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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/27/2018

14u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 5

Vincent Cervino      Jheremy Brown      Greg Gerard     

14u WWBA National Championship: Event Page | Daily Leaders
Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4


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Tanner Chelette (2022, Spring, Texas) has an arm on the mound that not many have at his age able to run his fastball up to 84 mph and recently up to 85 mph. Chelette has the velocity present and will only throw harder as he grows, but what sets him apart is the looseness and how clean his delivery actually is that makes him special. Chelette made the start on Tuesday morning and filled up the zone with his fastball that showed riding arm-side life. The already 6-foot-3, 160-pound 14 year old really looks the part as a top level pitcher right now and will only improve both physically and with his velocity.

The righthander’s ceiling is limitless at this point and it will be fun to watch him throw and continue to develop along the way through his high school years. Coming from an extended three-quarters arm slot and a loose arm action, Chelette creates plenty of life on his fastball and really jams righthanded hitters when pounding the ball on the inner half of the plate. His delivery is so clean for his size and age that is really intriguing on just how hard he may throw in the near future. He is still developing spin, however, flashing his breaking ball every so often, but the pitch should, along with his build and mechanics, mature over time.

 Ellis Garcia (2021, Elmwood Park, N.J.) uses his talents well in the three hole for US Elite and did so with multiple impressive feats on Tuesday. Garcia grinded out an at-bat in his first plate appearance seeing nine pitches before being retired, but nonetheless fouled off several good pitches with impressive plate coverage. Garcia was facing low- to mid-80s velocity as well which is worth noting in itself. His next at-bat was more impressive from a results standpoint as he ripped a triple in to the corner of right field going the other way while letting the ball travel. The young 2021 graduate also plays a clean shortstop with fluid actions and soft hands.

You are not going to find many 14 year old’s as physical as US Elite’s Sal Stewart (2022, Miami, Fla.). Standing at a believable 6-foot-1, 180-pounds and likely even more physical than that, Stewart made a loud presence at the plate early on in his team’s 5-3 victory. There is outstanding strength to Stewart’s frame and he uses well into his swing combining that strength with pure bat speed. Going deep to center field in his second at-bat of the day, Stewart drove a ball deep for a double making loud contact with the baseball and squaring it up nicely with natural lift and leverage at the point of contact. Not to mention Stewart started on the mound in this contest pitching six strong innings and striking out 14 batters while also running his fastball up to 81 mph.

Owen Peck (2022, Frisco, Texas) is a quick-twitch and athletic righthanded hitter at the top of the order for Dallas Tigers Polk. Peck has plenty of quickness to his actions down the line and in the field putting pressure on the defense whenever he puts the ball in play. Peck sprinted down the line posting a 4.20 second home-to-first base time putting his foot speed on display. Peck has a contact-oriented approach with a compact swing and the ability to get the barrel through the zone quickly while squaring the baseball up. He also has athletic movements up the middle at his primary infield position. Starting at shortstop in this game, Peck makes short and quick steps while fielding the baseball with fluidity carrying his weight to the target of his throws across. Having enough arm strength, Peck continually makes accurate throws to the first base bag. Peck will only continue to grow as he matures with lots of growing still to do as he does have a small frame, but the actions are present for the makings of a twitchy middle infielder.

Scurrying over to East Cobb for a pair of afternoon games, a pair of young 2021 graduate pitchers took the mound in Samuel Dutton (2021, Rainbow City, Ala.) of the Louisiana Knights Black and Luis Delgado (2021, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.) of Elite Squad 2022.




Dutton, a righthander from west Alabama, showed off some of the top pitchability in his class featuring a fastball in the 81-85 mph range a short slider in the 73-75 mph range. The righty filled up the strike zone with both pitches while throwing too many strikes at times. Dutton works from a quick and balanced delivery staying online throughout with a clean arm action. The baseball comes out of Dutton’s hand cleanly while creating a fair amount of plane. The fastball is straight but he is able to locate his pitches to either side of the plate effectively. His arm stroke stays on time releasing out in front continually well. The slider he mixes in has short frisbee type bite while flashing more depth and 12-to-6 curveball type bite at times as well. Dutton struck out five batters in four innings and did allow six hits, but few were barreled and the strike zone was heavily filled.

