PG Iowa Spring League Notebook: No. 3

Perfect Game Staff

Tyler Kotila

Jacob Pierro (2028, Dubuque, Iowa) has a ton of traits to like, and he certainly showed it at the mound. Pierro has a compact frame and lean build with athletic traits. Pierro worked 84-89 mph on the fastball, with spin up into the 2,000s. The pitch has a good arm-side life and gets a good plane out of the hand. He controls it well to both sides of the plate. He showed a breaking ball in the low-70s with a high-tilt slurvy shape to it. It’s a developing pitch that projects well. He also showed a really good changeup up to 78 mph with a spin down into the 1,200s. It has great fading depth & sink to it. It’s a developing pitch mix that projects with a clean delivery. Pierro’s got plenty to like moving forward.

William Pierro (2025, Dubuque, Iowa) has been great this spring, stacking up good starts. Compact and strong 6-foot, 191-pound frame. Shows a really clean arm action with a ton of arm speed. Comes out real well. The fastball worked 89-93 mph on Saturday, reaching back to grab 94 mph once. The pitch has spin above 2,400 RPMs, and he commands it well. He can miss bats with swing-and-miss stuff above the zone and can pound the lower half as well. He also showed a really good curveball working 75-77 mph, with spin up above 2,600 RPMs, flashing great 11-5 bite and shape to it. The pitch has come around and become a good weapon. He also showed a faux changeup (mixed splitter/changeup) that works 82-85 mph with spin in the 1,700s, down into the 1,200s at times, with really good fading depth to it. The St. Thomas commit has taken serious strides on the mound this spring and it’s made some noise on the draft side of things.

Tucker Long (2026, Ottumwa, Iowa) came out on Saturday and was the sharpest I’ve seen him on the circuit in a long time. Long has a lean and projectable 6-foot-1, 165-pound frame with good athleticism and a feel for the move down the slope. A bit short in the back with the arm, but it comes out well. Long worked 89-91 T92 mph on the fastball and had spin above 2,100 RPMs. The pitch flashed sinker traits and was really good when he had that sinker look to it. Long worked 75-80 mph on the slider, with spin just shy of 2,300 RPMs. The pitch flashed a really good 10-4 shape and had a good bite to it. He showed the changeup as well, working 79-81 mph, with spin down into the 1,400s and feel to pronate and create good arm-side sink to it. It was a quality three-pitch mix, and he was able to navigate the opposition well. Long has also hit really well this spring, showing a smooth left-handed stroke – staying short to it and long through it to get the job done and produce barrels. Long is an Ole Miss commit.

Fletcher Yates (2025, Cedar Falls, Iowa) has a massive 6-foot-6, 215-pound build with good length throughout. Uber physical build. Yates put together his best outing since last fall on Saturday, coming out working 87-91 mph on the fastball, with spin above 2,200 RPMs. The pitch had a ton of ride to it, with good angle. He was able to locate well and pound the zone for strikes. He showed a curveball, working 75-79 mph with spin all the way above 2,800 RPMs. The pitch has a good 11-5 shape and depth. He can land it for strikes. Yates also debuted a slider, working 81-84 mph with spin above 2,500 RPMs. The pitch has a ton of horizontal movement with a little bit of tilt to it. It was a quality offering. He flashes the occasional changeup in the low-80s with some straight depth to it. Yates dominated the opposition and looked the part. Yates is a Kirkwood commit.

Benjamin Nichols (2026, Cedar Falls, Iowa) has looked really good this spring. Friday night, he toed the slab and looked the part. He has an uber projectable 6-foot-6, 195-pound frame with long levers and a slender build. The frame projects well as he continues to add strength and continue filling out. Nichols worked 83-86 mph on the fastball, with spin above 2,200 RPMs. The pitch has good plane from a high-slot with plenty of arm-side life. He showed a curveball in the 72-75 mph range with spin above 2,200 RPMs and a good feel to show 11-5 shape and depth to it. It’s a pitch he can land for strikes. He also showed a slider working 75-77 mph with spin above 2,300 RPMs with a good 10-4 shape and depth to it. He gets around it well and creates good shape. Nichols also throws a forkball, a true fork, in the mid-70s with fall-off-the-table depth to it. Nichols put together a really quality outing for his team in relief on Friday.

