THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,497 MLB PLAYERS | 15,833 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,497 MLB PLAYERS | 15,833 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
High School  | General | 4/9/2021

Tall Texan Shores set to take on '21

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Chase Shores (Shaye Martinez)

After the conclusion of last summer’s Perfect Game South Top Prospect Games at Texas A&M in College Station, the PG scout charged with writing the scouting report on big Midland, Texas, 2022 right-hander Chase Shores was not lacking for material – or superlatives.

The scout waxed almost poetically about Shore’s “big, bright future on the mound” while calling the 16-year-old “Division-I ready” and noting that “his presence alone has to be intimidating to any hitter” and that “at-bats against Chase cannot be too comfortable.”



But the writer may have summed up his impressions best with a statement that came relatively early in the report: “Chase is a true Texas right-handed power pitcher...(who) pitches with poise, purpose and a plan.” Amen to that, brother.

Chase Shores is, indeed, a stereotypical tall Texan with a mid-90s fastball whose tenacity on the mound is rivaled only by what appears to be an easy going manner off the field. Very athletic at 6-foot-8 and 240 pounds, Shores is winding down his junior year at Lee High School in the West Texas oil town of Midland determined to finish his high school season on a high note before embarking on what he hopes is a very productive summer of play.

“I think I’ll only continue to get better and prove myself to everybody,” the affable Shores told PG during a mid-week telephone conversation. “Right now I’m focused on getting better, getting stronger and just going out there and doing good this summer.”

And why not? The son of Bryan and Nicole Shores – he works in the oil and gas business; she is a massage therapist – Chase Shores has climbed to No. 32 overall in PG’s class of 2022 national prospect rankings; he is ranked the No. 8 right-handed pitcher (Nos. 2/1 in Texas).

Those rankings are almost a revelation considering where he was at not all that long ago. Shores was considered a solid top-500 prospect in the summer of 2019 but was just starting to come into his own. He began to find himself in the fall of 2019 and the summer of 2020 while playing in high-level PG WWBA tournaments with Ray DeLeon and the Tomball-based Banditos program and excelling at a pair of PG showcases.

There’s no denying that West Texas is about as remote a location as one can find, and finding high-level competition usually requires some pretty long road trips. It’s a five hour drive to Austin, Dallas and San Antonio and 7 1/2 hours over to Houston. College Station is 6 1/2 hours, but that is a trip the Shores have made a couple of times just to get over to the PG South Top Prospect Games at Texas A&M.

“We knew that he was definitely good enough to compete in this area to compete so that’s why we jumped into the Perfect Game showcases,” Bryan Shores told PG. “How does he stack-up at these showcases and can we get more looks and get to that bigger stage? He loves it more than anything and so it’s easy as a family to support him and put him the right situation where he can excel and compete against the top talent.

“Our main thing right now is the PG National,” he added, speaking of the summer ahead and the prestigious PG National Showcase. “His goal is the PG National and then hoping for an opportunity to (attend) the All-American (Classic).”

An item of interest that most jumps off the page with Shores is a huge jump in his fastball velocity that took place from late September 2019 through early October 2020 while performing at two distinctly different PG events.

At the 2019 PG South Top Prospect Games at Texas A&M Sept. 28-29, his fastball topped out at 83 mph. A year later, at the 2020 PG WWBA Underclass World Championship in Fort Myers, Fla., while playing with the Banditos Scout Team 2022/23, Shores fired his heater across the plate at a streaking 95 mph, leaving dozens of scouts in attendance nearly slack-jawed.

The remarkable uptick in his fastball velocity may have appeared to come about overnight, but that wasn’t the case. Chase and Bryan have never employed a pitching coach and both son and father attribute the increase to just getting bigger and stronger as Chase matures. It’s been proven time and again that spending a little extra time in the weight room can pay handsome dividends.

“But even before the summer when Covid happened, that’s when I told myself that I really had to get going and catch up to all of these top 2022 prospects,” Shores said, referring to the shutdown brought on by the pandemic. “It kind of gave me some time to focus on my body and just grind that summer; just go out and show out...

