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College  | Story | 5/14/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 14 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
Each week I huddle with Vinnie Cervino and Craig Cozart  to discuss Top-25 rankings and Players of the Week. In Coppy’s Corner, I dive deeper into these Players of the Week, providing analysis from 20+ years working in baseball front offices at the highest level.  

Player of the Week: Drew Burress – Georgia Tech 

I love everything that Craig Cozart writes, and his piece on Burress is as good as it gets (link). Craig does a masterful job of showing us how Burress has (not arguably) the best career college performance of any current player. The body of work is consistent and impressive, and Burress has one of the highest floors in the 2026 MLB Draft with above average or better tools across the board. 



I’m not going to do a deep dive on Burress’ numbers because there is no point: they are really good, everywhere. I would rather talk about smaller players with big tools. Oh, did I forget to mention that Burress is listed at 5’9 and probably closer to 5’8 and maybe even closer to 5’7. And that means … absolutely nothing!! Dustin Pedroia was listed at 5’9, too, and was likely shorter, too, and in the 2004 MLB Draft he lasted all the way to Pick #65 – trust me, I know, because I was working for the New York Yankees, and we took three players ahead of Pedroia (smh). 5’6 Jose Altuve had to talk his way into a tryout in Venezuela and signed for only $15,000. Players who are smaller like Burress, Pedroia, and Altuve may be a market inefficiency.  

Burress should be able to stay in CF and reminds me a lot of Kirby Puckett, who was listed at 5’8, and was also a pretty damn good MLB player. In the latest PG Mock Draft (link), we project Burress going #10 to the Colorado Rockies – who else but Paul DePodesta to recognize a market inefficiency? – and it’s scary to think about the offensive havoc he could wreak in that ballpark. I’d take him even earlier.  

Carry Tool: Hit. All. Burress. Does. Is. Hit. The most consistent college performer in the Draft, he’s having arguably his worst year and is hitting .375 AVG / 1.162 OPS with more walks than strikeouts. Think about that: arguably his worst year is .375 AVG / 1.162 OPS with 38 BB vs. 34 SO. He hits good velocity (.375 AVG vs. pitches 95+ miles per hour) and hits breaking balls (.377 AVG). He hits everybody and everything everywhere. I think he could hit on Mars. I love this player. 

Co-Pitcher of the Week: Cykler Tengler – Arkansas State University  

This is my favorite story in a long time. Cykler Tenger, who also has the coolest name in college baseball, had thrown only 4.2 IP all season heading into last week, spread out among 1 start and three relief appearances. Of course, in his second start, he went CG SHO No-No with 9.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 9 SO, 1 HBP. Tengler also accomplished this feat against the University of Arkansas – Little Rock (UALR), the program with which he originally signed out of high school. Tengler never pitched for UALR in 2023, transferred to D2 Arkansas State University – Mountain Home (ASUMH) in 2024 and 2025, and is now at Arkansas State in 2026. Welcome to NIL! 

All kidding aside, there’s something about Cykler. Standing 6’5 / 205 with a good downhill plane and projection remaining, Tengler has shown a knack for missing bats with 116 SO in 76.2 IP for ASUMH last season. I know, it’s D2, right? Well, it was also D2 for Ryan Helsley (Northeastern State), Brandon Pfaadt (Bellarmine University), Alex Vesia (Cal State East Bay), Tim Mayza (Millersville University), and dozens of other pitchers who have had success at the MLB level. Tengler has the weapons with a two-seam FB 89-92, wipeout CH (see below), and improving SL. Tengler opened some eyes and hopefully made himself some money last week. And, while I am not expecting back-to-back no-hitters, I can’t wait to see what he does in his next start and the rest of the season. 

