THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,804 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,804 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 5/26/2019

West Memorial Day: Day 2 Notes

Connor Spencer
Ryan Hutchison
Photo: Mahki Backstrom (Perfect Game)

2019 WWBA West Memorial Day Classic: Day 1 Notes



Day 2 at the PG WWBA West Memorial Day Classic opened with some hard-fought battles in the 18u division. The Central Valley Marlins were locked in a tight 4-3 ball game with Players Choice Academy until junior righthander Kolby Kmetko (2020, Phoenix, Ariz.) came in and shut the door. Kmetko has a quick and borderline erratic motion to the plate that at times gets away from him. He ran into trouble a few times in his outing due to him getting ahead of himself on the bump. His arm action is quick with an over-the-top window, and his hands come up in sync with his leg kick. The fastball is flat but live for Kmetko as he sat 83-85 and touched 87 mph. Hitters were having trouble catching up to Kmetko’s fastball as there’s some break there. His curveball is a solid large shaped 11-to-4 offering that works well as both a get-me-over and a kill pitch. He went 2 2/3 innings fanning two.




MAC Elite 2020 defeated Team Dinger 17u and New Mexico State commit Isaiah Ural (2020, Albuquerque, N.M.) impressed with his strong pop off the bat and quick hands. Going 1-for-3 on the day with an RBI, the ball comes off Ural’s barrel nicely and his swing contains a controlled violence that projects to the next level. He has a high leg kick with quiet hands into his load, and he does a nice job of firing through his back side, getting his elbow into the slot, allowing the coil to fire his hands through the zone.

Austin Peay commit Tyler Cotto (2019, Goodyear, Ariz.) smashed a ball that one-hopped the left field fence for a RBI double in a tight contest against Las Vegas Scorpions 18u. Cotto has a free and easy barrel paired with a lengthy frame that whips the bat through the zone. His upright stance and high hands that come down into his load are conventional, and his power feels raw and under developed as his frame is still growing. There’s lots of room for growth in his game, and Austin Peay should be excited to get this developing backstop.




Southpaw Tyler Montoya (2019, Las Vegas, Nev.) was downright filthy in his outing going five full and striking out a ridiculous 13 batters. Montoya sweeps his leg into his lift and works quickly through his motion. His fastball sat 85-87 on the day and he touched 90 mph. The fastball does not possess much action, and because of his over-the-top window, comes out pretty flat to the hitter. However, he hides the ball extremely well, keeping his hands close to his body even through separation. When he reaches back the ball stays hidden behind his head until he reaches the window. This made his 85-87 feel much more like low-90s. His slider has a solid spin rate and bite to it with a high 10-to-4 shape that he likes to dive to the back foot of righthanded hitters. Montoya is also creative with his rhythm to the plate, constantly changing hitters looks with quick pitches and long holds.

MVP Hustle moved to 2-0 in the 16u division after a dominant 9-0 win over Stars N’ Spikes. Sophomore center fielder Ryan Brown (2021, Santa Fe, Calif.) laced a ball to his opposite field and showcased his wheels with an inside the park home run. Brown has athletic actions on both sides of the baseball and an upright stance at the plate. The fluidity in his swing leaves a little to be desired as he feels a little stoic in the box, but he uses his hands well to find barrel.




Fresno state commit Mahki Backstrom (2019, Los Angeles, Calif.) has gone from PG Pre-Draft Identifier to the Brewers pre-draft to Juggernaut Group Baseball Academy first baseman at the WWBA West Memorial Day Classic in a matter of a week. Backstrom looked phenomenal at the plate today finding nothing but barrel and going 3-for-3 with a triple. His power potential is obvious to naked eye, launching baseballs with his large 6-foot-5, 215-pound frame. At the PG Pre-Draft, he put on a show in batting practice, floating balls out of LA Valley College with ease.  Against Team Dinger 17u he launched a towering fly ball foul to his pull side that carried to the rooftop of the Reds batting cages beyond the right field fence at the Goodyear complex. The biggest concern about Backstrom is his hit tool once he starts facing 90 mph plus on a regular basis. His swing is a little long and there’s some uphill to his bat path.




