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Tournaments  | Story  | 10/16/2016

Freshman World Days 1-2 Notes

Jheremy Brown      Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Perfect Game


Daily Leaders

One of the early commits in the tournament with his pledge to Duke, Alex Stone (2020, N.J.), has shown plenty of balance and athleticism to his actions all over the field and you can see why the coaching staff pulled the trigger early. The future Blue Devil is listed at a long 6-foot-4, 180-pounds, offering plenty of projection to go along with his present ability. He does a nice job of staying short and direct to the ball with a crisp swing path as he generates plenty of bat speed with nice strength off the barrel. And despite being listed as a primary catcher where he showed off his actions, Stone also took reps at shortstop where he played well despite his length with nice balance to his actions and solid arm strength across the diamond.

There’s strong, then there’s very strong then there’s Brandon Fields strong (2020, Fla.). Currently the No. 4 player in the 2020 class rankings, the physically gifted Florida native has impressed with the bat whether it be in the cages or while facing a live arm. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Fields looks the part of a high-level football prospect too with extraordinary strength to his lower half while still retaining looseness in everything he does. And while he’ll need to continue to refine his overall approach and consistency to his swing, and there’s plenty of time to do so, the uncommitted Fields has created some of the loudest contact of the tournament, the type that just makes you say “wow.” The way the ball behaves off his barrel with big time jump is something you’d expect to see next weekend at the WWBA World Championships and not this weekend at a freshman event. His swing is rather short and simple and though he can get too inside at times he can still punish the baseball. As a part of a 4-for-4 game one of a doubleheader Fields when deep in his first at-bat which he then followed up with another homer, a double, and a single. And it was the single that was just as impressive as the home runs as he got caught out on his front side with a soft curveball and still managed to drive the ball on a line off the fence in the left-center field gap, just below the 300-foot marker.

One of a handful of prospect who played in the 14u PG Select Baseball Festival, Alex Freeland (2020, Fla.) has been a known name on the circuit after his summer performances and he’s done nothing but solidify that notion over the first two days of the tournament. Freeland is currently the 21st-ranked player in his class and offers plenty of projection as he appears to stand closer to 6-foot-1 than the listed 5-foot-11 and shows all the actions and instincts that the college coaches in attendance are looking for. Freeland is proving to be one of the better defensive players in this class with the first step quickness, lateral agility, and overall balance required to stay up the middle at the next level. On the opening night of the tournament Freeland came chagrining in on a slow roller, picked it, and threw a strike across the diamond while on the run and did so with relative ease. He’s no slouch with the bat either as he shows barrel skills from either side of the plate, using more of a contact approach from the right side while showing gap-to-gap strength from the left. The overall approach and rhythm Freeland offers from the left side stands out, regardless of whether the pitcher’s throwing in the low-80s or mixing in soft stuff. Freeland isn’t afraid to take his walks but he also isn’t afraid to turn on balls, showing quick hands and a leverage path, or drop down a bunt which he did opening night and made it down the line in 3.94 seconds.

There aren’t too many players in the tournament who have impressed with the bat the way the lefthanded hitting Austin Hendrick (2020, Pa.) has to this point. Currently the No. 20 prospect in the 2020 class rankings, Hendrick is showing some of the premier bat speed in the class to this point and given his lean and loose frame, there’s reason to believe more is on the way. His set up and approach at the plate are unique and just as I wrote this summer, it’s similar to what Ichiro would do in twisting his front knee while closing off his front hip towards the pitcher. And while some players this age might not be able to get away with it Hendrick certainly can given the incredible amount of bat speed he’s able to produce with his loose wrists and twitchy muscle. There’s plenty of intent in each and every swing Hendrick takes, whipping the barrel through the zone just as he did his first at-bat of the tournament, turning on a line drive double that registered 97 mph off the barrel. And while his run times down the line may not stand out, he does accelerate well once underway and his instincts allow the speed to play up on the bases. He also shows the arm strength that projects him to play right field at the next level as he unleashed a strike to third base from just behind first base, showing plenty of strength with low carry directly to the bag.

