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Tournaments  | Story | 7/19/2016

16u BCS Finals Day 1 Scout Notes



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Righthanded pitcher and member of Clutch Baseball, John Hoyle (2018, Austin, Texas) leads off the coverage of the 16u BCS Finals in Fort Myers. On the mound, John has a high leg kick and his hands come high above the head, sits in to the back leg then has a long stride, long and fast arm swing that bounces from the back pocket to a sudden over-the-top the top release point. I thought that he was able to hide the ball very well along with creating a large downward angle. Hoyle worked a fastball, changeup and curveball. The fastball was his go-to pitch early in the count working inside and also elevating it. The fastball set up his impressive 11-to-5 curveball which he used mainly as an out pitch. He did show a changeup in between innings but hardly threw it in the outing. Hoyle looked to still be developing some feel and maintaining a fastball arm speed with it. John finished with five innings pitched, nine strikeouts and no runs allowed.

Reed Beverly (2018, Austin, Texas) of Clutch Baseball stands at the plate with an open stance, hands shoulder height and rocks the barrel in front of his head for rhythm. He keeps the back leg torqued, using a quick leg lift to create a coiled front side as his stride separates to a strong launch position. He generates bat speed and showed good situational hitting by driving a low fastball in the air to center field for a sacrifice fly. Beverly showed advanced actions at the plate and is an intriguing athlete with seemingly more potential as he matures. His athletic profile seems to fit that of a corner outfielder or first basemen with the bat projecting to the middle of the order.

Matthew Maldonado (2018, Geronimo, Texas), also a member of Clutch, is a lefthanded hitter that keeps it really simple at the plate. His stance is set up in a strong position with his feet slightly wider than shoulder width and his hands high by the ear with the barrel at 45 degrees. He uses a short gather into his back leg and short stride, making the swing seem more rotational than it actually is. His back elbow drops and the barrel falls below the back shoulder creating a positive attack angle to the ball with bat speed. Maldonado singled hard with a line drive to right center field. Listed as a pitcher in his profile, he shows comfort and impressive actions at the plate.

Over on Field 4 of the 5-Plex, the aggressive offense of FTB Max Bats caught my attention, and standing out specifically was lefthanded hitter Christopher Vervoordt. Christopher is a tall, lean athlete that plays first base and hit third. At the plate he has a wide stance, keeping his hands high and back behind the shoulder. Vervoordt has simple actions at the plate starting with a short gather to his rear leg, then striding and landing early. He showed a good bat path as his body worked up to the ball and his lower half ended in a strong power-L with the lead leg locked out. I saw him double to right-center field on an inside fastball, running the bases well. Vervoordt is at least 6-foot-6 and still shows room to grow. He provides a great target at first base for the rest of his teammates.

Leo Passley (2018, St. Petersberg, Fla.) took the mound in relief for Chain National-McCrane, coming in from shortstop. He worked with clean mechanics beginning with a smooth leg lift, keeping his hands away from the body, raising his hands with leg lift and then striding forward with a long arm swing and whippy arm action with a low three-quarters release. Passley threw his fastball at 80 mph and showed arm-side run when working to the righthanded batters box. He could also throw it straight to his glove side, backing up lefthanded hitters. He mixed his fastball with a 10-to-5 slider at 70 mph with late sweeping movement. Passley finished two innings of work with one strikeout and no earned runs.

Kyle Yeoward (2019, Coral Springs, Fla.) of the HofFitz Legends showed impressive actions at the plate. The 15-year-old stands slightly open with his rear leg internally rotated, back knee in and hands high away from the shoulder. He begins his swing with a gather to the rear leg and his back knee goes out over his toes to create a torqued position, striding back to even landing high on the toe and a barrel tip to a low launch position. Yeoward’s body works up to the ball generating good bat speed, making good contact at the plate while showing potential for power.

