There
was quite a bit of talent on display at the Cleveland Indians and
Cincinnati Reds’ spring training complexes on Friday, as the first
day of the Perfect Game National Championships kicked off.
In
the first time slot at the complexes in Goodyear, George Arias
of the Tucson Champs really impressed. The 2018 righthanded pitcher
struck out 16 over his seven innings of work. At 5-foot-10,
165-pounds, Arias has a nice athletic build and frame for his age,
and he projects to add more muscle and physicality as he continues to
mature as he has broad shoulders, long legs and a high, tapered
waist. The righty showed an easy build-up and measured tempo out of
the windup and he repeated his delivery pretty well. In the early
going he was working in the mid-80s with his fastball, topping out at
86 mph. With an extended, loose arm action and above average arm
speed, he projects to add velocity in the coming years, and he showed
the ability to get extended over his front side.
The
heater had slight arm-side run and solid downhill plane from his high
three-quarters arm slot. Arias impressively showed feel for two
distinct breaking balls, a low-70s curveball with 11-to-5 shape and
solid depth, and a 76-78 mph slider with late two-plane depth and
tilt. He was able to locate both pitches for called strikes and
adeptly use them to get chases out of the strike zone. He struggled a
bit to repeat his mechanics when working from the stretch, but he
rarely had to do so and the overall arsenal and command were very
impressive.
A
number of other young arms stood out over the course of the afternoon
and evening. The Southern California Bombers Black 2017 team seemed
to keep running out quality pitcher after quality pitcher.
Zach
Pettway, a UCLA commit, threw two quick, effective innings. The
2017 righthander has a nice 6-foot, 190-pound frame and he pounded
the strike zone early and often with his 84-88 mph fastball. Pettway
features an up-tempo delivery with a leg lift above the belt, and
showed off a loose, long arm-action. He works to a high
three-quarters arm slot and generates solid downhill plane on the
heater, which has some late life when located down in the zone. He
also showed an ability to work in his mid-70s curveball effectively.
Quinton
Potter was another interesting 2017 righthander. The 6-foot-5,
195-pound righty has the long limbs and lean frame that one would
expect given the listed measurements. He has some deception in his
delivery and his long limbs make it difficult for hitters to pick up
the ball quickly and cleanly. Potter worked in the 83-85 mph range
with his fastball and showed solid control of the offering, working
in the strike zone often enough to get weak swings and softer
contact. His breaking ball, a low-70s curveball, is still developing,
but he was able to change eye levels and hitters’ timing with the
pitch and it shows potential. With his size and loose arm-action,
Potter will be an interesting player to watch develop.
Carlos
Lomeli showed off some of the best velocity in the tournament’s
first day. The 6-foot-2, 175-pound righthander is also in the class
of 2017, and he’s currently committed to St. Mary’s. Lomeli came
out of the gates hot, hitting 90 mph a few times in the first inning,
before topping out at 91 mph with his fastball an inning later. He
consistently worked in the 88-90 mph range with the offering, which
flashed some slight arm-side run and late life down in the zone.
Lomeli has a lean, athletic build with broad shoulders and the frame
to carry additional weight down the road. He stays balanced well
throughout his delivery and works to a tighter high three-quarters
release point while still maintaining some looseness and getting
extended over his frontside. Lomeli predominately used his fastball,
but he showed comfort in using his 74-76 mph curveball and was able
to locate the offering well. At its best the pitch showed 12-to-6
shape and solid depth, and while the break could be a bit early and
loose, he has the arm speed and athleticism to tighten the rotation
more consistently.
Players
from Alaska are often overlooked because they are rarely seen outside
of the state so it was great to get to see the Gamers Baseball Alaska
take to the fields on Friday. A handful of players showed solid
fundamentals and baseball skills, but pitcher Bryce Swofford
particularly stood out for his size, arm strength, and overall
potential.
