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Tournaments  | Story | 6/24/2019

Pacific Invitational Scout Notes


Pacific Coast Invitational: Day 1-2 Scout Notes


Day three of the Pacific Coast Invitational brought the beginning of the 16u division and saw some crucial matchups between two- and three-win teams in the 14u division.

CBA Wave Blue moved to 2-1-1 in the 14u division after another offensive explosion. Third baseman Brendan Shanahan (2023, Temecula, Calif.) was 2-for-2 with a triple and a walk on the day and showcased excellent agility on the basepaths. His triple should have been a double, but he was able to get to third thanks to his speed and technique on the turns. At the plate he has a slightly open, heavily crouched stance. He tends to come around the ball at times but when he’s able to work his hands inside he finds solid pop for his frame.

In the first game of the 16u division Hit Club 16u had an offensive outpouring of their own led by third baseman Adam Trujillo (2021, Redwood City, Calif.). Trujillo was 2-for-3 on the day with an RBI and shows athletic actions in the field and at the plate. His frame is still developing, and the arm action feels slightly cut off, but he has good foot work at third, uses his hands very well at the plate, and there’s potential in his developing size and maturing game. He could possibly make a smooth transition to second base.




Andrew Krodel (2023, Villa Park, Calif.) flashed his strong arm for ROX Baseball going five full innings with four strikeouts. He has a short arm action from a three-quarters arm slot and uses a low- to mid-leg lift. Krodel sits mid- to high-70s and hit 81 mph once. Krodel loves to pitch with the fastball and he’s not afraid to go right after hitters with it. At times it has some arm-side run and sink but for the most part it’s pretty flat. He also has a 12-to-6 curveball with a large shape that is more of a get-me-over pitch than an out-pitch. Krodel’s arm is strong enough to be optimistic about his potential as a pitcher moving forward, however, he’ll need to develop his secondary pitches in order to take his game to the next level.

Markus Petures (2021, Brentwood, Calif.) went 1-for-1 with two walks in game one for NorCal Prospects. Petures has a larger frame at 6-foot, 200 pounds, but shows present athleticism for his larger frame. He has an upright conventional stance at the plate and uses his hands well. Petures will at times pull off the ball with his front side and his hands will follow. When he’s able to stay over the plate and dive his backside through, he gets solid jump off the barrel that will play at the next level. Moreover, he has a polished plate discipline that will translate as it matures.




One of the better swings of the tournament thus far belongs to the San Diego Ballers own Christian Nava (2021, San Diego, Calif.). He has a simple and quiet stride and load and his hands work direct to the baseball. Nava gets a quick linear weight shift, uses his lower half well and the back-side drives his hands as he creates a strong flat barrel plane through the zone. There’s still room for his hands to extend through the zone, but they’re still effective with his hand-eye coordination and quickness. He looks to attack the baseball with every pitch and in game one smoked a double against NorCal prospects. In game two he peppered his opposite field showcasing his ability to work his hands inside the baseball. At third he moves well to his left and right, has clean glove work and shows feel of the position. There are plenty of projectable actions at the plate, quiet yet violent is what scouts like to see out of a hitter.




Teammate Hunter Hargett (2021, San Diego, Calif.) posted the highest velocity of the tournament so far, topping out at 86 mph. Hargett has a short arm action from an over-the-top slot, and works straight down the mound with authority. His fastball does not possess much action, but it is a live arm with some downward angle. His curveball has a high 11-to-5 action that has the ability to miss some bats. When thrown with conviction, it has late sharp bite down and shows promise to be a kill pitch. Hargett did struggle with his command during his quick outing, but the stuff has the potential to become great.




The late afternoon slates brought a slurry of solid pitching started by CBA Utah’s Blayde Roblin (2020, Lehi, Utah).  Roblin went 3 1/3 innings while striking out six. His motion begins slow and methodically, then he speeds up at his apex and works down the mound quickly and with authority. He has a short arm action from a true three-quarters arm slot and finds some hard two-seam run on his 80-85 mph fastball. His breaking ball is a high 11-to-5 shaped curveball that has good late bite when thrown down in the zone. The shape of the pitch becomes looser and its spin rate decreases as its left over the plate. What was very promising to see out of Roblin is he flashed a plus splitter that has strong late tumbling action down. He’s still inconsistent with the quality of the pitch, but when it’s on, it’s lights out. Roblin’s stuff qualifies him as a high follow going forward.




