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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/13/2017

National Qualifier Days 3-4 Notes

Photo: Perfect Game


Georgia Tech commit, Andrew Moore (2018, Flovilla, Ga.) threw on Sunday for the BigStix Gamers. Moore has a large frame, with broad shoulders and strong lower half. He has throws with a smooth, balanced delivery and overtop arm slot. Moore was 88-90 with his fastball in the first inning, then sat 83-87 for the rest of his outing. Moore has good life on his fastball, but gets in trouble with batters when he leaves the ball up and would like to see him extend to the plate more to maintain his velo in the high 80s. Moore possesses a solid curve, that has 11-5 break and solid break which he uses to help miss bats and produce strikeouts.

Noah Ledford ( 2018, Buford, Ga.) continues  to swing a hot bat for the Colts as he went 2-3 with a double, a run scored and three RBIs. Ledford continues to stay firm on the backside and use his back elbow to generate a smooth swing path to the baseball to produce solid contact as he hit a hard, line drive double in the fourth inning to add to huge lead the Colts took in their Sunday contest. Ledford is a huge add for the Georgia Southern baseball team as he is committed to their university.

Jalen Jones (2018, McDonough, Ga.) is a talented, athletic short stop who’s headed to Western Carolina in 2018. Jones swings with his knees slightly bent, hands close to the body and slightly open stance. He has an up the middle, opposite field approach as he went 1-for-3 with a run scored and a nice line drive double to right field in the third.

Charlie Erler (2018,Godfrey, Ill.) threw a complete game shutout against a talented East Cobb Colt 45s 17u team, giving up just one hit, while walking one and striking out 8. Erler has a medium frame, with a long lower half and room to fill out. Erler possesses great mound presence and knows how to command the strike zone with a solid fastball that sat from 82-86, that touched 87 and two solid off speed pitches in his change up and curveball. Erler was able to mix pitches, throwing a solid change up with great fade and solid arm action as his fastball in the low 70s that continued to generate swings and misses and was hard for batters to pick up . Erler is definitely an arm that people should keep an eye on.

Will Shirah (2018, Bule Ridge, Ga.) threw four innings on Monday, receiving the loss, in a tight, competitive pitchers duel. The Georgia Tech commit’s fastball had great life and sat between 86-89, as he missed plenty of bats with it, racking up eight strikeouts and gave up one hit and one unearned run. Shirah does a great job of landing softly on his front foot which allows him to open up his hips and drive the baseball with a tight arm action to home plate and get good run on his fastball. He worked batters inside successfully and disrupted their timing with a hard breaking curve that ran from 72-74, with 1-7 shape and good depth.

– Brandon Lowe



Harrison "Buddy" Floyd (2019, Marietta, Ga.) squared up each of his three balls he put into play on Sunday afternoon. Floyd has a small build, but really knows how to handle the bat and can run well. He has a fairly wide base, a leg kick trigger, and hands rested on his left shoulder until getting them into a good hitting position. The switch hitter had each of his at-bats from the left side. Floyd shows a line drive swing plane and quick hands with frequent barreled contact. Floyd is also a plus runner with a 4.34 home to first base time with a turn. 

Luke Boynton (2019, Marietta, Ga.) is a strong, filled out, first baseman with obvious power to pull side. The rising junior had two doubles on Sunday afternoon that each were hit deep to left field. Boynton stands with a wide base, slightly open stance, leg kick trigger and high hands. He has leverage in his swing and makes very hard contact with good bat speed. Boynton has impressed me more and more each time I see him. He is a power threat each time he comes to the plate with a high ceiling. 

Chris McElvain (2019, Thompsons Station, Tenn.) is a Vanderbilt commit as a second baseman, but shows potential on the mound as well. His delivery is quick and stiff with a good AA. The junior righthander consistently throws strikes with his explosive fastball at 86-87 touching 88 from an over the top arm slot. The fastball also has occasional cut to glove side. McElvain also mixed in a plus 11-5 curveball that showed excellent bite in the mid- to upper-70s. He has a projectable frame at 6-foot-1 175-pounds with plenty of room to fill.