Despite not yet playing a game in high school Kellum Clark’s (2020, Miss.) name has already be circulated well throughout the coaching community and he’s one I first heard about last spring. The 6-foot-3, 211-pound Clark is as physically advanced as anybody in the tournament but he still projects extremely well with room throughout his upper and lower halves to gain additional physicality. The end product could be scary with the way Clark is already driving the ball and looks like a man amongst boys when in the box. And despite his size the uncommitted Clark shows plenty of balance to his swing at the plate, rarely caught drift out to his front side while continuously driving the ball to the pull side. In his very first at-bat of the tournament Clark turned on a fastball that he put off the right field fence for a standup double, jumping off the barrel at 89 mph. Overall his swing is relatively short and is bat path is consistent while offering plenty of bat speed and strength at the point of contact. He’s shown off his athleticism at first base as he moves around lightly on his feet and he even jumped on the mound where he was up to 87 mph last night working exclusively out of the stretch while showing a quick arm and generating plane down in the zone.

You see players go through their college careers as two-way players so it’s certainly too early to peg a freshman in high school as either a bat or an arm, and this is something that truly applies to Dylan Strickland (2020, Ga.). Listed as a primary shortstop, Strickland appears much bigger and longer than his 5-foot-9, 145-pounds that’s listed in the program and he continues to impress with each and every at-bat. Like others mentioned to this point, the righthanded hitting Strickland shows really sound balance at the plate and a crisp, easy swing which he’s done a nice job of repeating at-bat to at-bat. He stays short through the zone with quick hands and has consistently found the barrel while showing strength at the point of contact. He was just as impressive on the mound too, running his fastball up to 85 mph on the radar gun while sitting rather comfortably in the 81-83 mph range and filled up the lower third of the strike zone. The ball comes out clean from a short and compact arm action and features short running life through the zone, which helped shattered a few bats along the way.

Samuel Infante (2020, Fla.) is another gifted defender who didn’t waste any time in making his presence felt, delivering a “wow” type play in the Bandito Elite’s first game of pool play. Starting at shortstop just as he did throughout the summer, Infante played a ricochet off of the third baseman’s glove, picked the ball barehanded and threw across his body to get the runner at first base showing enough arm strength (also up to 81 mph on the mound) to finish the play. There’s no doubting his defensive abilities as he profiles to stay up the middle at the next level and which side of the bag he plays could depend on how strong he grows but the hands and actions certainly suggest he’ll stay. He’s currently ranked 47th in the country and there’s little doubt he’ll continue to progress on either side of the ball as he continues to fill out his 6-foot frame. At the plate Infante offers a long and fluid stroke, once that could end up producing some pop with the previously mentioned gain in physicality though he still managed to leverage a ball deep to the left field warning track on the second night of the tournament.

Undoubtedly players are going to emerge between present day and by the time the 2020 class graduates in four years, but one name who will need to be monitored very closed is Carlos Perez (2020, Fla.). One of the breakout players of the tournament who wasn’t included in the initial 2020 rankings, Perez has all the makings of a big time player both behind the plate and in the righthanded batter’s box. He might only be 14 years old right now but Perez has the potential for an above average to plus arm, a tool he’ll regularly show in game on throws down or back picks and it’s something he does with great confidence. And as good as the defense is, Perez’s bat may end up being his biggest and loudest tool overall, especially with the level of consistency it’s played at to this point of the tournament. The righthanded hitting Perez began the tournament by going 9-for-9 before finally making an out and possesses the type of bat speed that makes you look to the coach next to you to verify what you just saw. His hands at the plate are extremely quick and the stroke though the zone is clean with natural leverage and plenty of strength. The 9-for-9 performance proves Perez has a feel for the barrel and after working the opposite field in his team’s first game he’s begun to turn on balls with the same type of intent, driving the ball with strength to his pull side.

Luke Wagner (2020, Pa.) produced some of the better lefthanded stuff I’ve seen this tournament as well as some of the stronger overall pitchability and feel on the mound. He may not be overly physical with a listed height and weight of 5-foot-11, 155-pounds but with his broad shoulders and loose build (and age of course), there are plenty of factors that point to Wagner getting stronger as we move forward. As he is now Wagner regularly worked in the 81-84 mph range with his fastball showing a short and quick arm action in the back while working to a three-quarters release point. The fastball comes out clean and appeared to get on hitters quicker than the velocity suggested and did so with consistent two-seam life. Wagner consistently worked down in the zone and maintained the running life well while showing three-pitches for strikes in between innings. His upper-60s curveball was his go-to secondary in live actions and it offers solid potential with short bite and nice shape while maintaining the same release point.