For the Santa Barbara Grizzlies/Coastal Cubs, Henry Manfredonia (2021, Santa Barbara, Calif.) showed off his live arm with downward angle on the mound. Manfredonia has a large and lengthy frame and his over-the-top slot creates some downward angle to the plate. His fastball sits around 81-85 and there’s some break Z prevalent meaning the velocity of his pitch does not waver much from when the ball leaves his hand to when it reaches the catcher’s mitt. At times he struggles to get his high front side down through separation making him miss up in the zone. However, the further he does get the ball out in front the more downward angle he creates on the hitter. He loves to pitch with the fastball and he did show a 12-to-6 curveball, but he rarely threw it. The breaking ball has solid depth however its large shape and lack of bite makes it tough to be a kill pitch. Scouts love to see the live arm and action Manfredonia has on his fastball. He’s just missing a solid complementary pitch to go along with it but the foundation is there to build off of.




Ben Pajak (2021, San Diego, Calif.) for CBA Wave hit the first true home run of the tournament sending a rocket into the netting out in left. Pajak has a pretty swing that utilizes the lower half well. His load is simple and quiet in a conventional upright stance and he uses a simple mid-leg kick trigger. His hands work down through the zone and his barrel finds some upward plane creating consistent backspin. He does a nice job of really forcing his hands out and through into extension, and his backside stays tall throughout the swing. His athleticism in the field and on the basepaths is undeniable. It’s not hard to argue that Pajak is one of the most polished all-around players in the 16u division.

Markos Sanchez (2020, Fontana, Calif.) capped off an eight-run hitting clinic with an RBI base hit through the six-hole to help lead JG Baseball 16u to a win. Sanchez has a large build and an upright narrow stance at the plate. His hands do not travel far in his load and it’s a shallow load as well. He takes his hands directly to the baseball and shows an ability to get the head out on balls.

Juggernaut Group Baseball Academy defeated HBA Aces 16u and John Stark (2021, Riverside, CA) was 1-for-2 with a triple and two RBIs. Stark has a wide stance with a high back elbow and high hands. He uses a simple load and stride and uses his backside well to get the barrel through the zone.




In the night slate Luis Becerra (2022, San Leandro, Calif.) gave Bay Area United one heck of a start with his plus stuff. He has a short arm action from a high three-quarters arm slot and uses a high leg ligft. Becerra works quickly through his motion down the mound and keeps a slight hunch to his posture throughout. His fastball sits around 82-86 mph and has hard two-seam run and sink to both sides of the plate. His 11-to-5 shaped curveball has good depth and solid bite down and away to righties. All in all, it’s a plus pitch and shows great promise as his arm matures. He pitched primarily with a two-pitch mix and was extremely effective throwing to both sides of the plate with intent. He finished his night going 5 1/3 innings and struck eight displaying very projectable stuff.



Tournaments | Story | 5/24/2026

East Memorial Day Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
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‘27 IF Braylon Sheffield (FL) with an absolute 🚀 here, launching high off the RCF wall for a 3B. Super polished LH stick; hit over .400 last year on the circuit. #GoHoos commit. #EastMemorial pic.twitter.com/mdehqpR5v5 — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) May 23, 2026 Braylon Sheffield (2027, Fort Myers, Fla.) got the event started with the loudest swing of the night on Friday at Terry Park, rocketing a triple off the wall in the stadium. Sheffield, ranked 121 and committed to Virginia, is a super polished left-handed hitter with left side of the infield projection long term. The swing is tension-free with loose wrists and he generates easy bat speed with already present power to the pull side. This blast came inches away from being a home run and hitting a ball that far at Terry Park stadium is a significant shot. Sheffield also tripled in his second game of the weekend at...
Tournaments | Story | 5/21/2026

