The high school notebook is designed to share notes and video on players that stand out during the high school season and new features will be released regularly. This will include in-game looks, reports, analysis and video from Perfect Game's scouting staff. If you have news on a player in your area that is performing at a high level that we should have eyes on please reach out to Vinnie Cervino at vincent@perfectgame.org. Also feel free to share your video highlights on Twitter @vcervinopg.
High School Notebooks: March 1 | March 5 | March 15 | March 22 | April 5 | April 16 | April 19 | April 29
Dylan Eskew, RHP, Sickles HS (Fla.)
Eskew has been a righthanded pitching prospect with some helium attached to his name this spring as there's real potential that he could be an early-to-mid day two prospect at this point of the draft cycle. The Miami signee has impressed the staff in the past and he was matched up against a tough squad in Jefferson, and another draft prospect in righthander Michael Dominguez, and was able to show how good his stuff can be.
The physical projection and present athleticism are noteworthy for Eskew, as the 6-foot-3 and 185-pound righthander has a lot of strength to put onto the frame. That athleticism shows up in the delivery, with fluid movements and good pacing, but also on other sides of the ball as Eskew bats third and plays shortstop when he's not on the mound. The arm stroke is longer through the back with good whip and present arm speed, all positive indicators for Eskew as even though the velocity has spiked a bit this spring there is a lot more in there.
Eskew worked up to 94 mph during this outing, touching the marker once along with a handful or 93 mph bullets, but mostly operated in the 89-92 mph range. He throws from a higher three-quarters arm slot which can create a lot of running action on his fastball upon release. The arm path at the point of release is inconsistent at times, as the length of the arm stroke can cause some timing issues and might impact strikes moving forward, but the athleticism allows him to time up for the most part and he didn't have any issues throwing strikes.
He operated mostly with two breaking balls, a more traditional curveball with good depth and bite to it as well as a slider. These breaking balls mixed together at times, which is not uncommon for a high school arm to have that happen, but both showed potential, particularly the curveball which showed out as solid-average more than a handful of times. The curveball worked 78-81 mph mostly with good shape, break, and power as well as solid spin to project upon. Eskew's slider was a bit more unrefined, and more horizontal in terms of break, but still showed potential.
Eskew didn't show a changeup during this look but has a good present three pitch mix. His velocity wavered a bit as the outing went on, but most importantly, he showed good present stuff along with the projection to hold that stuff better as he adds strength and gets into a professional program. There's certainly top five rounds potential for Eskew and he could sneak up on some people around draft time; he allowed no runs over five strong to go with seven strikeouts.
Michael Dominguez, RHP, Jefferson HS (Fla.)
Dominguez opposed Eskew on the mound and, as has been the case for Jefferson for years now, turned forth a very strong effort, competing well on the mound and coming right after hitters. The Florida State signee worked five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts in total and was really in command from the first pitch of the game.
His delivery is simple and balanced, with little wasted movement and drop and drive lower half/backside actions through the point of extension. Dominguez' arm speed is real, though the arm action is lengthier through the back and there's effort at the point of release. This can lead to some command inconsistencies but he has a strong three pitch mix that will bode well for him at the next level.
The fastball worked up to 93 mph in the first, with reports of him sniffing the mid-90s earlier this spring, and sat mostly 88-92 mph for the duration of the start. There's good amount of life to the fastball with some arm side run and riding action when up in the zone. Dominguez did a good job at establishing the fastball the first time through the order and would pitch off it effectively with his secondary pitches.
The breaking ball came in at 74-77 mph with some varying shape to it, sometimes a tweener or a pitch between a curveball and a slider, and is mostly a fringy pitch currently. The changeup had some late fading action and he really used the pitch well, showing above average potential and the ability to both land it for strikes and bury it in the dirt to hitters of both handedness.
Dominguez has pretty good stuff and really competes well on the mound, showing three pitches that could develop into average or better offerings later down the line. Presently his size will scare away some teams as he's below six-feet tall, but the stuff combined with the approach and arm speed make Dominguez an intriguing target to consider when the draft rolls around next month.
– Vincent Cervino
Alex Schrier, RHP, Santa Margarita HS (Calif.)
