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Tournaments  | Championship  | 7/20/2019

16u BCS: Day 6 Scout Notes

Parker Fronk      Tyler Russo     
Photo: Dylan Leach (Perfect Game)

16u BCS Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5

As the main playoff bracket got underway, many teams looked to punch their ticket to day seven and a spot in the final four of the 16u BCS National Championship.



Michael Massey (2021, Buford, Ga.) got the start for Team Elite Prime in the first round, allowing three runs on five hits, but striking out seven across 4 1/3 innings of work. The ultra-projectable and uncommitted 6-foot-5, 175 pound righthander has significant upside given that there is virtually no mass on the frame at present. With a high waist and long legs, Massey strides down the mound well creating consistent downhill action with the fastball, working heavily in the lower half of the zone with running life at 82-85 mph. The delivery is a bit segmented from the windup in that there are two pauses, one in the initial side step and one at the top of the leg lift. The arm is quick with some whip through a high slot where he runnels his fastball and curveball well. Landing it consistently, the curveball showed enough downward bite and timing to change to work as a swing-and-miss pitch in this look. There is still a lot of rawness to the delivery as a whole and much need for added athleticism, but the upside is there as he begins to fill into his 6-foot-5 frame.

Benny Montgomery (2021, Lewisberry, Pa.) continued a strong week at the plate as he picked up another pair of hits in this look. The 6-foot-4, 185-pound outfielder just flat out hits everywhere he goes and Fort Myers has been no different. The swing has a good amount of strength to it at present, but the frame looks to hold significant strength down the road. He covers the plate extremely well, rarely swing and missing as he makes strong contact on pitches to all quadrants and to all fields. The lower half athleticism allows him to rotate well on time even when the body drifts a bit into the swing. Montgomery runs and moves extremely well for his size, running a 6.63-second 60-yard dash last year at the Mid-Atlantic Prospect Showcase, showing a high level of tools on both sides of the ball. The upside is significant for the Virginia commit as he only continues to tap into his power potential.

Gavin Ganun (2021, Blissfield, Mich.) is another highly athletic heart-of-the-order hitter with outstanding coverage of the plate and feel to hit. The uncommitted shortstop has a strong, firm body at 6-foot-2, 190-pounds and has the tools to stick as a top-of-the-order middle infielder at the next level. There is some present strength in the swing with more to come as he incorporates more of his lower half as he uses the bat speed to create hard contact as of now. He uses strong wrists to hold well on a line drive plane with good extension through contact. Ganun is an intriguing follow as he continues to tap into what could become a strong and advanced hit tool for an athletic middle infielder.



John Kirchner (2020, Suwanee, Ga.) had a bit more electric of stuff in this look as opposed to his first, but didn’t prove quite the same results, allowing three runs on five hits across six innings, but striking out nine. The uncommitted righthander worked the fastball at 84-87 mph in this look with life to both halves. There is some serious deception to the quick-twitch delivery and fast arm as he fires it through a high over-the-top slot creating some cut to the glove side. He filled the zone well with all four of his pitches, landing a hard-downward breaking curveball, a tight slider, and a straight changeup with enough timing change to create weak contact. Adding some smoothness to the delivery would without a doubt create a velocity jump and given he is young for the class, there is time to see that jump before he hits the next level.



Carlson Reed (2020, Marietta, Ga.) showed projectability to dream on as the long and lanky 6-foot-4, 182-pound righthander worked the fastball at 86-88, topping out at 90 mph with a good breaking ball and strong changeup in this look. The long, loose arm creates heavy riding life down in the zone with good downhill action. The curveball showed flashes of being a plus pitch when he was able to get on top of it and land it with significant swing-and-miss potential. The changeup showed arm-side fade, but was used too rarely to know if it is a legitimate off-speed pitch that Reed can land regularly. The sky is the limit for this uncommitted righthander who has been up to 93 mph in the past and is only 16 and 7-months, coming in at extremely young for the 2020 class.

Aaron Saltsman (2021, Rockledge, Fla.) has had a sound week at the plate and picked up a very loud triple out to the base of the center-field fence of JetBlue Field 3 in this look. The uncommitted outfielder has great lower half and athleticism that allows him to stay balanced through contact and rotate well on time. The coverage of the plate is good with firm wrists that allow him to get the barrel on plane to pitches across all four quadrants. There is current strength in the swing with a lot more to come as he begins to tap into the strength of the lower half.

A talented Dulins Dodgers team would find themselves down seven runs early, but would battle back to punch a ticket into the semifinals led by talented prospects Braden Montgomery (2021, Madison, Miss.) and Dylan Leach (2021, Carthage, Texas).



The uncommitted Montgomery showed a very high level two-way potential as he took the mound for the last two innings, allowing just one runner to reach base via walk and striking out three. As he worked at 88-90 mph with the fastball, he showed significant life to the glove side creating consistent swing-and-miss and dominated the outer half. The body is strong at 6-foot-2, 185-pounds with extremely high-upside projectability. The arm is electric through a high three-quarters slot as he hides the ball well up into release. When landed, the breaking ball showed plus with hard downward bite and great depth through the zone. He showed an excellent level of athleticism in his ability to repeat mechanics and work at a very high tempo. At the plate, he is a switch-hitter with a high potential to stick and hit for power on both sides of the plate with bat-speed to back it. Reaching three times via walk in this look, he showed an outstanding level of maturity and discipline to know when to take a pitch and when to unload. Quickly becoming one of the hottest uncommitted players on the market, Montgomery has a lot to like on both sides of the ball and will become a high-level pickup for whoever manages to grab him.



Leach, an Arkansas commit, would be the hero in this look as he took an inner half fastball and drove it through the right side to walk it off the for Dodgers in the bottom of the seventh inning. The physical and athletic catcher has a lot to like to on both sides of the ball with one of the smoothest lefthanded swings from a catcher in the class and an advanced hit tool for the profile. The swing shows good strength to it through contact with pop to the pull side as he creates leverage and adjusts his hands well. Behind the plate, the footwork and actions are very good as he moves well and receives firmly. He has showcased quick feet and a strong arm throughout the week as he looks to back-pick runners off first and throws out would-be base stealers.

– Tyler Russo


The starting pitcher for 5 Star West 16u was righthander Nick Morgan (2021, Cataula, Ga.) Morgan had good command for his fastball, which sat at 81-83 mph, and he threw it to both sides of the plate. His slider was thrown at 76 mph and it had tight break to it. Morgan controlled the tempo of the game working it at his pace which is very effective for pitches. He was in a rhythm during this outing and was not letting the hitters disrupt that. Morgan threw a total of 4 1/3 innings while striking out seven.

The leadoff hitter for FBH Angles 16u Elite was center fielder Nelson Taylor (2021, Clearwater, Fla.). Taylor led off the game lacing a triple to right-center and showed off his good wheels as he slid into third for a triple. Taylor gets his hands to the zone quickly and has good pull-side pop with his line drive swing. He also showed off his speed in center by tracking balls down with ease. He also showed off his strong arm from center as he made a couple good throws to home. Taylor has a good frame with good athleticism and will only continue to get stronger. 

– Parker Fronk



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