2017 WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2 Daily Leaders
The WWBA Southeast Qualifier #2 featured a ton of local talent from around the state of Georgia, and one of the earliest pitching performances that stood out came from well-known righthander Andrew Moore (2018, Flovilla, Ga.). With numerous pro scouts in attendance, the Georgia Tech commit turned in an outstanding performance on the bump. Moore tossed four no-hit innings while striking out seven batters en route to the victory on Friday night.
Moore’s frame, arsenal and whip of the arm action are all indicative of a high-level pitching prospect. The 6-foot-5, 207-pound righthander has a simple delivery that’s fluid and an arm action that is long and loose. Moore sat at 88-91 mph with the fastball on Friday night with good life to the arm side of the plate, whether it be sinking low in the zone or with riding life up in the zone. He attacked with the pitch early on and wasn’t afraid to go to his off-speed pitches for strikeouts.
The changeup was an impressive pitch that came in the upper-70s and had good fading action to the arm side as well as some sink. The extended release was extremely similar to that of the fastball and helped to add life to the pitch. The breaking ball was a pitch that he went to often later on with 10-to-4 sweeping break to the pitch.
Game On Stealth lefthander Stan King (2019, Lafayette, Ga.) showed intriguing stuff on Friday night with a loose arm and a fastball up to 87 mph. The southpaw is well-proportioned physically and worked with a three-pitch arsenal. The stuff was very impressive as he created a lot of swings and misses despite being a bit wild. The fastball had good life to it and garnered a good amount swing-and-miss within the strike zone. He flashed a changeup in the upper-70s and showed good feel for a 12-to-6 breaking ball. The pitch had late tilt to it with sharp, two-plane action.
A couple of Perfect Game All-Americans stood out over the weekend as Anthony Seigler (2018, Cartersville, Ga.) and Cabera Weaver (2018, Decatur, Ga.) showed off their strong offensive profiles.
Seigler didn’t see much time behind the plate over the weekend but showed off his tools from both sides of the plate. The Auburn commit showed legitimate switch-hitter potential, but stood out from the left side primarily. On the tournament’s opening night, Seigler drove the ball twice for hard contact including a bases-clearing triple to the opposite field. The swing path is naturally lofted from the left side and he has good strength through his weight shift to drive the ball regardless of what part of the field he’s going toward.
Weaver showed multiple good swings throughout the event and also displayed his traditionally impressive defense in center field. The Georgia commit is a defensive asset in any outfield with excellent route running and overall feel for the position with easy, graceful actions. At the plate he displayed a loose, extended swing path with the ability to impact the ball with the barrel head and drive the ball to any field. In the first game of the tournament for MGBA, Weaver drove a fastball over the outer half into right-center field and moved well around the bases for a triple. The speed is undoubtedly Weaver’s loudest tool as he’s easily a plus runner (6.27 second 60-yard dash time at the PG National), if not better, and that allows him to impact the game in nearly every facet.
Keeping with the theme of outstanding pitching performances, righthander Reese Olson (2018, Lula, Ga.) twirled one of the most impressive performances of the weekend with four perfect innings while striking out 11 batters, only one short of striking out every batter he faced.
The arm action was mostly clean throughout, and although there was some intent in the delivery, it was still pretty easy. The delivery was compact and he got nice push off the lower half down the mound. The Gardner-Webb commit attacked hitters with his fastball that sat in the 88-90 mph range while topping out at 92 mph multiple times in the first inning. The pitch showed short arm-side run to the pitch when working over the arm side of the plate, and he could also generate steep downhill plane when working in the lower third of the strike zone and getting on top of the fastball.
Olson missed a ton of bats within the strike zone and mixed in the occasional breaking ball. The curveball showed 11-to-5 shape and was effective at being thrown for strikes over the plate. Olson topped off a tremendous start and showed swing-and-miss stuff in the process.
