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Tournaments  | Story  | 3/7/2020

HS Showdown: Day 2 Scout Notes

Jered Goodwin      Vincent Cervino      Greg Gerard     
Photo: Dylan Lesko (Perfect Game)
2020 Perfect Game High School Showdown: Day 1 Scout Notes

A pair of prospects had huge days for Montverde Academy during the team’s two wins on Friday. Victor Rodriguez (2021, Winter Springs, Fla.) was an offensive star while Manuel De Gracia (2020, Clermont, Fla.) was completely dominant on the mound during the night cap.

Rodriguez jumped on the scene at the Perfect Game World Showcase in January and is backing up that performance here in Hoover. He pitched on Thursday, topping out at 92 mph with his fastball with loads of projection left as he learns to use his lower half efficiently. On Friday he hit a mammoth home run into the top of the trees at Hoover High School and followed that by a 1-for-2 with two walks in his third game. The overall tools are elite, and he looks more comfortable with every game he plays. It looks like the World Showcase was just the start for youngster.

De Gracia has a wiry athletic frame with a whippy arm and easy shoulder speed. He fired fastballs in the upper-80s and peaked at 89. He pounded the zone with a 72 percent strike clip, and dominated with excellent fastball command. There is life to the pitch, and it helped the pitch play up for the duration of his outing. He throws his slider with confidence and it sequenced it well with his fastball to get quite a few swing and misses. His complete game, 13-strikeout performance capped off a great day for Montverde.

Parkview High School has a long track record of top-ranked prospects that also play the game exceptionally hard. This year is no different. Pascanel Ferreras (2020, Stone Mountain, Ga.) and Xander Stephens (2020, Lilburn, Ga.) both looked remarkably polished during the last set of games on Friday night.

Stephens is a physical righthanded pitcher with an easy delivery and a low three-quarters slot. The slot makes things especially tough on opposing righthanded hitters as the ball seems to start behind them. On top of the release he gets heavy arm side run and sink when he throws in on righties. The fastball is firm in the 86-88 range and peaked at 90. He also throws a mid-70s slurve that blends with the fastball well, adding deception to his overall operation. He is a refined arm and the Georgia Tech commit should be ready to go when he steps on campus.

Ferreras has a proportioned frame and fluidity in just about everything he does on the diamond. Hitting in the three-hole in the Parkview lineup, he has a really quick swing with a direct path to the ball. He stays tight to his body with good balance and has great eye-hand coordination and he notched an opposite field single on a nice piece of hitting. He looks the part defensively with good instincts and transfer skills at short stop. He made a very good body control play on a play at second base that took him off the bag, he came off the ground and made a very quick catch-tag to get an out. It’s the type of athletic play you want out of a middle of the field player.

The Uber-projectable righthanded pitch for Woodward Academy flashed his potential on Friday, albeit against a tough line up that was clicking. Will Sanders (2020, Atlanta, Ga.) participated in the Perfect Game All-American Classic last summer with some of the most efficient outings we scouted during the showcase circuit. Friday he sat mostly in the upper-80s while topping at 92. His fastball command gets good downward plane and he has elite command with the pitch. He uses both sides of the plate. His breaking ball was in the mid-70s and seems to have more horizontal movement than it did during the summer. It is a welcomed shape as it should turn into a hard slider as he learns to throw the pitch with real intent. There are few pitching prospects with his type of feel and upside in the entire country. He will obviously be monitored closely during all his outings this spring.

Sal Stewart (2022, Miami, Fla.) is the No. 15 ranked prospect in the 2022 class and he showed some of the offensive promise that would warrant that ranking. He has feel to hit, and has power to all fields. He banged two doubles on Friday morning. The first was a line drive down the right field line on a well-located pitch on the outer half. He stayed relaxed and didn’t try and do too much with the pitch. The second double put Westminster up late, as he lofted a ball long to the right centerfield gap. A big spot in the game for the young righthanded hitter and he came through big. He is playing shortstop in high school and looks good coming in on ground balls and plenty of arm strength to stay on the left side, though third base looks like his future home.

-Jered Goodwin

The first time slot of the day featured a pretty good pitching matchup between Vestavia Hills Grant Cherry (2021, Vestavia Hills, Ala.) and Westminster Christian’s Albert Hernandez (2020, Davie, Fla.) in what was a close game throughout.

Cherry went all six innings on the hill, allowing only two runs but being dealt with the tough loss on the afternoon. The righthander has a long, projectable build at a listed 6-foot-3, 185 pounds and there’s lots of room on the frame to add velocity. The arm stroke is long and loose through the back with good life on the fastball that topped out at 90 mph and sat in the 86-89 mph range during this look. The fastball command was a bit spotty early on, but the combination of life and extension allowed for very good fastball quality which missed bats all afternoon long. He mixed in a breaking ball that got better as the outing went along in the low- to mid-70s and was best when he buried it. The Georgia commit has a high ceiling and he showed a glimpse of it during his outing.

