Daily
Recaps: Day 1
| Day 2
| Day 3
Team
Elite Prime as an organization is no stranger to having players come
south for the summer, particularly from Poly Prep in New York. With
righthander Nicholas Storz and outfielder Pat DeMarco, who recently
committed to Vanderbilt, already participating on their 16u Prime
team it appears as though lefthander Oliver
McCarthy
(2018, Brooklyn, N.Y.) is next in line of the New York-to-Georgia
pipeline.
Already
looking the part as he stands 6-foot-3, 180-pounds, McCarthy has the
ability to catch your attention even as he’s just playing catch in
the outfield pregame as his arm action is very loose and easy,
something that quickly translates to the mound. With long arms and a
high waist McCarthy projects well moving forward though his stuff on
the mound is already more than impressive for a player his age.
McCarthy came out and sat in the 83-86 mph range with his fastball
and did so with relative ease with a long and fluid arm action coming
through the back. As the innings wore on McCarthy continued to hold
his velocity and filled up the zone.
His
front side leaks early at times but his arm is quick enough that it
catches up and was able to still create consistent angle on his
fastball to either side of the plate. Throughout the game McCarthy
only flashed a handful of off-speed pitches which included an
upper-60s curveball and a changeup at 81 mph. His slot remained on
each of the two but he found continued success with his fastball as
he lived low and stuck with the heater. The physical projection
coupled with the overall looseness in everything he does points
towards McCarthy throwing a good clip harder sooner rather than
later.
Written
about earlier in the tournament for his prowess both behind and at
the plate, Mason Denaburg
(2018, Merritt Island, Fla.) jumped on the mound Monday morning and
showed very well, proving to be a two-way prospect at the next level.
Already listed at 6-foot-3, 170-pounds, Denaburg looks the part on
the mound before even throwing a pitch as he has long, loose limbs
with a young, projectable look.
The
arm strength stood out from behind the plate and translated onto the
mound as the uncommitted Denaburg ran his fastball up to 89 mph early
and sat in the 84-88 mph range throughout his complete game. Though
he doesn’t incorporate much lower half into his delivery Denaburg
is able to generate and hold his high-end velocity thanks in part to
the quickness of his right arm. The righthanded Denaburg was able to
consistently work down in the zone with his fastball and did so with
heavy life which helped induced consistent ground ball contact. He
doesn’t exert much effort at release either as the ball jumps out
of his hand and gets on hitters quickly.
Attacking
hitters with his fastball throughout and showing the higher end of
his range whenever he needed it, Denaburg also showed a curveball
that continued to sharpen as the game progressed. Though he’d
occasionally get around the pitch early, Denaburg began to get on top
of the ball consistently which allowed him to generate tight spin and
late bite up to 75 mph. Overall, Denaburg is a high-end athlete with
true two-way ability at the next level as either a power righthanded
arm or lock-down defender behind the plate.
While
he didn’t show the type of velocity that Denaburg did on the mound,
lefthander Ryan Kennedy
(2017, Stafford, Va.) kept the Central Florida Gators’ bats at bay
and did so while looking as though he was playing catch. Listed at
6-foot, 170-pounds, the main reason Kennedy was able to be so
successful was his high level of pitchability and the fact that
nothing that left his hand was straight.
Over
the course of his outing the uncommitted Kennedy maintained his
velocity well on his heater, sitting in the 79-82 mph range with a
quick and easy arm action, but almost as impressive was the
consistent cutting life and angle he created on the pitch. Kennedy
did a nice job of staying balanced through his delivery and in doing
so was able to locate his fastball to either corner with a short,
repeatable arm action in the back. By living low with his fastball,
Kennedy was able to set hitters up by either changing their eye level
or going to one of his two breaking balls, offerings he used to pick
up 10 strikeouts in his five innings of work.
Kennedy
threw both a curveball and slider, showing his ability to manipulate
the baseball and create different shape and depth on either despite
throwing each in the 70-73 mph range. He showed his curveball most
frequently of the two but still mixed effectively and most
importantly was able to stay off barrels. He used his curveball to
pick up two of his strikeouts in the first, showing 1-to-7 shape, and
like his fastball, was able to work it to either side of the plate.
While his curveball shows more depth, Kennedy’s slider is more of a
sweeper with the ability to get it to the back foot of righthanded
hitters and fill up the zone regularly.
