going to get develop though he already shows
sound carry and dots the ball down to the shortstop’s glove. Both
his hands and barrel are quick to the ball and with the extension he
creates in his swing he’s able to go with the outer half pitch
while finding the barrel and creating leverage at contact.
Jackson
Kimbrell (Birmingham, Ala.) is a strong 5-foot-11 lefthander who
started Saturday afternoon for the East Coast Sox Prime and is one of
several impressive young players on the roster. Working from a quick
and high three-quarters arm action, Kimbrell shows a clean arm action
that produced a fastball that peaked at 83 mph without much effort at
release. There’s more velocity on the way as he continued to
incorporate his lower half into his drive towards the plate but
already has comfort in throwing his 69-71 mph curveball for strikes
with short and consistent depth.
Hayden
Dunhurst (Carriere, Miss.) is one of those other impressive
players in the East Coast Sox lineup that helped the team capture a
first round bye in the playoffs. Standing at a strong 5-foot-10,
192-pound frame Dunhurst packs strength into his lefthanded swing and
opened eyes with a long and hard hit triple to the opposite field gap
showing solid carry off the bat.
Clay
Canale (Hudson, N.C.) did most of the catching for the Evoshield
Canes and turned in a solid performance each time. With a loose and
very flexible 5-foot-9, 155-pound frame Canale showed light footwork
bouncing from side to side and fluidity in nearly everything he did
behind the dish. He receives well out front and is able to help his
pitchers in sticking pitches and stealing strikes while his arm
strength is a weapon to help control the running game.
Adam
Bloebaum (Raleigh, N.C.) may not have shown some mid-80s velocity like other arms
in the tournament have but the velocity jump is on its way for the
young 6-foot-3 lefthander. Armed with a fastball that sat in the
76-79 mph range, Bloebaum’s arm action is very quick and he does a
nice job of creating angle with his arm action at release. The
athleticism also shines as he remains rather balanced through his
delivery, something that isn’t often seen out of players of his
height and age. Bloebaum also uses his long limbs to his advantage as
he creates nice extension out front and exhibited comfort challenging
righthanded hitters on the inner half of the plate, often locating to
his glove side with intent and frequent success. Though he lands open
with his front side he’s still able to get on top of his curveball
and displays a strong feel for the pitch that featured late and sharp
depth in the upper-60s, showing the potential to become a swing-and-miss offering.
Another
player who’s just beginning his eighth grade year in school,
righthander Ryan McCauley (Oviedo, Fla.) has a chance to
develop into a big arm and already shows quality stuff on the mound.
With a long 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame, McCauley came out sitting in
the 80-84 mph range with his fastball showing a quick and loose arm
action that projects for more velocity with continued physical
growth. More noteworthy than his velocity was his ability to repeat
his delivery for an arm of such a young age as he stayed online with
his lower half and did a nice job of working over his front side
which in turn allowed for command down in the zone early on. He’s
able to generate the velocity without nearly any effort and was able
to miss bats with late life through the bottom of the zone. His
changeup is a pitch that will continue to develop the more he throws
it but his slider is already a mid-70s offering and is a pitch he
throws with comfort showing short tilt away from righthanded hitters.
Woodson
Alexander (Charlotte, N.C.) is an arm I was able to see this
summer at one of the WWBA tournaments and he’s already made
noticeable strides in terms of his delivery which has translated to
more fastball velocity as well. A strong 6-foot-2, 185-pound
righthander, Alexander showed quality arm strength as he sat in the
82-84 mph range early on, bumping an 85 with consistent hard and late
sinking life. The combination of fastball life and ability to live
down in the in zone led frequent swings and misses (punched out 11 in
a complete game effort) and when the ball was put in play it
generally resulted in weak ground ball contact. As the innings wore
on the velocity hardly fell, still working in the 81-83 mph range in
the sixth from the same quick arm action. Just how effective the
fastball life truly showed on the fact that Alexander was able to
work almost exclusively off his fastball though he did flash a
mid-70s changeup that came out of the same arm slot.
Eric
Grintz (Glenmoore, Pa.) is about as physical of a player as
you’ll find in the tournament standing 6-foot, 185-pounds with
broad shoulders and impressive muscle mass throughout. With loose
hands in his righthanded swing, Grintz has a short and strong swing
with standout bat speed and comfort hitting to the opposite field.
His bat path is direct to the ball and when squared off the barrel he
shows big jump, especially to his pull side. Though physically built,
Grintz shows some twitch to his frame and versatility defensively as
he started both behind the plate and in center field. Grintz showed
his arm strength from the outfield as he delivered a strike to home
plate on a line to get the runner by a handful of steps though he’s
equally as impressive behind the plate both with his actions and with
his right arm.
Matt
Orlando (Marlton, N.J.) is the type of player who can easily be
defined as being a “baseball player” and shows confidence in
everything he does. A primary shortstop, Orlando shows smooth
defensive actions around the bag with instincts and soft hands as
well as an easy arm action across the diamond. Over the course of the
weekend the New Jersey native showed a steady feel for the barrel
regardless of where the pitch was located, going to the opposite
field just as frequently as he turned on a ball. He shows a fluid
swing path and with quick wrists and loose hands is able to create
some leverage at contact, driving the ball from line to line. He also
turned in a complete game performance in Tri-State’s second pool
game and sat comfortably in the 77-80 mph range from the first pitch
until the last. Orlando did a nice job of filling up the strike zone
with late life to his arm side and effectively mixed in both a
changeup and curveball, each for strikes and to the bottom of the
zone.
