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Tournaments | Story | 6/25/2018

14u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 3

Jheremy Brown

Perfect Game Tournament Staff

Vincent Cervino

Greg Gerard

Photo: Tanner Jones (Perfect Game)

14u WWBA National Championship: Event Page | Daily Leaders
Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2

Brock Porter (2022, Milford, Mich.) was handed the ball for the Motor City Hit Dogs for their first of two games on day three and though he didn’t have his sharpest command to open the contest (five total walks in 1.2 innings), he battled through and still showed highly intriguing elements to his overall game. Ultra-projectable with his 5-foot-11, 145-pound, square shouldered and high waisted frame, Porter is a primary shortstop who shows loose and balanced actions up the middle with twitch to his profile and a strong arm, something that quickly showed on the mound.

Opening up sitting in the 79-81 mph range when looking for his release point, Porter began adding to his heater at the start of the second frame as he worked more in the 81-83 mph range and bumped some 84s while showing better consistency in terms of timing and filling the zone. His arm stroke is both full and quick through the back and when given his physical projection there’s plenty of reason to believe he’s going to throw harder in the near future, though he has already been up to 86 mph earlier this spring. Porter also mixed in both a low-60s curveball with 12-to-6 shape and flashed a changeup in the mid-60s, both of which show proper spin and will continue to develop with maintained arm speed at release.

The 643 DP Cougars-Hawkins squad offers a couple of interesting lefthanded bats atop their lineup in Jae Williams (2022, Atlanta, Ga.) and Parker Lester (2021, Calhoun, Ga.), both of whom made their presence felt Sunday night.

Williams, the team’s leadoff hitter, stands at 6-foot, 160-pounds with present strength to him and shows a short, leveraged swing which he immediately put on display with a triple that cleared the center fielder’s head, also allowing his speed tool to be put on display. He continued to show a handle for the barrel with a hard ground out to second base before spoiling a couple pitches with two strikes to ultimately draw a walk.

Lester is even more physical with his 6-foot-2 frame and put a long and fluid stroke on display, as well as his strength, as he was caught out on his front side but still managed to flick a single back up the middle thanks to the strength of his hands.

You won’t miss ultra-projectable lefthander Sam Bassett-Kennedy (2021, Ann Arbor, Mich.) as he stands at a listed 6-foot-3, 140-pounds and appears even taller on the mound with a high waist and long levers. It was a one inning look at the uncommitted rising sophomore as his four walks led to a high pitch count, but the ingredients and what he was able to produce are far to intriguing not to be interested. Even though he did issue four free passes he lived around the zone with most of his misses coming low in the zone and for a player who just turned 15 and features Bassett-Kennedy’s length, he did a nice job of staying balanced with his delivery and for the most part was on time with his release.

Working to a higher three-quarters slot with a quick stroke through the back, Bassett-Kennedy was able to generate obvious plane on his fastball which lived in the 80-83 mph range. The fact that he’s lefthanded, generates the velocity easy, and shows a handle for his delivery are all noteworthy, but his ability to spin a downer curveball with late shape and 1-7 shape in the 70-72 mph range is just as impressive. From the same slot he showed comfort in landing the pitch, especially when he was ahead in the count and hitters simply couldn’t track the ball out of his hand and through the zone.

A strongly built righthander, David 'Cole' Ketchum (2022, West Point, Miss.) got the start for Dulins Dodgers-Wright on day three of the 14u WWBA and didn’t disappoint, going five innings of one run ball while striking out six in the process. Ketchum worked exclusively out of the stretch, helping to keep his delivery simple upon release and his ability to work on top of the ball from his higher three-quarters release allowed for plane on his fastball to the lower third of the zone. He worked comfortably within the 78-81 mph range, bumping 82s and held the velocity over his five inning start and flashed both a curveball in the mid-60s and a changeup in the low-70s that offered fading life to his arm side. He can still continue to incorporate additional lower half into his drive and maintain his arm speed on his secondaries but showed enough to turn in a quality start for his club.

Despite just completing his seventh grade year in school, shortstop Bryant Zayas (2023, Hialeah, Fla.) fits right into this tournament based on his talent level and got the start up the middle for Elite Squad 2022. While there’s plenty of physical projection left for Zayas as he continues to develop over the next few years, he already sports present strength on his 5-foot-10 frame along with quick-twitch athleticism to his actions. Zayas made one play in particular that not many in his grade would make as he showed range coming across the diamond to cut off a chopper and though he didn’t transfer the ball cleanly on the first attempt he continued to keep his momentum moving towards the bag and eventually made the throw across. Offensively Zayas picked up a single on the day but shows rhythm to his righthanded stroke and more importantly is the looseness to the overall swing and quickness to his hands, as well as his ability to get the barrel to the ball consistently.

