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High School  | General  | 5/14/2019

High School Notebook: May 14

Patrick Ebert      Steve Fiorindo      Connor Spencer     
Photo: Quinn Priester (Perfect Game)

The high school notebook is designed to share notes and video on players that stand out during the high school season and new features will be released regularly. This will include in-game looks, reports, analysis and video from Perfect Game's scouting staff. If you have news on a player in your area that is performing at a high level that we should have eyes on please reach out to Vinnie Cervino at vincent@perfectgame.org. Also feel free to share your video highlights on Twitter @vcervinopg.

High School Notebooks: March 1 | March 5 | March 15 | March 22 | April 5 | April 16 | April 19 | April 29 | May 3




 Quinn Priester, RHP, Cary-Grove HS (Ill.)
Although 2018 PG All-American Quinn Priester and his Cary-Grove High School team took the loss in a matchup against McHenry HS on a cool and breezy afternoon in early May, Priester pitched well in front of a large group of on-looking scouts that included several cross-checkers. Priester is drawing strong interest from teams in the middle of the first round and could even sneak into the Top 10.

A TCU commit, Priester’s athleticism stands out on the mound. He’s listed at 6-foot-3, 190-pounds on his PG profile and may have put on some strength since that number was recorded. His delivery is smooth and repeatable, really showing the ability to repeat his mechanics well and his stuff is always in or around the zone. He pitches with purpose, mixing well between his fastball and his curveball and exhibits very good poise on the mound. It’s clear that he stays loose yet focused with a clear confidence in his stuff.

In this game his fastball sat mostly at 90-92 early in the game. He did touch 93-94 but only once each. In the middle innings of his six-inning complete game he dropped down to 88-89 but finished the contest throwing 90-91 fastballs, with most of his heaters sitting right at 91 from beginning to end. He moved the pitch around the zone well, and while it didn’t show the same heavy boring action it has in the past, it had natural movement that made it that much more difficult to square up, much less hit at all. He ran into some trouble in the second inning, giving up the only two runs of the game, but most of the contact was beat into the ground with a few defensive miscues mixed in.

Priester’s curveball is a special pitch and one he clearly has complete command of. The arm action, like his fastball, remains clean and repeatable when throwing his breaking ball, a true 12-to-6 hammer that sat in the 74-76 range, touching 77 on several occasions. He’s added some power to this pitch as his fastball velocity has increased (reports from other games this spring indicate he’s peaked at 96) as batters frequently waved over the top of it as it dropped hard down in the zone as it approached homeplate. He has enough comfort with it to throw it in any count, at any time, allowing him to pitch backwards when needed while also doubling or tripling up on it on occasion.

Priester threw one 81 mph changeup in game action and threw a couple during warmups, but clearly didn’t have the feel he wanted, and he also didn’t really need it given how well he was mixing between his fastball and curveball. Priester’s best example of how well he can dominate when sequencing as well as he can came to close out the second inning when two runs had already scored. First he blew a 93 mph fastball up in the zone past the batter, got him to swing over the top of a hard-breaking 76 mph curveball and then caught the outside corner with a 91 mph fastball to register the backwards K.

While the continued development of Priester’s changeup will be key to him reaching his potential as he faces next-level hitters more consistently, whether that be in college at TCU or in professional baseball. However, the size and athletic delivery, as well as his potentially dominant 1-2 fastball-curveball punch, makes him a special righthanded pitching prospect.




Tim Scarlett, RHP, Capistrano Valley High School (Calif.)
Scarlett looked good for Capo Valley in round two of the CIF Southern Section playoffs. Unfortunately for Capistrano Valley, one mistake in the top of the seventh was all it took for Cypress to win the ballgame 2-1. Scarlett is a tall and large framed righthander that has a commanding presence on the mound. He has a long arm with an over-the-top window that gives the ball some solid downward angle towards the plate. Besides the angle, his fastball doesn’t possess much action, yet, but his length caused it to get in on the hands of hitters at times.

