THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,614 MLB PLAYERS | 16,397 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,614 MLB PLAYERS | 16,397 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Championship | 9/30/2019

5 Star Claims Awaited Title

Blake Dowson
Photo: 5 Star National 2022 Burress (Perfect Game)
Semifinal Game 1 Recap: 5 Star National 2022 Burress/South Charlotte Panthers | Semifinal Game 2 Recap: Tri State Arsenal Scout Team 2022/FTB Tucci 2022

Championship Game Recap: 5 Star National 2022 Burress/FTB Tucci 2022

FORT MYERS, Fla. - In a rematch of last year’s WWBA Freshman World Championship matchup, 5 Star National 2022 Burress and the South Charlotte Panthers were again in opposite dugouts for the semifinal game of the 2019 WWBA Sophomore World Championship.

Last year, South Charlotte got the best of 5 Star. This year, Sal Stewart had different plans. His 5 Star team came away with a win to push them into the championship game, 2-0.

Stewart just seems to be in the middle of everything. He was in the middle of the one half inning of scoring in the semifinals, starting the top of the second inning off with a single, one of his tournament-leading 12 hits.

He came around to score on a Tag Williams groundout, which proved to be enough run support for Garrett Mackowiak, who threw a complete game shutout on three hits.

5 Star head coach Andy Burress said he knew they would meet up with South Charlotte at some point during this tournament.

“We lost [last year at the Freshman World Championship] to the South Charlotte team, we lost in the World Series to the South Charlotte team,” he said. “This year, this group had a little something to prove. Garrett Mackowiak stepped up and had a heck of a game against them. We talked about making the most out of your opportunities. He made the most of it.”

Mackowiak was great for 5 Star, which was the only team in the semifinals that had to play three games the day before. With pitching at a premium, Mackowiak going the distance saved Burress from going to his next option.

Lane Essary was first in relief for the semifinal matchup, but didn’t need to be used. He got the ball to start the championship game, and nearly gave his team a no-hitter. His final line of five innings, one hit and no runs helped earn him Most Valuable Pitcher of the tournament.

Behind his arm, 5 Star beat FTB Tucci 2022 in five innings, 8-0.

If it weren’t for Essary, 5 Star might not have made it out of the first round of the playoffs. Essary entered 5 Star’s first round playoff game inheriting a 5-3 lead in the top of the sixth inning against Richmond Braves 16u National. He also inherited a bases-loaded, no-outs situation. All he did was strike out the first two hitters he faced and got the third to ground out. No runs allowed.

“I’ve been in that situation before, in my first tournament with 5 Star,” Essary said. “I just felt really comfortable with my catcher, Jaxson [West], and I was really confident in my team. I just had to put it in the zone and know that if they hit it, our defense would back me up.”

It was a lot more smooth sailing in the championship game.

Essary had a lead before he even threw a pitch, thanks to RBIs from Blaydon Plain and Stewart in the top of the first inning. It was Stewart’s 11th RBI of the tournament, which paced the field. He scored his tournament-leading 10th run in the third inning.

Stewart was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament for his efforts, although he said it’s mostly due to his teammates.

“I can’t even put it into words,” he said. “It’s all about my teammates, honestly. They are the ones helping me out, getting in scoring position and allowing me to get RBIs. I can’t put it on myself. I put it on my teammates because they give me everything.”

Stewart did the majority of his damage to the right side of the field, a really mature approach for a kid his age.

He was more than happy to lace ball after ball to right field and rack up RBIs to help his team win.

He said he knew that’s probably what would happen to him when the tournament started.

“Coming into the tournament, I figured hitting fourth on a great team like this, I needed to do my job,” Stewart said. “Every time I came up to hit there was a runner on second, so I just tried to move them over to help us win. I was just looking middle-away to move them over.”

He added a double down the right field line in the fourth inning, but by that point the game was well in hand.

After the two-run first inning, Carlos Elian Martinez singled and scored to start the second inning, while Parker McDonald walked and scored later in the inning on a Nicolas Perez RBI groundout.

Plain, Stewart, and Jaxson West all walked and scored in the third inning to push the lead to the final of 8-0.

