WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint Daily Leaders: Upperclass | Underclass | Freshman
Jalon Mack (2020, Dallas, Texas) is an athletic shortstop with a medium frame and room to still grow and fill out who swings the bat from both sides of the plate. He displayed some pop and speed with an inside-the-park home run on Saturday. Mack swings with an upright stance on both sides and hands high. He possesses a quicker swing from the left side, hitting with a Sheffield-like hitch before the ball reaches the plate to trigger the hands and generate quality bat speed, as his swing is a little bit more longer on the right side, with a more basic and direct path to the ball. He showed a solid ability to go the opposite way with authority as well, notching an opposite field hit from both sides of the plate.
Myles Austin (2019, Smyrna, Ga.) is a tall, lanky shortstop who impressed with the bat over Labor Day weekend. In his Saturday game, Austin went 4-for-4 with two RBI and two extra-base hits. Austin uses his long arms to get good plate coverage and extension and did an excellent job of creating consistent, quality leverage in his swing as he continuously laced the ball to the outfield. He swings with an upright stance and hands high by his head and takes his hands straight to the ball. Austin is headed to the University of Alabama in 2019.
Blake Bennett (2019, Hayleyville, Ala.) is a talented lefty and Alabama commit who dazzled in his Saturday night start, working four innings and giving up one run on two hits and one walk while striking out six. He throws with a full arm action and tight arm circle, with the ability to repeat his mechanics and delivery well. His fastball was up to 84, but he worked mainly in the low-80s. He showed great feel for his curveball, using it as his out pitch and to establish the strike zone, as it has big depth and sharp 12-to-6 break.
Kameron Gay (2019, Newnan, Ga.) is a corner infielder with a large, strong frame with plenty strength at the plate. Gay displayed solid bat speed and quick hands, hitting a 96 mph line drive double to right field in his game on Saturday. Gay has a simple approach, with a short swing and uses his lower half and hands to generate the power in his swing. He has many top schools currently interested in him and should be a key commodity for whatever school retains his services starting in the fall of 2019.
Gunnar Henderson (2019, Selma, Ala.) is an impressive two-way player and Auburn commit who projects very well physically with a long, lanky frame and he possesses some athleticism. He was impressive with the bat over the weekend, creating constant hard contact, and he threw one inning on the mound on Saturday where he was up to 88 mph. He hits with a high hand-set and flashed some quality bat speed, as he has a pretty balanced swing and does an excellent job of creating solid twitch in the hips to get his bat quickly through the zone. On the mound, he likes to work low with his fastball and throws with an online delivery and high three-quarters arm slot. The ball comes out well and effortlessly and he does a good job of staying firm and balanced on his back leg, driving hard off of it to home plate.
Nick Barnes (2019, Knoxville, Tenn.) is an athletic outfielder with a medium frame and long limbs, with a projectable body and an impressive ability to consistently barrel the baseball with hard contact. Barnes consistently squared up the baseball this weekend, producing several line drive base hits to the outfield and does a great job of keeping his hands inside the baseball and he showed a good ability to drive the pitch in the lower half of the strike zone. He hits with an open stance and high hand-set and has good bat speed and should be catching the eyes of many college coaches next summer.
Francisco Hernandez (2020, Laredo, Texas) is an impressive young righthander, with long limbs and room to grow. He was up to 89 on the mound in his start on Saturday and throws with a long arm action and produces some arm-side run. Hernandez threw two innigs and struck out four. He threw an above average changeup with great fade and maintained the same arm action with his fastball, which added to its deception and created swings and misses. He flashed an average curveball that’s still in development as it had decent 11-to-5 break but only medium depth.
Yanluis Ortiz (2020, Grapevine, Texas) continues to impress at the plate and showcased his strength with a two-run home run on Saturday that traveled a distance of 331 feet with an exit velo of 91 mph off the bat. He has a large, stocky frame and big upper body and swings with his a high hand-set and the bat horizontal above his head. He has great bat speed at a young age and consistently makes hard contact every time he swings the bat. Ortiz is headed to the University of Miami in 2020.