It’s almost not believable that Carlos Rodriguez (2021, Fla.) can produce the type of velocity he does when you see him standing on the mound at 5-foot-10, 155-pounds but pitch-after-pitch, Rodriguez filled up the strike zone with fastball that ranged 85-87 mph, bumping 88 mph and did so with relative ease. Then you need to remind yourself that Rodriguez won’t step foot on a high school campus for another year and it almost becomes unfathomable. He works exclusively out of the stretch and employs a simple hip turn at the top before driving towards the plate with his lower half, working on top of the ball and generating solid plane to the bottom of the zone. The arm stroke is obviously quick but what’s just as impressive is his feel for the secondaries. He might be young but Rodriguez can already spin a slider up to 77 mph with tight rotation, but he can also drop in an upper-60s curveball with bite and depth. We have some time until Rodriguez graduates but there’s plenty of intrigue with what he’s capable of doing on the mound already.

He’s set to play in his first high school game this spring and Albert Hernandez (2020, Fla.) has already been committed to Miami for almost a calendar year, largely speaking to his talent on the mound. Another player with true two-way potential, Hernandez started the Banditosl game on Saturday night and ran his fastball up to 88 mph which has become par for the course for the 6-foot-1 Hernandez. He does a nice job of staying balanced through is delivery with a simple leg lift and was able to generate plane when on top of the ball, sitting comfortably in the 83-86 mph range. To complement the fastball Hernandez showed a quality breaking ball in the 73-76 mph band with late depth and tight rotation. The arm is plenty quick but so is his righthanded stroke as he does a nice job of getting his hands into a good position before showing the looseness in his wrists and extension out at the point of contact.

Another early (and very recent) commit to the University of Miami, M.C. Sagaro (2020, Fla.) is a player who continues to evolve and grow into his own each time I see him play. He’s not overly imposing in terms of physicality but don’t let that fool you as he shows solid skills on both sides of the ball, evidenced by the early commitment. His hands continue to quicken at the plate and with it has comes additional strength off the barrel, especially to his pull side. He sees the ball well and can recognize spin while remaining balanced both on his swings and his takes. Sagaro profiles to stick at second base at the next level but he already shows both the instincts and skills to be a quality defender. The hands are plenty soft when fielding the ball and he plays with some flare to his overall game but never at the expense of making the play. He’s yet another impressive player on the Banditos’ roster to follow over the next few years.

It was a brief cameo for Kyle Hilton (2020, Ga.) on the mound as the coaches were monitoring his pitch count but he nonetheless impressed in his limited time. Though listed as a primary catcher on his profile page Hilton appeared to be closer to 6-foot-1 than 5-foot-11 with square shoulders and a long, lean build and appears to have a strong future on the mound. Over his inning-plus on the mound Hilton lived very consistently at 81-83 mph with a clean arm stroke through the back while generating nice plane and showing comfort to move the ball from side to side. The running life to his arm side was another regular factor on the heater, running up and in on righthanded hitter’s hands and in turn elicited weak contact off the barrel. He pitched almost exclusively off his fastball though he did flash a couple of breaking balls at 70-71 mph with tight rotation and a maintained release point.

Jack Bulger (2020, Md.) is yet another player who shows excellent two-way ability and will leave some coaches wondering where his future may be, but luckily they have a few years to figure it out. Listed as a primary catcher, the 5-foot-11, 187-pound Bulger showed off his actions behind the plate while receiving and gave a glimpse of the arm strength he’d later bring to the mound with plenty of carry out of the hand to the intended base. He utilizes his strength well in the batter’s box with a quick, linear stroke and moves well around the bases despite his physicality. On the mound however might be where he made the loudest impression as he consistently sat in the 82-84 mph range and was still bumping 85s into his fifth inning of work. He utilizes an attack mode mentality and came out pumping fastballs with both plane and command of the glove side all the while missing bats.

Aidan Kane (2020, N.J.) might not be as physical as some of the other players in attendance with his 6-foot-1, 145-pound build but he offers plenty of projection with additional strength. He’s a lefthanded hitter and shows present quickness to his hands as well as fluidity and leverage to his swing path and once some of that projections comes to fruition it’s easy to envision power developing given the present jump off the barrel. Kane also showed off some foot speed in one of his team’s later games as he dropped down a bunt and made it down the line in 4.1 seconds, a time that will surely lower with additional physicality.

