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Tournaments  | Story | 12/19/2022

2022 Scouting Stories: 17u

David Rawnsley
Brian Sakowski
Steve Fiorindo
Vincent Cervino
Tyler Henninger
With the 2022 calendar year wrapping up, our staff took some time to write about some things that stood out to the over the course of the national circuit, breaking it down into 5 categories which we'll go into further detail below. Beginning with the 17u age group, 5 of our scouts go into more of a story telling mode as opposed to our typical scouting narrative and reflect on some of the more memorable moments they saw in 2022. 




Best Game I Saw
This category is pretty self explanatory with its title as the staff looks back at the single best tournament game they saw on the circuit. 

The 17u West Ultimate Baseball Championship is one of my favorite events because the rosters are loaded with talent and every game is competitive. This year my favorite game took place on day two during the night slot, where potential ‘23 draft selection Cole Schoenwetter and Trosky National took on a tough Canes West Scout Team. The right-hander put on one of the more dominant performances I have seen, striking out ten total hitters across four frames. Left-hander Billy Bird matched Schoenwetter frame for frame, striking out eight hitters over five innings of work. Both teams managed to scratch across one run a piece, but great pitching and defense held up throughout. The game resulted in a pool play tie, but remains one of the most enjoyable games I have watched. 

-Tyler Henninger

The Perfect Game All American Classic is always the highlight of the year game wise for me every year, and this year was no exception.  When the norm is to drive an hour or two to get 3 at bats from one of the top hitters in the area or 5 innings from a top arm, the opportunity to see 50 plus of the top players in the country is just something I look forward to every year.  It’s not a perfect look, with most pitchers tossing an inning or so, and every hitter facing a top arm, but being able to see THAT collection of talent on a major league field is always a highlight of my year. 

-Steve Fiorindo

It’s hard to pinpoint one exact game among hundreds that we watch throughout the year but one that’s going to stick with me was the Canes/Mets ST walk-off victory over FTB/Phillies ST in the Jupiter semifinals. The early portion of the game was dictated by pitching and defense with both teams tied up at 1 apiece heading to the 6th. From there it was a trade-off of moments from Andrew Duncan’s two-run triple, Luke Lavin’s response two-run single, and finally Raffaele Velazquez’s two-out two-strike go-ahead single. The Canes got the last laugh though as Gavin Gallaher came up clutch with a walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh to secure a game that had a plethora of emotional swings.  

-Vinnie Cervino

I’d direct your attention to the MHSAA D1 state championship back in June between Orchard Lake St. Mary’s and Grosse Pointe North, two of the powerhouse baseball programs in the state. OLSM took a 1-0 lead in the first and held it the whole way, winning the game by that final. Ciaran Caughey (2022, Hartland, Mich.) and Jasen Oliver (2023, Almont, Mich.) combined for the OLSM shutout while Brennan Hill (2024, Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich.) was outstanding on the mound for GPN. Caughey is now at Kent State, Oliver is signed with Indiana, and Hill is committed to Michigan. The game consisted of tremendous pitching of course, but the team defense on either side was something to behold as well. OLSM moved to 44-0 with the win, securing their third straight state title (2019, no season 2020, 2021, 2022) as well as securing their top spot in the final PGHS rankings, giving them a National Championship as well. 

-Brian Sakowski


Best Tournament Performance I Saw
Within any given tournament, there may be a breakout performer or a top-of-the-class talent who cements themself at top with their showing, all of which will be told of here. 

About a month before Ryder Helfrick took home the PG All-American Classic MVP, he put on a dominant performance at the 17u World Series. Over the course of the event, the backstop posted a slash line of .391/.417/.565 with nine runs scored and seven RBI. While that alone was impressive, Helfrick’s performance in the playoff rounds is what really stood out. He went 6-for-10 with a home run, a double, and two stolen bases on the way to a rain-shortened co-championship title. It was an extremely impressive performance from start to finish for the potential ‘23 draft selection. 

-Tyler Henninger
This could fit under four of the five categories but let’s put Top Tier/5-Star Roos RHP John Abraham’s complete game shutout in the WWBA World Championship finals here.  The then uncommitted Abraham hadn’t even thrown in the tournament but was completely dominant in the 5-0 win over Canes National/NYM Scout team, working 88-92 mph with his fastball and showing plus feel for shaping his mid to upper 70s curveball.  He later committed to Florida State.

-David Rawnsley
I got a lot of looks at Alpha Prime at the PG World Series in Surprise, AZ, which gave me a handful of looks at some of the top guys from Northern California, but a So Cal kid stood out notching at least 1 hit in all 5 of their games.  Dean Curley is that player, out of Northview High School.  Curley was named to the All Tournament Team after putting up an OPS of 1583. 
 
