2015 WWBA Underclass World Championship: Day 1 Notes
Righthanded
pitcher Riley Watkins (2018, Sterrett, Ala.) possesses the
near-ideal pitchers’ frame, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing in at
210 pounds, with solid projection remaining throughout his
physicality. Watkins opened some eyes early Friday morning when his
first pitch of the game registered at 86 mph, followed quickly by
several 88’s. He gets downhill well and generates steep plane to
the plate from his high three-quarters arm slot, making it tough for
opposing hitters to lift when he locates it down in the zone. He also
showed quality feel for his curveball, when, at it’s best, is a
12-to-6 shaped offering with quality spin and depth. While undeniably
raw right now, Watkins showed the type of size and stuff that will
surely have collegiate coaches highly interested.
Righthanded
pitcher and shortstop Cooper Swanson (2017, Fort Myers, Fla.)
is a Vanderbilt Commodore to be, took the mound for the Florida Burn
2017 Pennant team on Friday. Working mostly 84-87, Swanson struggled
with his command but showed the kind of arm strength and stuff that
makes him an intriguing potential two-way player. He also showed his
typical advanced approach at the plate, with pitch recognition skills
and an overall knowledge of the zone that are far beyond his years.
Third
baseman Jason Pineda (2017, Bronx, New York) recently
committed to the University of Michigan after a very impressive
showing in the 16u WWBA National Championship back in July, and he
continues to put his high-level offensive skills on display. At
6-foot, 210-pounds, Pineda is very well built and physically imposing
player, with plenty of strength throughout his body. He puts that
strength on display in his swing, which starts with a leg lift timer
and works to impressive bat speed and raw power. His swing is
naturally lofted, and while he will tend to be pull-happy, his
natural feel for the barrel allows him to square up pitches all over
the strike zone. He laced a double down the line and drew two walks
in this viewing, laying off several borderline pitches and
consistently getting himself into favorable counts.
A
pair of Minnesotans put their respective high-profile games to the
test on Friday afternoon, as the Minnesota Blizzard took the field at
the Tampa Bay Rays complex in Port Charlotte.
Lefthanded
pitcher Charlie “Bubba” Horton (2017, Corcoran, Minn.)
started for the Blizzard. Working 80-83 through his outing, Horton
showed the ability to get the fastball to both sides of the plate and
down in the zone, to go along with good feel for a pair of secondary
offerings. His curveball shows 1-to-7 shape and he has an innate
ability to generate spin, flashing powerful depth on the pitch. He
also shows the ability to turn over a very good changeup, adding
deception by maintaining fastball arm speed and pronating his wrist
at release to generate excellent tumbling action.
Horton’s
teammate, 2017 shortstop Dylan Criquet-Danielson (Marshall,
Minn.) is going to be a household name very soon. With an extremely
athletic and loose 6-foot-2, 180-pound build, he has the kind of
quick twitch athleticism and lateral agility necessary to stick in
the middle infield, to go along with smooth actions and clean hands.
He makes consistently loud contact at the plate, and while his power
is more of the gap-to-gap variety at present, his developing strength
and naturally lofted swing lend credence to the belief that he’s
going to be a serious home run threat at physical maturity. He drove
a ball well over the center fielder’s head for a standup double and
there’s a lot more where that came from.
The
EvoShield Canes brought several teams down to Fort Myers for the WWBA
Underclass World Championship, and as usual, their teams are loaded
with talent, with the EvoShield Canes 2018 Prospects team being no
exception. Several of their players stood out on Friday.
Shortstop
Frainyer Chavez (2017, Little Elm, Texas) is a switch-hitting
middle infielder with advanced bat to ball skills from both sides to
go along with plus speed and high-level defensive hype. First baseman
Kody Milton (2018, Arnold, Md.) has the type of
broad-shouldered, highly projectable body that scouts can dream on,
and he showed good bat speed with the ability to use the entire
field. He will surely develop into big time power as he continues to
physically mature. Righthanded pitcher Matt Langhans (2018,
Fuquay Varina, N.C.) came out of the pen working 83-85 while touching
86 with his fastball, showing a quick arm with some deception in his
delivery, generating good angle to the plate as well.
Righthanded
pitcher Conor Larkin (2017, Royersford, Pa.) is just over a
year removed from Tommy John surgery, and it certainly looked as
though his arm strength and overall stuff was back and better than
ever. Working with a very long, extended, and relatively loose arm
action, Larkin was 87-89 consistently for his first 30-40 pitches,
touching 90 twice, before dipping a bit to 84-87 as he completed his
three innings of work. He showed good ability to work to the glove
side with his fastball, and complemented the offering nicely with a
pair of secondary pitches. His breaking ball flashed sharp, two-plane
tilt with lots of depth in the low- to mid-70s, while his changeup
was highly effective, mimicking his fastball well until the last
moment when it faded away from lefthanded bats. He’s committed to
Penn State, and the Nittany Lions are surely happy to have him in the
fold.