Memorial Day Classics Set to Kick Off

Perfect Game Staff
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Southeast Memorial Day East Cobb Baseball will welcome more than 100 teams spanning the 13-17u age groups this weekend as summer baseball gets underway with the highly anticipated PG Southeast Memorial Day Classic, commencing on Thursday, May 21st. This weekend’s annual premier event will feature 11 nationally ranked teams across the five age groups with the No. 9 16u East Cobb Astros headlining the 17u division alongside top prospects such as No. 11 ranked Bryan Johnson Jr. And No. 22 ranked Georgia Tech commit, Malachi Butler. The No. 34 17u ranked 643 DP Cougars will also be a squad to watch as they will look to challenge the Astros for the championship amongst the other 14 17u division teams. While the oldest division will draw lots of attention with highly touted prospects, the 16u field is stacked with 29 total teams including three nationally ranked clubs. Over 30 top 1000...
High School | General | 5/22/2026

Northeast High School Notebook: May 22

Anthony Gambardella
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‘26 RHP Hunter Brown (@NHLionsBaseball - NJ) struck out 1️⃣5️⃣ thru 6 IP w/ 0 BB & 2 H allowed. FB lived 90-92, T93 w/ ASR & late life. Froze bats with his 11/5 CB both early/late in counts (2600rpm). Mixed in fading CH & short/tight SL. #WeAre commit. @PG_Draft#PGHS @PG_Scouting pic.twitter.com/NbSSOmCyD0 — Perfect Game Mid-Atlantic (@PGMidAtlantic) April 23, 2026 Hunter Brown - 2026 RHP, North Hunterdon Reg (N.J.) was utterly dominant in his start against Franklin last month, tossing six shutout innings with 15 strikeouts, zero walks and just two hits allowed. The 6-foot-5 215-pound right-hander has pitched to a 0.97 ERA this spring with 78 punchouts over 36 innings of work. Brown has been one of the many northeast arms receiving increasingly more buzz ahead of the MLB Draft this July. Brown’s heater lived in the low-90s throughout the duration of his...
Press Release | Press Release | 5/22/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 65

Ron Wolforth
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The Insidious Lie That Hurts Pitchers Thep Most How many of you have ever had a terrible outing and afterward couldn’t really explain what went wrong? And how many of you have ever had a great outing and couldn’t explain what you did differently either? That gap between what is happening and your awareness of what is happening may be one of the most important gaps in player development. Closing that gap has a name. It is called metacognition. In simple terms, metacognition means thinking about your thinking. It is the ability to understand how you learn, how you perform, how you respond under pressure, and how you make adjustments when things are not going your way. For a pitcher, that matters because no matter how good your coach is, he cannot stand on the mound with you. Your coach cannot take the ball with the bases loaded, two outs, and the best hitter in the league...
College | Rankings | 5/20/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 20

Nick Herfordt
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There is a reason the preseason pick to win it all rarely does. College baseball's postseason is a gauntlet — double elimination, best-of-three’s, then a full World Series format — and the team that looks unbeatable in February has to prove it again in May against opponents who have had just as long to get ready. Plenty of programs have entered the tournament as the obvious favorite and gone home early. It happens every year. Nobody should be shocked when it does. Top-ranked teams flaming out in regional weekends happens so many times it has become its own genre of schadenfreude Which makes this particular moment worth noting. The Perfect Game preseason picks to win the NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III national titles — Tennessee Wesleyan, UT Tyler, and the University of Lynchburg — are all still alive heading into the final rounds. All three...
College | Story | 5/21/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 21 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
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Each week I huddle with Vinnie Cervino and Craig Cozart  to discuss Top-25 rankings and Players of the Week. In Coppy’s Corner, I dive deeper into these Players of the Week, providing analysis from 20+ years working in baseball front offices at the highest level.   Co-Player of the Week: Carson Tinney – University of Texas  As a Notre Dame alumnus, it pained me to see Tinney transfer from the Golden Dome to the University of Texas after an All-American sophomore season for the Irish. He’s picked up in Austin right where he left off in South Bend and is currently hitting .321 AVG, 20 HR, .475 OBP / .695 SLG / 1.170 OPS on the 2026 season. It’s plus right-handed power and a plus arm; with the numbers I have found indicating that Tinney has erased more than half of attempted base stealers over the past two seasons of college baseball. Tinney threw...
Tournaments | Story | 5/19/2026

