3/13/2016 8:49:29 PM
3/11-3/13
Around the complex and in between the High School Showdown going on, College Spring Swing was in full effect with Divison 1 programs abundant. Iowa, Presbyterian, Bowling Green, Savanah State, Seton Hall and Nebraska-Omaha all played games this weekend. In addition to those, JUCOs Georgia Highlands, Central Alabama, Jefferson County and Triton were all in action.
The following players stood out over the course of the weekend:
On Friday night, Iowa took on Nebraska-Omaha in a close matchup that ended in the Mavericks earning a 3-2 victory. Pitching for the Hawkeyes was redshirt sophomore CJ Eldred. Eldred tossed six innings on the mound. He stands with a 6-foot-1, 220 pound frame with present strength and filled the zone over the course of his outing. His fastball worked 86-88 mph and topped out at 90. He also mixed in a tight spinning curveball at 77 mph that he showed the ability to get over for strikes and the confidence to throw in any count. He did have trouble with leaving the ball over the plate as he gave up 10 hits in the outing and should work on keeping the ball lower in the zone.
Once Eldred's six innings were completed, the Hawkeyes called on freshman left-hander Zach Daniels. The young lefty impressed on the mound in his one inning of relief throwing from a three-quarter arm slot with a loose arm action. His fastball sat 90-92 mph and hit 93 mph on a couple occasions. He showed some feel for a changeup at 84 mph and got a pair of strikeouts.
On the opposite field of the north tower, a pair of Georgia Highlands sluggers Zach McCrum and Daniel Gooden each showed their impressive raw power with back-to-back home runs in their second game of the day. In the fifth inning, after a leadoff singe, McCrum launched a deep fly ball to left field that left the bat at 97.7 mph to extend the lead to 4-0. Gooden followed with a solo blast to right with an exit speed of 93.2 mph.
Seton Hall thoroughly impressed this weekend with a quality lineup as well as a number of high quality arms. Their Friday night starter was sophomore right-hander Shane McCarthy. McCarthy stood at a projectable 6-foot-2, 190 pounds with room to fill in his frame. He showed a loose arm action and did well to repeat his simple mechanics and fill the zone. His threw his fastball 90-92 mph with slight arm-side wiggle and showed some feel for a 10-4 breaking slider. The slider had some sweeping action, but the righty was able to throw it for strikes and it worked as weapon when thrown low and away to right-handed hitters. He tossed seven innings for the Pirates and struck out 10 batters.
Bowling Green sent out left-hander CJ Schildt for their Friday game against Presbyterian. Schildt was hardly the hardest throwing pitcher at LakePoint this weekend, but what he did was show high levels of pitchibility. He threw from a low three-quarter arm slot with some strength in his smaller frame with a fluid arm and very repeatable mechanics. His fastball worked 83-86 mph with slight arm-side life and the ability to work low in the zone consistently. He also showed feel for a curveball at 67 mph with depth and the ability to drop it in for strikes. He led the Eagles to a 6-1 win allowing one run over 6 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.
Moving to Saturday's full day of games, we start with Jefferson County CC and left-handed starter Doug Still. The sophomore lefty came into the game with plenty of buzz as a two-time draft pick of the Atlanta Braves, both after high school and his freshman season. He showed a clean arm action with some arm speed from a three-quarter arm slot. He landed closed with a crossfire delivery and was well balanced throughout. His fastball worked 84-88 mph and touched 89 on numerous occasions with heavy sinking life. His curveball was slow breaking with 12-6 shape and some depth. He flashed a changeup in the game with sink, but did not show confidence in it.
For video of Still, please follow this link.
In the same game for Jefferson County, University of Arkansas transfer, Matt Brown showed a vicious amount of bat speed launching a 412 foot home run that left the bat at 98 mph and landed by the scoreboard of another field. His quick hands and strength allowed him to turn on the ball with such authority and drive it.
