Championship
Sunday produced a pair of thrilling championship games, with CBA
Marucci capturing the crown in both the Upperclass and Underclass
divisions. 2015 outfielder Luke Williams (Dana Point, Calif.)
crushed a walk-off grand slam to take home the upperclass title,
while 2016 outfielder Dominic Fletcher (Cypress, Calif.) broke
a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth with a double into the gap to
lift the Underclass.
The
championship and semifinals at USC's Dedeaux Field saw a number of
highly talented underclassmen competing in highly intense games that
allowed them to shine. Fletcher capped off the weekend with a strong
finish, not only driving in the winning runs of the championship
game, but also nailing down the save in the semfinal while topping
out at 88 mph.
Co-MVP
2017 shortstop Nick Allen (San Diego, Calif.) put on a show
defensively in the title game. He was the pivot man on a triple play
in the second inning, turned two double plays and converted all seven
defensive chances he had in the championship to go 17-for-17 on the
weekend. He made plays on the move, to both sides, showed a quick
release when necessary and was able to reach back for extra velocity
when he had time. The championship game came down to stellar
defensive play in a pitcher's duel that remained tied at one a piece
deep into the sixth inning, and Allen set the tone.
Allen
wasn't the only standout shortstop from the 2017 class in the
championship game however. Drew Williams (Hollister, Calif.)
moved over from second to shortstop as his double-play partner from
the the semifinal game, 2016 Justin Sanders (Morgan Hill,
Calif.), took the mound for the championship game and Williams made
the most of the opportunity. Williams showed good range to both sides
in the third inning, making consecutive plays while ranging deep each
direction.
The
first was on a sharply hit ball to his left, where he set his feet
quickly and made a surprisingly strong throw off of his back foot
with some carry to nail the runner at first. He proved it wasn't a
fluke by quickly moving up the middle and getting to a ball behind
the second base bag on the next batter and completed that play as
well. He also has a smooth, low-effort lefthanded swing with a direct
hand path and picked up a single to potentially spark a rally to
finish the tournament 6-for-11. Sanders also delivered in the
championship game, firing five innings of one-hit ball against a
loaded CBA Marucci lineup and earned tournament Most Valuable Pitcher
honors.
The
biggest standout for CCB's underclass squad that made a run to the
championship game was 2016 infielder Andrew Vaughn (Santa
Rosa, Calif.). The Cal commit crushed a rising line drive that left
center field in Dedeaux Field for what proved to be the game winning
run of the semifinals before taking the mound and nailing down a four
out save while topping out at 89 mph. His arm strength suited him
well at third base when he wasn't on the mound during this tournament
and he's seen time at second as well.
The
champion CBA Marucci Underclass featured a very formidable lineup,
and in the semifinals it was 2016 outfielder/first baseman Aaron
Greenfield (Los Angeles, Calif.) who stood out amongst the
talented bunch, drawing a pair of walks while going 1-for-2 with an
RBI triple. He also made a spectacular save to complete the triple
play during the championship game at first base, somehow managing to
keep his foot on the bag while laying out to snare a wide throw with
plenty of mustard on it.
2016
outfielder Josh Stephen (Chino Hills, Calif.) continued to
show maturation as a hitter, staying back well on an off-speed pitch
and driving it into left field in one at-bat, while also looking to
unleash his pull power, getting under one for a loud out later in the
same game.
While
there was plenty of high velocity pitching on display, most glaringly
exemplified by 2017 righthander Hans Crouse (Dana Point,
Calif.), who ran his fastball up to 92 mph on Saturday, the most
advanced present pitchabillity prospect of the weekend was 2015
righthander Noah Davis (Huntington Beach, Calif). Davis has
touched 90 mph in the past and worked in the upper-80s in his start
against the EJ Sports Warriors on Saturday, but it's the sharp
running action to the arm side on his fastball that makes him so
effective. He controls that run well, throwing 19 of his 27 fastballs
for strikes despite working just off the corners and allowing the run
to pull it back into the strike zone. He induced five ground balls
and struck out a pair over three scoreless innings and didn't issue a
walk. Davis showed the kind of polish that could potentially make him
a candidate to win a spot in the weekend rotation as a freshman at UC
Santa Barbara.
While
PG's class of 2015-17 rankings already highlight most of the top
players who were competing in the inaugural California World Series,
the class of 2018 is beginning to emerge. There were a handful who
stood out already while facing competition two years their senior.
2018
outfielder Jake Allred (San Diego, Calif.) of the San Diego
Show has already established himself well after winning MVP honors at
the 2014 14u PG/MLK Championship back in January. He also earned a
highly impressive PG grade of 8 at the 2014 Sunshine West Showcase
while running a sub 7.0 60-yard dash before ever setting foot on
campus at Cathedral Catholic High School.