It’s
easy to see why lefthander Kellan
Tulio
(Emmaus, Pa.) is already regarded as one of the top arms in the 2019
class and it’s scary to think that he’s going to get even better.
With a strong, well-proportioned frame at 6-foot-2, 200-pounds that
stands out amongst his peers in the tournament Tulio came out working
in the 79-82 mph range early, bumping an 83 all the while looking as
though he was playing catch. With a low effort and easy release from
an extended three-quarters arm action, the young lefty did a nice job
of working his fastball to the bottom of the zone with short and
subtle running life that helped stay off opposing barrels. Already
showing downhill plane, Tulio will continue to live low and add
velocity as he stays online towards the plate with his lower half.
Along with showing quite possibly the easiest arm action of the
tournament, Tulio displayed a feel for his big curveball in the
upper-60s that featured quality depth and has the potential to
develop into a consistent swing and miss pitch.
You
could say that Jacob Shaver
(Salt Lake City, Utah) was perfect Sunday afternoon in the Banditos
Elite quarterfinal victory considering he threw seven perfect innings
while striking out eight. With a strongly built 5-foot-9, 180-pound
frame the righthanded Shaver did a nice job of filling up the strike
zone with his fastball that bumped 80 mph and sat comfortably in the
upper-70s from the opening pitch until the final out was recorded.
What helped Shaver accomplish the feat was the consistent cutting
life on his fastball and the fact that nothing that left his right
hand came out straight. With a quick arm action through the back,
Shaver showed comfort throwing his curveball in the low-70s for
strikes and was on cruise control all game. To finish off his
masterpiece Shaver spotted a fastball on the outer half of the plate
for a called third strike, his eighth and final one of the outing.
Throughout
the tournament Coach Ray Deleon of the Banditos Elite rolled out some
highly impressive arms and the trend continued on Championship Monday
as his starters in both the semifinal and championship games were
electric.
Righthander
Oscar Moralez
(Baytown, Texas) went the distance in his team’s semifinal win and
punched out 11 en route to ultimately earning the tournament’s
MV-Pitcher award. Working his fastball up to 81 mph in the first
inning, the strongly build 6-foot-1 Moralez worked in the 78-80 mph
range over the first couple of innings before turning it on. With a
balanced delivery and a quick arm action, Moralez began to sit in the
82-84 mph range rather comfortably showing sharp downhill plane to
either side. Able to elevate up in the zone and still miss bats,
Moralez has more velocity in the tank as his strong lower half is
incorporated into his delivery. Aside from the velocity and the
ability to work in and out on hitters was the comfort and feel
Moralez of his curveball that worked into the low-70s. As the innings
progressed Moralez began to throw the pitch with more conviction, all
the while filling up the strike zone with the 11-to-5 shaped
offering. Overall the young righthander showed a nice mixture of
velocity and feel, filling up the zone while still projecting for
more.
One
of the last pitchers to throw in the tournament, righthander Matthew
Thompson
(Cypress, Texas) showed the best velocity of the entire tournament
and has a chance to develop into something special over the next
couple of years. Full of athleticism and twitch Thompson immediately
passes the eye test as he stands 6-foot-2, 173-pounds with long limbs
and the type of fluidity and looseness you can see as he walks to the
mound, let alone deliver a pitch. Thompson shows full and fluid arm
action through the back side and with advanced arm speed for a pitch
his age he was able to dial his fastball up to 88 mph early in the
game while working comfortably in the 83-87 mph range throughout.
Though I just saw Thompson earlier this month at the WWBA South
Qualifier there’s already been slight improvements in his delivery
and as a result he was able to pound the ball downhill with subtle
run and sink down. The pure fastball velocity is enough to miss bats
but he showed a feel for a breaking ball that he could manipulate
showing slider shape on some and more depth on others giving more of
a curveball feel. When thrown in the mid- to upper-70s Thompson’s
breaking ball featured more tilt as opposed to the low-70s version
that had more 11-to-5 shape with depth, giving him two different
pitches that can be thrown for strikes and miss barrels.
Patrick
Alvarez
(Charlotte, N.C.) had a nice all-around tournament for the EvoShield
Canes and fits into the same category of Matt Orlando and Anthony
Volpe above in that they might not be the biggest on the field but
they find a way to make an impact. Listed at 5-foot-6, 140-pounds,
Alvarez proved to be a sparkplug at the top of the lineup regularly
finding the barrel which resulted in sound carry and quality jump.
With a feel for the head of the bat Alvarez also showed off wrists
and hands in his righthanded swing and are something that comes out
in his defensive abilities as well. Anchored up the middle at
shortstop, Alvarez moves well on his feet showing quickness to work
behind and through the ball with soft hands and arm strength across
the diamond.