Another 15-year-old that stood out for the HofFitz Legends was first baseman Andrew Jenner (2019, Coral Springs, Fla.). The lefthanded hitter starts his swing with an early leg kick, striding forward while the hands move back creating elastic tension. Jenner did simplify his mechanics with two strikes, choosing to stride and land early rather than continue the leg lift. He would simplify until he got back to even in the count or was anticipating a fastball. His barrel got behind the shoulder creating a positive path while his lower body worked up to the ball. Jenner gives himself a great chance to hit by keeping his barrel in the zone for a long period of time and he finished his day going 3-for-4 with a triple. I saw him work a deep count resulting in a single off the hands over the shortstop with a 4.69 turn.

Mark Townsend (2018, Sarasota, Fla.), with his lefthanded swing for the Florida Burn Platinum South really impressed at the plate. Townsend has an athletic stance with his feet slightly wider than shoulder width and his back knee bent in, hands set by his shoulder with the barrel at 45 degrees. His swing starts with knee-to-knee leg lift from his lead leg, striding forward as his hands separate loading up and back creating elastic tension. He lands in a torqued position swinging with bat speed and balance throughout the body. Townsend has a controlled finish with the rear leg in the power-L and a locked out lead leg with his torso over the plate. In his first at-bat he showed off his bat speed by lining out hard to center field.

Burn Platinum North righthanded pitcher Jonathon Simpson (2018, Plant City, Fla.) impressed with his funky and fast movements on the mound at 5-Plex Field 3. Simpson has high leg kick, leaning over his knee with his torso and his hands come up over the knee as he separates his throwing arm straight down. The arm bounces up out of his back pocket to an over-the-top release point. Simpson worked his straight fastball up to 85 mph and the deception added to the success with his fastball. Simpson created a lot of swing and misses along with jammed barrels with the fastball and he mixed in a sharp 67-69 mph curvebal. Mainly working early with his fastball and finishing with the curveball, Simpson finished with 6 1/3 innings pitched, scattering five hits while striking out three.

Pitching for Tampa Express was righthander Xavier Rodriquez (2017, Tampa, Fla.) who impressed with his velocity on his fastball. Touching 88 mph and sitting at a consistent 85-86, Rodriguez would attack hitters early with the fastball before showing a curveball with 12-to-6 movement at 71-74 mph. The most impressive pitch I thought Rodriguez had was his changeup that he threw consistently at 70 mph. He showed that he had advanced feel and confidence in the pitch, maintaining his fastball arm speed with arm-side run and depth out of the hand.



Tournaments | Story | 4/21/2026

Southeast Super NIT #2 Scout Notes

Jason Phillips
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Chase Jelks (‘30 GA)- with a long double to deep CF. Huge day from the primary SS, 5-for-6 w/ 4 doubles & 6 RBI. #SESuperNIT @TheDreamBall @PG_Georgia https://t.co/biFSzXCrUt pic.twitter.com/HCQMduedb5 — Perfect Game Youth (@PGYouthBB) April 20, 2026 Chase Jelks (’30, Atlanta, Ga.)- the left-handed hitting Jelks was all over the barrel on Sunday in a pair of games for The Dream 14U Black. He finished the day with five hits in six at-bats which included four doubles and six runs batted in. His two doubles and four runs batted in played a big part in the Gold Playoffs Round 1 victory over the talented BPA squad out of California. He backed up that performance with three more hits in a quarterfinal’s loss to the East Cobb Astros 14U Orange to finish the tournament with a .600 batting average and 1.636 on-base plus slugging percentage. A primary utility infielder,...
College | Story | 5/14/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 14 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
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Each week I huddle with Vinnie Cervino and Craig Cozart  to discuss Top-25 rankings and Players of the Week. In Coppy’s Corner, I dive deeper into these Players of the Week, providing analysis from 20+ years working in baseball front offices at the highest level.   Player of the Week: Drew Burress – Georgia Tech  I love everything that Craig Cozart writes, and his piece on Burress is as good as it gets (link). Craig does a masterful job of showing us how Burress has (not arguably) the best career college performance of any current player. The body of work is consistent and impressive, and Burress has one of the highest floors in the 2026 MLB Draft with above average or better tools across the board.  I’m not going to do a deep dive on Burress’ numbers because there is no point: they are really good, everywhere. I would rather talk about...
College | Rankings | 5/13/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 13

