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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/26/2019

18U Southeast: Scout Notes

Tyler Russo     
Photo: Dilan Lawson (Perfect Game)
37th round selection by the New York Mets and Tallahassee Community College commit Dilan Lawson (2019, Madison, Fla.) made his way out to the mound for a talented Next Level Baseball 18U team in the 18U Southeast quarterfinal round. Lawson is a highly projectable righthander, standing at 6-foot-3, 180 pounds with a strong and athletic lower half who works out of a very clean and balanced delivery as he extends well to the plate. The fastball, working at 86-88 mph in the outing, had good life to it as it jumped on hitters and created a great deal of weak contact. Lawson worked consistently downhill and is able to command the fastball well enough to both halves of the plate that he rarely had to use an off-speed pitch on his way to three shutout innings and a trio of strikeouts.



Young uncommitted outfielder Jaden Rudd (2021, Lynn Haven, Fla.) was a pleasant surprise in a tournament full of recent graduates and rising seniors. Rudd, taking home MVP honors, has all the tools to play at the next level, but his hitting ability and athleticism stand out above them all. At the plate, he has a very compact, smooth swing that produces a good deal of power from his present bat speed. He has advanced feel for finding the barrel and getting on time to different pitches around the zone, evidenced in the video above in which he took a fastball up-and-in to the right-center field wall for a stand-up triple. On and around the bases, he showed a high level of athleticism and natural instincts for picking up the extra base. Defensively, he covers a good amount of ground in the outfield with very smooth actions getting to the ball and getting on line for throws that showed a ton of carry and a very strong arm. Rudd also showed well on the mound as the lefthander worked two perfect innings, picking up a pair of strikeouts on a fastball up to 85 mph while also mixing in feel for a curveball and a changeup with good arm-side tumble. Rudd is a talent on and off the field as the game seems to come very easy to him as he picked up 10 hits and five walks, scoring 11 times and driving in six across his seven games over the past four days.



Another young uncommitted prospect to make an appearance and succeed in the 18U division was righthander Tanner Boccabello (2021, Tampa, Fla.). Standing at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, he is a large-bodied righthander who has a strong, solid lower half that still has plenty of room to add athleticism. The arm stroke is smooth and whips through a three-quarters slot as he tunnels his arm well across all three of his pitches. The fastball worked at 85-87 mph and topping out at 88 mph, has some straightness to it but showed some late life as he worked it past the barrel rather consistently. The dominance in his seven shutout innings, where he allowed only three hits and no walks while striking out nine, came from his feel for a good curveball and solid changeup. The curveball, with consistent 12-to-6 shape, showed high spin and hard bite that had hitters struggling to lay off as it dove into the dirt. The changeup was very good throughout as it flashed consistent arm-side tumble as he commanded it well to the back door against lefthanded hitters. Boccabello will be a fun prospect to watch as he continues to add a bit of athleticism and improve the overall feel for commanding all three pitches against elite competition.

Uncommitted righthander Cameron Oliu (2020, Seffner, Fla.) had a busy weekend on the mound as he made three appearances across four days for the runner-up GameTime Prospects Orange team. Across his six innings of work, Oliu allowed only two hits while striking out 13. Although the command struggled at times, the pure stuff he possesses is very good and projects well to the next level. The fastball worked consistently at 86-88 mph and bumped up to 90 mph in the last of his outings, showing a great deal of arm-side run with some heaviness to the pitch. Paired with the fastball, he flashed good feel for a late, hard turning slider that he both swept away and backed up to righthander hitters. Oliu has a current hitch in his leg lift that can limit his extension and ability to work downhill at times, but as that is cleaned up and he continues to develop a feel for the lower half of the zone, he will become a very intriguing prospect to watch.

Broward College commit Carlos Castillo (2019, Hialeah, Fla.) put together a very loud performance in the quarterfinal round for Next Level Scout Team. Castillo went 2-for-3, with the hits coming in the form of a double and a home run to the pull side. The double would come in the first inning as he took an 88 mph fastball up and drove it into the left-center gap. The home run would come in his next at-bat as he sat back up on a breaking ball and deposited it over the left field fence. Castillo is a very strong, athletic shortstop with a smooth swing who controls the barrel very well as he drives the ball with strength. At shortstop, the actions are very smooth as he showed a good feel for getting the right hop, getting on line and throwing on-line with strength.



