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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/17/2017

Fall Champ. Day 2 Scout Notes

David Rawnsley     
Photo: Perfect Game

2017 PG Fall Upperclass National Championship Protected by G-Form: Daily Leaders | Day 1 Notes
2017 PG Fall Freshman National Championship Protected by G-Form: Daily Leaders


On day 2 of the PG Fall National Championships (Upperclass) teams spent most of the day jockeying for playoff position in a pretty deep pool of teams. Early on Saturday morning, two of the better teams of the event went head to head in a pool play game when the CAB Soldiers took one Arizona T-Rex.



CAB came away with a 1-0 victory in what was a tremendous pitcher’s duel, one that CAB righthander Alexander Williams (2018, Calif.) ended up winning. Williams threw 5 innings, allowing no runs and scattering 3 hits while racking up 3 strikeouts. He was in total command the entire time, pounding his 83-86 mph fastball down in the zone with good sinking life. He’s got serious arm speed and his body is quite athletic and projectable, giving him a tremendous amount of upside and such upside is easy to see. He demonstrated solid feel for both his breaking ball and changeup; and most importantly at this juncture, was able to stay down in the zone with all three offerings and elicit weak contact.

On the other side of the diamond, taking the tough-luck loss, was T-Rex’s Chandler Murphy (2019, Ariz.). He was very good throughout his complete game outing, allowing only a single run, but that was enough to take the loss. He struck out 10 over the course of his six innings, allowing only that single run on three hits, and was pretty dominant for the most part. He worked up to 87 mph with his fastball, commanding it well to both sides, and for the most part dominating with it when in the zone. He’s always shown solid feel for his breaking ball, a pitch that cruises in the mid-70’s, and has a chance to be a wipeout pitch as he continues to refine it.

Ricky Martinez (2018, Calif.) had another big day at the plate, collecting two of the teams three hits and collecting the only RBI. He’s been raking this entire event, and we’re excited to see it continue into the playoffs.

Kaden Sheedy (2019, Calif.) ended up taking the loss for GBG Marucci 2019 Navy in their Saturday morning game but showed some quality stuff on the bump. He worked up to 87 mph with his fastball from a loose, quick arm and generates good angle to the plate. He struck out four over his two innings, working to both sides of the plate with his running fastball, and showed good feel for spinning his curveball and generating good depth to it.

Opposing Sheedy for the All Star Baseball Academy was Leonardo Palacios (2018, Ariz.), a long-limbed and lean lefthander with almost limitless projection. Palacios has been up to 90+ mph in the past but cruised in this game at 83-85 mph, throwing only two innings but being very effective overall. His arm action is easy and works well, creating lots of angle and plane to both sides of the plate and consistently worked down in the zone. He’s got a crossfire delivery that his athleticism and flexibility allows him to repeat, and the raw components of his profile speak to a potentially good draft position next spring.

Albert Hsiao (2018, Calif.) has stood out for some time now with his strong, physical righthanded hitting prowess and he did nothing to dissuade the notions that he can really hit on Saturday. He does a very good job controlling the zone and can work counts in his favor, and then when he finds a pitch he likes he’s able to unleash and extremely fast, extremely strong swing that works with big loft and power behind it. He’s capable of driving the ball deep with legitimate carry, as evidenced by his bomb of a home run at PG National a few months ago, and he still looks to be one of the more prodigious righthanded bats in the class at this juncture.

Aggies Baseball Upperclass knocked off Blackhawks National 1-0 on Saturday morning and it was brilliant pitching that did the job. Oscar Lepe (2018, Calif.) got the start and was excellent over his four innings, scattering four baserunners while not allowing a run and picking up three strikeouts along the way. He worked up to 86 mph from the left side with excellent angle to the plate, creating heavy arm side life, and worked in a short, sharp cut-like pitch in the low-80’s that was effective at missing barrels.

Opposing Lepe was Collin Foster (2018, Penn.), an uncommitted righthander who threw well in the loss. He picked up eight strikeouts over his 5.1 innings, allowing just the single run on a single hit. He creates excellent plane from a very high three quarters slot while working up to 88 mph, and demonstrates solid feel for his curveball, thrown with 12/6 shape and quality depth that he’s able to land for a strike.

Wilson Sandlot moved to 3-0 on Saturday afternoon and cruised into the playoffs behind an 11-3 victory. Kevin Ortega (2018, Ariz.) took the ball and got the win in his start for Wilson, having some command troubles at times but battling through and giving his team a chance for the W. There’s a lot to like about Ortega’s profile, with a fast arm that produces 85-88 mph fastballs and a projectable, athletic build; in addition to generating some sinking life. The aforementioned command concerns are alleviated somewhat by his athleticism, and the hope could be that he’ll eventually be able to repeat his delivery pretty easily with continued reps.

Bobby Meza, Jr. (2018, Ariz.) is a junior college commit to consistent powerhouse Yavapai College and he’s one of the more impressive two-way players in this event. He’s a big, physical righthanded pitcher and hitter, and that strength and physicality play very well both on the mound and with the bat. He can work in the upper-80’s on the mound with pretty solid sinking action; and then at the plate he can produce the kind of bat speed and strength that is capable of driving the ball with legitimate power. He’s a true run-producer in the middle of the lineup, with the ability to be a weapon on the mound as well.