A
pair of arms from the South Carolina-based Southern Athletics 2017
team really put on a show in their matchup with Chain National.
Righthanded
pitcher and South Carolina commit Logan Chapman (2017,
Liberty, S.C.) started and was very impressive. With a 6-foot-2,
180-pound frame, Chapman projects well physically to go along with
high-level projection on the mound. His arm is long and loose with
minimal effort and his delivery is very balanced, with his hips and
shoulders rotating in unison to get him downhill online and with
authority. He worked 83-87 mph throughout his start, touching 88 a
few times, with some sinking action when thrown to the arm side. He’s
very adept at commanding the fastball to the glove side, and he was
on the receiving end of several called strike three’s as a result
of painting his fastball over the outside corner of a righthanded
hitter at the knees. He flashes the ability to spin a curveball well,
though his release point was a bit inconsistent on this day; and his
changeup is advanced.
Relieving
Chapman was 2017 righthanded pitcher Trey Fields (Kingsport,
Tenn.), a 6-foot-1, 170-pound projection righty. Fields increased his
velocity as he went along, starting out at 83-85 before ending at
86-87, touching 88 twice. He spine tilts into his delivery and hides
the ball well up until release, allowing his fastball to jump out of
his hand and get on opposing hitters more quickly than the raw
velocity would indicate. His ability to spin the baseball is very
good, showing a sharp, two-plane slider in the mid- to upper-70s with
very late bite, and also mixing in a slower, deeper 11-to-5 shaped
curveball in the low-70s. With plenty of arm speed and plenty of room
to continue filling out his frame, Fields is almost certain to
continue adding velocity moving forward.
– Brian
Sakowski
The
Easton Rockets 2017 play a very enjoyable brand of baseball, at least
based on their 10-2 run-rule victory over the East Coast Lumberjacks
Friday morning at Terry Park. The two things that stand out, aside
from a roster of talented players, is that they take very aggressive
swings at the plate, with an emphasis on hitting the ball hard. I
call this a "bat speed over mechanics" style of hitting and
love it. The second thing that stands out is that their pitchers
throw almost all fastballs and they command them well and work ahead
in counts. It makes for a fast and clean game when pitchers are
attacking with fastballs.
Catcher
Michael Rothenberg (2017, Boca Raton, Fla.) is the team's top
present prospect. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound lefthanded hitter is
ranked 157th in the PG class of 2017 player rankings and has a verbal
commitment to Duke. He popped 1.85 and 1.90 in between innings,
which is a good way to discourage opposing baserunners from being too
aggressive, and picked a runner off first base. Rothenberg has
strong hands behind the plate and is a willing blocker, although he
will have to work on his quickness in both areas. At the plate,
Rothenberg has a long and fluid swing with lots of bat speed and the
definite intent to drive the baseball hard, although he impressively
shortened up his stroke with two strikes, fouled off a couple of
pitches and ended up lining a bases load single up the middle in one
at-bat.
A
pair of 2018 teammates at The Benjamin School, righthanded
pitcher/shortstop Kristofer Armstrong (Jupiter, Fla.) and
righthanded pitcher/outfielder Isaiah Thomas (Palm Beach
Gardens, Fla.), batted second and third in the Rockets lineup and
were both impressive. Armstrong got the start on the mound and
pitched at 85-88 mph with big running life on his fastball from a
three-quarters arm slot. Thomas didn't pitch but the long and lean
athlete tomahawked a high fastball over the left field fence for a
two-run home run and epitomized Easton's aggressive hitting approach.
Both
Rockets pitchers aside from Armstrong were noteworthy. Lefthander
Will Schaffer (2017, Summit, N.J.) threw only fastballs and
has some mechanical work to do but worked at 84-88 mph on his
fastball. Primary outfielder Jacob Winger (2017, Stuart,
Fla.) finished up on the mound, showing a loose arm and good
athleticism in his delivery and filled up the strike zone with 83-85
mph fastballs that look like the tip of the iceberg to his potential
on the mound given his 6-foot-6, 190-pound frame.
