2/11/2017 8:15:34 PM
Noah Gapp (2017 Elig. St. Albert, Canada) had an imposing frame on the mound for the Cumberlands Patriots and fired six shutout innings in their first game of the day. Gapp started with a drop and drive element on the mound with a leg lift tight to the belt and a slight pause at his balance point. He alternated his directionality to the plate at times, occasionally working over his front side and crossfire down the mound. He had quality arm strength and overall ease to his delivery which came through a 3/4 slot. His arm swing worked long through the back with a slight stab and clean acceleration through release. His fastball worked 88-91 mph early on with short arm side life. The pitch generated a lot of first pitch swings, and though they were not swings and misses, they were usually hit on the ground and fielded. Gapp used a three pitch mix on the mound, folding in both a changeup in the low 80's and a slider touching the mid 80's. The changeup showed quality depth and fade with replicated arm speed and he was willing to double down on the pitch to left handed hitters, attempting to get them to chase. His slider was easily his third offering with shorter snap and tight spin, but he lacked confidence in the pitch. Gapp's 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame certainly catches the attention of scouts, but his extension through the ball helped him separate himself. He consistently was getting seven or more feet of extension through the ball, really finishing through it on the mound.

In the game between the Cumberlands and Bethel, a pair of player's drove the ball exceptionally well with Brian Benz (2017 Elig., Arlington, TX) and Lucas Riddick (2017 Elig., Dyersburg, TN). Riddick opened up the first inning for Bethel, while facing Gapp, and drove a triple loudly off the wall for a triple. His swing worked quick and compact to drive the ball 99 mph off the bat. Riddick showed quality bat to ball skills and quickness to his hands. Benz provided the power for the Patriots' offense clubbing a very deep, and quite loud, two-run home run to right-centerfield. TrackMan registered his home run at just over 418 feet with a naturally lofted swing plane and plenty of strength to drive the ball in his frame. 



The doubleheader between Georgia Highlands and the highly touted Walters State provided little offense, but plenty of pitching. Walters State opened with Sam Gardner who fired an impressive 5 2/3 shutout innings on the mound working his fastball between 89-92 mph and topping out at 93. Gardner's arm action worked long through the back with occasional stab as he changed with looks to the plate. He threw from a high 3/4 slot and occasionally straight over the top, working over his front side at landing. He casted his glove side out with a high front shoulder, but tucked well through release and was able to repeat his release point reasonably well. Gardner carried a no-hitter into the 5th inning, pounding the zone and working hitters hard inside with his fastball. He worked with a plan on the mound and his ability to locate his fastball to both sides of the plate, let the effectiveness of his slider, that worked in the upper 70's play up a bit. Like his fastball, his slider worked best when located on the outer third, away from a right handed hitter, usually freezing them with two strikes. That approach helped him collect 10 strikeouts on the day. 

Backing up Gardner out of the Senators bullpen was Missouri commit Nile Ball (2017 Elig., Decatur, GA). Ball pitched in this series last season, using a similar, short arm action with a quick arm through release. There are parts of Ball's delivery that look a bit disjointed from the stretch, but he made it work in a quick 1 1/3 relief stint, registering a save. Ball let his front side drift down the mound and lets his leg swing way in front of his body before release. He threw from a 3/4 arm slot with a fastball that worked in the low 90's, up to 93, from the wind-up and in the upper 80's and up to 90 from the stretch. He showed a pair of secondary offerings in the form of a changeup which he enjoyed throwing consistently to right handed hitters. For a player with a quality fastball he relied heavily on on his off-speed pitches, both the changeup and a slider that worked in the upper 70's. He threw only a handful of fastballs, but they showed short running life to the arm side and he challenged hitters to all zones of the plate. 

Competing against both Ball and Gardner was Colby Taylor (2017 Elig., Fayetteville, GA) for Georgia Highlands. Taylor fired a sterling five inning performance on the mound impressive command a fastball that worked in the upper 80's, touching 89 mph with good life. His arm action was still slightly hooked in the back and came through release from a 3/4 arm slot. He showed both a curveball and changeup for his off-speed pitches and mixed all three very well in his time on the mound. 



Starting and eventually earning the win for the Senators in the second leg of the doubleheader was Hunter Stratton (2017 Elig., Bristol, TN). Stratton has a physical build on the mound with broad shoulders and good present strength. He started with a short leg lift that didn't quite reach his belt and a very deep hip turn from the wind-up. The hip turn created some deception, but caused him to become slightly disjointed throughout. Stratton's arm action was short and quick through the back with a hard hook before accelerating through a 3/4 arm slot. What hampered Stratton's command was working so hard over his front side and stiff landing leg. He had trouble finding his release point and consistently missed low in the zone with his fastball. His fastball did work in the low 90's early on in the game and got up to 93 mph for the first handful of pitches with short arm side life. He mixed in a quality slider with 10-to-4 shape and generated a handful of swings and misses. When his fastball was commanded well, it was up in the zone and challenging hitters after setting them up away with his slider.

Ivan Johnson (2017 Elig., Atlanta, GA) has made his way to the Home Plate Citadels for the spring leading up to his draft year, and the 2017 shortstop looks considerably more physical than in past viewings. Johnson, a switch hitter, took nearly all of his swings from the right side in Home Plate's doubleheader. He showed present bat speed from both sides of the plate with better feel from the left side. He did turn in quality at-bats as a right handed hitter with plate coverage with length and a leveraged swing at the point of contact, collecting a pair of hits.