Daily
Recaps: Day 1 | Day 2
The
biggest story of the 17u PG World Series thus far may not be about an
individual but rather about a team. CBA Marucci swept through pool
play with a 4-0 record, giving them a 15-game win streak at two of
the most competitive events on the Perfect Game tournament calendar;
this event and the recently completed 336-team 17u WWBA National
Championship. The CBA organization is headed up by Jon Paino,
although Paino is not here this week.
The
last five teams that CBA beat in Georgia were Dulins Dodgers, the
East Cobb Astros, FTB Tucci, Elite Squad Prime and the Dallas
Patriots. The four vanquished foes in Arizona have included Elite
Baseball Training Chicago, the Houston Banditos, Mountain West and
CCB Elite.
A
rival coach, whose team is included on that list above, remarked on
Sunday, "Really, have you seen the list of the teams CBA has
beaten? It's absurd. It might be the most impressive thing I've seen
since I got into the travel ball business."
Looking
at CBA's roster and four games here, it's easy to see that they
follow the time tested formula of strength up the middle, a deep
roster of interchangeable parts and putting pitchers on the mound who
throw strikes.
Their
two catchers – PG All-American Blake Sabol and 17u WWBA
National Championship MVP Nicholas Kahle
– are among the best at their position in the country.
Another PG All-American, Dominic Fletcher, plays center field
and is, in the opinion of this scout, the best defensive outfielder
in the 2016 class. Their shortstop, 2017 Nick Allen, is
considered by this scout to be the best defensive shortstop in the
country as well. Twelve different players have scored runs in the
four games here. The pitchers have walked four hitters versus 34
strikeouts.
We'll
see if the streak can continue Monday and Tuesday.
Quick
Hits, Pitchers
• Orlando
Scorpions righthander Tobias Myers and Baseball Northwest
lefthander Nico Tellache hooked up in perhaps the best
pitching duel of the tournament, with each being helped by stellar
defenses behind them. Both threw complete games as Myers and the
Scorpions emerged with a 1-0 win courtesy of a RBI single by Drew
Mendoza in the bottom of the sixth inning. Myers struck out 10
hitters while allowing only two hits and no walks, working in the
88-92 mph range with his fastball and only throwing 88 pitches.
Tellache, who only allowed five hits, helped himself with his
fielding ability off the mound and his pickoff move in addition to
his mid-80s fastball and sharp command.
• Southern
California Bombers third baseman/righthanded pitcher Jacob
Castillo threw a masterful two-day complete game two-hit shutout
over the EvoShield Canes in a 3-0 win. The first two innings were
Saturday afternoon before play was canceled and the 5-foot-11
righthander came back with five more outstanding innings Sunday,
throwing 93 pitches total. Those pitches were distributed as follows:
34 fastballs (86-89 mph), 36 curveballs (72 mph average) and 23
changeups (78 mph average). The Canes hitters were simply not able to
figure out Castillo's pitch rhythm and were especially vulnerable to
his sharp breaking curveball.
• Oscar
Arzaga is a 6-foot-5, 210-pound right ander who threw four
innings and picked up the 9-2 win for the San Diego Show over SGV
Arsenal. He's a Mexican citizen who is eligible to sign now,
although we're told he is planning on attending Eastlake High School
this fall and be classified as a 2017 if he doesn't. He's a dead
ringer for former MLB pitcher Freddie Garcia physically and in his
delivery, with a fastball that sat at 90-92 mph the entire outing.
While Arzaga's arm strength is obvious and his command was solid, he
only threw three off-speed pitches the entire outing and will have to
improve on this aspect of his game.
• Trey
Dillard is a very broad shouldered 6-foot-1, 190-pound 2017
righthander for the Dbacks Elite. His arm really works well from a
high three-quarters arm slot and he impressed with a 86-89 mph
fastball with good life and a hard spinning mid-70s curveball.
• North
East Baseball's Weston Bizzle is another strong-bodied 2017
righthander with a big arm. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Tennessee
native threw five innings but picked up the loss in a 2-0 loss to the
St. Louis Pirates, working in the 89-92 mph range with his fastball.
• Continuing
the theme of the last few days of highlighting starting pitchers who
produce big results with few pitches, GBG Marucci righthander Zane
Strand threw Sunday's most efficient game, totaling only 80
pitches in a seven-inning complete game 2-1 win over Slammers
Holzemer. Sixty-three of Strand's 80 pitches were fastballs, mostly
in the 85-89 mph range, and he mixed in a dozen mid-70s curveballs
and a couple of changeups to go with them. He needed every strike as
the Slammer's Travis Marr and Nathan Sweeney, two
recent PG National Showcase participants, threw very well against
him.
Ten
must-see Hitters
With
four games always going on at one time, the challenge is to rotate
around and try to see as much as possible while also concentrating on
a particular game or two. One develops a rhythm in one's wanderings
to try to see particular parts of each team's lineups. Here are 10
players who this scout always tries to see come to the plate.
Elite
Squad first baseman Alejandro Toral: Toral is perhaps the top
2017 hitter in the class and is always a threat to do something
special each at-bat. I particularly enjoy watching him from the side,
as his weight shift into contact is textbook.
Elite
Squad infielder Colton Welker: Welker is going to grow on
scouts as one of the top hitters in the 2016 class. He's especially
adept at staying back on breaking balls and driving them hard, an
immensely valuable skill for any hitter.
FTB
Tucci second baseman Morgan McCullough: Does it seem unusual
to want to see a 5-foot-8 leadoff hitter perform? It shouldn't be.
McCullough puts together a professional at-bat every trip to the
plate, has a very discerning eye and squares the ball up hard. He's
6-for-13 over four games and is always going to be a high average
hitter regardless of the level.
Orlando
Scorpions right fielder/second baseman Carlos Cortes: Cortes
hits like he's mad at the baseball and it can be guaranteed he's not
too happy with himself when he doesn't square it up. He packs huge
power in his 5-foot-8, 185-pound build and shows it on a daily basis.
Kolten Wong of the Cardinals has been mentioned as a worthy comp.
CBA
Marucci catcher Nicholas Kahle: Kahle's swing is so simple and
short to the ball and so repeatable that I find it hard to imagine he
isn't going to make consistent hard contact against the highest level
pitching. Include his name whenever you think about top catching
prospects in the 2016 class.
EvoShield
Canes shortstop Nicholas Quintana: Quintana doesn't get
cheated at the plate and also tends to guess a bit, which leads to
some empty at-bats, but he's a threat to drive the ball hard to any
part of the field on any pitch.
Houston
Banditos outfielder Conner Capel: Capel is a larger version of
Morgan McCullough. You are almost guaranteed to see a professional
at-bat.
GBG
Marucci third baseman Spencer Steer: This scout was shocked
when he looked up Steer's high school numbers from this spring and
saw that he hit .330. He's hit about .450 over the last three years
in WWBA games that I've watched and probably higher than that with
men on base.
Southern
California Bombers shortstop Shane Martinez: Martinez is a
confident hitter with bat speed and barrel control and a mature
approach at the plate. He'll move off shortstop at the next level but
scouts are consistently talking about his bat.
Slammers
Holzemer catcher Maverick Handley: It's impossible not to
enjoy watching Handley play, as his enjoyment about being out on the
field is so obvious. He's swung the bat very well here and has a
couple of extra-base hits.