THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,459 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,459 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Tournaments  | Story | 6/16/2019

A baseball-filled Father's Day

Photo: Lawson Copeland (Perfect Game)
MARIETTA, Ga. -- Baseball has stitched fathers and sons together for decades. It’s the bridge that connects the relationship between the two, one that’s passed down from generation to generation.

For some, there’s no greater way for a father to make memories with their son than at a baseball field. At the 2019 PG 10u World Series, that’s certainly the case.

And on Father’s Day 2019, fathers are filling the memory bank with their sons at East Cobb Complex as they coach them in the game that gives so much more back than we put into it. 

“I couldn’t think of anything better,” said coach George Whittle of the Roswell Green Hornets 10u. “When I woke up this morning and it was Father’s Day, I wanted to spend it at the park with my boys. I know the other coaches and the other fans did too.”

10 year old boys sometimes have a way with words that can’t be taught, but it’s only learned through those special father-son bonds.

“This is the first time I’ve been at the field on Father’s Day with my son,” said Derek Copeland, general manager of Park Sharon Nationals 10u Pirro. “Absolutely one of the most special Father’s Day. This morning my son said, ‘I didn’t get you a card. What do you want for Father’s Day?’ I said just go out there and play hard. That’s what we’re doing.

“It’s lifetime memories. This is something that we’ll never forget.”

Oftentimes, baseball offers an outlet for fathers to live vicariously through their sons. Blood runs thicker than water, and these fathers exhibit just that by sacrificing their own world for the betterment of their sons on the field.

“It’s special being out here with him,” said coach Jason Roesch of the Ohio Nationals 10u. “I really didn’t get to do it as a kid with my dad, so it’s great doing it with my kid… It’ll carry on to when he has kids. It’s such a special bond with us.”

“It’s always nice to coach your own son,” coach Nick Steht of Germantown Giants 10u said. “But just to see these guys enjoying the game the way that we coaches did, that’s what is most special about it.”

Many of these fathers and coaches know just how fast these kids grow up. One day they’re playing in the 10u World Series and in a blink they’ll be off to college and off into the real world.

“It’s a special moment because these times are so short-lived,” said coach Jeff Anthony of Rawlings Cobb 10u. “To have a day that’s just dedicated to fathers and sons and to be able to spend time with them really means a lot. It’s pretty special.”

Baseball truly is a barometer for life. Some of those greatest life lessons are preached between the lines on a diamond. 

It’s the only sport where you can fail two out of every three times and still be considered a hall-of-famer, but it’s still more than that. Baseball doesn’t discriminate for age. It can teach the 10-year-old kid, the 75-year-old grandfather, and everyone else in between.

“It means a lot when it’s your son,” said coach John Mastrogianakis of the East Cobb Astros 10u Gold. “We treat them the hardest, but it’s a good bonding experience as well.

“There’s good days and then there’s bad days. Life can’t be perfect all the time where you can give your kid everything they want. Sometimes they’re going to fail. That’s a good lesson not only for them, but for fathers and coaches as well.”

Most of these players have never competed in a tournament quite like the Perfect Game 10u World Series. In the moment, most of the kids won’t truly realize the magnitude of what they’ve gone through this week and on this Father’s Day.

“It’s awesome,” said coach Chris Hight of eXposure Elite. “Just having a son that plays ball and being able to be with him on Father’s Day is truly a great experience. 

“There’s no stage bigger than this. Just soak it up and have fun and compete. The wins and the losses, they’ll happen.”

It’s an ode to the fathers whose roles shift from coach, protector, and best friend to their sons on a daily basis. The ones who find the strongest connection with their son on a baseball field.

Years down the road these 10 year olds will recall just how special this week has been. They’ll see the pictures, come across the pins, or a tournament t-shirt and they’ll have one main person to relive it with: their father. 

“When he gets older, he’s going to say, ‘Hey, my dad was there for me all the time’ through baseball or whatever it was,” said coach Alfredo Tavarez of Elite Squad National. “The best thing in the world is to come out here and play. 10 years from now, 20 years from now, win or lose, it’ll be, ‘Hey dad, we were out there. Remember in 2019 when we were playing at the Perfect Game World Series?’”