Josh
Hart and Austin Meadows were both Georgia prep outfielders who were
taken in the first round of the 2013 MLB Draft and each were also
Perfect Game All-Americans. Another commonality between the two is
that each have a young brother beginning the summer circuit as Jared
Hart (2018,
Lilburn, Ga.) plays for the East Cobb Astros and Parker
Meadows
(2018, Grayson, Ga.) suits up for Team Elite Prime. Each are the
starting center fielders for their respective clubs and both made a
defensive play that ultimately effected the outcome of the game.
A
very long and lean 6-foot-3, 170-pounds, Hart shows present tools
that project loudly moving forward, especially as he continues to
gain strength. Hart showed off his arm strength early in the game as
he was patrolling center field and came charging in on a slow roller
before delivery a one-hop strike to the plate to nail runner, showing
nice carry and accuracy home.
With
a very similar, high-waisted 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame, Meadows
showed off his instincts in center as he got a good jump on a sinking
line drive in the right-center field gap to making a diving catch
with two outs and the bases loaded. Like his older brother, Meadows
is a lefthanded hitter and already shows a quick barrel through the
zone with loose hands, both traits that project well as he continues
to physically mature.
Coming
out of the opposite dugout from Oliver McCarthy was Luke
Murphy
(2018, Springfield, Tenn.) for the Knights Baseball National team.
With a very young and lean 6-foot-3, 160-pound frame Murphy was able
to show interesting stuff of his own on the mound along with the
ability to carry it through an outing.
Showing
an easy and clean arm action with a high three-quarters release,
Murphy bumped 88 mph early with his fastball and sat in the 84-87 mph
range while generating downhill plane. Though he cuts off his
extension with his front foot Murphy uses it to his advantage as he’s
able to create solid angle while missing several bats with his
fastball. His best angle came when he located to his glove side,
something he showed the ability to do frequently with a long and
quick arm stroke through the back. Similar to McCarthy, Murphy
pitched primarily off of his fastball as he continued to miss bats
with the pitch, but he did show a breaking ball at 74-75 mph and a
changeup at 76 mph.
Even
though lightning delays kept pushing back the start time of the game,
young righthander Jack Dragum
(2018,
Mechanicsville, Va.) came out firing and showed an impressive
fastball/curveball combo, missing plenty of bats along the way.
Having seen the EvoShield Canes North play earlier in the day with
Dragum at shortstop, he looks like a two-way prospect in part to his
overall athleticism and abilities when not on the mound.
Already
committed to the reining College World Series champions, the
University of Virginia, Dragum works from an up-tempo, high energy
delivery which immediately adds deception to his high quality stuff.
Dragum also remains very compact and hides the ball effectively
through the back before unleashing a fastball that sat in the 86-88
mph range early with downhill plane to either side. Dragum’s
athleticism also shines on the mound as he’s able to repeat his
overall mechanics despite the moving parts. And like most players
with a power fastball in this tournament, Dragum, the No. 22 ranked
player in 2018, could get through a lineup on the strength of his
heater but he has a weapon in his back pocket that he unleashed
frequently.
Doing
a nice job of maintaining his tempo and arm action Dragum showed a
big curveball in the 73-76 mph range with late bite and quality
depth. Even more impressive than the pitch itself was his feel for
the offering as he showed no problem or discomfort in doubling up
with the pitch, consistently throwing it for strikes. You don’t
need any technology to know that Dragum’s breaking ball is advanced
and amongst the best in the 2018 class, but a quick look at TrackMan
confirms as the spin rate of his curveball peaked as high as 3100
RPM, well above the average mark.
– Jheremy
Brown
2018
righthander Alexander Williams (Castro Valley, Calif.) started
on the mound for the Phenom Signature team early Monday morning, and
like the vast majority of that team this week, was very impressive
for the most part. Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing in at 180-pounds,
Williams is a well-built, highly projectable young prospect just
entering his sophomore year of high school. Ramping up his fastball
to the 86-87 mph range early, Williams’ arm works very well and the
overall arm speed projects even more velocity in the coming years.
His fastball was commanded well to both sides of the plate early on,
and showed excellent arm-side life as well. He was able to
consistently just blow the fastball by the opposing hitters early on.
He was finding the middle of the plate a bit too often early on, and
was getting hit some as a result, but the overall raw stuff was very
impressive. His slider, thrown in the 71-74 range, was very good with
two-plane tilt and tight spin, though the command of the offering
lagged at times. He also flashed a changeup in the mid-70s with
tumbling action and good arm speed, though again, the command lagged.
Overall, this is a prospect with excellent physicality as well as
excellent raw stuff, with high-end projection.
