The 2017 15u BCS National Championship kicked off Friday with great talent from the state of Georgia. The 15u Georgia Jackets National team is absolutely loaded with players including Hudson Sapp (2020, Dawsonville, Ga.). The lefthanded hitting left fielder has a straight stance with a slight bend at the knees. He possessed lightning quick bat speed and a level swing that plays to all fields. He demonstrated good power as well. He lofted a double over the left fielder’s head for an opposite field double. At just 16 years old Sapp has plenty of development left, but he already looks polished. Sapp is verbally committed to the University of Mississippi.
Sapp’s teammate, Josh Shuler (2020, Suwanee, Ga.), is another lefthanded hitter with a pretty stroke. His tall, slightly open stance leads to Shuler leaning over the plate slightly. During his load he drops his hands and looks to drive the ball up the middle or to pull. Shuler has a good eye and won’t expand in the zone when down in the count. He managed to turn a two-strike count to a walk after taking four close pitches. His hit tool is immediately obvious, and his power could come as he refines his approach at the plate.
Hitting from the right side of the dish was John Anderson (2020, Grayson, Ga.). Anderson is one of the few to feature a closed stance, but his hands are loose and fly towards the pitch. He has an incredibly level swing, and he keeps the barrel through the zone for a long time. Anderson profiles to hit plenty of line drives and solid contact in the air. His aggressive swing and mighty hacks should help him add to his power as he’s only 5-foot-10, 161-pounds. Anderson could turn out to be a line drive machine while playing second base with plenty of power to spare. There’s plenty of promise in that package.
Lucas Cook (2020, Knoxville, Tenn.) is a highly projectable 6-foot-2, 185-pound shortstop with a sweet swing. He sets up to hit from a wide, upright stance with a high back elbow. He possesses yet another line drive swing with quick hands. His mechanics are simple, and Cook showed he can easily repeat them. He showed good discipline, as well, and easily earned himself a walk. There’s plenty to like about Cook if he can continue to hit the way he has and play a premium position in the field.
Evan Menendez (2020, Melbourne, Fla.) pitched well for EvoShield Florida 2020 Gold. His sinking fastball sat anywhere from 79-84 mph and the pitch was diving under opponents’ bats and inducing soft groundballs. There wasn’t much velocity difference between his fastball and curve, but that didn’t affect the pitches’ movement. Menendez’ curve had good depth and he buried the pitch well when needed. Menendez’ arm circle is very short, however, and shows quite a bit of effort. He may need to lengthen his delivery to continue his development, but as it stands, Menendez already shows plenty of promise.
Bryce Medlock (2019, Prosperity, S.C.) showed he has the chops to play shortstop. He handled a number of bad hops impressively well. His small steps and quick hands means he’s adaptable to changing bounces. Medlock possesses good arm strength as well, and his throws were accurate regardless of the position of his body. Medlock’s defense alone should help him continue to play at higher levels.
Lefthander Chris Mobley (2020, Kingsland, Ga.) impressed on the mound by striking out seven batters in only four innings while giving up three hits. His high-70s fastball won’t blow anyone away, but he pounds the strike zone with it to get ahead early. If hitters are aggressive, the fastball has enough sink to avoid the barrel consistently. His curve is big sweeper with more of a slurve break than a true 12-to-6 shape. Mobley has yet to refine his command with his breaking ball, but he has plenty of time to learn. He is aggressive when pitching to hitters, and that aggressiveness is often rewarded with quick outs or getting ahead in the count. Mobley already has the mindset to succeed, and if his stuff continues to develop he could be a good follow.
Kendall Anthes (2020, Cass City, Mich.) made the trip from Michigan to Florida to make his start on the mound. His fastball has power sink and good tailing action. The pitch ranged from 77-79 mph, but the excellent movement made it behave like a changeup, diving away from lefthanded hitters. The pitch was hard to barrel up, and numerous hitters rolled over to make easy outs. His three-quarters arm slot and mechanics are repeatable, and Anthes showed that by throwing a lot of strikes to both sides of the plate. His slider will need work, but his fastball is already a great pitch. Anthes needed only 43 pitches to get through four solid innings.
The Lowell Spinners Prospects is another team from up north. Kyle Wizst (2020, Westford, Mass.) is a good center fielder with plenty of promise, and he features a more complex swing with his hands moving up and down throughout his load. However, he quiets them well before moving towards the ball. He takes healthy uppercut swings, which should increase his power numbers as he ages. In fact, he drove a ball to left-center field for an easy double. Wizst showed plenty of speed on the bases, too.
Kevin Campbell (2020, Littleton, Mass.) is another good hitter. He gets in the box with a straight stance with a high back elbow. His swing is quiet except for a small step towards the pitcher. Once the pitch is on the way, Campbell’s hands move directly to the ball with little wasted motion. Some bat speed is already present, and that helps his swing appear fluid and easy. He finishes with a level swing plane that should lead to average power, but Campbell could hit for good average.
Marcus Valle (2020, Orlando, Fla.) is a power hitter waiting to break out. Valle gets incredible rotational power from his hips as he turns on pitches. He starts from an incredibly tall stance with little bend in the knees. As he starts his load Valle begins to coil his body and then explodes all that bundled energy towards the pitch. He’ll probably swing and miss a good amount, but when he connects he should have the power to displace that flaw. If Valle can continue to make contact at a healthy clip as he progresses, his power will play.
