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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/28/2019

17u PGWS: Day 3 Scout Notes

Vincent Cervino      Connor Spencer      Steve Fiorindo      Gabe Ortiz     
Photo: Alonzo Richardson (Perfect Game)

17u PG World Series Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2

CCB National three-hole hitter Mario DeMera (2020, San Mateo, Calif.) is enjoying an excellent start to the 17u PG World Series as he’s hitting .600 through pool play with back-to-back three-hit games on the ledger. DeMera is a physical corner infielder with a fairly well proportioned 6-foot-1, 185-pound frame with good strength present to the build. The third baseman has been finding barrels all week and he did so again during game action on Saturday with his second straight game of three hits. DeMera is very calm and poised in the box with a very under control stroke that exudes balance and simplicity. This makes the stroke very easy to repeat and he recognizes fastball out of the hand nicely in order to turn the barrel over effectively and create some well-struck contact to the pull side of the field. His barrel skills have stood out thus far and he shouldn’t remain uncommitted for much longer after his performance against top-notch competition.



Uncommitted lefthander Jake Blawn (2020, Corona, Calif.) has been a well-known name on the circuit for a long time now and the southpaw twirled an impressive performance during CBA’s victory on Saturday morning. The 6-foot-3, 190-pound lefthander allowed just one run over four innings while striking out five batters and Blawn really gave hitters fits with his ability to spin the breaking ball. He worked up to 87 mph with the fastball but lived mostly in the 82-85 mph range with the fastball, throwing from a longer arm action and a shorter striding/stiffer delivery from the most part. The fastball showed some good angle when low but it worked well to get ahead of hitters and set up the breaking ball. Blawn’s slider has good 2-to-8 shape in the mid-70s with good spin, breaking late to both land for strikes and induce some ugly swings. There’s little doubt that Blawn is a Division I caliber arm and he looked sharp on Saturday morning.



Turning in a terrific start on the mound for the St. Louis Prospects was Missouri State commit Jack Hunke (2021, Foristell, Mo.) and the rising junior did a good job at keeping a tough NorCal lineup at bay for the majority of his performance. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound righthander worked up to 89 mph with the fastball during the early goings of the game before settling in around the mid- to upper-80s, attacking the strike zone and mixing both of his pitches nicely to induce a good amount of weak contact. There are some checkpoints to the delivery with a fairly loose and quick arm stroke, it’s a bit offline but he gets it through well and on time, while the command was impressive this outing. He walked a couple of hitters but he kept the ball low for the most part, mixing in his breaking ball with good depth to the offering to allow hitters to get themselves out for the most part. Hunke delivered a terrific start against one of the better teams in the event and ultimately stood out as a junior pitching at an elite 17u event.



Coming on in relief of Hunke, Riley Phillips (2020, Godfrey, Ill.) had a bit of a mixed bag as far as statistical performance goes, however the stuff, projection, and ultimate upside are worth the intrigue from a draft perspective. A Louisville commit, Phillips fits the mold of lefthanded pitching Louisville recruits year after year as there’s size and demeanor to be a top caliber arm at maturity. The delivery is very easy and fluid with an extremely low effort release and some downward angle on the fastball that worked mostly 85-88 mph during this look. Though the release is easy he did struggle with consistency of strikes at times, missing north and south with the fastball command. The breaking ball is an out-pitch now with a biting, two-plane breaking slider in the upper-70s that mimics the fastball out of the hand and is currently an out-pitch. Given the 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame and how easy the release is, also considering the cleanliness of the delivery and arm action, there’s considerable room to project and Phillips could be a high-end arm by the time he reaches his peak.



Pirates’ first baseman Drake Westcott (2020, Edwardsville, Ill.) had a very strong day at the dish, notching two well-struck baseballs to the pull side which included a double in his first at-bat to bring home a run and a single that he was thrown out on trying to extend into a double. The 6-foot-3, 204-pound lefthanded hitter stood out at PG National for his sweet swing and ultimate power projection unto the frame at physical maturity. That smooth, loose and fast swing was on display during the third game of the tournament for the St. Louis Pirates as Westcott took the first pitch he saw on Saturday down the right field line and in his third at-bat went down to get a pitch and lined it hard into the pull-side gap. The path is naturally lofted and leveraged when he gets extended out in front and he’s shown in the past that the power is more present than some realize and the upside on the offensive profile is significant.