While FTB moved through four pitchers in the game, it became more and more apparent just how valuable it was for 5 Star to get complete-game performances from both of its starters on championship Monday.

“When you come to these tournaments, you’ve got to throw strikes…This game is so funny, but you’ve just got to go out and play every day,” Burress said. “The biggest thing is that, we start this early when they are 13 and 14, they knew they need to throw strikes. When you throw strikes, you can win these tournaments.”


2019 WWBA Sophomore World Championship runner-up: FTB Tucci 2022



2019 WWBA Sophomore World Championship MVP: Sal Stewart



2019 WWBA Sophomore World Championship MV-Pitcher: Lane Essary
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 8/26/2026

Underclass Area Codes: Standout Arms
Joey Cohen
Article Image
Year in and year out when the best young talent from across the country is packed into one national-level event the arms tend to win the week. That feels especially true in today’s amateur game where velocity, pitch design and high-level training in general are being introduced earlier than ever, allowing young pitchers to develop impactful stuff at a faster rate than younger hitters can consistently catch up to it. The Underclass Area Code Games are no exception and this year there was no shortage of arms that made you stop and take notice. Narrowing it down to 10 was difficult, but I focused on the pitchers who either displayed starter-type traits, brought something genuinely different from a delivery standpoint whether it was slot, height, crossfire or deception or simply possessed an outlier element of stuff that separated them from the pack. These are the 10 arms that stood...
Read More
Draft | Rankings | 8/28/2026

2027 MLB Draft Board

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
The 2026 MLB Draft is official in the books as those players have been signed and have begun their pro career. That means it is time to turn the page and dive into the 2027 class. This class features an intriguing mix of arms both from the prep and college ranks, along with an enticing position player pool. Today, we unveil our first 2027 MLB Draft Board, ranking the Top-100 prospects in the class. There is still plenty of time for new names to emerge and established ones to rise or fall, but here is where things stand as we begin this cycle.  Rk. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State Commitment 1 Dylan Seward H SS S-R Norco Eastvale CA Tennessee 2 Brendan Lawson C SS L-R Florida Toronto ON 3 Dax Whitney C RHP R-R Oregon State Blackfoot ID 4 Gavin Kelly C C/UTL R-R West Virginia Presto PA 5 Tomas Valincius C LHP L-L Mississippi State Lockport IL 6 Malachi Butler H SS L-R...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/23/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: NL East

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. NL East Atlanta Braves  Grade: 55 Risk: High Notable Selections: OF AJ Gracia (1st rd) | OF Carter Beck (PPI) | RHP Kaiden McCarthy (2nd rd) | RHP Jensen Hirschkorn (3rd rd)   OF AJ Gracia (@UVABaseball) is seeing the ball really well & picked up a couple of hits, including a 2B into RCF. Smooth LH stroke & easy impact. Showed + pwr in BP, 46 BB: 36 K. Jr./'26 elig. @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/C4rSc0ZNIc — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 30, 2026 Atlanta had $15,870,800 to spend in this year’s draft,...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/22/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL East

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. AL East Baltimore Orioles Grade: 50 Risk: High Notable Selections: OF Eric Booth Jr. (1st rd) | OF Ty Head (2nd rd) | OF Kevin Roberts Jr (4th rd)  Eric Booth Jr. (26 MS) goes big fly 💣 that carried out oppo. Explosive athlete w/ huge LH juice & tools. Big time in several facets. #NatElite #Vandy commit. @PG_DeepSouth pic.twitter.com/kXl7ZVyD9G — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 12, 2025 Baltimore was about middle of the pack in terms of money available this year, having $13.1m to spend on their class. Booth Jr. is a...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/24/2026

Area Code Gams: Prospect Recap

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
Pitchers George Ferguson, RHP, Abilene HS  Ferguson toed the slab for the Rangers squad in game one of the Codes, setting the tone early with some loud stuff.  Ferguson attacked hitters with a verty fastball up to 96 that played well up in the zone with up to 24 inches of induced vertical break.  He showed more than just a power arsenal, going to the changeup often, using the pitch to put away hitters.  Kills the spin to the 1600’s, regularly getting 13-15 inches of horizontal break.  The slider rounded out the arsenal, working 82/83.  Struck out four over his three innings of work, two on the fastball, two on the change.  2026 PG All American committed to Texas.  Quinn Fitzpatrick, RHP, Stratford HS  Another 2026 PG All American out of Texas, the LSU commit punched out three over his two innings of work, allowing just one hit. ...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/21/2026