“I think most of it, it’s just God-given,” he added. “I picked things up by watching MLB games but I think my dad has helped me just to critique my form and get me ready.” (Bryan Shores played college baseball at the JUCO and NCAA D-II levels).

Chase Shores got his start in the game early. The Shores have another son, Nicolas, who is almost five years older than Chase and whenever Nicolas was playing in a kids league game of some sort, Chase eagerly jumped into the fray with the older guys.

He has always been a bit of a bigger kid for his age, and Bryan remembers his youngest son always finding a way to be out on the field with the older boys; things kind of picked up steam from there.

Chase played football and baseball through his middle school years, and because of his height the first question he often gets from people is if he plays basketball. He seemed to enjoy football, especially, but Texas high schools can have spring football workouts so that began to conflict with baseball.

“It’s always been a natural love of his to play baseball, and not just the games but the practices; he truly loves practice and would do it every day,” Bryan said. “So from an early age he was always on the baseball field either with (kids) his age or with his older brother. He just wanted to be out there and play...He’s never been that kid that’s big and clumsy. He works a lot on his footwork and for his size has always been very athletic.”

The younger Shores tends to agree with his dad: “I grew up playing basketball and football and I think that actually helped me,” Chase said. “For being 6-8, I think I’m a pretty athletic kid – I can move really well – and I kind of owe that to basketball and football for just making me more athletic. But once freshman year hit, I decided to baseball-only so I can focus on that during my high school years.”

Bryan Shores described his son as a fierce competitor on the field, a prospect that plays with a little bit of a chip on his shoulder. Off the field, his dad said, Chase is just a fun-loving kid – even “kind of goofy”  at times – who can get along with anyone in just about any circumstance.

Those personality traits should suit Shores well as he moves into adulthood and continues to grow as both a person and a ballplayer. The experiences he’s already enjoyed on some of PG’s biggest stages while being surrounded with other like-minded elite athletes have laid a solid foundation, with more to come.

“He doesn’t stress; he takes the game in stride,” Bryan said. “To see him at the showcases and this past fall at the (other) events, we’ve seen him come into his own being around that top talent. He takes the attitude and the approach that he does belong there and he’s always looking to compete against that top talent; it’s enjoyable to watch.”

The baseball-only route is already paying dividends, as the commitment to Oklahoma State attests. That’s something that has the entire Shores family excited, just knowing that Chase may someday be part of a program that is headed by Josh Holliday (the older brother of former big league All-Star Matt Holliday, who volunteers with the program).

Depending on what happens in the 2022 MLB Amateur Draft, of course, Shores will be part of a ’22 Cowboys recruiting class with nine other top-500 prospects, including left-hander Trenton Shaw (No. 36), shortstop Jackson Holliday, Matt’s son (No. 37), right-hander Luke Fernandez (No. 202), left-hander Brennan Phillips (No. 212) and righty Manning West (No. 284).

“We had a couple of phone calls when they were recruiting me and just based on those phone calls, you could tell that Oklahoma State was the place for me,” said Shores, who went through his recruitment during the Covid shutdown. “They made me feel wanted and they showed me the most interest out of all the schools I was talking to.

“You look at that coaching staff and it’s probably the greatest coaching staff in America,” he added. “And have you seen that new field? Once I saw that stadium it was a no-brainer that Oklahoma State was the place for me.” (OSU recently opened a new $60 million, state-of-the-art O’Brate Stadium).

His dad agreed: “For his dreams to come true and for a program like Oklahoma State to want him, for my wife and I that was an unbelievable experience,” Bryan said. “We’re super excited for him to have that opportunity.”

Shores’ Lee High School team began outdoor practices and scrimmages in early February and the Rebels are already nearly 20 games into their season, sporting a 14-3 record at mid-week. Play in Class 6A Region I District 2 wraps up at the end of the month and the state playoffs ratchet up the first week of May.

Once the high school season is in the books, Chase Shores will be all-in with a summer season that promises to be both busy and important from the standpoint of leaving a good impression with the MLB scouting community.

