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PG Select Baseball Festival  | General | 1/16/2023

Festival Alums Ink Contracts

Jheremy Brown
Photo: Luis Almeyda, Ethan Salas, Angel Cepeda
January 15, 2022 marked the opening day for the international signing period, meaning a whole new crop of prospects from abroad were set to make a splash for all 30 big league organizations. With international stars attending Perfect Games events over the years in the likes of Boston Red Sox slugger Rafael Devers and Cuban right-hander Yasiel Sierra who signed a 6 year, $30 million contact in 2016 following an outing at the WWBA World Championship, to some more recent names since the first pitch of the PG Select Festival back in 2016, we've see some electric young prospects at the early stages of their national exposure and that was certainly the case back in 2020 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

You can follow the link for more on the international history within Perfect Game: PG's International Platform.



Given the rules and regulations set in place throughout the country following quarantine, the 13u and 14u Select Festival, as well as the PG All-American Classic, were held in succession over the course on an elongated weekend which gave baseball fans and scouts alike a true look at the future of the game with some of the best 2021, 2024 and 2025 graduates the country had to offer, as well as a couple potential international free agent signing in a couple years time. Well, the calendar has flipped through enough and the time has come for two of those 13u players and one 14u player to put their name on the dotted line and sign their first professional contracts. 

Teammates on the East team in the second ever 13u Select Festival, Venezuelan backstop Ethan Salas and shortstop Luis Ayden Almeyda, who at the time was a resident of New Jersey prior to moving to the Dominican where he trained and ultimately signed out of, both ranked amongst the best prospects in attendance and you truly didn't have to project all that hard to see what the ultimate ceiling may just be. 

The younger brother of Miami Marlins top prospect and 14u National Showcase alum Jose Salas, Ethan was a clear standout at the inaugural 13u National Showcase where everything he did was refined, from the catch and throw skills that have him regarded as one of the top catching prospects in recent memory, to his left-handed swing with burgeoning power and the overall way in which he approaches the game given his age at the time. His showing in Oklahoma City was no different as he continues to swing the bat well, showing a smooth and fluid stroke which translated into live action as he barreled a triple into the pull side corner. And of course everything he did on the defensive side of the ball lived up to what we had come to expect, setting the bar for what an elite defender at that age looked like which still holds true in his skillset present day. The consensus top prospect in this year's international class, Salas signed with the San Diego Padres Sunday afternoon for a reports $5.6 million. 

Almeyda's case coming into the Festival was a little different as he had been living in New Jersey and was a regular face on the national circuit that summer, attending all the major events (which included the 13u National Showcase) and was continuously a name you walked away wanting to see more of. He debuted at No. 4 in the class and safely sat in the top 10 until his move to the Dominican, brining with him the 13u Rawlings Defensive Player of the Year hardware which he was awarded for his defensive acumen during the Festival. A long and strong shortstop, Almeyda has continued to grow into his very real power and though it's one area of his game that had always been prevalent, so too has his defense in the dirt which was almost impossible to ignore. His internal, in game notes from the National Showcase paint the perfect picture: "Plus instincts on defense, reads and gets + jumps, likes to play and is in the game, type who wants every ball hit at him". Ranked as a top 20 prospect in this year's class, Almeyda signed for an Orioles franchise record for an international prospect at $2.3 million. 

Similarly to Almeyda, Angel Cepeda lived in New Jersey at the time of the 14u Select Festival and played in the major national circuit events, drawing interesting from Power 5 programs, prior to his move to the Dominican which allowed for him to sign this past weekend, ultimately with the Chicago Cubs for $1 million. Even at 14 years old Cepeda sported advanced physical strength which translated into some of the better bat speed in attendance, barreling baseballs with authority to all parts of the field on a rather consistent basis. His round of batting practice drew remarks like "serious juice and bat speed" and "ball comes off differently" and those incapsulated what he brings to the offensive side of the ball rather. He's was just as intriguing in the dirt given the fluidity and overall footwork in his defensive actions as well as the bazooka of a right arm he possessed, all of which led him to a top 15 national ranking at the time of the Festival and shortly thereafter. 

