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Tournaments  | Story | 9/12/2016

PG/Evo Underclass Day 3 Notes

Jheremy Brown
Photo: Perfect Game



Day 1 Scout Notes | Day 2 Scout Notes | Daily Leaders

Playoff day at the 2016 PG/EvoShield Underclass National Championship dawned extremely sunny and extremely hot, as one might expect when playing in the desert.

Phenom Signature rolled into the semifinals on Monday via a pair of wins on Sunday, both tightly-contested, hard-fought games. Wesley Scott (2019, Calif.), the fourth-ranked player in the class of 2019 per Perfect Game, started in their first playoff game Sunday afternoon. The Vanderbilt commitment went the distance, striking out nine over six innings while scattering five hits and two walks, allowing two runs (only one earned). His delivery, while a bit unorthodox, is clean and works to add deception, as he lands slightly closed and comes through crossfire from a low three-quarters arm slot, but the arm speed is very advanced and he shows the ability to command the ball to all four quadrants of the strike zone. The fastball touched as high as 91 mph, settling in consistently in the 86-90 range, with good arm-side life and especially good command to that arm side. He’ll show a pair of breaking balls as well, with a tight, sharp slider in the mid-70s that features big sweeping tilt, and a more traditional curveball in a lower velocity band that adds a bit more depth but is more of a get-me-over offering at this point.

Nolan Gorman (2018, Ariz.) continues his offensive tear through the desert with a 2-for-4 game in SACSN’s playoff victory Sunday afternoon, before dropping a close one to CAB later on in the day. Gorman hit a missile of a triple into the right-center field gap, clocking in at 4.6 seconds on the turn around first base, and cruising into third easily. He added a two-run single back up the middle later in the game as well, in addition to making a sterling play at third base in which he dove to his left to stop a hard ground ball, springing to his feet quickly, retrieving the ball, and getting off an otherworldly-quick release across the diamond to nab the runner in a bang-bang play. The continued progression of his skills in every facet of the game are extremely enticing, even nearly two years from his draft date.

Jake Holland (2019, Fla.) is ranked as the eighth-best player in the 2019 class by Perfect Game, and the Miami commit has shown well out here in Arizona, especially with the bat. He launched a long double over an outfielder’s head in game action Sunday, and what makes him especially intriguing, even aside from the big-time tools across the board, is the athleticism and speed he possesses, despite being an extra-large framed catcher. The swing is clean with a lofted path and lots of strength off the barrel at contact, giving him big time projection both in terms of hitting and power, and absolutely backing up his lofty ranking at present.

Tyler Casagrande (2018, Va.) is yet another Arizona commit on a SACSN team loaded with four of them, and he had a very nice game on Sunday. His swing is extremely compact with quick hands, and he’s able to spray the ball literally to both foul lines with line drive jump, making him a pretty ideal fit at the top of the order as a high-contact, high on-base type of player at the next level. There’s strength there too, with good ability to get the head out and drive the ball, especially to the pull field, but he’s a mature enough hitter to not sacrifice his line drive contact ability to all fields for the sake of trying to pull the ball deep, most definitely an advanced approach for an underclassman.

The AZ T-Rex Baseball Club made it to the playoffs in this event before bowing out in the first round, but still had a very good weekend out here. In this loss on Sunday, they started Jake Yogel (2018, Ariz.), a physically strong and projectable righthander, who didn’t have the game he surely wanted to have but nonetheless showed some intriguing stuff from an evaluative perspective. He touched as high as 88 MPH with his fastball, popping lots of 84-87 mph as well, but struggled to throw strikes, perhaps due in part to the mistiming of his extremely long arm stroke in conjunction with a quicker and shorter lower half in his delivery, which caused him to miss up in the zone pretty often. Regardless, there are undoubtedly tools to work with on the mound here, not the least of which is a very strong arm, in addition to very good feel for his changeup, which acts almost like a screwball at times due to it’s big fading life and huge velocity differential from the fastball.

