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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/15/2018

South Qualifier Notes: Days 1-2

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Masyn Winn (Perfect Game)

2018 WWBA South Qualifier Daily Leaders



Now the top uncommitted prospect in the 2020 class, Masyn Winn (2020, Kingwood, Texas) toed the rubber to start out the opening game of the WWBA South Qualifier for the Dallas Raiders and looked good throughout the start. The two-way prospect, and No. 8 overall prospect in the class, dealt over three efficient innings with six strikeouts and only one walk during the 44-pitch performance. Winn has an electric fastball that worked consistently in the 88-92 mph range to start out and he commands the pitch to either side with intent. The arm speed is obviously of the standout variety, however there’s some restriction to his front side release which causes him to cut the ball over to the glove side. Regardless, the sheer velocity alone was enough overpower hitters and the breaking ball just made him that much more dominant during the look. The late break of the curveball allowed him to front door righthanded hitters at will, and he showed good feel for manipulating spin on the pitch, dropping it in with good depth or sweep depending on what he was trying to accomplish. Winn also added a double later on in his first game and showed again why he’s one of the premier two-way players in the class.

Dazzling in a shutout victory for Premier Baseball Futures was righthander Kyle Buzbee (2020, Missouri City, Texas) as he struck out eight hitters in a little over five innings. The righthander has a fairly prototypical, lean frame that scouts look for out of a young prospect with lengthy limbs and room to fill out, however the separator for Buzbee is his very good feel for a sharp, hard breaking ball. Buzbee works in the low-80s on the mound but the breaking ball worked up to 76 mph with sharp 11-to-5 bite with significant tilt. The breaker is a legitimate out pitch for him now and the arm stroke is loose and he has some feel for filling up the strike zone. The fastball has good life on the pitch and there are a lot of positives to the pitching profile highlighted by his very impressive curveball.

Third baseman Diego Gines (2019, Canovanas, Puerto Rico) provides a physical presence in the middle of the order for the 2-0 21 Baseball Academy Houston, and Gines has some impressive raw hitting tools to work with. The physicality immediately stands out as the 6-foot-1, 185-pound infielder jumps out on a baseball diamond with pretty advanced strength already on the frame. The swing itself is balanced with impressive bat speed and he whips the barrel hard. The strength on the frame and wrists allow Gines to impact a baseball hard out in front and can create well-struck contact to the pull side. There are some elements of crudeness to the overall approach, he will get fooled by good breaking balls at times, but there is some potential there with the bat.

Mizuno USA exploded for fourteen runs in their first game of the weekend and Zachary Easterling (2020, Spring, Texas) was responsible for driving in six of those runs with a two-run single and a grand slam to clinch the run rule victory. Easterling has a pretty fast and smooth lefthanded stroke with plenty of loft that actually veers on the side up uphill at times. That being said the swing plays very well for him to unlock some of the wiry strength that he possesses from his 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame. Easterling swings the bat with intent through the hitting zone and his approach plays best to pull the ball and he can certainly hit the ball a very long way as he showed on Friday night.

Casey Ouellette (2019, Pflugerville, Texas) was another righthanded pitcher who was spectacular in an abbreviated stint on Friday night. Ouellette has impressed at numerous PG showcases in the past and continues to improve on the mound as he did on Friday night, showing off the development of his secondary pitches. The 6-foot-2, 170-pound uncommitted prospect has a short, quick arm stroke from a tough over the top slot which creates some sink and dive in the lower third of the strike zone. He allowed only one hit and struck out seven batters over his three inning performance and did a good job at pounding the zone with his 85-88 mph fastball to set up the usage of his secondary pitches. The slider and changeup were two of the more improved pitches in his arsenal, as he tunneled both effectively; the slider had short bite in the 79-81 mph range while the changeup was very impressive. The changeup almost became his go-to pitch late in the performance as hitters just couldn’t square it up in the upper-70s with almost split-like action to it.

Another intriguing uncommitted senior arm impressed late on Friday as McCrae Wiest (2019, Carrollton, Texas) might have turned in the top performance in terms of pure stats on the day. Wiest tossed five shutout innings while allowing no hits and striking out twelve batters on the day. Wiest hits the physical checkmarks that college coaches are looking for out of prospects with a broad-shouldered, long-armed 6-foot-4, 185-frame leading for a lot of room for physical projection. The arm stroke is short, almost catcher-esque, but he dos a good job at getting on top of his pitches to maintain his slot. The fastball worked in the 82-86 mph range while topping out at 87 mph early in the game and he did a good job at maintaining that velocity throughout the game. The slider could be manipulated to show more true slider break or have 12-to-6 depth depending on what he was trying to execute with the pitch. He also flashed a couple of changeups and showed a solid three pitch mix on the mound for a still-uncommitted senior.

Wiest’s teammate Wilson Hicks (2019, Alvord, Texas) got the start during Stix Baseball’s first game on Saturday and tossed a gem to the tune of five no-hit innings while striking out eight batters in the process. The lefthander has ideal size to his athletic, 6-foot-3 frame and maintains his delivery nicely thoughout the motion. The arm stroke works well and is fairly online, loose as he whips the arm stroke through nicely. What stands out about Hicks is his ability to manipulate his pitches and throw almost any offering in any count. He’ll work in the low- to mid 80s with the fastball, topped out at 85 mph during the look, and work it to either side with life effectively, but once he gets ahead of the count the offspeed pitches start coming. The Oklahoma State commit has a very good changeup in the upper-70s with good sinking life while also mixing in a short, hard slider that he tunnels nicely with his other pitches. Hicks has a good degree of polish and has the makings of an arm that should be able to get innings right away at Stillwater next spring.