Nick Herfordt
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The college baseball postseason has arrived for NCAA Division II, Division III, and the NAIA, bringing with it the most intense stretch of the season. Conference tournaments have wrapped up, national brackets are taking shape, and teams across the country are shifting from regular season positioning to survival mode, where one bad inning can abruptly end a year’s worth of work. The NAIA Opening Round is already underway, and some programs could begin packing for the national finals as early as tomorrow. Across all three divisions, the postseason field is loaded with experienced clubs, dominant pitching staffs, and lineups capable of changing a game with one swing. Now, the focus turns from building résumés to advancing through regional play and chasing national championships. These antepenultimate rankings provide a final snapshot of where the divisions stand entering...
High School | Rankings | 5/13/2026

High School Top 50 Update: May 13

Tyler Russo
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Another week has passed by in the high school baseball season and with that, we have another edition of the National High School Top 50 to bring to you. Playoffs are rolling in southern states and we have reached the final 4 in some of them already. Each week we have new teams break in and this week is no different with three new faces inside the top-50.   The top remains almost identical to a week ago with the top-10 remaining the exact same with Venice (FL) leading the way as the No. 1 team in the nation. North Paulding (GA) swept Buford in an Elite 8 matchup in Georgia and move up a pair of spots to No. 12 in the country. Another big mover is St. Laurence (IL) who jumps nine spots to No. 13 and boast a 30-1 record on the year. Waxahachie (TX) continues to move up and are up nine spots this week to No. 32.   The three new teams inside the National Top 50 are Etowah...
College | Story | 5/12/2026

College Players of the Week: May 12

Vincent Cervino
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May 12th Perfect Game/Player of the Week:  Drew Burress, OF, Georgia Tech  It would be hard to come up with an award that Drew Burress, the 5-9/185 junior from Houston County, GA, hasn’t achieved throughout his All-American career for the Yellow Jackets.  From being named the Perfect Game Freshman of the Year in 2024, to being a semifinalist for the Dick Howser and Golden Spikes Award in 2025, it would be a challenge for a mere mortal to live up to the expectations.  Burress has done that and more as he etched his name in the record books last weekend when he tied Georgia Tech legend Jason Varitek’s record for career home runs.  Launching round-trippers in each of their 3-victories against ACC foe Duke, Burress brought his total to an incredible 57 over his three seasons in Atlanta.  For the weekend, he collected 6 hits in 12 at bats, scoring 6...
College | Rankings | 5/11/2026

College Top 25: May 11

Vincent Cervino
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Well, in what seems like the blink of an eye, here we are in the last week of the NCAA College Baseball regular season.  It has been an incredible ride and there is still much riding on these last series of the year as teams grapple to improve their postseason resume.  It will be a short week with most every 3-game set starting on Thursday this week as conference tournaments get under way early next week.  While they were given their biggest scare of the season and did see their 25-game Big Ten winning streak come to an end, UCLA (46-5) will remain the No. 1 team in the nation.  They were pushed to the brink last weekend by now No. 11 Oregon (36-14), entering Sunday for their first rubber match of the year.  They did find themselves down 6-1 heading into the bottom of the 6th inning before they came storming back with 8-unanswered runs over the next three frames...
Draft | Story | 5/8/2026