Uncommitted lefthander Anthony Figueroa (2020, North Miami, Fla.) once again worked an interesting outing as he threw only 1 1/3 innings due to command issues, but struck out three and didn’t allow a hit. Figueroa, standing only 5-foot-9, 130 pounds worked a lively fastball with good arm-side run at 86-88 mph while tunneling a very good hard-breaking curveball in the mid-70s range. When the command is there, the stuff is good and very difficult to hit and the power generated out the small frame is as intriguing as it gets. It will be interesting to see if Figueroa can pick up size as he progresses over the summer and heads into his senior year.

Florida Atlantic commit Cade Parker (2019, Panama City Beach, Fla.) also had a very sound weekend on both sides of the ball, putting together a 7-for-17 performance, including a pair of doubles and walks, while scoring seven times. Parker has a very smooth swing with a great deal of bat speed that allows him to pull his hands inside and drive through the ball. The feel for the barrel lacked at times, but when on time with his lower half, he made very clean contact and used his athleticism to make his way around the bases. Where Parker stands out is defensively as he made many outstanding plays while at second base, showcasing a smooth set of hands with a very strong arm out of a quick transfer and short arm action.



Fellow Florida Atlantic commit Victor Castillo (2019, Tallahassee, Fla.) put a strong set of tools on display as he picked up a pair of hits in Next Level’s quarterfinal win Monday afternoon. Castillo has a good feel for getting the barrel inside the baseball and driving the baseball to the pull side. Profiling as an athletic outfielder, he covers ground very well and showcased a strong arm as he got around the baseball well in the gaps. Castillo’s arm strength and hit tool will continue to give him success as he moves on to the next level in a couple months.

Uncommitted graduated senior Dominic Pineiro (2019, Palm Harbor, Fla.)was very good in his outing to open the tournament for Empire Baseball 18U. Pineiro, a wiry 6-foot-1, 170 pounds, works from a slow, balanced delivery in which he gets on line to the plate well to command both halves of the plate. The fastball worked at 83-85 mph, showed good life as it jumped on hitters and created weak contact as they struggled to time it up. His go-to pitch was the breaking ball which showed hard, late break and good depth as it fell under hitter’s barrels. His ability to command the zone and mix his pitches well led to his eight strikeouts across seven scoreless and walk-less innings.



Uncommitted infielder Chase Bragg (2020, Pensacola Beach, Fla.) was very successful hitting in the heart of the order for Next Level Baseball’s 18U team. The lefthanded hitting third baseman has a short and stocky frame, but uses his weight and strength to produce a great deal of bat speed and some pop to the pull side. Bragg showed the ability to handle pitches around the zone well, as evidenced in the video above when he pulled his hands inside to drive an 85 mph fastball back up the middle for a single in the quarterfinal round. Bragg’s high level of discipline at the plate allowed him to hunt his pitch in any count, as well as pick up five walks in his 17 plate appearances across the tournament.

Uncommitted Jason Roberts (2020, Pensacola, Fla.) was utilized all over the field over the last four days and showed some level of success at almost every spot. The primary catcher showed well at the plate as he put his strength to all fields on display, picking up a pair of loud hits in the quarterfinal round. The swing showed some length at times, but the feel for getting the barrel on time was good and there is some definite pop there when he can get extended and drive through the baseball. Behind the plate he showed good, athletic actions for his wide build and showcased a good bit of arm strength with strong, on-line throws, although not tested very often. Roberts also made a strong appearance on the mound, getting the start in the championship game, tossing four innings of two-hit baseball, allowing just two unearned runs. He put the arm strength from behind the plate on display running the fastball up to 86 mph while filling the zone and creating consistent weak contact. 



Bryce Dillmore (2019, Bristol, Fla.), a recent Wallace-Dothan signee, was efficient in his brief outing, starting the semifinal game for the eventual champion Next Level Baseball 18U. He worked four scoreless innings, scattering four hits and a pair of walks while picking up five strikeouts. The highly projectable righthander, standing roughly 6-foot-4 with long limbs and a strong lower half, has very raw stuff at the moment that will develop as he adds athleticism to the delivery. The fastball comes out of the hand very effortlessly as he works at 86-88 mph, bumping it up to 90 mph once in the outing. Dillmore used a good mix of off-speed pitches, flashing good feel for a breaking ball with 12-to-6 shape and good depth while mixing in a straight changeup to get hitters off-time from the fastball.
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