Righthander
Blake Baker (2017, Clermont, Fla.) is a very interesting
uncommitted pitcher who threw two innings for FTB55 Elite in their
5-2 win over Elite Baseball Club Underclass. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound
Baker has a loose athletic build and a well sequenced delivery with a
full arm action. His fastball worked in the 86-89 mph area and he
threw a 73 mph curveball that had tight spin and some sharp biting
action. The 89 mph represents the hardest he's thrown at any of the
nine PG tournaments he's competed in. Baker has had a steady
progression, topping out at 74 mph as a freshman and 84 mph as a
sophomore. He's a good bet to continue to keep improving in his raw
stuff.
Perhaps
the best combination of suspense and prospect filled baseball at
Terry Park Friday was the matchup between SCORE International 2017
and MSI Bubba 2017/2018 Blue. The game ended with a 3-2 SCORE win on
a walk off single in the bottom of the seventh by catcher Garrett
Sheppard (2017, Tampa, Fla.) and was filled with very high level
pitching throughout.
SCORES's
two pitchers, righthanders Tommy Mace (2017, Tampa, Fla.) and
C.J. Van Eyk (2017, Lutz, Fla.) are both uncommitted, which
meant a healthy contingent of college coaches behind the backstop at
Brett Field. Mace stands out with his 6-foot-6, 190-pound build and
his fast right arm that produced an 85-89 mph fastball for five
innings. Mace has a long stride out front but doesn'tn get over his
front leg well so there is even more extension in his future. He has
some power to his curveball at 73-76 mph and occasional depth and
biting action. When he was in rhythm, Mace lived at the bottom of
the strike zone with his fastball and had some quick and effective
innings.
Van
Eyk was even more impressive in a number of ways. He's not as big at
6-foot-2, 180-pounds but throws with little effort and was between 89
and 92 mph on his fastball, with plenty of 92's, for two innings.
Van Eyk throws from a high three-quarters arm slot and really gets
downhill well, which helps his mid-70s curveball get big downer depth
with hard spin. Another aspect of Van Eyk's game is that he looks
like a very good athlete. He spent the first five innings of the
game at second base and went 2-3 at the plate, including a double in
the seventh inning that set up Shepherd's game winning single.
MSI's
roster features nine players with Division I verbal commitments,
including their starter, righthander Jack Carey (2018, Summit,
N.J.), a Duke commit. Carey threw six innings, allowing only two
hits and throwing only 70 total pitches. He's a polished 6-foot
righthander who worked in the 85-87 mph range with a low-70s
curveball and showed the ability to sink the ball and throw strikes
with both pitches.
Houston
Heat righthanded pitcher/third baseman Shane Baz (2017,
Spring, Texas) is one of the most talented pitchers in the 2017
class. There is also no mistaking that the very athletic Baz loves to
be a position player as well. Judging by the home run he hit just to
the left of the scoreboard on the Stadium Field today, Baz isn't
going to be discouraged from hitting in the near future. The last
time I saw a home run hit in that area of the canyon that is the
Stadium was by Carlos Correa at the 2012 World Showcase. The
prominent, and very startled, college coach who ended up with the
ball while scouting on adjacent Mack Field, said the last ball he saw
hit out to left-center field at the Stadium was Addison Russell.
That's pretty good company for Baz.
All
in all, it was a pretty good day for Baz and the Heat. Baz struck
out five hitters in two innings while topping out at 93 mph during
the Heat's 11-2 morning win while going 2-3 at the plate. He
finished 3-for-3 with a double, the home run and five RBI in the
Heat's afternoon 15-0 victory.
Central
Florida Gators center fielder Elijah Cabell (2018, Winter
Park, Fla.) is currently the fifth ranked player in the 2018 class in
the PG rankings. That ranking is based on Cabell's huge righthanded
bat speed, which is impossible not to notice. He even has bat speed
when swinging a weighted sleeve on the bat on the on-deck circle.
That bat speed, at least based on his at-bats on Friday, has likely
created some mechanical issues that Cabell will have to work on as he
develops. It's easy to imagine Cabell struggling to stay back on
some of the soft stuff and off-speed offerings he sees as a sophomore
and he's developed big hitches with both his front leg and his hands
that complicate his timing when faced with quality pitching. Today
Cabell was facing a very quality pitcher in Memphis Tigers West
lefthander Jordan Fowler (2017,Union City, Tenn.), whose 84-87
mph fastball, low-70s curveball and nice 75 mph changeup took
advantage of Cabell's swing timers.
ASBA
Futures South 2017 righthander Gavin Hinchcliffe (2017,
Pottsville, Pa.) is only 5-foot-11, 170-pounds but has a strong lower
half to generate power to the plate and a very fast right arm. He
threw five shutout innings in ASBA's 1-0 win over the Indiana
Prospects, allowing only two hits and throwing 68 pitches.
