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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/17/2019

Midwest Champs Scout Notes

Taylor Weber      Ben Milks     
Photo: Owen Murphy (Perfect Game)

WWBA Midwest Championship Daily Leaders: Sophomore | Underclass

The first few days of the WWBA Midwest Championships were defined by solid arms taking the mound and looking to shut down opponents. That was started in the Friday night matchup between Cangelosi Sparks 2021 White and Iowa Select 2021 Rath. On the mound for Cangelosi was solid righty Trez Rybarczyk (2021, Spring Valley, Ill.). Rybarczyk is fluid with his delivery and repeats actions well with solid arm speed into a three-quarter release. He shows feel for the fastball topping out at 82 mph. He pairs it with a solid curveball with still-developing feel. He really showed some things to like early in the outing but unfortunately took a loss as Cangelosi couldn’t get anything going against the starter for Iowa Select.

That starter was University of Iowa commit Caden Stoffer (2021, Fairfax, Iowa). Stoffer has been impressive in a couple looks at Perfect Game events over the summer and this outing was no different. Working five shutout innings, he easily worked up to 84 mph while carving up hitters up and down the opposing lineup. He’s a very athletic 6-foot-4, 170 pounds and uses his size well throughout the delivery, getting down the mound and working well to extension.

Logan Runde (2021, Peosta, Iowa) took the mound in Iowa Select Rath’s Sunday afternoon game and was very good when they needed him to be. It was just a 3-1 victory with all the runs coming in the later half of the game. Runde is a very physical righthander at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds. He’s got a broad chest with plenty of strength throughout. This allows him to generate a heavy fastball up to 88 mph when able to reach back. He really looks to challenge hitters early in the count going right after guys with the fastball over the heart of the plate. He mixes in two options with the off-speed working a curveball down in the zone and a sinking changeup as well. Runde’s final line was 6 1/3 innings with five strikeouts and a pair of hits allowed.

Arguably one of the top prospects in the Sophomore side of the event was another righty in recent Notre Dame commit Owen Murphy (2022, Riverside, Ill.). Murphy was very good in his outing for Rake City allowing just a single hit through four innings. And they need him to be good as they were only able to muster one run, but it was all they needed. Murphy is advanced for a 2022 on the mound with a clean delivery and solid arm speed into release. He mixes pitches well and can really generate life on the fastball that is already up to 86 MPH.

Murphy’s teammate Blake Edmonds (2022, Oak Brook, Ill.) was also a player that really popped over the weekend as it seemed that he was able to come through time and time again for Rake City. He’s calm in the box and utilizes a simple contact-oriented approach from the left side. He employs a fluid and direct bat path and can really impact the baseball when creating some separation. Edmonds rightfully so took home the MVP of the event with seven hits in 17 at-bats, adding a trio of free passes. He also really impacted the game on the bases, grabbing eight total stolen bases.

Justin Hackett (2022, Winterset, Iowa) saw a bit of a jump on his velocity from a few weekends ago working easily up to 87 mph over the weekend. He would grab a win against a solid team throwing four innings of shutout baseball. He repeats his mechanics well on the mound and at 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, he is a player to keep eyes on moving forward. He was dominant throughout the four innings, racking up nine strikeouts through the 12 outs he faced. Hackett seems to have a frame that can continue to mature and with that see and even bigger jump in velocity down the line.

-Taylor Weber

The 2019 Perfect Game 13u Select Festival participant and recent Louisville commit Zion Rose  (2023, Chicago Ill.) continued to impress this weekend at Prospect Meadows. Rose showed his present power and speed consistently throughout the weekend on his way to a .556 batting average while also stealing two bases. In the first game of the weekend, Zion did not miss a fastball, belting a loud triple over the right fielders head. Rose also played a lot of third base this weekend, showing clean footwork with confident glove actions and a strong arm across the field.

Joey Little (2022, Hawthorn Woods, Ill.) enjoyed a loud weekend at the plate collecting four hits on his way to a .500 batting average. Little showed a slightly elevated bat path through the zone creating consistently driven contact to and through the gaps in the outfield when on time and squared. Little showed his present power with a pair of loud triples in the second game of the weekend.

Pro Player Canes 2021 enjoyed the weekend at Prospect Meadows on their way to a runner-up finish. Josh Notriano (2021, Johnsburg, Ill.) was named MVP of the Underclass division behind a .500 batting average while collecting six singles and a home run. On the mound, Notriano tossed 3 1/3 innings in three different games allowing no runs while striking out three. Josh features a high contact approach at the plate with the ability to drive the ball to and through the gaps in the outfield. On the mound, Notriano features a fastball with heavy life through the zone up to 79 mph complemented with a sweeping slider creating swing and miss.

Enjoying a loud weekend at the plate for Cangelosi Sparks 2023 Black was Ryan Jefferson (2023, Mokena, Ill.) The athletic 2023 grad showed present power and speed consistently throughout the weekend. Jefferson was able to collect three extra base hits, including two triples. Jefferson showed the ability to create bat speed with good barrel control creating consistently driven contact throughout the weekend. On the bases Jefferson showed heads up base running to go along with impressive speed with two stolen bases and a number of other impressive plays on the base paths.

Getting the start against Morris Baseball Chiefs 2021 for Hitters 2021 was Tyler Peck (2021, Oak Creek, Wis.) Peck worked six innings while only allowing one hit and one earned run and striking out eight batters. Peck features a long, athletic delivery with good pace down the mound. Tyler features a two-pitch mix including a fastball with a sharp downhill plane with good feel for both sides of the plate complemented with a sweeping slider at 72 mph.

Mason Behn (2022, Cedar Rapids, Iowa) was impressive on the mound Saturday morning working 5 2/3 innings while only allowing two hits and two walks while striking out eight batters. The stocky, strong righty showed good arm speed from a three-quarter slot with athletic actions working down the hill. Behn features a fastball with late arm side run creating soft contact up to 83 mph complemented by a 11/5 breaking ball creating swing-and-miss at 67 mph.

-Ben Milks
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