Listed as a switch-hitting, primary second baseman, Kader Rabagh (2021, Miami, Fla.) showed well on the bump Sunday afternoon for Elite Squad 2022 and though he made not be overly physical at his listed 5-foot-5, 115-pounds, Rabagh shows plenty of quickness to his right arm and athleticism on the bump. Over his three innings of work Rabagh managed to punch out five while running his fastball up to 82 mph with some angle he was able to create from working across his body some. He attacked hitters with his fastball and filled the zone, though he wasn’t afraid to vary his tempo at release and showed comfort in landing his his 11-5 shaped curveball in the upper-60s for strikes.

Derek Bermudez (2022, Miramar, Fla.) had a nice day at the plate for Elite Squad, going 2-for-3 on the day, helping to raise his average up to .600 on the tournament. After connecting for a hard line drive single early in the game into the right-center field gap, Bermudez again jumped on a fastball and this time turned on the ball for a triple to the pull side gap, showing both bat speed through the zone and strength off the barrel.

One of the stronger players to take the field last night, eXposure Prime third baseman Andrew Burns (2022, Albertville, Ala.) made a name for himself earlier this year at the Main Event Showcase in Decemeber and hasn’t stopped hitting since then. Strongly built at 6-foot-1, 190-pounds, Burns doesn’t swing the bat like somebody who has yet to enter high school and when it’s squared, the ball doesn’t react off his bat like somebody his age either. Hitting out of the three-hole Burns shows good balance and timing to his swing and plenty of bat speed through the zone, creating extension out front. And when he connects the ball is going to travel just as he showed in his final at-bat Sunday night with a line drive shot that hit off the middle of the fence in left field, registering 88 mph off the barrel. Defensively, he moves well at the hot corner and shows enough arm strength on his throws across the diamond, completing the profile of a hard hitting third baseman.

Mason Balsis (2022, Bristow, Va.) may not have picked up a hit in my most recent look but the young backstop out of Virginia has continued to make refinements to his overall swing and found the barrel a few times Sunday afternoon. Listed at 6-foot, 175-pounds, Balsis is able to generate some whip to the barrel through the zone and shows strength to his hands as he showed on an F8, a fastball he was out front on and reaching some but still managed to generate carry off the barrel for a deeper fly out into left-center field. His arm strength behind the plate is another solid tool and one he put on display to help get his team out of a bases loaded, one out jam. On a soft chopper to third base, the third baseman came home for the force out which Balsis receives and quickly got out of his glove before tunneling a strike down to first base showing big arm strength and accuracy to complete the double play.

– Jheremy Brown

Kaden Saunders (2022, Columbus, Ohio) is as quick-twitch of an athlete as one will find at the 14u level. Saunders has elite speed that shows up in game and causes a serious disruption on the base paths. Saunders busted down the line on a chopper down the third base line to beat out an infield single, one of his three base hits on the day. His home to first base time was quite remarkable and truly unbelievable given his age. The rising freshman from Ohio sprinted a 4.01-second time to first base on a straight sprint out of the righthanded batter’s box. The speed that Saunders has shows up on the bases as well. After beating out the infield hit, he immediately stole second base and also third base putting himself 90 feet from a run in which he scored on a wild pitch a couple of pitches later.

Saunders’s speed is not the only tool the young athlete has. He is as mentioned super athletic manning the outfield in center with ease covering plenty of ground and gliding to fly balls with ease. Not to mention, he collected three hits on the day and is batting a .500 for the tournament thus far through three games. Saunders has a patient approach waiting for his pitch and battling while deep in counts. His swing is quick looking to hit the ball on the ground or on a line to the middle of the field. Saunders plays with such a high motor and energy making him an exciting player to watch.

Recently up to 86 mph with his fastball on the mound Nathan Fink (2022, Charlottesville, Va.) took his talents and overall skill-set to the plate on Sunday morning at Hiram High School. Fink, batting in the five hole had a big day at the plate showing good barrel skills and the ability to hit the ball hard for line drives. One line drive he squared up to his pull side in particular left the field in a hurry for a home run. The ball came off of his bat really quickly showing his strength through contact and his barrel ability. Fink is a very projectable 6-foot-2, 170-pound athlete who began the game in right field. Fink certainly looks the part as a high level player and he follow it up with his tools on the diamond as well.

Matthew Matthijs (2022, Greenville, N.C.) came in from the bullpen for the Canes and earned the win in a dominating outing. Matthijs also displayed plenty of early projections in his delivery and velocity in which he produces. The righthander topped out at 82 mph while sitting in the 78-82 mph range for the duration of his four innings. He generates some plane especially when down in the zone from his 6-foot-1, 158-pound frame that is lean and fillable with added strength. Throwing a heavy diet of fastballs Matthijs did not have to go to his breaking ball often, but he did flash it on a couple of occasions around the 71 mph mark. He pitches from a quick and full arm stroke while getting good use of his lower half as well. His upper half does lean towards the first base side as he drives downhill but he does stay online to the plate throughout.

