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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/12/2016

17u BCS Finals Day 1 Scout Notes

Brandon Hohl     
Photo: Perfect Game


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Only days after crowning the 17u Perfect Game WWBA National Champion in LakePoint some of the nation’s top talent traveled south to Fort Myers, Fla., for the 17u Perfect Game BCS Finals. We lead off with one of the nation’s top pitching prospects, Florida State commit and 2017 graduate, D.L. Hall. Hall began the day showcasing his power fastball, sitting at 90-93 mph and touching 94, attacking hitters early in the count, working hard in and soft away. Once ahead, Hall would finish with sharp 1-to-7 curveball or change eye levels with the fastball. On the mound, Hall shows clean and fluid mechanics. Often striding to the first base side of the rubber, his direction carries him over his front leg while finishing to the third base side of the mound. His direction and high three-quarters arm slot combine to create a devastating approach angle for each oncoming pitch. These factors often make solid contact incredibly difficult for both lefthanded and righthanded hitters which was no different today. The No. 6 overall prospect in the nation finished the day with five innings pitched, walking three and striking out 10 while allowing only three hits and earning Chain National-Dobbs first win in the 17u BCS Finals.

Concurrently at Cypress Lake High School, the WWBA elite 8 Florida Burn Platinum battery of 2017 Florida commit Colton Gordon-Zimring and 2018 Florida State commit Matheu Nelson took on Batters Box DeMarini. Gordon-Zimring with his tall, lean and room-to-fill frame took the mound. The UF commit starts with high hands, a high leg kick with a hip coil, and internal rotation creating torque in the rear leg, then drives with the rear leg into a long stride. He matches his long stride with a long, quick arm swing and over-the-top release. I was really impressed with how he mixed all four of his pitches throughout his three-inning outing. He worked both sides of the plate with his 84-86mph fastball, touching 87, and showed good feel for his curveball at 68 mph and a developing changeup at 75 in the first inning. Gordon-Zimring then shelfed the curveball and changeup for his slider, which he seemed to have the most confidence in. He showed confidence with the slider for a first-pitch strike, back-to-back, or as an out pitch. His ability to throw any pitch in any count kept hitters off balance allowing the Florida commit to get the win and finish with six strikeouts and two walks while allowing only one hit among the 12 batters he faced. Gordon-Zimring also batted for himself, going 1-for-2 with two RBI.

Leading the way offensively for Florida Burn Platinum was national catching prospect and FSU Seminole commit Matheu Nelson. At the plate, Nelson starts with his hands about shoulder height with a slight barrel rock for rhythm. From his stance he has a simple gather-and-stride-separate movement forward. While striding he coils his front side, maintaining internal rotation of the lead shoulder, this creates torque and elastic tension in the hands and lead leg which results in tremendous bat speed. Nelson kept it simple with pitch selection he hunted on fastballs and followed up a long foul ball that left the yard with a double down the third baseline. The Florida State commit finished the day going 2-for-3 with two doubles and three RBI. Nelson, continues to make his presence felt in Fort Myers after showing up in the scout notes multiple times for the 17u WWBA. I really look forward to see his defensive skills be put to the test, and how he responds further down the road in the 17u BCS Finals.

At the 5-Plex Player Development Complex, Mission Team Baseball opened up pool play against Elite 17u A2K and Perfect Game National attendee and Lipscomb commit Jecorrah Arnold, led the way offensively. The first thing that you notice with Jecorrah is his presence on the field and in the batter’s box. Arnold, with his advanced physically and athletic frame carries a different kind of intensity with him when he plays the game and it reflects in his success. At the plate, the Lipscomb commit has an open stance, hands above shoulder and an active barrel rock for rhythm. He keeps his rear leg braced and torqued while using a leg-lift stride, as I really like his lower half mechanics after the stride foot lands. Arnold is a raw talent and there are things to work on at the plate, like incorporating more lead leg/lead shoulder coil and not allowing his barrel to stop when he gets to launch. He attacked fastballs early in the count and adjusted on a curveball for a single down the line and ended the day 3-for-3 with a double and an RBI. At shortstop what really stood out was his level of focus on each pitch. Not a pitch was thrown without him adjusting his position based on pitch location and anticipating contact.

Overall, Mission Team Baseball is worth further attention. They are a team filled with raw talent and integral pieces like Spence Johns, who threw a complete game, four-hit shutout to help lead them to victory.

The final game of the day took place at Century Link between Tri-State Arsenal Louisville Slugger and Orlando Scorpions 2017 Prime. On the mound for Scorpions Prime was Florida Gator commit and top 100 prospect, Jack Leftwich. On the mound, Leftwich has a tall set up out of the wind-up and stretch. He stays tall on the rear leg while using a high leg kick that incorporates a lead hip/shoulder coil. This position creates torque and strength throughout the body anchored by the rear leg allowing him to maintain his 88-91 mph fastball. He then uncoils direct to the plate with a long, quick arm swing and controlled finish. Leftwich showed an advanced three-pitch mix of his fastball, changeup, and slider. He worked away, away, away with his fastball and showed signs of arm-side run when going inside occasionally. He displayed confidence throwing the changeup or slider in any count to lefthanded hitters and righthanded hitters. He does maintain a high leg kick out of the stretch that can cause issues controlling runners on base, but to combat this Leftwich uses a heavy dose of pickoffs and varied holds. The Florida commit delivered three of shutout innings, scattering three hits with no walks, and three strikeouts.
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