Best of the Best Event Preview

Jheremy Brown
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In simplistic terms, the Best of The Best tournament is an absolute gauntlet as seemingly every game brings a playoff game atmosphere. Coaches must strategically map out their pitching to ensure they can get through Pool Play while also making sure they have arms to make a deep playoff run. Each and every age group is loaded with the best teams, composed of some of the best players that travel baseball has to offer. The 9u & 10u age groups will respectively have 9 out of the Top 10 Teams within the latest PG National Team Rankings participating in the event. At 9U, LTP-Reign will look to hold on to their #1 ranking but will have plenty of competition with the likes of ZT National Prospects and HTX-Wildcatters 9U looking to take over that #1 spot. In the 10u age group, Elevate National will look to fend off plenty of talent with #2 ranked Kaos National, East Cobb Astros and ZT...
College | Story | 5/19/2026

College Players of the Week: May 19

Vincent Cervino
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May 19th Perfect Game/Co-Players of the Week:  Carson Tinney, C, Texas  The Texas Longhorns just finished off another stellar regular season and are heading to Hoover for the SEC Conference Tournament as the No. 2 Seed this week.  To secure their 2nd place finish, they had to sweep Missouri at home last weekend and did so in large part to the power bat of Carson Tinney.  The 6-4/240 catcher from Castle Pines, CO transferred to Austin after two sensational seasons at Notre Dame and has thrived in his draft year.  In the 3-game set, Tinney collected 7 hits in 13 at-bats, scoring 5 runs, with a double, 3 home runs and he drove in 10 runs all told.  With some of the most prodigious power in the college game this year, Tinney is now slashing .321/.695/.473 with 10 doubles an incredible 20 home runs and 54 RBIs while playing in the most spacious ballpark in the...
College | Rankings | 5/18/2026

College Top 25: May 18

Vincent Cervino
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The regular season is behind us, and it is now tournament time and wow, is there a lot to still be decided.  We are a week away from the Field of 64 being announced and hosting opportunities, at-large bids, as well as automatic bids are there for the taking.  The UCLA Bruins (48-6) continue their stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in the land, finishing the regular season without losing a series all year.  ACC powers, UNC (43-10) and Georgia Tech (45-9) remain at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively and SEC regular season champs, the Georgia Bulldogs (43-12) stick at No. 4.  After that there was a small amount of shuffling within the Top 10 with No. 5 Texas (40-12), No. 6 West Virginia (37-13) and No. 7 FSU (38-16) moving ahead of now No. 8 Auburn (36-18) after they were the only team in this group to drop their weekend series.   No. 14 Florida (37-18) and No. 15...
High School | General | 5/18/2026

High School Notebook: May 18

Jordan Gates
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‘27 RHP Grant Slater (@BoydCoBaseball) gets his 1st start of the year (3rd appearance) as he works his way back. FB opened 89-92 w/ ride & was still up to 91 in the 5th (run rule), while touching 93 in the 3rd. CT worked in the mid 8s & breaking ball in mid 7s (sweep). Big summer… pic.twitter.com/w9EXl6Jmrx — Perfect Game Ohio Valley (@PG_OhioValley) May 8, 2026 Grant Slater, 2027, RHP, Boyd Co (KY) Slater made his full start of the year back on May 7th. He had appeared in a few games in relief roles prior as he has come back from a few injury bugs. The Alabama commit went five strong innings, in a complete game fashion (run rule), only allowed a couple hits, one walk, and struck out 13 batters. Slater is beginning to ramp up at the right time with postseason right around the corner. Slater’s fastball peaked at 93 mph a few times, held velocity in the...
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