Dash Shortway (2025, Cedar Falls, Iowa) put together a really dominant outing on the mound on Friday, toeing the slab as the starter and shoving for 4.0 innings of shut-out ball, allowing just 1 hit, walking zero, and striking out 10 opposing hitters along the way. Shortway worked the low-80s on the fastball from a high-slot, creating some angle on the pitch. It has good arm-side run to it, and he commands it well. He also showed a hammer 12-6 curveball in the upper-60s, up to 70 mph, with tons of depth to it. He missed bats with the breaker, inducing some ugly swings. He also showed a changeup at 74 mph as he marched through the opposing lineup, punching out 10 of them. Shortway is a DMACC commit.

Maddux Mueller (2026, Amana, Iowa) continues to look the part this spring on both sides of the ball. Mueller added a couple more hits this spring, finding ways to work on the barrel. It’s a really clean stroke with a feel to deliver the barrel on-time and on-plane. He impacts it well with plenty of impact and strength to produce hard-hit line drives to all fields. Mueller added to his hit total and is now hitting .421 over the course of the spring, including a couple of doubles. He also jumped on the mound for a really quality outing. He works from a high-three-quarters slot, nearly over-the-top, with working the low-80s on the pitch. It has some good life to it. He showed a curveball in the upper-60s, low-70s with a good 11-5 shape and bite to it. He’ll also mix in a low-70s slider with good horizontal and some tilt to it. Mueller worked through 4.0 innings, allowing just 3 hits, walking 2, and punching out 4 opposing hitters. Mueller remains one of the top uncommitted talents in the ‘26 class here in Iowa.

Massimo Benedetto (2026, Concord, Can.) looked the part this weekend with plenty to like on both sides of the ball. Benedetto really handled the barrel well, with a medium frame and compact build in his 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame. He stayed short to it and long thru it with some feel to impact. He was able to work uphill and drive the ball well. Benedetto had 7 hits on the weekend, hitting .538 for his Team Ontario Astros squad. He also got on the mound for a good 3.0-inning outing. He worked 80-82 T84 mph on the fastball, with some occasional cut to it. He also showed an 11-5 to 12-6 shaped curveball with good depth to it. Benedetto also flashed a changeup as he found ways to pick up some outs. Benedetto is uncommitted.

Kristopher Pedrosa (2026, Toronto, Can.) added 8 hits on the weekend, really seeing the ball well and finding ways to be on the barrel and drive it to all fields. Pedrosa stays short and compact to it, with a good feel to work uphill and impact it out in front. He produced well-hit balls in the air and was able to tally some extra-base hits as well. Pedrosa was one of the consistent bats from the Team Ontario squad. Pedrosa is uncommitted.

Liam Fagan (2026, Newmarket, Can.) put together some really impressive stuff in a dominant outing on the mound. Fagan, a 6-foot, 170-pound right-handed pitcher absolutely carved. He worked 79-82 mph on the fastball, with good feel to command to both sides of the plate. He showed a curveball with 11-5 shape and depth to it as well. The breaker worked the upper-60s. He pitched with some energy and some moxie to his actions as well. Fagan navigated the opposition and was able to pick up the win for his team. He also got it done at the plate, with a simple left-handed stroke and some feel to create jump off the barrel. He added a handful of hits for his team offensively as well. Fagan is uncommitted.

Dominic Fiorenza (2027, Bolton, Can.) added a couple of hits offensively, showing good strength at the plate. He has plenty of strength in a strong and physical 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame that projects really well moving forward. He found some barrels and added a couple hits. More importantly from the weekend, he showed some stuff to like on the mound. Fiorenza worked 87-90 mph on the fastball with tons of arm speed, with good arm-side life to it. There was good burst out of the hand as well. He showed a mid-70s breaker as well, with high-tilt slurvy shape to it. Fiorenza’s got a lot of projection remaining on both sides of the ball. Fiorenza is uncommitted.

Luke Rosero (2027, Brampton, Can.) has a compact 5-foot-10, 165-pound frame with some twitch to his actions. He was consistently on the barrel this weekend and able to drive the ball all over. There was some lift in the swing and good feel to drive it uphill. Rosero makes an aggressive move to it with the leg lift, and he is able to throw the hands well, impacting the ball with a shorter and compact path to it. Rosero found the barrel, picked up hits, and added some extra-base hits. Rosero is uncommitted.

