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Tournaments  | Story  | 3/9/2019

PG HS Showdown Day 2 Notes

Vincent Cervino      Greg Gerard     
Photo: Kendall Williams (Perfect Game)

2019 Perfect Game High School Showdown: Event Page | Daily Leaders | Day 1 Notes

Game 1 of the afternoon opened up with a strong pitching matchup between a pair of Georgia Southern signees as Jarrett Brown (2019, Ellabell, Ga.) of Savannah Christian and Connor Bruce (2019, Loganville, Ga.) of Loganville squared off in a close match to determine the pool championship.




Brown started off hot as the primary shortstop looks like he has a future on the mound as well at the next level. He’s a lean, athletic prospect with a fairly good delivery and an easy release from his fastball. There’s good direction toward the plate and though the arm slot is inconsistent he can work to both sides of the plate with the fastball and was impressive during the early portion of the game.

He came right out of the gate firing as Brown sat 90-91 mph while touching 92 mph once during the first inning of the game. The fastball comes out very easy but there’s not a ton of arm speed behind it, as he lacks some of the acceleration through the point of release on the fastball. He showed some feel for a short, tight breaking ball in the upper-70s and could land the pitch well while also flashing a changeup with sink to lefthanded hitters.

Bruce was his usual self as he earned the victory for Loganville by tossing a gem against Savannah Christian. He tossed six innings of one-run baseball while pounding the strike zone and allowing just one hit over that span.

He has excellent size at 6-foot-6, and is young for the grade, with a polished delivery and very easy movements toward the plate. The fastball comes out of his hand easy with a good amount of life and the fastball lived in the 80-86 mph range. The curveball also continues to make strides and showed good shape in the low-70s that he could land effectively for strikes.

Bruce has a very easy delivery and because of the life on the fastball, him being young for the grade, and the easy release it looks like there’s a ton more in the tank for Bruce. Though his stuff isn’t overpowering he has very good poise, pitchability, and projection.

Turning in one of the most dominant stat lines of the entire weekend thus far was righthander Miles Garrett (2020, Stone Mountain, Ga.) and the Vanderbilt commit punched out fourteen batters over a complete game shutout and allowing only two hits. There’s a lot to like about what he offers and from the moment the umpire said play Garrett was in control.

Garrett has a bit of an efforty delivery and he will fall off to the side at the point of release, however he is extremely athletic and has plus arm speed, both factors that are sure to make scouts notice when he is draft eligible next year. He sequences impressively as well as he can got to his sharp curveball in any count and for strikes.

The fastball peaked at 91 mph early in the game and lived mostly in the upper-80s with good life on the pitch. He commanded to either side and threw a very high percentage of strikes in the afternoon. The stuff was very good for Garrett too and he racked up whiffs with both of his primary pitches. Garrett is a standout arm at PG events and turned in another bright performance on a big stage.

Perfect Game All-American Cade Doughty (2019, Denham Springs, La.) and his Denham Springs HS teammates put together a strong performance with a semifinals appearance and Doughty himself looked impressive. He launched a home run during game two of the weekend and collected seven runs scored over the course of the first three games.

The Louisiana State signee looks more athletic and leaner as he is already a very good endline runner, he recorded a 6.6 second 60-yard dash time, though his speed mostly plays as average on the Major League scale hovering around the 4.30 range. There is clear bat speed and barrel skills too as he can drive the ball with backspin and gets out in front nicely. He took a pitch deep to the left centerfield gap and also added another single in the same game.

Doughty was a force near the top of the lineup and was one of the difference makers during their big game against Locust Grove. He appears to be on the shortlist of players to be followed early in the spring in the Deep South and this weekend could be a spark to a big senior year for Doughty.




Another PG All-American took center stage during the semifinal round as Kendall Williams (2019, Olive Branch, Miss.) and IMG routed the tournament hosts Hoover. Williams is on a lot of early draft radars at this point in the spring and his three-inning shutout only bolstered the stock that he has built up for himself over the past year.

Williams has excellent size at 6-foot-6, 208-pounds and broad shoulders that really projects well physically. The delivery is solid with fluid movements and it looks like his extension toward the plate has improved from last summer, as he’s getting closer to the plate though the backside drive could be improved a bit.

The fastball was very solid for the Vanderbilt signee over the three frames, as he sat 92-93 mph with his fastball and topped out at 94 mph once. He normally has outstanding body control and the ability to repeat his mechanics, which he did well on Friday night, though he did walk two batters; the fastball command still was pretty solid.

The curveball has been his bread and butter for some time and the pitch was consistently solid-average on Friday night, sitting in the upper-70s with good shape, bite, and has all the makings of a future plus pitch at the next level due to his innate feel to spin. Williams also unveiled a short slider that showed potential and threw a couple of changeups during the outing. It was a strong look and Williams looks to be pushing himself toward Day 1 consideration especially if he continues to perform.

IMG exploded for 17 runs during the nightcap and a few standouts had big contributions as Kyle Westfall (2019, Mason, Ohio), Billy Underwood (2020, St. Louis, Mo.), and Joshua Rivera (2019, Avon Park, Fla.) all knocked in three hits on the day.

Westfall, a Texas Tech signee, is IMG’s leadoff man and an absolute burner of a runner. He turned in a time of 3.9 seconds to first base on a bunt single during the game and added a line drive single afterwards. He has a quick, short swing that allows him to use the whole field and if he continues to hit while also possessing plus speed he could see himself climb some draft boards.

