2,083 MLB PLAYERS | 14,476 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story  | 7/16/2017

17u BCS Day 6 Scout Notes

Photo: Perfect Game

Daily Leaders | Player Stats | Day 1 Notes | Day 2 Notes | Day 3 Notes | Day 4 Notes | Day 5 Notes

Playoff action in any Perfect Game tournament brings out the best in every player and team. Highly competitive games began at The Five-Plex Training Complex in the early morning of Day 6 and carried on until late in the afternoon. At the end of the day, only four teams remained in the hunt for the 2017 17u BCS National Championship.

Drew Wilkerson (2018, Fleming Island, Fla.), the extremely gifted center fielder for 5 Star Mizell, led the way for his club against a very talented TBSA Patriots team out of Tampa.  The 5-foot-11, 170-pound Wilkerson is the leadoff hitter for the Mizell edition from 5 Star and is an ideal tablesetter. He is a very patient hitter who has competitive at-bats every time he comes to the plate. A rising senior at Fleming Island High School, Wilkerson hits from a slightly open stance and has a short, quick, and flat bat path that helps him hit line drives to all parts of the field. His number one offensive tool is his speed and his instinctive base running ability. Defensively, he is a ballhawk and has gap-to-gap range and a very strong and accurate arm.

Gifted first baseman, Chip Burch (2018, Eastman, Ga.) hits in the middle of the 5 Star Mizell order and had a performance in this ball game that he will long remember. His three-hit day was highlighted by a first inning grand slam that traveled far over the left field fence on Field 2 at the 5-Plex. The big, sturdy, and athletic Burch looks for pitches middle-in and does not expand his strike zone. His short, direct, and powerful swing with a power hitter’s lift at contact, is college ready. He is also a very capable first baseman. He has quick actions and sure hands and is very agile around the bag.

Ethan Camps (2018, Jacksonville, Fla.) was the Mizell catcher in his club’s game against the Patriots. He is very steady behind the plate and his setup and receiving abilities are ready for the next level. He is a solid thrower of the ball and he gains ground and gets the ball on his way with advanced ability. Offensively, he uses a slightly open stance and a middle-of-the-field bat path to get his barrel to the ball with each pass.

One player who caught the attention of a number of baseball fans, coaches, scouts and onlookers while the 5 Star Mizell team was playing was Caleb Lanoux (2018, Fleming Island, Ga.). Lanoux pitched Mizell to victory in game one, throwing five innings and 96 pitches. While not overpowering, his two-pitch mix was competitive and gave his team a chance to play defense and win the ball game. His fastball was thrown to both sides of the plate and consistently down in the zone. His curveball, which Lanoux pitched off of the entire game, was a tight spinning and late breaking 11-to-5 sweeper that was very deceptive.

All Lanoux did after he pitched the 5 Star Mizell team to victory in game one of the playoffs was put the catcher’s gear on and catch eight innings in the next ball game. He had all of 20 minutes to rest between the end of the first game and the start of the second. He also hit in the three-hole and went 2-for-3 for the Mizell team against the 5 Star National Dobbs entry. It became very obvious early on in game two that Lanoux has a lion’s heart and a toughness that’s hard to find. His gritty, tough and gifted performance is worthy of high praise.

The Burn Premier 2018 team is loaded with outstanding ballplayers. The Burn have had an outstanding week collectively and many individuals have turned in very noteworthy performances. Cade Middleton (2018, Ft. Myers, Fla.), turned in one of those outstanding individual performances Saturday morning in the Burn’s first ball game. Middleton started and finished the early game and was simply brilliant. The 6-foot, 155-pound righthander was masterful using a three-pitch mix that he worked to both sides of the plate. His fastball was in the 84-85 mph range all day as he carried his velocity from the first until the last. His fastball had excellent arm-side run and outstanding sink. His 74-75 mph curveball had sharp 12-to-6 break and he threw it in any count against both right and lefthanded hitters. His changeup is advanced pitch that his threw out of the same arm slot as his fastball. His pace and poise showed that he has the ability to pitch successfully at the next level.

5 Star National Dobbs is another 17u team that is loaded with future Division I players. One of those D-I players took to the hill for the Dobbs club and pitched five solid innings for his victorious team. Dylan Bonds (2017, Mt. Juliet, Tenn.) is heading to Fayetteville this fall to pitch for the University of Arkansas. The lefty was solid for five innings in the hot southwest Florida sun as the Dobbs club defeated the Mizell club in an extremely well-played game between two 5 Star teams. His well commanded fastball was consistently in the 80-82 mph range and had solid arm-side run and very good sink at the dish. His advanced curveball, which he routinely uses as his out pitch, was anywhere from 63 mph to 68 mph. He adds and subtracts with his curveball with a pro’s touch. He also has a highly effective changeup that he uses down in the zone. His change is a swing-and-miss pitch for the Arkansas-bound lefty.

Mercer University commit William Bowdoin (2018, St. Simons Island, Ga.) started the ball game at second base for the Dobbs’ nine and then followed Bonds to the bump, finishing off the Mizell team with two very sound innings of work. At the plate, Bowdoin hits out of a slightly open stance. His approach is simple and smooth. He uses a short stride, quick hands and a flat bat path to hit line drives to all parts of the field. He has plus speed and is a disruptive force on the bases. Defensively, he is a steady hand at second base as he has outstanding lateral quickness, soft hands and a quick and accurate arm action.

When Bowdoin moved to the mound he took a bulldog mentality with him. His fastball, which he kept in the lower half of the zone, had very good late life down and was consistently in the 85-87 mph range. His curveball, which was a tight, late, 12-to-6 hammer, was a wipeout pitch for the Georgia righthander.

