THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,472 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,472 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
College  | Story | 5/21/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 21 POY Deep Dive

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.  

Co-Player of the Week: Carson Tinney – University of Texas 

As a Notre Dame alumnus, it pained me to see Tinney transfer from the Golden Dome to the University of Texas after an All-American sophomore season for the Irish. He’s picked up in Austin right where he left off in South Bend and is currently hitting .321 AVG, 20 HR, .475 OBP / .695 SLG / 1.170 OPS on the 2026 season. It’s plus right-handed power and a plus arm; with the numbers I have found indicating that Tinney has erased more than half of attempted base stealers over the past two seasons of college baseball. Tinney threw out 30% of baserunners in the Cape Cod League this past summer. And although he struggled offensively in the Cape, particularly with swing and miss, it’s a small sample size compared to his overall body of performance over the past two seasons. 



There are a lot of other positive indicators for Tinney. He’s hit right-handed pitching (.328 AVG / 1.170 OPS) a bit better than left-handed pitching (.304 AVG / 1.170 OPS) this season – something likely to change in professional baseball. Tinney has also thrived on Friday nights (.358 AVG / 1.225 OPS with 6 HR) facing the best pitchers in arguably the best conference in college baseball. The power plays, and if the plate discipline can continue to develop, there is real upside at a premium position.  

Carry Tool: Power. Tinney had 3 HR this past weekend and has been on a torrid pace since April 1st with .352 AVG / 1.368 OPS and 13 HR in 88 AB’s. Tinney has plus power and a plus arm and reminds me a little bit of Salvador Perez albeit with a little less hitability. The average batting line for an MLB backstop in 2025 was .235 AVG / .304 OBP / .389 SLG / .693 OPS, and those numbers were grossly inflated by a historic season from Cal Raleigh. It will be interesting to see how high Tinney goes in the MLB Draft – there is such a need for catching throughout baseball that it’s impossible to rule him out as a Day #1 pick – and wherever he goes will get a rare combination of power and arm strength at an incredible position of need. 

Co-Player of the Week: Tommy Harrison – Miami of Ohio 

Harrison had a big weekend, but, really, he has had a big year for the RedHawks, hitting .402 AVG with 17 HR, 85 RBI (!), and 3 SB in 52 Games. Yes, you read that correctly: 85 RBI in 52 Games (more on that below). Harrison also has produced a .527 OBP / .730 SLG / 1.258 OPS on the season over 204 AB. Those are impressive numbers, to be sure, but even more impressive is that Harrison – who bats left and throws right – has actually hit better against left-handed pitching (.510 AVG / 1.503 OPS) than he has against right-handed pitching (.358 AVG / 1.151 OPS), a feat that is quite rare for left-handed hitters. Likewise, he’s hit better on the Road (.405 AVG / 1.302 OPS) than at Home (.382 AVG / 1.161 OPS). 

Harrison will be 22.5 years old when the 2026 MLB Draft commences, and he’s a corner outfielder from a small conference school. If you’re an MLB team, when you draft Harrison, you are buying a bat – but there may be some hidden upside. Let me explain when I was General Manager of the Atlanta Braves, in November 2016, we acquired OF Alex Jackson and LHP Tyler Pike from the Seattle Mariners in exchange for RHP Rob Whalen and RHP Max Povse. Now do you, see? Still not? OK, let me explain further: Jackson was the 6th overall pick by the Mariners in 2014, arguably the best prep hitter in the class at the time, and was drafted as a Catcher. Seattle moved Jackson off Catcher to speed up his development. When we acquired Jackson, we went Back to the Future and reintroduced Jackson to the tools of ignorance. Jackson has played parts of six MLB season, with 3+ years MLB service time, as a Catcher.  

Harrison was also a Catcher – for almost the entirety of his 2023 season (25 Games). I don’t know if he can go back behind the dish, and this is a big man at 6’3 / 220, but I would sure like to find out because Harrison’s bat has been so good.  

