17u WWBA Day 7 notes

Editor's note: Perfect Game recognizes that there are dozens of standout performers at this year's 17u WWBA National Championship. The thoughts provided below are first-hand observations from Scouting Coordinator Jheremy Brown during the event's seventh day.

Zach Attianese (2016, Old Bridge, N.J.) may not be working in the 90s with his fastball now, but the level in which he is able to pitch is more advanced than most in the 2016 class. Standing at 6-foot-2, 175-pounds, the University of North Carolina commit is coming off a strong high school season this past spring and has begun to add strength to his frame since we last saw him in Jupiter.

Throwing from a high three-quarters arm slot, the lefthanded Attianese releases the ball out front and uses his height to create nice downhill plane on his fastball which worked in the 83-85 mph range, topping out at 86. He is able to repeat his delivery well despite moving parts and showed the ability to work to both sides of the plate with his fastball, and was especially effective to his glove side.

The pitch for Attianese that helps to set him apart is his big 1-to-7 curveball with lots of depth and the ability to locate it throughout the zone, and he can throw the low-70s offering in any count. He also flashed a mid-70s changeup that showed fade to his arm side and threw both off-speed pitches with similar mechanics to his fastball.




Like pretty much every pitcher who is included in this write up, Ryan Cole McKay (2015, Spring Branch, Texas) started his second game of the tournament, as he started the Banditos’ first game last Friday allowing him enough time to come back for the playoffs.

McKay came out firing with his fastball, not throwing a pitch below 90 mph in the first inning, working 90-92 mph, topping out at 93. Throwing from a three-quarters arm slot, the Louisiana State University commit was able to generate solid arm-side run to his fastball and did a nice job of locating to his glove side part of the plate. Over his four innings of work, McKay threw primarily fastballs, mixing in a handful of curveball, which showed 11-to-5 shape at 73-74 mph and flashed a 79 mph changeup.




Despite only throwing one inning of relief, Donnie Everett (2015, Clarksville, Tenn.) made his presence felt quickly on the mound as he came out at 96 mph with his first warm-up pitch in the game. A Vanderbilt University commit, Everett was able to maintain that velocity into his quick inning of work, using his strong and physical frame to pound the strike zone with his fastball that sat at 94-96 mph.