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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/15/2019

16U BCS: Day 1 Scout Notes

Vincent Cervino      Parker Fronk      Tyler Russo     
Photo: Tommy White (Perfect Game)
Starting off day one of the 16u BCS was Tulane commit Grant Siegel (2021, Plantation, Fla.) as he pitched Elite Squad American to a big victory in their opening game. The righthander has a lot of things to like on the mound and he turned in an impressive performance that saw Siegel go three innings with only one run allowed and striking out seven hitters. The delivery is fairly low effort and simple, though the lower half is a bit stationary with a shorter stride toward the target. He rotates his upper half and torso well with a clean arm stroke that produced fastballs in the mid-80s while topping out at 87 mph. Siegel is a good athlete and can repeat his delivery nicely, though he’s athletic enough to vary the delivery and mess with the opposing batters’ timing. Siegel’s curveball shows good shape and projects nicely as the athleticism is a solid foundation along with the present stuff on the profile.

Hayden (Tripp) Davis (2021, Brooker, Fla.) has had a strong start to the BCS with three hits over the course of his first two games. The 6-foot-1, 185-pound backstop is an offensive presence in the batter’s box with good present physicality, a long and strong swing, and the bat speed to work to the pull side with intent. Davis rocks into his load and lets his hands guide him as the hands lead the swing from the get-go. This allows him to be loose and fluid through the hitting zone and to adjust to pitch locations with some barrel head manipulation. There’s good strength off the barrel and Davis undoubtedly has some home run power in that frame.



Turning in a stellar start in HitFactory’s first victory of the day was uncommitted lefthander Dominic Castellano (2021, Tampa, Fla.) and the southpaw was working quickly and commanding both of his pitches in a very fast five innings of work.

The efficiency was notable for Castellano, who needed just 45 pitches to get through five innings of one-hit, scoreless baseball. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound frame is high-waisted and gangly with long arms and tons of room to fill out and add strength to the build. The delivery is simple and controlled with a low-effort release and easy arm stroke through the back. The uncommitted lefthander has excellent command to the arm side, particularly with his fastball that worked in the 81-84 mph range while bumping 85 mph a couple of times. The arm really works and he already has excellent body control and command, two factors that normally come much later in the development process. The breaking ball is a bit soft right now but projects well and should sharpen up with maturity.

Jay Beshears (2020, Naples, Fla.) came on in relief for the JSP Tigers and the physically projectable righthander has some intriguing two-way potential at the next level. Beshears is a broad 6-foot-3, 180 pounds and there’s lots of room to hold weight on the frame. The arm stroke in the back is pretty quick in terms of overall arm speed and he whips it through the arm circle nicely to create velocity that was in the mid-80s while topping out at 87 mph. The breaking ball is a firmer offering with short shape to it, but the arm talent is intriguing and he’s going to go hard; there’s bat speed and impact from an offensive standpoint and his primary position is that of a position player.

Tennessee commit and catcher Nathan Smith (2021, Thomasville, Ga.) was the big offensive performer for the East Cobb Astros in game one of their doubleheader as he had one of the louder hits of the day in a home run deep to the pull side. Smith has excellent strength and physicality present within his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. There’s good present strength and that well-rounded build allows him to impact the ball with strength throughout his wrists and allows him to be balanced behind the dish. The Astros offense can be loud, and Smith stood out as the early hero in game one.



One of the top-ranked players at this event is No. 74 Tommy White (2021, St. Pete Beach, Fla.) and there might not be better hitting tools, or pure bat speed, in this event than White’s. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound third baseman has a very loud offensive profile as he swings with an element of controlled violence and already generates very impressive raw bat speed. The discipline and breaking ball recognition all check boxes at this state while the ability to whip the barrel and still have good accuracy with it is certainly advanced. He rocketed two doubles on the afternoon, both to the pull side, and the strength off the barrel is notable. The North Carolina State commit’s offensive tools are very loud and allow him to be one of the highest upside pure bats.



White’s teammate and Florida Burn backstop Tayden Hall (2021, Tampa, Fla.) only collected one hit, with three walks, but he impressed on both sides of the ball and looks the part of a major Division I prospect. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound prospect has an excellent frame, broad with clear added strength to the build from a year prior. Hall starts out with a very spread open stance before closing and getting his hands in good launch position. With his hands where they are, it’s easy for him to get on plane as he creates good bat speed and can impact the ball when out in front. The defensive chops are notable as he’s athletic and flexible behind the dish. Hall has very good blocking skills and receiving chops too making him a well-rounded, lefthanded hitting catching prospect.

