Justin Olson (2018, Colorado Springs, Colo.) is a Kentucky commit with a strong, mature frame with a patient approach at the plate. Olson went 1-for-3 with a walk, two RBIs and a run scored. He hits with his hands close to his body and a slightly open stance with a leg kick trigger. He possesses a well balanced swing and does a good job of opening up his hips to create quick torque and great bat speed and creates hard contact when his bat connects with the ball.

Grant Lavigne (2018, Bedford, N.H.) stands at 6-foot-4, 230-pounds with a strong and well built frame and possesses a strong lower half. Lavigne has quick and strong hands that help him produce excellent bat speed. He hit a line drive single in the seventh of his Tuesday game with an exit velocity of 102 mph. Lavigne went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs scored and three RBI and stayed hot at the plate on Thursday , hitting a RBI triple, with an exit speed of 90 mph off the bat and went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a walk. Lavigne is a Wake Forest commit.

Sebastian Thomas (2019, Brookhaven, Ga.) pitched very well in his Tuesday night outing, throwing a five inning shutout and allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out four. Thomas has three pitches and each pitch move in different directions causing problems for opposing hitters. He throws a mid 80s fastball, that reaches as high as 88 with great arm-side run. He’s able to run his pitch in on righties, as well as throwing backdoor for strikes and he pairs it with a low-80s slider with good depth and tight spin and a good curve ball with high spin rate in the high 2600s in the low-70s.

Nate Lamb (2018, Chesnee, S.C.) is a talented lefthanded pitcher who’s committed to playing for the College of Charleston in 2018. Lamb throws with a high three-quarters arm slot and nice, tight arm action to produce a mid-80s fastball with consistent arm-side run. He throws a quality slider, that breaks both planes and has good depth that sits in the low-70s and solid changeup with decent fade in the upper-70s. He does a great job of throwing each pitch with the same arm action, which leaves batters guessing at times and producing swings and misses and weak contact. Lamb threw four innings, giving up two runs on three hits and two walks while striking out six.

Andrew Lee (2018, Boynton Beach, Fla.) is an athletic outfielder with a great feel for the strike zone and a patient approach at the plate. Lee fits the profile of a leadoff hitter well, working the count well and displaying solid speed on the base paths. He hit a lead off home run during is Tuesday night game and showed a great ability to consistently create leverage with his swing. He hits with an open stance, hands high and elbow pointed towards the home plate stands. Lee will be an LSU Tiger in the fall of 2018.

Mason Barnett (2019, White, Ga.) continues to impress this summer on the mound, throwing five innings in his Tuesday night contest and gave up one run on one hit and one walk while striking out eleven. Mason’s fastball velo was in the upper-80s for the first three innings of the game, touching 90 and 91 in the first and stayed in the mid- to upper-80s in his last two innings of work. He showed solid command of his curve, which sits in the low- to mid-70s with good depth and solid 11-to-5 break. Nine of his 11 strikeouts came from the curveball as it starts off in the righthanded batters box, then sharply breaks towards the strike zone as it approaches the plate.

Austin Ross (2018, Marietta, Ga.) is a Wofford commit and righthanded pitcher with great command. Ross threw five innings, giving up two runs on three hits and struck out eight while walking none. Ross fills up the strike zone and had many three- to four-pitch at-bats in his first three innings of work. He has a medium, projectable frame and throws with a high three-quarters arm slot. He possesses a solid fastball which ran in the upper-80s in his first three innings and mid-80s in his last two with decent life. He has an above average curveball that was able to produce a spin rate in the low 2700s. Ross likes to work from the stretch and repeats his delivery well and displays solid mechanics on the mound.

Alberto Gonzalez (2018, Laredo, Texas) threw for the North East Baseball Rays in their Thursday morning contest and gave up two runs on two hits and walked one while striking out three. Gonzalez has an electric arm, with very quick arm action that produces a fastball in the high-80s to low-90s. He has a slow and easy to repeat delivery and throws with an over-the-top arm angle. He likes to work the outside part of the strike zone with his fastball and must work on throwing to both sides of the plate effectively. His curveball has great depth and 12-to-6 break and he does a great job of keeping it low. Gonzalez has room to grow and an athletic, medium frame that should grow stronger and increase velo during his senior year.

