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Tournaments  | Story  | 3/11/2018

PG HS Showdown Day 3 Notes

Vincent Cervino      Greg Gerard     
Photo: Perfect Game

2018 PG High School Showdown: Day 1 Notes | Day 2 Notes | Player Stats | Daily Leaders



Getting the start for Parkview in the semifinals was sophomore Miles Garrett (2020, Stone Mountain, Ga.) and although he didn’t have the most successful start he showed tools that make him a high-level prospect for the class and enough to interest Vanderbilt to committing him. Garrett isn’t very physically imposing, listed at only 5-foot-9, however there is a lot of room left to grow with a high-waisted, lean, and wiry frame. Garrett repeats his mechanics exceptionally well and is able to get downhill effectively with a short and compact arm stroke to deliver the fastball. The pitch worked up to 87 mph early on and sat in the 82-85 mph range for the majority of the start. Garrett worked best when he was timed up properly, otherwise the fastball would flatten out and he would lose command. The righthander also showed an 11-to-5 breaking ball that showed good tilt to it, especially so when buried low and away against righties. There’s a lot to like with Garrett on the hill and he will be counted upon heavily for Parkview in the near future.

Troy signee Logan Cerny (2018, Lawrenceville, Ga.) played a lot of his innings in right field this weekend but showed off a powerful right swing and advanced athleticism and speed as well. The speed was a new development to this scout who recorded above average run times for Cerny all weekend with a best time of 4.19 seconds from the right side on an infield single and was comfortably in the 4.2s. Cerny gets a lot of torque and lower half generation through his swing which allows him to impact the ball with a lot of strength at the point of contact. He can both catch and play right field, but the arm strength and athleticism likely suits him better in the outfield in terms of his professional future. Cerny will be an important piece for a strong Parkview team and the righthanded hitter showed off pretty solid and consistent bat-to-ball skills all weekend.

The sparkplug for the champion Blessed Trinity was Ryan Davis (2019, Roswell, Ga.) all weekend and the uncommitted junior showed off a well-rounded and polished skill set. The defense and speed immediately stand out as he was a surehanded glove in centerfield which included a diving catch sprinting in during the semifinal round. Davis made correct and quick reads on fly balls and tracked down a lot of balls that other outfielders wouldn’t have gotten to. He posted Major League average run times in the 4.3-4.4 second range for most of the weekend, and included a best time of 4.25 seconds, however his speed played up when on the base paths as he got very impressive jumps off pitcher to swipe a lot of bags. Davis showed off a quick and contact-oriented stroke in the box, and would shorten up even further on two-strikes to put the ball in play during strikeout counts.

The Blessed Trinity offense was clicking on all cylinders during the weekend and that included the efforts of the backfield combination for the Titans football team in Steele Chambers (2019, Alpharetta, Ga.) and Jake Smith (2018, Gainesville, Ga.). Chambers served as the running back and Smith as the quarterback for the state championship winning squad.

Chambers has loud tools on the diamond, where his speed allows him to burst out of the box and be a menace on the basepaths. He would make defenders work, and even forced a few errors with his speed, as he posted a best run time of 4.22 seconds on the weekend. Chambers also turned on the jets during the championship game as hustled around the bases for a Little League inside-the-park-HR after the ball escaped past the left fielder. The bat speed is loud for Chambers and he can handle almost any fastball and drive it with authority. Smith showed some loud contact as well with multiple 90+ mph exit velocities over the weekend. Smith was an integral part of the offense, grinding out at-bats and producing solid contact in every game. The junior even closed a game on Friday night when he showed off his arm strength while working 88-90 mph to secure the victory.

Freshman righthander Andrew Lewis II (2021, Snellville, Ga.) got the nod in a consolation game for South Gwinnett and showed off some advanced pitching tools for someone his age. Lewis is very young with a frame that will continue to develop as he reaches physical maturity. He throws from a higher three-quarters arm slot with a longer arm action that features a deep plunge in the back, however the arm stroke is mostly online. The length of the arm can cause some timing issues, however when he is on time he is able to deliver the ball cleanly out of the hand. The fastball is mostly straight, though it flashed some cut when working over the glove side. The curveball showed some bite and was harder at 74-75 mph and he had good feel for releasing the ball out in front.

