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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/22/2019

Pacific Invitational Scout Notes

Connor Spencer     

The Pacific Coast Invitational kicks off PG’s summer tournament schedule in California. Although June gloom was in full force on day one, the weather didn’t bother the 14u division teams from starting the tournament out strong.




In game one for RUFFRYDERZ Baseball, shortstop Anson Lazaro (2022, Kekaha, Hawaii) impressed at the plate going 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Lazaro has a slight bat wag with rhythm, gets his front foot down early, and has low simple hands into his load. He gets some coil with his upper half and hands that creates solid barrel whip through the zone, and he gets his barrel on plane quickly. Lazaro works hard to keep his hands inside the baseball and extends through the zone nicely. His lower half is active in the swing, and his pop at the plate is developing.

In game two Lazaro got things done on the mound throwing a complete game while fanning eight. He has a free and easy arm that feels whippy and effortless down the rubber. He sweeps his arm back into separation and has a long arm action from a three-quarters arm slot. His 77-79 mph fastball finds some arm side run at times, and he shows confidence at going after hitters to both sides of the plate with it. His 12-to-6 curveball missed a lot of bats and has some slight side to side action that made it especially tough on right handers.

CBA Wave Gold ended up winning a slugfest fueled behind a solid performance from third baseman Kain Cruz (2023, Chula Vista, Calif.). Cruz went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and came into to close out the last two innings of the ball game. Cruz has a medium stalky frame and shows athletic actions in the infield and on the base paths especially for his build. At the plate, he uses a high leg kick that generates a strong amount of linear weight shift in the box. He’s able to stay tall on his backside through his swing, however his hands drop into his load and there’s some uphill to his bat path. However, his hands work well and he finds extension once his late lower half releases his back-side through. Simple tweaks could unlock a large potential for Cruz.




Nate Snakenborg (2023, San Marcos, Calif.) checks off a lot of boxes behind the plate for CBA Wave Blue. Snakenborg is a natural leader of the infield and is very vocal to his teammates. He works hard to stay squared when blocking to his left and right and made a great play in the fifth when he threw out a runner at second trying to advance on a dirt ball read. His short arm and quick feet will play at the next level. At the plate has a wide slightly crouched stance with a small leg lift trigger. He’s still working on his timing as he tends to become too back loaded with the leg lift trigger, but his hands work down through the zone well.

3n2 Warriors came out on top in their first game and middle infielder Vincent Cervantes (2023, Lake Balboa, Calif.) crushed a double over the left fielder’s head that two hopped the left field wall. Cervantes has an upright spread stance and looks strong at contact, getting his lower half through and driving his back hip. He gets surprising pop out of his developing slender frame. He’s still working on his timing, but his swing was one of the more polished on the day, and his ceiling will be high once he fills out.




On day two Redlands Bulldogs Black got a quality win thanks to Jayson Nace (2022, Yucaipa, Calif.) who threw 6 2/3 innings while fanning eight. Nace has a shorter arm action from a high three-quarters arm slot. He uses a mid-high leg kick and works straight down the mound. Fastball sits around mid- to high-70s and possesses some arm-side run at times. There isn’t much action to the fastball, however, more action should develop as his arm matures. His 11-to-5 breaking ball has a large shape and he’s still working on command of the pitch. Nace does a nice job of filling up the zone and changing hitters eye levels effectively. Yucaipa High School is going to be scary good in the near future with the players they have coming up through their program.




Caden Shaffer (2022, Irvine, Calif.) had a monster first game for ROX Baseball going 2-for-2 with two doubles and five RBIs. Shaffer has an upright spread stance, and he keeps his front knee inverted in. He does a nice job of getting his elbow into the slot quickly and his shoulder rotation gets his barrel on plane quickly and helps to create consistent backspin with his flat path. His hands work well in his swing, and his back hip drives his hands through the zone.

Shaffer’s teammate Brandon Luu (2023, Irvine, Calif.) also impressed at the plate smoking a line drive triple that jumped off the bat past the center fielder. Luu has a narrow upright stance and his swing feels polished for his age. His hands work quickly down through the zone and his bat speed is present. He strong barrel control at the plate and creates plus pop a well. Although he had a rough outing on the mound in game two of the day for ROX Baseball, his highly projectable stuff was still present, topping out at 82 mph from the left side. Luu has a high ceiling as he develops.




The top prospect from the 14u West Showcase, Miles Preston Ghossein (2024, West Hills, Calif.), hit a new best on the mound at PG events touching 81 mph for 3n2 Warriors. Ghossein threw five shutout innings while striking out six. He has a long arm that he swings down and back then whips up into a high three-quarters arm slot. His motion is free and easy down the mound and he has some sink and run action on his fastball. Ghossein had great success with his slider on the day as hitters came back to the dugout complaining that the pitch looked like the fastball until it was on them. The slider has a low 11-to-5 shape and possesses small sharp bite down. It looked like he was having fun on the mound throughout his outing.

Smooth swinging William Ramos (2023, Temecula, Calif.) helped 14u Rangers to a win with a triple and an RBI on the day. Ramos has a lengthy frame with a quick barrel through the zone. He has a high back elbow in his stance and uses a high leg kick trigger. His timing at the plate is still developing but when on time he finds solid pop out of his frame. He does a nice job of taking his hands directly to the baseball and gets good extension through the zone.
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