Hinchcliffe worked in the 88-92 mph range with his fastball and
although it was pretty straight, he kept it down in the strike zone
well. He throws a split-fingered changeup as his secondary pitch,
and while it's not usually advisable for a teenager to throw this
pitch, Hinchcliffe's arm action and release point are almost ideal
for it and it's a quality offering in the low-80s. His challenge for
the next step will be developing a viable breaking ball.
You
might say that Dirtbags 16's catcher Aaron McKeithan (2018,
Arden, N.C.) comes from a baseball family. His grandfather and great
uncle both played in the big leagues, his father played at North
Carolina State, his brother Joel played at Vanderbilt and NC State
and his brother Tim is a senior starting shortstop at Brown. It
looks like the 6-foot-1, 190-pound McKeithan will follow in the
family footsteps at first scouting glance, as he's a polished catcher
behind the plate with very good strength and bat speed as a
righthanded hitter.
Another
Dirtbags 16's sophomore impressed as well in shortstop Josh Haney
(2018, Stanley, N.C.). Haney, a lefthanded hitter, went 2-for-2 with
a pair of walks and showed a quick and aggressive swing with some gap
power. Haney also showed a strong arm on a couple of infield plays.
– David
Rawnsley
John
Dancy (2017, Charlotte, N.C.) toed the slab for the Evoshield
Canes on Friday morning, and the uncommitted pitcher turned some
heads in the process. Dancy, a 6-foot, 165-pound righty has a medium
frame with a lithe, lean athletic build. He is ultra-loose and has an
ease to his movements. Furthermore, Dancy’s arm action is very
clean and easy and it works very well. He sat in the 83-86 mph range
on Saturday, but with his overall athleticism, looseness and plus arm
speed he projects to add more velocity in the coming years as he
continues to fill out. He did a pretty solid job of repeating his
delivery, although at times he was inconsistent at foot strike and
could spin out and fall towards the first base side. Still, he
displayed solid command of his mid-80s fastball, using the offering
to both sides of the plate well.
Dancy’s
primary non-fastball offering was his slider, a 76-78 mph pitch that
featured short depth and tight spin. The slider was particularly
effective because it was released from the same plane as his
fastball, and its break was late, sharp and sudden. While it was a
clear third offering for him, Dancy also flashed an occasional
straight changeup in the upper-70s, which he threw with similar arm
speed and arm action as his fastball.
Dancy’s
fellow Evoshield Canes teammate, JeVon Ward (2017, Long Beach,
Calif.), has some of the loudest tools in the 2017 high school class.
The outfielder is already a Southern California commit, and he was
extremely impressive last summer at the PG Underclass All-American
Games in San Diego. Currently ranked 16th overall in the 2017 class,
Ward showcased some of his tools on Saturday. Despite not enjoying
the best results at the plate, Ward displayed good hitting tools with
above average bat speed and quick hands. At 6-foot-4, 185-pounds Ward
is still developing physically. For many players of similar size and
age it can be difficult for them to repeat their swing, and while
Ward can occasionally get a bit looser with the barrel and elongate
his swing path, he has the athleticism necessary to find the barrel
more often than most. He eats up ground in the outfield with his long
strides, and when he’s on the bases he is always a threat to steal,
as he did successfully twice on Friday.
Travis
Holt (2017, Plantation, Fla.) is a quick-twitch athlete with
solid upside. The uncommitted 6-foot-1, 170-pounder slotted in as the
Florida Burn 2017 Easton’s shortstop and he displayed solid actions
to the baseball with soft hands and a quicker release. If he’s
forced to move off of shortstop, Holt has the speed and athleticism
to profile at center field as well. At the plate Holt has quick hands
and solid bat speed from the right side with gap power.
Daniel
Nichols (2017, Crystal Beach, Fla.) has a projectable 6-foot-4,
175-pound frame. The uncommitted righty came on out of the bullpen to
provide some solid innings for Florida Pokers Underclass on Saturday
afternoon. Working in the 83-85 mph range with his fastball, Nichols
has some deception in his delivery with a full arm swing coming
through the back side. There are some things in his delivery that
could be cleaned up, as he had a tendency to open his front side
early and lose his direction and balance to the plate, but he flashed
solid command and the fastball was a difficult pitch to hit, much
less barrel when it was located because of the deception and late
jump out of the hand.
