Jeff
Dahn Day 4 features: Father's Day with the Camerons/Shumperts
| Kyle Dean
FORT
MYERS, Fla. – JetBlue
Park has become a place of familiarity for outfielder Daniel Reyes.
Reyes
was at JetBlue Park less than a month ago when his high school
baseball team, Mater Academy Charter, played for the Florida state
championship. In that game, he drove in his team’s, and the game’s,
only run as Mater Academy Charter won the state championship. But
instead of taking credit for the win, Reyes was humble when he
credited the win to teammate, and starting pitcher, Kevin Fuentes.
“Everything
goes out to Kevin Fuentes, he pitched his butt off. But it was a
great experience to dog pile here,” Reyes said.
Now
Reyes returns to JetBlue Park as a participant in the 2014 Perfect
Game National Showcase. Having the showcase in the same ballpark he
was in just less than a month ago has familiarized him with its
dimensions.
“Definitely
knowing the ballpark,” Reyes said when asked if playing at JetBlue
before has helped him. “Having the feel of playing in such a nice
and beautiful stadium, that definitely helps and goes a long way.
Other than that, it’s a great experience,”
That
familiarity of the ballpark helped Reyes when he took batting
practice on the second day of the National Showcase. Reyes
electrified the crowd with three consecutive monster home runs over
the Green Monster in left field.
“I
hit three over the Monster,” Reyes said about his batting practice
display. “I was just feeling good. The coach was throwing them
right there and they were just going and it felt great. Hearing the
crowd and everybody, it was fun putting on a little show.
“Having
the crowd and the oohs and ahhs, it gets exciting and you’re seeing
the balls go. They [the crowd] have a big part in how things go.”
Something
that helps Reyes concentrate before stepping into the batter’s box
is a ritual he does before every pitch.
“Every
time I step out of the box, I hold my bat out in front of me and I
say a few words that I say every time I go out on the field,” Reyes
added. “I give my prayers to the Lord and I thank my grandfather
for being where I am today. I do that every time I step out of the
batter’s box and coming in.
“It
relaxes me, I feel confident. I know if they’re with me and I give
my best, everything is going to get taken care of.”
Along
with a solid batting practice, Reyes put up good numbers in outfield
drills and the 60, putting himself in the top group of players in
attendance. He ran a 6.72 second 60-yard dash and threw 88 mph from
right field to home plate, something that surprised himself.
“I
feel great, I really wasn’t expecting that,” Reyes said. “I’ve
been really working on my arms, doing my bands, doing my things and
just trying to keep the ball down. It came out and I’m really happy
about that.”
Another
thing Reyes is excited about is playing for the University of Florida
next fall.
“I’m
very blessed and excited to go to Florida come next fall,” Reyes
said. “It’s an amazing university and I’m blessed to say that
I’m going to be a Gator one day.
“The
first day I visited, the facilities, the coaches, you know everything
was just beautiful. There’s a great atmosphere, it’s where I want
to go.”
What
has helped Reyes prepare himself for playing at the next level has
been playing with the South Florida Elite Squad, one of the top prep
travel teams in the country. Including Reyes, 10 South Florida Elite
Squad players have committed to colleges. Those colleges include
Miami, Vanderbilt, Duke, Louisiana State, Florida Atlantic and
Stetson, respectively.
Reyes
appreciates being surrounded by talented teammates who push him to
play his best and are good to be around off the field as well.
“It’s
a blessing playing for the South Florida Elite Squad, having guys
like Elih Marrero, Julian Infante, Romy Gonzalez, Dom DiCaprio. We
are loaded and it’s fun playing with top guys everyday and going
out and performing,” he said.
With
the National Showcase wrapping up tomorrow afternoon, Reyes hopes he
can put together some good at-bats and have another batting practice
type scenario during a game.
