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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/1/2019

15U BCS: Day 5 Scout Notes

Vincent Cervino      Tyler Russo     
Photo: Matthew Ossenfort (Perfect Game)
2019 15U BCS National Championship: Day 1 Notes | Day 2 Notes | Day 3 Notes | Day 4 Notes

Starting off the final day of pool play in a victory for Cannons Baseball Academy American was uncommitted righthander Jake Clemente (2022, Coral Springs, Fla.) who worked up to 85 mph early in the start and cruised through two quick frames. Clemente has the size and physical projection of a Division I prospect and after the first inning sat mostly in the 80-83 mph range. The arm stroke is loose in the back with a three-quarters arm slot that creates some running life on the fastball when low in the zone. He utilized a firm changeup in the upper-70s that he showed some feel for and we’ll be looking at Clemente when he gets stretched out come bracket play.

Clemente’s teammate Derek Bermudez (2022, Miramar, Fla.) had a strong day at the dish and the uncommitted righthanded hitter is a physical and strong hitting prospect. The swing is straight forward and simple with easy, strong wrists throughout the swing that allows him to extend well and impact the ball out in front. Bermudez collected two hits on the day and the swing really projects to hit for some all fields power as he continues to fill out into his athletic, broad-shouldered frame.

One of the more consistent bats for the Florida Dodgers Scout Team this week has been three-hole hitter and slugger Eli Maddox (2022, Orange Park, Fla.) as he’s hitting .417 on the week. Maddox is a very physical righthanded hitter at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds with lots of strength through the point of contact. The stance is balanced with an open start and a small closing step to get his lower half and hips engaged. The swing path is fairly direct and has a flatter overall path as his strength at contact allows for good carry to the pull-side gap. The natural leverage in the stroke portends future power as he gains strength and fills out his frame while Maddox has undoubtedly been an important part of one of the top seeds heading into bracket play.



Miami commit Kristian Noriega (2022, Sunrise, Fla.) had a big day at the plate during the final game of pool play and the lefthanded hitter has a smooth barrel path with plenty of bat speed. In three at-bats, Noriega barreled up the ball three times which included a first at-bat home run down the pull-side line and a double that one-hopped the wall in right field. He has excellent balance from an offensive standpoint and explosive hands that create such easy bat speed and loft to the swing plane. The power to the pull side is good right now but his frame is ripe with projection to make him potentially even more of a home run threat as he fills out. Noriega has some of the better offensive tools at the event thus far and it will be exciting to monitor his progress throughout the rest of the summer.



Matthew Ossenfort (2023, Sioux Falls, S.D.) turned in an excellent start, striking out eight batters in 5 2/3 innings. Just heading into his freshman year of high school in the fall, the 6-foot-2, 210-pounder has an ideal, physically projectable frame for a starting pitching prospect. Add in the fact that he’s lefthanded and worked up to 85 mph in this start with regularity and you’re looking at a very intriguing pitching prospect. The delivery is fluid and fairly simple, though the lower half usage could be shored up, and the arm action is free and easy. He touched 85 mph a couple of times and held 80-84 mph throughout the start, keeping the higher end of that spectrum in his back pocket whenever he needed it. Ossenfort creates significant angle to both sides of the plate and he has a true three-pitch mix with a projectable 1/7 curveball in the mid-60s and a firm changeup in the upper-70s. Ossenfort’s repertoire and projection make him one of the more intriguing arms for the 2023 class to monitor moving forward.

Chase Alderman (2022, Morehead, Ky.) didn’t collect a hit during the game today but he still showed off some tools with sky-high projection on a 6-foot-4, 170-pound frame. With broad shoulders and long limbs, the uncommitted shortstop has present athleticism with a lot of room to fill out that frame to add some serious strength. That might eventually push Alderman off toward third base in the future, but the hands work well and the arm is certainly live as he made a tough play to the backhand and was up to 85 mph on the mound a few days ago. The swing is short and simple to the ball with some hand quickness and projectable raw bat speed.