Carry Tool: Changeup. Look, all these numbers have to be taken with a few grains of salt because we are talking about 13.1 IP and 173 total pitches on the season. That being said, 74 / 178 (42.8%) of those pitchers were Changeups – and they generated 84% Strike %, 62% Swing %, and 44% Chase %. When you look at his splits against LH hitters, he’s allowed a .133 AVG and .325 OPS with 6 SO in 15 AB. Those are gaudy numbers and, combined with the leverage and sink he creates on his sinker from his 6’5 / 205 frame, it starts to get interesting. Why not take a chance on a pitcher like this and see what MLB pitching labs can do with these raw tools?

Co-Pitcher of the Week: Karsten Sweum – Gonzaga University  

In the 2013 MLB Draft, with the #19 overall pick, the St. Louis Cardinals selected left-handed pitcher Marco Gonzales. Standing 6’1 / 205, Gonzales was a pitchability lefty who worked with a FB 88-91, a killer CH, and otherwise solid off-speed stuff. In his draft year, he was 7-3, 2.80 ERA with 106.0 IP, 102 Hits, 25 BB, 96 SO. Gonzalez pitched 10 MLB seasons with a career 66-50, 4.16 ERA over 926.2 IP. 

Sweum is also a left-handed pitcher from Gonzaga. At 6’3 / 225, Sweum is two inches taller and 20 pounds stronger than Gonzales. Featuring a plus FB 92-96, he also throws 4-5 mph harder. Sweum’s current season totals of 7-1, 4.42 ERA with 71.1 IP, 60 Hits, 33 BB, 99 SO tell a story with much higher upside, albeit also opportunities to improve control. And, while he may not have Gonzales’ CH, he has good off-speed weapons with his SL (49% Miss %, 35% Chase %), CUT (46% Miss %, 39% Chase %), and CH (54% Miss %, 37% Chase %). Aside: he should throw the CH more; he only throws it 6% of the time and it’s been quite effective vs. RH hitters. There’s a lot to like with Sweum: I like the size, I like the stuff numbers, I like that he’s left-handed and I don’t really care about the ERA (shhhhhh). If his development continues, you are going to hear a lot about Sweum in the 2027 MLB Draft. 

Carry Tool: Fastball. Sweum has a good one and throws it 55% of the time. It plays against both right-handed and left-handed hitters, and Sweum has better numbers against right-handed hitters even though he rarely uses his CH – which speaks to the quality of his FB. It’s also important to note the progress that Sweum has made year-over-year, showing marked improvement in BB/9 IP (8.20 in 2025 vs 4.16 in 2026) and ERA (6.27 in 2025 vs 4.42 in 2026). And, lastly, 6’3 / 225 left-handed starting pitchers who can sit 92-96 aren’t falling out of trees. This is one to watch.  

Freshman of the Week: John Paone – University of Virginia 

I usually try to work in a reference to 80’s or 90’s pop culture in these articles, but I am struggling this week. I thought about some kind of John Paone – Ione Skye linkage, but it was a reach. If I am going to present random stuff tied to Paone, it’s probably better to focus on his background as a prep student at the prestigious Lawrence Academy in Groton, Massachusetts – founded in 1793! Not to be confused with Groton, Connecticut, which produced a pretty good prep RHP that went to a pretty good college and MLB career: Matt Harvey. The Lawrence Academy has many prestigious alumni, but all I really care about is baseball (hello, former #14 overall pick Tyler Beede) and music (hello, Phish keyboardist Page McConnell).  

Unless Paone plays the keyboards, Beede is probably the better comparison as a strong built (6’2 / 215) prep arm with good stuff. At 6’3 / 210 with a plus FB he can maintain late into games, Paone reminds me a lot of Beede. It’s power stuff and good stuff numbers, his 4.91 ERA belying 59 SO vs. 20 BB in 51.1 IP. It’s even more impressive that, as a freshman, he is getting this opportunity and producing this type of performance. It’s not hard to envision a big jump forward heading into next season, when Paone will be a draft-eligible sophomore in the 2027 MLB Draft. It will be Phun to watch his continued development.  

