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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/24/2020

16u/17u West WS Scout Notes: Day 1

Connor Spencer      Gabe Ortiz      Perfect Game Staff     
Photo: Tyler Gough (Perfect Game)
After a hard fought four days in the 13u and 14u divisions, the 16u and 17u divisions got underway at the PG West World series in Surprise. Day one brought a myriad of quality uncommitted arms vying for a home at the next level.
 

The morning slot saw Xavier Cardenas III (2022, La Habra, Calif.) burst onto the scene with his extremely projectable length and stuff. Before his start, Perfect Game had him listed at 6-1, 135 pounds and as soon as he stepped on the mound it was obvious that those measurables were outdated. He’s actually 6-6, 165 pounds and came out with electric stuff through his 2 1/3 innings pitched. Cardennas III has a slight sidestep rock in the windup that comes up to a higher leg kick. He has a shorter sweeping arm stroke that comes up to a high three-quarters slot. The mechanics are clean and repeatable and his higher front side after separation helps to hide the baseball a bit. His length down the mound helps his 90 mph fastball play up as he did a great job of getting in onto the hands of hitters from both sides of the plate. He also mixes in a high 11-5 shaped breaking ball with good depth and a ton of promise as he’ll get it to fall off the table when down in the zone. It turns into more of a 12-6 when located to his arm side. He’s still pretty inconsistent getting on top and out in front of the breaking ball but it’s a good pitch when he does. What makes Cardennas III’s profile really interesting is he has the ability to throw with both hands. Although, he only showcased his primary right-handed side in his outing against Valor Baseball USA, the very unique potential is there. He’s currently unranked and uncommitted but don’t expect that to last much longer. There’s a good chance his phone will be ringing off the hook in the next 48 hours. 
 


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