Tournaments | Story | 6/2/2026

Southeast Elite Scout Notes: Days 3-5

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Southeast Elite Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Auburn commit Brennan Neal (2027, Columbus, Ga.) had a good showing on Sunday on the mound, putting the clean, athletic delivery on display in an inning of work. Neal worked in the 90-93 range with the fastball with plenty of life, and showed some run to it when working to the arm side. Neal also worked in a tight slider in the upper 70s, but also showed confidence in a fading changeup in the mid 80s. Neal also has room to add strength to his lanky frame, which could be big for him to continue to add velocity. South Florida commit Taylor Casson (2026, Atlanta, Ga.) had an impressive showing on the hill with the stuff and results, going 5 innings of no-hit baseball with 10 strikeouts. The fastball worked in the 89-92 range with downhill angle and tail, and was in the zone often. He worked a 3-pitch mix, showing some impressive swing and miss stuff...
Tournaments | Story | 6/2/2026

WWBA South Invite Notes: Days 3-5

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
WWBA Scout Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Raylen Hunter (‘30 TX) stays living on the barrel; this one burning the CFer for a double. Just an electric ballplayer. #WWBASouth https://t.co/1LThRBqN80 pic.twitter.com/z5RF5dy47o — Perfect Game Texas (@Texas_PG) May 30, 2026 Raylen Hunter (2030, Cypress, Texas) took home MVP honors for the tournament and helped lead his team to a big championship win. Was a big standout on a loaded Banditos team that steamrolled their way to the championship. He ended the week going 10-16 with a pair of doubles while scoring ten runs atop the lineup. Hunter is a true spark plug who makes consistently hard contact line to line. The swing is short and works to all fields with plenty of twitch and bat speed. Bat to ball plays at an extremely high level as he rarely gets cheated never taking an at-bat off. Once on base, Hunter causes havoc on the base-paths, a...
High School | Rankings | 6/2/2026

High School Top 50 Update: June 2

Tyler Russo
Article Image
With another few weeks in the book of the high school season, we’ve already had state champions crowned with playoffs happening in some northern states. There have been some upsets so there has been a good amount of movement in the National High School Top-50. We have a new number-one this update with Tomball (TX) taking over the top spot and will be playing for a state championship this week. They sport a 42-1 record heading into the title game and have been one of the best teams from start to finish this year. St. John Bosco (CA) has now gone back-to-back with Trinity League and CIF Southern Section titles and take over the No. 2 spot. No. 3 Aledo (TX) continues to win, No. 4 Trinity (KY) has been dominant in Kentucky play and No. 5 Norco (CA) lost the Southern Section title game and had a great year. Magnolia Heights (MS) moves up a few spots to No. 8 after winning their 8th...
Tournaments | Championship | 6/2/2026

EC Astros Win Back-And-Forth Thriller

Will Dembo
Article Image
In a highly anticipated matchup between two of the nation’s top 17u teams, the East Cobb Astros defeated eXposure National 9-8 in a thrilling extra-inning battle to claim the PG Southeast Elite Championship. The Astros completed the weekend undefeated, opening their summer season with a hard-fought, statement victory. “I mean, it's fun, it's been a grind today,” said Astros Head Coach, Josh Burress. “Been out here a long day, but our guys are competitors, they come out compete, they want to compete and win, so it's just fun to watch them come out here and not quitting playing to the end... so the guys did very well today, and they competed all the way through.” eXposure began the opening frame by taking the early lead on an error but quickly gave their lead away as the Astros came out of the gates hot, plating six runs in just the first inning. Mason Peek,...
Tournaments | Story | 6/2/2026

Central Florida Invite Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Leanderson Argueta (2027, Panamá) absolutely outmatched every arm he faced this weekend ending up with seven hits, five of which were doubles and also hit a three run home run in game three. In the fifth inning against Freshwater Storm National Argueta got his pitch and deposited it over the wall for a go ahead three run home run. Showed real comfort in the box and was able to repeat the stroke well. Fires his hips with intent and the direct bat path plays to all parts of the park.  Jayden Pagan (2028, St. Cloud, Fla.) would not be denied this weekend slashing .500/.684/1.434. The championship game was no different for Pagan getting a first pitch heater and scorched it into left for an rbi triple. He would later add a double in the seventh inning that carried over the center fielders head. The bat to ball skills paired with his up the middle approach translate. The 2028...
Tournaments | Championship | 6/2/2026