In a game where they scored nine runs, David Lebioda (2019, Calif.) of the Saddleback Cowboys may have had the decisive blow when he launched a double off the right field wall. He finished with three RBI and walked as well, and at 6-foot-4, 235-pounds, he may have been the most physically imposing player on the field as well. He’s a big guy with lots of strength, and while the swing and overall hit-ability will need to progress as he works his way through high school, the type of raw power he possesses is pretty rare for a prospect of that age.

Pacific Northwest Regional Baseball brought two teams to the PG/EvoShield Underclass National Championship, a team of 2018’s and one of 2019’s, and the two teams matched up in a quarterfinal game Sunday evening, a rare occurrence indeed. The 2018’s reigned victorious and will play in the semifinals Monday morning. However, the 2019’s showcased a pair of very intriguing arms, despite the loss.

Justin Villanueva (2019, Ida.) threw 2 2/3 innings for the 2019’s and worked 82-84 mph with his fastball, showing an extremely projectable frame and looking like he might be a big time prospect from the state of Idaho in a few years, something we always like to see from the non-traditional “baseball power” states. He throws from a low three quarters arm slot and absolutely projects to throw harder as he continues to physically develop and mature.

Fellow 2019 Nate Weeldreyer (Wash.) took the mound following Villanueva, and the early Seattle University commit flashed some very intriguing stuff. Touching as high as 87 mph from a very long, lean, projectable build, he worked in the 82-86 mph range with a clean arm stroke and plenty of downhill plane from a high three-quarters arm slot. The weapon pitch for him is the curveball, with 11-to-5 shape and very good spin in the low-70s, and wipeout depth. It’s an excellent pitch for him right now, and as he continues to add strength to his body and throws the pitch harder, it has the makings of a future plus offering.

– Brian Sakowski





He might be one of the youngest players in the tournament, but 2020 righthander Jared Jones (Whittier, Calif.) drew one of the bigger crowds behind the backstop of the entire tournament. Typically at this point of the summer you’d think younger arms who have had a busy workload might see their velocity backup a tick, but with Jones it was the opposite as his stuff was both firmer and crisper than my previous look this past July. Recently tabbed as the No. 40 prospect in the 2020 class rankings, Jones was handed the ball for BPA during their opening round playoff game and he certainly didn’t disappoint.

The overall tempo and demeanor on the mound stands out for a player of Jones’ age, as does his pure arsenal and ability to repeat his delivery. In unison with a measure leg lift Jones gathers well on his backside prior to driving towards the plate, working from a higher release point and pounding the down to the lower quadrants. He opened up the game sitting in the 84-87 mph range and bumped an 88 though even more impressive was his ability to carry that velocity both inning-to-inning and out of the stretch. The uncommitted Jones worked almost exclusively off of his fastball early on as he was in full attack mode and when the opposition did put the ball in play it was generally weaker contact.

Another aspect of Jones’ game that really impressed me was his ability to locate down to his glove side, creating severe angle at times and did so without working across his body and losing velocity. The add into the fact that he continued to sharpen his feel for a breaking ball up to 70 mph and the college coaches were truly locked in. Throughout the outing the pitch continued to tighten and the depth improved as well with late bite down in the zone. Jones didn’t throw his changeup in game, or at least what I saw, but he did show a mid-70s one in warmups that left the hand cleanly and mirrored the arm action of his fastball.

Lefthander Blake Peyton (Santee, Calif.), a recent Arizona commit, was an arm I first saw exactly one year ago in this tournament and he impressed then though it’s safe to say he’s taken a step forward on all fronts. A member of the 2018 class and currently ranked No. 223 nationally Peyton came out firing, running his fastball up to 90 mph while showing the same short and quick arm action just as he did a year prior. Like Jones above, Peyton came out attacking with his fastball and though he’d occasionally lose his slot, when he stayed on top of the ball he was able to create nice angle and short running life to the arm side.

