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Tournaments  | Story | 7/14/2016

17u BCS Finals Day 3 Scout Notes

Brandon Hohl
Photo: Perfect Game


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Day 3 of the 17U BCS Finals began for me at Century Link this morning to see the Tri-State Arsenal. In the short time I was there two hitters – Brian Morrell (2017, Wading River, N.Y.) and Alexander Tappen (2017, Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) – really impressed.

The 76th nationally ranked prospect and a Notre Dame commit, Morrell has an athletic stance with loose hands for rhythm where he drops the bat back and forth over his shoulder. He has a slight gather to rear leg, short leg lift stride and creates separation with barrel tip load. Brian generates a lot of bat speed due to the barrel never stopping during the load. In his first at bat he singled through to left field on an inside fastball that he really had to clear his hips to get to. Morrell finished the game 1-for-3 with a run scored.

I also got to see Morrell on the mound in a lightning delay shortened outing the previous day. Working his fastball at 91-93 mph and touching 94, Brian sets his hands low and raises them with a high leg kick. His leg kick creates internal rotation and coils his front side over the rear leg; he then sits his weight in to the rear leg and drives towards the plate. A glove tap begins his fast arm swing that bounces from his back pocket to an over-the-top release. He only threw two attempts at a curveball but didn’t seem to have a good feel for it. Still, it was very impressive to see that kind of velocity from a two-way player.

Tappen made a big impact in his first plate appearance of the day by delivering a two-run triple to deep center field. The Virginia commit and PG National participant is a tall and strong athlete with a wide stance, upright torso and hands high over the shoulder while holding the bat vertical. Tappen keeps it simple at the plate with a short load and stride that creates elastic tension in the body. The barrel falls flat behind the shoulder keeping his path in the zone for a long time and finished the game 1-for-3.

Over at the 5-Plex I was really impressed with the swings on Frazier Baseball, most notably by Brandon Haggerty (2017, Forked River, N.J.). Haggerty has a slightly open hinge stance and his hands are high above his shoulder holding his bat vertical. His swing movements are efficient with a simple load and stride that creates bat speed and allows him to work up to the ball. One thing that I did notice in his mechanics was that his barrel seems to stop during his load which is harder for hitters to generate their best barrel velocity. Despite this, Haggerty had an impressive day at the plate going 1-for-3 with a line drive home run to left field and is having a spectacular BCS Finals so far. Brandon is currently 5-for-9 during the event with two home runs, three RBI and five runs.

Facing off against Frazier Baseball was APEX Baseball and righthander Matthew Litwicki (2017, Dyer, Ind.). Matthew came in to close the game against the talented swings of Frazier Baseball. Out of the stretch he stands tall with both legs braced, a fluid leg kick and long arm swing, leading to a high three-quarters release point. Litwicki recorded the two-out save needing only nine pitches. He worked his fastball at 90 mph and a 68 mph 11-to-5 curveball. This was Litwicki’s first appearance on the mound in the 17u BCS Finals.

Playing concurrently at the 5-Plex was Elite Baseball Training-Premier and I was able to see two impressive athletes at the top of Premier’s lineup; Frank Dixon (2017, Bolingbrook, Ill.) and Joseph Curci (2016, Chicago, Ill.). At the plate, Dixon has a wide, open stance with his back elbow high and rhythm in the hands, rocking the barrel. Frank engages his swing with a shift into the rear leg, a knee-to-knee leg lift and a long stride parallel synced with a barrel tip. His rhythm and timing of his swing mechanics were really impressive to watch in the at-bat. Dixon looked in complete control of his movements and his first at-bat resulted in a line drive single up the middle.

Curci, the No. 3 hitter for Elite Baseball, is a tall athletic outfielder with intriguing potential at the plate. Curci steps in the box with presence and he stands in a hinge stance with feet slightly open, hands out away from his body at shoulder height. His swing begins with a short gather and stride that creates torque and bat speed. I saw him line out hard to center field and hit a double. He finished 1-for-3 in the game.

Standing out on the mound for Chain National-Dobbs was the 163rd ranked player in the country, Josh Hatcher (2017, Albany, Ga.). On the mound, Hatcher uses a high leg kick, quick short arm action and over-the-top release point. He showed advanced feel for a fastball, changeup and curveball. He worked his three-pitch mix off his 83mph fastball that he worked to both sides of the plate and changed eye levels. He could then go to his 70 mph changeup, which seemed to stop midway to the plate causing hitters to swing over the top of it. Or, Hatcher would incorporate a tight curveball, also at 70 mph, with short late break. Josh showed the ability to control all of his pitches in the zone effectively and was confident throwing any pitch in any count. It was a pretty good outing for an outfielder as he finished with seven strikeouts in four innings pitched and provided the first half a combined no-hitter with Mason Robertson (2017, Jesup, Ga.).

Uncommited lefthanded pitcher Frank Bradshaw (2017, Peachtree Corners, Ga.) of the Georgia Bombers went a solid four innings, allowing only three hits while recording three strikeouts and earning a win. Bradshaw has a projectable body standing at 6-foot-4, 185-pounds. He uses that height to his advantage on the mound, as with his extension consistently over eight feet according to TrackMan he was able to gain three additional perceived miles per hour on his pitches. He uses a high leg kick, leans over his rear leg and drives his weight into his front leg, with a long arm swing visible behind his body that leads to a three-quarters release point. Bradshaw’s fastball was 80-82 mph, touching 84, with a 70 mph changeup and 68 mph curveball.

Perfect Game National Showcase Invitee Jamil Vanheyningen (2017, West Orange, N.J.) was on the mound at Terry Park for the EvoShield Canes Northeast. The righthanded pitcher stands at a slender 6-foot-6, 225-pounds and projects raw potential. Vanheyningen has quick movements in both the windup and out of the stretch with a long arm swing that gains speed to an over-the-top release point. His direction is straight to the plate ending with a slight head whack. His fastball touched 89 (it peaked at 90 at the National Showcase), sitting at 85-87 mph and showing some arm-side run, although he did lose some velocity in the stretch. He also threw an 11-to-5 curveball at 77 mph although I think a power slider would suit him better in the future. He finished with five innings pitched allowing only one hit with eight strikeouts to earn the win.

Standing out on offense for the EvoShield Canes Northeast was the uncommitted Andrew Gorham (2017, Westford, Mass.). The 6-foot-4, 225-pound lefthanded hitter went 2-for-3 with a single and double to deep left-center field. He also had two RBI to add to his seven for the tournament. He stands tall with an open stance, bat flat across the shoulder, and has a simple load and stride keeping his hands in a strong launch position. Right now there’s more strength than bat speed but it’s hard to nitpick someone hitting .857 in the 17u BCS Finals.
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