The talent of players and teams really starts to stand out the longer the day goes on. This was true of the players from the Angels Baseball Club from Plant City, Florida and the Fort Myers-based SWFL Nation 2018.

Elijah West (2019, Tampa, Fla.) is the lefthanded hitting left fielder for the Angels. He is a strong, quick swinger who uses a slightly open stance that has a power hitter’s lift at contact. He can drive the ball to either gap and then use his above average speed to test the arms of opponent’s outfielders.

Ben Pues (2018, Plant City, Fla.) is the Angels’ 6-foot-4, 190-pound first baseman who hits in the middle of the club’s batting order. He is a very patient hitter who looks for pitches middle-in. He has a quick trigger and has a slugger’s lift at contact and he has the power to hit the ball out of any ballpark. Around the bag, the tall, athletic first baseman is very agile and a sound defender.

The victorious SWFL Nation team had a number of standouts on their side. Giovanny Lorenzo (2017, Ft. Myers, Fla.) is the very dependable cleanup hitter for SWFL. The Bethune-Cookman bound Lorenzo uses a short and quick swing path that has a slight lift at contact to routinely drive the baseball. He has gap-to-gap power as evidenced by his ground-rule double to deep right-center field.

Danny Cunningham (2018, Ft. Myers, Fla.) is the very athletically gifted center fielder for SWFL Nation. He has outstanding quickness in the outfield and can routinely track down balls that are hit to the gaps. He has a strong arm that has carry and accuracy. Offensively, he can power the ball to the gaps and has the speed to stretch singles into doubles. He is a very instinctive, aggressive and heady baserunner.

Toeing the slab for SWFL was Brandt Sundean (2018, Lakeland, Fla.). The rising senior at George B. Jenkins High School was solid for six strong innings. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound uncommitted lefthander drew the undivided attention of a number of college coaches who were in attendance. His running, sinking fastball was consistently clocked in the 85-87 mph range. Sundean’s sharp, 12-to-6 breaking curveball, that he used as his swing-and-miss pitch, was electric all day. His changeup, that he almost purposely never threw in a place where opponents could get the good part of the bat on, was simply outstanding.

Closing the game out for SWFL was Naval Academy commit, Dalton Baker (2018, Sebring, Fla.). The 6-foot-4, 200-pound Baker used a solid four-seam fastball that ranged between 86-89 mph and a solid sharp breaking sweeping 11-to-5 curveball to put the Angels down in short order in the seventh inning.

– Jerry Miller



An offensive studded morning to kick off the first day of the 17u BCS National Championship playoffs. Seedings are complete and teams look to figure out how they can move on to the next round. Odds are, if you play the middle infield, you had yourself a day.

Gabe Knight (2018, Loganville, Ga) is a long, slender corner infielder that made his presence known early to help kick off the day. At the plate, he owned the middle-away part of the plate and showed tremendous ability to stay inside the ball and test the right fielder. His quick hands and good balance at the dish helped to drive in runs for Team Elite Nation.

Knight’s teammate, Trae McLemore (2018, Murfreesboro, Tenn.), is listed at 6-foot-4 and 240-pounds and was on a mission to attack the fastball early in counts. With his size, he was able to control the bat well, generate good lift through the zone and put on a clinic by hitting the ball all over the field.  He drove one pitch well over the fence into the trees.

Peyton Ringer (2018, Lithonia, Ga.) is a soft-handed infielder, also for Team Elite, that dazzled scouts, solely with his play defensively. Ringer showed soft hands and the ability to move laterally to the ball with more than enough time to showcase his plus arm. Whether he sets up shop at second base or shortstop, his vocal leadership on the field helps limit communication miscues.

Michael Montes De Oca (2018, Miramar, Fla.) is a University of Miami commit who did everything but disappoint at the plate. Hitting in the two-spot for the Elite Squad 2018 Prime, his outstanding bat path accompanied by his advanced feel for the barrel and pitch recognition makes him a problem for opposing pitchers.

Jackson Roberts (2018, DeBarry, Fla.) is a lefthanded hitting middle infielder who seemed to be on the bases all tournament and this day was no different. He creates good lift through the strike zone with a strong and sure ability with the bat. With projectable power, Roberts tallied two hard hit singles and a base on balls, as well as a few stolen bases in the opening game for Nation Elite Goodrich.

A Charles W. Flanagan rising senior, Jordan Rodriguez (2018, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) showed plus potential, both offensively and defensively, in the opening round of the playoffs. His middle-of-the-field swing path helped him drive in two of the Florida Stealth 2018 Founders’ five runs. On the other side of the ball, Rodriguez displayed his quick feet and accurate arm defensively all game long.

Ryan Rivera (2018, Jensen Beach, Fla.) completes the double play tandem for the Founders. His first-step-quickness, along with his range at shortstop, allows him to get to balls that a lot of guys can’t. His ability to change arm slots proves important on groundballs to his left and right.

Pitching for the Founders was Justin Rivero (2018, Lake Worth, Fla.), who toed the rubber in the opening round with his fastball sitting in the 84-88 mph range that showed tons of arm-side run and late life down in the zone. His 67-70 mph curveball was used to generate strikeouts. Rivero has a deceptive high three-quarters delivery, a compact arm action and lives down in the zone. His repeated lower half mechanics along with his duel pitch arsenal gave his club a chance to be in the game. He recorded five consecutive scoreless innings.

To no one’s surprise, the nation’s top prospect, Kumar Rocker (2018, Watkinsville, Ga.), was lights out on the mound for Team Elite 2018 Prime. With his defensive end type build and quick pace, Rocker showcased his artistic domination on the corners with his plus-plus fastball that created plenty of swings and misses and with his plus 11-to-5 breaking power slider.

– Reginald Woods
PG Special Events
Travel, Lodging, Entertainment
PG Partners
Recommended
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2024 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.