The first game of the entire tournament was started by Kameron Marshall (2018, Decatur, Ga.) and he showed pretty solid stuff across the board. The righthander was dynamic in the opening game as he tossed six shutout innings while striking out nine batters. Marshall is listed at 5-foot-11, 165-pounds, though that appears to be a conservative estimate as he has long limbs and a young, lean frame. The arm speed is impressive and worked consistently in the 84-87 mph range throughout the performance. The path to release was short and compact while his higher slot release point allowed easy generation of downhill plane. Marshall attacked hitters with the fastball but also mixed in a 12-to-6 curveball that flashed downward tilt. The effort level of the delivery was very low, and he is an intriguing uncommitted prospect that could improve with more lower half incorporation in the future.
Some of the best pure pitching during the event came from the left hand of Davis Rokose (2019, Johns Creek, Ga.) as he delivered two stellar performances over the weekend. After impressing all summer long, Rokose was one of the most dominant pitchers over the course of the weekend for Team GA Gold. He was up to 87 mph over the weekend and he sat in the 84-87 mph range throughout both of his performances.
The pitchability and feel for all three of his pitches is what stood out as he didn’t pitch off his fastball, rather, he attacked with his secondary offerings. The curveball wasn’t elite in terms of spin rates, however, he showed excellent feel for the pitch while throwing it for strikes and also getting it for chases out of the strike zone. The knowledge on the mound was excellent as once he noticed a hitter had a weakness to the breaking ball, or changeup, he would attack with that pitch and make the hitter adjust.
Rokose mixed in a hard changeup too that worked up to 79 mph and had really good life to the arm side. Rokose’s ability on the mound is very advanced and is one of the top ranked uncommitted arms for the class.
One of the best leadoff tandems all tournament long was Jamal Boykin (2018, Covington, Ga.) and Tyler Miller (2018, Spanish Fort, Ala.) as the two combined for a ton of offense over the course of the weekend.
Boykin is an aggressive leadoff hitter with present quick-twitch athleticism throughout his 5-foot-11, 170-pound frame. His speed plays well in that spot of the lineup and registered run times as best as 4.32 seconds to first base. He gets quick jumps out of the box and is a threat on the basepaths thanks to his speed. Offensively, Boykin shows very quick hands through a direct path to contact. He can generate hard hit line drive contact to all fields but isn’t afraid to put the ball on the ground and let his speed do the work to beat out singles in the infield. The twitchy actions in the outfield and overall athleticism bode well for the profile moving forward.
Miller showed a loose and smooth swing from the left side and also showed good feel for the barrel of the bat. The swing showed natural leverage and he is able to whip it through the zone pretty quickly. He has a patient approach at the plate and was not fooled.
The starting pitcher for the Upstate Mavericks’ final pool play game was Nate Lamb (2018, Chesnee, S.C.) and the Clemson commit showed outstanding potential on the mound. The 6-foot-5, 196-pound southpaw is an immensely projectable prospect physically with a lanky build, long limbs, and broad shoulders to fill out with additional strength.
The first two innings were very impressive for Lamb as he sat at 90-92 mph with the fastball, not dipping below the 90 mph mark until after that. The pitch had remarkable late life, sometimes breaking an incredible amount to the arm side. The delivery is a bit complicated with a big crossfire element to the landing foot but creates very good deception and makes the at-bat very uncomfortable.
The breaking ball was also an impressive pitch working up to 79 mph with very good spin rates in the 2500-2600 rpm. The pitch had tight shape and spin with late tilt. It could be thrown for strikes or chases as it came out on a similar plane as the fastball. Lamb is an outstanding lefthanded prospect and showed a glimpse of the potential ceiling during his outing.
Southpaw Garrett Wade (2018, Hartselle, Ala.) got the ball for the East Cobb Astros in their quarterfinal game during bracket play and was nothing short of sensational. The Auburn commit showed command of all four pitches, spotting up wherever he wanted to on either side of the plate while finishing five perfect innings with only 49 pitches and striking out eight batters.
The low effort delivery was simple and repeatable with a clean arm action through the zone. He replicated the arm action very well on all of his pitches which aided his command, which was what stood out the most during his start. Wade located extremely well and featured a fastball early on in the 87-90 mph range. The pitch had good life to it with late run and could be worked to either side of the plate.
