THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,397 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,397 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
College  | Story | 4/7/2018

Big arms take the stage

Jheremy Brown
Vincent Cervino
Britt Smith
Greg Gerard
Photo: Tristan Beck (Stanford Athletics)



Midseason College Honors | Weekend Preview | College Player Database

During the season Perfect Game scouts will be traveling to some of the top series to watch the very best players in college baseball. Those observations, captured with both written notes and video, will be shared in the College Player Database as linked above, notes that can also be accessed on the players' individual PG profile pages. Throughout the season select reports will be shared in feature format to promote the players, the teams and college baseball as a whole.


Tristan Beck, RHP, Stanford



Throughout his senior year of high school righthander Tristan Beck steadily rose up draft boards though his commitment to Stanford was near iron clad and instantaneously vaulted his name to the top of any draft list for 2017 (as a draft eligible sophomore). His freshman season did nothing but solidify the notion of Beck becoming a top of the draft talent as he garnered a cabinet’s worth of postseason hardware before ultimately missing all of 2017 due to injury. 

Heading into Friday’s contest at UCLA Beck showed no signs of rust on the mound and though he took his first loss of the season, you can’t help but walk away impressed with the raw ingredients and what the complete version of what the Stanford ace may look like down the road. He did surrender eight hits scattered over his 6 1/3 innings, of which some were barreled hard as a result of missing his spot or staying up in the zone. 

Beck immediately catches attention with his long limbed, high waisted, and ultra-projectable 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame, and while he’s likely to gain strength at the next level, his athleticism and advanced arm speed already allow for a noteworthy arsenal. Beginning with his fastball, Beck opened and closed the game by bumping 94 mph and comfortably sat in the 91-93 range. And while the radar gun readings are nice, the ease of which he generates the velocity and the big plane he creates with solid extension out front are just as important in painting the bigger picture of Beck as a prospect. 

It became commonplace as the game wore on for the ump to say “strike one” after nearly every first pitch of an at-bat as Beck time and time again located his fastball to either side of the plate, occasionally mixing in a get-me-over curveball with big depth. His heater offered solid running life to his arm side, and when he was painting the lower third of the strike zone several pitches were simply of the “good luck hitting that” variety. He continued to show the life when working to his glove side, though by the end of the outing the heater showed more sinking life when working in on lefthanded hitters, still proving to be an effective offering. 

Of the three different secondaries Beck showed it was his curveball that he went to most often and at its best showed above average with potential for another bump on the scouting scale. Tunneling the pitch well with the same fast and loose arm stroke, Beck was able to add and subtract on the shape of the pitch as mentioned above, showing more depth in the mid-70s early in the count before showing a late, hard snapping version to put away hitters in the 78-80 mph band. His changeup is another pitch that flashed above average potential with late fading life down in the zone in the 82-85 mph range with a mimicked arm stroke and release point. Rounding out the arsenal was his slider, a pitch that offered a distinct difference in terms of shape and life, working mostly in the mid-80s with much shorter and tighter life through the zone.

Overall, the components for Beck are highly intriguing and he showed the ability to miss bats, punching out five while maintaining his delivery and arsenal throughout. He’s an alluring prospect who has been on the scene for a while and with continued success this spring should continue to solidify his standing come June.


Jake Bird, RHP, UCLA



Senior righthander Jake Bird took the mound for UCLA in a Friday night matchup against No. 2 Stanford and out-dueled touted draft prospect Tristan Beck for the majority of his outing. Bird did a very good job at pounding the strike zone and limiting hard hit contact en route to seven-plus innings on the mound and earning a hard fought victory. 

The righthander has a funky delivery, caused by a big rocker step into his delivery where he leans back hard into the gather, but does a good job at getting timed-up to get downhill effectively. The arm stroke is a bit long through the back, but again, Bird was very good at repeating the delivery to pound the strike zone with a strong, primarily two-pitch mix. 