Delgado got the ball on the mound for Elite Squad 2022 and topped out at 86 mph with his fastball while widely ranging it from 79-85 mph mostly. There is lots of tempo to Delgado’s delivery while working quite rapidly in between pitches. Delgado is also efficient with his high pace demeanor on the mound tallying a trio of his six innings throwing 15 pitches or less. Delgado’s arm speed is noticeably quick while working well from a compact arm stroke. He also gets terrific drive from his lower half down the mound. The ball jumps out of his hand and hitters were continually late on his heater even when thrown with less conviction. Not only did he produce a quick fastball, but he also showcased one of the batter curveballs of the entire event and a good changeup as well. The curveball is in the upper-60s, but is quite sharp and does show very tight spin. His changeup is straight, and while not needing to use it very often in this contest, he did mix it in at times to keep hitters off balance.

– Gregory Gerard


Though he didn’t pick up any knocks on the day (his first hitless game of the tournament) Marc Willi (2022, Weston, Mass.) is a physical presence in the box for Nokona Baseball and he’s the type of player who demands a pitcher’s attention. Already standing at a listed 6-foot-4, 230-pounds, Willi has all the makings of a power hitting first baseman, from his measurables to his lefthanded swing and standout bat speed. Through his load and into his swing Willi shows nice balance, allowing for him to uncoil into the baseball and attack with the barrel. When he squares it up the ball jumps hard off his barrel thanks to the strength in his hands and he’s definitely a player worth monitoring based off his offensive tools and the fact he’s hitting .375 over the team’s first six games.

Like his other appearances in the tournament, Gavin Woodland (2022, Valier, Ill.) worked a quick inning for the Kentucky Prospects and despite being listed as a primary second baseman, he offers solid upside on the mound. Young for the grade and eligible for 14u events again next summer having just turned 14, Woodland worked with an up-tempo pace to his delivery and did a nice job of hiding the ball through the backside with a quick arm stroke. He didn’t have his release point right away as he walked the first two runners but quickly found it as he put a zero on the scoreboard while touching 85 mph with his best fastball and lived 81-84 mph. When he was working on top of the ball Woodland showed the ability to generate short sinking to the pitch and mixed in an upper-60s, 11-5 shaped curveball as his secondary pitch.

The Banditos Scout Team seemingly ran out a different pitcher every inning in a potential pool deciding game against Five Star, allowing for low pitch counts while providing a different look to the opposing better every trip to the plate. Talented lefthanders bookend the game with Nicholas Solis (2021, Mercedes, Texas) getting the start and James Thompson (2022, Rusk, Texas) closing things out, each working an inning each.

Solis was never able to truly get into a groove in the first inning as the leadoff man reached with a triple, forcing the strongly built lefthander to work out of the stretch for the majority of his inning. That said, he still worked with a low effort 83-86 mph fastball from a short and fast arm action, creating angle while looking like there’s plenty more in the tank had he have been stretched out for a longer stint. For the most part he attacked hitters with his fastball, showing hard cut at times to his glove side while filling the zone and flashed a slider up to 77 mph.




It was an even quicker look at Thompson as he set the side down in order, showing a fastball that sat in the 83-85 mph comfortably while filling the strike zone. Plenty projectable at 5-foot-11, 160-pounds, Thompson has been used throughout the tournament in short stints where he has topped 86 mph and continued to impress. His delivery, aside from a high lead arm, is a simple one without many moving parts, staying short in the back which allowed for plenty of strikes with his fastball, especially to his glove side. The velocity comes easy for Thompson which is another component that leads to the belief there’s more in the tank, though he also showed pitchability on the mound despite a quick look. His curveball worked in the low-70s and showed 1-to-7 shape while his changeup proved to be just as effective, doubling up on the 74 mph pitch for a strikeout.

One of the more physical players on the Banditos roster is 6-foot-2, 195-pound first baseman/righthanded pitcher Murphy Brooks (2022, Cypress, Texas) who worked 1 2/3 innings and ran his fastball up to 87 mph. Though he’s more advanced than others in the physicality department, Brooks is more than just a thrower as he worked in the 83-86 mph range with his fastball but also mixed in one of the better breaking balls I’ve seen this tournament. When he worked on top of the ball he showed pretty sharp plane to his heater and also tunneled his breaking balls very well, showing both a slider in the upper-70s with late bite and a curveball in the low-70s.