In the same game, lefthander Connor Markl (2020, Scottsdale, Ariz.) drew college coach and scout attention with his active fastball and projectable pitching tool. His fastball sat around 83-84 mph and it touched 86. It is very active and at times has hard two-seam run and sink. However, this movement was sometimes counter intuitive as the two-seam action running away from righties was actually running the ball into their barrels. Markl also showcased a straight sinking off-speed around 72 mph that has promise with his arm action. He showed two differently shaped breaking balls as one is more of a curveball, and the other has more of a cutter type feel. Markl ran into trouble early and unfortunately struggled with command and never seemed on point. However, regardless of the shaky start, it’s not hard for college coaches to see a potential third or fourth starter someday for their weekly rotation.




At the end of Day 2 in the 16u division, fifth-ranked 2021 catcher in Arizona Michel Riley (2021, Scottsdale, Ariz.) showed his technical ability behind the plate and displayed quick hands with consistent backspin. He has an upright stance, slight bat wag and simple load. He lifts his leg onto his front toe then strides forward, and he’s constantly working down at the hitting zone from his tall upright stance. Although he went 0-for-3 on the day, the three balls he put in play were nicely back spun, and his hands consistently work towards the center of the field.

– Connor Spencer





Owen Egan (2023 Yucaipa, Calif.) is a young projectable player who can play on both sides of the baseball. Owen as a pitcher sat 82-84 mph on his fastball. His curveball sat 62-66 mph. When pitching, Owen transfers all his weight to his back foot and equally transfers it to the plate. He is able to maintain his velocity when pitching from the stretch using a slide step. As a hitter, Egan advanced hitting for his age. He has power to all fields driving the ball to the gap. Along with good discipline and a good eye of the strike zone, Egan creates good separation from his body to generate power with the rubber band effect.

Garren Rizzo (2023 Ranchos Palos Verde, Calif.) is a middle infielder from Palos Verdes High School. The young infielder plays well on both sides of the baseball. He plays a good defense at second base displaying his speed when on the basepaths. Rizzo has an up-the-middle approach when at the plate. His strong base help him keep his balance when at the dish.

Billy Meehan (2022 Temecula, Calif.) is a righthanded pitcher who sits with his fastball around 77-79 mph. Meehan did a good job being able to keep his balance when pitching on the mound and going straight down to the plate.




Austin Vega (2021 Chander, Ariz.) is a projectable first baseman. Early in the game, Vegas hit a ball over the outfielders in the right-center gap for a double. Even though he grounded out and flied out later in the game, everything he hit in play was hit very hard. Vega keeps his hands low in his load in order to hit any pitch in the zone to any part of the field. This young man also knows how to play solid defense at first base.

Frank Castro (2021 Chandler, Ariz.) is a righthanded pitcher out of Chandler, Arizona. Castro’s fastball sits 77-79 with cut on his pitches and topped out at 80. His curveball is 68-69 with sharp downhill break. Castro has a high baseball IQ, knowing what to do with the ball that is hit to him and making plays he needs to as a pitcher. He likes to paint the ball low in the zone to get called strikes.

Garrett Cutting (2021 Las Vegas, Nev.) is young, projectable shortstop. The Stanford commit has an excellent transfer of power at the plate. When setting up his hands, he puts them in a good place to attack the ball and drive it to any part of the park. His defense shows that he can stay long term at the position.

Tyler Avery (2022 Las Vegas, Nev.) is a young arm that has potential to be impactful. His fast consistently ranges between 78-79 mph, topping put at 81 in the game. He didn’t throw his breaking ball much, but when he did, it hit 62 mph and he kept it down in the zone. Avery was not afraid to pitch balls inside on the batters, jamming them or getting them to swing-and-miss on pitches.

Kameron Fickert (2023 Gilbert, Ariz.) is a Perry High School product that had a great day at the plate. In his first game, Fickert went 3-for-3 with one walk, two RBI and three runs scored. His balance at the plate is impressive for his young age. He keeps his hands in a position that allows him to create easy separation and generate power to drive the ball to anywhere in the park. Fickert, at 5-foot-10, will continue to get bigger and create more power as he gets older.