Mike
Vasil (2018, Wellesley, Mass.) impressed at the Northeast
Underclass Showcase a couple of months ago, and the righthanded
pitcher performed well again on Friday afternoon. The 6-foot-3,
200-pound righty has a large frame with a sturdy, strong build. Vasil
has a clean, tension free arm action and he hides the ball well
behind his hip throughout his delivery. He works to a three-quarters
arm slot and shows decent arm speed through to release, while working
his fastball in the 84-86 mph range. At times, Vasil struggled to get
extended and work over his front side, but he did much better at
locating his fastball down and to the glove side in his second inning
of work. He didn’t need to feature off-speed pitches too often, but
he did flash some feel for a sweeping breaking ball in the upper-60s
that has solid depth and it should be a solid pitch for him down the
road.
Nicholas
Juaire (2018, Farmington, Minn.) stood out at the South
Underclass Showcase in August for his defensive abilities behind the
plate, but the sophomore performed well at the plate on Saturday
afternoon. Playing for Marucci Elite 16s, Juaire hit a couple of
balls very hard and showed a measured approach with solid plate
coverage, stroking a single into the left-center field gap and lining
out to the first baseman. Juaire has quick hands and strength in his
forearms and wrists that allow him to manipulate the barrel and
impact the baseball.
Owen
Batchelor (2017, Amherst, N.H.) is an intriguing lefthanded
pitcher from New Hampshire. The 6-foot-3, 175-pound southpaw has a
projectable frame and is a solid athlete with good body control. With
a measured side-step delivery, Batchelor is able to repeat his
mechanics well and he maintains solid direction to the plate. While
there is a slight wrap in his arm action, Batchelor has solid arm
speed and is able to repeat his three-quarters delivery rather well.
Working predominately in the 81-84 mph range with his fastball, the
uncommitted lefty has natural arm-side running action and good sink
that make it a difficult offering to lift and drive. Although he
didn’t show the best feel for it on Friday, Batchelor has flashed a
solid low-70s breaking ball with 1-to-7 shape and solid depth.
Ronald
Washington (2017, Houston, Texas) has long been on the Perfect
Game radar, and he impressed again earlier this summer at the PG
Underclass All-American Games. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound Texas commit
is currently ranked 14th overall in the class of 2017, and he showed
why he’s considered one of the better players in the class again on
Friday. He has big bat speed from the right side and considerable
strength off of the barrel, with extremely loud contact in three of
his at bats (2-for-3 with a double). He generates natural carry and
loft in his swing, and also showcased some of his athleticism with a
stolen base.
– Andrew
Krause
Jake
Brace (2017, Suwanee, GA) was on the bump for Team Elite Prime
17u on Friday and he came right out firing and spotting his 84-87 mph
fastball to both sides of the plate with a fluid and clean delivery.
The Georgia Tech commit comes straight over the top with a good
amount of arm speed and is able to locate consistently thanks to his
repeatable delivery. The 5-foot-11, 170-pound righthander did a good
job building momentum while keeping his front side closed until his
release. With the ability to move the fastball around the zone, Brace
made it difficult for the offense to get good wood on his primary
offering.
Brace’s
go-to secondary offering was a traditional shaped curveball that he
is able to spin across the plate anywhere from 71-74 mph. He showed
good feel for this pitch and can throw it for strikes or bury it down
in the zone and generate some chasing swing and misses. The breaking
ball maintained consistent shape throughout his outing while getting
good depth on it as well.
Steven
Williams (2017, Albany, Ga.) is a physically imposing player on
both sides of the field. Standing 6-foot-3 and 210-pounds, Williams
showed off some very impressive bat speed and a swing that has bad
intentions for the baseball. He’s not up there just to make
contact, he looks to use his strength and drive the ball to a gap or
turn on one and rip one pull-side. The most impressive at-bat today
was a loud opposite field double into the gap in left-center. Even
with the physicality and bat speed he possesses, the Auburn commit
proved to have some patience as well. With this mature approach at
the plate, it won’t be long before those shots he’s driving into
the gaps turn into shots over the fence.
For
such a big body, Williams moves well behind the plate and is more
light on his feet than I anticipated. He showed good lateral foot
movement and is efficient when popping from his crouch. This type of
athleticism will come in handy as he continues to grow and log
innings behind the dish. The arm strength is there and it’s
accurate to the bag with good carry.
Liam
Eddy (2017, Brighton, Colo.) Eddy was a bit of an unknown coming
into today, but he quickly changed that with an impressive outing
versus a very talented Team Elite Prime 17u squad. Eddy took the ball
and immediately started pumping his fastball all the way up to 91
mph, while sitting comfortably in the 87-89 range. Already possessing
above average arm strength and a projectable frame, the lanky
6-foot-4 righthander should be able to add a few more ticks of
velocity down the road. Eddy does a good job incorporating his lower
half and generates some good thrust off his back leg. With a long but
clean arm action Eddy showed confidence in his heater by running it
to the inner part of the plate and challenging lefthanded hitters.