Righthander Xavier Perez (2022, Corpus Christi, Texas) may not have thrown as hard as the other arms, but he showed perhaps the best pitchability of all the Bandito arms with a clean set of mechanics and an easy release. Living in the 81-84 mph range his fastball, Perez maintained his velocity very well over his two innings of work and filled the strike zone with an effective fastball-slider combo. He features lots of balance with his delivery and good tempo throughout, staying compact with his arm action while creating nice angle to his fastball with running life when working to his arm side. Perez’s slider was the go-to off speed pitch for the projectable righthander, working in the 72-74 mph with the pitch while showing short, late tilting life to it.

Cameron Nickens (2021, Magnolia, Texas) and Maxwell Childress (2022, College Station, Texas) both provided timely hitting for the Banditos, driving in two runs each. Nickens went 2-for-2 on the day, the first a curveball that he got just enough barrel on to poke the pitch over the second baseman’s head before going into the opposite field again later in the game for a well struck line drive single. On top of the offense, Nickens also made a fully extended catch at third base. Childress also came up with the bases loaded, and like Nickens, delivered after one of the more impressive at-bats of the game in which he continued to battle and fight off pitches before ultimately lining a fastball back up the middle to plate two.

Brogan Napier (2021, Saint Augustine, Fla.) countered the Banditos’ arms with velocity of his own, getting the start and working the first few of innings of the game. The young Florida native more than looks the part with a broad shouldered 6-foot-2, 185-pound build and he has the skill to back it up, running his fastball up to 86 mph early on and continued to sit in the 82-85 mph range throughout the game. Though there are moving parts to his delivery and release, Napier did a nice job of filling up the strike zone, staying short through the back with his arm action while creating short sinking life to his heater due to his release. The athleticism came through with his feel and ability to manipulate his curveball, adding and subtracting velocity on the pitch, landing it for strikes consistently.

Listed as a primary lefthanded pitcher, Cayden Frost (2021, Cataula, Ga.) has been a key cog at the top of the Five Star lineup and he once again made his presence felt just two pitches into the game. While he’s not overly physical at 5-foot-6, 145-pounds, Frost shows not issues with whipping the barrel through the zone just as he did on an elevated slider for a triple to the left-center field gap. Now hitting .538 on the tournament, Frost is the quick-twitch top of the order type and from the moment the ball left his bat he was thinking three, accelerating around the bases while putting his speed on display.

– Jheremy Brown



Son of former LSU great and Dick Howser winner Eddy Furniss, Wilburn Furniss (2022, Nacogdoches, Texas), is a very intriguing prospect in his own right, with a clean and projectable swing from the left side. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound prospect has a lot of room to add strength to the frame which should help him unlock his power because the swing itself looks like he’ll be able to hit for a significant amount of it in the near future. The hands are loose through the load with natural loft and leverage to the swing plane, in multiple at-bats seen nearly everything was barreled to the middle of the field and the pull side with authority. The leverage to the path gives the indication that significant pull power might not be too far away and Furniss has the tools, feel, and frame for a lot of it.

Lefthander Ty Federici (2022, Dallas, Pa.) impressed during the early stages of the tournament and though he only lasted under an inning, he still gave a glimpse of what makes him such an attractive young prospect. The southpaw has a loose and fast arm while he ran his fastball up to 89 mph in the early portions of his start. The advanced feel to spin is very impressive from the Pennsylvania native, as he shows two distinct breaking balls in a curveball and hard slider. The curveball he threw twice, once for a strike with 1-to-7 shape, and the slider showed late, horizontal break to the pitch. The offspeed was limited to small samples but the lone changeup was, perhaps, the most impressive of all. In the midst of a 7-pitch, full count at-bat, he showed immense confidence to turn over a changeup to rack up his lone strikeout on the day. Federici wasn’t his best during this look but the raw talent is there to be one of the early candidates for top arm in the class.