Allred
has quick hands at the plate and a loose swing, and while he hasn't
yet developed the strength to drive the ball out of the park, he has
the underlying swing mechanics and quickness to grow into home run
power, and he did lift a ball into deep right field with plenty of
loft. He made good decisions at the plate, and while laying off
pitcher's pitches put him behind 0-2 frequently in Saturday's action,
he showed an idea how to adjust with two strikes and competed well
while behind in those at-bats.
2018
outfielder Jake Renteria (Clovis, Calif.) doesn't possess the
polished swing that Allred does, but he's already showing strength to
drive the baseball when he's able to harness the leverage that his
6-foot-3 frame offers, and he's done so on a few occasions at PG
events. He went 2-for-6 in the California World Series and crushed a
ball to the wall on one hop at a big league spring training park
earlier this summer at the WWBA West Memorial Day Classic.
Perhaps
the most impressive 2018 graduate in attendance was middle infielder
Brice Turang (Corona, Calif.). He sees the baseball well out
of the pitcher's hand and consistently made the correct decisions on
borderline pitches, seemingly recognizing the destination of breaking
stuff immediately. He has a simple hand load and gets into position
on time with a loose swing and impressive bat speed for his age and
is already an average runner, getting down the line in 4.21 seconds
on a swing. He has extensive experience in the outfield but played
shortstop in this look where he showed a very quick release and read
hops well.
There
are still plenty of adjustments he can make to improve his game on
both sides of the ball, but he's highly advanced for a high school
freshman and a good athlete who projects well, giving him a chance to
become of the top prospects in the 2018 class over the next few
years.
There
were several other players who stood out from a scouting standpoint
despite playing in games that didn't have important playoff
implications within the tournament.
2017
lefthander Noah Fluman (Foothill Ranch, Calif.) carved up
Trosky Baseball in a consolation game, punching out nine batters in
four innings and showing a projectable mix of a fastball that sat
81-83 with sharp downhill plane from an over-the-top arm slot with a
long loose arm action, and paired it with a 68-69 mph 12-to-6
curveball with good spin. He also showed a sound lefthanded swing,
and while he's thin and young right now, he has a chance to develop
into a strong pitching prospect over the next few years.
2017
outfielder Matt Frazier (Fresno, Calif.) combined good
athleticism with long strides and a strong arm in right field to
impress defensively. He also showed a short, compact lefthanded swing
hitting at the top of the CenCal order to produce well for them. His
slash-and-run style of play can be valuable at the next level, though
his size/strength projection/athleticism ratio suggests that as he
gets older he'll be able to elongate his swing a bit to add doubles
or better power to his game and become even more dangerous.
2017
infielder Jamal O'Guinn (Fresno, Calif.) is a big imposing
young hitter who showed the ability to really sting the baseball. The
6-foot-2, 200-pounder has the kind of frame that looks out of place
at shortstop, and while his size suggests he's unlikely to stick at
short, his hands worked well enough that with arm strength projection
he could be a good fit at third base, where his power potential could
still profile well above average.
2016
shortstop Will Proctor (Manhattan Beach, Calif.) had an
impressive showing on Saturday morning, crushing a double that
one-hopped the wall in left field. He also make three different
difficult plays on the run from shortstop where he utilized his long
strides well and maintained control of his long levers.
Proctor's
teammate, 2017 switch-hitting outfielder Johnny Deluca (Agoura
Hills, Calif.), swung the bat very well from the left side, going
3-for-4 and showing very quick hands with a short, compact swing that
allowed him to go with the pitch and send line drives all over the
field while using his speed to stretch for an additional base.
2016
righthander Nolan Martinez (Culver City, Calif.) was
effectively wild in the outing and showed big upside as a tall, lanky
young hurler who touched 86 mph with a long loose arm action that
projects well.
2016
catcher Erek Bolton (Elk Grove, Calif.) showed off big-time
arm strength behind the plate in his PG debut. The physically
imposing 6-foot-2, 200-pound catcher has plenty of strength in his
swing as well and went out hunting fastballs in his game at-bats.
While we didn't get to see the results, when he gets all of a ball
it's pretty clear what those results would look like. He's fairly
advanced as a receiver and the arm strength plays well, as he picked
a runner off of first with an impressive back-pick time of 1.65
seconds and had several sub 2.0 pop times to second in between
innings.
Bolton's
teammate, 2017 first baseman Tate Soderstrom (Turlock,
Calif.), also stood out, showing good extension out front in his
swing and the ability to use the whole field. In his first at-bat he
took an outside fastball to left field with a very clean stroke and
followed it up with a loud fly ball down the left field line for a
double that showed good leverage-oriented oppo juice.