Carry Tool: Slider. Beede’s bread-and-butter was his Changeup, but Paone has had a lot of success with this Slider. It’s got over 10 mph separation from his FB and has produced good results this year with 35% Chase %, 35 % Miss %, and 47% Swing %. Although he has no clear lefty/righty splits in AVG and OPS, he has struck out a significantly higher % of right-handed hitters (38/120 = 31.7%) than left-handed hitters (21/90 = 23.3%). Scouts like Paone’s CH, too, so there is further potential with continued development. The stuff, build, and, performance, especially lately, are impressive – even if my puns and references are not. 

National Nuggets:

It’s been a tough year for LSU and it was another lost weekend (0-3) against Georgia in Athens, but none of it is or was Derek Curiel’s fault – aggressive side eye toward the pitching staff that allowed 36 runs – as he went 5/10 on the weekend with 3 BB vs. 3 SO … this snapshot is a microcosm of the season for both LSU and Curiel, who continues to hit and get on base, even he isn’t posting Landon Hairson-esque numbers (who is? I mean, besides Landon Hairston) … Curiel hit .345 AVG / .470 OBP / .519 SLG / .990 OPS as a freshman last season and has produced similar numbers as a draft-eligible sophomore in 2026 with .341 AVG / .420 OBP / .512 SLG / .932 OPS … however, a deeper dive inside the numbers reveals real progress for Curiel and points toward more upside in this bat … specifically, Curiel has made big progress against LHP (.237 AVG / .800 OPS in 2025 vs .339 AVG / .943 OPS in 2026), hitting on the Road (.253 AVG / .757 OPS in 2025 vs .403 AVG / 1.063 OPS in 2026), and performance on Friday nights (.297 AVG / .813 OPS in 2025 vs .346 AVG / .914 OPS in 2026) … why does this stuff matter? … Curiel is a 6’2 / 185 LHH outfielder so to see him improve vs LH pitching is a good sign he’s more than a platoon player … “The Box” at LSU is a hitter’s park with its humid, sea-level atmosphere, so to see Curiel have so much success on the road is also encouraging … and Friday nights, as most of you know, is when the best pitchers are on the mound, so seeing increased performance is another positive sign because those are the types of pitchers at the next level … and Curiel has always been able to crush the FB, with strong performances both years against 95+ mph velocity (.423 AVG / 1.038 OPS in 2025 vs .419 AVG / .952 OPS) … Curiel can just flat hit and has shown the ability to play CF this season … he reminds me of Rusty Greer, Mark Kotsay, and Christian Yelich, all LH bats who could flat hit – and made multiple All-Star teams. 
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College | Story | 8/7/2026

Cape Cod League Notebook: August 7
Perfect Game Staff
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RHP Jason Flores (@BaseballUGA) Showed some electric stuff, up to 98 several times CT, SL, CH to round out the arsenal in his 5IP 9K performance. @HarwichMariners So./‘27 elig pic.twitter.com/p2nTvkFnWh — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) August 5, 2026 Jason Flores | RHP | University of Georgia | Harwich Mariners  Flores heads to Georgia this fall looking to reestablish himself as one of the premier arms in the 2027 draft class after showing significant promise during his freshman season at Texas. Flores posted a 2.78 ERA over 32.1 innings as a freshman before a limited sophomore campaign in which he logged just 12 innings. The stuff was on full display this summer, highlighted by a dominant five-inning, nine-strikeout playoff performance in which he touched 98 mph five different times. His fastball averaged nearly 96 mph throughout his time on the Cape, pairing the...
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Tournaments | Story | 8/26/2026

