World Underclass Day 2 Notes

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