BPA shortstop and Arizona State commit Blake Pivaroff (2020, Laguna Beach, Calif.) looks the part of a smooth-fielding, lefthanded hitting shortstop and there are a lot of things to like with the profile. Standing at an athletic 6-foot, 195-pounds, Pivaroff has good size and wiry strength while being able to make plays to either side at shortstop. He looks particularly smooth going to the backhand and a couple of plays stood out in particular where his hands work extremely well through the funnel to the throwing hand with impressive footwork. The swing is short and compact and though he hasn’t necessarily stood out in the offensive facet of the game the overall profile is nonetheless intriguing.



One of the sweetest lefthanded swings in this year’s draft class belongs to Kyle Teel (2020, Upper Saddle River, N.J.) and the Canes three-hole hitter collected two knocks to the ledger for his first hits of the tournament. The Virginia commit has been hitting balls hard, he just missed a home run deep to the warning track on day one, and the offensive tools are loud especially for a backstop. Teel is a primary catcher but has been playing primarily middle infield during the week. The lefthanded swing is balanced and very fast and compact with plus bat speed through the hitting zone. He drives through contact nicely at the point of impact and he keeps the swing compact with good lift in the stroke. Teel absolutely smoked two singles during game action, both of which got to center field in a hurry off the barrel, and the consistency of the well-struck contact is undoubtedly a major factor in his offensive upside. The power to pull is present and will no doubt improve upon maturity but the offensive tools are loud now regardless of any positional valuations.

Turning in the performance of the day was Baseball Northwest starter Logan Mercado (2020, Pasco, Wash.) who pitched a one-hit shutout against a very good GBG Marucci squad to send Baseball Northwest to the Gold playoffs on Sunday morning. The Oregon commit was in complete control from the first pitch and he showed a lot of intriguing tools on the mound.



A primary third baseman, it’s hard to imagine Mercado not pitching at the next level given his feel for the strike zone, raw stuff and ability to sequence three pitches for strikes consistently. He’s listed at 6-foot, 185-pounds, but the delivery exudes athleticism, driving and balancing well off his back-side toward the plate with a loose, quick arm stroke that was on time for the majority of the start. Mercado worked 88-92 mph for the first few innings on the mound before dipping to 88-90 in the later innings, still touching 90 mph a couple of times in the final frame. The fastball comes out of the hand cleanly and he works the strike zone nicely with the pitch, mixing in a tight-breaking curveball in the mid-70s as well as showing some feel for a low-80s changeup that he drops slot on and throws to lefthanded hitters. There’s potential for two solid average pitches down the line with the fastball and curveball and there’s upside to dream on given the athleticism and projection. Mercado was dominant in this look, allowing only one hit in the sixth inning and keeping a perennial power at bay during a complete game victory.

– Vinnie Cervino




Day three began with an interesting pitching matchup on the mound between Team Ohio Pro Select and Rawlings Arkansas Prospects Menard. On the mound for Team Ohio was Penn State commit Chad Rogers (2020, Painesville, Ohio.). Rogers has a large frame with a longer arm action that flings down and back into separation, then shortens up and fires into a high three-quarters arm slot. Rogers is intriguing as he has the capability to touch 91 mph, but his velocity was all over the place during his outing. In his first inning of work he sat 86-88, then after an inning he started to pump it up into the 88-91 mph range. However, by the time he got into the fourth his fastball had decreased, sitting 83-84 mph. It’s unclear if the change in velocity was due to arm troubles or whether he was just taking something off to sharpen his command. Rogers showcased two separate breaking balls on the day. One is a 10-to-4 shaped slider that functions more as his out-pitch. It possesses solid depth and bite and when thrown with conviction is effective. The other is a 12-to-6 curveball that is used as more of a get-me-over. He likes the slider more as it’s the better pitch, but at times he loses its side-to-side bite when locating to his arm side. The more he’s able to get out and around the pitch, the better spin rate it generates. Rogers went four full innings but was inconsistent with his stuff giving up five.



For Rawlings Arkansas Prospects, Notre Dame commit Aidan Keenan (2020, Santa Rosa Beach, Fla.) had a no-hitter heading into the sixth inning. Keenan still has a developing frame but possesses a strong arm that produced 86-89 mph fastballs on the day. Aidan has a short arm action from an over-the-top slot that feels low out of his hand. His low over-the-top slot can make his fastball pretty flat to the plate, however, fastball actions may develop as his arm matures. Keenan’s going to make a name for himself at the next level with his large shaped 12-to-6 curveball that is a solid pitch but still has room to improve. Keenan was able to produce some swings-and-misses with the pitch, especially down in the zone. However, it still lacks the velocity to be a true kill pitch at around 72 mph, but it only stands to improve as his arm continues to get stronger. Moreover, no hitter could produce hard contact on the curveball, so there’s a ton of potential in the pitch. Keenan’s developing frame and solid foundation tool make him a promising pitcher and a high follow into his senior year.