Scarlett’s curveball has large 11-to-5 and sometimes 12-to-6 shape to it. He was inconsistent with it throughout is outing, and ultimately it was a breaking ball that didn’t break that cost him the game. He does throw a straight off-speed pitch that has some sink to it, and at times it almost felt like a splitfinger with its diving action.

What’s so promising about Scarlett, a 2020 grad, is the fact that he still isn’t using his 6-foot-6 frame to his full advantage. His fastball sat around 83-85 mph, with his diving off-speed around 76-80, and his large breaking ball around 66-68. These numbers don’t stand out given his size, and a big part of this has to do with his mechanics. As his mechanics tighten up, and his arm develops further into his senior year, these numbers are going to jump very quickly. Expect Scarlett to be a true asset for San Diego State.




Brett Wozniak, LHP, Cypress High School (Calif.)
It was a big day on the mound for 2020 lefthander Brett Wozniak.The Nebraska commit almost went the distance for Cypress until he ran into trouble after 6 2/3 innings of work. Wozniak uses a slow and methodical windup that stays balanced throughout his entire motion. He has a high leg kick that sweeps down the mound into separation and a short but slow arm from a three-quarters slot. His motion is very conventional, crisp and simple. If you looked up how to throw off the mound in a dictionary a video of Wozniak might pop up, that’s how clean his mechanics down the mound are.

However, his arm is still developing as his fastball sat 79-81 mph and it has a little cut to it. Wozniak used a heavy mix, pitched backwards and spotted up his pitches effectively. His curveball can pretty much be identified as a slurve at times as he sweeps it with a low 10-to-4 action across the plate and it was very effective down and away to lefthanded hitters at 69-72 mph. It was tough to tell if he was using a changeup or if he just took something off of his fastball as he threw a few pitches in the 76-77 mph range.




Cameron Repetti, 3B/RHP, Cypress High School (Calif.)
Cal State Fullerton commit Cameron Repetti is a large and athletic framed third baseman who has soft hands and good feel for the hot corner. Repetti stands with a conventional stance at the plate as his feet are slightly further than shoulder width apart and he begins with the barrel on his shoulder. Going into his load the barrel lifts off his shoulder and both his hands and his front foot travel a great distance back into his load as he possesses a massive weight transfer. At launch his entire body weight comes forward as he puts everything he’s got into his swing, however, at contact his back lower half does not fully release on time.

There’s still room for him to create more tension between his upper and lower half, which may help him to eliminate his massive weight transfer while keeping the same pop. If you stop his swing at the apex of his load it resembles Ichiro with his hands down and back while balancing entirely on his back foot. Currently ranked 200thin the class of 2019, Repetti will be an interesting two-way prospect to follow at the next level.




Luke Davis, C, Cypress High School (Calif.)
The eighth-ranked player in the high school class of 2022 and second overall in California, Luke Davis won it all for the Centurions in the top of the seventh. Davis, who has already committed to play for USC and participated in the 2018 14u PG Select, has scary tools behind the plate for a freshman and was clocked consistently around a 1.94 second pop time down to second base. He has quick hands, and that extra zip on his ball that teams like to see from their catchers.

At the plate, Davis is still raw and developing with his approach and his power but looks as polished as any 2022 you’ll see. He has an upright stance with low hands and he keeps his feet shoulder width apart. Going into his load, his hands stay quiet and don’t have to travel a great distance. He uses a simple mid leg kick and stride and has solid balance throughout his swing. Davis brings his back elbow up into his load, then has to fire it back down into the slot. His lower half activates fully, creating that tension between his upper and lower half.

Davis’ hands and his upper half are still developing, as he has a tendency to open up and come around balls. As he develops, look for him to work his hands inside the baseball on a more consistent basis, which will help to keep his front side closed creating even more of a coil between his upper and lower half. It’s a very scary thought for the rest of the Empire League that this young man is only a freshman.
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