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High School  | General  | 4/2/2017

2017 NHSI scout notes: Days 3-4

David Rawnsley     
Photo: Steve Fiorindo



2017 NHSI scout notes: Days 1-2

Senior righthanded pitcher/catcher Hagan Danner (Huntington Beach (Calif.) HS) and junior catcher/righthanded pitcher Mason Denaberg (Merritt Island (Fla.) HS) are two of the most similar players in the high school ranks, and two of the most talented. Danner caught 10 innings in Huntington Beach's first game and didn't pitch until his team's final game as a result. Denaburg likewise caught Merritt Island's first game and didn't throw until their third game. Such is the life of catchers who are also premium talents on the mound.

Both players are legitimate prospects in both roles. Danner has focused more on his positional ability during his high school years while gradually increasing his workload on the mound and it appears that he's a primary pitching prospect at present. He threw five shutout innings in his final game start, working consistently in the 90-94 mph range with his fastball from a pretty easy low effort delivery. His curveball has good power and depth at 77 mph when he stays back in his delivery and doesn't get his body out ahead of his arm and Danner showed the ability to make in-game adjustments during this outing after initially struggling with the curveball. The fastball is pretty straight but Danner was able to spot it to both sides well and work ahead in counts.

Danner's arm action is not your prototypical catcher's arm action on the mound. He's long and loose from a high three-quarters arm slot and gets downhill with extension very well through release. The ball comes out of his hand easily.

Denaburg has had a much more balanced mix of catching and pitching experience than Danner had at the same age. He's already thrown in 20 Perfect Game events, many for the Central Florida Gators, while also catching. Denaburg is currently ranked 15th in the PG 2018 class rankings.



He's longer and more physically projectable than Danner at this point, too. Denaburg is listed at 6-foot-3, 190-pounds with long legs and arms and plenty of room to fill out and get stronger. In fact, his length may impede his ceiling defensively as a catcher, as his long legs sometimes get in the way of his ability to shift and manage his footwork at present. Neither Denaburg's athleticism – he's a 6.89 runner who would make an outstanding right fielder or third baseman – nor his outstanding arm strength will hold him back defensively.

Denaburg has also stood out as a righthanded hitter with a strong and powerful swing and plenty of middle-of-the-field pop. He had a very strong tournament at the plate, squaring the ball up with authority frequently.

On the mound, Denaburg and Danner are very similar. Denaburg worked six innings in his start, striking out 11 hitters and working 89-91 and touching 93 early. His best pitch was an upper-70s curveball that had tight spin and very good depth and he threw strikes with both pitches.

Denaburg's teammate, PG All-American shortstop Brady McConnell, also had a very strong tournament for Merritt Island, which went 2-2 with the two losses coming to a very strong Huntington Beach team and the eventual champions, Orange Lutheran. McConnell showed plus bat speed consistently, hitting the ball hard to the middle of the field and picking up a three-hit game in one contest. His plus speed was on display both offensively and defensively as well.




Joe Perez (Archbishop McCarthy HS) was written up in the first NHSI notes as a righthanded pitcher but made his presence felt as a hitter on Friday. The righthanded hitter knocked out three hits, including a booming double to left-center field and an opposite field home run, and picked up seven RBI on the day.

Winder Barrow (Ga.) High School had a strong run in the tournament, going 3-1 and reaching the semifinals before losing a hard fought 6-5 contest to Dana Hills (Calif.) High School. They were led by two seniors in center fielder Pat DeMarco, a Vanderbilt sign, and catcher Beau Hanna, a Kennesaw State sign.

DeMarco is a strongly put together 5-foot-10, 205-pound righthanded hitter who has plus running speed and plenty of power potential. One scout summarized him very well when he said, "That DeMarco is just a solid all around player. I wouldn't be surprised at all is doesn't play well at Vandy and make himself a million dollars when he comes out as a junior."

Hanna was banged up much of last summer and didn't perform up to expectations at all times on the summer circuit as a result. He's always been a very strong righthanded hitter and had a dominant tournament with the bat, consistently pulling the ball with authority. Most impressively, he looked to be in very good shape and showed athleticism and tools behind the plate that weren't evident before.

One of the best aspects of an event like the NHSI is that one gets see lots of talented underclassmen perform for their high school teams. It's a natural thing for any scout to look down a high school roster and pick out the freshman and sophomores because with this quality of high school team, a youngster who is starting already is probably a very good player and worth a close look.

Here are some quick hits on some of the freshman and sophomores who stood out:

Lefthanded pitcher and outfielder Joshua Hahn (2019, Huntington Beach HS) didn't throw when I was watching their games but he's ranked 91st in the PG 2019 class rankings and was up to 87 mph last fall. He is a very strong and athletic 6-foot-1, 190-pound outfielder with lots of bat speed and power as a position player.

Infielder Cooper Weiss (2019, Canterbury School) is a very polished player both offensively and defensively for his age and swings a strong righthanded bat.

Outfielder Thomas Buckanavage (2020, Dana Hills HS) hit in the five hole in the Dana Hills’ lineup for at least one game, impressive as Dana Hills reached the championship game. He has a nice righthanded swing and showed a strong ability to execute fundamentally in different game situations.

Catcher Santiago Garavito (2019, American Heritage School) stood out on both sides of the ball, showing athleticism and quickness in all his actions defensively and lots of bat speed and hard line drive contact at the plate.

Center fielder Enrique Bradford (2020, American Heritage School) is a spindly 5-foot-11, 140-pound youngster but he can flat fly, posting a 4.06-second home-to-first time from the left side on one ground ball and stealing bases at will. If he ends up 6-foot-1, 170-pounds in three years, watch out.

Shortstop Bryan Muniz (2020, Trinity Christian HS) was his team's designated hitter due to senior prospect Austin Martin holding down the shortstop position but he's the 96th ranked freshman in the PG class rankings and is already a Florida International commit.

Righthanded pitcher Dylan Simmons (2019, Trinity Christian HS) is a big and strong sophomore with a Florida State commitment. He was 85-88 mph to go with a mid-70s slider.

Lefthanded pitcher Christian Rodriguez (2020, Orange Lutheran HS) jumps out with his extremely projectable 6-foot-5, 170-pound build and loose athletic actions. The Orange Lutheran coaches trusted him enough to start him in the opening game of their championship run and he responded to the pressure well. Rodriguez's stuff was solid for his age, 82-84 mph with good angle on his fastball, to go with a big curveball and a changeup.

Third baseman Michael Brueser (2020, Hamilton HS) is the younger brother of standout senior Nick but looks to be a prospect in his own right. He has plenty of present strength in his righthanded swing and is already hitting in the middle of the Hamilton lineup.

Outfielder Joe McLaughlin (2019, Hamilton HS) has a 6-foot-3, 200-pound build and very loose athletic actions to go with lots of righthanded bat speed. The Oregon State commit has a very high physical ceiling from this look.
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