Connor Monroe (2020, N.C.) came in out of the bullpen for the Dirtbags and immediately showed quality velocity as the first pitch to leave his hand crossed the plate at 85 mph. He’s listed at 6-foot-2, 175-pounds and resembles that of a middle infield prospect with a long and lean build, something that helped him produce a fastball that sat comfortably in the 82-84 mph range. The uncommitted Monroe stays short through the back with plenty of quickness to his arm and when he worked on top of the ball he was able to generate sinking life down in the zone. He’s also able to create angle to his fastball and there’s obvious projection, especially as he continues to incorporate additional lower half to his drive. He flashed a curveball in the upper-60s and it’s a pitch that continued to improve the more he threw it as he began to find his release point on the 12-to-6 shaped pitch.

I’ve been able to catch a handful of Anthony Shaver’s (2020, Fla.) at-bats throughout pool play and nearly every time the righthanded hitting Floridian has found the barrel and has done so with strength. Listed at 6-foot-1, 175-pounds Shaver stays rather short and direct to the ball and though he coils his hands tight to the body somewhat at the start of his load he does a nice job to come out of it and impact the baseball. There’s plenty of bat speed coming through the zone and the strength in his hands is just as impressive whether he’s going with an outer half pitch or turning on it for a hard line drive over the shortstop’s head. The hard jump and life off the barrel is another regular asset to Shaver’s offensive profile and he’s definitely a bat who’ll need to be monitored closely over the next couple of years.

Bennett Lee (2020, Fla.) is another talented bat on what is one of the deeper offensive lineups with FTB Select and he joins Shaver and Connor Morgan in the heart of the order. A righthanded stick, Lee does a nice job of remaining compact through the ball but he’s also capable of driving it with solid life off the barrel. His hands are plenty quick and he showed enough strength to fight off an inner half fastball while still getting it over the infielder’s head for a base hit. As the playoffs begin this afternoon Lee will be another bat I’ll have on my radar.

Nate McCollum (2020, Ga.) is a player that first caught my attention this summer purely based off his speed and it’s a tool that will become an absolute weapon as he continues progress as he’s full of quick-twitch muscle. He’s listed as a primary shortstop but has been playing center field, a position he has the speed for without a doubt. Looking as though he’s grown a little bit since the summer and added a little bit of strength McCollum’s hands continue to quicken in the righthanded batter’s box which has helped lead to an increase in bat speed and strength at the point of contact.

Hank Bearden (2020, Ga.) is an arm I was able to see throw this past summer and he’s also another player who was selected for the 14u PG Select Baseball Festival game in Fort Myers last month. And just as he was at the Festival, the No. 23 ranked Bearden ran his fastball up to 88 mph yesterday and did so with relative ease. Showing nice tempo to his overall delivery, Bearden lived in the 84-87 mph range early on and continued to display the same long, loose, and clean arm action he has in the past. Though the pitch loses some life when he’s up in the zone Bearden shows plenty of skill that had the on looking coaches highly interested. His curveball was similar to what I saw earlier in the summer at 69-71 mph with short 11-to-5 shape but the bigger takeaway was the changeup that he flashed. Thrown at 78 mph Bearden did a very nice job of maintaining his release point and arm action on the pitch, locating it down low in the zone with short fading life to the arm side.

There’s not much in terms of physicality that would suggest Tyler Fullman (2021, Ill.) to be an eighth grader as he’s listed at 6-foot, 175-pounds and offers plenty of physical strength proportioned throughout his frame. The overall stuff doesn’t make it any easier to decipher his age either as the righthander came out and ran his fastball up to 84 mph in the first while sitting very comfortably at 82-83 mph with limited effort. He’s still plenty young to continue to refine his lower half directionality and overall mechanics but the arm stroke is clean through the back and he was able to create consistent late running life to the arm side. He attacked hitters and worked primarily off of his fastball, showing nice plane and the ability to move the ball to either side of the plate. He did however flash a couple of sliders in the 70-72 mph range with short life and tight rotation, proving to be a quality second offering when he went to it.

Eddie King Jr. (2021, Ill.) is another young 2021 out of Illinois who wore the MLB Breakthrough jersey this weekend and he’s yet another player who will have to be monitored despite not entering high school for another year. During the team practice, which occurred prior to pool play starting, King Jr. was tracking fly balls in center field and moved effortlessly on his feet, gliding to the ball with minimal effort. His high-waisted, 6-foot-1, 150-pound frame is one that’s only going to grow stronger though he already shows nice bat speed in the box with a sound approach and a feel for the barrel.