It’s worth noting that University of Kentucky commit and PG National player Houston King (2020, Cabot, Ark.) has been doing a little bit of everything for Rawlings Arkansas Prospects, including stealing four bags in three games. The highlight of them all came Saturday as he stole home against Team Ohio Pro Select. King has present athleticism and great feel for the game. He’s not a player to get caught up in the moment and his two hits on the day move him to a .375 average on the tournament. He has a slightly open stance that stays tall throughout and good hands that consistently take the knob of the bat to the inside part of the baseball. King finds solid extension with his hands through the zone and has a long back swing as he finishes slightly on his back side. There’s a little uphill to his barrel path but his hands are good enough to make up for the path.



Maxwell Carlson (2020, Savage, Minn.) pitched two quality innings for Canes National 17 and looked very efficient with his fastball. He sat 87-90 through his two innings pitched with a longer sweeping arm action and an over-the-top to high three-quarters arm slot. His fastball possesses some arm-side run and he was locating it at will in his second inning of work. His curveball is a high 11-to-5 breaker that he likes to drop in earlier in counts for strikes. Carlson likes to use his fastball and is very effective when locating it like he was in his outing. At the next level he’ll need to continue to develop another secondary pitch to complement his fastball. Still, his arm is very projectable, and his stuff is a solid foundation to take off soon through his development.

Trosky National Team got a huge win over the San Diego Show and Kalae Harrison (2020, Kailua, Hawaii) rocked a towering shot over the right field wall to put the game away for Trosky. Harrison has a smooth stroke from the left side that generates a strong amount of whip with a hand coil and quick lower half. He has great quick hands that work inside the ball and the whip he gets out of his barrel helps him to get the head out on inside pitches. He has a hanging leg-kick trigger and will sometimes mix in a toe tap as he stays pretty well balanced throughout the entirety of his stroke. Moreover, there’s obviously plenty of pop in his medium sized 5-foot-11 athletic frame. At short, Harrison is in constant rhythm with the baseball and understands his footwork well. He possesses soft hands that work through the baseball and a strong arm across the diamond that looks comfortable from just about any slot. There’s still plenty of room for Harrison to grow and if he does fill out his frame, he has the potential to become a top prospect type of athlete. Very scary projection for the Hawaiian product.



Harrison’s teammate, Charlie Hurley (2020, Carmichael, Calif.) was electric on the mound through his 1 1/3 inning pitched. Hurley has an ultra-projectable and lengthy 6-foot-7 frame that forces strong downward angle on his fastball to the plate. Hurley uses a mid-leg lift and has a short arm action to the plate. He throws from a three-quarters to high three-quarters arm slot, and despite his length he doesn’t stride very far down the mound. In his first inning of work he was blowing his fastball by hitters sitting 91-93 mph with a little arm-side run. By his second inning of work the fastball declined a bit, more 89-91, but still had plenty of juice and action to miss bats. He really only threw two breaking balls in the game which had an 11-to-5 shape to them and need some development. However, Hurley broke off a tighter spinning curveball in between innings that possessed solid bite and was much more of a plus pitch than any of the others he threw in the game, leaving scouts to believe that a solid secondary out-pitch is there but needs work to become consistent. Hurley is a changeup or other third pitch away from becoming not only a serious draft threat, but also a real threat to make an impact in a D-I rotation right away.



Cal State Fullerton commit Nathan Nankil (2020, Chula Vista, Calif.) is batting .375 on the tournament and is yet another large-framed outfielder of the future for the Titans. Nankil has an upright evenly spread stance with both of his knees inverted towards each other. He has a heavy vertical bat wag as well as a flaring back elbow that flaps like a bird wing pre pitch. Everything settles down though as he begins his load. His hands become quiet as they fall down and back, and he uses a mid-leg kick trigger that forces his weight shift hard onto his back-foot instep. As he reaches his launch there’s not a ton of coil with his hands, but he creates solid tension between his upper and lower halves. He stays tall on his back-side helping to force a flat barrel plane through the zone. There’s some length to his large 6-foot-3 frame, and it makes him deadly when he can get his hands extended to the ball. Nankil will sometimes pull his head on high or inside pitches but this is a simple tweak. For as loud as his pre-pitch routine feels, he does a great job of quieting everything down and exploding his quick hands through the zone.