Gabriel Kurtzhals (2018, Fort Worth, Texas) came in and shut the door for the East Cobb Athletics on Sunday night in a 9-0 victory. Kurtzhals' fastball has frequent life to armside and sat 85-88 while touching 89. The 5-foot-9 160-pound righthander has lots of room to fill in his medium build and possibly more velocity with improved strength. He pounds the strike zone to both sides of the plate well with his high three-quarters arm slot. He also mixed in a good 11-5 curveball at 72 mph. The Fort Worth native has greatly improved in velocity from 81 to 89 since the last time he pitched in a Perfect Game event two years ago. 

Team Elite 17u Prime continues to show an array of excellent prospects. This time in Ethan Bowdoin (2019, Alpharetta, Ga.) and Ryder Green (2018, Knoxville, Tenn.). The lefthander started on the mound for Team Elite sitting 84-86 mph with his fastball. Bowdoin's delivery is slow to begin, but then the arm circle is violent and loose. He shows a good AA from a three-quarters arm slot and lots of armside run on his fastball. He also mixed in a sharp 2-7 curveball in the low-70s. Green is an outstanding athlete standing at 6-foot-2 205-pounds. Green hit a double to deep centerfield on Sunday night that had an exit velocity of 98 mph. The number one outfielder in the state of Tennessee for the class of 2018 has plus speed as well running a 4.31 home to first time. At the plate, Green has a slightly open stance with a leg lift trigger and high hand set. The Vanderbilt commit showed good bat speed in multiple bats and obvious power potential.

Chance Huff (2018, Niceville, Fla.) threw one inning on Monday afternoon. Huff stands very athletic at 6-foot-4 200-pounds with even more room to fill. The righthander's delivery is balanced with a good AA and over the top arm slot. His fastball velocity sat 85 -87 mph with occasional sink, but has been up to 93 previously. The future Commodore has a plus 11-to-5 curveball in the mid-70s that is sharp. The arm works with with a good downhill plane.

Cole Tillotson (2019, Stone Mountain, Ga.) showed a lot of upside in his outing on the mound Wednesday. The lefthanded pitcher had a running fastball in the 83-86 mph range and touching 87. His delivery is smooth and balanced with solid repetitive actions. He throws from a three-quarters delivery and little effort. He does show a good 2-7 curveball in the low-70s. Tillotson does have an arm bar in his arm circle that could be fine tuned and would probably increase velocity even more. Overall, very good looking prospect and high follow.

Jorge Oleaga (2018, Tampa, Fla.) had an impressive outing against a well loaded Upstate Mavericks team. The uncommitted righthander went seven complete innings allowing just five hits and striking out eleven while earning the win. Oleaga sat 83-86 for all seven innings while touching 87 once. The fastball shows riding life to armside that jammed righthanded hitters frequently. The ball comes from a high three-quarters slot and a forced delivery with whiplash-like action. He also mixed in a plus slider, curveball and changeup. The slider is tight and short breaking in the upper-70s. The 11-5 curveball shows good depth in the low- to mid-70s. He also flashed a changeup that he struggled to command. Oleaga is a high energy player  and very animated on the mound.

Anthony Seigler (2018, Cartersville, Ga.) is a high rated player and he showed that Wednesday. The switch hitting catcher/first baseman went 3-3 with two singles and an opposite field double (batting from left side) to left-center field with an exit velocity of 91 mph. Seigler bats with a wide base, slightly open stance and leg lift trigger. His bat rests on his shoulder with small bat waggles prior to hand placement in a good hitting position. The Auburn University commit showed very quick hands with present strength throughout his large build.

Lawrence Butler (2018, Atlanta, Ga.) stood out because of his plus speed getting down the line. The senior corner infielder had a home to first base time of 4.17 seconds. He also showed good bat speed on two squared up singles to right field with a best exit velocity of 98 mph. The lefthanded hitter has a slightly open stance with a leg kick trigger and excellent bat speed.

– 
Gregory Gerard