Swofford,
a 2017 righthander, is listed at 6-feet-6, 185-pounds and he has very
long limbs and a lean, angular build. As with many young pitchers
with such a large frame, Swofford can have some issues consistently
repeating his delivery, but for the most part he was able to harness
the moving parts rather well and he threw a lot of strikes. He works
from a three-quarters to slightly below three-quarters arm slot,
which, along with his long limbs and deep release, adds to his
overall deception and funk. Swofford’s fastball touched 88 mph a
couple of times in the first inning and he consistently sat in the
84-85 mph range, although there were some fluctuations and dips over
the course of his six innings. Such variations are to be expected
with a young pitcher, especially one from a state such as Alaska, but
he impressively showed the ability to reach back and hit 86 or 87 mph
late in the ball game whenever he needed to.
Aside
from the velocity, the pitch flashed slight arm-side run and was
heavy with solid sinking life down in the strike zone. Additionally,
Swofford had solid overall command of the pitch and flashed feel for
locating to all four quadrants over the course of his outing. His
off-speed pitches are still a work in progress with the breaking ball
varying in shape and effectiveness, but towards the end of his outing
he began to develop a more consistent feel for locating the offering
down and to the glove side.
At
present, the feel for his changeup surpasses the breaking ball, as he
did a better job of maintaining his arm speed. Although it wasn’t
used often, the 73-77 mph changeup showed the makings of a pitch that
could be effective at the next level. There’s still a ways to go
and he’s far from a finished product, but Swofford’s size, arm
strength and background as a pitcher from Alaska make him an
interesting player to keep an eye on in the coming years. The upside
and potential is intriguing, particularly if he continues to add
strength to his large, lean frame.
Isaiah
Horton (Windsor Hills, Calif.) is nowhere near as big as
Swofford, but the 2018 lefthander is still long and lean. Listed at
5-foot-11, 130-pounds, Horton is extremely projectable and he should
be able to comfortably carry an additional 30-40 pounds before he
graduates high school. He is a good athlete and is extremely loose
with his movements and shows advanced body control and balance in his
delivery. While he currently works in the 76-78 mph range with his
fastball, it is easy to see him being in the mid- to upper-80s by the
time he’s a high school senior given his quality arm speed, clean
arm action and room for additional strength. Impressively, Horton
knows how to pitch at present, showing an ability to move his
fastball around the strike zone with comfort and work in a mid-60s
curveball and upper-60s changeup that both show solid potential.
– Andrew Krause
Cole
Turney (2017, Richmond, Texas) may not have filled up the box
score for the SACSN National Team but the newly minted No. 7 prospect
in the updated 2017 class rankings made an impression nonetheless. At a physical and strongly built 6-foot-1, 195-pounds, Turney wasted no
time putting his big lefthanded bat speed on display as he just
missed a bat in his first at-bat of the tournament, skying a fly ball
to centerfield with a 6.04 hang time. Turney continued to put his bat
speed and strength combination on display with three consecutive
swings, each resulting in long foul balls which if straightened out
would have cleared the right field fence. He shows a sound approach
in the box and wasn’t afraid to take his walks in his first two
at-bats in game two, displaying a knowledge of the strike zone while
staying in on each pitch.
Shane
Roberts (2017; Jupiter, Fla.), a righthanded pitcher committed to
the University of South Carolina and Brendan Bean (2017, West
Wildwood, N.J.), a lefthander committed to Pennsylvania, went the
first handful of innings for SACSN in game one and each impressed.
Up
to 90 mph this summer with the Evoshield Canes, Roberts didn’t
quite get that high as he topped out at 88 mph yesterday afternoon
while sitting comfortably in the 85-88 mph range. Roberts did a nice
job of remaining balanced throughout his delivery with a short and
quick arm action through the back and attacked hitters with his
fastball which jumped on hitters quickly and induced some
uncomfortable swings. When he stayed on top of the ball he showed
nice downhill plane with running and limited effort at release.
Though he pitched mostly off his heater, Roberts did flash a breaking
ball up to 70 mph with 11-5 shape and some sharper break when on top
of the pitch.