Hernandez, a USF signee, was very sharp during his six shutout innings as he struck out seven batters and did not allow a run. The delivery is simple and repeatable while being relatively low effort and he worked from a three-quarters arm slot while living in the 87-89 mph range during the start. He gets on top of the fastball very well while working low in the strike zone and using his whole mix of pitches to get weakly hit outs. The curveball showed very good shape in the mid-70s and he could land the pitch whenever he wanted. Hernandez was in control for the most part and shows the upside that he’ll be able to provide meaningful innings right away for the Bulls next spring.



The top sophomore in the country is Buford righthander Dylan Lesko (2022, Buford, Ga.) and he continues to prove it time and time again at PG events. This start might have been Lesko’s Magnum Opus as the righthander tossed a no-hitter while striking out 11 batters and just being in absolute control from start to finish.

Lesko is one of the most polished arms in the country, regardless of class, and he opened up very hot, working 92-94 mph for the first two innings and dotting the fastball wherever he wanted to on either side of the plate. The delivery is excellent as is the size and projection on the frame, and Lesko’s velocity comes very easy with a clean release and good life low in the zone. The breaking ball has made strides since we first had eyes on him and shows good power and bite at times while Lesko is particularly adept at throwing strikes with the pitch and missing barrels to the glove side. His best pitch is his changeup which worked in the 78-82 mph range and shows devilish action; it’s not unfair to project the world upon the pitch as there’s already tremendous action on it and he’s very comfortable throwing it along with his whole arsenal. He’s one of the more impressive pitchers to watch on a day-in and day-out basis and the upside is limitless.

Turning in a gem for Parkview was staff ace Miles Garrett (2020, Stone Mountain, Ga.) as the righthander struck out nine batters and allowed just one hit. The Vanderbilt signee walked a couple of hitters in the first inning but got out of that jam and really settled in nicely following the first.

He’s got a very deceptive delivery, with a number of moving parts, and a short, quick arm that allows the fastball to play up when looking at the totality of the delivery. The pitch peaked at 89 mph and he sat in the upper-80s for the entirety of the start, showing the ability to work to either side of the plate and showed good arm side life on the fastball. He showed good command of his entire arsenal as he can manipulate spin effectively, working between a slider and curveball shape with different velocities, while also showing a good changeup in the upper-70s. There’s a good degree of polish and life which makes Garrett tough to square up and he should continue leading Parkview for the rest of the spring.



DeSoto Central advanced to the championship game and one of the more intriguing prospects on their team is outfielder Kyle Booker (2020, Southaven, Miss.). The Tennessee signee is an athletic outfielder with numerous tools and posits an interesting draft profile heading throughout the spring. Booker is a quick-twitch athlete with plenty of lefthanded bat speed and a good runner overall. He can go out and get it in centerfield while covering a lot of ground and his speed aids in that and the ability to work around the bases. Booker had a big hit on Friday night with a triple to centerfield that got knocked down a bit by the wind, but the bat speed, and overall swing path, are impressive. He works the swing through the hitting zone quickly with some natural loft and works very nicely when he gets out in front and turns the barrel over. He’ll get some ground ball contact to the opposite field at times, but when he pulls and drives it on a line, the hitability is impressive.



Aaron Combs (2020, Bradenton, Fla.) turned in a very strong start for IMG during their semifinal game and allowed just one run in a complete game effort. The Coastal Carolina signee showed a lively fastball and really pounded the lower third of the strike zone to induce a lot of weak contact on a cold night. Combs peaked at 90 mph and sat in the upper-80s with plus life on the fastball and really dove down and to the arm side. The fastball quality was good and he spotted the pitch up effectively to both sides. The fastball was working best for Combs and he used it the most out of his arsenal, but he showed both a breaking ball and a changeup that he could use to mix in effectively, particularly stealing strikes with the curveball. Combs put forth a very strong and efficient effort which helped IMG advance to the championship game.

IMG’s hitters have been impressive for the Ascenders as well as Mac Horvath (2020, Rochester, Minn.) and Kevin Karstetter (2020, State College, Penn.) show some thump in the middle of the order.

Horvath is a very interesting draft prospect, with a bunch of tools that play well now and at the next level. He’s a well-built athlete with a very physical frame and will show average to above average run times out of the box. The North Carolina signee shows athleticism over at shortstop with a plus arm to go with it that really plays from the left side of the infield. He’s collected a number of hits this weekend, showing off plus bat speed with some impact from the right side, and scouts will want to get as many looks at Horvath as possible.

Karstetter is a very physical righthanded hitting prospect who’s very hitterish in the batter’s box. He generates leverage and efficient bat speed from the right side with good feel for the barrel. The Florida Atlantic signee will get a bit too inside at times which hinders the quality of the contact, but will show you the smoothness of the stroke when he gets his hands extended and drives the ball out in front of the plate. Karstetter’s physicality and feel to hit are both impressive and make him one of the more important hitters in IMG’s lineup.