Carlos Rey (2020, Miami Springs, Fla.) turned in a strong, abbreviated start on the mound and the lefthanded pitching prospect showed off some interesting tools as a yet uncommitted starter. Rey is a very lean 6-foot-1, 165 pounds on the mound with long arms and a ton of room for additional strength. The delivery is fluid and simple with a long and loose arm stroke through the back. The fastball comes out very easily and he worked 83-85 mph, mostly to the arm side, as his front landing leg can create some issues with consistently getting over the front side. There’s some late life to the fastball and he missed toward the arm side at times, but the fastball velocity comes easy. He flashed a changeup in the upper-70s and has some feel to spin a breaking ball in the upper-60s that will tighten up with maturity.

-Vinnie Cervino



6-foot-7 righthanded pitcher Will Newell (2021, Tallahassee, Fla.) got a start on the mound on Day 1 of the 16U BCS. Newell looked good on the mound, running his fastball up to 87 mph and sitting 83-85. Newell is very long and lengthy, which helps him get down the mound, and his fastball gets hitters in a hurry. He also likes going to his changeup ahead in the count which was 71-73 mph. He was getting a lot of swing and misses with his changeup and threw it well to lefties. His curveball was 70-72 with good break and liked to throw it against righties ahead in the count. Newell threw four innings while striking out four. Newell will continue to develop into his body and improve as a pitcher over the next couple of years.

Blake Dugan (2020, Columbus, Ga.) started on the mound for 5 Star West 16U and looked sharp. Dugan ran his fastball up to 84 mph and it had good run to it, which comes from his three-quarters delivery. He was able to start balls in the middle of the zone and run it into righties hands jamming them and producing a lot of weak contact. His curveball was at 69 mph and it had hitters swinging and missing at it throughout his outing. Dugan is 6-foot-1, 200 pounds and has an athletic build with broad shoulders. Dugan threw 2 1/3 innings not allowing a hit while striking out three.

Right fielder John Smith (2022, Riverview, Fla.) showed off his athleticism both hitting and on defense. Smith went 2-for-2 on the day with two RBI and laced a ball to the wall for a double. Smith stands at 5-foot-10, 160 pounds and has an athletic frame with room to fill out. Smith showed off his speed by stealing a bag easily and also running down balls in right field. Smith plays hard and is a fun player to watch once he gets into the box.

Dulins Dodgers-Godwin’s right fielder was Braden Montgomery (2021, Madison, Miss.). Montgomery is a switch-hitter who looked comfortable swinging from both sides of the plate. He went 1-for-1 with a single the other way that drove in a run and two walks. Montgomery has a great approach at the plate looking for pitches he can handle and does not chase bad pitches. He has quick hands through the zone and hits to all fields with confidence. Montgomery stands at 6-foot-2, 185 pounds and has a very athletic frame and good build. He will be a good player at the next level and will be a fun player to keep your eyes on.



Tanner Reaves (2021, Bonham, Texas) started on the mound for Dulins Dodgers-Godwin and dominated. Reaves threw five innings, allowing only three hits and striking out four and not allowing a run. Reaves had his fastball at 83-84 all game and located it on both sides of the plate. His curveball was 69-72 mph with sharp break and threw it with good control. His best pitch of the day was his changeup, that was 74 mph and had hitters lunging and produced weak contact. Reaves has a very smooth, athletic delivery and he hides the ball very well.

-Parker Fronk

Arkansas commit Louis Stallone (2020, Kings Park, N.Y.) didn’t see outstanding success in the box score as he made his way out for four innings of work to kick off the first of six pool play games, but has sky-high upside with a lot to love for what he could become at the next level. The 6-foot-9 righthander works a smooth, low-effort delivery that creates significant downhill action as he extends to the plate well. He worked the fastball at 83-86 mph, bumping it up to 87 when needed, as he moved it around the zone well to create weak contact. He showed feel for a loose breaking ball in the upper-60s that he landed regularly, but struggled to get consistent swing-and-miss on it in this look. The sharpness and command of his stuff faded deeper into the outing, but the velocity on the fastball seemed to rise in his third inning of work before settling back down into 83-85 in his fourth, and last, inning on the mound.



