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High School  | General  | 3/31/2017

Coach Bob scout notes: Days 3-4

Photo: Perfect Game



Days 1-2 Scout Notes

In the championship game of the Coach Bob National Invitational American Division, Apollo High School (Ariz.) defeated Mountain Ridge HS (Ariz.) by a score of 4-2, thanks mostly to a three-run outburst in the sixth inning that pushed Apollo ahead for good. 

Starting the game for Mountain Ridge was Matthew Liberatore (2018, Ariz.), a University of Arizona commit and currently the 81st-ranked player in the class by Perfect Game. Liberatore went the first five frames for Mountain Ridge, allowing a single run on four hits and one walk, striking out four in the process as well. He’s an extremely projectable young lefthander with a slender present build; though his frame is such that he’ll be able to add significant strength and size in the future. The delivery and arm action are very easy, with minimal effort necessary to create very good arm speed and it’s extraordinarily easy to see his stuff continuing to develop as a result. 

The fastball worked in the 86-89 mph range for the entirety of his 60-pitch outing, peaking at 90 early on. Liberatore established the fastball early on and then immediately showed advanced sequencing ability, using all three of his pitches throughout his outing but still showing the ability to put away hitters with that fastball. Throwing from an extremely extended three-quarters arm slot, Liberatore is able to create very good angle to the plate to both sides, and the control of the fastball, while ahead of the command at this point, was very good. 

He mixed in both a curveball and a changeup; both projecting extremely well. The curveball varied in shape a bit due to inconsistencies in release point, but at its best it’s a 1-to-7 shaped hammer of a pitch with sharp break and very good spin,the type of curveball that – when sharpened up and thrown harder as he matures – has the makings of a plus pitch. He throws his changeup well, with very good velocity differential from his fastball and moderate fading life; but will need to iron out some inconsistencies as he matures, such as a tendency to drop his arm slot a bit when throwing the pitch.




On Wednesday, a nice throng of four corners area scouts descended on Verrada High School to see Drake Davis (2017, Colo.) pitch for Ralston Valley High School. A solidly-built 6-foot-1, 180-pound righthander, Davis showed one of the better breaking balls of the event thus far to go along with a quality overall package of tools. His delivery is a bit unorthodox in that he employs a severe hip tilt back into a drop-and-drive delivery, then extending well downhill and getting off of his backside cleanly and online with his hips.

His arm action features a deep plunge through the back curling into a hook, but he accelerates out of it cleanly and hides the ball extremely well up to a high three-quarters slot release, and on the whole his delivery and arm action work for him in addition to helping to add deception. His fastball worked in the 86-89 mph early on in his start, working down in the zone consistently and showing the ability to work to both sides of the plate. His weapon pitch, as mentioned above, is his curveball, thrown with conviction in the low-70s with 11-to-5 shape and very good depth. The pitch is spun correctly and is a perfect fit for his arm slot and natural hand position at release; and he’s able to both throw it for a strike and as chase pitch. 

He’s signed with Arizona State, and at this point looks like he’ll be able to help the Sun Devil staff right away next season, considering his advanced feel for pitching to go along with a curveball that should be a weapon as soon as he steps on campus. 

Davis’ catcher was Luke Leisenring (2018, Colo.), a junior prospect, who, like Davis, is also committed to Head Coach Tracy Smith’s Arizona State Sun Devils. A switch-hitting catcher with excellent size and physicality, Leisenring checks in at 6-foot-3, 190-pounds and has the frame/projection to potentially carry upwards of 220 pounds at maturity. He shows solid present barrel feel from the left side of the plate (the only side he hit from in this viewing), though he can get a bit long and tie himself up as a result, but the approach is to all fields and he executes that approach well. Behind the plate he’s an advanced receiver with high quality present footwork, and the athleticism/twitch necessary to stay behind the plate long term, though at maturity he may end up bigger than the traditional catcher. He’s definitely a name to follow in 2018.




Pine Creek High School righthander Parker Gregory (2019, Colo.) showed pretty quality stuff and future potential on the mound on Wednesday evening at Boulder Creek High School, though he wasn’t at his sharpest overall. He’s a good-sized sophomore prospect, with quality build throughout his large frame at present. He worked up to 88 mph early on in his start, settling into the 85-87 mph range consistently and showing the kind of arm speed necessary to project on him for more velocity in the future. He showed both a slider and a changeup, flashing good feel for both pitches but struggling with the consistency of his release point on both as well, often leaving them up in the zone and flat through it. The best pitch he threw in my viewing was a slider at 76 mph towards the middle of his outing, thrown with conviction and with no discernible hump out of the hand, the pitch had good two plane break on a 10-to-4 shape and generated an empty swing over the top of it. Continuing to find consistency with that pitch and throwing more and more of the one I described will allow him to take the next step forward in his development, something likely to happen sooner than later in my estimation. 

Jack Winkler (2017, Colo.) has enjoyed a solid week in Arizona overall, and had several evaluators check in to see him on Wednesday afternoon. A very projectable 6-foot-1, 175-pound athlete, the San Francisco signee looks the part of a quality middle field defender with lots of projection remaining on his frame. He’s got quality present feel for the barrel at the plate, and will drive the ball more and more as he continues to fill out his slender frame. The hands work well into the swing onto a mostly linear swing plane, and he shows the ability to work to all fields and is more than comfortable working the opposite way when pitched away. He’ll definitely be an interesting name to follow through his collegiate career. 
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