Christopher Hernandez (2021 Eastvale, Calif.) is a deceptive lefthanded pitcher out of Eastvale, California. Castro’s fastball sat at 81-82 mph and his curveball was at 63-64 mph with late sharp break. Hernandez is very deceptive lefthanded pitcher. His arm slot is at three-quarters and he hides the ball well which causes a lot of late swings and misses on his pitches. After throwing the ball, Hernandez puts himself into a good, athletic position to field the ball.

Marco Pacheco (2023 Phoenix, Ariz.) is a righthanded pitcher with a fastball around 78-79 that consistently has sink and two-seam action to the pitch which topped out around 81 mph. His slider was sharp at 70-71 mph. When Pacheco stays on top of the ball he gets sinking action on his fastball that has a lot of arm-side run.

Carter Doorn (2021 Schererville, Ind.) is a projectable, electric arm. The Purdue commit has two plus pitches to get lots of outs and bad looking swings at the ball. His fastball consistently sits at 84-85 and tops out at 87. Doorn’s curveball hits at 68 mph and has sharp knuckle-curve action that dives straight into the ground. Doorn lays back onto his back leg which allows him to generate power to blow fastballs by batters. His consistent pounding of the lower half of the zone limits his probability of handing a ball up in the zone.




William VanDyke (2023 Highland, Calif.) is a young righthanded pitcher from the state of California. This righty doesn’t throw very hard at 71-72 mph, but he has tons of consistent cutting action on the fastball. The action on his cutter can start in the middle of the plate and end up glove side in the lefthanded batter’s box. He likes to go to his curveball a lot at 60-63 and throws it for strikes. He is very athletic and plays good defense off the mound.




Braden Boisvert (2019 Sonoita, Ariz.) is a big and strong corner infielder that has projectable power. His build could have him staying at first base or third base long-term. Boisvert swings his knob first at the ball giving his barrel a lot of time through the zone. He has a slight hitch in his swing, but it helps him time pitches to swing on time.

Jacob Hudson (2023 Scotts Valley, Calif.) is a righthanded pitcher, a product of Palos Verdes High School. His fastball is thrown in the 82-84 mph range with a curveball at 68. Hudson keeps his landing foot straight down towards the ground, which allows him to use the downhill plane of the mound and stay on top of the ball. Hudson is quick to the plate with runners on or off of the basepaths. His fastball plays up in the zone, generating a lot of swings and misses from batters.

Joshua Johnson (2020 Henderson, Nev.) is a projectable arm with electric stuff. The righthanded pitcher fastball was consistently in the 85-87 mph range, topping out at 88 a handful of times with the occasional cut on his pitch. His curveball has late break to it sitting at 71-72 mph. Johnson varies his timing on the mound that disrupts the hitters timing at the plate.

– Ryan Hutchinson
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
‘28 OF Jakob Groeschel (OH) continues to impress with the bat on the circuit, picked up 2 2Bs in the first game today. Really athletic, went 4.4 on turn; easy to dream on all the traits. #MLKEast @PG_OhioValley pic.twitter.com/wOIwnGKnkg — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) January 17, 2026 2028 OF Jakob Groeschel (Springfield, Ohio) broke out at this event last year hitting a casual .909, and although he didn’t turn in quite the same performance, he hit a strong .462 with 4 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 5 bags and only struck out once. He’s a pretty dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things well, but the bat is the calling card as he just lives on the barrel and has no problem handling all kinds of pitching. It’s a simple swing, but he’s got fast hands and he can really impact the ball without being overly physical yet.  2030 RHP Michael Vazquez...
Read More
High School | General | 1/31/2026

Preseason HS Top 50

Tyler Russo
Article Image
The start of another high school season is right around the corner in a handful of states and with that, as always, comes our Preseason High School Top-50. A whopping twenty states are represented in the initial Top-50, a number that is staggering when you look at the amount of depth some of these rosters have across the nation. Leading the group is St. John Bosco (CA), a team that brought home a CIF Southern D1 title in 2025 and bring back a strong group of seniors to look to repeat. Stoneman Douglas (FL) is a name most people should know by now in the high school ranks and comes in as our preseason #2 team, looking to win their sixth straight state championship in Florida. Orange Lutheran (CA) had a good case for preseason #1 but come it an No. 3, bringing a roster with seven seniors ranked inside the top-200 in the country to the table. Four other Florida schools are represented...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 1/30/2026

