6/23/2015 7:08:13 PM
USA Baseball's Tournament of Stars, the organization's primary vehicle to select the 2015 USA National 18U team, opened Tuesday in Cary, North Carolina.  The weather was typically sweltering, with temperatures hovering around 100 degrees, with 100+ scouts huddling under tents and whatever shade they could find for most of the day.  The six teams of players took long batting practices rounds, ran the 60 and participated in defensive drills today before games begin tomorrow morning.

Here are some highlights from BP and drills.  We'll post the top 60 times when they become available.

OF Connor Capel:  Showed his tools today very well, with a strong and accurate arm during drills and lots of bat speed and hard gap to gap contact at the plate.

OF Dominic Fletcher:  Would be a candidate for the "Best BP of the Day".  Really drove the ball hard and with power.  With the heavy air and heat the ball wasn't carrying at all but Fletcher peppered the pull side fences.

OF Will Benson:  Benson is a physical clone of Jason Heyward and showed strong tools on both sides of the ball.  Like Heyward, he looks like a first baseman but is such a high level athlete that he projects as a plus defensive right fielder. 

IF Carter Aldrete:  Aldrete has big broad shoulders and a very athletic look.  He also carries himself like a ballplayer, with confidence and ease to his actions.  Plus, he has a very nice and loose right handed swing.

OF Daniel Cabrera:  Cabrera is a 2017 from Louisiana with a tightly wound and athletic 6-0/180 build.  He showed very well on both sides of the ball.

SS Grant Bodison:  After Bodison's catch during the MLB.com broadcast game at the PG National Showcase we had to pay extra attention to the South Carolina native.  He is such a smooth athlete, something that not surprisingly shows best on defense.

OF Blake Rutherford/OF Mickey Moniak:  These two Southern Californian outfielders are very similar players and might be the two top outfield prospects in the 2016 class.  Rutherford has the present advantage in strength and power, while Moniak is faster, but both are very high level hitters and very projectable.

IF Cam Shepherd:  Shepherd had a very strong day, showing strength and bat speed at the plate but maybe more impressively, fluid defensive actions in the middle infield and lots of arm strength.

OF Taylor Trammell:  Trammell was fun to watch today.  He made three or four diving catches DURING BP (!!!) and obviously loves playing the game.  He also is 6-2/195 with strength and bat speed in his left handed swing.  We'll be bearing down on him this week.

C Michael Amditis:  Amditis has such short and compact actions on both sides of the ball that it doesn't seem like he's putting much effort into his throws and swings.  Until he throws 85 down to second and drives balls over outfielder's heads, that is.

1B Cole Zabowski:  If Dominic Fletcher didn't take the best BP today, we would have no problem giving that tip of the cap to Zabowski, a 6-5/220 left handed hitter with a sweet and strong left handed swing.

2B Morgan McCullough:  Player probably got about 40 swings each during BP and McCullough might have squared up 35 of them.  He's 5-7/160 but is going to be a very high average hitter at the next level.

IF Jacob Amaya:  Amaya has very quick hands as a right handed hitter and squared up the ball hard consistently.