Whenever he wanted to go away from his fastball however Peyton had a couple of options as he showed confidence in both his curveball and changeup as he ended the first inning with a backdoor breaker then went first pitch changeup to open the second during a left-on-left matchup. Working in the mid- to upper-80s throughout his time on the mound, the future Wildcat showed solid hand speed on his breaking ball and very good rotation as the pitch registered as high as 77 mph with hard and late break down in the zone. His changeup was another firm offering and it proved to be a quality third pitch as the 81 mph changeup offered short fading life to the arm side with maintained arm speed.

Another player who I first saw at this even last summer was San Diego State commit and 2018 grad Aaron Eden (Los Angeles, Calif.) and in that times he’s continued to refine his mechanics and become more consistent with them. Ranked No. 198 in the country, Eden came out and sat in the 85-87 mph range rather comfortably showing a loose arm action with the ability to generate nice plane down in the zone with running life to the arm side. There’s undoubtedly more velocity in the tank, especially as he continues to drive with his lower half, and he overall feel for the breaking ball has continued to develop nicely as well, thrown in the low-70s with occasional slider finish at times.

At this point in time last summer I would have thought that Andrew Walling’s (Castle Rock, Wash.) future was on the mound as he was up to 88 mph as a rising sophomore. Jump to this weekend and now I’m not too sure has he’s been arguably one of the hottest bats in the tournament and has shown no problem with whatever’s been thrown at him. Physically built at 6-foot-2, 190-pounds the lefthanded hitting and uncommitted Walling has created some of the loudest contact of the tournament and has done so on a regular basis while showing the ability to work all fields. Simply put, the ball sounds different off the bat courtesy of his physical strength and quick hands and he went hard to the opposite field twice yesterday resulting in a ground rule double and a triple though he also shows no problem spinning on velocity or in a left-on-left matchup. For all the arms that generally stand out in the opening round of the playoffs, Walling is certainly the bat that’s stood out and has had his name circled in nearly every college coach’s program.

Standing on the mound, 2018 Boston College commit and righthanded pitcher Mason Pelio (San Diego, Calif.) is how you’d physically draw up a high level arm to look. He stands at 6-foot-4, 195-pounds, has broad, angular shoulders, along with long limbs and plenty of looseness to his frame and his delivery. His overall delivery is fairly simple and that helps to work down in the zone regularly with his fastball that sat in the 88-91 mph range though he’s recently been up as high as 93 mph. The heater comes out clean and shows both solid plane and arm side run though there’s not too much effort at release, leading to believe he could eventually develop into a mid-90s type arm down the road, if not in the near future. Currently ranked No. 61 in the 2018 class after his performance at the PG Underclass All-American Games, Pelio is more than just a one-pitch pitcher as his curveball as a chance to develop into a second power offering with proper hand speed and hard, late biting life down in the zone at 75-78 mph.

Throwing on the other quad at Goodyear was 2019 UCLA commit and righthander pitcher Evan Fitterer (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) who’s currently ranked No. 147 in the class. Up to 87 mph this summer, Fitterer worked more in the 83-86 mph range this outing but that proved to be plenty as nothing that left his hand was straight. Impressively built for a player who’s yet to play in his sophomore season at 6-foot-2, 170-pounds, Fitterer does a nice job of repeating his short arm action in back which allowed for a steady amount of strikes with the fastball, most of which showed subtle, but late, cut action to them. On top of the fastball, Fitterer showed a nice feel for a 12-to-6 shape curveball in the upper-60s, as well as a harder version in the mid-70s that acted more like a slider with short tilting life down in the zone. All the ingredients are there for Fitterer to continue to improve and given what he’s already shown it’ll only be a matter of time.

One player we’ve been able to see a lot of over the last couple of years is another Arizona commit in 2018 California native Jacob Allred (San Diego, Calif.). Known for his speed as he’s been clocked as low as 6.52 seconds in the 60-yard dash, Allred has continued to fill out physically and yesterday he showed some of that strength, staying short to the ball with quick hands while turning on the pitch for a long double that bounced off the base of the right field fence.