-Steve Fiorindo


George Lombard finished the 17u WWBA hitting .517 with two home runs, fifteen total hits and RBI, including a walk-off grand slam in the sweet sixteen round. His Elite Squad team made it to the final day, losing in the Semifinals, but at one point on playoff day Lombard was 9-for-9 with three straight victories. The Vanderbilt commit obviously had a huge summer overall but his performance at the WWBA cemented his status among the top of the prep shortstops and prospects in the state of Florida.

-Vinnie Cervino
Winokur had a big summer in terms of performance at every stop in 2023, but 17U WWBA is where he really turned it on. He slashed .647/.714/1.412 for an OPS of 2.126 over 21 plate appearances. He had 10 total hits, including a pair of doubles, a triple, and 3 bombs. There was a stretch within that week where it felt like every time Winokur came to the plate, the ball had a high likelihood of leaving the yard. Any time that sort of "must watch" AB comes around--and Winokur's whole week consisted of must-watch AB's--it sticks in your memory in a big way. A fair bit of Winokur earning a PGAAC nod came via his performance that week. 
 
-Brian Sakowski
Favorite Single Game Moment
This is one of the those "wait, what did I just see" type moments where you have to almost confirm with yourself as to what just happened in front of you. 

Connor Mattison jumped on the scene this year with strong showings from the spring to the PG All-American Classic, but he really solidified himself as one of the top arms from out west with a dominant appearance in Jupiter. The right-hander seemed to toy with hitters, striking out five of the six hitters he faced. What makes the outing really stand out, was just how truly dominant Mattison’s changeup was. The offering generated seven whiffs and was thrown for a strike 86.67% of the time. It was an absolute dominant performance on one of the biggest stages there is. 

-Tyler Henninger
The West team at the 2022 PG All-American Classic hadn’t had a hit since 2020 when it entered the seventh inning of this year’s game.  They had been no-hit in 2021 and had gone down in six successive innings against the East pitching staff in the inaugural Classic at Chase Field in Phoenix.  But Helfrick crushed a triple off the centerfield wall leading off the seventh inning to finally break the ice, then later added a game winning two-run single in the 10th inning to put the West ahead for good in their 5-2 victory.
 
-David Rawnsley

Cheating here because it wasn’t a game, but I’m going back to the Home Run Derby at the PG All American Classic.  Before the Derby started I was talking with a few of the So Cal players and told them, “ I need one of you guys to step up here”.  One of those players was Raffaele Velazquez of Huntington Beach High School, and he went on to put on a show and with the Derby.

-Steve Fiorindo

Cole Schoenwetter had, hands down, the single best summer pitching game performance I’ve seen out of a prep right-hander in probably my entire career doing this. He struck out seventeen batters over six innings of one-hit baseball in the opening round of the 17u WWBA playoffs and was downright dominant in doing so. One moment that comes to mind that showed how stone cold of a killer Schoenwetter could be was after the fourth inning, when he was a perfect 12-for-12 in strikeouts, he stared down the opposing dugout on his way back to his own. Talk about locked in (and scary).

-Vinnie Cervino
I'm going to cheat here and pick two moments from the same team and same event. Back in October at the High School All-State Select Championships, the North team ran through the competition en route to winning the event, playing exciting game after exciting game. Jordan Lewis (2024, Chesterfield, Mich.) had a big weekend establishing himself on the radar, and hit a walk off double in the gap in the semifinal game to really add an exclamation point to his weekend. The very next day, it was Carson Raether (2024, Goodrich, Mich.) doing the same, launching a huge pull-side grand slam to put the championship game out of reach. What a fun weekend that was, highlighted by some huge, huge moments. 

-Brian Sakowski

 
Biggest Showcase Breakout Performer
The PG Showcase schedule spans from coast to coast and each one serves as a spring board for prospects across the country. Here, our staff will look back on some of the players who made a name for themselves in regard to their next level of play. 

Dean Carpentier made his presence known early on during the West Coast Top Prospect Games, showing impressive tools on both sides of the ball. The now Southern California commit displayed athleticism and strength that resulted in advanced two-way potential. A strong bat produced loud contact often and clean actions stood out on the dirt. Carpentier then took the mound, showing an intriguing fastball/slider combination with plenty of movement. It was an impressive performance from the SoCal product. 

-Tyler Henninger
Very few players with a 500 ranking get invited to the PG National Showcase but Dominican native Alfonsin Rosario did exactly that based on some strong early summer tournament appearances with 5-Star National.  And if you are going to break out at a showcase, it might as well be at the PG National.  Rosario had arguably the loudest batting practice of the 300+ players, littering the left field stands and concourse with balls, then went and threw 101 from the outfield.  That performance earned Rosario, now the 31st ranked player in the 2023 class, an invitation to the PG All-American Classic.
 