A lot can change over the course of two years as players are constantly evolving, both physically and from a skills perspective, but even at 13 and 14 years old, the skill of this trio of prospects was hard to miss, hence their spots in the Select Festival. A fourth member of the 2020 family of games, Venezuelan infielder Jose Perdomo (13u Select Festival) is already being tabbed as one of the top international prospects for the 2024 class, a year in which we should hear the name of a few 14u alums hear their names called in the first round. 
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PG Select Baseball Festival | General | 12/26/2025

2025 Year in Review: PGAAC, ASG, Festivals
Jheremy Brown
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All-Star Game Continues To Thrive We’re only a couple of years into having the PG All-Star Game around, an underclass event attached to the All-American weekend, this year played in Petco two days before the Classic. The talent that is a part of it continues to grow to significant levels, and this year was a mix of young guys and some newer names that left lasting impressions. The two hardest throwing guys in the game were the only 2028s in attendance, Striker Pence and Dexter McCleon Jr who both were upper-90s as guys who just started their sophomore year, while the loudest moment of the day came when Kinon Bastian obliterated a pitch into the top deck of the famous Western Supply building in left field, something that we’ll remember for a long time. Extra Swings In The All-American Derby One of the best events every All-American weekend is getting to see these guys with...
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General | Blog | 2/20/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 63

Ron Wolforth
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Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 62, Part 1 | Part 2 Demystifying the Curveball, Pitch Counts, and Weighted Balls - Part 3  We've made it to Part 3…the final installment of our series on baseball's most misunderstood and debated topics.   In Part 1, we tackled the curveball. The takeaway: the pitch itself isn't what’s dangerous. Decades of awful and ineffective coaching cues, ”snap your wrist," "turn the doorknob”…exacerbated and even in many causes caused some of the problems. Teach it correctly, when the athlete is ready, and it's no riskier than a fastball.  In Part 2, we examined pitch counts. The takeaway: they're a useful tool, but a limited one. Treating a single number as a universal measure of safety ignores everything...
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Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/20/2026

18U PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor

Dave Durbala
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SPRINGFIELD, IL - 2026 Perfect Game Softball Winter Elite Showcase, February 6 - 8, 2026.  Twenty teams rolled into Springfield to showcase their talents in this 18u, four-game guarantee, pool-into-bracket play,  at the newly opened 170,000-square-foot domed facility at Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe. In the Silver Bracket, it was the 09 Midwest Sluggers taking home the championship over the CR Blue Devils 18u National. In the Gold Bracket, a championship game that featured the tournament's top two pitchers, it was the Iowa Dynamite 18u with the win over GTS 15u Elite-Herrick, by a score of  2-1. The tournament, with a mix of committed players, and those young ladies striving for the next level,  was loaded with talent.  Below are some of the players that excelled on the field and made their way onto the tournament’s Top Performers list. Earning...
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Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/19/2026

14U PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor

Erica Beach
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PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor 14U January 17-18, 2026 Springfield, IL   SPRINGFIELD, IL- It may be cold outside, but there was some hot competition going on at the PG Winter Elite Showcase Indoor tournament. Six team converged on the Scheels Sports Park at Legacy Pointe and the Texas Glory IL 29 walked away with the hardware after a close 7-6 ballgame. Below we highlight some of the impressive athletes who competed on the weekend.     Lila Rafferty (2029, Leroy, IL) of the Texas Glory IL 29 was an unstoppable force at the plate over the weekend. She showed great tenacity in the box, proving to be one of the most consistent hitters in the tournament. She finished her weekend batting an incredible .750, tallying nine hits and scoring five times. She flashed her speed on multiple occasions, stealing two bases and legging out two doubles and two triples. She came in clutch,...
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High School | General | 2/19/2026

Pacific Northwest All Region & Top Tools

David Rawnsley
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NORTHWEST REGION (WA, OR, ID, WY, AK, MT, HI)    The biggest change in the Northwest Region for 2026 is the addition of Hawaii, which has always been overlooked due to being lumped with California in the former Pacific Region.  This also coincides with an increased Perfect Game presence in the islands in the form of additional events and scouting.  And Hawaii certainly contributed in it’s first year, placing four players on the All-Region team, including slugging 2026 outfielder Judah Ota. The powerhouse Puyallup HS team is the only Northwest Region team to be represented in the PG Pre-Season Top 50 National HS Rankings, beginning the year ranked 26th.  C – Teagan Scott (Sr., South Salem HS, Ore.) Scott has been on the prospect map since he played in the 2023 PG 14U Select Festival and is signed with Oregon State.  A right-handed hitter with lots...
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Showcase | Story | 2/20/2026

PG ID Camps Help Build Baseball Resume

Jim Salisbury
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PG ID Camps Help Youngsters Build a Baseball Resume There was still snow on the ground in a lot of places last weekend, but that didn’t stop more than 200 young players from going indoors to participate in the first round of Perfect Game Select Fest ID Camps for the 2026 season. John McAdams, PG’s national crosschecker and Northeast scouting director, ran the event in Farmingdale, New Jersey, and was impressed with his group’s energy and desire to improve at the game. “We’re giving young players the opportunity to build their baseball resumes and chart their growth and progress over a span of years,” he said. In addition to New Jersey, Select Fest ID Camps were held in Lake St. Louis, Missouri; Rossford, Ohio; Marietta, Georgia; and Kent, Washington. The ID camps debuted in 2025. Twenty-two of them were held around the country with nearly 700 young...
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Draft | Story | 2/19/2026