His PG Player Profile page already shows that he is rostered at six WWBA events with the Oklahoma-based Sandlot Scout Team 2022 and the Florida-based Scorpions/Giants Scout Team 2022, but none of those are confirmed. During this week’s telephone conversation, it sounded very much like Shores is looking forward to a continuing relationship with the Banditos.

“A bunch of my good friends live in Houston and play for the Banditos,” he said. “I am kind of secluded because I live in West Texas and there’s not a whole lot of great prospects out here but once you get out to Houston or Dallas, those areas, you can meet a couple of good guys and build lifelong friendships...There’s just some really great guys on the Banditos.”

There is, in fact, only one event that Shores has committed to and it’s the most important of all. Magical things have been known to happen on this stage, which in July will be sitting under the domed roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., the home of the Tampa Bay Rays.

“Going into the summer, obviously you’ve got to think about that PG National Showcase,” Chase said. “I plan on going to that and hopefully getting an invite to the PG All-American [Classic]. I think that would be pretty cool playing on TV in front of tons of scouts. Just getting myself in position to get in front of scouts and show my abilities, that would be awesome this summer.”

A lot has happened to this “true Texas right-handed power pitcher” over the last 12 months, the big kid from the West Texas oil fields who has a knack for creating some really uncomfortable at-bats for opposing hitters.

While the increased fastball velo may seem a bit meteoric, Chase Shores also has effective breaking pitches that he’s taken the time to develop in recent years. He also plays some first base these days, but his future is definitely on the mound where, as the PG scout noted with apt alliteration, “he pitches with poise, purpose and a plan.”

“He’s always had such a natural throwing motion and he’s such a natural athlete, we’ve just kind of let him do his thing,” Bryan Shores said. “Once he stopped the football and really got into the true baseball workouts, he was working with a trainer here in Midland that is a baseball guy; he really took to it and he’s still dedicated to it.”
Give us your feedback
High School | General | 7/1/2026

PG High School All-Americans
Tyler Russo
Article Image
High School Top 50: Final Update With the High School season all wrapped up, today we take a look at our First, Second and Third Team All-Americans from around the country. Below you'll find three teams with stats that seem otherworldly from players who'll likely hear their names called in the coming week's MLB Draft. Within the "Notable Stats" section you'll see the individual award winners as well. First Team All-American Pos.  Name Class School State Commitment Notable Stats C Cole Prosek 2026 Magnolia Heights MS Ole Miss .595 BA, 18 HR, 79 RBI 1B Will Adams 2026 Hoover AL LSU .489, 13 HR, 52 RBI IF James Tronstein 2026 Harvard-Westlake CA Vanderbilt .531, 10 HR, 29 RBI, 21 XBH IF Grady Emerson 2026 Fort Worth Christian TX Texas .508, 8 HR, 56 RBI, 34/35 SB, National POY IF Jacob Lombard 2026 Gulliver Schools FL Miami .477, 10 HR, 52 R, 42 H, 14 SB OF Martin Shelar 2026 Marist GA...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/13/2026

17u Elite Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
High speed look at the FF-SL-CH from '27 RHP Liam McGeady (OH)... #NatElite @PG_OhioValley @Cincy_Legends https://t.co/hhoDL7DBbi pic.twitter.com/Ts79GLPGoU — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 12, 2026 Liam McGeady (2027, Liberty Township, Ohio) had the stuff working on Saturday morning, getting the start for Legends Scout 2027. The uncommitted right-hander ran it up to 91 and sat 88-90 with a full starter’s mix. All three of the secondaries played well and project moving forward. The curveball worked in the mid-70s with good depth and healthy shape. The slider operated in the 79-82 range with gyro spin and short break. McGeady rounded out the repertoire with a changeup that showed big fade and depth, proving effective versus lefties. He ended the outing going five ⅔ innings, allowing no earned runs on four hits, striking out six total. The tall and long 6-foot-5,...
Read More
Draft | Mock Draft | 7/13/2026