Regi Grace (2018, Madison, Miss.) is a Mississippi State commit with a big arm and a strong, large frame. Grace stands at 6-foot-1, 215-pounds and throws with an online delivery with a long arm action and an effortless throwing motion that produces a quality fastball that reached up to 90. He throws with an over-the-top arm slot and the ball explodes out of his hand with good life. He worked an inning of relief in his Saturday game and struck out two. He also possesses an above average slider that breaks both planes, with late, sharp-breaking movement that sat at 73 mph.
– Brandon Lowe
Nelson Baseball School 18u threw three righthanded pitchers that all showed quality stuff in their respective outings. Michael Caldwell (2018, Marietta, Ga.) started the game and earned the win for NBS going three strong hitless innings with only one walk and three strikeouts. Caldwell has a big build and unique delivery that he repeats well. Caldwell throws with some effort, but the solid velocity is there. The Young Harris commit sat 85-88 and touched 89 once. He also mixes a solid 11-to-5 curveball that he throws for strikes peaking at 73 mph. Caldwell works with a tight arm action and over-the-top arm slot. The righthander has a deceptive but repeatable delivery that should be a force for the Mountain Lions of Young Harris.
Nick Swanson (2018, Kennesaw, Ga.) came out of the pen for NBS firing on all cylinders. Swanson has been up to 92 in the past per Perfect Game and peaked a tick under that in Friday night’s outing. The 6-foot, 205-pound righthander sat 88-90 mph touching 91 mph on one occasion and the command was very good. Swanson seemed to locate his fastball to whichever side of the plate he wanted to. He mixed a good breaking ball as well. The 11-to-5 curveball sat 74-75 mph with frequent late break. The uncommitted pitcher works with a long arm action and the ability on Friday to consistently repeat the tempo in his delivery and release on time.
The final pitcher for NBS in Friday’s contest was uncommitted righthander Cole Garrett (2018, Marietta, Ga.). Garrett, from Kennesaw Mountain High School, ran his fastball up to 89 mph and consistently sat in the upper-80s. The Marietta native has a quick arm action with great tempo throughout the delivery. Garrett came in and struck out the side in his first inning of work pounding the strike zone with his fastball and his go-to curveball that sat in the low-70s with a 2100 RPM spin rate.
From one Nelson Baseball School team to another Zachary Maxwell (2019, Acworth, Ga.) impressed on the mound for NBS 18u Black. Maxwell has a big build at 6-foot-5, 225-pounds. The tall righthander has a crossfire delivery with long arm action and a high three-quarters arm slot. Maxwell sat 84-88 mph touching 89 mph. Although the fastball is mostly straight, the pitch does show occasional sinking action. Maxwell does create plane and extension to make the velocity seem even quicker to hitters as well. Maxwell is a good looking uncommitted pitcher that has some upside and will continue to get better.
Corey King (2018, Lithonia, Ga.) had quite the first day at the WWBA Labor Day Classic at LakePoint, going 3-for-4 including a triple and a home run. King has a smaller build at 5-foot-9, 180 pounds, but plenty of quick-twitch muscle throughout the frame. The uncommitted prospect showed speed and strong hitting ability in Friday night’s performance. In his first at-bat his foot quickness was evident by just missing an infield single by half of a step by clocking a 4.36-second home-to-first time. His next at-bat he ripped a triple into the left-center gap and showed good speed around the bases as well. His next at-bat was a no-doubter 93 mph, 378-foot home run to his pull side. King is an interesting uncommitted player with projectable tools that could help a college or University down the road.
