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Tournaments  | Story | 6/22/2019

17u South Day 1 Scout Notes

Nate Schweers
Andrew Jenkins
Photo: Braxton Pearson (Perfect Game)

Before the sun could fully come up at Lou Goldstein Field Friday morning, Elijah Nunez (2020, Arlington, Texas) was locked in at the plate for Stix 2020 Mendoza. In his third at-bat of the game, The TCU commit laced a ball to the gap in right field for a two-run double. Nunez has excellent bat-to-ball skills and present bat speed, using his advanced barrel feel and control to make consistently hard contact. Also impressive about Nunez’s game was the speed out of the box. The 5-foot-9 speedster put his wheels on display this morning as well, recording a 4.39 second turn of first base, gliding into second for the double with ease.

Zack Shannon (2020, Victoria, Texas) did a little bit of everything in a win for Vendetta Baseball on Friday. Shannon started the game with a double down the left field line, eventually coming around to score the first run of the game. Shannon has an athletic build and present bat speed at the plate, allowing himself to get his hands extended and drive the fastball on the inner-half. Shannon’s feel for the zone at the plate is apparent, drawing a pair of hard fought walks in his second two at-bats. However, most impressive in Shannon’s game Friday morning was his defensive awareness and mobility at first base, consistently making correct reads with good both on and off the bag.

Perry Burkett (2020, Corpus Christi, Texas) came out firing to start the afternoon action on Friday. Burkett sat 85-87 mph, topping at 89 with a lively fastball. Burkett works from a mid three-quarters slot, pitching to both sides of the plate with three quality pitches. Pitching off his fastball, Burkett was able to use a fading changeup at 80 mph to keep hitters off balance. The righty also flashed some feel for a mid-60s curveball. With a lean and projectable frame. Burkett will only continue to get better as he grows and adds strength.




Drew Woodcox (2020, Houston, Texas) built on what has been an exceptional couple weeks at Perfect Game events on Friday. The Texas Tech commit made his presence known early with a long homerun over the wall in left field his first trip to the plate. Woodcox followed that up with a loud, run-scoring double to the left-center field gap. Woodcox, who made a recent trip to the Perfect Game National Showcase in Phoenix, has elite-level athleticism in the infield. The shortstop put it on display a couple times Friday, making some nice plays on the run and showing the ability to throw from multiple slots.

Another bright spot for Adidas Baseball National Team 2020 - Ina Friday was Bryce Lewis (2020, Spring, Texas). The primary catcher has quick feet and a clean exchange behind the plate, throwing out a base stealer with ease in the early moments of the game. Lewis, who is committed to Texas Rio Grande Valley, has quick hands and good feel for the strike zone at the plate. His day was highlighted by a run-scoring double the opposite way down the right field line. Lewis showed the ability to see the ball deep and drive it the other way.

Nathan Becker (2020, Jersey Village, Texas) showed off his big power from the left side with a loud double to the gap in right-center field in Friday’s action. Becker is very physical, with present bat speed and clean hand path. The swing is fluid, and the ball jumps off the barrel when squared up. A member of Rice’s 2020 recruiting class, Becker is a big target that moves well at first.

Gabriel Pacheco (2020, Spring, Texas) showed off a live arm out of the bullpen Friday afternoon. The lean and athletic righthander ran a heavy fastball with late arm-side run up to 87 mph, and the frame is extremely projectable as he adds strength and size. Pacheco has a loose and whippy arm stroke, and though violent at times, has good linear direction toward the plate at foot strike. A primary third baseman, it will be interesting to see how Pacheco develops on the mound.

Braxton Pearson (2020, Georgetown, Texas) ran his fastball up to 92 mph for GPS Legends 17u – Puffer on Friday. The righthander sat mostly 89-91 during his outing, flashing a fading changeup with late action in the mid-80s. Pearson has a long and slender 6-foot-1 frame with plenty of room to fill out and add strength. Pearson, who is committed to TCU, has a high effort delivery with a quick and compact arm stroke. The head and front side fly open at times, however, as he cleans up some of the mechanical inefficiencies and stays more balanced through the delivery the command should improve as well.

GPS Legends 17u – Puffer also had impressive offensive performances from Matthew Graham (2020, Austin, Texas) and Zane Lilljedahl (2020, Buda, Texas). Graham finished the day just a home run shy of the cycle, recording four RBI in the process. Graham has a physical build and a quick bat at the plate, consistently driving the baseball to the pull side. Graham’s approach at the plate and feel for the strike zone is advanced, and the power numbers should increase as he continues to develop and get stronger.

Lilljedahl finished Friday’s game 3-for-3 as well, recording a pair of doubles and driving in two runs. Lilljedahl starts from fairly upright and even stance at the plate, staying balanced through the swing and showing the ability to drive the ball to and through both gaps. With an athletic, 6-foot, 180-pound frame, the primary shortstop moves well, getting down the line with a 4.56 second turn on a double. Still uncommitted in the 2020 class, Lilljedahl has the athleticism and bat to compete at the next level.

Drayton Brown (2020, Nacogdoches, Texas) used a good mix of speed to keep hitters off balance throughout his outing Friday. The power righty used a heavy fastball up to 88 mph to attack hitters and force early contact. Brown has a physically mature build and he uses a powerful lower half to generate good direction down the mound before landing and falling slightly to the glove side. Striking out five hitters in his four innings of work, the high follow in the class of 2020 flashed good feel for a low-70s slider with late break, generating swings and misses. Brown could see his biggest development as he learns to dominate the bottom of the strike zone.

– Nate Schweers


Will Van Vessem (2020, Sunnyvale, Texas) is a medium framed middle infielder with broad shoulders. Hitting leadoff for the Dallas Redhawks. He displayed a quick bat, good weight transfer and a line drive swing plane while going 2-for-3 with a double down the left field line and a hard single up the middle. Van Vessem showcased good footwork, soft hands and above average arm strength defensively.

Bryce Bowerfind (2020, Trophy Club, Texas) is a 6-foot-3, wiry framed first baseman for Texas Stix North 2020 Black. The lefthanded hitter had a gap-to-gap approach, created good separation in his load and went 2-for-2 with a run scored on the day. Bowerfind smacked a triple to the right-center field gap in his first at-bat and a double to the left-center field gap his second at-bat.

Miami commit Yanluis Ortiz (2020, Grapevine, Texas) is a 5-foot-11, 205-pound catcher with high-end potential. He started off day one of the 2019 WWBA 17U South National Championship with a great offensive performance, going 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs scored. He showcased his power potential in his first at-bat with a no-doubt home run to left field, a loud single to center field in his second plate appearance and a double to right field in his third at-bat. He also showed good actions behind the plate, gained ground and maintained good balance on throws, showed plus arm strength and logged a 1.98 pop time.

Listed as a primary shortstop, Paul Bonzagni (2020, Grapevine, Texas) pitched two innings out of the bullpen for Stix 2020 Davenport against US Elite 17 - Hadeler. He has an athletic frame with room to fill and a smooth and easy delivery with a three-quarters arm slot that created downhill plane. His fastball sat between 86-88 mph with run and mixed in an above average slider at 70-72 mph. Bonzagni should keep improving on the mound with slight adjustments to his mechanics.

– Andrew Jenkins
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