The
rain was abundant on the first day of the Perfect Game WWBA 17-U
tournament, but so was the talent on the teams that were able to get
a game played.
2014
RHP Luis Ortiz was dominant in his outing for the San Diego
Show, sitting 90-92 mph with his fastball, topping 93 multiple times.
He backed up the pitch with his dominant slider that baseball people
have come to know over the last few weeks.
Austin
Bernard of the Show hit a solo home run in his last at-bat, a
shot over the left field fence off a curveball.
Top
ranked 2014 prospect Alex Jackson was able to show off his
talents, lining a ball back up the middle for a single, registering
105 mph off the bat, coming around to later score in the inning.
Playing right field, the coach of Gallagher Team Mizuno wisely held
up a runner at third on a hard ground ball out to Jackson, who came
up throwing and delivered a strike to home plate, showing off his
powerful arm.
Christopher
Talbott and Mike Salvatore, both of Gallagher Team Mizuno,
both picked up two base hits and an RBI each, helping to lead the
team's offense.
Starting
for Houston Heat Silver was 2014 RHP Tyler Kolek with a large
gathering of scouts behind home plate to get a glimpse top ranked
right handed pitcher. He didn’t disappoint in his two innings of
work (rain delay), running his fastball up to 95 mph and throwing
both a changeup and a slider for strikes. With his three pitches,
Kolek was able to strike out five of the six batters he faced.
Another
big 2014 arm was on the mound yesterday, about an hour away from
Kolek in Peachtree City. LHP Daniel Gooden also threw in front
of a large onlooking crowd of scouts, touching 91 mph once with his
fastball and a few 90s (he sat 88-89), and carved up hitters thanks
to his ability to spot his fastball on both sides of the plate.
Gooden struck out 10 batters, showing feel for both his changeup and
curveball, helping him to keep opposing batters off balance.
ABA
Elite 17U won 4-1 yesterday morning, thanks in part to the bat Sam
Finnerty, who was
3-for-4 in the box and came around to score three times. Finnerty
picked up a double and two singles to go along with a stolen base.
Known
for his pitching and the ability to throw 97 mph on the bump, 2014
RHP Dylan Cease showed that he could swing the bat as well
yesterday, hitting both a double and home run in Team Elite Prime’s
victory.
On
the mound for Team Elite Prime was Spencer Adams, a tall,
projectable 2014 right handed pitcher who sat 86-88 mph on his
fastball, topping out at 91 while striking out seven batters.
Left-handed
2014 prospect Brady Adam had a solid performance in his two
innings of work, running his fastball up to 88 mph, throwing from a
lower three-quarters arm slot and pounding the lower half of the
strike zone. To complement his FB, Adam threw a tight, late-breaking
slider in the mid-70s that peaked at 77 mph, and threw both pitches
for strikes, striking out the side in both innings he was on the
mound.
Handsome
Monica showed the same up tempo playing style that he has
throughout the past year, hustling around the bases and hitting the
ball hard. Last night Monica picked up two base hits, leading Marucci
Elite offensively in their 3-1 win over the Long Island Prospects.
Marucci
Elite also got a very strong pitching performance from 2014 RHP Joe
Cavallaro, who struck out 13 batters and didn't allow a hit in
his six innings of work. Cavallaro didn’t light up the radar guns,
sitting 82-84 mph with his fastball, but he didn’t have to as he
showed very good command, spotting his pitches in-and-out and
up-and-down in the zone, getting some hard sink and run on his
fastball. He also threw a sharp breaking ball in which he would add
and subtract velocity from, getting different types of break on the
pitch.
Any
time a pitcher strikes out 13 batters, their pitch count is usually
high, and that was the case for Cavallaro, who despite the no-hitter,
was pulled after six innings. Relieving him was 2014 RHP Mitch
Hart, a recent USC commit, who closed out the game. Sitting 88-89
mph with his fastball, Hart threw two pitches at 90 mph; the first
pitch of the inning and the last pitch of the inning, which was
located on the outer black for a called third strike. Hart also
showed a sharp curveball in the mid-70s and has a very good, late
fading changeup which he didn’t feature last night.
Opposing
Marucci Elite on the mound for Long Island Prospects was 2013 RHP
Jason Foley
who ran his fastball up to 89 mph in the first inning and still
touched 88 mph late in the game. In his five innings of work, Foley
struck out seven batters, throwing a changeup in the upper-70s
(topping out at 80 mph) and a curveball in the low-70s. In addition
to having good feel for three pitches, Foley has a large, projectable
frame and should see his velocity increase as he fills out a little
bit more.