Phenom
catcher, 2018 Wake Forest commit Brendan Tinsman (Cape
Elizabeth, Maine), was impressive throughout the game on both sides
of the ball. With a well-built, well-proportioned and strong frame,
Tinsman is presently very well suited to the catcher position and
projects to continue being just that. He’s polished behind the
plate for someone of his age, moving well and blocking well
side-to-side with good agility, and showing off a solid arm both in
warmups and in game, consistently in the 2.0-2.1 seconds range. He
also showed well with the bat, lining a single back up the middle and
displaying quick hands with overall projectable hitting tools.
2018
outfielder/lefthanded pitcher Christian
Robinson
(Melbourne, Fla.) is as high-end of a two-way prospect as we’ve
seen in this event, and showed why on Monday afternoon. Only throwing
a couple of innings, Robinson was up to 88 mph with his fastball,
consistently in the 82-86 range, pounding the fastball downhill to
the arm side with life and solid command. He’s a plus athlete
physically, with outstanding build and overall physical projection,
and could have a serious future on the mound. He’s committed to
Florida as an outfielder, however, and showed why he’s so highly
thought of with the bat by slamming a monster grand slam to
right-center field. With easy power to all fields already, the
overall future power potential is nearly limitless with his kind of
loose, easy swing and excellent bat speed.
2019
behemoth Triston Casas is already committed to Miami as a
two-way prospect, and certainly showed the potential with the bat on
Monday evening. At 6-foot-4, 240-pounds, Casas has outstanding
strength for someone of any age, let alone someone just entering his
freshman year of high school. A lefthanded hitter, Casas displays
outstanding bat speed and overall strength off the barrel, driving a
long double that one-hopped off the wall, with an exit velocity
registering at 91 mph. Then in his next at-bat he went the other way,
lining a single to left field, this one at 97 mph off the bat. What
makes those exit velocities even better, however, is that they came
off of slower breaking balls, meaning that Casas had to supply all of
the power and strength to generate that type of velocity off the
barrel. As a pitcher who can reach over 90 mph as well, Casas is a
very special prospect and one we will certainly enjoy watching
develop over the next several years.
2018
third baseman Cory Acton continues to impress with the bat
throughout the tournament, again showing advanced feel for the barrel
to go along with quality bat speed. At 5-foot-11, 145-pounds, he
certainly has room to fill out and get stronger and once he does
there is going to be some serious power in his bat as well.
2018
middle infielder Alexandro Bello may be the best defensive
middle infielder in the entire event, with easy plus range to both
sides and quick feet to go along with excellent overall footwork and
the type of quick release that is sometimes unbelievable to watch.
Cincinnati
Spikes’ third baseman and righthanded pitcher Jared Poland,
a Louisville commit, started on the mound for the Spikes last Monday
night (Tuesday morning, actually), and through a couple innings was
absolutely dominant. With an easy arm action and simple delivery,
Poland was firing 85-87 mph bullets with command and excellent life,
topping at 88 early on. The command and velocity faded in the middle
innings, but overall the stuff flashed very high potential. He has
good feel for his curveball, with the shape varying a bit, but the
best ones thrown with 11-to-5 shape and very tight spin and quality
depth. He’s committed to Louisville as a positional player,
however, and put his barrel skills on display on Monday night as
well. With advanced hand quickness and a short path to the ball,
Poland can drive any pitch in the zone that he sees all over the
field. He has present gap power that will continue to manifest into
home run power as he physically develops, making him a very high-end
hitting prospect moving forward.
Poland’s
teammate, 2018 catcher Keegan Fish was very impressive
defensively behind the plate on Monday night as well. When Poland’s
command lagged into wildness, Fish showed off outstanding blocking
ability, with agility side-to-side and the overall defensive
awareness that you want to see in a catcher. As a switch hitter, Fish
also shows solid contact ability from the left side and certainly
looks to be a legitimate prospect at this time.
Opposing
Poland and the Spikes was East Cobb Braves’ 2018 righthander Davis
Sharpe, who has been mentioned in these writeups before but
certainly warrants mentioning again. Sharpe pitched just a few days
ago for the Braves, and was impressive again on Monday night, ramping
his fastball up to 87 mph several times and settling into the 82-85
range. His delivery is balanced and the arm works well despite some
hook in the back of his arm circle. He commanded the fastball
downhill well to both sides of the plate, getting several backwards
K’s with both his fastball and slider, which he used effectively as
a front-door pitch to righthanded hitters, spotting it up well across
the inside corner.
– Brian
Sakowski