The fastball worked in the 89-91 mph range for the majority of the evening, bumping a couple of 92's throughout. Bird maintained his velocity well as his final three pitches of the game were at 91 mph. He got downhill to create plane on the pitch but also flashed some hard life to the arm side. The fastball, however was pretty straight and fits the velocity range of about an average Major League fastball going forward. 

The frame is pretty filled out, so there isn't much room to project additional velocity, but the command of the pitch was good as he really didn't miss too often with his spots and could work side to side effectively. The cutter/slider was an effective secondary pitch in the 83-86 mph range while topping out at 87 mph. The pitch had short, biting life to it and he could sneak the pitch over the front door to righthanded hitters. The pitch flashed average potential, if not projecting for slightly better as he showed a pretty good feel for spin. Bird also flashed a traditional curveball at 76 mph with more 11-to-5 shape. 

Bird scattered eight hits across 7 1/3 innings pitched, and while he didn't miss many bats (only three strikeouts) he was adept at limiting hard hit contact. The righthander projects nicely as a senior sign come June's draft and will likely have a career in professional baseball.


Logan Gilbert, RHP, Stetson University



Early on it looked like Logan Gilbert was going to cruise to a win after his Stetson Hatters gave him an early 4-0 lead against Kennesaw State. Gilbert dominated the first 3 2/3 innings retiring the KSU batters in perfect fashion before running into some trouble. Giving up a pair of home runs in the fourth inning, Gilbert’s velocity dipped slightly and his fastball seemed to straighten up more than in the previous innings causing the KSU hitters to better square up the baseball.

Unfortunately after his stint of being perfect, Gilbert started to get hit around in the later innings. His fastball velocity dipped a couple of ticks after the first two innings of being in the 92-93 range. The velocity sat 89-92 later on and when that happened, the jump and short run it had lessened and allowed hitters to get the barrel on the baseball. The 15th ranked player on the Top 250 MLB Draft list took the loss to a well-balanced offense from Kennesaw State on this night giving up nine hits and six earned runs in 6 1/3 innings. The above average curveball he has did help the big righthander tally seven strikeouts in the contest.

At 6-foot-6 225-pounds and featuring a fastball that topped out at 94 mph on this night, it is obvious to see why Gilbert is such a highly regarded prospect. His delivery is so easy and clean as well. He drives off of his back leg extremely well for his size and gets excellent extension out in front. With a full arsenal of pitches Gilbert featured four on this night. The first he showed was his slider that was in the low-80s and had good sharpness to it. The next one that he displayed, and easily his best secondary pitch, was his curveball. At times the pitch showed true 12-to-6 shape and was virtually unhittable all night long. At other times, it showed more 11-to-5 shape and was still a big-time swing-and-miss pitch. On a few occurrences to lefthanded hitters he would throw his straight changeup that would get hitters out in front.


Jake Irvin, RHP, Oklahoma



Entering Friday night’s conference road opener for the Sooners, Jake Irvin had posted some outstanding numbers in the 2018 season. He had held opponents to a paltry .165 batting average and was averaging more than a strikeout an inning, while posting a 5-0 record. Friday night was not a typical performance for the junior righthanded pitcher, but he did show power stuff against TCU. With a pure power pitcher mentality, Irvin comes right after hitters with a lively fastball that sits 92-94 mph and will bump 95. Showing a good amount of arm-side run and slight sinking action, he shows that he can command it in the strike zone. Irvin has a longer arm circle and creates good hip and shoulder separation in his delivery. He can get amped up and will overthrow at times, but it is not the ordinary for him. 

Utilizing a two-pitch mix presently, Irvin may profile best as a reliever at the next level. His secondary pitch is an above average, 11-to-5 shaped slider, with good depth, thrown between 82-84 mph. He can get around it on occasion and create more lateral movement, but it is best when he drives through it and keeps good direction to the plate. It is rare to see a starter, at any level, that posts such good numbers while only throwing two pitches. However, Irvin has not struggled getting through lineups thus far in his Sooner career, as he has 14 starts that have seen him pitch six innings or more.