Bryce Lawrence (2019, Dallas, Ga.) had a great day at the plate during his Thursday game, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and three RBI. Lawrence does an excellent job of hitting the ball the other way, as all three of his hits went to left field. He has a medium frame, with room to grow stronger and has a rotational, well balanced swing. He does an excellent job of letting the ball get deep and taking his hands to the baseball. He attends East Paulding high school and is a must follow player as he prepares for his upcoming junior season.

Josh Gibson (2019, O’Fallon, Ill.) is a middle infielder with a small, strong frame and hits the ball with great pop. Gibson has a solid, quick and compact swing and uses his hands and upper body strength to produce solid pop at the plate. He went 1-for-2 with a line drive double off the fence and a exit velocity of 92 mph. Gibson also shows solid fielding actions at short, making good reads on hops and making the routine plays in the field. He is a Missouri State commit and has a high ceiling as he continues to develop in his next two remaining years in high school.

Darrin Kilfoyl (2017, Land O' Lakes, Fla.) is an uncommitted righthanded pitcher with a large, strong frame. Kilfoyl does a great job of throwing downhill with a quick and solid over-the-top arm slot. Kilfoyl threw foru shutout innings, giving up just two hits and struck out five. He throws a fastball with good, riding life at 88-91, which he’s able to maintain throughout the whole game and a solid, hard breaking slider with good lateral depth in the mid-70s. His arm works very well and he has good command of both pitches, with the ability to sometimes to take a little off of his slider and create a 11-to-5 curveball shape.

– Brandon Lowe



Two future Demon Deacons were the big highlights of the 17u Round Robin tournament on Monday. Ryan Cusick (2018, Sadbury, Mass.) and Drew Kendall (2018, West Palm Beach, Fla.) both were standouts in their respective games.

Cusick was brilliant in his start on the mound striking out seven. The tall righthander has an effortless and balanced delivery with an over-the-top arm slot. His fastball sits 88-92 touching 93 with good downward plane. Cusick gets good extension of over seven feet with more velocity in the tank. He also mixed in a slider in the upper-70s that seemed to get better each inning. What stood out to me the most about Cusick, was his ability to locate an elevated fastball deep in counts. He liked to elevate with two strikes on hitters and did so effectively.

Kendall is a lefthanded hitter with obvious power potential. He has a fluid stroke that stood out on a loud fly ball out to deep center field in his first at-bat.  The West Palm Beach native has a big athletic frame with present strength and even more room to fill. He makes hard contact to all fields with his fast hands. The most impressive aspect of the Wake Forest commit’s game is his hitting approach. He is very patient at the plate and seemed to always run counts deep before waiting for his pitch to drive. He also picks well at first base and has solid speed showing a 4.57 home to first base time with a turn. Kendall has tools that project well at the next level.

Dalton Rhadans (2018, Acworth, Ga.) had no blemishes on the mound Monday night against the NJ Marlins aside from one single base runner via a walk. Rhadans threw a seven inning no-hitter and struck out 10. The sidearm righthander’s fastball has riding arm-side life and sits in the low-80s, a potential nightmare for righthanded hitters. He pounded the zone with his fastball in and out all game long. He also mixed in a slider that was his out pitch. The slider was long-breaking in the low-70s. Rhadans did a nice job pitching to contact and getting ahead early in the count. The uncommitted pitcher from North Paulding High School had a night to remember on the mound.

Harrison Haley (2018, Madison, Miss.) is a very talented uncommitted arm from the Magnolia State. Haley pitched six strong innings against a talented FTB Rockets team and struck out 10 without allowing a walk. Haley mixed speeds well with his upper-80s fastball and his mid-70s breaking ball. The fastball sat 86-89 with arm-side run and maintained velocity relatively well too. The best two assets of Haley’s is his ability to locate his fastball and his 11-to-5 curveball. His curveball has good bite and made multiple hitters swing and miss. The uncommitted righthander has a balanced delivery, three-quarters arm slot and solid extension. The 7-plus feet of extension helps Haley’s effective velocity that tended to be two mph greater than the velocity showing on the radar gun. Haley is a high follow arm who knows how to pitch.

