3/12/2017 8:21:08 PM


Righthander Yesiel Valdez took the mound for Indian River CC during the afternoon session of their doubleheader and showed off a live fastball early on. He has a strong build and is physically mature with a strong lower half as well. The Dominican Republic product showed a long arm action that starts out slow but whips pretty hard through the release. Valdez showed some hip explosion and landed online, if not slightly open at times. He is a power pitcher and will attack with his fastball in early counts. The command is a bit inconsistent but the pitch will be throws for strikes and he's not afraid to elevate the fastball with two strikes. The fastball sat from 90-92 mph early on and had short arm side life to the pitch. He showed a slider and curveball to use for offspeed pitches. The slider was around 80 mph and had tight spin and short break with 10/4 shape. The curveball showed 11/5 shape with more depth and sharp down break to it. Both pitches could be thrown for strikes and the slider was very effective at getting swings and misses when it was down in the zone. 

USC Lancaster squared off against Indian River CC during the first junior college game of the day and first baseman Evan Edwards showed off solid hitting tools. Edwards is off to a fantastic start to the season and had nine home runs coming into this weekend's action. The North Carolina State commit stands spread open at the plate with a high hand set and high back elbow. He is a bit smaller in stature but he has good in-game power to the pull side of the field. The approach is looking to drive the ball with backspin to all fields and go with the pitch. Edwards showed good bat speed at the plate with a direct hand path and the swing itself was very smooth and fluid. He generates loud line drives and can hit the ball with authority to the opposite field if need be.