Biscuits Elite Go Perfect at Kick-Off

Emily Hicks
Article Image
After several days of competitive baseball, the Summer Kick-Off came down to one final matchup between Biscuts Elite and BTA 18U. In the end, Biscuits Elite came away with the championship, earning a 26-13 victory at Goodyear Ballpark. “We're a hardworking group; we never give up," said JJ Utash. Biscuits Elite set the tone early, scoring 7 runs in the 1st inning and never looked back. “We just worked together as a team the whole time; we scored runs, and running the ball offensively was good,” said Utash. Nikolas Ramirez led the offense, finishing 3-4 with 2 doubles, 1 triple, and 2 runs scored. Kyle Wisniewski added a 3-4 day at the plate which included a triple, and a run scored to help fuel the attack. Wisniewski hit .444 through 4 games. On the mound, Sean McDaniels got the start, throwing 2.2 innings while allowing 1 hit and striking out 3 batters. The pitching...
Tournaments | Championship | 6/1/2026

Turn 2 Comes Back to Take BCS

Alyssa Golden
Article Image
A mostly clear day at Lee Health Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Florida set the stage for a tightly contested championship matchup between Florida Burn 2028 Myrback and Turn 2 Garcia. Behind two triples from Quinn Seglem, Turn 2 rallied for a 5-4 victory to claim the BCS Qualifier title. Left-hander Carter Brunco started on the mound for Turn 2, allowing six hits and four walks while striking out two over 3.2 innings. Burn jumped out to an early lead in the first inning. Luke Straw singled and later advanced to third on a wild pitch before Joe O’Brien delivered an RBI single to score the game’s first run. Blake Dubiel followed with another RBI single to give Burn a 2-0 advantage. Right-hander Straw carried the momentum onto the mound for Burn, holding Turn 2 hitless through the first two innings while recording a strikeout in each. In the top of the second, Spencer Meachum...
College | Story | 5/29/2026

Cali Mid-Major Draft Notes

Joey Cohen
Article Image
California annually produces its share of high-profile prep and college draft talent, but this spring also offered quality depth especially on the mid-major side. I wanted to highlight a group of semi under-the-radar prospects who have quietly put together strong seasons and caught the attention of our staff whether it was with in-person looks or just by some performance/data metrics that popped. The bulk of this group comes out of the Big West, with additional names from the WCC, WAC, and Mountain West mixed in. Matthew Thomas - OF - CSUN  Few hitters in the Big West have matched Thomas’ offensive impact this spring, as he slashed a strong .335/.411/.679 with 15 home runs. Long and still mostly viewed as a power-first profile, he’s taken a meaningful step forward in the hit tool, cutting down a bit on significant swing-and-miss concerns while increasing his on-base...
Tournaments | Story | 6/1/2026

EBC 17U-Griggs Making a Run in Hoover

Kinley Kitchens
Article Image
Talent may have helped EBC 17U-Griggs arrive at the 2026 Perfect Game Hoover Invitational as one of the tournament favorites, but team chemistry is what has carried them to Championship Monday. After a dominant weekend that included multiple shutout victories, and a dramatic comeback win, EBC 17U-Griggs earned its place in the championship round and sits just two wins away from bringing home the title. The roster is loaded with college commits and nationally ranked prospects, but throughout the tournament, EBC’s success has come from contributions across the lineup rather than relying on a single star. After an opening 5-12 victory setting the tone, followed by a huge 17-0 victory where nine different players recorded at least one RBI, highlighted the depth that has made this club one of the most dangerous teams in the field. Throughout the weekend, players such as Clayton Tolbert,...
Tournaments | Story | 5/31/2026

Blalock's Consistency Shines in Hoover

Kinley Kitchens
Article Image
Blalock’s Consistency Continues to Shine at Hoover Invitational While many players his age are still learning how to handle the spotlight, Tristan Blalock has already become accustomed to it. The Madison, Alabama Native entered the 2026 Perfect Game Hoover Invitational as one of the most highly regarded players in the country, carrying a national ranking of No. 23 overall in the 2029 class and the distinction of being Alabama’s top ranked player. Yet despite the attention and high approval, Blalock’s approach remains remarkably simple.  “Just 100% effort,” Blalock said when asked about his defensive mindset. “Going out there every single time and giving it my all, do or die, no matter what the play is.” That mentality was on display Saturday as Blalock helped lead East Coast Sox Prime to a 14-0 victory over EBC 15U-Bell. Although the...
Loading more articles...