Carry Tool: Hit. Harrison can flat rake with an AVG > .400 and OPS > 1.250. He’s got more walks (41) than strikeouts (32) this year and continues to improve each season. And he’s done it against the big conferences – his combined performance against Big 10, Big 12, and SEC teams this year is .375 AVG / 1.212 OPS. Yet what’s most impressive to me is the 85 RBI (!!) in 52 Games. Yes, I know, RBI are a situational statistic and don’t mean much of anything – except when you get that many, it must mean something. Harrison has almost identical numbers this year with Runners on Base (.394 AVG / 1.238 OPS) and Runners in Scoring Position (.382 AVG / 1.242 OPS). Miami of Ohio has scored a lot of runs this year and Harrison is in the middle of it. It would be foolish to bet against this bat and this hit tool. 

Pitcher of the Week: Jackson Flora – University of California Santa Barbara  

Flora is our Pitcher of the Week on the heels of a CG SHO performance on Thursday night where he only allowed 2 Hits, 0 Walks, and 12 Strikeouts against UC Riverside. I wrote about Flora in the “National Nuggets” section of Coppy’s Corner a few weeks ago (https://www.perfectgame.org/articles/View.aspx?article=24284), and he seemingly gets better and better each week. Flora reminds me of Kevin Brown, and on the strength of a devastating Cutter, is now 10-0, 1.03 ERA with 115 Strikeouts vs. 28 Walks. It’s almost a dead-cinch lock that he will be the first pitcher taken in the MLB Draft, and I wanted to write about what that means to a front office. 

In 2017, as Braves GM, we took Kyle Wright with the #5 overall pick in the MLB Draft. Wright was the first college pitcher taken in the 2017 Draft (note: 1B/LHP Brendan McKay went #4 overall to the Tampa Bay Rays, and they preferred McKay as a hitter – we did, too). Wright (6’4 / 215) and Flora (6’5 / 205) have similar builds, stuff, and performance. Wright reached Atlanta a year after he was drafted. I was no longer with the Braves, but I remember watching him on TV as he hit triple digits in his first appearance. A few years later, in 2022, Wright was the first 20-game winner in MLB. It’s a shame he got hurt – another casualty in this pitching injury epidemic – and hopefully he can get back to health and the show the talent that led to such a quick rise to MLB success. 

Carry Tool: Quick-to-MLB Impact Starting Pitcher. The benefits of an organization being able to produce a homegrown frontline starter cannot be overstated. You have that pitcher under contract for essentially the league minimum his first three years in MLB, and then the club has three club options (aka “arbitration years”) at below market values for that pitcher. How much is that worth in today’s game? Merrill Kelly – who has had a really good career – signed a 2-year, $40 million contract as a 37-year-old free agent this past offseason; Kelly has never won more than 13 games and only thrown over 180 innings pitched three times in his career. Wright went 21-5, 3.19 ERA over 180.1 innings pitched in 2022 and made $720,000 that season. Flora can have this type of impact – maybe even better if he can stay healthy. I could see him going as high as #3 to the Minnesota Twins and no later than #8 to the Athletics. 

Freshman of the Week: Clayton Namken – Texas State University 

Namken’s big weekend has added to a terrific freshman season for the Texas State backstop, who has produced a .309 AVG, 10 HR, 31 RBI, 1 SB with 24 BB vs. 40 SO, including a .407 OBP / .591 SLG / .998 OPS. Namken is a plus athlete, who played both ways in high school, showing good makeup and leadership as a catcher. Perhaps more importantly, at least in the Lone Star State, he was also a Quarterback. For his high school team. In Texas. If you don’t think that’s a big deal, check out Friday Night Lights – either the movie or the series would suffice – and you will see it is a big deal. Rest In Peace, James Van Der Beek. Gone way too soon. 