The off-speed pitches were very impressive, highlighted by his slider. The pitch had sharp bite to it with a velocity range at 80-82 mph. Wade was impossible to time up from the left side as the slider made hitters of that handedness extremely uncomfortable while showing two-plane action as well. He also mixed in a curveball in the mid-70s that he didn’t go to as often but was still a tight-spinning pitch with late break to it.
The development of the changeup was a nice change from recent viewings as the pitch was as hard as 84 mph. Wade’s feel for the pitch was a bit inconsistent, however; when its release was on time the pitch showed late fading action down and to the arm side. Wade has an advanced arsenal and is an outstanding pitcher who turned in one of the best pitching performances of the event and is absolutely a name to watch next spring leading up to the draft.
– Vinnie Cervino
Jonathan Edwards (2018, Stockbridge, Ga.) continues to endear himself to scouts every time he takes the field. It is easy to see his physicality, as Edwards stands at 6-foot-6, 180-pounds with tons of projectability with plenty of room to fill out. His mechanics are repeated well, besides the fact that he has joined the trend of pitchers mixing delivery speeds to throw off hitters’ timing. His delivery is clean throughout with a loose arm action. The arm and pretty much all of his delivery seems so effortless that it makes it easy to believe that, with added strength, there is going to be big velocity increases. His fastball shows plane in the 87-89 mph range with a curveball and changeup that he shows feel for. The curveball shows varying actions with mostly 12-to-6 shape, but 11-to-5 shape as well. His changeup is deceptive in the upper-70s although the arm speed is slightly slower on the pitch. Edwards earned the win in a time limit shortened five-inning game. He consistently threw strikes and was best when working his curveball later in counts after getting ahead with his upper-80s fastball.
Sam Thompson (2018, Bremen, Ga.) will be an interesting catcher to keep an eye on as he continues his baseball career at Kent State in the fall of 2018. Thompson has lots of fillable room in his 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame. His defensive catching skills stand out both in game and with his warm-up pop times. The Kent State commit receives the baseball really well with a good strong left wrist and sticks his framework consistently. The one pop clocked in-game was 2.05-seconds to throw out a runner trying to steal and the warm-up pops were all right around 2.0 seconds as well. At the plate, his bat speed is noticeably quick and the power is potentially there with consistent contact.
Nick Love (2018, Callahan, Fla.) was completely dominant on Saturday morning against a very talented Team GA lineup. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound projectable righthander tossed six no-hit innings while striking out 10. Love’s fastball sat 88-89 mph early on and settled in nicely at 85-87 mph for the duration of the start. His mechanics are mostly clean as well as his arm action, although the arm is slightly tight through the arm circle. The baseball comes from a three-quarters arm slot that he frequently comes off the side of the ball, which creates a riding cutting action to his fastball. To go along with his fastball, Love throws a sharp slider with a 2400-rpm spin rate. The slider created numerous swings and misses in the contest helping Love tally up his 10 strikeouts. Love will be interesting as he fills out with plenty of room to do so and possibly more velocity to come with added strength.
Hunter Goodwin (2018, Sylvester, Ga.) had several professional scouts in attendance talking about his start for Game On Stealth. At 6-foot-5, 215-pounds, Goodwin has present strength that helps generate velocity in the 88-91 mph range on the mound. The righthander has a longer arm action that is slightly early through the circle, but that slight earliness does not affect the strikes he throws. The University of Georgia commit struck out the side in his second inning with a heavy dose of fastballs without having to mix in his good curveball. He did flash his 11-to-5 curveball in the low-70s in his third inning of work prior to being relieved. Goodwin throws pretty easy without too much effort being exerted. His three innings of work on Saturday were dominant as he struck out six and allowed only one hit. Goodwin is a big part of the Georgia Bulldogs 2018 recruiting class.
Home runs and deep ball power was the consistent story of this weekend’s Southeast Qualifer and both Ethan Anderson (2019, Woodstock, Ga.) of Nelson Baseball School 18u Black and John Anderson (2020, Grayson, Ga.) of the East Cobb Astros Orange had the most impressive homers of the fall.
