Big
Frames and players with tools on both sides of the ball were on
display on Day 2 of the Perfect Game MLK Championship in Glendale,
Ariz.
Mountain
Lions shortstop Cameron
Cannon (2015, Glendale, Ariz.,
Mountain Ridge High School) is a true throwback that plays the
game hard in all aspects. Along with his grit comes a bevy of tools.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound infielder packs a solid, muscular, athletic
frame with great movement on defense. Cannon has great feet and
approach on ground balls with incredibly soft hands, and his quick
transfer and arm strength across the diamond leaves no reason why he
can’t stay at the position. At the plate, Cannon possesses a
short, powerful stroke with balance and control, and he has strong,
explosive hands and good backside rotation that creates big pop from
gap-to-gap (he hit two doubles in Game 2), with power potential. On
the bases he will always give you a good look down the line and shows
savvy, always looking to take the extra base.
MN
Blizzard Blue outfielder
Jacob Rhinesmith
(2015, Shakopee, Minn., Shakopee HS) is another dynamic player
that is fun to watch wherever he is on the field. Rhinesmith has a
lean 6-foot, 160-pound wiry, athletic build with room to fill.
Offensively, Rhinesmith shows a smooth, fluid swing from the left
side. His swing is on a line drive plane that leaves the barrel in
the zone for a while which produces consistent solid contact. On the
bases he causes absolute havoc with his combination of speed and
intelligence, takes extra bases on throws from the opposing
outfielders consistently and has great reads on balls in the dirt.
He also displays great range in the outfield, getting good jumps on
balls, and he has above average arm strength for the position.
Yet
another talented outfielder standing out under the Arizona sun is
Matthew Fraizer
(2016, Fresno, Calif., Clovis HS). Fraizer is the 65th ranked outfielder in the 2016 class by Perfect Game and it’s not
hard to figure out why. He is stand out in everything he does on the
field as a high-end athletic type player with a frame that can hold
little more muscle. Fraizer has a well-balanced line drive swing at
the plate, with a middle to opposite field approach with gap-pop
potential when he fills out. Plus speed is there, clocked at 4.2
seconds down the line of a full swing grounder to third base, and in
the outfield he has the ability to read bat angles on contact that
gives him a tremendous first step.
If
you see the AZ T-Rex 16u baseball club, you might be double checking
the program to see if you mistakenly wandered on to an 18u game.
Their roster features a baseball version the “Big 3” in infielder
Jacob Gonzalez (2017,
Scottsdale, Ariz., Chaparral HS), outfielder Blake Paugh
(2017, Scottsdale, Ariz., Chaparral HS) and two-way talent
Boyd Vander Kooi (2017,
Mesa, Ariz., Skyline HS), all of who stand at 6-foot-3 and at
least 180-pounds.
Gonzalez
is very athletic with room to fill. He has a leg kick trigger that
creates torque and bat speed at the plate that will create pop.
Paugh,
who was a member of the USA 15u National Team, showed a short,
powerful and compact swing that gets on plane early with good
rotation.
Vander
Kooi, who was also a Team USA 15U selection, seems much bigger than
his listed 6-foot-3, 180-pound stature. Despite Vander Kooi’s extra
large frame he showed very good actions and solid play at shortstop,
moving well laterally with solid hands and feet. He has short arm
action and arm strength that plays across the diamond that can keep
him on the left side of the infield.
First
baseman and outfielder Jaxxon Fagg
(2015, Gilbert, Ariz., Williams Field HS) is another
big-framed athlete listed at 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds. The big
lefthanded hitter possesses some pull-side pop, plus bat speed with
leverage, and he showed a great swing path to the ball, squaring up a
fastball up and in down the line for a loud double.
Righthander
Reggie Lawson (2016,
Adelento, Calif., Victor Valley HS) fanned seven in
three innings of work today. Lawson displayed two quality pitches,
with his fastball living at 87-89 mph with life and a sharp 11-to-5
breaking ball that had depth. He employs a
three-quarters arm slot, very fluid arm action and good arm speed
with the ball coming out the hand very well.