Blake Evans (2018, Acworth, Ga.) first showed really solid defensive tools in Saturday morning’s contest. Specifically on slow rollers, the future Georgia Southern Eagle made every play hit his way at shortstop, fielding every ball with clean defensive actions and really soft hands. He also showed the ability to swing the bat. The lefthanded swinging shortstop roped a triple to the opposite field gap, motoring around the bases while displaying a 4.41-second home-to-first time with a turn. Evans is a solid all-around ball player who will be a strong addition to Georgia Southern’s 2018 recruiting class.
From an offensive standpoint, there is not much more that Lundray “T.J.” Reeves (2018, Birmingham, Ala.) could do this weekend to stand out. Reeves went 8-for-12 and squared up the ball every time I saw him at the plate. His two home runs on the weekend were both impressive as each left his bat at 96-plus mph. One of the homers hit the scoreboard in left-center field traveling 368 feet while the other went a few feet farther at 379 feet. The Alabama commit also ripped a double off the batter’s eye in center field in the same game he hit the longer of the two home runs. At 5-foot-11, 185-pounds, Reeves is not overly physical but he is an excellent athlete and can make really hard contact.
Kelvin Smith Jr (2018, College Park, Ga.) showed big-time power potential in Friday night’s win as he hit a foul ball deep to left field. The would have been a no-doubt home run as the ball left his bat at 100 mph and traveled 411 feet, showing that Smith has the ability to hit the ball a long way if straightened out. He proved to do just that later in the tournament, Smith as he belted a 102 mph, 403 foot home run to center field in the championship game. The Missouri commit is also a solid defensive shortstop with good range.
Michael Harris II (2019, Ellenwood, Ga.) is a young lefthanded pitcher with lots of potential. Harris has a very quick arm sitting at 85-86 mph and touching 87 in his first inning. He did lose a few ticks after his first inning of work, but the maintained velocity will come with time. Harris stands at 6-foot, 175-pounds and he lands closed with a high three-quarters arm slot and short arm action. He also mixed in a low-70s breaking ball in his outing out of the bullpen that kept hitters consistently off of their timing. Uncommitted, Harris will be a good addition to a university’s 2019 recruiting class.
A.J. Stinson (2018, Hattiesburg, Miss.) pitched exclusively from the stretch for TPL National in his start. Stinson’s start was similar to his lower half: very strong. The uncommitted righthander does a good job of driving off of his back leg and getting downhill, and he ran his fastball up to 89 mph while sitting 86-88. When runners did get on base, however, his velocity did fall a few ticks. His mechanics are pretty smooth with long arm action that wraps in the back, but is mostly on time through the arm circle. He does land closed and mixed in a hard slider in the upper-70s that helped him tally seven strikeouts in his 5 2/3 innings. Stinson has some upside with fillable room in the upper half and by standing presently bigger than his listed 6-foot, 170-pound stature.
At 6-foot-3 210-pounds, Jack Dougherty (2020, Collierville, Tenn.) is very physical on the mound with a really high ceiling. The righthander has a really clean arm action and balance in his delivery for a big, young pitcher. His leg lift is low and is not even up to his belt, but the Ole Miss commit generates good velocity anyway. Dougherty sat in the 84-87 mph range and touched 88 mph once in his start for Easley Baseball Club. The big righty creates plane and throws easy without much effort from a high three-quarters slot. The future Rebel also flashed a tight curveball that showed both 12-to-6 shape and 11-to-5 shape, but the arm speed was slowed down considerably on the breaking ball. Dougherty is a really good arm in the 2020 class and will continue to mature and the end result could be very special.
Blake Wehunt (2019, Carnesville, Ga.) sat 85-89 mph on Friday night mixing in a 12-to-6 curveball that he showed good feel for. Wehunt throws with explosion in his delivery while finishing well over his front side. There are several moving parts in his mechanics, but the velocity is in his arm speed with an over-the-top arm slot. With a couple of tweaks in the mechanics, and his 6-foot-5, 212-pound frame and good arm speed, the uncommitted Wehunt could throw exceptionally hard. He is an interesting prospect with upside.
– Gregory Gerard