Joshua Houston (2020, Ill.) is a strong and broad-shouldered third baseman for the MLB Breakthrough team and it seems as though the ball found him at the hot corner with regularity, a task he was up for. Listed at 5-foot-7, 193-pounds Houston made diving plays in subsequent innings and then continued to show off quickness to his feet and range moving off of the line. The first ball took Houston towards the third base bag in which he dove, popped up, and then showed more than enough arm strength (a reoccurring theme) across the diamond. The next ball that required Houston to get fully extended took him more towards the hole but just as his did prior he gloved the ball, got to his feet and delivered a strike across the diamond.

Another talented member of the Team Elite program, Bryan Padilla (2020, N.Y.) appears to be the latest in the pipeline between Poly Prep and Team Elite, one that was started by Perfect Game All-American Nick Storz and Vanderbilt commit Pat DeMarco following their freshman year. Padilla is nowhere near as physical as either of those two were but his skill is just as impressive, especially since I was told he should in theory be a 2021 due to his age. Listed at 5-foot-10, 150-pounds, Padilla oozes projectability with an overall youthful look but his talent is far from being young. A righthanded batter, Padilla has done nothing but find the barrel this weekend whether it’s ahead in the count or down 0-2, showing the same looseness and rhythm to his swing. He tracks the ball well out of the pitcher’s hand and his overall swing mechanics are simple, something that allows him to get the barrel to the ball in a frequent manor.

It was a quicker look at Grant Taylor (2021, Ala.) on the mound but given his age and the fact that he’s also caught his tournament, his stuff on the mound is certainly noteworthy. He certainly looks the part with a 6-foot-1, 180-pound build and what he’s able to produce from the right side is just as impressive as he came out and bumped 85 mph with regularity. There’s some drop and drive to his delivery but he incorporates his lower half well and finishes on line towards the plate while creating angle to the pitch and living in the 82-84 mph range. At times the pitch show flash hard running life to the arm side, an asset he’d use to spill the pitch back over the outer half against righthanded hitters. The velocity comes easy for Taylor too as his arm action is clean coming through the backside. He also flashed a short slider a couple of times in the low-70s with tight rotation and short tilting life.

Nothing about what Nick Bitsko (2021, Pa.) does on the mound suggests that he won’t be entering high school for another year and college coaches are already starting to take notice. The first thing that immediately stands out is his 6-foot-2, 180-pound broad-shouldered, long-limbed build, resembling more of a high school upperclassman rather than a player in eighth grade. After playing the first couple of games at shortstop for Tri-State Futures Bitsko jumped on the mound and had his fair share of onlookers. In his first inning of work Bitsko ran his fastball up to 87 mph while hovering around 85 mph, an area he’d continue to sit more than a handful of innings into the game as he lived in the 83-85 mph range. Like some of the other 2021 arms listed above, Bitsko works exclusively out of the stretch which makes the velocity all the more impressive. The arm action is extremely clean and there’s undoubtedly more velocity on its way though there’s already plenty to like. The athleticism is evident as he repeats his delivery with regularity, consistently working on top of the ball while filling up the lower third of the strike zone. Bitsko remained in cruise control through is outing and rarely went to his off speed though both his 71-74 mph curveball and 74 mph changeup show nice potential with maintained arm speed and both proper rotation and life on them.

– Jheremy Brown



The WWBA Freshman Championship kicked off on Friday night and one of the top arms, in terms of velocity, to toe the rubber was righthander Landon Ginn (2020, Goldsboro, N.C.) for the Carolina Rockies. Ginn has a strong pitcher’s frame at 6-foot-2, 188-pounds with some room for projection left on his body. He has a longer, slightly rigid arm action and delivers from a high three-quarters arm slot. The East Carolina commit has a very stiff delivery with some violence and throws with maximum effort. The opposing offense worked Ginn and he was forced to throw a lot of high-leverage pitches throughout the night. Ginn attacked hitters with his fastball that sat from 80-82 mph and topped out at 85 mph on the night. He had trouble locating at times as his lower and upper half weren’t always in sync, but the pitch was at its best when he was able to get on top of the pitch to create some late sink down in the lower third of the strike zone. Ginn showed the ability to bump up the fastball a couple of tics on big pitches and would collect strikeouts on fastballs that were 83, 84, or 85 mph. He showed a soft curveball in the low-70s that had 11-to-6 shape with some break. Ginn got hit around a bit on Friday night but he showed some raw stuff and could be an impact pitcher as he continues to develop on the mound.