It was a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde performance for 6-foot-7 lefthander Brady Putnik (2019, Houston, Texas), but he showed off pretty impressive stuff with an ease of operation mechanically that projects nicely moving forward. The delivery is simple with a clean arm stroke that allows him to hide the ball nicely while also creating some life on the fastball. Putnik has a low effort release and the mechanics are simple enough to repeat, though the lower half could be cleaned up a bit for more consistency within the strike zone. Putnik did not elicit a lot of hard hit contact but did strike out six batters while walking five over two-plus innings. The breaking ball was a solid offering in the low-70s with big-breaking 1-to-7 shape that he could land nicely for strikes with depth. Putnik has a very high ceiling on the mound and it looks like a very nice piece for Division II St. Edward’s, where Putnik is committed too.

The sparkplug of the Banditos Scout Team’s offense today was outfielder, and game one starting pitcher, Mason Lytle (2019, Pearland, Texas) as the uncommitted prospect has a lot of desirable traits on both sides of the ball. Lytle is a fast-twitched, athletic prospect with very good speed, he gets very good burst out of the batter’s box and was a terror on the bases with four stolen bases in two games despite not getting a run time, and checks a lot of boxes for a leadoff profile at the next level. The swing is smooth and compact through the hitting zone with quick hands that allow him to turn the barrel over with intent and authority, though he will get a bit downhill as he looks to put the ball in play and allow his speed to take hold. Lytle is also a two-way prospect as he has run his fastball up to 87 mph in the past and worked in the mid-80s on Saturday morning. He competed well to hold the opposing offense to only one run in over six innings while mixing his pitches well and filling up the strike zone.

Noah Smith (2020, Houston, Texas) showed off interesting two-way potential for Premier Baseball Futures as he took some quality at-bats over the course of the weekend while also showing off the pitching chops in a one-inning stint. Smith has a young, lean frame, listed at only 130 pounds, and lots of room for additional strength. That doesn’t hinder his present wiry strength, however, as the swing gets on plane nicely and is able to cover the plate as well. He throws lefthanded and has some pretty good arm speed and looseness to his arm stroke while running his fastball up to 88 mph. The fastball sat in the 84-87 mph range for his one inning stint with a close-to-max effort release, while flashing a changeup, and a sharp big-breaking curveball as well.




Recently a new Florida resident, Jovan Gill (2020, Fort Myers, Fla.) took the ball in relief during Dallas Raiders Elite’s Saturday game and looked very impressive while doing so. The 6-foot-4, 209-pound righthander has impressive size and present strength, while his mechanics on the mound are deceptive and help him create a lot of movement on his pitches. The arm stroke is short and quick as he gets on top of the ball consistently and almost on every pitch. Gill has been a name on the radar for scouts and college coaches for a while now, and he looks to have taken the momentum that he racked up over the summer into the fall season. Gill lived at the knees with very good sink on the fastball while mixing in a changeup and curveball as well. Gill remains one of the top uncommitted junior arms on the class and he was very good, and very efficient, with five strikeouts over three scoreless frame.

Stix Baseball had a very good weekend through the course of pool play and two of the leading offensive contributors have been uncommitted seniors James Crooks (2019, Euless, Texas) and Miguel Santos (2019, Burleson, Texas).

The players have two different styles of contributions, but they do impact the offense near the top of the lineup as Crooks is a 6-foot-1 and 190-pound slugging lefthanded hitter while Santos has a quick, impactful stroke from the right side. Crooks creates a lot of leverage to pull the ball with extra base and home run juice as he is hitting .500 on the weekend with a double and a triple. The swing path gets uphill but he leverages well and gets his hands out to be able to impact the ball in the air with significant strength. Santos has very quick hands and a sure glove in the middle infield as he turns on the ball hard and uses the entire field nicely. Both players, and the Stix in general, look very good as they will be near the top of the bracket play seedings tomorrow.

Premier Baseball of Texas is another team to have locked up their pool by the end of games on Saturday and the combination of Justin Wishkoski (2019, Cypress, Texas) and Graden Emmons (2019, Livingston, Texas) have provided dividends thus far.

Wishkoski has a young, athletic look with the size and actions to be an up the middle prospect at the next level. The swing is pretty solid with fast hands through the hitting zone and a fluid overall stroke. This allows him to work to all fields but the looseness of the stroke allows him to adjust to any pitch and be able to impact the ball hard out in front. Emmons is an electric runner with five stolen bases to his name already. The hands are quick and the swing is geared towards getting the barrel on the ball and allow his very good speed to play nicely. He had stolen multiple bases on his instincts alone while his endline speed allows him to get a good burst toward the destination. Both of these players, and others, have allowed Premier to capture one of the bracket play spots and they should be able to make some noise on Sunday and, potentially, on Monday.
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