Pinnacle, AZ vs. Escondido, CA

Jake Holmes of Pinnacle high school had a nice day at the plate hitting the ball hard all day including a home run to left-center field.  Holmes has an easy stroke at the plate with natural lift through the point of contact that could lead to power potential in his future.  He also showed off his athleticism on the base paths taking second base immediately following the left fielder bobbling a base hit in his first at bat.  He then stole third base on the first pitch.  Holmes is committed to Arizona State University.  

Left-handed pitcher, Nick Goehring, gave up just one hit in his four innings of work, the hit coming off of a bloop single just over the third baseman’s head.  He had six strikeouts and was a groundball-producing machine impressively throwing 90% fastballs, rarely mixing in a curveball.  Goehring showed good arm side run on his fastball and was up to 80 mph in the first inning.

Escondido, CA vs. Verrado, HS

This game was all Verrado after an explosive 2nd inning followed by an even bigger 3rd inning.  Escondido did pressure in the first inning putting a run on the board in both the first and second inning.  Center fielder Carter Allen had a solid day at the plate showing a middle of the field approach and the ability to move down the line quickly.  

Sophomore Hayden Brown is listed at 6-3, 180 pounds but may actually be taller than listed.  Brown showed good leverage in his swing producing a 2 RBI triple hitting a screaming line drive over the second baseman’s head that made it’s way to the right-center field wall.  He motored over to third  base quickly clocking in right about 12 seconds flat.    Brown has a highly projectable build and will be interesting to follow as he further develops.  

Chapparel vs. Desert Mountain

In what started out as a potential blowout, with Chapparel jumping out to a 8-0 lead, Desert Mountain came storming back and ultimately made this game a football score, with Chapparel eventually reigning victorious 17-14. Yes, 17-14. 

Senior left-hander Alex Segal was intriguing, even if he didn't have his command. The XL-framed, super projectable lefty worked 85-88 MPH and touched 89 in his few innings, mixing in a sharp slider as well. The feel for his breaking ball came and went, but when he threw it hard and really snapped it out front, it was sharp with late diving tilt. 

Junior 3rd baseman Jacob Gonzalez hammered a pair of doubles deep over the CF's head and into the LCF gap in his first two at bats. The son of Luis Gonzalez has elite power potential that he's beginning to tap into in his right-handed swing, with the kind of raw strength and bat speed that is going to be very hard to ignore for scouts as we move towards his draft year. 

Junior Blake Paugh showed off the power that, among other things, has him ranked #116 in the class of 2017 by hitting a long home run for Chapparel. He's a very well-proportioned athlete with an excellent profile in the outfield, both from an athleticism and arm strength perspective; and the power he shows will allow him to profile in any of the 3 OF spots.