Uncommitted lefthander Jaylen Jones (2021, Thomasville, Ga.) would only need to go four innings to turn in a complete game in this look as his talented 5 Star National Burress roster picked him up with 13 runs of support. With some of the most electric stuff on the day, Jones caught the eye of many as he worked his fastball at 89-92 mph with running life to both halves of the plate with dominance. The delivery is slow and methodical, but comes out smooth as he stays closed and creates and repeats a deceptive angle from a three-quarters slot. There is some whip to the arm through the slot that creates good movement across all three of his pitches. The changeup was his go-to in this look as he landed it down in the zone creating a heavy dose of swing-and-miss in the mid-70s as it showed late arm-side tumble. The curveball showed as an above-average swing-and-miss pitch when he was able to get around it and land it down in the zone as it has high spin and hard-bite out of 1-to-7 shape in the low-70s. There is a lot to like from both a stuff and delivery standpoint, and with room to add athleticism in the delivery, there is room to add even more velocity to an already electric arm.

Highly-ranked uncommitted two-way prospect Jonathan Vastine (2021, Bartow, Fla.) showed a lot to offer as a toolsy middle-infielder in this one-game look. At just 5-foot-10, 150 pounds, he has a ton of athleticism in his game, with the arm strength to back up sticking at shortstop long term. He made many outstanding plays throughout the look, ranging to both sides well and using his strong arm to throw on-line in off-balanced situations. At the plate, he deploys a short and simple stroke that allows him to stay on a line drive swing path and play to his speed. Although not taking the mound in this look, Vastine has showed a legitimate two-way potential having been up to 89 mph on the mound in the past.



Uncommitted Ryan Skelly (2021, Tampa, Fla.) is another projectable righthander with a lot to offer in terms of the athleticism and upside in the stuff and delivery. Working at 84-88 mph with downward life in this look, he attacked hitters early and often on his way to five strikeouts in just two and one-third innings of work. The 6-foot-1 frame allows him to work downhill as he strides down the mound well from a twitchy delivery that creates a level of deception to hitters with the amount of movement throughout. He flashed the makings of a swing-and-miss curveball that he could land to both halves, but struggled to stay consistent with his release point at times which causes some command issues given the timing-based delivery he deploys. There is a lot to like from a pure stuff standpoint here and he will only continue to improve and dominate at-bats as he cleans up a bit of the command issues he can show at times.

Uncommitted Shea McGahan (2021, St. Louis, Mo.) is a physical backstop playing for the Florida Pokers Underclass team with some talent across the roster. Although only picking up a single hit in this look, he showed well at the plate with the makings of being an above-average hitter for a catcher’s profile as he showed some violence in a swing that is otherwise sound and controlled. He generates a good bit of bat speed as he uses strong wrists to hold on a line drive swing path that creates carry to both sides of the field. The lower half is firm allowing him to stay balanced and shift his weight well into his swing. There wasn’t a chance to see McGahan behind the plate in this look, but he is known for being a very talented catcher with impressive actions and a good arm to back up strong catch-and-throw skills.



Uncommitted Mitchell Schultz (2021, Mars, Pa.) only picked up a single hit in this one-game look, but made it count as he took a fastball and deposited it over the fence for a pair of RBI in the first inning. His lone out would be in the form of a rocket line drive that was snagged by the third baseman before walking in his last at-bat. At 6-foot-1, 198 pounds, Schultz has some strength to his frame and shows it in the swing as he gets his hands extended and uses good bat speed to get the barrel out front and create leverage in contact. The body stays fluid through contact as he holds his weight back well before exploding through the ball. The body projects to more strength with some room to fill throughout, but it will be interesting to see if he can continue to make solid contact against some of the better pitching this week has to offer.

Uncommitted John Kirchner (2020, Suwanee, Ga.) was outstanding in his start against a Florida Pokers team with some talented bats throughout as he worked 5 2/3 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out nine. Kirchner worked a fastball at 82-85 mph that showed some late life as he extended down the mound well and worked both halves of the plate. There is some funk and quick twitch actions in the delivery that play to a level of deception, making at-bats difficult for some hitters. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame projects to a ton more velocity as he cleans up some of the mechanics in the delivery, and given he is very young for the class, there is still room and time to see that velocity jump. He also showed feel for a hard, downward breaking curveball at 77 mph that he was able to land to both halves well, while also flashing a good change-of-pace pitch in a changeup at 74 mph.

-Tyler Russo
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