A lot of solid, high school talent was present over the past few days on the fields of LakePoint as the Rawlings Select Classic #3 took place. The Sandy Creek Patriots won both of their games on Thursday afternoon, defeating the Chattahoochee Cougars, 3-0, and the Pepperell Dragons, 2-0. Matthew Barrow (2017, Tyrone, Ga.) received the win in the first game, throwing seven shutout innings while walking three and giving up only three hits. Thomas Farr (2017, Tyrone, Ga.) did it with the bat in game one going 3-for-4, with two runs scored and got the job done on the mound in the second game. Farr threw five shutout innings, allowing one hit while striking out eight and walking four. Farr has a simple, slow delivery and curls his leg back and whips his arm around to produce a fastball that ranges from 85-88 mph with decent life. He maintains the same motion on his changeup, which sits from 78-80 mph, and his curveball, which sits 68-71 mph. Farr flashed a solid curve, with 11-to-5 break that has the ability to buckle hitters' knees and generate swings and misses. He throws with max effort, which lead to spurs of walks as he would benefit from working on landing consistently in the same spot.
The Walnut Grove Warriors won their first game, 9-2, against the Dunwoody Wildcats but lost their second game, 10-2, to the Cartersville Hurricanes on Thursday. Errors plagued the Wildcats and never allowed them to stay in the game. Carter Wood (2017, Loganville, Ga.) and Blake McCoy (2018, Loganville, Ga.) both went 2-for-4 for Walnut Grove, with Wood driving in three runs and McCoy driving in one.
The ambidextrous Anthony Seigler (2018, Cartersville, Ga.) threw lefthanded for the Hurricanes and went four innings in their win over Walnut Grove, giving up only one earned run on five hits and two walks while striking out five. Seigler who is 87-90 mph when pitching righthanded, threw his fastball in the low-80s lefthanded. Cartersville's strong and talented shortstop, Devin Warner (Euharlee, GA 2018), went 2-for-3, with two RBI, two walks and one run scored. The Auburn commit consistently hits with an uppercut swing and made consistent hard contact. J.P. Martin (2019, Cartersville, Ga.) also shined in today’s game against Walnut Grove, going 2-for-5 and showcasing his speed on an RBI triple in the top of the sixth. Martin has a strong, medium frame and produces a good amount of power with a quick, short stroke that allows him to produce excellent bat speed.
The Archer Tigers won all three of their games on Thursday, defeating the Johns Creek Gladiators in walk-off fashion by a score of 6-5, defeating the Cleburne County Tigers 16-11, and then the Grayson County Cougars 12-2. Matthew Allen (2018, Loganville, Ga.) went 9-for-12 on the day for Archer with a pair of doubles, four runs scored and four RBI.
The Allatoona Buccaneers won both of their games by scores of 10-0 and 9-1 against the Stockbridge Tigers and the Grayson County Cougars. Top-ranked outfielder, South Carolina commit and 2016 PG All-American Kyle Jacobsen (2017, Acworth, Ga.) went 1-for-2 with an RBI sac fly in the first game and 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI in the second. Jacobsen has a strong, medium athletic frame and swings the bat with an upright and closed stance. He does an excellent job of keeping his hands inside the baseball and uses his strong upper half to produce a powerful swing with some lift to drive the ball into the outfield with consistent hard contact.
Allatoona Buccaneers won again on Friday, this time against the North Atlanta Warriors by a score of 7-0. Jacobsen once again had a great game at the plate going 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and three RBI. He displayed his power by hitting an opposite field blast 363 feet over the right field fence. He does an excellent job of trusting his hands and upper body strength to generate a nice smooth swing that consistently produces hard contact.
North Atlanta’s Jack Ferguson (2017, Atlanta, Ga.), a Navy commit, threw well even though he received the loss. Ferguson has a nice online delivery and does a great job of pushing off that backside to throw a fastball with decent life and angle that ranged from 86-89 mph. He flashed a decent curveball that sat in the low-70s but could use a little bit more depth and tighter spin.
On Friday the Centennial Knights defeated the Grayson County Cougars 6-1. Cole Phillips (2018, Alpharetta, Ga.) was the winning pitcher, throwing four shutout innings allowing two hits and one walk while striking out two batters. Camren Landry (2019, Alpharetta, Ga.) went 2-for-3, with one run scored.
The North Paulding Wolfpack defeated the Stockbridge Tigers 10-2 on Friday. Jakob Brown (2018, Dallas, Ga.) received the win for the Wolfpack as he went six innings giving up two runs on four hits while striking out two. Mickey Macguire (2019, Acworth, Ga.) went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and two RBI.
The Cartersville Hurricanes defeated the Dunwoody Wildcats on Friday to advance to the semifinals by a score of 8-1. Mason Barnett (2019, White, Ga.) received the win for the Hurricanes. Barnett has a very live arm, throwing his fastball from 86-89 mph with decent life. His changeup sat at 78-80 mph and his curve was in the low-70s, but both pitches require some development. Barnett is only a sophomore and has room to grow in his body and control his arm, and as he grows and gets older he should experience an increase in velocity which could make him a highly targeted player once the 2019 draft arrives.
The Hurricanes continued to take care of business defeating the Pepperell Dragons in the semifinals 10-0 on Friday evening. J.P. Martin, an Alabama commit, was on the mound for this game and he certainly impressed, walking none and giving up one hit while striking out six. Martin, as detailed above for his hitting exploits, is usually behind the dish, and showcased his pitching skills in this game with a fastball in the mid-80s and good late-breaking curve that ranged from 66-69 mph. Martin has a nice smooth, easy-to-repeat delivery and attacks the outer half of the strike zone very well. He pounds hitters away with his fastball and comes in with his off-speed which proved to be effective in getting hitters off balance.
Cartersville's Seigler and Warner stayed hot as Seigler went 2-for-3, with two RBI and two runs scored, while Warner went 1-for-2 with a three-run home run.
Tyler McLoughlin (2020, Milton, Ga.) threw for the Milton High Freshman team and twirled an impressive no-hitter. The fastball velocity reached as high as 78 mph and he showed good pitchability by constantly keeping opposing hitters off balance. He only struck out one batter, but he was able to generate soft contact and allow his defense to work behind him. McLoughlin is a very young player, only a freshman, but he showed unprecedented feel for pitching and maturity to throw a no-hitter for someone his age.
– Brandon Lowe