2027 Mock Draft: Way Too Early Ediition

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
With the 2026 MLB Draft officially complete, let's quickly turn our eyes to the 2027 group and do a way too early mock draft. Leading the way is shortstop Brendan Lawson out of the University of Florida, setting the trend as three of the top four names all call shortstop home with Dylan Seward and Carter Hadnot. If shortstops aren't your thing for any which reason, maybe hard throwing left-handers tickle your fancy whether it be prep Connor Salerno, Tomas Valincius from Mississippi State or Dylan Volantis, a dominant arm from the University of Texas.  Pick Team Name Pos. School 1 Los Angeles Angels Brendan Lawson SS Florida 2 Kansas City Royals Dylan Seward SS Norco (Calif.) 3 Colorado Rockies Landon Hairston OF Arizona State 4 New York Mets Carter Hadnot SS Aquinas (Calif.) 5 Athletics Connor Salerno LHP Sun Valley (N.C.) 6 Cincinnati Reds Tomas Valincius LHP Mississippi State 7...
Read More
Draft | Story | 7/12/2026

2027 MLB Draft: Initial Follow List

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
With the 2026 MLB Draft in the books, our focus now shifts to a new group of players ready to take center stage as the 2027 draft cycle begins. Our initial 2027 Follow List serves as an early snapshot of the players who should draw plenty of attention over the next year. This new crop of talent features collegiate players coming off loud spring seasons, alongside prep prospects who have already flashed big upside as underclassman.  As always, this list will evolve throughout the year. Some players will continue to elevate their stock, while others will jump onto the radar and force their way into the conversation. So, without further ado, let the fun begin.  The road to the 2027 MLB Draft starts now. Name Level Pos. B-T School Hometown State Commitment Adrian Rodriguez C 3B/OF S-R Texas Flower Mound TX Aidan King C RHP L-R Florida Bryceville FL Bino Watters C OF L-L LSU...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/12/2026

14u BCS Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Austin Way (2030, Yulee, FL) was 2-3 in game four, driving in a run and scoring once himself. Picked it well defensively at shortstop but really showed out in the box today. Works the barrel path to the middle of the field and whips the barrel through the zone. The RHH creates lift in the turn, and the ball jumps off the bat hot.  Sutton Walling (2029, Ponte Vedra, FL) is an athletic 5’11/160lb infielder who gets it done on both sides of the ball. Dominated at the plate right behind his teammate Way in the batting order going 3-3 with two doubles. He does a really good job with the barrel accuracy and works through contact with heavy hands. Lots of project-ability in the profile and is having a sneaky great week at the plate. Banks Kennedy (2030, Arcadia, FL) received it well behind the dish and was the leading force in this one driving in three rbis. He ended up going 2-3...
Read More
Draft | Story | 7/12/2026

2026 MLB Draft: Best Available

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
2026 MLB Draft: Best Available for Day Two  A total of 135 players heard their name called on Saturday. As always, signability, bonus pool strategy, and organizational preferences play a major role in how the board unfolds. With that being said, we saw a majority of the top half off the board get selected, but there are a number of players ranked inside our Top 150 that remain available. From high-upside prep talent to polished college performers, these are the top names still available according to our Final Top 500 Draft Board.  Top Prep Bats Available (with Top-500 Board Rankings) 38. Archer Horn, SS/RHP, St. Ignatius College Prep (CA) 58. Blake Bowen, OF, JSerra Catholic (CA) 64. James Tronstein, SS/OF, Harvard-Westlake (CA) 66. Noah Wilson, OF, McCallie School (TN) 71. Cole Koeninger, SS/RHP, Keller (TX) 77. Sean Dunlap, C, Crown Point (IN) 82. Alex Weingartner, OF//RHP,...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/11/2026