-Brian Sakowski

CBA Marucci has steam rolled into the playoffs after going 3-0 and scoring 32 runs in pool play and while everyone in the lineup has contributed, the team is keyed by the left side of their infield, Cody Freeman (2019, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), a Baylor commit, and Sterling Hayes (2018, La Jolla, Calif.), a Vanderbilt commit.  Hayes is the more physical of the two players, with a rangy and projectable 6-foot-2, 195-pound build, and has a loose and strong right handed swing that showed its power Saturday with a loud two RBI triple. Freeman has been an on-base machine thus far in the championship and has scored five runs in the three wins. The two players have switched between shortstop and third base, with a diving stop and throw from the hole by Hayes at third base being a defensive highlight, and both have also worked out of the bullpen to close out games and save primary pitchers for the playoffs.

GBG NW is another team that appears to be in a strong position heading into the playoffs , also posting a 3-0 record and outscoring their pool play opponents 21-3.  A pair of two-way standouts have lead GBG NW in shortstop-right handed pitcher Willie Weiss (2018, Beaverton, Ore.), a Michigan commit, and centerfielder-right handed pitcher Koby Blunt (2018, Clarkston, Wash.), a Washington State commit.

Weiss was especially impressive in a short two inning start on the mound Saturday, striking out all six hitters he faced while only throwing 27 pitches. Weiss topped out at 88 mph with his fastball and threw a sharp mid-70's curveball that accounted for a number of the strikeouts. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound right handed hitter has also stood out at the plate with his bat speed and strength and has driven in five runs, including driving a key double over the centerfielder's head in GBG's first win Saturday to drive in a pair of runs.

The 5-foot-10, 165-pound Blunt didn't hit on Friday while throwing four shutout innings but made his presence known the other two games. The speedy right handed hitter scored four runs in Saturday's two games and most impressively, used his plus speed to steal five bases and constantly put himself in scoring position.

Utah County Prospects ran out a pair of very interesting uncommitted right handers in Jake Dahle (2018, Tremonton, Utah) and Jake Porter (2018, South Weber, Utah). The 6-foot-4, 185-pound Dahle was especially impressive with his long and athletic build and easy and smooth right arm. He topped out at 90 mph early and worked consistently in the mid- to upper-80's until tiring and got very good sinking life on his fastball that generated lots of ground ball contact. Dahle's 72-75 mph curveball was a very solid second pitch, with big 11/5 depth and a sharp break.

The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Porter was almost as impressive in throwing a complete game three-hitter, working at 85-88 mph the entire game, including numerous 88's in the last inning, from an extended 3/4's arm slot that gave his fastball lots of running action. Like Dahle, Porter throws easy and comes by his velocity without lots of effort in his delivery. His low 70's breaking ball had good tight spin as well and was effective in keeping hitters off balance.

Another 2018 player without a college commitment who definitely looks like he has the ability to play at the next level is GBG Marucci 2018 Blue shortstop Michael Fuhrman (2018, Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.). He is a compactly built, quick-twitch athlete who brought himself immediate attention in this game by launching a deep home run to left centerfield to showcase his bat speed, but his defense at shortstop was just as impressive. Fuhrman showed a high degree of athleticism on a couple of plays he made moving at full speed, maintaining balance very well and making strong and accurate throws. They were two of the more impressive athletic plays this scout has seen this weekend and Fuhrman made them both cleanly and calmly.

TB SoCal Gold shortstop-right handed pitcher Jake Moberg (2018, Murrieta, Calif.) is a UCLA commit and the 160th ranked player in the 2018 class per the PG rankings. Moberg was a regular on the national summer circuit and scouts are still split on whether he's a future position player or pitcher down the road, although he certainly has the ability to do both at UCLA. He has been his usual efficient and high performance self in TB SoCal's three pool play wins, going 5 for 8 at the plate, including a double, and stealing five bases, while also picking up a win with two innings of shutout relief in his team's come from behind win over Utah County. Moberg topped out at 88 mph in that outing, although he has regularly been up to 91 mph during the summer.

Quakes Baseball Academy ran out a starter very similar to their first game starter, right hander Spencer Crotty (2018, San Juan Capistrano, Calif.), highlighted here yesterday, in their third game. Righthander Spencer Rojahn (2018, Palo Alto, Calif.) is a slender and very projectable 6-foot-4, 180-pound athlete who worked in the 82-85 mph range for three shutout innings and also showed a nice 77 mph change up.  He worked quickly and filled up the strike zone well while getting very good life on his fastball. Rojahn's delivery is very easy and low effort and there is little doubt that there is more velocity in there if he were able to get stronger. Also, like Crotty, Rojahn is an outstanding student who doesn't yet have a  college commitment per the PG records.

Righthander Trent Schoebel (2019, White Bear Township, Minn.) of the MN Blizzard Black 2019 is an interesting 6-foot-4, 165-pound athlete who is typical of some of the athletes that can come out of northern tier states such as Minnesota. He threw six shutout innings, working at 82-85 mph with his fastball from an extended 3/4's arm action with good looseness and pace to his delivery, while also throwing a mid-70's change up and upper 60's breaking ball. Schoebel has also shown interesting athleticism by playing shortstop when not pitching and going 4 for 7 at the plate with three RBI's. He looks like the type who could be a late bloomer if he's able to get stronger and keeps working hard on his game.

Southern Nevada Baseball third baseman-right handed pitcher Bryce Robison (2019, Las Vegas, Nev.), a BYU commit, looks like a future righthanded pitcher. He has a strong and projectable 6-foot-1 frame and an easy high 3/4's delivery that produced an 85-87 mph fastball that came out of his hand very easily. Robison's 75 mph change up and upper 60's curveball both flashed quality but he showed what might have been his inexperience on the mound by not mixing them in enough when facing a very good team. The arm, pitches and projection are definitely there to be a solid pitcher at the next level.

-David Rawnsley
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