Playing up in this 14u event, Bryce Eldridge (2023, Vienna, Va.) got the start in a must-win game for Stars Baseball and the young righthander showed a lot of desirable traits for that of a starting pitching prospect. Eldridge stands at a very lean and projectable 6-foot, 130-pounds, which seems a bit conservative in that estimate, with long arms and tons of room to fill out with added strength. The delivery itself is fairly low effort through the point of release and he created short sinking life on the fastball, that touched 85 mph and held velocity throughout. One such instance comes to mind as in the fourth inning of the game he worked a 1-2-3 inning where he sat 81-84 through the entirety of the inning, pretty good strength and feel to hold that velocity for such a young arm. There is some stiffness through the short-strided landing which can lead to some command issues at times, though he also mixed in a breaking ball and changeup to complete the three-pitch repertoire. Eldridge looks to be one of the more talented arms in his class and certainly has the velocity to back that up.

Doing it all for the Indiana Bulls, in what ultimately ended in a 7-7 tie, Korbyn Dickerson (2022, Jeffersonville, Ind.) pitched well on the mound and also got the scoring started right away with a long home run to the pull side. Dickerson has a very relaxed, quiet stance to start the very low effort and smooth righthanded swing. The path is full through extension and has some natural loft to the swing and the effort of the swing is incredibly easy through the swing itself. The ball jumped off the barrel of the bat and kept carrying over the fence for a long two-run shot that gave the Bulls the early lead. Dickerson also showed some tools on the mound, running his fastball up to 79 mph with good feel for landing his breaking ball for strikes. The delivery is fluid with some drop and drive mechanics through the backside, and he has a very intriguing two-way skill-set presently.




Getting the ball in a relief role against the East Cobb Astros, Zac Dart (2022, Spanish Fork, Utah) has been an important player for the Utah Horns, who have been one of the better stories of the tournament thus far as they were 5-0 entering this game with only nine players on the team. Dart has a physical present build with a very clean and low effort delivery. The arm stroke is loose through the back and creates whip and quickness through the point of release. The breaking ball varied in shape somewhat, but he had good confidence in the pitch and it showed tight break as he got a couple of strikeouts on the curveball. Dart gave the Horns much needed relief as he tossed 4 2/3 innings while only allowing one unearned run and striking out five batters. What stood out about Dart was the polish of the arm and the advanced feel for the changeup which gave him a neutralizing weapon against lefthanded hitters with similar arm speed and good sinking life too.

Trey Sanders (2021, Columbus, Ga.) started for the Astros and pitched a gem of a game to earn the victory and clinch the pool for the Astros. While allowing no hits, though he walked six, he struck out five batters in five innings while only allowing one earned run. The 6-foot, 170-pound prospect has a very athletic frame and delivery and he gets downhill nicely though he will overextend at times and miss to the glove side. The arm stroke is online with slight wrap, though the arm speed allows him to be on time with his delivery. Sanders ran his fastball up to 83 mph and didn’t dip below 77 for the entirety of the performance. The curveball was a good pitch with 11-to-5 shape and late, biting action. He landed the pitch for strikes and got some ugly swings on the pitch. Sanders, a primary shortstop, showed good tools on the mound and allows for significant two-way projection.

The Florida Burn erupted for an 8-2 victory over 20 Baseball late on Tuesday and some of the top offensive tools belonged to Christian Parrish (2022, Labelle, Fla.) and Bradley Ramsden (2022, Sarasota, Fla.).

Parrish, who is young for the grade, has the build that allows for significant projection of strength on the body with a 5-foot-11, 165-pound frame. The lefthanded hitter has a balanced set up at the dish with a fairly smooth swing. The swing itself from the hand load to the finish, features minimal moving parts with the balance and quickness showing well. He only notched the one hit on the afternoon but the components are there to like and he should only continue to get better as he adds strength to the frame.

Ramsden has been very impressive in the middle of the Burn lineup with quality bat speed and a mostly compact path to contact. There is advanced wrist strength which allows him to whip the barrel head out through extension and create solid impact velocity at present. Ramsden notched three hits on the afternoon, which included a smoked double down the pull side line in the middle innings, and has a knack for turning over the barrel with intent and authority.

– Vincent Cervino
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