Beam is another true freshman in the Volunteers’ weekend rotation and he was terrific in this outing, going five scoreless against a deep Oklahoma lineup and earning the victory. Beam was a notable name as a prep two-sport athlete committed to Tennessee but injuries his senior spring derailed his chances at going pro right out of high school. He’s healthy now and dominated as he struck out six hitters and allowed just two hits during the five frames.
Beam is a lean, wiry athlete with an up tempo delivery featuring moving parts, a longer arm stroke, and an over the top arm slot that works downhill to attack hitters. There’s lots of room for physical projection without sacrificing any of the athleticism or twitch that makes him a dynamic mover on the bump.
The fastball worked up to 95 mph and sat in the 91-94 mph range for the majority of the game and he would use the pitch to set up hitters and go to his secondary pitches. It was fastball heavy for the first couple of innings before Beam switched gears and started going to his curveball more often. The pitch showed solid average at times in the 78-80 mph range with good downer depth and the ability to throw the pitch for strikes. This helped the fastball play up as the hitters couldn’t catch up to elevated 93-94 mph heaters when they were looking off speed.
He's got good feel for a changeup too as the pitch worked in the 84-86 mph range and even garnered a couple of whiffs against left-handed hitters. It’s a solid three pitch mix and there’s definite feel for pitchability. Add in the physical projection and there’s big upside here for Beam as he’s another young Vols arm who looks to have a big time future ahead of him.
Luke Jewett, RHP, UCLA
True freshman
Luke Jewett was the first man out of the bullpen for the Bruins and though he wasn’t the sharpest in terms of his command, the raw stuff showed what Bruins should be excited about moving forward. Jewett was a part of the trio of 2021 graduates from JSerra Catholic High School to move on to UCLA joining Bruin teammates Cody Schrier and Gage Jump. He’s a super physical right-handed pitcher at a listed 6-foot-4, 200-pounds with long limbs, broad shoulders, and strength throughout.
Jewett tossed almost exclusively from the stretch as he came in with a man on and some trouble brewing against the No. 1 team in the country. He’s got an average leg lift and shorter stride to go with a relatively straight back and compact arm action with some shoulder torque at release and a high arm slot. Jewett was up to 95 mph and consistently 91-94 mph. It looked as though he was having some trouble with his front leg and timing everything up so he would miss with the fastball up and out of the zone but when it was in the strike zone it was fine at getting whiffs. The slider was rarely used but showed good bite and potential in the 81-82 mph range with good action. There’s effort and crudeness but loud loud stuff and though he sprayed the ball a bit tonight there’s significant upside to be had as the young Jewett continues to develop and hone his craft.
Lucas Gordon, LHP, Texas
Gordon got the spot start on Sunday afternoon after Tanner Witt was scratched and he pitched pretty well, throwing a lot of strikes and showing a good fastball-changeup combination. The southpaw is not a dominating physical presence at a listed 6-foot-1, 193-pounds. He needed just six pitches to get out of the first inning, all on weakly struck ground balls. Gordon fires from an extreme crossfire landing but is athletic enough to clear his lower half and work his fastball to the lower third of the strike zone at will. There’s good sinking life on the fastball and the pitch sat in the upper-80s touching 90 mph a handful of times. The changeup is his best pitch right around 78-80 mph and he really sells it well with arm speed. The breaking ball needs some work in the low-70s with more gradual slider break due to his lower slot. He gets a lot of weak outs and pitched four strong for the Longhorns on short notice.
Kelly Austin, RHP, UCLA
Getting the start in the third and final game of the Shriners Classic for the Bruins was
Kelly Austin who was very solid for five strong innings. He’s a physical right-hander with good strength at a listed 6-foot, 195-pounds and a very simple delivery. Austin fires exclusively from the stretch with a big stride towards the plate and a longer arm stroke that the elbow gets a bit elevated on. He fires directly from an over the top slot and did a very good job at commanding at the knees with the fastball.
The fastball worked in the 88-91 mph range and sat right around 88-89 during the middle innings of his start. The fastball quality wasn’t great but both of his secondaries were and he eventually relied on those to get swings-and-misses. The breaking ball was very good for Austin in this one. A solid average offering, the pitch worked anywhere from 76-81 mph with very good feel to manipulate and locate the pitch exactly where he wanted.
Austin also flashed a solid average changeup that was a neutralizer against left-handed bats. The overall fastball quality may keep Austin from going very deep into starts on a consistent basis but his feel to pitch and quality of the secondary pitches makes him a threat against any lineup. He’s probably a late day 2 prospect but with a strong statistical season he could go even earlier than that.