Perfect Game Burst the Bubble

Dave Durbala
Article Image
BURLINGTON, IA - Perfect Game Softball Burst The Bubble Tournament, January 24 - 25, 2026. 15 teams in  this four game guarantee, pool into bracket play tournament, with both a 16u and 18u division contested. In the 16u Division, it was the 09 Midwest Sluggers claiming the Championship over finalist Wisconsin Heat. In the 18u Division it was CIK 08’s taking home the gold rings over finalist Alliance Select Black. The tournament was filled with lots of young talent with big bats, and several players already committed to higher education programs. Below are some of the players that earned their way onto the tournament top performers list. 16U Division  Earning the tournament MVP award was Ruby Stagg (2028 Bettendorf, IA) a solid fielding SS for tournament champion 09 Midwest Sluggers. Stagg, hitting from the right side, sets up in a conventional stance, slightly wide and...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 1/30/2026

Perfect Game Winter Blow-Out 18U Division

Erica Beach
Article Image
Perfect Game Winter Blow-Out 18U Division Burlington, Iowa Jan 17-18, 2026   BURLINGTON, IOWA- The 2026 Perfect Game Winter Blowout, held in the Fun City Turf bubble was competitive from start to finish. Seven teams from three states converged to sharpen their skills and compete for the title. In the end, the Iowa Dynamite 18U took home the hardware, defeating the Alliance Select Harper in the finale. There were some very strong performances on both sides of the ball and below we highlight the top performers from the weekend.     Payton Harris (2028, Mediapolis, IA) of the Black Dragons was lights out on the weekend, batting an impressive .733.  She led the entire tournament in hits, 11 in total showing she was one of the most formidable hitters in her class. She showed her power and ability to drive the ball to all fields, belting four home runs and two doubles on...
Read More
College | Story | 1/30/2026

Conference Preview: Big West

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  School W L W L Cal Poly 43 19 23 7 Cal State Bakersfield 18 38 9 21 Cal State Fullerton 29 27 19 11 CSUN 15 34 10 20 Hawai'i 35 21 16 14 Long Beach State 22 31 15 15 UC Davis 27 28 13 17 UC Irvine 43 17 24 6 UC Riverside 16 36 5 25 UC Santa Barbara 36 18 16 14 UC San Diego 26 25 15 15 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Nate Vargas UC Santa Barbara Honorable Mention All Big West performer, posted a 306 average with 10 HR’s and 50 RBI. ...
Read More
High School | General | 1/30/2026

High School Top 50: 10-1

Cam McElwaney
Article Image
High School Preview Index Top 50 Breakdown: 50-41 | 40-31 | 30-21 | 20-11 10. IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.) 2025 Record: 24-1 Head Coach: Dave Turgeon Notable Prospect(s): C Dillon Moss (Stanford), RHP Michael Ramsey, C Charles Messina (Northwestern), 1B Cy Chrisman (Oklahoma State), SS Dylan Messina (Pennsylvania), RHP Michael Todero (St. Joseph’s), SS Max Hemenway (Tennessee), OF Kyler Meccage (Mississippi State), OF Sebastian Wilson (Tennessee), 1B Frank Thomas III (Auburn), SS Juan Diaz (Florida State), C Ethan Armbruster (Mississippi State), SS Antonio Chavez (University of California, Berkeley), RHP Henry Britt, OF Aiden Choo IMG Academy rattled off an incredible season a year ago, finishing with a 24-1 record, and ended the season being named the national champion. It’s another year in Bradenton with some of the most talented players in...
Read More
College | Story | 1/30/2026