Tanner Jones (2022, Thorsby, Ala.) had some unfortunate events happen in his relief appearance on the mound, but nonetheless showed serious velocity sitting 82-87 mph with his fastball. Jones has a rather clean delivery as well with pure arm strength from his full arm stroke. He filled up the strike zone in this viewing working both sides of the plate well and getting swings-and-misses with his tight curveball. Jones looks the part on the mound at a physically advanced 5-foot-11, 194-pounds with well-proportioned strength to his build. The arm works nicely through the back and projects for more moving forward. Jones has big-time potential as a pitcher although listed as a primary catcher.

From one Jones to the other although not related, Jared Jones (2022, Marietta, Ga.) has some real juice in his bat with pure strength through contact. The ball jumps off of his bat and it is noticeable at impact that the exit velocities are high. On Sunday evening in particular after a lightning delayed the start of the contest, Jones jumped all over a fastball down the middle and struck it deep to the right-center field gap that hopped over the wall for a ground-rule double. Still an early look into the summer circuit and a very early glimpse for the 2022 class, but Jones has already shown that the mature-framed primary catcher can make a big impact on the baseball when squared up. He also showed his athleticism later in the game by making a leaping grab at first base and sprinting down the line for a 4.37-second home-to-first base time to beat out an infield single. Jones had an excellent day at the plate showing off his gap power, athleticism and foot speed.

Lleyton Lackey (2022, Grovetown, Ga.) can swing the bat from both sides of the plate and he did so all day on Sunday. In the night cap Lackey led off the game with a triple down the left field line while hitting righthanded. The quick-twitch athlete and center fielder for the East Cobb Astros plays the game with full effort and makes the game look easy. The way he runs the bases and swings the bat makes Lackey a joy to watch play the game. Although not overly physical listed at 5-foot-9 145-pounds and likely shorter than the program says, Lackey has the raw bat speed and pure athleticism teams look for at the top of the lineup.

The Dallas Tigers-Polk continued their winning ways through the 14u WWBA National Championship while a trio of their players showcased next level tools specifically on defense, but also by swinging the bat. The first being shortstop Jayson Jones (2022, Savannah, Texas). Jones first caught made an impression early in the game on a blooper between the positioning of himself, left field and center field. Jones displayed outstanding range to catch the ball over his shoulder for a sprawled out catch showing the pure athleticism in his projectable 6-foot-1, 170-pound frame. Jones later put many swings on balls like the ones seen above showing his true all around skill set as a high level baseball player. The swing is very simple and quick although the stance is a bit unique. He starts with very high hands and an exaggerated open stance. As the pitch is coming, he gets his hands into a clean position to hit and times up the baseball well with a toe tap trigger. His hands are the standout aspect of his stroke as they are very fast generating plenty of bat speed to the point of contact.

The second Dallas Tiger of a noteworthy performance was Joshua Hoover (2022, Heath, Texas). Listed as a primary pitcher, Hover showed his skill-set at the hot corner on Sunday making a barehanded slow roller play with ease and lots of fluidity. The play was not an ordinary play a rising freshman in high school would make and it really caught the attention of many especially with how smooth he made the play look. Hoover also has a strong swing that is going to produce legitimate pop when on time.

The third Tiger, Caleb Bergman (2022, Parker, Texas), covered a remarkable amount of ground in center field on a play to left-center field. The ball hung up in the air long enough for the center fielder Bergman to show big-time range. Bergman has a small frame with lots of growing still to do, but already has the ability to man the outfield extremely well.

– Gregory Gerard

Starting a pivotal game against their top current team in the pool was righthander Gavin Woodland (2022, Valier, Ill.) as the Kentucky Prospects looked to remain undefeated against a talented US Elite team. Woodland lasted only one inning on the mound, but still was able to show off three pitches, a quick arm, and lots of projection and feel for the mound. Woodland utilizes mostly his upper half through release, reliying on his arm speed and strength to gain velocity, which he did well as his fastball tppped out at 85 mph for the performance. The front lever toward the plate is high with good direction and he hides the ball effectively to help the stuff play up. The righthander did a good job pounding the strike zone, but might have thrown a bit too many strikes as the US Elite team is a dangerous offense and came out swinging. Woodland’s breaking ball showed potential with tight shape and he got a couple chases on the pitch; he also flashed a changeup that he could throw for strikes.

