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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/24/2018

Fall Championship Notes: Day 3

Vincent Cervino     
Photo: Victor Lizarraga (Perfect Game)

PG Fall National Underclass Championship: Daily Leaders | Day 1 Notes | Day 2 Notes

The opening round of bracket play saw some close games and some blowouts, however righthanded starter Dante Schmid (2020, Chula Vista, Calif.) put forth a strong effort to send the San Diego Show to the quarterfinals round. The righthander turned in an outstanding performance while going the distance in a complete, seven-inning game and striking out an absurd 13 batters during that span.

Schmid is a lean, projectable righthanded pitcher standing at 6-foot-4, 185-pounds. What he lacks in terms of sheer velocity, he made up in terms of command and pitchability. His fastball topped out at 84 mph on the day but he did an extraordinary job at mixing locations, speeds, and pitch types as he attacked hitters on the afternoon. The delivery itself is very simple and fluid, while the arm stroke he applies is loose, clean, and full through the back. Schmid did an excellent job at getting strike one on the afternoon, and from there he would mix-and-match to get opposing hitters to swing through his offerings. The curveball wasn’t a very hard offering on the afternoon, but it had good shape, excellent depth, and got a lot of swings over the pitch. Schmid consistently got hitters to swing through his pitches and led his San Diego Show team to the quarterfinal round.

Southwest Nationals shortstop Trevor Baugh (2020, Goodyear, Ariz.) had a very solid series and was an impact force in the middle of the lineup to the tune of a .357 batting average. Baugh has the ideal size, athleticism, and swing to project well at the next level and showed college coaches as much over the weekend. The 6-foot, 150-pound shortstop has loose, athletic actions over at shortstop with plenty of arm strength to succeed there at the next level. The swing path is smooth through the zone and though it gets long at times he has a knack for finding the barrel of the bat. There is clear extra base pop in the frame and swing while his approach lends himself to put the ball in play with authority more often than not. Baugh was a key cog in the lineup through his team quarterfinal run and looks to be a solid prospect going forward.

After impressing during a short look on Friday night, Ronan Kopp (2020, Phoenix, Ariz.) got the nod to start GBG NW Marucci’s playoff game and excelled in nearly every facet. The 6-foot-5 lefthander tossed seven innings while allowing only one run and striking out ten batters during the game.

After showcasing a very hard, biting slider on Friday. Kopp instead preferred his breaking ball which had a ton of spin, depth and feel for the pitch during the afternoon. Kopp did a good job at working the strike zone and working his fastball to either side of the plate. In front of numerous college coaches, Kopp did an excellent job at maintaining his delivery and pounding the strike zone. Kopp was excellent in terms of his performance, stuff, and mentality and to read more on his overall profile be sure to check out his report from Day 1 here.

So Cal Birds starter Caleb Bennett (2020, Perris, Calif.) didn’t have the greatest of performances, but showed off a lot of skills that are conducive to success at the next level. The 6-foot-4, uncommitted righthander showed off some interesting tools that would make him an asset at the next level. He throws exclusively from the stretch with a long, quick arm stroke that creates some natural cutting life on his fastball that worked 85-87 mph and topped out at 88 mph. He could work to either side with cutting life with intent though the out pitch for Bennett on the afternoon was the slider. The offering was hard in terms of velocity, sitting in the 75-77 mph range with tight shape and break to it. The slider has true swing-and-miss future potential and though Bennett didn’t have the greatest outing, he remains a solid, uncommitted prospect.




The star of the Dodgers side of Camelback Ranch was still-foutreen year old Victor Lizarraga (2021, San Diego, Calif.) and his pitching chops as he led the San Diego Show to a semifinal berth on Monday morning.

Lizarraga is obviously young for the age and showed off electric stuff that will make him a highly coveted prospect moving forward. When looking at the 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame it’s easy to imagine him adding another 15-20 pounds at least of strength going forward. Lizarraga has a very clean delivery highlighted by his whippy, fast arm that will lend him to future velocity gains moving forward. “Velocity gains” is thrown around like Lizarraga wasn’t just a 14-year old who was sitting 86-89 mph while touching 90 mph in his first two innings of work.