Thanks to his long arms and good extension, Eddy was able to hit his
spots glove-side with the fastball, something that isn’t as easy as
you’d think.
There
is some work to be done with his secondary offerings, but he did
flash a couple nice powerful breaking balls. For the most part, the
breaker was a bit slurvy and came across the plate in the 78-79 mph
range. With some more repetitions to gain better feel, Eddy has a
chance to have not one but two power offerings.
Tyler
Ahearn (2017, Jupiter, Fla.), who is committed to Florida State
and is currently pitching for Scorpions South 2017, is one of the
more well known names here this weekend and today he displayed why
that is. At 6-foot-3, 180-pounds, Ahearn offers good size with plenty
of room to add some strength. His delivery offers a lot of attractive
components. He stays loose and athletic all the way through his
stride and landing point. He was on-time with every aspect of his
mechanics and it showed up on the chart with a lot of strikes being
thrown. The arm speed is of the plus variety and the action is clean.
He is able to fire it through to his release without full effort and
while staying free and easy. Today he was sitting comfortably 87-90
while touching 91 a couple of times. To go along with the velocity,
Ahearn’s fastball has some very late run on it, making it even
tougher to barrel up. With his height, he could do a better job of
staying tall and getting downhill, but he showed flashes of that
today and as he logs more reps, it’ll start to come more
frequently.
Ahearn
mixed in two secondary offerings to along with his heat. The most
impressive being a tight-spinning curveball in the 73-74 mph range.
He showed very good feel and confidence when throwing it. The
breaking pitch was sharp throughout his outing and got excellent
depth on. It can be a weapon in any count to right and lefthanded
batters alike. I didn’t see many changeups, but he did throw a few
while maintaining his arm speed and not tipping off the pitch.
Hopefully he can develop it down the road to give himself three legit
offerings.
Kyle
Iarrobino (2018, Summerland Key, Fla.) picthed for Deep South
against a talented and dangerous Team Elite Prime 17u lineup and he
more than held his own today. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound righthander
Iarrobino is projectable and has a very sneaky element to his game.
His fastball was mostly 78-81, but he ran it up a few times to the
82-83 mph range. He gets a long reach on the backswing of his
delivery while staying tall before driving towards the plate. His
long arms get great extension and give his fastball some added ife.
The ball come out of his hand clean and fast where it seemed to jump
on the hitters before they were ready. He missed a lot of bats today
by elevating this pitch and just blowing past the opposition. This
was the theme all day for him. No smoke and mirrors or any other
trickery, just a sneaky fastball that he could spot and get it by his
opponents.
Iarrobino
stayed cool, calm, and collected while quietly showing some mature
mound presence. He wasn’t afraid to run the fastball inside to
lefthanders. With solid arm speed and simple mechanics, Iarrabino
worked at a quick pace and struck out six batters in just under four
innings of work. He has some work to do with his secondary offerings,
as do most 2018 kids, but his ability to miss bats with a
well-spotted fastball is very advanced.
– Chris
King
Another
member of the University of Maryland 2018 recruiting class, Sean
Heine (2018, Gloucester City, N.J.) has interesting upside just
as fellow righthander Zeke Gongola showed on Thursday night. Standing
on the mound with a 6-foot-3, 160-pound frame, Heine certainly
projects physically and his arm action is the type that allows for projection and for continued growths in fastball velocity.
With a long and loose whip-like arm action Heine came out and sat
comfortably in the 82-84 mph range, bumping an 85 while showing nice
running life to his arm side and slight sink when located in the
bottom quadrants. He showed the ability to fill up the zone with his
heater that came out of his hand rather cleanly and did a nice job of
mixing in both a curveball and changeup, each for strikes. A low-70s
offering, Heine’s curveball showed short depth and occasional
sweeping shape depending on the release point, some times getting
around the ball and giving more of a slider feel. The changeup is the
more advanced of the two at 76-77 mph as he mimics the release of his
fastball and shows just as much feel for the offering that features
late fade to his arm side.
Hunter
Barco (2019, Jacksonville, Fla.) set the tone for the young
talent that followed throughout the day despite being one of the
younger players I laid eyes on Friday afternoon. A Florida native who
plays for the East Cobb Astros 16U, Barco doesn’t look like your
typical freshman in that he’s 6-foot-3, though he posses an overall
youthful appearance to his 180-pound frame.