“I
definitely want to put together some good at-bats, not necessarily
get a hit or anything, but put together some good at-bats and maybe
square up a ball here and there. And definitely show these guys I can
play in the All-American game in the future.”
– Chris
Real
Live
Streaming
For
the third straight year the Perfect Game National Showcase is
available for everyone to watch online. The live stream to all of the
workouts, batting practice sessions, and games, and the archives for
each if you can't watch them in real time, can be found on iHigh's
dedicated Perfect Game page:
www.ihigh.com/perfectgame
Day
4 workouts
After
lightning delays and the threat of rain pushed back the third round
of batting practice until Sunday morning, the Vegas White and White
teams finally got a chance to take the field. With BP getting pushed
back, PG officials decided to run the drills as they normally do,
running the 60-yard dash first followed by the infield and outfield
drills before getting a chance to see the players hit.
In
the drills portion of the Day 4 workouts catcher Dametri Evans showed
off a very strong arm, popping 1.83 while recording 83 mph velocity
from behind the dish. Evans also looked strong in BP, consistently
hitting balls on a line to center field.
Vegas
Gold lefthanded hitter Ethan Paul showed one of the better swings in
the batter's box, showing nice balance and weight transfer in his
swing and a sweet line drive oriented approach. He quickly showed
that his talents played well in games as well, hitting a standup
triple in the first game of the day shortly after batting practice
had concluded.
Cameron
Montgomery showed the most impressive power in batting practice,
driving the ball with authority to left-center field.
View
all of the results from all three portions of the PG National
workouts in the event's scout blogs:
2014 PG National Showcase scout blog
National
Impressions
Five
more games were played on Day 4, Games 12-16 (of 18) overall of the
event.
•
Two hits stood out in
the first game of the day, the first being a hard hit single through
the hole on the left side of the infield by Jeremy Eierman. That may
not sound very exciting, but Eierman was hustling from the moment he
left the batter's box, rounded first and dove into second base for an
opportunistic double.
Kyle
Dean's double in the sixth was more of the conventional nature, a
drive deep to the gap in left-center.
•
DeMarcus Evans stood
out on the mound in Game 12, in both stature (6-foot-4, 245-pounds)
and stuff (88-92 fastball). He used his size to throw on a downhill
plane, getting great extension on his pitches. He threw mostly
fastballs in his two inning outing, mixing in a handful of mid-70s
breaking balls.
•
Game 13 featured some
very big arms, the biggest of which threw innings 7-8 for the Royal
squad. Luken Baker, with a huge, broad-shouldered 6-foot-4, 240-pound
build that looked even bigger, threw on a pronounced downhill plane
making his sinking 93-94 fastball look that much harder. He peaked at
95 and showed the ability to mix in a slider and a changeup to keep
hitters honest, both of which were thrown in the 81-83 range.
•
Austin Riley, one of
the most talented two-way players in the class, started the game for
the Royal squad and looked much like he did two months earlier at the
PG High School Showdown. He threw his fastball downhill at 90-91
while mixing in a hard overhand curveball at 75-77 mph.
Riley
did get some help from his teammates, as third baseman George Hewitt
robbed an extra-base hit in the first inning with a leaping stab,
while right fielder Ryan Shinn snared a would-be base knock with a
hard charging dive to open the second.
•
Nick Neidert started
opposite Riley, showing his long and lean, 6-foot-1, 185-pound
projectable frame and loose, live arm. He held his velocity
consistently on his 90-92 mph fastball and his sharp 76-77 mph
curveball.
•
Anthony Molina,
currently ranked No. 1 in the class of 2016, was the second pitcher
to take the mound for the Texas Orange team, and despite getting
knocked around in his first inning of work, quickly showed why he is
ranked as high as he is. Built tall and incredibly lean, he's just
starting to scratch the surface on his potential, and the current
product is already plenty good with a 91-93 fastball and sharp 73-74
mph curveball.