The first of the two was Ethan Anderson’s which cleared batter’s eye in dead center field at LakePoint. TrackMan registered the exit velocity and distance at 96 mph and 394 feet respectively. The Georgia Southern commit has big-time power and it was on display in Saturday’s win.
John Anderson’s home run was more heroic as the Astros’ slugger hit the two-run bomb to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning to force extra innings of the playoffs. The distance was eye opening as well, as TrackMan registered his at 96 mph off of the barrel and traveled 374 feet, projected for much more distance, before hitting off of the very top of the scoreboard in left-center field. The 2020 graduate has impressive bat speed for his age and present advanced strength. The uncommitted primary second baseman has a simple trigger that involves a leg lift timing mechanism that is repeatedly put down on time to generate torque and his good bat speed.
Looking at C.J. Abrams (2019, Alpharetta, Ga.), it makes it hard to believe that the 6-foot-1, 177-pound middle infielder can generate enough bat speed to produce multiple exit velocities greater than 100 mph, but that is exactly what Abrams did this weekend. His approach is so simple and so is his swing. There aren’t many moving parts, as a small leg lift trigger and extraordinarily quick hands are what produce his consistent hard contact. Abrams is also an outstanding runner. Hustling out a groundball, Abrams showed off a 4.11 home-to-first time even with a slight pull up before the bag. The uncommitted lefthanded hitting infielder also has sneaky power as he unloaded on a home run over the weekend.
Hueston Morrill (2018, Live Oak, Fla.) started the game for Next Level Baseball and showed why he is a future Big 12 pitcher for the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Morrill sat at 88-90 mph and touched 91 once and 92 once as well. The primary shortstop has a short quick arm action that gets on hitters fast. Morrill works quickly as well with excellent tempo to his delivery and urgency, ready to throw the next pitch as soon as he gets the ball back from the catcher. His delivery is explosive with decent effort generating that good velocity. He throws lots of strikes and hides the ball well with good extension from a high three-quarters arm slot. Morrill shows a good three-pitch mix that includes a low- to mid-80s diving changeup and a low-80s slider with late downward bite. He struck out the side in the first inning of his start. At 6-foot, 168-pounds, his physicality does not standout but his ability on the mound and at shortstop do stand out making him a big-time class of 2018 two-way prospects.
Logan Tanner (2019, Lucedale, Miss.) is a big-time two-way prospect both as a catcher and on the mound with lots of upside. He has an impressive swing that generates lots of power potential and good bat speed. His trigger is simple with a slight leg lift timing mechanism and barrel whip as it comes through the hitting zone for an extended amount of time. Behind the plate, his throws are consistently accurate to the right side of the second base bag. His pop times in game that nabbed runners were 2.06- and 2.04-seconds showing outstanding arm strength and the aforementioned accuracy.
Tanner was just as impressive on the mound Sunday as he had been at the plate and catching the previous two days. Tanner’s velocity in the first inning was very good, sitting 90-92 and touching 93 mph as well. His velocity did lessen as the game wore on and eventually sat in the 85-87 mph range. He showed that he has many different deliveries varying speeds, leg lifts and coil to disrupt hitters’ timing. Tanner is a big built player at 6-foot-1, 215-pounds and he uses that size in his drop-and-drive delivery with outstanding arm strength like he showed behind the plate on throws to second base. He has a long arm action and creates plane from a high three-quarters arm slot.
Tanner was virtually unhittable when he threw to the lower third of the strike zone and he did so in his dominant first inning as he struck out the side. On top of his impressive fastball, his 10-to-4 curveball shows an impressive spin rate between 2500-2800 rpm. The pitch varied between 70-75 mph, and that variation was caused by his arm speed when throwing the pitch, and showed the tightest spin, best shape and best spin rate when thrown at 75 mph. Tanner is a impressive all-around player and will be an excellent addition to a 2019 recruiting class.
– Gregory Gerard