2/12/2018 10:24:27 PM
A number of professional scouts were in attendance for one of the few games scheduled to go off on Monday night, thanks to a large amount of rain over the weekend, and righthander Cooper Stinson (2018, Peachtree Corners, Ga.) toed the opening game of the season for Norcross and Dunwoody high schools. The righthander stands at a stout and extremely physical 6-foot-6, 240-pounds with long limbs and an extremely low-effort level through the point of release. Stinson attacked hitters with a primarily two-pitch mix, a fastball-slider combination. The extended release combined with the length of the frame allowed the Duke commit to create easy, downhill plane to both sides of the plate, while the velocity of the fastball was in the 90-92 mph range for the first few innings, he touched a 93 and a 94, and dipped as the outing went on. The slider showed average at times with tight break and downward bite, with the velocity up to 87 mph and in the mid-80s consistently, however he would drop slot and get under the pitch at times. All in all, this was a strong showing for Stinson in the first game of the season and the slider was downright filthy at times.
A yet uncommitted senior took the ball for Dunwoody as righthander Dylan Kovitch (2018, Dunwoody, Ga.) was the victim of some poor luck, however showed off good raw stuff. Kovitch has a lot of things you look for when projecting on a pitcher: a large frame with room left for physical projection and impressive raw arm speed. The arm stroke gets through the circle well and he can create some run on his fastball that worked in the upper-80s and topped out at 89 mph on the evening. Kovitch showed a breaking ball in the mid-70s that he could get around the strike zone and showed some shape and break to the pitch as well. Kovitch didn't turn in the greatest of performances, however he battled on the mound and certainly showed that his ability can translate to the next level at Division I college baseball.
Having one of the better days offensively was shortstop, and co-captain, for Norcross Ali LaPread (2018, Peachtree Corners, Ga.) who took strong at-bats and made some hard hit contact. The shortstop showed pretty clean and athletic actions during in-and-out, and the swings were some of the best of the game. There's lots of strength and quickness to his hands as he gets the barrel through the zone well that included a fly out that was in the air for 6.1 seconds and a roped double to the pull side and down the line. LaPread, who has run a 6.7 60-yard dash at a PG showcase in the past, got to first base in 4.52 seconds showing good twitch and burst out the box. LaPread is another senior prospect in the state of Georgia who is yet uncommitted but certainly has the skill set and tools to play at the next level.