Javier Ramos, RHP, Oklahoma
Ramos had a one inning appearance where he allowed two runs on Sunday but there’s substantial upside here and one that teams confident in their player development will likely target in the later rounds of the draft. He stands at 6-foot-6, 205-pounds with a long, high-waisted frame and room still for physical projection. Ramos employs a very long, whippy arm stroke with very good arm speed and has a big fastball that worked in the 93-96 mph range while topping out at 97 mph during the one-inning stint. The command was not great and looks to be the key issue moving forward with Ramos. He showed one slider that had good action to it along with one changeup that faded away from a left-handed hitter but in totality it was a fastball-heavy approach. Given the velocity, size, and arm speed this could be a very intriguing option in July for a team that develops pitchers well and a pro team might be able to find a diamond in the rough here.
Will Mabrey, LHP, Tennessee
Mabrey made his second appearance of the weekend and showed some solid stuff out of the bullpen. A left-handed reliever, Mabrey has an online delivery with solid extension and stands at around six feet tall on the bump. It’s a high three-quarters slot with very good angle towards the target and the fastball was right around 89-93 mph for both appearances. The fastball was solid as he was around the zone with it for the most part, but the slider was his best pitch. The pitch had hard bite in the 83-85 mph range and broke just off the front hip of left-handed hitters. He has no problem throwing it for strikes to hitters of either handedness and it looks like it could be a potential plus pitch for him down the line. Mabrey also showed a bigger 1/7 shaped curveball in the mid-70s that he used to land strikes. The slider is going to get him outs in pro ball as it looks like he’ll have a solid relief future after his time in Knoxville.
Mark McLaughlin, RHP, Tennessee
McLaughlin made two appearances over the weekend, on Friday and on Sunday for one inning apiece. He’s a tall, lanky right-hander at 6-foot-3, 205-pounds and room remaining for additional physical projection. McLaughlin fires from a vertical arm slot and did a very good job at missing bats with the fastball in both appearances. He generated around 8-9 whiffs with the pitch, particularly while elevated, and the velocity of the heater worked in the 91-93 mph range. The curveball was a bigger bender in the 75-77 mph range with solid depth and projection. The fastball quality stood out as does the overall projection to the profile and he certainly threw enough strikes in his quick two innings of work where he struck out all six batters he faced.
Chazz Martinez, LHP, Oklahoma
Chazz Martinez got the start for Oklahoma and while the final line wasn’t pretty for the fourth year southpaw the stuff is still solid and warrants draft consideration. He’s a well-built left-hander at 6-foot-3, 210-pounds with solid strength present in the lower half. It’s a simple delivery with a slight turn step into a crossfired front landing leg. He clears his front side for the most part but will leave pitches up when he doesn’t fully rotate over the front side.
The arm action is online and hidden behind his body as that combined with the crossfire landing leg make for a fairly deceptive delivery. The fastball worked mostly 89-91 mph, topping out at 92 mph a number of times and it gets good sink at the bottom of the strike zone. Martinez was inconsistent in terms of commanding the fastball and you see that with four walks in a little over three innings while Tennessee hitters were also seeing the ball well out of the hand.
The slider is a solid average pitch for Martinez in the low-80s with short break to it. He can command the pitch for strikes or whiffs and both work well against opposing hitters. Martinez didn’t show a third pitch but used primarily fastball-slider in this outing. It wasn’t the prettiest outing for Martinez but he’s still a solid prospect as Oklahoma will turn towards conference play in the coming weeks.
Daniel Blair, RHP, Texas
Blair tossed two scoreless innings of relief in the middle of the game and showed some solid stuff and stuff that might even play up in a one-inning relief stint. He’s listed at 6-foot-3, 205-pounds with a fairly mature frame from a physical standpoint. The arm action is long through the back with some whip and that led to some release inconsistencies in terms of maintaining that release point with the fastball. The heater worked up to 95 mph and was mostly 91-94 mph with him sitting around 93-94 in his first frame and 91-92 in his second frame. The curveball has good shape with 11/5 action and solid depth as he used it to lock up hitters nicely, particularly right-handed hitters. Blair also flashed a changeup to a left-handed hitter but the fastball-curveball combination should play well in a relief role long term. He’s an older senior but there’s good feel to spin and the arm speed leads to believe a velocity jump could occur down the line too.
Alonzo Tredwell, RHP, UCLA
Tredwell was arguably the easiest puzzle piece for the Bruins to figure out on Sunday as the moment he came into the game the momentum shifted entirely. At 6-foot-8, 230-pounds, Tredwell has some massive size and physicality but what’s even more surprising than the size is how athletic he is for a big man. He’s a very fluid and efficient mover and has no problem getting his body into athletic positions and to repeat those positions excellently.