NIL stands for Name, Image, and Likeness – but it could also stand for Namken Is Legit. And I think he will be in high demand in the college baseball transfer portal with a lot of programs willing to throw around some money for a catcher with his skill on both sides of the ball. Catching is hard, and freshman catching is really hard. To put up a performance like Namken has invites a lot of larger programs to see if there is a fit. In fact, if and when Co-Player of the Week Tinney departs in the MLB Draft, Namken could be a potential fit at the University of Texas – or pretty much any other school. Or maybe he will stay at Texas State, which has built an exciting team this year and is a program on the rise. It will be fascinating to see how it all plays out.  

Carry Tool: Hit. Diving deeper inside the numbers makes Namken look even more impressive. Namken has hit better against right-handed pitching (.331 AVG / 1.065 OPS in 118 AB) than he has against left-handed pitching (.276 AVG / .752 OPS in 31 AB). It’s a small sample size against LHP, the kind of pitchers he should eventually crush with more experience, but that’s not important. What’s important is that he’s posted a 1.065 OPS in predominately righty-righty matchups as a freshman catcher. That’s impressive. And so is the fact that he can hit the fastball, with a .364 AVG against pitches 94 miles per hour and higher. 

National Nuggets:

Last week, I wrote about draft-eligible sophomore hitter rising up draft boards in Derek Curiel … this week I want to write about a draft-eligible sophomore pitcher risking up draft boards in Tegan Kuhns … our own Craig Cozart was in Knoxville last weekend and saw Kuhns shut down then-#4 Texas on Friday night, sitting 94-97 with good life … Kuhns went 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 15 SO – not a no-hitter so he didn’t qualify for Pitcher of the Week that week – and has had a strong sophomore season going 5-4, 3.39 ERA with 77.0 IP, 76 H, 15 BB, 100 SO … Kuhns pitches primarily off his plus-to-double plus FB that generates a 55% Swing % and 37% Chase % … his CB flashes plus, but has led to less success than it should, as Kuhns has actually been better against LH hitters (.228 AVG / .664 OPS) than against RH hitters (.282 AVG / .763 OPS) this season … there is a lot of upside in this arm with continued development … two other domination notes on Kuhns: he absolutely dealt in the Cape Cod League (1.35 ERA with 1 BB vs 20 SO in 13.1 IP) and has been lights-out the first time through a lineup, allowing .188 AVG / .527 OPS in the 1st inning and .208 AVG / .567 OPS in the 2nd inning of the 2026 season … the most impressive thing about Kuhns has been how he has cut his BB/9 IP ratio from 3.93 in 2025 to 1.75 in 2026 … alas, I would be remiss if I didn’t make a Tegan and Sara at some point in this writeup, and Kuhns’ song for this season could well be “Everything is Awesome” …with a prototype pitcher’s build (6’3 / 190), easy velocity and good stuff, it’s not a question of whether or not he’s a 1st round talent, but rather how high will he fly up draft boards 

 

 

 

College | Story | 6/11/2026

Collegiate Freshman All-Americans

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Collegiate Postseason Awards | Collegiate All Americans First Team Hitters Pos. Name School Class AVG OBP SLG R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB C Alonzo Alvarez Miami FR 0.341 0.439 0.551 40 57 13 2 6 32 3 1B Ethin Bingaman Auburn FR 0.330 0.415 0.581 60 71 9 0 15 50 4 2B Ethan Ball Virginia Tech FR 0.310 0.420 0.660 43 63 18 1 17 52 3 3B Nico Partida Texas A&M FR 0.306 0.408 0.550 45 55 8 0 12 43 4 SS Jett Kenady California FR 0.320 0.350 0.573 36 66 17 1 11 34 1 IF Linkin Garcia Texas Tech FR 0.338 0.387 0.489 53 78 21 1 4 59 1 OF Angel Laya Oregon FR 0.296 0.396 0.538 49 66 10 1 14 47 5 OF Anthony Pack Jr. Texas FR 0.359 0.485 0.597 58 74 16 0 11 52 20 OF Jacob Parker* Mississippi State FR 0.339 0.449 0.732 51 57 10 1 18 62 7 OF Teddy Tokheim Stanford FR 0.352 0.414 0.704 40 70 19 0 17 47 0 UT Drew Grego Nebraska FR 0.326 0.417 0.531 33 57 13 1 7 44 5 DH Enzo Infelise Cincinnati FR 0.374...
Softball | Softball Tournament | 6/14/2026