Although his command was solid average on Friday, his season numbers read that his command is better than shown. Possessing a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly 4-to-1 coming into the contest, Irvin issued three walks against five strikeouts on Friday night. He was up to the task of facing a patient TCU offense that played with great intensity early in the game, as he brought his own level of swagger to the outing as well. With a strong and mature athletic build (6-foot-6, 225-pounds), Irvin looks the part of a professional presently. He will remain in the draft conversation as the season progresses but where and how high he will be selected might depend on an organization’s idea of how they would utilize his abilities.


Nick Lodolo, LHP, Texas Christian



With TCU riding a four-game losing streak entering their Friday night contest against Big 12 leading Oklahoma, Nick Lodolo appeared determined to change the Horned Frogs’ luck. With a long and lean frame, standing 6-foot-6, 195-pounds, Lodolo punched out 13 Sooner hitters over the course of six innings of work. Although he was unable to end the losing streak, he showed high-level stuff and the ability to locate it much better than a year ago. With a fastball that had tremendous tilt and sat 91-93 mph for the entirety of his outing, Lodolo also showed the ability to get it to both sides of the plate without losing the slight arm-side run. As a freshman, he struggled to reach the extension side of the plate, but it was not a problem for him on Friday night.

Helping his effort was a 2-to-8 shaped slider that he showed good feel for throughout the game and flashes as a potentially above average pitch. Sitting 78-81 mph, his slider shows good depth with later break and was consistently tunneled in a fastball slot, which produced many ugly swings from left and righthanded hitters. Lodolo’s feel for his slider was good enough that he scrapped the use of his curveball after the first couple innings. Formerly a go-to pitch for the lefthander, with 2-to-8 shape and a bigger break in the 73-74 mph range, it was not as effective as the simple two-pitch mix he used to tie the Oklahoma hitters in knots. 

Lodolo has a faster paced delivery with both good rhythm and extension out front. He will still run from his arm at times but not nearly to the extent that he did as a freshman. Seeing the development of his delivery it is simple to see where the improvement of his command has come from. On a night when both teams had issues with the small strike zone, Lodolo shined with his command.

With a clean arm action and a more consistent point of release, he is developing well in his sophomore season. He showed composure on the mound and the ability to pitch out of trouble that was created by some defensive miscues. The ability he shows to keep better direction to his target, the advancement of his breaking ball command and the ability to get his fastball to both halves of the plate are all huge steps for Lodolo. His ability to continue to improve will only elevate his draft stock moving forward.
Give us your feedback
College | Rankings | 4/1/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: April 1
Nick Herfordt
Article Image
Welcome to another week of Perfect Game Small School baseball — and if you're looking for clarity at the top, you've come to the wrong place. Across all three classifications, the No. 1 spot is very much an open question, and nobody is sleeping comfortably right now. In NCAA Division II, Pittsburg State is stumbling at precisely the wrong moment, leaving the door cracked wide open for hungry challengers to come knocking. In the NAIA, defending national champion LSU Shreveport has dropped four straight and suddenly looks far more vulnerable than a program of their pedigree ever expects to be. And in NCAA Division III, the race for the top ranking is less a competition and more a ten-car pileup of elite programs, none of whom have done enough to pull away — and all of whom have done plenty to deserve it. Three classifications, three vacancies at the top, and a whole lot of...
Read More
Draft | Mock Draft | 4/3/2026