With
a strong and broad shouldered 6-foot-1, 210-pound frame Bean showed
an easy arm action of his own while topping out at 87 mph with his
fastball. Bean worked comfortably in the 83-87 mph range and did so
with some deception as he hides the ball well through the back before
coming to a higher slot, creating solid angle towards the plate. He
exerts little effort at release and the ball comes out cleanly while
projecting for more as he continues to incorporate more lower half
into his drive towards the plate. Like Roberts, Bean pitched off his
fastball for a majority of his pitches but also showed a 1-to-7
curveball and nice fading life to his changeup at 73 mph.
Chase
Sanguinetti (2018, Tampa, Fla.) has been on the showcase circuit
throughout the summer and he may have switched jerseys from his
summer team of FTB Pride to SACSN National for this event, the
results were the same with his left-handed swing. Committed to
Florida State University already, Sanguinetti was able to get an
inner half fastball he could handle and deposited it halfway up the
trees just beyond the right field wall for a no-doubt grand slam,
pacing SACSN to their second victory of the day.
In
a tournament as large as this one with four quads going on at two
different sight locations you’re constantly roaming around in an
attempt to see as many guys as possible and in doing so you’re able
to see a plethora of bats, several of which you mark down “see
again” at a later point in the tournament.
Donta
Williams (2017, Las Vegas, Nev.) is a lean left-left outfielder
who patrolled right field for CBA Marucci yesterday morning and
showed off his fast-twitch muscle and overall looseness throughout.
Williams wasted little time during his first at-bat as he squared up
the first pitch he saw of the game and bounced it back up the middle
for a leadoff single, showing quick hands and a short, direct barrel
path to the ball. He moves well both down the line and on the bases
with rather long strides, looking as though he almost gliding when
moving. Williams is currently listed at 5-foot-10, 150-pounds and
with his high waist and lean build it’s easy to envision the
University of Arizona commit adding more muscle mass over the next
two years.
Tyler
Hardman (2017, Lake Elsinore, Calif.) was hitting a few spots
behind Williams in the CBA lineup but was equally as impressionable
with his first base hit of the game. Currently uncommitted according
to his Perfect Game profile, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound third baseman
connected for one of the harder hit balls I saw all of day one as he
was able to get extended and drove an outer half fastball to the
opposite field gap with intent for a standup double, jumping off the
barrel with loud contact. As it turns out Hardman was just getting
started as he continued to barrel baseballs throughout the game and
is certainly a bat to keep an eye on throughout the tournament.
If
nothing else the 6-foot-4, 185-pound Zach Hogueisson (2017, El
Cajon, Calif.) will catch your attentions with his outward appearance
but after just one at-bat you’ll hone in on what he’s able to do
in the left-handed batters box. Already committed to Arizona State,
Hogueisson shows a balanced and rhythmic approach at the plate,
shifting his weight on time while staying in on each pitch that’s
thrown. The whole package was on display during his second at-bat of
the game as he squared a ball up that would rival any ball hit to
this point of the tournament and looked as though it continued to
rise up past the right fielder’s head but never getting more than
20-25 feet off the ground. With the ball getting past the field
Hogueisson showed sound balance as he came all the way around for an
inside the park homerun, looking as though he was getting stronger
from base to base. And though I didn’t see any balls hit to him it
speaks to his athleticism as Hogueisson is the West Coast Clippers
starting center fielder.
Something
you don’t often see is a catcher making two of the three outs in
the first inning with his arm but that’s exactly was CBA Marucci’s
Chris Jimenez (2017, Fontana, Calif.) did to help his team
thwart any scoring chance the opposing team had. With runners on
first and second the 5-foot-8, 170-pound Jimenez put his
catch-and-throw skills and solid arm strength on display by
back-picking the runner on first base before proceeding to throw out
the attempted theft of third base just a few pitches later and
subsequently ending the inning.