Another uncommitted and projectable right arm toed the rubber during the consolation round as North Gwinnett sent out Brandt Pancer (2020, Suwanee, Ga.) to start their final game of the Showdown. Pancer is pretty lean and projectable with a clean arm stroke through the back. The delivery is low effort and he showed a degree of polish to the stuff that he had. Pancer gets downhill with an extended release and extends well toward the plate through release. The mechanics are fluid and he repeats them well while working his fastball up to 87 mph and sitting in the 82-85 mph range. Pancer mixed in a breaking ball that flashed depth and sharpness in the low-70s. Pancer is a solid piece for a strong Bulldogs team and should be attracting plenty of Division I interest.

– Vincent Cervino


Xavier Edwards (2018, Wellington, Fla.) is just an exciting player to watch swing the bat andplay up the middle in the infield. The No. 82 ranked player in PG’s 2018 MLB Draft: Top 250 Prospects list did nothing but show off his all-around talent in North Broward Prep’s morning game Saturday. To lead off the bottom of the first inning, Edwards laid down a bunt single that was perfectly placed and, with his speed, the defense did not have a chance to throw him out. The 5-foot-10 165-pound speedster sprinted down the line posting a 3.7-second home to first base time from the lefthanded side. Edwards is a switch-hitter who only batted from the left side in this contest, but what he did from the left side is, certainly, worth noting. The Vanderbilt signee collected three hits on the day including a no-doubt home run to his pull side in his third at-bat of the day. The home run left his bat at 95 mph and traveled 360 feet.

Jake Gooch (2019,Cartersville, Ga.) did everything he could both offensively and on the mound to help Cartersville in their semifinal matchup with the Providence School. Gooch doubled early on in the 11 inning affair before. He later singled home two clutch runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the game to extra innings. Also in the seventh inning, he came in on the mound in the top half of the inning and ran his fastball up to 90 mph. Gooch is a primary catcher, but has some ability to like on the mound as well. His arm works pretty well and he uses his lower half in his delivery. With the upper-80s velocity that he produces on his fastball, it is mostly straight but there is something about the pitch that gets on hitters quickly and missed barrels. Gooch also featured a changeup that he showed good feel for early. The pitch was very effective to lefthanded hitters and was 10 mph slower than his fastball. The Georgia Tech commit unfortunately was handed the tough loss in the 11th inning after five strong innings of relief work.




Saul Gonzalez (2018,Cidra, Puerto Rico) pitched Montverde Academy to a PG High School Showdown Championship on Saturday as he threw a complete game three-hittter, striking out 10 batters. Gonzalez is a dominant high school pitcher committed to Alabama State and he showed that in Saturday’s championship. After working out of trouble early in the first inning, Gonzalez settled in nicely tossing 104 pithes in seven full innings of work. Gonzalez’s delivery is unique in its own way as he throws from a long and wrapped arm action. At 6-foot-7, 230-pounds, the size of the Alabama State commit is, obviously, something to like as he is a big presence on the mound. He showed Saturday that he can vary velocities on his fastball. He worked up to 94 mph, but would intentionally throw his fastball softer at times to really mess with hitters’ timing. Being such a tall pitcher, it can be hard to repeat his delivery, but Gonzalez settled in after the first inning and did so well. He mixed in a curveball to accompany the fastball. The secondary pitch showed good depth and 11-to-5 shape.

Nander de Sedas (2018, Montverde, Fla.) has shown all tournament long why he is regarded as one of the top hitters in the 2018 Draft class and Saturday was no different. After walking in his first at-bat, the switch-hitting de Sedas came to the plate in the top of the second inning and parked a pitch over the left field fence for ahome run. This home run coming from the right side. The Florida State signee has such a pure swing from the righthanded side with raw bat speed and it waspresent as he homered in Montverde’s 6-2 Championship game win. The home run left his bat at 98 mph and traveled 372 feet.

-Gregory Gerard
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