17U National Elite Heads to Hoover

Kinley Kitchens
Article Image
Another week, another big tournament makes its way to Hoover.  This week, 104 of the nation’s top 17U teams will make their way to Hoover for the 2026 Perfect Game 17U National Elite Championship.  Featuring nationally ranked teams, Division I commits, and many of the country’s top 2027 players, the tournament promises another week of elite competition as teams battle for one of the biggest championships of the summer.  With many players already committed to some of the nation’s top college programs, every game in Hoover this week offers a glimpse into the future of college baseball.  Now entering its eighth year, the National Elite Championship continues to bring in the nation’s best. Past champions include Team Elite Scout Team, Canes National, USA Prime National, Scorpions/Giants Scout Team, 5 Star Performance National, Knights Knation Scout...
Read More
Draft | Story | 7/12/2026

2026 MLB Draft: Day One Recap

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
Storylines Heavy College Run Early We came into the day knowing that there were a lot of talented college players at the top of the board, more specifically college bats. That came to light very early in the day, as we saw just two prep players selected within the first ten picks. The college preference lasted throughout most of the entire first round. Nearly 75% of the first 40 selections were college players. It is clear teams want players at the top of the draft that can quickly get through the system and help the big league club as soon as possible. Underslot Strategy Throughout this cycle, we knew that once you get past the first handful of picks the difference in value you were getting for let say pick ten was not that difference compared to pick 30. Because there was a large collection of players that are relatively close in value, teams were looking to get creative. We saw this...
Read More
Draft | Mock Draft | 7/11/2026

Final 2026 MLB Mock Draft

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
It's draft day and that means it's time for our final Mock Draft with the 2026 group. 1. Chicago White Sox | Roch Cholowsky, SS, UCLA It’s between Roch and Grady Emerson at this pick, though there have been heavy rumors of a very late deal potentially with another top 5 pick. This boils down to negotiations and we think that they will get there.  2. Tampa Bay Rays | Grady Emerson, SS, Fort Worth Christian (Tex.) If Grady isn’t the first pick then he is almost certain to be the second pick. The Rays like to get creative but Emerson is a well worth prospect in his own right.  3.  Minnesota Twins | Vahn Lackey, C, Georgia Tech This is likely the floor for Roch Cholowsky, though the Twins might prefer Lackey to Roch outright. They are thought to be in on the top college players with Emerson a distant third.  4. San Francisco Giants | Jackson Flora, RHP, UC...
Read More
Tournaments | Story | 7/10/2026

Ohio Valley Regional Scout Notes

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
‘28 INF Christian Ramirez (OH) WALKS IT OFF for @CincyDBulls2028 to win the chip! Has shown impressive tools throughout the weekend and in this AB showed the ability to adjust to the offspeed and win the game. #OVElite pic.twitter.com/J3MXJXFnbM — Perfect Game Ohio Valley (@PG_OhioValley) July 5, 2026 Christian Ramirez (2028, Mason, Ohio) helped his team win the championship batting out of the two-hole. Though he didn’t win tournament MVP, Ramirez was my favorite player to watch take a plate appearance. He has an advanced feel for the zone and sees the ball out of the pitcher’s hand quicker than most. Ramirez led the tournament with eight walks, batting .375 with a .583 on-base percentage. Much more than just the approach, the swing is efficient with little wasted movement, creates quality separation, and puts him in an excellent position at contact. With such an...
Read More
College | Story | 7/10/2026

Cape Cod Notebook No. 1

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Cape Cod League Scouting Notebook  Maverick Rizy | Ole Miss | RHP | Brewster Whitecaps  The towering 6-foot-9, 250-pound right-hander continues to stand out with one of the more unique looks on the Cape, pairing a massive frame with a low three-quarter slot that creates difficult angles for hitters. While his fastball velocity was down from its typical mid-90s range during this look, working mostly 90-92 mph, it still generated plenty of swing-and-miss. He paired the heater with an 81-83 mph gyro slider featuring tight bullet-spin action and mixed in an 85-mph changeup with quality separation. Rizy battled his command early in the outing I saw, before settling in to strike out five over three innings, showing the ability to adjust as the game progressed. Through 12.2 Cape League innings, he has recorded 18 strikeouts, and his combination of size, deception, and projectability...
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.