Collecting a win and showing some two-way potential was Austin Williamson (2022, Denver, N.C.) who ran his fastball up to 83 mph with good secondaries en route to a victory. He held 79-82 mph throughout the six innings on the mound with some arm quickness and looseness. Williamson has a very physical frame that’s ripe to hold on added strength as he develops and shows both an over-the-top curveball and a slider. The slider had more bite to it during this look with some swing-and-miss potential; Williamson also has some righthanded power that could be intriguing as he adds strength.



Closing out Team Elite’s 2-0 victory was former PG Select Festival participant Calvert Clark (2022, Charlotte, N.C.) and he ran his fastball up to 91 mph while earning the save. Clark has a live and loose arm stroke and releases at max effort, however the arm speed and physical projection on his 6-foot-4, 180-pound frame make the velocity ceiling sky-high. Clark worked mostly 87-90 mph and attacked hitters while getting some swing-and-miss in the upper third of the strike zone. He showed a couple of curveballs early but settled in to gas hitters up in the seventh inning. Clark is going to continue to throw very hard and we’ll be following as the two-way prospect continues to develop.

-Vinnie Cervino

Drew Nelson (2022, Troy, Ala.) is an athletic 5-foot-11, 180-pound outfielder and lefthanded pitcher who puts forth a very sound approach at the plate. Deploying a short, compact swing, Nelson creates enough bat speed to drive the baseball with some strength when he can get extended, but profiles more as a contact hitter when he has to pull his hands inside. There is a maturity in how he handles pitches around the zone and the natural feel on the bases is advanced for his age. Nelson is an interesting two-way prospect to watch as he continues to develop his game.

Mark Capell (2021, Morganville, N.J.) came into close for BBA National as they picked up their sixth win in as many games. He would only face two hitters, but would strike out the pair, working a very brief three-pitch mix. The fastball showed some life as he extended well to the plate running it up to 85 mph, while flashing feel for a sweeping slider and a straight changeup. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame is athletic and projects to more velocity if Capell looks to continue his time on the mound as a primary third baseman.



Louisville commit Rocko Brzezniak (2022, Matawan, N.J.), ranked No. 45 overall in the class, was as good as advertised on day five as he picked up a pair of triples and walk in his three plate appearances. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound corner infielder is an extremely physical righthanded hitter with big time strength and even projects to more. The swing is loose with natural lift to it as he consistently drives the ball hard in the air. There is still room to add some athleticism in the lower half, but profiled as a corner infielder, Brzezniak is a no-doubt power bat that is exciting to watch every time out.



Another top ranked player (No. 65 overall) continuing to play at a high level was Florida International commit Justin Colon (2021, Carolina, P.R.) as he picked up a pair of loud doubles in four at-bats. Colon has projection to dream on as he is one of the most athletic infielders in the class. Standing at a listed 6-foot-2, 175 pounds, there is the strength in the body now to play at a high level, but there is a ton of strength to come as he continues to fill out the frame. The swing is free and easy with strong wrists that carry the barrel well through the zone and into the follow through. Defensively he is as good as it gets with how smooth the actions are and the arm strength that produced a fastball up to 94 mph earlier in the week.



Colon’s teammate and fellow Florida International commit Rene Lastres (2021, Hialeah Gardens, Fla.) picked up three hits in four at-bats as made consistent hard contact out of a large, strong body. Listed at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Lastres is another highly physical righthanded hitter with a ton of present strength that projects to even more. The bat-to-ball skills are very good as he showed a mature level of pitch recognition and a good ability to adjust his body to get on time. He showed quick, athletic actions behind the plate in the lone inning he played his primary position with a strong arm that projects very well to the next level.



Wilder Puertas (2022, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) was good in his extended relief performance as he tossed 4 1/3 innings of four-hit, one-run baseball. At 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, the projectable righthander is big-bodied with a strong lower half that allows him to stay balanced in the delivery and change his tempo and timing consistently. The fastball worked to both halves of the plate up to 86 mph and will start missing barrels as the velocity continues to improve. Puertas consistently showed good feel for a hard-breaking curveball that had good depth and high spin at 71-74 mph as he commanded it well throughout the outing. The arm gets long at times and allows hitters to pick up the fastball early, but as he picks up velocity and whips it through the high slot, the stuff becomes difficult to hit.

-Tyler Russo
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