THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,804 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,804 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 7/21/2019

Carlson cashes in on opportunity

Cory Van Dyke
Photo: Max Carlson (Perfect Game)
HOOVER, Ala. -- Maxwell Carlson made the short walk to the mound, delivered several warm up pitches, and began his outing at the 2019 WWBA 17u Elite Championship, attempting to push Canes National 17u into the semifinals.

A horde of scouts gathered behind the backstop, waiting for Carlson to unleash that low 90’s fastball. Instead, the 6-foot-1, 175-pound righthander deceived everyone with back-to-back changeups to begin the game.



“That was a mistake,” Canes head coach Jeff Petty said with a laugh explaining that his catcher had the wrong pitch card in his wristband.

Mistake or not, it was the beginning of a dominant performance for Carlson as he tossed five shutout innings, scattering two hits and two walks with 10 strikeouts. The Canes defeated East Coast Sox 17u Select 5-0, setting up a chance to take home the title on Sunday.

Carlson’s array of pitches includes a hard fastball that runs in on righties and broke three bats in the first two innings, a fading changeup that may be his most advanced pitch, and a combination of a biting slider and soft curveball. 

“We had to pry the ball out of his hands at the end,” Petty said. “He wanted to keep going. That just talks about his competitiveness and his pitchability. That changeup I feel like is big league ready right now. It’s good. He’s the kind of guy you want on the mound when you’re trying to win a big game.”

It’s clear that Carlson is made for big moments on the bump. That competitiveness is an ode to another Max.

“Professionally, I try to model my game after Max Scherzer,” Carlson said. “I love his intensity and how he throws with intent every single time. Dominates hitters, I love that.”

On Saturday night, the Savage, Minnesota native did exactly that, dominating hitters from start to finish. It was just another example of why Carlson is currently ranked the No. 47 overall player in the 2020 class and why he was selected to compete in the Perfect Game All-American Classic next month in San Diego.

“I try to take after my brother,” Carlson said. “He’s such a hard worker. He wasn’t an All-American, but I try to take after his hard work. Being named as an All-American and having that pay off, that was a really good honor that makes me feel really good about myself.”

That brother isn’t just any ordinary brother. It’s Samuel Carlson, the second round selection by the Seattle Mariners in the 2017 MLB Draft.

Growing up together as two competitive athletes, it wasn’t quite the sibling rivalry that one might expect. 

“When I didn’t have my driver’s license and he did, he’d bring me to workout every day,” Carlson said. “We’d throw together and do arm care together. Everything like that.

“We really didn’t have a sibling rivalry. We built each other up. We helped each other out, we threw together. We did everything together.”

That’s exactly why it’s been so tough for Max to see his brother be hampered by arm injuries since beginning his professional career. As the Mariners pitching prospect recovers from Tommy John surgery, it has finally created some friendly feuding.

“He texted me the other day, and there is a little bit of a rivalry now because he said, ‘We throw the same speed now,’” Carlson said. “He’s bringing it back.”

Sam’s recruiting process allowed Max the opportunity to really walk in his brother’s shoes and see that he could be doing the same one day. Through Sam’s recruiting visits, Max tagged along and began to imagine what the future held for him.

“It all starts with my brother,” Carlson said. “When he started getting recruited, I was like, ‘Wow, I can really do that too if I work hard enough and put in all the work. I can be just like him.’”

It’s why once Carlson finishes his senior season of high school, he’ll be attending North Carolina to play under Mike Fox. The Tar Heels have planted themselves as one of the premier college baseball programs, making the College World Series seven times since 2006.

“Carolina has been my dream school since I was a little kid in fifth grade,” Carlson said. “It started with their basketball team and then my brother started getting recruited and I got into their baseball team. That was it from there. I always wanted to go there.”

That is of course assuming Carlson doesn’t follow the same path as his brother. Sam was committed to Florida before getting drafted and signing his contract out of high school.

It’s a path that Carlson could certainly be headed down, but one that will only be settled with time.

“I don’t really think about it now,” Carlson said. “It’s a little under a year away. We have plenty of time and things can change. You can go up or you can go down. I just try to go out there and have fun, do what I do, and hopefully it works out well for me.”

Carlson is certainly having fun on the field, playing with a loose attitude. That was on display Saturday night where after every inning pitched, one of his teammates would meet him halfway between the mound and the dugout, embracing Carlson with the stuffed animal that he bought the day prior.

“He’s level headed,” Petty said. “His brother played for us. A lot like his brother. He probably learned some things from his brother… He just wants to go out and have fun and compete and win baseball games.”

Equipped with supernatural ability on the field, Carlson is still your typical teenager off the field.

He’s an avid frisbee golfer, noting that he plays pretty much every day when he’s home. He still looks back and laughs at his tee ball picture with the oversized pants and belts. That was the team where he formed some of his best friendships that have survived all these years later. 

His parents, Eric and Monica, played high school sports, but they were never star baseball or softball players. Instead, they have offered the full support of their two sons who have spent the better half of their lives turning heads left and right on the baseball field.