PG Staff Mock Draft

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
Welcome to another Perfect Game Mock Draft. This is not your typical mock draft as it features 15 different GMs drafting the first two rounds of the draft. Each member of the mock draft was assigned two teams and as such will be drafting all of the picks in the first two rounds for each responsible team. The actual draft order will be presented below and we will dive into how teams made their selections and how they feel about the players drafted. It is important to note that this is not how we think the draft will play out in almost any capacity. This is simply an exercise 4 months ahead of time with a large portion of the scouting staff and some picks fall under personal favorites, best available, and a multitude of other factors. Chicago White Sox 1:1 Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA | 1:41 Jack Radel, RHP, Notre Dame The White Sox don’t overthink here and select Roch Cholowsky, who has...
Read More
High School | General | 4/2/2026

High School Notebook: April 2

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
Lennex Minor (‘28 CA) absolutely destroys this offering to the PS for a 2-run shot. 2-4 on the day w/ 4 driven in. Athletic in the box w/ a quick stroke and strength throughout the frame. Also closed out the game running the FB up to 88 in a St. Bernard win #PGHS @PG_Scouting pic.twitter.com/KF7BsKGcm7 — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) March 29, 2026 Lennex Minor, MIF/P, St. Bernard (2028) Minor had a massive day in my look this past Saturday in a game being played at the University of San Diego.  The sophomore had a pair of hits, one which was a no-doubt homer, and drove in four.  Minor’s athleticism jumps out on the field with twitchy actions both at the dish and in the dirt.  He features a 6-foot, 170-pound frame with room to add and generates from a strong lower half and exceptionally quick hands.  Showing two-way potential, he made an...
Read More
High School | General | 4/2/2026

NHSI Scout Notebook

Cam McElwaney
Article Image
An extended look at ‘26 RHP Wilson Andersen… 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 6 K. @HailStateBB signee. #NHSI26 @JesuitBaseball @Florida_PG @PG_Draft @PGAllAmerican https://t.co/VLwECd2qZ8 pic.twitter.com/JbTFR3Gd2l — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) March 30, 2026 Wilson Andersen, RHP, Tampa Jesuit  Andersen got the ball on day two of the event and showed a quick tempo, pounding the zone with a power mix. He ran the fastball up to 97 mph, working comfortably in the mid-90s, with a power curveball/changeup mix he showed confidence in. He’s one of the top right-handers in the class that saw his stock rise in Cary. Andersen is signed with Mississippi State.    An extended look at ‘26 RHP Cooper Sides… 5 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 3 K. @LSUbaseball signee. #NHSI26 @olubaseball @PG_Draft @California_PG https://t.co/Ag1MfBAR5a pic.twitter.com/5wSszVjBn8...
Read More
All American Game | Story | 4/2/2026

All American Classic Heading to Citizens Bank

Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME DICK’S ALL-AMERICAN CLASSIC HEADED TO CITIZENS BANK PARK IN 2026   Perfect Game makes debut at iconic Phillies venue during America’s 250th birthday celebration   Former Phillies Manager Charlie Manuel named Honorary Chairman of All-American Classic   Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Thursday, April 2, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced that the 2026 Perfect Game DICK’S All-American Classic will be played at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, marking the first time a Perfect Game event has ever been held at the iconic home of the Philadelphia Phillies.   The game will take place on...
Read More
Juco | Story | 4/1/2026

JUCO Top 25: April 1

Troy Sutherland
Article Image
Another week of JUCO baseball and another week full of wins for No. 1 ranked Johnson County . The Cavaliers have won 18 games in a row and have swept through the Jayhawk Conference to this point, setting a new school home run record along the way. Walters State returns to the top 5 this week on the strength of a 12-game winning streak. Both McLennan and Pearl River are coming off of undefeated weeks and look like strong top 10 caliber teams, while Midland (now 30-3) continues to climb in the rankings for the third consecutive week. For the first time all year this ranking will feature 4 California schools as Palomar joins Ohlone, Fresno City and Santa Ana in the JUCO rankings. Check back in next week for an update as most of JUCO baseball is now past its halfway point in the 2026 season. RK School Week Overall 1 Johnson County (KS) 4-0 34-2 2 Gaston (NC) 2-1 35-3 3 Walters State (TN) 3-0...
Read More
College | Story | 4/1/2026