– Connor Spencer


The leather was flashed early and often on day three of the 17u PG World Series, highlighted by the double play duo CBA Marucci rolled out, a pair of 2020s in Tank Espalin (Glendora, Calif.) and Alonzo Richardson ( Spring Valley, Calif.).

Manning second base Saturday was the USC commit and seventh-ranked shortstop in California, Espalin. The future Trojan has excellent timing with his feet and great rhythm. He showed some early glove exposure and posture on balls hit at him, as he’s as fundamentally sound as you will see for a player his age. He displayed some versatility around the bag on the front end of a double play with a 1.30 turn and good footwork on the pivot. His arm action is short and clean and has enough carry across, and when combined with his footwork there isn’t a reason why he can’t be a serviceable shortstop at the next level. Espalin is definitely not an all-glove, no-stick player. At the plate, he has a narrow upright stance with a high elbow set similar to Cody Bellinger. He has leg kick trigger into a long stride that gets him off his back-side getting linear upon launch. He is efficient to the zone with a two-handed finish that produces carry to the big part of the field.



On the other side of the bag was Richardson who is the 13th-ranked shortstop in California and a San Diego State commit. He turned in a defensive performance for the ages and he too features some advance defensive actions. The separator for the future Aztec is his high-motor mentality, twitch and his flinch breaks, which are outstanding leading him to exceptional first-step reads and jumps. These reads and jumps lead to three gold standard plays. In the top of the first, he ranged to his glove side and snagged a line drive going full extension, and also replicated the play going deep in the 5-6 hole in the fifth. He showed the full repertoire of defensive skills on a play up the middle in the third when he ranged to his glove side, picked the ball on a short hop and displayed great body control and use of arm slot to finish the play on the run, showcasing his arm strength.



If flair and flashy are more your thing, then you get plenty of it in East Cobb Astros second baseman Pascanel Ferreras (Lawerenceville, Ga.). Like the CBA pair, the uncommitted infielder showed some high-level movements with the glove. Ferrera showed incredibly soft hands and plus reads on hops as he displayed on a tough tweener hop he fielded with ease. Showing some creativity he barehanded a tough glove flip from the shortstop to secure an out and went full Javy Baez applying a no-look tag from rocket-armed backstop and Clemson commit Joe Mack. Offensively, Ferrera boasts some big power movements in the box. He possesses a big leg kick and hip coil with some hand speed. He does look to lift and do damage, although a tick earlier rhythm in the box would have him timed up to square up balls and produce carry to the big part of the field.

Not to be outdone, the No. 1-ranked prospect at the shortstop position, 2020 Arkansas commit and PG All-American Robert Moore (Leawood, Kan.), was in action. The Royals Scout Team shortstop checks all the boxes you are looking for in a shortstop, including, but not limited to, a very high IQ and being a great field general. Listed at 5-foot-9, the talented infielder plays much bigger than that. Moore’s approach and setup to ground balls are textbook. He always seems to be on the balls of his feet displaying his springy athleticism and his advanced ability to read hops allows him to never be caught in a bad spot. His footwork through balls creates a good point of attack on throws which produces carry. Moore displayed his brilliant hands by showing a deflect-type flip on a 6-4 feed. His field awareness and body control were on display on a shallow fly ball he tracked down with his back to the infielder, making a basket catch a la Willie Mays look very easy.



Closing out the CBA victory was uncommitted 2020 righthander Jacob Sharp (Whittier, Calif.). The highly-touted outfielder grabbed the ball to finish out the game, showing plenty of moxie in doing so. With a true closer mentality, Sharp was heavy on fastballs which sat 87-88 mph. His short arm action with late gear up on release created a heater that jumps on hitters. Sharp did flash a slider at 78 that is more of a show pitch to get hitters off the electric fastball.



Another outstanding outing seen on day three was by 2020 LSU commit and righthanded pitcher Zachary Murray (Buford, Ga.). Murray tossed a complete gamel punching out 10. The medium athletic-built righthander has a drop-and-drive delivery with an elongated stride but his arm consistently arrives on time. The LSU commit has a three-quarters slot with a clean backswing and a solid arm path leading to a violent whip-type finish. Murray exhibited a true three-pitch mix with a good distribution of all three pitches. His fastball sat in the 89-90 mph range for the duration of the outing, topping out at 91. Murray flashed a tight slider with a depth that created some big swings-and-misses as it can be a plus pitch if he can get that action consistently. His changeup was in the 76-78 range which he turned over really well with some real arm-side run.

– Gabe Ortiz
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