“My parents are just living the dream,” Carlson said. “They love watching both of us.”

Max’s parents may be living their dream, but he’s right in the midst of his own. In fact, that dream nearly reaches full fruition every time he can toe the rubber and do what he does best.

“[Baseball] is just a passion,” Carlson said. “I love the game, love to play it, love to throw baseballs.”
 
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
‘28 OF Jakob Groeschel (OH) continues to impress with the bat on the circuit, picked up 2 2Bs in the first game today. Really athletic, went 4.4 on turn; easy to dream on all the traits. #MLKEast @PG_OhioValley pic.twitter.com/wOIwnGKnkg — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) January 17, 2026 2028 OF Jakob Groeschel (Springfield, Ohio) broke out at this event last year hitting a casual .909, and although he didn’t turn in quite the same performance, he hit a strong .462 with 4 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 5 bags and only struck out once. He’s a pretty dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things well, but the bat is the calling card as he just lives on the barrel and has no problem handling all kinds of pitching. It’s a simple swing, but he’s got fast hands and he can really impact the ball without being overly physical yet.  2030 RHP Michael Vazquez...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 2/23/2026

PG Salutes Chet Brewer, a Youth Baseball Pillar

Jim Salisbury
Article Image
PG Salutes Chet Brewer, a Youth Baseball Pillar A few weeks ago, Perfect Game and its Believe in Baseball foundation held a fundraising event in Los Angeles. The “In the Spirit of the Game” dinner and auction brought in thousands of dollars, all of which will go toward providing deserving youngsters an opportunity to play and grow in the game. Chet Brewer was not at the event – the former Negro Leagues star died at age 83 in 1990 – but his spirit was. Big time. “That night was all about Chet,” PG commissioner Dennis Gilbert said. “He was all about giving kids chances to play the game, especially kids from underprivileged backgrounds. “When you’re 15, 16, 17 years old – those years are the basis of your life. Chet helped put a lot of kids on the right path through the game of baseball.” Brewer’s impactful life has...
Read More
College | Rankings | 2/23/2026

College Top 25: February 23

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
College Player Report Database In Week 1, the Top 15 teams in the poll remained unchanged but the college baseball landscape had a different narrative in mind for Week 2. With plenty of upsets and teams at the top establishing their dominance, there was quite a bit of upheaval across the country. While there were some special performances on the mound, runs continue to be scored in bunches and high drama extra-inning games seem to be the norm. There is no time to relax or take the foot off the gas in the college game today; we are in for another wild season it appears. The LSU Tigers (8-0) made the trip across the panhandle to Jacksonville, FL, swept through the Live Like Lou Jax Classic by outscoring their opponents 33-11 and remain No. 1 this week. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-0) secure their spot at No. 2 and are off to a program record breaking run scoring spree, averaging...
Read More
General | Blog | 2/20/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 63

Ron Wolforth
Article Image
Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62, Part 1 | Part 2 Demystifying the Curveball, Pitch Counts, and Weighted Balls - Part 3  We've made it to Part 3…the final installment of our series on baseball's most misunderstood and debated topics.   In Part 1, we tackled the curveball. The takeaway: the pitch itself isn't what’s dangerous. Decades of awful and ineffective coaching cues, ”snap your wrist," "turn the doorknob”…exacerbated and even in many causes caused some of the problems. Teach it correctly, when the athlete is ready, and it's no riskier than a fastball.  In Part 2, we examined pitch counts. The takeaway: they're a useful tool, but a limited one. Treating a single number as a universal measure of safety ignores everything...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/20/2026

18U PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor

Dave Durbala
Article Image
SPRINGFIELD, IL - 2026 Perfect Game Softball Winter Elite Showcase, February 6 - 8, 2026.  Twenty teams rolled into Springfield to showcase their talents in this 18u, four-game guarantee, pool-into-bracket play,  at the newly opened 170,000-square-foot domed facility at Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe. In the Silver Bracket, it was the 09 Midwest Sluggers taking home the championship over the CR Blue Devils 18u National. In the Gold Bracket, a championship game that featured the tournament's top two pitchers, it was the Iowa Dynamite 18u with the win over GTS 15u Elite-Herrick, by a score of  2-1. The tournament, with a mix of committed players, and those young ladies striving for the next level,  was loaded with talent.  Below are some of the players that excelled on the field and made their way onto the tournament’s Top Performers list. Earning...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/19/2026

14U PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor

Erica Beach
Article Image
PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor 14U January 17-18, 2026 Springfield, IL   SPRINGFIELD, IL- It may be cold outside, but there was some hot competition going on at the PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor tournament. Six team converged on the Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe and the Texas Glory IL 29 walked away with the hardware after a close 7-6 ballgame. Below we highlight some of the impressive athletes who competed on the weekend.     Lila Rafferty (2029, Leroy, IL) of the Texas Glory IL 29 was an unstoppable force at the plate over the weekend. She showed great tenacity in the box, proving to be one of the most consistent hitters in the tournament. She finished her weekend batting an incredible .750, tallying nine hits and scoring five times. She flashed her speed on multiple occasions, stealing two bases and legging out two doubles and two triples. She came in clutch,...
Read More
High School | General | 2/19/2026

