On the other side of the diamond Kai Murphy (2019, Temecula, Calif.), a lefthanded Oregon State commit, got the start for CBA and threw five shutout innings, culminating in a win for CBA. Murphy is of the traditional “advanced pitchability” lefthander archetype, and he kept Trosky off-balance all game long with a combination of solid stuff, advanced feel, and a willingness to sequence effectively, though some of that could be attributed to Gabe Briones (2019, Riverside, Calif.) behind the dish.

Murphy worked 80-84 mph throughout his start, creating lots of angle to the plate as well as deception from a very crossfire delivery, and showed the ability to work his fastball to all four quadrants of the strike zone. He landed his curveball for strikes to both sides of the plate and mixed in a good changeup as well, pitching backwards often, and though he allowed his fair share of baserunners, he was able to pitch out of jams.

Cody Freeman (2019, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.) was the star of the day for CBA, collecting 5 hits in 9 at-bats over the course of CBA’s two games and really just putting on an overall display that was quite impressive.

He’s got very advanced bat-to-ball skills with an innate ability to control the barrel through the zone and square up pitches in any location, using the whole field to his advantage. He drives the ball on a line to all fields and while there’s not significant power there yet, the swing and overall hitting mechanics portend future power as he continues to add strength to his frame.

He’s also an accomplished defender with the chops to play shortstop, though he’s also an asset at 2nd base and probably also at 3rd base, where his easy actions and overall athleticism play to his advantage while the quickness of his release across the diamond allows his raw arm strength to play up nearly a full grade as well.

Jasiah Dixon (2019, Riverside, Calif.) has long been lauded as one of the higher-upside prospects in the class, due in part to his supreme athleticism and speed, both of which play extremely well defensively in center field. The defense is just very impressive, regardless of how you break it down. He gets excellent reads off the bat and takes efficient routes to the baseball and given his plus speed, is able to get to pretty much any ball hit in the general vicinity of center field. It’s gotten to the point now where whenever a ball is hit in the air towards the general direction of center field it's a foregone conclusion that Dixon is going to get there and make the play.

Offensively, Dixon has come along quite well over the course of the past year-plus and hits atop the CBA lineup. He’s got high-quality right-handed bat speed and looks to have done a good job beginning to fill out his frame, adding a strength component to his offensive game that certainly lends some credence to his lofty “five-tool player” projections. As mentioned above, Dixon has been considered to be one of the higher-upside players in the class of 2019 and over the course of this event did nothing to dissuade those projections.