•
The Royal team hit four
consecutive base hits off of Molina, the loudest of which came off
the bat of Austin Riley, who clubbed a double hard off of the highest
point of the Green Monster.
•
Nick Shumpert not only
is one of the fastest players in this class, but he also has some of
the most usable speed, routinely flying down the first base line.
•
Speaking of flying, Daz
Cameron is an incredibly fun player to watch, but I think most everyone
already knows that by now. He plays the game with such electricity it
looks so graceful and easy for him. His bat speed matches his foot
speed, with an incredible first step out of the box. He caught up
with a quality fastball in Game 14 and laced it to right field for a
single, hustling out of the box and rounding the first base bag hard
before deciding to advance to second when the fielders hesitated to
make a throw.
•
Cameron patrolled the
outfield for the Red team, a team that at one point in time fielded
an infield of Isiah Gilliam at first, Cadyn Grenier at second, Alonzo
Jones at short and John Aiello at third. That's a potential all-star
infield at nearly any level, and elicited questions wondering what
the over/under was on how many of that group plays in the big
leagues.
•
Parker McFadden wasn't
overly imposing at 6-foot, 175-pounds, but he displayed a live arm,
working in the 90-92 range peaking at 93. He also threw a 85 mph
changeup and a low-80s slider.
•
One of the biggest
higlights of the day occurred at the end of Game 15, the fourth game
of the day, when a tall, incredibly lanky righthander named Tristan
McKenzie took the mound. With very long limbs and a smooth, balanced
delivery, McKenzie opened eyes by commanding a 90-92 fastball, a
low-80s change and a sharp 75-77 mph curveball. He's listed at
6-foot-5, 160-pounds. One scout noted he peaked at 89 mph just last
week, as it's easy to envision him enjoying rapid velocity gains
given his extreme projectability.
•
Two-way talent Dallas
Woolfolk took the ball to start Game 16, the third and final game of
the day, for the Red team. At 6-foot-3, 225-pounds, Woolfolk has
excellent size, and is one of the more notable two-way players in
attendance, joining DeSoto Central (Miss.) teammates Austin Riley and
Keegan James. Woolfolk showed well in batting practice on Friday
night, and also looked sharp on the mound. He threw his fastball
easily and consistently in the 89-91 mph range, touching 92, while
also throwing a 77 mph curveball.
•
Brandt Stallings
continues to look extremely good at the plate during this year's
National. After smoking a triple off of a Joe DeMers 94 mph fastball
last night, he drilled another triple in the last game of Day 4,
rounding the bases quickly to cruise into third standing up.
•
Elih Marrero, who
showed extremely well in drills by popping 1.82 and throwing 80 mph
from behind the plate, as well as running a 6.90 60-yard dash, got to
show off his speed and overall savvy late in Game 16 after singling
up the middle. On the very next pitch he stole second base, and he
proceeded to steal third base on the pitch after that, coming home to
score on a mishandled throw.
•
Alonzo Jones almost got
to display his world-class speed after running a 6.17 second 60-yard
dash earlier in the showcase. Jones bloopd a base hit down the right
field line and bursted out of the batter's box, quickly rounding
first base with his eyes set on third before the ball bounced into
the stands for a ground rule double.
• Similar
to how Day 3 ended, another California armed wowed late on Day 4 when
lefthander Patrick Sandoval took the mound. A well proportioned,
athletic pitcher, Sandoval displayed excellent arm speed in producing
lively 89-91 heat from an easy delivery. The ball exploded out of his
hand, with his best pitch being a low-80s hard slurve that he
commanded extremely well.
• The
final pitcher to take the mound in the final game of the second to
last day of the National was Tekwaan Whyte. A two-way talent with
promising all-around athletic tools, Whyte easily pumped 90-92 mph
fastballs to go along with a breaking ball that hovered right around
80 mph with a live, loose arm.
Read
more about all of the game action from Day 4 in the aforementioned PG
scout blogs as linked above.