PG Softball Super Regionals

Erica Beach
Article Image
PG Super Regionals Dripping Springs, Texas June 6-7, 2026     DRIPPING SPRINGS, TX- The weather was nice, the Longhorns JUST won a national championship, and Perfect Game brought it’s first softball event to Dripping Springs. It was a weekend packed with college coaches, quality softball, and a great softball atmosphere. Over the course of the six-game guarantee event, our scout saw some amazing athletes. Below she highlights some of the athletes who caught her eye.   Destiny Sidiropoulos (2028, Houston, TX) of the Impact Gold HTX 16U was an incredible spark plug at the top of their lineup all weekend. She is a true triple threat who has great speed on the basepaths. She can soft and power slap, drop a sneaky bunt, and hit away with pop. Her barrel control is next level, and she is fun to watch pick apart defenses. On defense, she is versatile and athletic. She gets...
Tournaments | Story | 6/13/2026

West Coast Summer Breakout Hopefuls

Joey Cohen
Article Image
With summer ball ramping up, the priority follow lists from our scouting staff start to take shape and every year a handful of intriguing names outside the national spotlight begin to separate. Digging deeper into the West region, there’s a group of prospects currently buried outside the Top 200 who carry real breakout and helium potential over the next few months. All 10 players featured here are coming off strong high school seasons and bring traits that evaluators tend to bet on whether it’s projectable/athletic bodies, strong secondary stuff, or flashes of impact tools. They may not be household names just yet, but the ingredients are there for significant jumps by the end of the summer circuit. Don’t be surprised if several of these names are firmly in the mix and climbing up early boards in a hurry before the fall rolls around. Two innings of work here from Jonah...
Tournaments | Story | 6/14/2026

UBC West Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
Nash McCarthy (2030, Camas, WA) was outstanding in his start on day two of the UBC West for NW Baum Bat, working six-innings allowing four-hits, no walks and struck out seven.  Standing at 6-foot, 170-pounds with athleticism and room to add.  Effortless mover down the bump with a low effort, up-tempo operation that produced a fastball that was up to 84.  He showed feel for the secondary offerings mixing in a firm breaking ball at 71-74 with 11-5 shape with depth.  Controlled the zone and the tempo throughout the outing, moving the ball around to all four-quadrants.  Projectable arm speed with advanced feel for the spin and strike zone.  Dylan D'Oyen (2030, Cerritos, CA) got the start for 5 Star 2030 in their opening game of the tournament and impressed over six innings of work.  Athletic mover down the mound with balance and repeats the delivery. ...
Tournaments | Story | 6/13/2026

UBC South Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Quintin Blackwell (2030, Hercules, California) has, literally, been unstoppable this weekend for Premier Banditos Deleon. In six plate appearances, he has a walk and five hits. Doing it all with a double and two triples, while stealing three bags. Plenty of coil on the front side. Hands work through zone and the barrel stays on plane for a long time. High upside bat that makes an already deep Banditos lineup even deeper. Kenson Buth (2027, Trophy Club, Texas) has been an absolute weapon on both ends for Stix 2027 Scout. At the plate, he’s 6-9 with two doubles, a triple, and a home run. Linear approach with a ton of bat speed. Plenty of impact at the bottom of the zone and showing some ability to do serious damage in the middle of the field. On the mound, he went four quality innings, punching out three. The fastball lived 86-90 with carry. Good feel for the slider in the mid 70s....
Tournaments | Story | 6/13/2026