The delivery is fluid and free with a very short arm action that he uses to generate deception along with a big crossfired front landing leg and plus extension down the hill. He’s able to use his torso to clear his front side so effortlessly and repeats his delivery really well which allowed him to fill up the strike zone. From his locations with the fastball it’s clear that Tredwell could very well be a plus command type of pitcher as he was dotting the glove with the heater to great effect.
The fastball worked in the 89-92 mph range bumping 93 mph a handful of times but the quality of the pitch was excellent. From the extension to the release the hitters acted as if the pitch was coming in 3-4 mph hotter than what it actually was. This produced empty swings along with hard takes on fastballs that Tredwell was dotting on the black. He also showed one curveball at 79 mph with good shape and 11/5 action.
Tredwell finished the game with three shutout innings and five strikeouts to earn him his second save of the season. All the ingredients are there to be a solid starting pitcher basically right away and he’ll get his shot in the weekend at some point. Because of his age Tredwell will be eligible next year and there’s already a ton to like about the profile.
Will Rigney, RHP, Baylor
Rigney got the start for the Bears during the final game of the Shriners Classic and he’s got a great comeback story. He was a PG All-American in high school before battling with injuries during his time in Waco. In total, Rigney has only thrown six innings, three in each season, over the last two years before this season. It looks like Rigney will be anchoring Baylor’s rotation on Saturdays or Sundays moving forward and there’s some things to like from a draft perspective.
At 6-foot-6, 215-pounds Rigney has tremendous size with long limbs and mature physicality throughout. The delivery features a good rhythm from his side step into the leg lift and the arm action is very compact and stiff through the back as it’s a shoulder heavy turn into release at a three-quarters arm slot. The fastball worked in the 91-93 mph range early for Rigney but the fastball was not his most used pitch.
The most relied upon offering from Rigney was a slider which worked mostly in the 83-86 mph range and was inconsistent at times. The pitch is tunneled off the fastball well and flashed plus at times with late, sharp bite that just moves off barrels. The pitch was inconsistent, however, as sometimes he would leave it arm side or elevated where the pitch would really flatten out and get hittable. Rigney also turned over a couple of changeups to LSU’s Jacob Berry in the 83-84 mph range with some sink and arm side fading action.
For Rigney making starts at this stage is a huge win for him personally. In terms of his draft status the fastball is hittable and the slider is too inconsistent. Scouts would also like to see him get to a couple of milestone innings this year as well just to show that he’s healthy and could handle a season-long workload.
Grant Taylor, RHP, LSU
Getting the start for the Tigers in their last game in Houston was true freshman
Grant Taylor, who showed some big stuff in a two inning stint. He’s a massive right-handed pitcher at a listed 6-foot-3, 220-pounds that even seems a little bit light on the overall physicality. The delivery features a big rock back on his rubber leg with a higher front side and some explosiveness to get down the mound like that. The delivery requires a lot of strength to be able to pull off and that coupled with the arm action, along with results, lead to some long term command concerns. The fastball was up to 96 mph and sat mostly 93-95 mph for both innings of work. With the deception of the delivery the fastball looks like it’s coming out of a cannon and he would mix in a hammer power curveball in the 80-83 mph range with raw spin rates over 2700+ rpm. On paper the stuff sounds explosive and it, well, is but the issue Taylor had is that he missed just one bat over the two innings with what is power stuff. There’s likely some underlying data reasons for this, along with the fact that Baylor is no slouch of an offense, but Taylor also lasting only two innings doesn’t bode well at his shot at long term starting. That being said if he is moved to a relief role the stuff could tick up even further and you could be looking at a power reliever with nasty stuff as an early rounds draft target for next year; Taylor was 19 on the date of the 2021 draft and will be eligible as a sophomore in 2023.
-Vinnie Cervino
Garrett Brown, RHP, Georiga
Garrett Brown is a 6-foot-7, 218-pound right-handed starting pitcher this season for the Georgia Bulldogs. Making his scheduled start Sunday in Lawrenceville, the redshirt sophomore worked the first three innings, scattering two hits, and collecting a strikeout during the abbreviated outing. With a projectable frame, and athletic build, Brown looks the part on the mound as he displays keen mechanics and a sound tempo to his delivery. He executes his pitches from a three-quarter almost high-three-quarter slot, tunneling well across his repertoire, adding to his effectiveness.
On the mound Sunday, Brown’s repertoire took the shape of a low 90s fastball, high of 92 mph, with heavy two-seam sink and angle, a slider with tilt in the upper 80s, and a good changeup which he executes with fade and occasional sink in the mid-80s. The changeup garners good separation from his fastball but nice sell as well, creating swing and miss. Brown lived around the zone to the majority of the fourteen hitters he faced, with better control than command right now, yet filled it up and induced a lot of weak contact his teammates would handle with ease.