Underwood, a Coastal Carolina commit, has a smooth swing and brought in two hits himself. He is a primary lefthanded pitcher but he has a simple, low effort swing and uses the whole field nicely.

Rivera, a Florida signee, is a draft name himself and is just coming back for IMG. Rivera is very physical with good actions at third base and has surprising pop in his bat too. He collected the most RBI on the evening for IMG which included five total RBI, two of which came on a smoked two-run single back up the middle.

– Vinnie Cervino





One of the youngest players in attendance at the PG High School Showdown, Riley Stanford (2022, Gainesville, Ga.), featured the top fastball velocity on Day 2 of the event. His fastball reached 94 mph while sitting in the low-90s with flashes of cutting action featured at times. The uncommitted righthander from Buford High School was a member of the 2018 PG Select Festival and has quickly improved his velocity in a big way. The intent is present and the direction is a bit offline at times, but he is only a freshman and still has plenty of time to continue to refine. The arm works and the ball really jumps out of his hand.

Stanford’s fastball is his primary pitch as he blew hitters away with it in this outing when staying in the strike zone. He mixed in a curveball with lots of depth to the offering while also freezing hitters with the pitch. Stanford worked around some command struggles in this contest but did manage to close out the game and earn a save. There’s lots of things to like from the righthander with plenty of developing still remaining as he is still only a freshman.

High pitchability lefthander Jaden Woods (2020, Warner Robins, Ga.) got the start for Houston County in their first game of a double header. Woods is a lean 6-foot-2 righthander with a fastball up to 86 mph and a ton of strike throwing capability to both sides of the plate. Woods pitched a complete seven innings on just 87 pitches striking out seven allowing just four hits.

Woods creates a tough angle to hit from with a crossfire delivery and a clean arm action. His fastball comes from a three-quarters arm slot creating life to his arm side at times. He flashed a curveball that showed sharp bite when thrown at 74 mph, but pitched primarily off of the fastball filling up the zone with the heater. The lefthanded Georgia State commit is a very athletic pitcher who can swing the bat as well. His lefthanded swing projects with some quickness to it.




Outfielder Billy Garrity (2019, Hattiesburg, Miss.) was one bright spot for Sumrall High School in their day-night doubleheader as he roped a deep double to the opposite field gap in the Bobcats win over St. Pius X. There is plenty of balance and strength to the senior’s swing and the strength is obvious on his stocky 6-foot, 195-pound frame. When staying back and driving the baseball, Garrity has an approach that is going to pepper baseballs to either gap. He does have a tendency to hit the baseball too far out in front, but the strength and ability to consistently hit the baseball on the barrel of the bat are interesting nonetheless. The future Golden Eagle at Southern Mississippi is a lefthanded hitting outfielder with a ceiling that is enticing at a school like USM that has a history of strong recruiting.

Nick Brown (2020, Madison, Ala.) turned a dominating performance as well for Bob Jones High School. The righthander ran his fastball up to 92 mph from a high-energy delivery and repeated it well. He pounded the strike zone well and got lots of swings and misses. Brown struck out eight batters allowing just one hit. An uncommitted righthander can really spin a slider as well working to both sides of the plate with his fastball and breaking ball. Brown throws with intent into every pitch while repeating well and staying online to the plate. His arm action is long and extended, but he repeatedly releases out in front while maintaining the ability to locate the fastball as well as the ability to hold his fastball velocity.

Opposing Brown was lefthanded Georgia State commit Chandler Dawson (2019, Warner Robins, Ga.). Dawson can really spin his slider that projects extremely well and is already a weapon as his out pitch. The righthander’s fastball sits 85-88 mph while staying around the zone. He worked best when getting ahead with his fastball and putting hitters away with his slider to tally up seven strikeouts in just three innings pitched. The skinny 6-foot-1 righthander has plenty of room to fill and arm speed that projects moving forward. Dawson utilizes his lower half down the mound and does a great job of staying online. Dawson has a big spring in store for Houston County and has projectable velocity as he continues on at Georgia State.

Coleman Willis (2021, Warner Robins, Ga.) is a name to remember as a sophomore in the state of Georgia. A lean and highly projectable 6-foot-6 righthanded pitcher with the size and delivery to really continue to improve as a young pitcher. Willis works his fastball in the 86-88 mph range topping out at 89 mph. The velocity comes relatively easy for Willis as his arm stays a bit long through the back but when he stays online with good direction to the plate he fills up the strike zone. He showed lots of feel for his curveball that flashed the potential to be a big-time pitch with additional development. The righty made a relief appearance for Houston County in a bases loaded jam and was an unfortunate bounce off of a field umpire away from rolling a double play and getting his team out of the inning. His performance will be looked at as subpar when looking strictly from a stat line, but the overall projection velocity and potential of his breaking ball are certainly intriguing.

Xander Stephens (2020, Lilburn, Ga.) turned in one of the performances of the night in a no decision for the Parkview Panthers. Stephens went six innings striking out 11 hitters on just three hits. His fastball ranged from 83-87 mph working from a loose arm action and a strong lower half drive off of the rubber. Stephens placed his fastball in and out of the strike zone and varied his speeds to continually keep hitters off balance. Stephens all three pitches at hitters with a fading changeup and a big breaking ball. The Georgia Southern commit is a physical presence on the mound and certainly has the arm strength to continue to improve velocity as he has been up to 90 mph at past Perfect Game events.

– Greg Gerard
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