Then vs. Now: '26 Class Look Back

Tyler Henninger
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One constant across our scouting staff is the volume of in-person looks we get at prospects during their high school years. With assignments at national tournaments and showcases throughout the calendar, we’ve built a deep library of reports and video on many of today’s top college prospects dating back to their prep days. This week, we took a step back to revisit what those players looked like as high school prospects. Which tools stood out? What was missing from the profile at the time? And what, if anything, did we overlook that ultimately helped shape the player they’ve become? Below, we break down 10 players in a “Then and Now” reflection. Justin Lebron (23 FL) finishes off the tournament getting in on the hit parade with a single to the pullside. #PGShowdown #Bama commit pic.twitter.com/C4Irym2ZTR — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) March 4, 2023...
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High School | General | 2/18/2026

High School Notebook: Feb. 18

Cam McElwaney
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Grady Emerson (‘26 TX) laces this ball to right for a walk off single. Clean lefty stroke. Looks the part both sides of the ball. Checks all the boxes. Will be scouted heavily this Spring. #PGHS #HookEm commit. #PGDraft pic.twitter.com/wXvdHdgqME — Perfect Game Texas (@Texas_PG) February 6, 2026 Grady Emerson (2026, Argyle, Texas) had a strong showing throughout the opening week of high school baseball out here in Texas. Works good at-bats and is always a tough out in general. Makes all the plays at short and just has the look of a future big leaguer. He does all the little things right. Bat to ball will play at a high level and there is still a lot more power to project on here. There is a reason why Emerson is one of, if not the most highly coveted high school prospect in the 2026 class and it’s easy to see why. Currently committed to Texas, but has the potential to...
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High School | Rankings | 2/18/2026

Midwest Region Top Teams

Tyler Russo
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Midwest All Region & Top Tools Rk Midwest 2025 Record 1 St. Thomas Aquinas (KS) 27-4 2 Edmond Memorial (OK) 30-8 3 Muskego (WI) 27-10 4 Lawrence Free State (KS) 28-2 5 Mill Valley (KS) 22-6 6 Valley View (AR) 29-5 7 Platte County (MO) 29-8 8 Liberty North (MO) 19-14 9 Millard North (NE) 23-13 10 St. John Vianney (MO) 38-2 11 Owasso (OK) 40-3 12 Olathe East (KS) 22-6 13 Staley (MO) 38-4 14 Shawnee Mission South (KS) 10-11-4 15 Blue Springs South (MO) 27-7 16 Blue Valley (KS) 21-10 17 Edmond Santa Fe (OK) 37-7 18 Skutt Catholic (NE) 24-7 19 Howell (MO) 35-4 20 Olathe West (KS) 25-3 21 Creighton Prep (NE) 16-15 22 Rogers (AR) 26-4 23 Fayetteville (AR) 26-7 24 Blue Valley West (KS) 17-10 25 Cretin Derham Hall (MN) 19-5-1
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Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/18/2026

PG Softball Winter One Day Tournament

Dave Durbala
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BURLINGTON, IA - Perfect Game Softball Winter One Day Tournament, February 15, 2026. Twelve teams, split between the 16u and 18u divisions, participated in this event.  With two pool games, and then a move into single elimination bracket play,  some players used this tournament as  their last warm-up before kicking off their high school seasons, while others were tuning up for the busy Spring and Summer travel season. In the 16u division, it was the Iowa Aries 16u Ce Fire Red taking the championship, with Southeast Iowa Allstars 18u Gold Miller earning the crown in the 18u division. Below are write-ups from observations made during the day, as due to a software glitch, there were no stats available to complete a Top Performers list. 16U Division  Earning the MV-Pitcher Award, as selected by her coaches, was Aurora Widlund (2029 Altoona, IA) of tournament champion Iowa...
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College | Rankings | 2/18/2026

DIII Rankings: February 18

Nick Herfordt
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Every spring, Division III baseball begins as a wide-open map. Cold mornings turn into long bus rides, non-conference gauntlets test resolve, and by the time the dust settles, only a few teams are still standing with a clear line to the NCAA Division III baseball tournament. The 2026 Perfect Game Division III Baseball Rankings capture that moment before the stretch run, highlighting the programs that have separated themselves through depth, durability, and an ability to win in a variety of ways. These eight teams are not simply piling up wins; they are shaping identities built to survive the grind and thrive when the margins narrow.  The destination is familiar, even if the journey never is. Once again, the final chapter will be written at Classic Park, where timing, composure, and roster balance matter as much as raw talent. The teams ranked here enter 2026 with more than ambition....
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