I’ve seen 2018 LSU commit Owen Meaney (Houston, Texas) on the mound twice before, both times came last fall, and the strides he’s made in terms of his delivery in that time have been noteworthy. Still ultra-physical at 6-foot-5, 215-pounds with plenty of room to grow even stronger, the first thing that I noticed was an arm action that appeared to be a tick shorter in the back as well as more balance and fluidity to his delivery. Of course the latter is going to happen as players grow into their bodies but it had no effect on his stuff as the first pitch to leave his hand clocked in at 90 mph with heavy life through the zone. He continued to pound upper-80s bowling balls down in the zone, showing the type of life that can snap a wood bat with relative ease, and also mixed in a full array of off speed. His slider is the most advanced of the bunch in the mid-70s as it showed tight rotation with short tilting life and ended the second with a front door slider to a righthanded hitter. He flashed both a curveball in the low-70s and an upper-70s changeup, which will only continue to fine and give the future Tiger a full power arsenal on the mound.

Another bat who has impressed throughout the weekend is uncommitted 2019 infielder Johnny Olmstead (Costa Mesa, Calif.) of the Saddleback Cowboy’s 2019 team. Listed at a loose and projectable 6-foot-1, 175-pounds, Olmstead showed a natural feel for the barrel during the course of the weekend from the right side and picked up his fair share of base hits, including a no-doubt grand slam earlier in the tournament. Both his stance and approach in the box are simple and balanced and there’s intent there on every swing, something that bodes well when he decides to let the barrel fly as he shows solid bat speed through the zone with hard contact off the barrel, the type you can project to develop into some power as he continues to fill out. He also made a nice leaping play at the hot corner, showing off some athleticism to snag a line drive out of the air that otherwise may have gone for extra bases.

I mentioned him earlier this tournament briefly and wanted to do so again as C.J. Rodriguez (Whittier, Calif.) again impressed with his defense behind the plate. After giving a 1.94 pop time in between innings, Rodriguez proceeded to back pick a runner at first base who wandered too far off the base and helped change the tone of the inning. His catch-and-throw skills are perhaps the best in the tournament and his receiving skills are right up there with anybody as well, giving him a toolset you don’t often find in sophomore receivers.

The Pacific Northwest program brought down a few teams this weekend and each one of them had plenty of talent, including the 2019 team which is who uncommitted outfielder Corbin Carroll (Seattle, Wash.) played for. He may not be overly physical at 5-foot-10, 150-pounds, but Carroll has the ability to impact a game on the offensive side of things courtesy of a speed. An above average runner down the line who’s only going to get fast as he continues to grow physically, the lefthanded hitting Carroll legged out a couple of infield singles though he also showed some carry off the bat when he put the ball in the air. Showing quick hands with a linear swing and comfort working to the opposite field, Carroll shows plenty of intent in his swing and looks to do damage as he’s often on time with his leg lift and shows a nice feel for the barrel.

Tyler McKenzie (Loxahatchee, Fla.) is actually the second McKenzie to put on the SACSN uniform as his older brother and former Perfect Game All-American Triston donned the uniform four years ago when they won the Underclass Championship. Tyler, who’s a 2019 middle infielder already committed to Vanderbilt, has been on the national scene already for some time and as you’d imagine when watching a young player develop year-to-year, he’s continued to grow and fill out physically. Now listed at 6-foot-1, 165-pounds as opposed to when I first saw him last summer at 5-foot-8, 140-pounds, McKenzie has continued to excel with the glove up the middle while showing a sound first step just as he did when making a diving play to his left at second base or showing off quick hands on a turn for a double play. His hands are just as quick with the bat as well and it’s easy to project upon the young Commodore as he continues to fill out physically.

– Jheremy Brown
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