Jack McCluskey (2018, Palm Beach, Fla.) had an impressive day at the plate both Monday night and Wednesday. Over the two nights the slugging outfielder had three hits including two triples deep to the right-center field gap. McCluskey has a short compact swing with potential gap power. Each triple had an exit velocity greater than 90 mph with the best being 96 mph. McCluskey is an uncommitted lefthanded hitting outfielder with quick hands and the ability to frequently square up pitches on the barrel.

Zach McManus (2018, Canton, Ga.) has loose and easy arm action that produces good velocity on his fastball. He sat 86-88 touching 90 for most of his outing Wednesday night. McManus struck out seven in his four innings of work and showed good stuff in his arsenal. He used a three pitch mix from his balanced delivery with a fastball, curveball and changeup. The fastball has armside run with life on most of the plane, but did lose velocity from the stretch. The curveball sits in the low-70s with bite. He shows a feel for his changeup in the mid-70s with occasional cutting action. Each pitch came from a good arm angle in his upper half. McManus’s arm is quick and he does a good job of maintaining his arm speed of all three pitches. There is a lot to like in the uncommitted righthander, especially his projectable 6-foot-1, 198-pound body that has more room to fill with lower half strength.

From 88 mph last summer to 92 mph this summer, Chris Seymour (2018, Boynton Beach, Fla.) showed the biggest increase of velocity in terms of last pitching in a Perfect Game event this week. Seymour appeared in two innings of relief for the FTB Rockets and showed impressive ability. The uncommitted righthander sat 89-91 touching 92 with occasional run. He uses lots of front side in his long arm action with tilt towards drive leg before throwing from a high three-quarters arm angle. Seymour showed a tendency to elevate his fastball and liked to pound the inner half of the plate. The uncommitted righthander from southeast Florida flashed a curveball in the low- to mid-70s. Seymour has a high ceiling for a prestigious program in FTB.

Zach Mazur (2018, West Palm Beach, Fla.) is a Notre Dame commit with a lot of power in his swing. The catcher showed excellent bat speed as well squaring up a letter high 82 mph fastball for a 370-foot home run to left field. The home run shot had an exit velocity of 95 mph. Each at-bat Mazur had on Wednesday evening was better and better eventually resulting in the two-run homer. Mazur grinds out at-bats showing good plate coverage and a good eye.

Bryce Reagan (2018, Amherst, N.H.) shows big-time tools with the bat especially from the left side. The bat speed is very impressive with lots of potential power and fluidness. He stands with a narrow base and exaggerated open stance. He makes very hard contact especially to pull side, but does show the ability to hit the ball the other way. His hands are very strong and quick that help generate his very good bat speed. The University of Texas commit laced three hits on Tuesday evening including two doubles, one to each gap. The third basemen is a high follow player with impressive skills at the dish.

A well-earned win was given to Vermont native Theo McDowell (2018, Essex Junction, Vt.) on Wednesday. The righthander threw 2 1/3 innings of relief work allowing no hits and struck out one. The lanky 6-foot-4 pitcher from the Green Mountain State attacked hitters in every sense especially righthanded hitters. McDowell pitches from a low three-quarters arm slot that is tough for righthanded bats. The fastball sits 87-88 with lots of arm-side life and occasional sink. The delivery is slightly deceptive as well with a good, long arm action. He also mixed a slider in the low- to mid-70s. McDowell gets great extension of up to eight feet with up to 91 mph of effective velocity.

Angel Tiburcio (2018, Wellington, Fla.) has one of the best breaking balls I have seen this summer. The Florida International commit came out of the pen for Palm Beach Select firing easy low-90s touching 92 with more in the tank. The arm action is very loose with a good arm action. He maintains the effortless arm speed on his curveball that sits in the upper-70s with hard bite and good depth. Tiburcio shows a good plane and is a fun pitcher to watch throw. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound righthander is a high follow with a physical body and present strength.

Nick Swanson (2018, Kennesaw, Ga.) had all the scouts waiting on him to throw Wednesday night and he did not disappoint in terms of stuff. The fastball sits 87-90 with occasional life and has been up to 92 per Perfect Game. He likes to pitch inside and elevate the fastball and he throws with intent from a three-quarters arm slot. The University of North Carolina commit likes to mix in a curveball that he shows feel for, a pitch that has good depth and decent bite in the mid-70s.

– Gregory Gerard