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Tournaments  | Story | 10/1/2018

Kernels Scout Notes: Days 3-4

Patrick Ebert
Kevin Schuver
Taylor Weber
Photo: Dylan Post (Perfect Game)

2018 WWBA Kernels Foundation Championship: Daily Leaders | Days 1-2 Scout Notes

In the Round of 16 it was the Nos. 2 through 4 hitters for the Chicago White Sox ACE 2019 who came through and helped them advance into the final eight. Kendall Pettis (2019 Chicago, Ill.) drove in a couple of key runs late in the game on a two-out, well-struck double that rattled around in the left field corner. Pettis works a bit inside out to the ball and was able to keep his hands tucked and pull a fastball on the inner half. His swing is fluid and is able to create a bit of leverage with torque generating from the hips.

Batting a spot behind Pettis was 6-foot-3, 194-pound third baseman Damon “DJ” Gladney (2019 Richton Park, Ill.). The Eastern Kentucky commit is a pure athlete that can swing the bat very well. He’s able to stay through the zone with a slightly uphill trajectory and looks to drive the ball in the air. Gladney is strong in his upper half which helps him create a lot of bat speed when getting through the hitting zone. In the game Gladney went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI. It’s rare to find a player with such power potential who is still able to work the ball to whole field, but Gladney is one of them.

Hitting in the four spot was Kendall Ewell (2019 Calumet City, Ill.). A fellow Eastern Kentucky commit, the 6-foot-3, 200-pounder is every bit as athletic and strong as his counterpart Gladney. Ewell projects well at the plate with simple mechanics in the box that he is able to repeat time and time again. He was 2-for-3 with a couple singles, a run scored and an RBI.

Getting the nod on the mound for the Illinois Indians on Sunday was righthanded pitcher Tristan Cazel. Cazel was able to give his team five innings of strong baseball, allowing just one run on two hits while striking out five batters. Cazel has a lot of fluidity to his delivery and stays on time during each phase. He’s able to work the edges of the plate extremely well with the fastball that sat in the low-80s and reached 84 mph. His secondary pitch is tough to square up in the shape of sharp slider that was kept on the glove side of the plate more often than not.

Doing most of the damage offensively for the Indians was second baseman Ryan Beer. Beer is an athletic free swinger who goes into the box looking to impact the baseball. He swings the bat with intent and it’s no surprise that when he’s able to get a hold of pitch it can go a long way. Beer drove his second RBI of the game on a loud double off the barrel into left field.

Coming in for the final two innings and closing out a 5-1 win was hard-throwing righty Kai St. Germaine (2019 Plymouth, Mich.). The 6-foot, 190-pound hurler throws from a higher three-quarters arm slot which allows him to create a lot of downhill plane through the zone on a fastball that was touching 88 mph. He also mixed in a long curveball that was very tough for hitters to time up.

Collin Wilma (2019 Oak Forest, Ill.) took the hill and grabbed the win for the Top Tier Americans in their semifinal matchup on Monday morning as he threw six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and striking out eight hitters in the game. Wilma, at 6-foot-4, 180-pounds, is a solid, projectable arm from the right side. He pitches smart and is able to stay away from hard contact with consistency. His fastball is heavy at 84 mph and he mixes pitches very well to keep the opposition off balance. His curveball can have a bit of an inconsistent shape at times but when it’s on it is a very solid pitch.

Wilma’s teammate, Will Melby (2020 Munster, Ind.), was able to seal away the game with a long triple into center field that drove in a couple runs. Melby works to the left half of the field easiest and that’s where his power off the barrel comes naturally. At 6-foot-3, 240-pounds, Melby has a lot of strength in his frame and can surely trigger it when he gets a pitch in his zone.

It was a dominating performance from starting pitcher Austin Greco (2020 Mundelein, Ill.) as he was a huge factor in the Cangelosi Sparks taking the championship game. Greco, a Miami (OH) commit, doesn’t have the size that some of the other pitchers in the tournament have at just 5-foot-10, 165-pounds, but he’s able to make up for it in the way of his arm. He has a quick action and a clean release which helps him run the fastball up to 89 mph. That, paired with excellent location, allowed him to work seven scoreless frames surrendering just four total hits and just a single free pass. The game was the third straight shutout, and the fourth consecutive complete game, thrown by a Cangelosi Sparks hurler.