Jayden Stumpff (2028, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) continues to look good on both sides of the ball. He’s got an uber projectable 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame with some length throughout and good athleticism. Stumpff put together a really good outing on the mound, working 79-83 mph during his outing with good arm-side life to it, from a lower slot that created some deception. He also showed a curveball in the upper-60s, up to 71 mph, with hard-biting depth to it. He also showed a 76 mph changeup in the mix as well. Stumpff has gotten it done at the plate as well. A good left-handed stroke with an uphill path through it and good feel to be on the barrel. Stumpff has a lot to like moving forward.

Noah Lawler (2025, Dubuque, Iowa) added some hits this weekend, with good strength off the barrel. Lawler has really been able impact, adding 5 more hits to his line this weekend, including a double, plating a couple of runs. Lawler has swung it well all spring, continuing to drive the ball well and show plenty of ability to live on the barrel out in front. Lawler is now hitting .440 this spring with 3 doubles and a triple. Lawler is a dubuque commit.

Will Steffen (2026, Dubuque, Iowa) has a really strong and physical 6-foot, 160-pound frame. Steffen has the present strength and he uses it well on both sides of the ball. Steffen hit well this weekend, adding 4 hits to his credit, including a double. He uses a big leg lift with hard turns and feel to show good strength off of it. Steffen also jumped on the mound and turned in a really nice start. He worked 79-82 mph on the fastball with good arm-side life to it, pitching from a medium three-quarters arm slot. He flipped a low-70s slider with good true sweeper shape to it. He also dropped in a mid-70s changeup with good depth to it. Steffen missed some bats and produced a real nice weekend on both sides of the ball.

Anthony Harrington (2026, Lost Nation, Iowa) has a really strong 6-foot, 191-pound frame in the projectable build. There’s a good blend of athleticism & strength. He added a couple more hits this weekend, bringing his average to .571 this spring. Harrington showed a feel to impact it with strength, with a good job driving the ball out in front. Harrington turns hard and leverages with good lift. He constantly found ways to impact, adding a couple barrels and a home run to his credit. He also got on the mound, working the low- to mid-80s on the mound with a 2.0-inning outing where he struck out three of the opposing hitters.

Porter Chatman (2027, Mount Vernon, Iowa) showed a lot of really good swings this weekend, staying on the barrel, being able to impact it well and drive the ball to all fields. Chatman has a more compact 5-foot-8, 165-pound frame, showing good strength presently. He’s a right-handed hitter with a simple and smooth move working through it, being able to drive the ball out in front. He has good hand speed and bat speed to impact. There’s plenty of feel for the barrel, and his actions project moving forward.

- Tyler Kotila

Hunter Hill (2027, Dubuque, Iowa) had an amazing day all around Sunday, with a total of 7 hits on the day over two games. Game one, Hunter was an RBI-machine, driving in six total runs for his squad. Showed off his wheels too, with two stolen bases. He showed good actions in the box and was able to hit the ball hard all over the field. Hill put together some really good at-bats.

Nolan Mears (2028, Atkins, Iowa) might be playing up, but that’s no issue. Mears grabbed 5 RBI on the day, one of them being a double. He has a 5-foot-11 frame that bodes well moving forward. He was able to hit the ball hard, especially working pull-side and he had actions that really project well. He’s going to keep improving moving forward and is someone to keep eyes on.

Evan Hefel (2028, Dubuque, Iowa) has traits that are going to consistently improve moving forward. The 2028 talent is already 6-foot-4 with a good frame and build. He moved around the field defensively as well, not to mention that Hefel had a 4-hit day Sunday – driving two runs in on two separate doubles. There’s plenty more in the tank here with actions that project moving forward.

Blake Bishop (2028, Bettendorf, Iowa) with a great all-around day at the ballpark today! Bishop grabbed three hits today, including another couple in game two, finding some barrels and adding two singles. He shows off some top-notch speed as well and can draw a long at bat with a good feel for the strike zone. There’s tools here that will continue to show up as he progresses.

Kam Wersinger (2027, Dubuque, Iowa) showed off some of the intangibles today that were very impressive. In addition to the two stolen bags, Wersinger grabbed 4 RBI on two hits. He flashes very good glove as well, making key plays at shortstop. The uncommitted sophomore truly has a lot in store for the rest of the spring after he showed a lot to like so far. He has hit well all spring long too, being a good hitter in his Sluggers team lineup.

-Jacob Zucker

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