Off to a nice start to his sophomore campaign, Brown has three strikeouts over the first 5 2/3 innings of work yet has been pitching to contact which has helped him keep his opponent batting average at an impressive .150. Eligible to be selected in this summer’s First Year Player Draft, Brown will continue to draw attention of our scouts whenever he takes the mound for the Bulldogs.
Luke Wagner, LHP, Georgia
Called upon to out of the bullpen during the early going on Sunday, Bulldogs’ sophomore
Luke Wagner answered the call and was impressive, working two middle innings where he struck out three, produced weak contact, and walked away with his fourth win of the year.
A two-way talent for the Bulldogs, Wagner is listed at 6-foot, 182-pound, and has an athletic, lean look to his appearance. The Pennsylvania native keeps things simple with his delivery on the mound and uses stretch-only mechanics from the first base side of the rubber. With a subtle load on his back leg, Wagner drives down the mound maintaining nice rhythm and timing through release, creating good deception and really gets out front with his hand upon release, which he does from a low 3/4, almost side arm slot.
Wagner’s arm action creates good deception and adds an extra element to his overall package that hitters at the plate have to factor in. A difficult look, Wagner elevated his fastball into the low 90s, high of 92 mph, making for an uncomfortable at-bat to any hitter. Wagner’s pitchability adds to his effectiveness, as he also was able to land a slider for strikes in the low 80s as well with tilt and feel.
A year away from draft eligibility, Wagner has been off to an impressive start to 2022 as he now not only sits at 4-0 but has 14 strikeouts over just 9 1/3 innings of work, he is holding opponents to just a .188 batting average. Effective out of the bullpen, and able to eat innings when needed in the middle of games thus far, not only will continued success start to generate draft buzz over a year away from his eligibility, but it might also move him to the back of the bullpen for the Bulldogs in the near future.
Marquis Grissom Jr, RHP, Georgia Tech
Solidifying himself into the weekend rotation for Georgia Tech his sophomore year,
Marquis Grissom Jr. stands at a solid 6-foot-2, 202 pounds, with an athletic, lean, and muscular build. Earning the start for the Yellow Jackets on Sunday, things did not go as planned for Grissom out of the gate, yet there were some positive takeaways from a scouting perspective we should not lose sight of.
On the mound, Grissom, deploys an even tempo to his windup that he operates from the third base side of the rubber. Grissom does a nice job really getting loaded and into his back leg prior to dropping and driving straight to the plate, keeping his body online, and moving towards his target. With a long circled, yet quick arm action in back, Grissom can be seen releasing his mix from a three-quarter slot with good extension out front, adding life to his fastball and plus movement to his off speed deliveries. To work through his assignment on Sunday, Grissom Jr. mixed a plus fastball that touched 96 mph during the early going, with a slider and changeup as his secondary options. Mixing his pitches as he went, Grissom's slider showed tight break while his changeup was a good one in the low 80s with fade and good sell when right.
Further takeaways from Sunday’s performance was that Grissom’s confidence on the mound never wavered regardless of result, as he trusts his skillset and goes right at the next hitter in line time and again. When all was said and done, Grissom Jr. filled the zone 50% on 0-0 counts to the hitters he faced, while he worked ahead of two-thirds of the Bulldogs he saw Sunday in Lawrenceville. Appearing on the mound for over 10 innings during the first couple weekends of the year, Grissom now has 14 punchouts over 10 1/3 innings of work, and a 14:3 strikeout to walk ratio, an impressive stat that Grissom will look to maintain as the season progresses. A prospect who has been listed on numerous draft watch lists, if Grissom Jr. continues to produce at the rate he is on, we will for certain here his name called come the draft this summer.
-Matt Arietta
Joseph King, RHP, Cal
King was masterful in the Sunday match, tossing five scoreless, two-hit innings while striking out seven. Standing at a medium, athletic 6-foot-1, 194-pounds, the right-hander worked exclusively from the stretch with a long, off-line arm action through the back. King sat in the 91-93 mph range with run and sink to both sides of the plate and held the velocity for the entirety of the outing. His go-to secondary was a changeup in the 83-85 mph range that showed heavy fade and tumbling action. The pitch was consistent and worked as an out-pitch, showing plus on several occasions. It was very effective versus left-handed hitters when he started it on the outer-half, before fading off the plate and getting a chase. King also sparingly mixed in a breaking ball at 79-81 mph with soft spin, struggling to land it. The righty worked off the fastball and changeup all afternoon and effectively neutralized Florida State bats. He was in complete control of the zone, not allowing a single walk over his five innings.
-Kyler Peterson