For
a player his age Barco did a nice job of remaining balanced and
repeating his delivery throughout, showing a short and quick arm
action through the backside and maintained his slot on all three of
his offerings. You’d be content to find a lefthanded pitcher with
Barco’s build and 83-86 mph fastball (touched an 87 once) on a
player in the 2017 class, so the fact that he’s in 2019 most
definitely adds to the intrigue. He’s able to generate the standout
velocity without much effort and will continue to add as he develops
physically and incorporates more lower half into his release. Barco
did a nice job of maintaining his velocity out of the stretch too,
something you don’t always see from an arm his age and he did so
while still showing the consistent running life to his arm side.
The
velocity and size was enough to walk away impressed but the
uncommitted Barco showed comfort and feel for his slider, a pitch
that worked between 75-77 mph though it did bump a 79 which usually
is another indicator for more velocity on the way. The life of the
pitch varied as it should show subtle tilt at times and others would
show bigger life to the back foot of a righthanded hitter, each
effective and each impressive. His changeup showed some fade down to
the zone and featured a little bit of tumble, almost like a
split-change at 72-73 mph. Lefthanders are always a hot commodity
amongst college coaches and Barco is certainly one they took notice
of yesterday afternoon.
Oraj
Anu (2017, Orlando, Fla.) and Jake Taylor (2017, Tecumseh,
Okla.) are two big bats situated in the middle of a potent FTB Black
lineup and both flexed their muscle Friday afternoon in their team’s
win. Neither are new to Perfect Game events and their strength has
been prominent in nearly each event they’ve attended.
Taylor,
an Oklahoma State commit who comes to FTB via Oklahoma, has continued
to add physical strength to his build and stands with an impressive
6-foot-1, 200-pound broad shouldered build. A righthanded hitter,
Taylor shows solid fluidity as he whips the barrel through the zone
which he did when he turned on an inner half ball this afternoon for
an easy standup double to his pull side.
Oraj
Anu is the type of athlete that will continue to show you something
new whenever you see him and exceeds expectations in terms of
athleticism given just how strong and physical his 6-foot-2,
210-pound frame. For a quick example take a look at the 6.52 60-yard
time he posted during the Junior National Showcase this past June and
it becomes clear. It wasn’t the speed that stood out over my first
couple of looks this weekend, but rather his swing from both sides of
the plate and top of the class type raw power off the barrel. The
first at-bat I caught in their tournament opening game Anu was in the
righthanded batter’s box and showed balance in his swing as he
stayed back on a curveball which he proceeded to line into left field
for a double. This afternoon’s contact allowed Anu to move a little
slower out of the box as he got arms extended from the left side and
connected for a no doubt home run over the right field fence, hopping
off the barrel while getting out in a hurry.
With
an offense that was clicking on all cylinders FTB pitchers Altoon
Coleman (2017, Sanford, Fla.) and Garrett Hunter Ruth
(2017, Gainesville, Fla.) made brief cameos on the mound, though both
were impressive in the time they were give.
Coleman
has been featured in these daily recaps throughout the summer and
yesterday was no different as the Florida State commit worked in the
88-92 mph range with his fastball rather comfortably. His fastball
appeared to have more life to it yesterday too, particularly with
cutting action which he showed the ability to start middle-away on
right handers to pick up a couple of empty swings. He also featured
his slider in the low- to mid-70s and is a pitch that he’s really
developed throughout the summer and fall.
Ruth
committed to the University of South Carolina earlier this summer and
with his long 6-foot-2, 175-pound frame there should be another jump
or two in there sometime in the future, though his present stuff is
already impressive. Working from an over the top arm slot Ruth showed
the ability to consistently get on top of the ball and in doing so
was able to generate steady running life with some sink on his 86-88
mph fastball, bumping an 89 in his lone inning of work. He was able
to overmatch the opposition with the strength on his fastball and his
comfort to work either side of the plate but he did mix in a couple
of hard, downward curveball at 75-77 mph to keep them on their toes.
There’s
a common theme between Mike Siani (2018, Glenside, Pa.), John
Malcom (2018, West Bloomfield, Mich.) and, Jarred Kelenic
(2018, Waukesha, Wis.) aside from their graduation year and it’s
that they’re all lefthanded and all own some of the top bat speed
in the 2018 graduating class. With quick looks at each throughout the
different time slots yesterday each showed why they’re ranked
within the classes top 50 overall prospect and why two of them Siani
(University of Virginia) and Kelenic (University of Louisville) have
already committed.
