The Senior All-Star Classic has brought together the top players in southwest Florida for years and this year’s game was no different with multiple players that will move on to division one baseball, including a number of high 80s arms and up the middle athletes. Here is a quick scouting look at some of the event’s top prospects.
-The top prospect was undoubtedly Mariner HS Jason Carmichael, the long athletic righty has touched 92 at PG events in the past but usually pitches comfortably in the 88-90 range. Carmichael has gained a tick to his fastball, sitting 90-92 and hitting a couple of 93s. His arm action is loose and easy and he works quickly, repeating his delivery and pounding the lower half of the strikes zone. Carmichael’s out pitch is a late breaking slider at 79-81, Carmichael had very good feel for it early in the inning but left a few up later in the frame, causing the pitch to flatten out. He also showed a changeup at 80-82 that showed some run and changeup action.
-It is easy to see how Estero HS went 27-3 and 10-0 during 5A District 14 play this year. The Wildcats had seven players on the Gold team all of whom have college baseball in their future.
-RHP Kyle Miller sat 84-86 with his fastball after touching 88 at the 2011 WWBA World Championship in Jupiter. He is long and lean, a similar body to Jason Carmichael with even more length and room to fill. Miller has easy arm action and good feel for a 76-77 mph changeup, mixing the pitches and hitting his spots throughout the inning. He also did something at the plate that every scout in attendance loved to see, ripping an outer half fastball to right-center field and flying around the bases for a triple.
-Miller’s teammate RHP Matt Pearce has a quick arm and very short action, getting on hitters quickly with his 86-88 mph fastball. He is big and strong and area scouts say he has touched the low 90s earlier in the year. His second offering is a changeup that is 77-79.
-Estero’s catcher, Anthony Prochaska, is a solid athlete with good receiving skills but his bat stood out Wednesday. He has loose hands and wrists and bat control which allowed him to have some of the best bat speed of the event. He was rarely beaten by a fastball inside and ripped a double down the left field line during the Gold team’s five run rally.
-The hitter with the best swing and approach was another Wildcat, SS Tyler Selesky. He is a medium framed left-handed hitter who is an average athlete but has a hit tool that will play. He is simple and easy with his approach, stays inside the ball very well and his hand eye coordination allows him to foul off pitches out of his zone, and ripping pitches he likes up the middle for base hits.
-Estero 1B Ryan Withstandley passed the uniform test as well as anyone with his 6’6 230 pound frame. Power is his calling card and it is easy to see him hitting balls 400+ feet. With his long levers he likes the ball out over the plate and is most comfortable pulling the ball at this point.
-Evangel Christian C Corbin Weeks hit some of the hardest balls of the day, ripping a few fastballs into left field. Compact and strong, Weeks makes strong contact with a short swing, doing a good job of being short to the ball and keeping his bat in the zone.
-Two athletes stood out for the Orange team, Cypress Lake HS OF Teft Hill and Fort Myers HS Brendan Sanger. Hill is a very good defender whose speed is his best tool. He ran a 6.58 at last year’s National Showcase and his speed plays in the outfield and getting down the line. He is one of the best defensive center fielders in the state and has 90 mph arm strength to go with his speed.
-Sanger is a long, lean player whose body projects as well as anyone in the game. A left-handed hitter he is long to the ball at times but uses strong hands to hit line drives into right-center field. He is a very good defensive SS with quick feet, body control and good athleticism moving to both sides.
-Another quality middle infielder is Riverdale HS Alex Mata, a deceptive athlete who has very good feel around the second base bag as well as enough arm strength to play on the left side. Mata also showed a loose bat at the plate with the ability to hit the ball to all fields.
-RHP/SS Cain Spangler is an athletic middle infielder from Cape Coral HS with a short swing and solid defensive actions. He stood out more on the mound Wednesday as he was 85-87, getting ahead in the count and putting hitters away with a very good changeup at 74-75 with sink and late run.
-RHP Brendan Long from Barron Collier HS, showed a nice three pitch mix and fellow up to 89. His comfort zone is 84-86, but he can reach back for more if needed. He compliments it with a 72-74 mph curveball and 74-76 mph changeup.
A typical, early evening Fort Myers shower and lightning delay sent most of the fans home early but not after most of the top arms had taken the mound.
Many of the players competing will not miss a beat, starting their summer season up by playing in the 18u WWBA Memorial Day Classic this weekend in Fort Myers.