Conference Preview: SWAC

Michael Albee
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order*  Team W L W L Alabama A&M 2 27 10 40 Alabama State 22 10 31 29 Alcorn State 1 29 6 43 Arkansas Pine-Bluff 17 9 19 34 Bethune Cookman 24 5 37 23 Florida A&M 25 5 34 24 Grambling State 18 11 26 28 Jackson State 16 12 30 21 Mississippi Valley State 7 23 12 29 Prairie View A&M 13 14 17 36 Southern 15 14 26 28 Texas Southern 15 15 22 31 Preseason All Conference Team Pos. Name School Stats/Notes C Vinny Saumell Arkansas Pine-Bluff Reliable backstop and offensive...
Read More
Juco | Rankings | 1/29/2026

JUCO: Top 500 Prospects

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
JUCO Preseason Top 50 RK Name Class Pos. School State Commitment 1 Carson Bailey SO LHP McLennan TX 2 Bishop Quarles SO OF Florida Southwestern FL 3 Holden Hering FR RHP Weatherford TX Arkansas 4 Mikhai Grant SO RHP Northwest Florida FL 5 Jimmy Anderson SO SS Heartland IL Kentucky 6 Noah Bentley SO RHP Weatherford TX Oklahoma 7 Hayden Morris SO RHP Blinn TX LSU 8 Collin Smith SO RHP Cochise AZ South Carolina 9 Anthony Quigley SO OF/3B Northwest Florida FL 10 Anson Seibert RS FR RHP Johnson County KS 11 Major Osbolt RS FR RHP Walters State TN LSU 12 Ben Polleschultz SO LHP Blinn TX Texas A&M 13 Peyton Firgens RS FR MIF McLennan TX Mississippi State 14 Garrett Mirel FR LHP Golden West CA North Carolina State 15 Kole Fenton SO SS Walters State TN North Carolina 16 Joseph Sandusky FR SS Weatherford TX Texas A&M 17 Caden Mitchell SO C Weatherford TX Oklahoma 18 Easton Davies SO RHP...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 1/28/2026

2026 Pacific Baseball Championship Set

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
    667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923  www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA      FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    PERFECT GAME ANNOUNCES VENUES, DATES FOR   2026 PACIFIC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIP    Elite global talent converges in Southern California, December 26-29, 2026, at the Dodgers’ new ONT Field Stadium and October Empire Complex    Ontario, California (Wednesday, January 28, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced additional details surrounding the 2026 Perfect Game Pacific Baseball Championship (PBC), including official venues, dates and the various nations that players will be coming from,...
Read More
Juco | Rankings | 1/28/2026

JUCO Top 50: January 28

Blaine Peterson
Article Image
Welcome to the 2026 Junior College baseball season. Once again, this year will begin for us with annual coverage of the PCB JUCO Classic in Panama City Beach, FL this week. With that we bring you our beginning of season JUCO baseball rankings. Perfect Game JUCO rankings combine all levels of JUCO baseball across the country into one overall ranking.  The top of this year’s beginning of season ranking begins where the D1 NJCAA World Series ended, with Walters State and Salt Lake. Walters State returns several contributing pieces from last season's team and will begin the year in the top spot. Defending D1 JUCO National Champion Salt Lake will slot in at number 2. This list shows the strength of junior college baseball around the country with programs from 16 different state represented in our initial top 25. Six teams from Florida make our initial top 25, four of which will...
Read More
College | Story | 1/29/2026

Conference Preview: Southland

Troy Sutherland
Article Image
2026 College Preview Index | Preseason Top 25 | Preseason Collegiate All-Americans For all of Perfect Game's conference previews as part of the 2026 college baseball preview content, the 2025 records and all-conference teams are available for free. The conference top prospects and individual team breakdowns can be viewed with a subscription. 2025 Records Teams are listed in alphabetical order* Team W L W L Southeastern 38 16 22 8 UT- Rio Grande Valley 36 18 22 8 Lamar 40 17 20 10 Northwestern State 35 21 19 11 McNeese 31 17 19 11 Houston Christian 32 23 17 13 TAMU- Corpus Christi 21 31 12 18 New Orleans 28 26 12 18 Nicholls 17 32 10 20 Stephen F. Austin 17 32 9 21 Incarnate Word 17 33 3 27 Preseason All-Conference Team Pos. Player School Stats/Notes C Julius Ramirez UTRGV Huge numbers at the Juco level as a member of New Mexico JC. Impact stick that will force his way...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.