Charlie
“Bubba” Horton (2017, Corcoran, Minn.) is currently
uncommitted but the strongly built 6-foot-3, 185-pound left-hander
made an impression during the Minnesota Blizzard’s second game of
the tournament. Remaining balanced with a deliberate tempo to his
delivery Horton showed a full and loose arm action with quickness
through the back while generating some extension out front on his
fastball that he ran up to 88 mph. Horton worked rather comfortably
in the 84-87 mph range throughout the first couple of innings and
along with the quickness of his arm the other consistency of his game
was locating down in the zone with his fastball. With subtle running
life to his arm side on his fastball, you can see Horton adding a
couple of more ticks as he continues to incorporate more lower half
into his delivery, especially given how the ball comes out of his
hand cleanly at present. He only flashed a handful of off-speed which
included a curveball at 71 mph and a changeup in the 70-72 mph range,
showing proper fade and rotation on the pitch.
Dylan
Criquet-Danielson (2017, Marshall, Minn.) had quite the first day
as his team played a double-header and he performed well in each.
Criquet-Danielson looks the part with square shoulders and an
athletic 6-foot-2, 180-pound build and he can also swing it from the
right side hitting a home run in game one and a line shot in game two
that burned the center fielder and resulted in a three base hit.
Currently uncommitted, Criquet-Danielson showed off both his strength
and barrel skills offensively and also moved well defensively showing
sound actions and footwork at shortstop with a very short and compact
arm action that showed enough strength and carry across the diamond.
Alexander
Williams (2018, Castro Valley, Calif.) may only be beginning his
sophomore year of high school but he’s already looking like a
two-way prospect as he showed off both on the mound and with his
left-handed swing late last night. With a long and projectable
6-foot-3, 190-pound frame Williams showed a fast arm action that
produced a fastball that touched 88 mph in the second inning and
lived comfortably in the mid-80s throughout his complete game effort
working in that 84-87 mph range. His fastball comes out well and he
showed the ability to get on top, locating down in the zone
effectively while mixing in both a breaking ball and a changeup. The
breaker came across in the low-70s and flashed some depth while his
changeup was a mid-70s offering and showed fading life with the
ability to spot low to his glove side just as he did to ring up the
last batter of the first inning. As impressive as a 2018 up to 88 mph
is, Williams showed just as well with his bat showing big bat speed
with a relatively short swing path, squaring the ball up hard to
center field each of his first two at-bats. He didn’t get anything
to show for the contact in the stats column but the bat speed and end
result were noteworthy and something to keep an eye on moving
forward.
He
may not be listed as a primary left-handed pitcher in the program yet
but Andrew Walling (2018, Castle Rock, Wash.) showed comfort
on the mound and a full repertoire that had a slew of college coaches
from the West Coast looking on. Listed at a strong 6-foot-1,
190-pounds Walling employed an over-the-top arm action and used his
long limbs to get on top of the ball and generate downhill plane on
his fastball that sat 84-87 mph with a quick arm and varying degrees
of life on the pitch. With a slight hip turn at the top of his
delivery and a shorter, online stride down the mound Walling was able
to generate both plane and running life on his fastball when he
located to his arm side, something he did rather frequently while
pounding the strike zone. His curveball flashed depth with some bite
to it in the 73-75 mph range while showing 1-7 shape. The changeup
he showed at 78 mph was a quality offering as he maintained his arm
action, showing solid differential and late fading life down in the
zone. To round out the repertoire, the uncommitted Walling flashed an
82 mph cutter with late life in on right-handed hitters, giving him
four pitches, each of which he showed he could throw for strikes.
Kyle
Hurt (2017, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.) is currently one of the top
ranked players in the 2017 class at this event as he sits No. 10
overall for his prowess on the mound and fastball that’s been up to
92 mph. Though he may not have taken the mound last night for the San
Diego Show he did impress with the bat as he uses his 6-foot-4,
205-pound frame to drive balls to the right-center field gap each of
his first two plate appearances, showing solid extension and plenty
of carry off the barrel. Both balls made it to the wall and each time
Hurt made it to third base putting quality swings on the ball despite
being a primary pitcher.
– Jheremy Brown