The MVP Banditos 15u team is one of the best in the tournament and for good reason. Their lineup is loaded with talent and the pitchers are just as impressive. One such player is righthanded pitcher Carlos Rodriguez (2021, Miami, Fla.). He throws an easy, high-80s fastball and a good curveball. His fastball velocity is already exceptional for his age, but the downhill plane that he creates should keep it hard to square up as he faces better competition. His delivery is effortless. Hernandez stays tall through his motion as his arm circles behind him. He releases the ball from a traditional three-quarters arm slot. Hernandez command suffered at times, and he’ll need to work on repeating his mechanics in order to consistently throw strikes. However, Rodriguez has the natural, pure talent to keep succeeding. He has a verbal commitment to the University of Miami.
Michael “MC” Sagaro (2020, Davie. Fla.) won’t win any awards for his height, as he’s 5-foot-4 with cleats on, but it’s convenient that it’s unnecessary to be tall to play baseball. Sagaro’s straight stance and low hand placement allow him to drive the ball to all fields. He maintains his balance well throughout his line drive oriented swing. His bat speed and foot speed are noticeable as well. Even if Sagaro doesn’t manage to hit for much power, he’ll hit for a good average and play a solid second base. Sagaro has a verbal commitment to the University of Miami.
Zane Keener (2019, Knoxville, Tenn.) has a sweet lefthanded swing and he features a wide, open stance. His bat is nearly parallel to the ground before he starts his load. As he strides to the pitch, Keener works into his back hip well to build rotational power. His slight uppercut should give Keener a greater power potential than most as he grows into his athletic 5-foot-10, 160-pound frame. Keener is verbally committed to the University of Tennessee.
Carlos Perez (2020, Miami, Fla.) is already physically advanced for his age. He’s a 5-foot-11, 186-pound catcher with the tools needed to succeed. He has a quick level swing that is clearly meant to go up the middle or to pull. When he gets a hold of a pitch it should travel a long way. Perez’ power might be his best tool, as it has potential to be much better than average. Although Perez only served as a designated hitter in Saturday’s game, this scout heard Perez’ arm is supposed to be outstanding from behind the plate. Perez, too, is verbally committed to the University of Miami.
One of the few D-I commits was Abner Benitez (2020, Miami, Fla.). However, Benitez is still very talented and can clearly hit. Benitez has a tall, open stance with a high hand and back elbow placement. As he starts his swing, Benitez sits into his back hip. He lowers his hands dramatically and strides towards the pitcher. He unleashes a lot of energy that results in plenty of power. His swing is level, so his power should translate to plenty of doubles to the gaps. Don’t expect Benitez to be uncommitted for long.
It’s hard to talk about the MVP Banditos 15u team without mentioning Victor Mederos (2020, Miami, Fla.). Although Mederos is known mostly for his outstanding pitching ability, his talent with the bat isn’t far behind. His virtually non-existent load and minimal hand casting should translate into plenty of contact. If he learns to engage his lower half better into his swing Mederos could hit for good power as he’s already physically developed. Any hitting Mederos does is a bonus to his already incredible pitching prowess. Mederos is verbally committed to the University of Miami.
One of the most shocking players was Caitlyn Naginey (2020, Windermere, Fla.). Naginey’s most immediately noticeable feature is that she’s a woman. But if you were focused on only that you would miss out on a promising pitcher with lots of talent. Her fastball won’t blow past any hitters, sitting in the mid-70s, but it had enough sink to miss the biggest part of the barrel. The pitch also generated two pop ups in two innings of work. Combined with her one strikeout, those three outs represent half of the outs she achieved and are the most effective and efficient way to retire hitters. Her mechanics are simple and easy to repeat. Naginey threw lots of strikes and had no problem getting ahead of hitters. Her curve will need to improve as she matures, but it’s enough currently to keep hitters off balance. It will great to see where Naginey’s pitching career takes her.
DBAT Elite Jones showed off during Saturday’s game with a game ending triple play. The play was started by shortstop Sam Berberich (2019, Terrell, Texas). He caught a scorching line drive, stepped on the base at second, and threw to first to record all three outs in the inning. The whole team performed well offensively, too.
Berberich’s teammate, Sam Crowell (2020, Royse City, Texas), is an impressive offensive catcher. He starts from a slight open stance with a lot of bend at the knees. His low hands create a level swing that results in plenty of line drives. He showed good bat control and adaptability depending on the pitch thrown. Crowell is athletic behind the plate and has quick actions when blocking pitches in the dirt. Crowell has some tools to develop in the future.
Reed Thomas (2020, Mansfield, Texas) is another impressive bat. His open stance with low hand placement leads to an easy swing. As he loads, his hands drop even lower, which results in a solid uppercut. His hitting mechanics are simple, and easily repeated. Thomas should be able to hit for average and power down the road. He hit a triple in Saturday’s game and showed good speed around the bases to reach third easily.
Clay Finnegan (2020, Heath, Texas) had an impressive day in the field. His arm strength was on full display when he doubled off a runner at first after making an incredible, one hop throw from left field. He threw a strike to first and easy nabbed the runner for a double play. His arms can play anywhere in the outfield. Finnegan showed promise with the bat as well. He has an inside out swing that tries to shoot pitches back up the middle or to the opposite field. Finnegan’s power seems limited, but his defense abilities and high contact rates at the plate will keep Finnegan playing at higher levels.
– Kyle Zwenge