The
lone uncommitted player of that group is strongly built and
physically impressive John Malcom out of Michigan who’s playing
this weekend with the Ohio Elite. With looks at Malcom throughout the
summer it appears as though he’s gotten even stronger while still
maintain the looseness in his swing along with his top of the charts
bat speed. With his team chasing a run in the bottom of the seventh
Malcom went to the plate with an aggressive approach and looked to
tie the game with a single swing on a fastball, just missing and
fouling the pitch off. After staying in on a low changeup and just
getting a piece of it to stay alive, Malcom shortened his approach
and went with a fastball through the six-hole for a line drive
single, showing an adjustment at the plate and comfort going the
other way.
Both
Siani and Kelenic are tightly wound, quick-twitch center fielders who
are tooled up and put each one of them on display yesterday. Siani,
who patrolled center for the Philly Whiz Kids, jumped all over an
elevated fastball left over the outer third of the plate and burned
the center fielder with a hard line shot that jump off the barrel,
making its way to the fence for an easy standup triple. Running
around the bases it look as though Siani kicked it into another gear,
which isn’t surprising given the 6.75 60-yard he posted last August
at a Perfect Game Showcase.
Kelenic
recently won the MVP award at the WWBA Kernels Foundation
Championship and it looks as though he carried over what he started
last weekend in Iowa over to Georgia. The bat speed as mentioned
prior is hard to ignore as the very physical, particularly in his
upper body and forearms, Kelenic whips the barrel through the zone
and has an understanding of what to do at the plate. An above average
runner down the line, Kelenic pulled his hands in on an inner half
fastball and shot it the other way through the six-hole and was
something he did with intent. He also showed off an easy above
average arm in center field on a throw to the plate, nailing the
runner by a good ten feet that looked like an easy run scored when
the hitter first made contact.
Cole
Maye (2017, Matthews, N.C.) is an interesting young lefthander
who’s already committed to the University of Florida and for good
reason. Listed at 6-foot-6, 175-pound with long, lean limbs and a
young overall look that exudes looseness, Maye is currently ranked
No. 215 in the class and it’s a number that will continue to climb
as he continues to get physically stronger. As it is now Maye was
able to run his fastball up to 89 mph last night for SBA Marucci and
sat comfortably in the 84-87 mph from an extended three-quarters arm
slot. The future Florida Gator is able to create nice angle at
release with his release point and more impressively was his ability
to fill up the strike zone, particularly to the lower half of the
strike zone with running life. While he flashed a few breaking balls
in the upper-60s, Maye’s go to off speed that he showed the most
comfort in was his changeup, a mid-70s offering that came out looking
like a fastball and showed similar late fading life to his arm side,
just 10-12 mph slower.
Henry
Davis (2018, Bedford, N.Y.) is a young and lean 6-foot-1 catcher
for the Tri-State Future’s team and has already made a name for
himself in the baseball world as he’s ranked No. 129 in the latest
rendition of the 2018 class rankings. Aside from the overall
athleticism, one reason for Davis’ high ranking is his ability
behind the plate and his advanced catch and throw skills. Though just
beginning his sophomore year of high school, Davis, who’s
uncommitted at the moment, showed off the best arm strength from
behind the dish that I’ve seen yet this tournament as he
consistently delivered strike after strike to the intended bag with a
quick transfer and plenty of carry.
The
WWBA Underclass Championships is all about finding young talent and
you might have a hard time finding somebody who’s more talented at
his age in this tournament than catcher Alek Boychuk (2020,
Buford, Ga.). He may just be entering his eighth grade year of school
but his strong, yet projectable build, wouldn’t suggest his age nor
would his advanced actions behind the plate, some of the best I’ve
seen this weekend regardless of age. With a strong 6-foot, 170-pound
frame that will continue to only get stronger, Boychuk showed
exceptional footwork and receiving skills for a player who still has
another year before entering high school and showed no discomfort
playing against players who were nearly three years old than him. He
displayed strong wrists receiving and was able to stick several
pitches to help his pitcher and showed accuracy on his throws with
arm strength that will continue to develop. A righthanded batter,
Boychuk found himself in the five-hole for Team Elite Prime and
though he ultimately struck out, he put a couple of nice swings on
fastballs that he just missed foul while showing very nice present
bat speed.
Johntyler Clark-Chiapparelli (2017, Austin, Texas) made the trip across the
country from Texas to suit up for Team Elite Prime 16u and caught
your attention after fielding the first of several ground balls hit
his way. Though listed as a primary righthanded pitcher who has been
up to 87 mph recently, Clark showed smooth, athletic actions up the
middle with the obvious arm strength that he has shown on the mound
previously. He showed off his athleticism on one particular play in
which he came chagrining in on a slow roller, picked the ball and
delivered a strike all while moving his feet and remaining balanced.
– Jheremy
Brown