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Tournaments | Story | 6/11/2019

South Invite: Day 4 Scout Notes

Connor Spencer

Andrew Jenkins

2019 PG South Invitational: Day 1 Notes | Day 2 Notes | Day 3 Notes

What would have been championship Monday at the PG South Invitational was simply the final day of games for the 16u division due to inclement weather at the beginning of the week. Even though teams weren’t playing for a trophy, there was still plenty of competitive baseball to be had at Premier Baseball of Texas.

Righthanded Baylor commit Mason Marriott (2021, Tomball, Texas) was money with his plus slider on the day for Banditos-Black going four full innings, fanning five and only allowing two hits. Marriot has a short arm with a true three-quarters slot. His fastball sat around 85-to-88 and he touched 89 mph. For the most part, his fastball is pretty straight and flat, however he does get some arm side run on the pitch when missing arm side. Plain and simply Marriot’s ace in the hole is his slider and he loves to use it in just about any count. During his outing he arguably threw more breaking balls than he did fastballs. It also looked like he used two different breaking balls, one being a slider and the other a curveball, and the slider is much better than the curveball is. His slider sat round 77 mph and is a tight, late-breaking high 10-to-4 shaped kill pitch. He can throw it in any count and miss bats with it. Moreover, he hides it well with his quick arm action that mimics his fastball. The curveball is still serviceable but has more of a 12-to-6 action and does not nearly have the bite to it that the slider has. The one thing that Marriot lacks is a complementing off-speed pitch that he can at least mix in to left handed hitters, but the slider is next level ready right now.

Jackson Illingworth (2021, Elysian Fields, Texas) showcased plus defense at shortstop and opened up some scout’s eyes with his athletic actions and quick first step reads to the baseball. He also made an excellent play deep into the six-hole, ranging quickly to his right, sliding fluidly, and then making a strong accurate throw across the diamond. At the plate, Illingworth has an upright stance with a conventional hand position and looks strong in the box. He uses a high leg kick and gets some weight transfer from it, however, he doesn’t full load his hands, and his swing feels closed off because of it. He’s still able to generate some pop from his hands extending through the zone, but he’ll need to find more rhythm leading up to his launch if he wants to spray the gaps with more consistency.

Uncommitted southpaw and No. 2-ranked 2022 lefthanded pitcher in the state of Texas James Douglas (JD) Thompson (2022, Rusk, Texas) gave scouts a little bit of everything in his outing going four full innings with seven strikeouts and one hit. Thompson has a medium athletic build and feels like a conventional lefthander. However, he has great rhythm on the rubber, stays balanced throughout his motion, and drives hard down the mound. He has a short quick arm action and an over the top slot as he opens and falls off slightly glove side. His arm is live with a fastball that touches 89 mph and sits high-80s consistently, and he has a plus-plus curveball and solid off-speed that all get thrown with conviction. His curveball has a 12-to-6 shape and gets strong late bite down. He has the ability to shape it with intent sometimes curving it away from lefthanded bats. The changeup is a straight change that at times he cuts it slightly and it sits around 78 mph. Thompson shows pitchability and understanding of how to use his stuff, which is an absolute rarity at his age. The one thing scouts would like to see from him moving forward is for the fastball to gain some action to it, as it’s pretty straight in his present form. His uncommitted status won’t last much longer with his highly projectable stuff.

Los Tigres 2021 went on an offensive explosion on the final day of the tournament defeating EPA 16u 2021 11-0. Infielder Jack Ben-Shoshan (2021, Houston, Texas) looked solid at the plate and in the field with a couple big hits on his day including three RBIs. He uses a small leg kick load and his hands stay extremely quiet and simple as they barely move anywhere for launch. His front foot lands slightly open creating a tight coil for his lower half and he keeps his barrel behind his hands and gets it on plane almost immediately. His flat path projects well and he shows soft hands and an ability to throw accurately from all slots in the infield.

– Connor Spencer

Casen Neumann (2021, Tomball, Texas) for Banditos – Black is a 6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect that has plenty of room to fill out his projectable, athletic frame. Listed as a primary first baseman, he moved well, bounced off the bag with proper footwork, had flexibility in his lower half to make stretch plays and showed the ability to scoop it. Hitting in the three-hole, Neumann had two doubles with a walk at the plate, both doubles were hit deep to the right-center field gap. He is a linear type hitter that got the barrel out front, with a quick, compact swing that created slight lift.

Hitting leadoff for Banditos – Black, Nick Mosley (2020, Lufkin, Texas) is an outfielder who put his speed on display. The righthanded hitting athlete went two-for-two, beating out a bunt for a single in his first at-bat and then hit a hard liner to left field for a single in his second plate appearance. He followed up that single by stealing second and third base with ease.

Yale commit Morgan Lunceford (2021, Edmond, Okla.) started on the mound Dulins Dodgers – Godwin. The 5-foot-10 righthanded pitcher threw from a high three-quarters arm slot, had a good hand break, quick arm action and a max effort delivery. He controlled his front side well, worked his lower half and drove downhill with his backside. Lunceford’s fastball was 84-86 mph, had feel for his slider at 74-76 mph that had tight and sharp break.

Peyton Stovall (2021, Haughton, La.) is a lean-framed shortstop for Performance Baseball Texas 16u. The primary shortstop has lateral range, soft hands, good arm strength and was able to make all the throws. He has the tools and ability to play shortstop at the next level. Hitting in the leadoff spot, Stovall went 1-for-2 at the plate with one double. He had a quick bat, made hard contact and showed good speed on the bases.

– Andrew Jenkins

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