– Taylor Weber



Trent Turzenski (2019, Burlington, Wis.) has a very projectable 6-foot-6, 220 pound frame on the mound. He utilized a high leg lift delivery and created steep downhill angle through the zone from a high three-quarters arm slot. His fastball generated heavy run through the zone with late run and sink in the mid- to upper-80s. The Valpo commit also showed a sharp 11-to-5 breaking ball that flashed hard, late depth to the bottom of the zone. Turzenski consistently located his fastball to each edge of the plate and worked ahead of hitters often. The seventh-ranked righthanded pitcher in the state of Wisconsin has the prototypical build for additional velocity as he continues to mature. Turzenski received the no-decision, working five innings allowing only one earned run whie striking out nine batters.

Rahul Champaneri (2019, Mundelein, Ill.) of the Northern Knights got the started mound in the Round of 32 against Hitters Baseball 2019 and turned in a gem. The Concordia University Chicago commit effectively kept hitters off balance tossing a complete game shutout while striking out seven batters. The 2019 grad consistently challenged each edge of the zone with a fastball offering in the low- to mid-80s, compiling a 75 percent strike rate. Once ahead in the count Champaneri looked to utilize a breaking ball that had good depth and a changeup that matched the arm speed of his fastball. The eight-ranked lefthander from the state of Illinois consistently induced weak contact while employing a smooth, repeatable delivery showing the ability to maintain his velocity deep into the game.

Benjamin Pedersen (2019, Duluth, Minn.) received the win for the Minnesota Blizzard Blue 2019 in a Round of 16 matchup over the Gamers 2019. Pedersen, a University of Missouri commit, utilized a smooth-paced, medium leg-lift delivery. The 6-foot-5 righthander showed a clean hand break at take back while releasing from a three-quarters slot. Pedersen’s fastball generated heavy downhill tilt through the zone with run to his arm side. He consistently pounded the bottom of the strike zone effectively getting ahead of hitters early and often. The 2019 grad showed developing feel for a 9-to-4 slider, but consistently generated very tight spin out of hand with late sweep to his glove side. The Minnesota native almost went the distance completing 6 2/3 innings allowing only one earned run on two hits with nine strikeouts.

Minnesota Blizzard Blue 2019 catcher, Jakob Kouneski (2019, Minneapolis, Minn.), provided the offensive jolt in the 6-1 win over Gamers 2019. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound uncommitted prospect utilized a balanced, mature approach at the plate with excellent feel for the barrel. Regardless of pitch location or shape, Kouneski showed the ability to stay on contact and work to all fields. He drove a two-run single to the opposite field gap in the fourth inning and followed it with a sharply hit double deep to the left-center field gap, driving in two more runs. The No. 4 2019 catcher in the state of Minnesota also displayed soft hands behind the plate with good catch-and-throw skills.

William Roguske (2019, Belgrade, Minn.) gave the Minnesota Blizzard Blue 2019 another stellar start in a quarterfinal matchup against the Northern Knights. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound righthander utilized a smooth, high leg-lift delivery to stay balanced. The 2019 grad utilized his lower half very well generating good in line direction to the plate. The ninth-ranked 2019 prospect from the state of Minnesota consistently pounded the bottom of the zone with a sinking fastball that topped at 88 mph. Perhaps most impressive was Roguske’s ability to match his arm speed and arm angle with off-speed offerings. The Illinois State commit consistently kept hitters off balance and displayed very good feel for a sharp 12-to-6 curveball and late sinking changeup. Roguske tossed a complete game shutout, allowing only three hits and striking out 10 batters.

Monday morning began with a semifinal matchup between the Minnesota Blizzard Blue 2019 and the Cangelosi Sparks. The Blizzard handed the ball off to Drew Gilbert (2019, Lake Elmo, Minn.) while Cangelosi looked to Jack Crowder (2020, Romeoville, Ill.).

Gilbert has a smaller 5-foot-10 frame but generated very good arm speed through extension from a three-quarters slot. The Oregon State commit’s fastball jumped out of his hand creating heavy downhill sink with occasional cut to the glove side, working into the low-90s. The 2019 grad effectively changed speeds and showed a very deceptive arm action with both a 1-to-7 breaking ball and a sinking changeup. Gilbert seemed to struggle at times to locate fastball and get ahead of hitters, but when ahead he showed a dangerous mix of pitches that kept opposing hitters off balance.