-David Rawnsley

Justin Lee of Notre Dame High School wasn’t exactly off the grid going in to the PG National Showcase, but he finds himself as the biggest breakout performer based on the statement that he made at National.  Known for his easy and repeatable delivery that regularly pumps low 90s heaters, Lee ran the fastball up to 95 mph at National and unveiled a new pitch in his arsenal, the split finger, which he showed he could land for strikes and generate some whiffs.  The outing propelled him to the All American Game at Chase Field and he’s currently the no. 6 ranked right-hander in the state.  
 
-Steve Fiorindo

Noble Meyer was laughably good at PG National, and I mean that sincerely. I was calling the game on PGTV and couldn’t help myself but laugh at how explosive the stuff was and how little chance the opposing hitters had. Meyer was every bit of 96-98 mph with a hammer 3,000+ spin slider all while flashing a 90 mph changeup. It’s the best pure stuff we’ve seen at the National since 1st rounders like Chase Petty and Mick Abel; he stamped his name atop the 2023 class of arms with that performance.

-Vinnie Cervino
I'm going to stick with the HS All State Select theme here and go with Sebastian Jaimes (2023, Lincoln Park, Mich.), who, along with many others, used that event to springboard himself squarely onto the recruiting radar in a way he hadn't yet achieved prior. Jaimes was fantastic all weekend, consistently finding hard barrels at the plate including a missile of a HR, all while defending really well behind the plate with good receiving skills, lateral agility, and an above-average throwing arm. He showed out on a national stage and earned the big boon in recruiting that his performance brought. 

-Brian Sakowski


Uncommitted No More
With players committing at all different stages of their careers, we'll take a minute here to look at players who were uncommitted at the time our scouts saw them before they gave their verbal and announced their commitment to a collegiate program. 

The continued development of Wyatt Halvorson out of Arizona has been a fun one to watch. The right-hander has always thrown the ball well and competed, but the stuff has really made a jump this year. The fastball began the year in the mid-80s, working its way up into the upper-80s, and eventually into the low-90s. It pairs with a breaking ball that has legit swing and miss ability, making for a tough pitch mix that made some noise in Jupiter. The right-hander will now head down the road to Tempe, as Halvorson has committed to Arizona State. 

-Tyler Henninger

Three hours before the exhibition game held two days before the PG All-American Classic, one of the scheduled local pitchers dropped out, so the PG Staff quickly called local right-hander Connor Mattison and asked if he could throw a couple of innings against the best players in the country, in front of hundreds of scouts, at Chase Field.  Oh, and hurry!

Mattison, then uncommitted and ranked 465th in the PG class rankings, made it to Chase in time, was quickly give a uniform, then proceeded to go out and strike out six straight PG All-American hitters in a Carl Hubbell-type performance, featuring a fastball up to 94 mph and an absolutely filthy change up. That quickly earned Mattison a scholarship from Grand Canyon and a massive jump to 186th in the PG ranking.

-David Rawnsley

Uncommitted going into the summer of 2022, Brynner Waiolama had some loud showings that landed his commitment to the University of Hawaii.  Out of North Torrance High School, Waiolama took that strong summer and jumped on the national radar with his outing in Jupiter where he ran his fastball up to 95 mph, which led to many scouts flocking to his outings when he came back home.  Waiolama will look to take this momentum in to 2023. 

-Steve Fiorindo

During the 17u WWBA, the 7:40 scheduled game at Creekview got started probably closer to 8-8:30 but there was a huge crowd of college coaches and scouts on hand. The Dirtbags had ace Nathan Teague on the bump but it was the Florida Panthers’ Robert Satin who had evaluators buzzing. The Dirtbags eventually won the game 3-0, but Satin was 86-89 from a low slot with the makings of a good slider and everything moved out of the hand. Satin shortly thereafter earned himself a commitment to Florida and really made a name for himself on that night.

-Vinnie Cervino

We did quite a bit with the Canadian Premier Baseball League (CPBL) in 2022, including helping them put together a Jupiter team consisting totally of CPBL players. That Jupiter team fared well in Jupiter and was truly loaded with future D1 talent, and several players made their commitments following that national stage in Jupiter. Im going to once again cheat and pick multiple players for this, but they are all worthy of mention. Players who committed after Jupiter from this team include RHP Matt Brown (2024, Carlisle, ON) to Oklahoma State, RHP Makaio Cisneros (2024, Whitby, ON) to UCF, C Keaton Cottam (2023, Burlington, ON) to Austin Peay, OF Noah Konings (2023, Brampton, ON) to Cloud County CC, and many others. 2022 saw the start of a beautiful friendship with the CPBL, and we can't wait for many, many more players to find their commitments as a result. 

-Brian Sakowski
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