Underclass Area Codes: Standout Arms

Joey Cohen
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Year in and year out when the best young talent from across the country is packed into one national-level event the arms tend to win the week. That feels especially true in today’s amateur game where velocity, pitch design and high-level training in general are being introduced earlier than ever, allowing young pitchers to develop impactful stuff at a faster rate than younger hitters can consistently catch up to it. The Underclass Area Code Games are no exception and this year there was no shortage of arms that made you stop and take notice. Narrowing it down to 10 was difficult, but I focused on the pitchers who either displayed starter-type traits, brought something genuinely different from a delivery standpoint whether it was slot, height, crossfire or deception or simply possessed an outlier element of stuff that separated them from the pack. These are the 10 arms that stood...
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Draft | Story | 8/23/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: NL East

Tyler Henninger
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With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. NL East Atlanta Braves  Grade: 55 Risk: High Notable Selections: OF AJ Gracia (1st rd) | OF Carter Beck (PPI) | RHP Kaiden McCarthy (2nd rd) | RHP Jensen Hirschkorn (3rd rd)   OF AJ Gracia (@UVABaseball) is seeing the ball really well & picked up a couple of hits, including a 2B into RCF. Smooth LH stroke & easy impact. Showed + pwr in BP, 46 BB: 36 K. Jr./'26 elig. @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/C4rSc0ZNIc — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 30, 2026 Atlanta had $15,870,800 to spend in this year’s draft,...
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Draft | Story | 8/22/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL East

Tyler Henninger
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With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. AL East Baltimore Orioles Grade: 50 Risk: High Notable Selections: OF Eric Booth Jr. (1st rd) | OF Ty Head (2nd rd) | OF Kevin Roberts Jr (4th rd)  Eric Booth Jr. (26 MS) goes big fly 💣 that carried out oppo. Explosive athlete w/ huge LH juice & tools. Big time in several facets. #NatElite #Vandy commit. @PG_DeepSouth pic.twitter.com/kXl7ZVyD9G — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) July 12, 2025 Baltimore was about middle of the pack in terms of money available this year, having $13.1m to spend on their class. Booth Jr. is a...
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Draft | Story | 8/24/2026

Area Code Gams: Prospect Recap

Steve Fiorindo
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Pitchers George Ferguson, RHP, Abilene HS  Ferguson toed the slab for the Rangers squad in game one of the Codes, setting the tone early with some loud stuff.  Ferguson attacked hitters with a verty fastball up to 96 that played well up in the zone with up to 24 inches of induced vertical break.  He showed more than just a power arsenal, going to the changeup often, using the pitch to put away hitters.  Kills the spin to the 1600’s, regularly getting 13-15 inches of horizontal break.  The slider rounded out the arsenal, working 82/83.  Struck out four over his three innings of work, two on the fastball, two on the change.  2026 PG All American committed to Texas.  Quinn Fitzpatrick, RHP, Stratford HS  Another 2026 PG All American out of Texas, the LSU commit punched out three over his two innings of work, allowing just one hit. ...
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Draft | Story | 8/21/2026

2027 Draft Preview: Collegiate RHP

Ryan Miller
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2027 MLB Draft Profile Preview: College Right-Handed Pitchers  Throughout the 2027 draft cycle, I’ll be breaking down different demographics in the class. Today we begin with collegiate right-handed pitching, a strong group that is headlined by a legitimate 1-1 candidate in Dax Whitney. Most of the group is made up of high-quality power four arms, with a handful of mid-major arms mixed in. Below are the top college right-handers in the 2027 class:  Dax Whitney (@BeaverBaseball) showed LOUD stuff. FB up to 100, cruised at 95-98. Pair of plus secondaries. CB at 77-79 (2923) with sharp, 12-6 action. Firm SL at 89-91 (2714) with bite. Flashed fading CH at 87-88 (1425). Ranked No. 1 on the ‘27 board @PG_Draft So./‘27 elig. pic.twitter.com/9PNbjJ53Zo — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) February 13, 2026 Dax Whitney, Oregon State  Whitney has maintained...
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All American Game | Story | 8/21/2026