Back on the north quad, right-hander Bryan Quillens took the mound for Georgia Highlands and easily turned in his most impressive start of the season. Quillens showed the same plus arm speed he has all season, but added something new, consistency. He threw his fastball with authority and worked it on both sides of the plate for strikes. It sat 90-92 mph with impressive arm-side life and touched 93 mph on several occasions. Quillens stayed on-line and did a much better job of incorporating his lower half on the mound, generating good, downhill plane towards the plate. His slider showed some tilt up to 78 mph and proved to be effective as a backdoor pitch against left-handers. His changeup was up to 85 mph with some sink, but he slows his arm slightly for the pitch reducing its deceptiveness.
For video of Quillens, please follow this link.
Facing off against Quillens and Georgia Highlands, was Jefferson County completing the second game of their double header. The game proved to be a pitcher's duel, with the Vikings earning the 2-0 win behind starter Anthony Herron. Herron worked extremely effectively on the mound tossing a complete game shutout with 15 strikeouts. He showed very impressive arm speed from his 6-foot-1, 215 pound frame with good downhill action. He used a short, compact arm action and pitched to garner the swing and miss, rather than to contact and using a lot of pitches to get there. Herron's fastball worked 86-89 mph and hit 90 mph with arm-side wiggle. His slider was extremely effective as it got nine swings and misses, including eight as strikeout pitch. His two pitch mix dominated the Chargers and kept them off balance throughout the game.
Clayton Taylor is on the verge of being a weekly mention in this blog, both of for his raw power and Nebraska-Omaha's multiple visits to LakePoint early on this season. On Saturday night, he delivered a two-run home run to right-center that left the bat at 94.5 mph. Taylor has very consistent raw power and strength in his swing as noted in his now five homers here in three trips on a variety of different pitches. This one was off of a breaking ball, which he had shown the ability to wait on and recognize out of the pitcher's hand, but this time he turned on it with his hands exploding through the zone with intent.
Closing out the night in more ways than one was sophomore right-hander Zach Schellenger for the Seton Hall Pirates. Schellenger has a very physical 6-foot-5, 210 pound frame with clear present strength. He worked aggressively downhill from a lower three-quarter arm slot with plus, plus arm speed. His fastball sat 94-96 mph consistently with sharp downhill life and kept it low. His release point and drive varied and that hampered his command. What he did do incredibly well was spin his slider with authority and 10-4 shape with lots of tilt.
For video of Schellenger, please follow this link.
Not to leave Georgia without providing another quality arm, Seton Hall returned on Sunday with sophomore right-hander Chris Morris. Morris possess a very athletic and projectable 6-foot-2, 175 pound frame. He worked quickly and threw strikes from a three-quarter arm slot and easy arm action. Morris showed good arm speed as well with a fastball that worked 90-92 mph and hit 93 mph with good arm-side life. He did exceptionally well to change speeds and sequence his pitches and did so not allowing a hit going into the fifth inning. His curveball showed 12-6 shape with heavy tumbling action at 78 mph. His changeup saw him slow his arm slightly for the pitch with slight fade, buit was very inconsistent. Morris worked on-line with repeatable mechanics and did so over 6 2/3 innings allowing just three hits and striking out 8 batters.
The Triton Trojans sent out big right-hander Will Kincanon to the hill. Kincanon stands at 6-foot-5 and used every inch of it on the mound with a hard, downhill delivery. He has a good, projectable frame that could handle additional strength. He used a short, compact arm action with good plane towards the plate. His fastball looked firm sitting 89-91 mph and hitting 93 mph with slight arm-side life. Kincanon showed decent lower half drive, but showed very fringy off-speed and breaking ball offerings that hurt him on the mound.
In the final game of the day, Iowa took on Savanah State and leadoff hitter, Joel Booker turned in a very impressive outing. Booker is a plus athlete in centerfield with a lean, projectable build at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. He dropped a bunt down in the first inning and posted an incredible home to first time of 3.65 that was confirmed with another scout in attendance. He runs without effort and long strides that plays in game. He was consistently clocked in the 4.1's down the line from the right side throughout the weekend, solidifying his status as a plus runner. At the plate, he showed plus bat speed with strength and some feel for the barrel. He delivered a loud home run to deep left on an absolute rope that left the stadium in a hurry. He followed that up with a single through the left side later showing his line drive approach. The senior delivered on all fronts on Sunday as Iowa picked up a big 14-4 win over the Tigers.