WWBA East Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Sawyer Pettit (‘27 MS) Has shown extremely well to start the summer of 2026. Its a physical left-handed hitting corner profile with big muscle mass. Will pass the eye test off the bus at the next level. The swing is clean with controlled violence and big in-air power that has shown up frequently. Good mover for the size and plays the game hard. Candidate for a big frosh season at LSU-Eunice in 2028. Keviyun McQueen (‘27 MS) Pair of barrels tied together here. Innate feel to hit with fast hands. Line drive approach that gets to pull side power in the air. Excellent athlete that will stick at a premium spot. #LaTech commit.#WWBAEast pic.twitter.com/xeintVTMil — PG Deep South (@PG_DeepSouth) June 12, 2026 Keviyun McQueen (‘27 MS) The Louisiana Tech commit just does not stop hitting. Left the yard to the pull side yesterday and followed it up with a 3-4 day with a...
Tournaments | Story | 6/12/2026

AZ All-State Ready to Take Place

Emily Hicks
Article Image
This weekend, eight teams will head to Goodyear Ballpark for the 2026 PG Arizona All-State tournament, setting the stage for what should be an exciting few days of baseball. With teams traveling from across the city, the field will be packed with talent and plenty of championship contenders. Among the teams competing in 16U are AZ Select, Marucci Athletics 2028 Grannis, Overfly 2028, Phoenix Phillies, Team Dinger 2028, T-Rex East Valley, USA Scout Team AZ 16U, and West Coast Ghost AZ 16U. Each team enters the weekend with its own strengths and goals, creating several intriguing storylines to follow throughout pool play and bracket action. One of the biggest teams to watch this weekend will be 10-10, T-Rex East Valley. Whether it's dominant pitching, high-powered offenses, or strong defensive play, T-Rex East Valley has already shown they can compete at a high level this season. A few...
Tournaments | Story | 6/12/2026

13/14u PG Elite Scout Notes: Days 3-5

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
13u & 14u PG Elite Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Tucker Richardson (2030, Mobile, Ala.) has already made a name for himself and he continued to play at the expected high level during his time in Hoover, finishing the tournament with a robust .700 average, collecting at least one base hit in each of his team’s games. Now the No. 10 ranked prospect in the country, Richardson more than once showed the ability to read and react to spin out of the pitcher’s hand, barreling up baseballs for a couple of his hits on the tournament. As much as the bat stands out, the defensive actions in the dirt are even better as he’s arguably the best defender in the class, making the most difficult plays look routing, including one where he charged hard on a slow roller with momentum taking him towards the third base dugout but thanks to the big arm, he was able to make the play look second...
Tournaments | Story | 6/11/2026

PG East WWBA to Get Underway

Kinley Kitchens
Article Image
One of the summer’s premier events returns to the Hoover area this week as the 2026 Perfect Game East WWBA Championship gets underway. Now in its seventh year, the event has become a staple on the summer travel baseball calendar, bringing together some of the top organizations and prospects from across the country. A total of 132 teams will compete across three age divisions, including 38 teams in the 15U division, 48 teams in the 16U division, and 46 teams in the 17U division. Past champions include organizations such as Top Gun Team Alabama, EBC, USA Prime Alabama, and defending champion USA Prime Southeast 15U. As always, the tournament field features some of the nation’s top-ranked players. In the 15U division, all eyes will be on Alabama right-hander Tristan Blalock, the No. 23 ranked player nationally in the 2029 class and the top ranked player in Alabama. Blalock...
Tournaments | Championship | 6/11/2026

Team Elite Takes Another PG Elite

Kinley Kitchens
Article Image
After capturing last year’s championship, Team Elite Scout 14U returned to Hoover looking to prove their success was no fluke. Four days later, they accomplished exactly that. Behind strong pitching, timely hitting, and the confidence that has defined the team throughout the tournament, Team Elite Scout 14U defeated SBA Bolts National 14U to claim the 2026 PG 14U National Elite Championship and secure back-to-back titles. “It’s awesome,” Team Elite Coach Blankenship said. “This is our first event of the year, so it’s good to get it to start with them, and they won it last year, so I know they are excited to do that back-to-back, so it’s pretty awesome.” The championship game showcased many of the same qualities that carried Team Elite through the tournament. Ryan Johnson delivered 4.1 scoreless innings on the mound, allowing just two hits...
Loading more articles...