Collegiate Midseason All-Americans

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Collegiate Midseason Awards * denotes Midseason Award Winner - All-Americans chosen based on statistics, prospect status, future projection, among other factors - Only true freshmen considered for Freshmen All-American teams - All Statistics as of Monday, March 30th First Team Hitters Pos. Name School Class AVG OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB C Vahn Lackey Georgia Tech JR .423 .541 .845 36 41 9 1 10 36 7 1B Quinton Coats Cincinnati SO .360 .441 .896 38 45 8 1 19 46 7 2B Jarren Advincula Georgia Tech JR .411 .489 .563 31 46 2 0 5 30 5 3B Ace Reese Mississippi State JR .330 .417 .661 32 36 12 0 8 37 1 SS Roch Cholowsky UCLA JR .350 .493 .730 39 35 8 0 10 32 1 IF Dee Kennedy Kansas State JR .430 .549 .910 44 43 10 1 12 43 15 OF Will Gasparino UCLA JR .351 .468 .794 31 34 5 1 12 38 1 OF AJ Gracia Virginia JR .350 .504 .650 37 36 7 0 8 24 1 OF Landon Hairston* Arizona State SO .469 .551 1.027 44...
Read More
High School | Rankings | 3/31/2026

High School Top 50: March 31

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Another pair of weeks has gone by this high school season and with that we have another High School Top-50 Update. Southern states are within a few weeks of the end of the season while some northern states are just getting started this week. Through the end of the spring, we will be bringing you updates to the Top-50 along with state rankings updates coming soon. For the first time in 2026, we have a new #1 in the country as Orange Lutheran (CA) takes over the top spot after winning the NHSI. Venice (FL) came in second place at the NHSI after a thrilling game against Orange Lutheran and comes in at #2. Previous #1 team in the country St. John Bosco (CA) rounds out the top-3 and will have a big showdown against Orange Lutheran starting tonight. Barbe (LA) boasts a 26-1 record and comes in at #4 while Corona (CA) continues to string together wins and holds down the #5 spot in this update....
Read More
College | Story | 3/31/2026

PG Collegiate Midseason Awards

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Midseason Awards  Perfect Game Midseason Player of the Year:  Landon Hairston, OF, Arizona State  The season sophomore outfielder Landon Hairston is putting together is generational, even amongst the Hall of Fame talent Arizona State has fielded over the years.  Hairston, the 5-11/195 sophomore outfielder from Queen City, AZ has his club on track for another postseason appearance and they will make plenty of noise in the Big 12 regular season.  To put things in perspective on Hairston’s season, he is currently 5th in the nation in batting average, 3rd in hits, 8th in hits per game, tied for 2nd in home runs, tied for 5th in runs scored and is 4th in runs batted in so far.  He holds a batting average of .469 while slugging 1.027 and reaching base over half the time with an OBP of .551.  Hairston walks more than he strikes out and has 12 doubles, 17...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 3/31/2026

14u East Spring Opener Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Roman Keister (2030, Dade City, FL) Could not miss the barrel this weekend tallying 6 hits including 2 triples and 4 RBI. Starts the load early and controls his body well, the up the middle approach really plays in game. Also worked from off the mound for an inning and picked up a punch out.  Colton Russo (2030, Coral Springs, FL) Showed off the power burning outfielders all weekend. 5 hits including two triples that carried over the CF and RF heads. Has a good understanding about using the lower half in the swing and the bat to ball skills really impressed.  Karson Blakney (2030, St. Augustine, FL) Made his impact in a big way this week, collecting the win in the quarterfinals. In his outing he went 5 shutout innings and struck out 5 while only allowing 2 hits. Worked in the mid 70s with the FB and topped out at 78. Also produced on offense driving in 5 RBI on 4 hits. ...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.