PG Draft Top 400: Biggest Risers

Tyler Henninger
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The draft cycle is officially in full swing. With the college season nearing postseason play and high school baseball underway across the country, the board is beginning to shift in a major way. Over the past month, a number of players have significantly altered their stock, whether by continuing dominant spring performances or showing improved tools that warrant a jump. That movement was evident throughout our latest Top-400 update, which featured several notable jumps across the board. Here’s a look at the biggest risers from the newest rankings update. Biggest Risers Overall  Huge day at the yard for James Tronstein (‘26, CA). 3-for-4 which included 2 HRs, one to dead center and the other to straight away right. Now up to 8 on the year. Has been a consistent @PG_Draft riser this spring and is getting hot at the right time. #PGHS @PG_Scouting pic.twitter.com/6grT1zZ9lg...
High School | General | 5/7/2026

High School Notebook: May 7

Cam McElwaney
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Ryder Bell, LHP, Hamilton (AZ) Bell got the ball for Hamilton in the first round of playoff action and did not blink. The young left-hander tosses 6 2/3 strong innings with four strikeouts and just one walk. Bell faced some adversity at times with runners on, but consistently competed and found a way out of most jams. An athletic operation with intent is shown on the mound. Bell throws from a lower 3/4 slot that can create a tough angle. The fastball worked 82-85 mph with armside run. It paired well with a sweeper at 70-72 mph. Bell attacked the zone with both pitches often and landed the sweeper arm side consistently. The stuff has already shown it can play against quality lineups. Bell should be a fun name to monitor over the next couple years.    Cory Wuttke (‘27, AZ) hammers this out to LF for solo 💣. Multi-hit performance. Stays compact with strength at contact....
College | Story | 5/7/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 7 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
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Each week I huddle with Vinnie Cervino and Craig Cozart to discuss Top 25 rankings and Players of the Week. In Coppy’s Corner, I dive deeper into these Players of the Week, providing analysis from 20+ years working in baseball front offices at the highest level.   Player of the Week: Tyce Armstrong – Baylor University  Armstrong is a big man with a big bat that produces big power. Just the second player in the history of Baylor to reach 20 HR in a single season – if you knew the other one was Charley Carter in 1998, you get the gold star – Armstrong brings an impact bat that can turn the game around with one swing. Listed at 6’4 / 228 he is Texas-strong and has been tearing up the Big 12 this season. Armstrong spent his first three season at the University of Texas – Arlington before transferring to Baylor for the 2026 season. He had a...
High School | Rankings | 5/6/2026

High School Top 50 Update: May 6

Tyler Russo
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Another week of high school baseball has come and gone across the country, and we have another update as we continue to roll to the finish of the high school seasons in the southern states in just a few weeks. Regular seasons are wrapping up across the country and playoffs are deep in progress down south, with every update there’s some movement inside the High School Top 50 along with a few new names breaking in. The top-10 remains very similar at the top with Venice (FL) holding onto the No. 1 position for the third straight update. Tomball (TX) jumps up to No. 2 as they continue to rattle of wins with Orange Lutheran (CA), Aledo (TX), and IMG Academy (FL) rounding out the top 5. Trinity (KY) and Harvard-Westlake (CA) sit at No. 6 and No. 7 respectively with a trio of new teams inside the top-10 in Magnolia Heights (MS) at No. 8, Norco (CA) at No. 9, and South Walton (FL) and No....
College | Rankings | 5/6/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 6

Nick Herfordt
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Records and rankings tell you who has won. Résumé tells you who can win. Every season when the final regular season rankings are released the natural instinct is to point at the team sitting at number one and label them the favorite. That instinct is understandable — those programs have earned their place at the top of the table, and none of them should be dismissed.   Alas, college baseball has a way of humbling the polls when the bracket opens. The teams that survive the NCAA Tournament and the NAIA World Series are rarely the ones with the prettiest record — they are the ones who have been tested repeatedly by elite competition and passed those tests at the highest rate in the country. Winning streaks built against soft schedules tend to dissolve the moment the opponent is worth a damn.   In each of the three small-school divisions, there is a...
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