He maintained his velocity primarily in the 84-88 mph range but did a good job at both missing bats and generating a good amount of sink when low in the strike zone. Lizarraga also showed good shape on the breaking ball in the low-70s that he could both locate for strikes and induce swings and misses with. Lizarraga looks the part of a high-end prospect in the class and if he were to be working into the low-90s a year from now almost no scout would bat an eye.

– Vincent Cervino



On what was a highly-competitive day of playoff action, GBG Marucci Navy took a huge second inning and rode it all the way to a quarterfinal victory and a spot in Monday morning's semifinals, defeating an upstart Mountain West Baseball club 7-4. Jadon Bercovich (2020, Reno, Nev.) got the start for GBG and was solid, if a bit inconsistent, in his outing. Bercovich is a very well-built, physical righthander who is ranked No. 176 overall in the class of 2020, and there's a lot to like in the yet-uncommitted prospect's profile. He ran his fastball up to 88 mph early on, cruising more in the 83-86 mph range as the game wore on, and showed the ability to get his fastball by hitters up in the zone. The pitch is straighter in terms of action but he does hide it pretty well until release, allowing him to miss bats in otherwise normally dangerous spots. He worked in a slider in the low-mid 70's that has some solid tilt to it as well as a slower, more get-me-over curveball in the upper-60s. Both pitches doing well to steal strikes if not miss bats. 

Devan Ornelas (2020, Chatsworth, Calif.) has been written about in this space already this weekend but has continued to impress, as the TCU commit hits atop a loaded GBG lineup and continues to take very good swings and show off his athleticism. It's a very smooth swing from the left side of the plate, more geared for linear contact than lifting the ball but covering the plate well and producing plenty of bat speed, allowing for him to produce hard contact to all fields and let his speed play, which it does. His positional versatility is also a benefit to his profile, showing the ability to play all over the outfield this weekend as well as in the past working primarily as a middle infielder. 

Mountain West sent Cooper Loveridge (2020, Salem, Utah) to the mound and though he ended up taking the loss in his first Perfect Game event, he showed some things to like and should be followed closely as a result. With a projectable, athletic build and quick arm, he ran his fastball up to 86 mph early on and showed the ability to work north-south with the pitch, as well as spin a decent curveball with 11-to-5 shape. There are some mechanical inconsistencies to iron out to be sure, but he most definitely put his name on the prospect map this weekend, and we're looking forward to seeing him at future events. 

GBG has had no real trouble offensively all weekend, and Brett McCauley (2020, Redondo Beach, Calif.) really got the offense going in the decisive second inning, opening the frame by hitting a missile over the left fielder's head for a double. McCauley is an Oregon commit whose profile is built around his offensive game, and he's shown the kind of bat speed, present power, and projectable strength to be viewed as a potentially impact offensive piece at the next level. 

Another TCU commit, Mountain West's Brayden Taylor (2020, West Jordan, Utah) continued his hot-hitting ways in this one, picking up two more hits in this game to bring his event-wide OPS to a staggering 1.379. A lefthanded hitting shortstop, Taylor has more juice in his bat than his athletic, slender build would indicate and he really rolls the pole from the left side with authority and strength, giving him one of the more sought-after profiles in the country year after year, as a lefthanded-hitting middle infielder with power. He's another player we're excited to monitor going forward. 

The CBA Bulldogs won their opening-round playoff matchup before falling in the quarterfinals, and Tyler White (2021, Glendora, Calif.) was a big reason why, going 3-for-4 with two doubles in their matchup with Team Dinger on Sunday morning. White is an athletic center field prospect who impressed at the 14u National Showcase in Fort Myers last month, and continues to do so with his all-around game this fall. His first step in the outfield is very solid and his closing speed is a benefit as well, a tool that also plays on the offensive side of the ball. He's got a quick stroke with a whole-field approach and is starting to show the strength necessary to get the ball into the gap, something that will only continue to develop as he gains strength to his frame. He's one we're definitely looking forward to following in the class of 2021. 

– Brian Sakowski
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