2027 Draft Preview: Collegiate RHP

Ryan Miller
Article Image
2027 MLB Draft Profile Preview: College Right-Handed Pitchers  Throughout the 2027 draft cycle, I’ll be breaking down different demographics in the class. Today we begin with collegiate right-handed pitching, a strong group that is headlined by a legitimate 1-1 candidate in Dax Whitney. Most of the group is made up of high-quality power four arms, with a handful of mid-major arms mixed in. Below are the top college right-handers in the 2027 class:  Dax Whitney (@BeaverBaseball) showed LOUD stuff. FB up to 100, cruised at 95-98. Pair of plus secondaries. CB at 77-79 (2923) with sharp, 12-6 action. Firm SL at 89-91 (2714) with bite. Flashed fading CH at 87-88 (1425). Ranked No. 1 on the ‘27 board @PG_Draft So./‘27 elig. pic.twitter.com/9PNbjJ53Zo — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) February 13, 2026 Dax Whitney, Oregon State  Whitney has maintained...
Read More
All American Game | Story | 8/21/2026

Brotherly Love Inspires Carter Hadnot

Jim Salisbury
Article Image
PHILADELPHIA – Perfect Game has been a big part of Carter Hadnot’s life since he was 12. He participated in more than a dozen tournaments and showcases, including prestigious Select Festivals as a 13U and 14U player, as well as last summer’s PG All-Star Game for underclassmen in San Diego.   The PG event that Hadnot always wanted to be part of was the DICK’s All-American Classic. Now, that’s on his resume, too. He played in the 24th annual Classic earlier this week at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. “This means a lot to me,” he said during the event. “I always wanted to make it to Select Fest when I was younger. So, every time I get invited to an event it’s an honor and it’s fun. I don’t take it for granted. “This is definitely the one I always wanted to make it to. A lot of big names have...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 8/18/2026

Perfect Game & Delano Partner Up

Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME NAMES DELANO BAT COMPANY OFFICIAL WOOD COMPOSITE BAT PARTNER, LAUNCHES LIMITED-EDITION BAT SERIES   Delano Bats will serve as the Official Game Bat of the 13U Select Festival, taking place this coming weekend in East Cobb, Georgia   Sanford, Florida (Tuesday, August 18, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a new partnership with Delano Bat Company, LLC, naming the company an Official Wood Composite Bat Partner of Perfect Game. The partnership will feature three exclusive limited-edition bat releases, which began with the Original Glory American Flag Bat in celebration of the United States' 250th birthday, that...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/17/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: NL Central

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL West | NL West | AL Central With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. NL Central Chicago Cubs  Grade: 40 Risk: Medium Notable Selections: RHP Cade Townsend (1st rd) | OF Caden Sorrell (2nd rd) | 1B Myles Bailey (2C)   RHP Cade Townsend (@OleMissBSB) sat 95-96 T97 w/ riding FB from fast arm. Nasty cutter at 88-91 is the go-to, showed biting 2 pln SL. Low-80s top to bottom CB & CH ~ 1300 RPM to round out mix. Has had a great spring & risen up boards. Soph./'26 elig. @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/TAFbM37f5j — PG College...
Read More
Draft | Story | 8/17/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL Central

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL West | NL West With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. AL Central Cleveland Guardians  Grade: 45 Risk: Moderate  Notable Selections: RHP Liam Peterson (1st rd) | Tre Broussard OF (3rd rd) | RHP Savion Sims (7th rd)  Liam Peterson (@GatorsBB) has been pure power stuff through the first 3.0 IP in his start vs Bama…imposing his will on hitters with a fastball that has grabbed 100 mph a few times, backed up by his power slider and curveball @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/RVThNrdMTn — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 21,...
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.