Blessed Trinity ultimately fell in the semifinals to Loganville, but BT freshman Jake Lankie (2023, Alpharetta, Ga.) showed a lot of impressive pitchability and stuff, especially when considering Lankie is just a freshman. A Georgia commit, and a former 14u Select Festival Pitcher of the Year, Lankie has an extremely high ceiling and already shows impressive present stuff. The fastball peaked at 86 mph and sat in the 83-86 mph range with very good life on the fastball. His delivery has some moving parts and some young awkwardness, but the arm stroke is clean and he gets it through very easily. Lankie pounded the zone with the fastball and showed two good secondaries in a firm changeup in the 78-80 mph range along with a power breaking ball in the mid-70s. There’s significant upside for Lankie and we look forward to continue watching the righthander progress.

-Vinnie Cervino



Garrett Spikes (2020, Lawrenceville, Ga.), a shortstop in the 2020 class committed to the University of Georgia, was pretty impressive on Friday as he started on the mound for the Mountain View Bears and batted in the cleanup spot. Spikes did not miss one pitch in particular as he deposited it over the right field fence for a towering home run. The swing is not overly fast but he is very strong and the barrel plane has a slight lift. When Spikes is on time to the baseball, it is going to jump with a positive launch angle. The left-handed stroke is easy as well and Spikes, an extremely athletic player in his own right, has plenty of more room to fill on his 6-foot-4, 190-pound frame.

Oscar Hernandez (2023, Kissimmee, Fla.) is going to be a name for collegiate coaches to follow for years to come. As a freshman, Hernandez has a standout ability on both sides of the ball. He started on the mound for Montverde Academy in a wild contest at Hoover High School sitting 82-85 mph with his fastball. In his delivery he uses low effort and an efficient arm action that stays both online and quick through the back. Hernandez has an advanced feel to spin as well on top of the fact that his body is ideal beyond his years. At the plate, Hernandez is going to hit for power as he continues to fill out and add strength.

The top ranked player in the 2020 class, Jordan Walker (2020, Stone Mountain, Ga.), had a pretty quiet day at Hoover High School against Smiths Station High School, but still of note as he knocked a solid single through the right side. The 6-foot-5 third baseman has a loose swing with leverage and really projectable power. The swing is going to produce loud contact when on time and his ability to go gap-to-gap has been apparent in many PG events as well as last spring in his monster junior season. Walker, a 2019 PG All American and signee to Duke University, stands out at third base as well with his athleticism along with his ability to run at a high level.



Riley Quick (2022, Trussville, Ala.) is a really interesting sophomore arm that college coaches in the southeast need to take note of. Quick is a hugely-framed kid listed at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds with serious arm strength and already a fastball up to 90 mph. He sat mostly 86-88 mph with the fastball that featured cutting action at times. The delivery is a bit deceptive as he throws with intent and rawness to the operation. The breaking ball is a weapon now and going to be special with the right progressions moving forward. The pitch has some power to it from 76-80 mph with tight spin and late dive downward. The pitch helped him tally up his seven punchouts in 4 2/3 innings for Hewitt-Trussville High School. Quick is an uncommitted two-sport athlete who has serious promise as a pitching prospect moving forward.

Florida State commit Treyton Rank (2021, Acworth, Ga.) got the start for the Buford Wolves in the Semifinals of the Blue bracket. Rank is a really promising underclassman whose delivery, frame, and stuff all project so well moving forward. Listed at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, the future Seminole has a strong lower half, working arm and the ball cleanly comes out of his hand. The fastball sat mostly 86-88 mph early in the contest while pounding the strike zone to both sides of the plate with it. His command really stood out in this four-inning look. Rank was in strong control of his fastball, curveball and changeup from start to finish. The breaking ball has plenty of depth with break out of his hand in the 69-72 mph range. His changeup is effective in getting hitters out in front while maintaining his arm speed and repeating his delivery no matter what pitching he was offering.

Bailey Thorne (2024, Phenix City, Ala.) may be the youngest player in the event playing as an eighth grader for nationally ranked Russell County High School, but that does not stop him from showing out in the cleanup spot in the order and as a starting pitcher in semifinal action. Thorne, the ninth-ranked player in the recent inaugural 2024 rankings has a fastball that topped out at 83 mph in this look and an advanced feel for a breaking ball that he can land to the lower third of the zone. Thorne is still so young and his frame is as well with lots of room to fill throughout his 5-foot-10, 170-pound build. Thorne barreled 86 mph which is saying something in itself as an eighth grader in this game, but he did so with a clean swing with good bat speed and a level swing plane. Thorne is going to be a fun player to follow for many more years through the PG ranks.

-Greg Gerard
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