Pacific Northwest All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley
Article Image
NORTHWEST REGION (WA, OR, ID, WY, AK, MT, HI)    The biggest change in the Northwest Region for 2026 is the addition of Hawaii, which has always been overlooked due to being lumped with California in the former Pacific Region.  This also coincides with an increased Perfect Game presence in the islands in the form of additional events and scouting.  And Hawaii certainly contributed in it’s first year, placing four players on the All-Region team, including slugging 2026 outfielder Judah Ota. The powerhouse Puyallup HS team is the only Northwest Region team to be represented in the PG Pre-Season Top 50 National HS Rankings, beginning the year ranked 26th.  C – Teagan Scott (Sr., South Salem HS, Ore.) Scott has been on the prospect map since he played in the 2023 PG 14U Select Festival and is signed with Oregon State.  A right-handed hitter with lots...
Read More
Showcase | Story | 2/20/2026

PG ID Camps Help Build Baseball Resume

Jim Salisbury
Article Image
PG ID Camps Help Youngsters Build a Baseball Resume There was still snow on the ground in a lot of places last weekend, but that didn’t stop more than 200 young players from going indoors to participate in the first round of Perfect Game Select Fest ID Camps for the 2026 season. John McAdams, PG’s national crosschecker and Northeast scouting director, ran the event in Farmingdale, New Jersey, and was impressed with his group’s energy and desire to improve at the game. “We’re giving young players the opportunity to build their baseball resumes and chart their growth and progress over a span of years,” he said. In addition to New Jersey, Select Fest ID Camps were held in Lake St. Louis, Missouri; Rossford, Ohio; Marietta, Georgia; and Kent, Washington. The ID camps debuted in 2025. Twenty-two of them were held around the country with nearly 700 young...
Read More
Draft | Story | 2/19/2026

Then vs. Now: '26 Class Look Back

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
One constant across our scouting staff is the volume of in-person looks we get at prospects during their high school years. With assignments at national tournaments and showcases throughout the calendar, we’ve built a deep library of reports and video on many of today’s top college prospects dating back to their prep days. This week, we took a step back to revisit what those players looked like as high school prospects. Which tools stood out? What was missing from the profile at the time? And what, if anything, did we overlook that ultimately helped shape the player they’ve become? Below, we break down 10 players in a “Then and Now” reflection. Justin Lebron (23 FL) finishes off the tournament getting in on the hit parade with a single to the pullside. #PGShowdown #Bama commit pic.twitter.com/C4Irym2ZTR — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) March 4, 2023...
Read More
High School | General | 2/18/2026

High School Notebook: Feb. 18

Cam McElwaney
Article Image
Grady Emerson (‘26 TX) laces this ball to right for a walk off single. Clean lefty stroke. Looks the part both sides of the ball. Checks all the boxes. Will be scouted heavily this Spring. #PGHS #HookEm commit. #PGDraft pic.twitter.com/wXvdHdgqME — Perfect Game Texas (@Texas_PG) February 6, 2026 Grady Emerson (2026, Argyle, Texas) had a strong showing throughout the opening week of high school baseball out here in Texas. Works good at-bats and is always a tough out in general. Makes all the plays at short and just has the look of a future big leaguer. He does all the little things right. Bat to ball will play at a high level and there is still a lot more power to project on here. There is a reason why Emerson is one of, if not the most highly coveted high school prospect in the 2026 class and it’s easy to see why. Currently committed to Texas, but has the potential to...
Read More
High School | Rankings | 2/18/2026

Midwest Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
Article Image
Midwest All Region & Top Tools Rk Midwest 2025 Record 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (KS) 27-4 2 Edmond Memorial (OK) 30-8 3 Muskego (WI) 27-10 4 Lawrence Free State (KS) 28-2 5 Mill Valley (KS) 22-6 6 Valley View (AR) 29-5 7 Platte County (MO) 29-8 8 Liberty North (MO) 19-14 9 Millard North (NE) 23-13 10 St. John Vianney (MO) 38-2 11 Owasso (OK) 40-3 12 Olathe East (KS) 22-6 13 Staley (MO) 38-4 14 Shawnee Mission South (KS) 10-11-4 15 Blue Springs South (MO) 27-7 16 Blue Valley (KS) 21-10 17 Edmond Santa Fe (OK) 37-7 18 Skutt Catholic (NE) 24-7 19 Howell (MO) 35-4 20 Olathe West (KS) 25-3 21 Creighton Prep (NE) 16-15 22 Rogers (AR) 26-4 23 Fayetteville (AR) 26-7 24 Blue Valley West (KS) 17-10 25 Cretin Derham Hall (MN) 19-5-1
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.