Crowder was phenomimal for the Sparks, tossing a complete game shutout (the third straight complete game thrown by a Cangelosi pitcher), allowing only four hits and striking out five batters. The 2020 righthander utilized a quick-paced, rock-step delivery and aggressively attacked the zone with a fastball that worked into the upper-80s. The 6-foor-3, 220-pound Illinois commit displayed good feel for the edges and consistently worked ahead in the count against the Blizzard hitters. Crowder flashed the ability to land an 11-to-5 breaking ball within the zone in both positive and negative counts. Crowder induced weak, soft contact during each of his inning on the mound leading the Sparks to a 4-0 victory.

Josh Mrozek (2019, Frankfort, Ill.) picked up two big hits for the sparks which included a triple to deep right field. The Kent State commit aggressively throws his barrel head to contact producing good strength. The 2019 grad shows beginnings of strength in his frame that projects for continued develop of raw strength in his swing. The 6-foot, 160-pound outfielder projects as a high level, top-of-the-order prospect for the Golden Eagles.

– Kevin Schuver





Although the St. Louis Pirates were hard luck losers early on Sunday, a game that was suspended from Saturday with the Pirates holding a 4-3 in the top of the seventh, hard-hitting catcher Kurtis Byrne (2019, Chesterfield, Mo.) enjoyed another huge tournament in Cedar Rapids. He finished the event with a pair of home runs and seven RBI in just two games, and put the Pirates in an excellent position to win their game against Peak Performance Prospects Black. Not only did he hit a three-run home run on Saturday before the game was completed on Saturday, he added a sac fly on the first pitch he saw in extra innings on Sunday. He clearly was looking dead red for a fastball and hit the ball hard to left field on a play that would score two runs.

It’s clear Byrne has a plan at the plate with the bat control necessary to swing the bat hard while still making consistent contact. His swing is short and compact with very good bat speed and obvious strength throughout his body, but particularly in his hands, wrists and forearms. A TCU recruit currently ranked 63rd nationally, his stature, swing and overall offensive approach is similar to that of another TCU product, Evan Skoug, although Byrne swings from the right side of the plate.

Peak Performance Prospects Black came out on top of that game and advanced to play the Minnesota Millers Varsity squad in the next time slot. In that contest Peak’s center fielder, Jordan Collins (2019, Bondurant, Iowa), made a pair of highlight-reel plays, doing so both times to end innings with a pair of runners on. The first was on a flare to shallow center that he charged and made a diving play. The second he ranged far to his right in left-center to make a full extension diving catch that robbed extra innings and potentially two runs from scoring.

It was only natural for Collins, the third batter in the next half inning, to smoke a triple off of a low-70s hanging curveball over the right fielder’s head for a standup triple. On both defensive plays and running the bases, Collins’ long, loping stride as a 6-foot-3, 185-pound athlete allowed him to cover a lot of ground in a hurry.

The defending tournament champions, Cangelosi Sparks, received complete game efforts in back-to-back games on Sunday to advance to Monday’s semifinals. Both game were twirled by 2019 lefthanders that have committed to play at Illinois, Alex Vera (Shorewood, Ill.) and Cole Kirschsieper (Mokena, Ill.).

Both lefties are roughly the same size as well, at 6-foot and 5-foot-11, respectively, with both listed at 170-pounds. Their stuff was very similar as well, as both pounded the lower half of the strike zone with low-80s heat. Vera mixed in a solid curveball as well that sat right around 70 mph, while Kirschsieper threw mostly fastballs before starting to mix in his own 70 mph breaking ball as the game progressed.

Catching both players with Dylan Post (2019, New Lenox, Ill.), a University of Houston recruit who shows promising tools both at the plate and behind it. At 6-foot-2, 205-pounds Post has a tall and angular, well-tapered build. A lefthanded hitter, he clearly has a plan when he goes to the plate with a patient approach. Post collected a pair of hits in each of Cangelosi’s Sunday contests, the best of which was a double pulled to the gap in right-center, and all four of his knocks had a different sound off the barrel with a clear knack for making consistent, loud contact.

– Patrick Ebert



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