An athletic player on the mound, Schrier looks like a middle infielder at 6-foot and 175-pounds. He showed athleticism bouncing off the mound making a play and cutting a run off at the plate. With a compact, athletic delivery, Schrier repeats fairly well and will alter his delivery at times for deception. A low three-quarters arm slot helps generate very good arm-side run and sink on the fastball that worked primarily at 87-90 mph. His main secondary is a slider at 72-74 mph and he got loose with it at times, a pitch that could be firmed up in college as a UCSB commit to make it a shorter and a more traditional slider. Schrier mixed in occasional change at 76-80 mph with arm-side run and sink. He showed good pitchabilty on the mound battling out of a few jams making the pitches he needed at crucial times.
There is some rawness to the Cornell commit, but Edwards' 6-foot-3 frame and his lefthandedness are intriguing. Fastball worked 85-87, touching 88 mph while mixing in a curveball at 76 and changeup at 80 that showed promise. He got swings and misses on all of his pitches and came right at hitters with all three offerings. Edwards seemed to get less extended on his breaking ball as he could get more depth on the pitch with plus extension, getting out over front side a little more and getting in to lower half. Edwards will be an interesting player to follow in to the Ivy League.
Tolentino blends a polished set of tools with a high-level feel for the game on both sides of the ball. In this look his defensive skill-set showed out more than the offensive one as he didn’t get much to swing at in the box. He made several plays at shortstop showing range both ways and coming in on the ball. Tolentino showed good anticipation reading ground balls and adjusting his body to make plays at optimal angles. With easy arm strength he can make throws from multiple angles. He showed off a solid approach at the plate with a selective eye, looking for pitches to drive, though he didn’t get a lot of them to hit. Tolentino had one hit, a line drive to the pull side in two at-bats while also working a walk and a hit-by-pitch. Tolentino is committed to UCLA.
One of the intriguing underclassmen at Kaiser, Alvarez is listed at 5-foot-9 and 160-pounds but seems a bit bigger than that. He showed good actions at second as well as soft hands and some defensive instincts. He feels like the prototype for Kaiser, a blue color type, who showed a pretty good line drive approach at the plate. Alvarez drove one to the opposite field for a knock and will be an interesting follow the next few years.
Trey Tribble, Util, Kaiser HS (Calif.)
Another of Kaiser's underclassmen (a primarily underclassmen driven team that went 21-6) that should help lead the Cats the next few years. Listed as utility, Tribble played center field in this look. Somewhat raw and toolsy, he’s also the QB on HS football team. It's a speed-based profile at the top of the lineup for Tribble, and while his swing got a little long at times he just needs more reps and showed some pretty good instincts in center field.
– Steve Fiorindo
Zachary Maxwell, RHP, North Paulding High School (Ga.)
The second round of the Georgia High School baseball playoffs started on Thursday as Walton High School took on North Paulding and MLB Draft prospect Zachary Maxwell was on the hill for the Wolfpack of North Paulding. The righthander is an extra-large framed righthander with plenty of strength present especially in his lower half. His lower half is strong in his delivery as he does an excellent job of sitting on his back leg and driving down the mound to create excellent velocity specifically in his first inning of work in this contest.
Toeing the rubber and firing his first pitch of the game, the fastball was clocked at 95 mph and was the middle of the range that he featured in his quick first inning that included a strikeout. Again pertaining to the that first inning, the Georgia Tech signee touched 97 mph once and sat primarily in the 93-96 mph. He flashed a sweeping curveball once as well in that electric first inning that was 82 mph and displayed lots of depth. After his first inning, the 95s were lessened and his velocity sat more in the 90-94 mph while still impressive and really overpowering in this outing. He worked off the heater and offered it up to hitters to essentially see if they could catch up to it. Occasionally he would go back to the curveball that was 81-83 mph and was on the fringe of above average in some instances but showed solid average mostly in this look.
The delivery is full of tempo and drive as his arm whips through the throwing circle as rides down the mound. There is deception present as he lands slightly closed and can create a tough angle on hitters. His mechanics can be inconsistent at times, but when under control and online to the plate the ball jumps out of his hand and misses bats. Speaking of missing bats, Maxwell did that exceptionally well allowing just one hit and two hard-hit balls in five-plus innings. He did have a tendency to be sporadic with his command, walking seven, but he did strike out nine and tallied at least 13 swings and misses on his fastball.
– Gregory Gerard