Ginn’s teammate righthander Coby Ingle (2020, Reidsville, N.C.) turned in an impressive performance on Saturday night. Ingle is listed at 6-foot, 160-pounds and is very lean and wiry, although he looks to be a bit taller than 6-foot. He threw from an over-the-top arm slot with an arm action that was full through the back. Ingle a soft stab in the back of his delivery, but the delivery was overall pretty simple with a crossfire element and he worked at a very quick pace. He didn’t get much extension on his release but his delivery was a bit deceptive and he downright unhittable when he got his fastball down in the zone. Ingle’s high release point allowed him to barrel his fastball down in the zone and create an angle of entry into the hitting zone that was uncomfortable for opposing batters. The fastball sat from 78-81 on the night and he maintained his velocity well throughout the outing. He filled the strike zone with his fastball working it on all corners of the plate and only struggled late in the game when he lost his command a bit. Ingle showed a curveball with 11-to-5 shape that didn’t have much movement but created a change of pace that threw hitters off.

Chain 15u Moss locked up the No. 1 seed in bracket play and had outscoring opponents at a blistering rate of 30-1. The three-hole and cleanup hitters for Chain were catchers Brody Slaughter (2020, Dexter, Ga.) and Jake Killingsworth (2020, Headland Ala.) who, along with having A+ names for hitters, were large contributors to the offensive onslaught thus far.

Slaughter, the three-hole hitter, is listed at 5-foot-10, 170-pounds and is still physically maturing so his frame will probably grow over the next few years. Batting from the left side Slaughter had a slightly open stance with a high hand set and high back elbow. He has a long swing path with a small leg lift for timing and is able to hit the ball out in front and gets good extension. Slaughter’s swing is very timing dependent as off-speed pitches can throw off the swing at times. He has an elastic hand load an, with lift in his swing, is able to generate carry on deep fly balls. Slaughter showed future power potential in his swing as he launched a double that barely missed being a home run to the right-center field gap on Friday night. The double registered as having an exit velocity of 85 mph and traveled an estimated 355 feet per TrackMan Baseball.

Killingsworth showed off his abilities both at the plate and behind it over the past two days. Coming from a smaller frame, he is listed at 5-foot-10, 185-pounds with s bit thicker build. He stands with an open stance and wide base with a high hand set and high back elbow. Killingsworth is very direct to the ball with good wrist strength. He has a compact swing path with some bat speed and a line drive swing plane. Killingsworth drove line drives to all fields and seemingly hit the ball hard in every at-bat that I was in attendance for. Behind the plate he was timed at an above-average 2.18 second pop time during warm ups. Killingsworth is still developing top-level arm strength but he makes up for this with a quick release. All of his throws were accurate and he threw behind runners often to take control of the running game from the catcher position. Killingsworth also blocked well on Friday night as he kept balls in the dirt out in front and limited extra bases.

Righthander pitcher Chad Reichhold (2020, Milford, Del.) was one of the final pitcher’s to throw on Friday night and he showed some impressive tools for US Elite Baseball. Reichhold has a tall and large frame at 6-foot3, 194-pounds and is an imposing presence on the mound. He has a rigid arm action with a wrist hook and soft stab in the back of his arm circle. Reichhold throws from a three-quarters arm slot with an online landing and a high leg lift. Currently, Reichhold has some raw arm strength but in his outing he showed inconsistent command of his pitches. The fastball sat from 79-81 mph on the evening and it was his go-to pitch. The fastball had some life to the arm side but his release point was inconsistent as he would overthrow at times and miss to the glove side. He mixed in a softer curveball in the low-60s with 11-to-5 shape and some decent depth. Reichhold is a young pitcher but his size and current tools indicate a bright future as he continues to develop on the mound.

Traveling with the Pennsylvania-based EvoShield Canes O’Day, southpaw Jeff Extor (2020, Swarthmore, Pa.) took the ball and started on the mound. Extor is listed at 5-foot-11, 170-pounds but that listing looked to be a bit exaggerated as he appeared smaller. He has a long arm action with an arm hook in the back with a high three-quarters arm slot. Extor has a small leg lift into his motion and fell off to his glove side upon release. The delivery was unbalance but he repeated it well and was able to get downhill with a good angle of delivery to his fastball. The pitch sat from 81-83 mph and topped out at 84 mph with some sharp, late arm side run. Extor was able to fire forward and generated some good drive to use the most out of his smaller frame. He mixed in a curveball from around 68-71 mph and 1-to-7 shape with some break. The pitch was inconsistent during his outing but he threw a couple of very good ones that made it a threat. Extor was able to keep his pitches low in the zone and, although his velocity dropped as his outing wore on, he showed potential on the mound.