Brotherly Love Inspires Carter Hadnot

Jim Salisbury
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PHILADELPHIA – Perfect Game has been a big part of Carter Hadnot’s life since he was 12. He participated in more than a dozen tournaments and showcases, including prestigious Select Festivals as a 13U and 14U player, as well as last summer’s PG All-Star Game for underclassmen in San Diego.   The PG event that Hadnot always wanted to be part of was the DICK’s All-American Classic. Now, that’s on his resume, too. He played in the 24th annual Classic earlier this week at Citizens Bank Park, home of the Philadelphia Phillies. “This means a lot to me,” he said during the event. “I always wanted to make it to Select Fest when I was younger. So, every time I get invited to an event it’s an honor and it’s fun. I don’t take it for granted. “This is definitely the one I always wanted to make it to. A lot of big names have...
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Press Release | Press Release | 8/18/2026

Perfect Game & Delano Partner Up

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  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME NAMES DELANO BAT COMPANY OFFICIAL WOOD COMPOSITE BAT PARTNER, LAUNCHES LIMITED-EDITION BAT SERIES   Delano Bats will serve as the Official Game Bat of the 13U Select Festival, taking place this coming weekend in East Cobb, Georgia   Sanford, Florida (Tuesday, August 18, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced a new partnership with Delano Bat Company, LLC, naming the company an Official Wood Composite Bat Partner of Perfect Game. The partnership will feature three exclusive limited-edition bat releases, which began with the Original Glory American Flag Bat in celebration of the United States' 250th birthday, that...
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Draft | Story | 8/17/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: NL Central

Tyler Henninger
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2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL West | NL West | AL Central With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. NL Central Chicago Cubs  Grade: 40 Risk: Medium Notable Selections: RHP Cade Townsend (1st rd) | OF Caden Sorrell (2nd rd) | 1B Myles Bailey (2C)   RHP Cade Townsend (@OleMissBSB) sat 95-96 T97 w/ riding FB from fast arm. Nasty cutter at 88-91 is the go-to, showed biting 2 pln SL. Low-80s top to bottom CB & CH ~ 1300 RPM to round out mix. Has had a great spring & risen up boards. Soph./'26 elig. @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/TAFbM37f5j — PG College...
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Draft | Story | 8/17/2026

2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL Central

Tyler Henninger
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2026 MLB Draft Report Cards: AL West | NL West With the 2026 MLB Draft officially in the books, it’s time to evaluate how each team performed. Every draft class was graded using the standard 20-80 scouting scale with risk factor assigned. While these grades won’t be proven right or wrong for years, they reflect the overall talent, value, and upside each organization added to its system. AL Central Cleveland Guardians  Grade: 45 Risk: Moderate  Notable Selections: RHP Liam Peterson (1st rd) | Tre Broussard OF (3rd rd) | RHP Savion Sims (7th rd)  Liam Peterson (@GatorsBB) has been pure power stuff through the first 3.0 IP in his start vs Bama…imposing his will on hitters with a fastball that has grabbed 100 mph a few times, backed up by his power slider and curveball @PG_Draft pic.twitter.com/RVThNrdMTn — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) May 21,...
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High School | General | 8/17/2026

Scott Wins MVP Two Ways

Jim Salisbury
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PHILADELPHIA – When the folks at Perfect Game reached out to invite him to pitch in the 2026 PG All-Star Game for rising sophomores and juniors, Cullen Scott had one request. “You mind if I get a couple of at-bats, too?” Along with his dad, Scott traveled from the family’s home in Texas to Citizens Bank Park. The trip proved to be a huge success as he starred on the mound and at the plate and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Scott, 16, pitched a scoreless first inning and struck out two. In the fourth inning, he belted a grand slam six rows up into the left-field seats to lead the National team’s 6-1 win over the American team. “He showed us why he’s here as a pitcher and a hitter,” said Greg Sabers, PG’s vice president of scouting and showcases. "He’s one of the top pitchers here, but he’s too good a...
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