Another lefty to take the mound on Saturday afternoon was Armari Paula (2020, Jersey City, N.J.) of the Evoshield Canes 15u Black. Paula is very lean with a very projectable frame of 6-foot-2, 155-pounds. He threw from a lower, extended three-quarters slot with a long arm circle and some looseness in the back. Paula has a deceptive delivery, and is especially tough on lefthanded batters due to his delivery and arm angle. He coils up his body upon the delivery and fires forward with effort. The delivery isn’t particularly balanced and it’s a tad funky but it creates an uncomfortable hitting environment. The fastball sat from around 78-81 mph and topped out at 83 mph on the day. The pitch had some life to it but not very consistent of significant movement. Paula also mixed in a curveball with 12-to-6 shape in the mid-60s.

One of the larger freshmen to take the mound on Saturday was imposing righthander Blake Money (2020, Spring Hill, Tenn.) for Knights Baseball Platinum. Money has an extra large and tall frame coming in at 6-foot-5, 210-pounds. He had a long arm action with a three-quarters to high three-quarters arm slot. Money’s delivery was very unbalanced but he was able to repeat his motion and thus locate his pitches effectively. There was not much lower half involvement in the delivery and his success on the mound was due to the upper half of his delivery and release. He mixed in three pitches: a fastball, curveball, and changeup. The fastball sat consistently in the low-80s all evening and topped out at 84 mph. Although the pitch didn’t have much movement he was able to work it on both sides of the plate. The changeup came in at 71-72 mph with not much fade and a slower arm speed. Money’s curveball was a more effective secondary pitch at 64-66 mph with 12-to-6 shape and some solid depth. The pitch was a bit inconsistent and he showed a decent feel to spin the pitch on the afternoon. Money was very efficient in his outing as he threw a complete game while allowing no earned runs and as he continues to develop and tweak his mechanics, his current physicality makes him an intriguing arm for the class.

As one of the younger players in the tournament, outfielder Ayden Digiacomo (2021, Buford, Ga.) showed an impressive skill set and future projection. Listed at 6-foot, 185-pounds Digiacomo has an athletic build with some room to add on muscularity as he matures. He has a slightly open stance with a high hand set and high back elbow. Digiacomo has active hands at the plate and was able to move his hands directly to the baseball wherever it was pitched. He gets his weight back but presently doesn’t transfer his weight forward through the swing very well. The approach is very patient as he takes a lot of pitches but has a quick bat and can generate hard contact. He is presently a very young player but showed some tools that suggest he can be an impressive player as he continues to grow and mature.

FTB Select made their way into bracket play and boasted one of the top offenses during the tournament thus far. One of the players who impressed was third baseman Connor Morgan (2020, Brooksville, Fla.) as he showed strong tools on both sides of the ball. Morgan has a medium frame with some build on him and was listed at 6-foot, 195-pounds. During FTB’s game on Saturday afternoon, Morgan put on a clinic defensively at third. He made diving plays both to his right and his left and was able to show off his arm strength in the process. He has a quick transfer and release and also made a very impressive play that say him charge in, grab the ball with his bare hand, and make a strong throw on the run for a loud putout. Morgan has a slightly open stance with a medium hand set at the plate and was able to barrel up some baseballs. He has a very level swing and had a very hard hit ground ball that had an exit velocity over 90 mph per TrackMan Baseball.

Heading up one of the more potent Rawlings Arkansas Prospects offense was third baseman Cayden Wallace (2020, Greenbrier, Ark.). Wallace is listed at 6-foot-1, 195-pounds and has a very physical frame. He has a narrow, balanced stance at the plate with a low hand set and deep hand load at. His swing was a bit long but he had some lift in the swing and rotated his hips well. From his elastic load he exploded through the baseball and was able to drive the ball with authority. Wallace had solid plate coverage and consistently got the bat head out in front of the plate in the hitting zone. Wallace launched two home runs during his first game on Saturday and looks to be a top power prospect for the young class.

– Vincent Cervino
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