One of the early commitments for this class was that of Blaise Grove (2022, Summit Point, W.Va.) and his commitment to South Carolina and the big lefthander made his summer debut in the final inning of the Canes National team’s victory on Sunday. The southpaw stands at 6-foot-5, 225-pounds with lots of broadness and room on that frame to be a physical monster once he reaches maturity. The present velocity is already very impressive as Grove topped out at 91 mph while working mostly in the 85-89 mph range in his short one inning stint. The arm stroke is smooth through the back with requisite looseness and he lands with a crossfired front leg and works across his body. The arm strength alone is very impressive and allows him to reach high levels of velocity as Grove struck out three batters and is certainly a high ceiling talent for this age group.

Showing some solid actions in the infield as well as a smooth lefthanded swing was Kentucky Prospects’ middle infielder Ian Blazier (2022, Nashville, Ill.). The lefthanded hitting infielder has a short, controlled swing that allows him to put the barrel on the ball effectively and work well to the pull side of the field with intent. Blazier did a good job at turning the barrel over inner half fastballs in his first two at-bats, lining two hard hit singles to the pull side during the process. There’s looseness to his hands and allow him to whip the barrel some when getting fully extended. Blazier also showed some smoothness up the middle and worked his fastball up to 79 mph in a relief stint to show off the arm strength.

Turning in a quality start that ultimately ended in a victory for the Dirtbags Camo was righthanded pitcher Tucker Toman (2022, Columbia, S.C.) who showed a short, quick arm stroke and bumped his fastball up to 85 mph during the victory. Toman pounded the strike zone for the majority of the outing and struck out five batters in a little over three innings on the hill. Toman came out in the first inning and sat 80-84 mph with the fastball and worked it effectively to both sides. The back elbow creeps somewhat through the arm path but it is very repeatable and allows him to command his fastball effectively. Toman did attack hitters with the fastball, and eventually settled into more of a 78-82 mph range, though he flashed a breaking ball in the upper-60s. Toman rotates over his front leg to a degree, but his athleticism and ability to repeat the delivery make him an intriguing strike thrower with some quality stuff as well.

Leadoff man for the upstart Canes VA-Roop, Nathaniel Sherman (2021, Fredericksburg, Va.) has had a strong start for the undefeated squad, and has some intriguing, leadoff-type tools near the top of the order. Sherman is not a very physical presence, only 5-foot-5 and 140-pounds, but there is some twitch and athleticism to the profile with present speed and, specifically, instincts that allow him to beat out hits or to steal bases. The twitch was on display earlier in the tournament with a fully-extended, diving grab up the middle from second base where he robbed a line drive single. At the plate, Sherman has a very simple swing with a short and direct hand path to contact. He mostly works with an all fields, line drive and low-variance, contact approach, however in his first at-bat on Sunday he torched the left fielder with a hard hit double over the head of the defender. Sherman’s high-contact approach, athleticism, and barrel control all make for a very intriguing prospect at this age.

Slammers Holzemer has a pretty impressive and thorough team effort in their victory over Team Elite and starting shortstop Dylan Carey (2022, Parker, Colo.) and catcher Blake Young (2022, Highlands Ranch, Colo.) both showed off some intriguing tools.

Carey is a picture of what evaluators are looking for at this age with a 6-foot, 165-pound frame featuring broad shoulders and some twitch athleticism in this movements. Carey is certainly athletic but will continue to develop that athleticism as he gains more body control and feel for the position. He might have made the defensive play of the tournament thus far making a ranging play that saw him field a grounder up past second base, spin, and fire a strike to nail the runner. The hands work really well through the exchange and transfer and the tools are there to be an impact defender. The swing has a full path to contact with requisite quickness that keeps the barrel head in the zone for a long time. The length allows him to work to all fields with authority, and though there is some funkiness in the hand load, he’s fairly on time and posted a 4.6 second time to first base on a ground ball.

Young threw out a couple of runners during the game and has impressive tools behind the plate. He sticks it well receiving wise for the most part, with quickness to both his transfer and release. The arm strength and accuracy are also both impressive and he posted a best pop time of 2.19 seconds during the game on one of his caught stealings. Young was a big part of the shutout effort with very good blocking, receiving, and catch-and-throw skills. Offensively, Young has a simple swing that start with his quick hands and a very easy trigger to start the swing. He will get tied up over the inside at times, but is at his best when he get extended and pull the ball with strength off the barrel.

One of the youngest players in the event is right fielder TayShaun Walton (2023, Emporia, Va.) of the NBA Nationals. Walton is young for the grade, play an important defensive position, and bat in the middle of the lineup for the Nationals and had himself a very strong evening where he went 4-for-4. Walton has advanced size for a young prospect, with an uber-projectable 6-foot, 183-pound frame. The swing shows quickness to his hands, fluidity to the swing path, and the ability to generate some barrel whip to impact the ball well. His hardest hit ball of the night was his first inning, 90 mph triple to dead centerfield that traveled well over 300 feet and brought home two runs. Walton shows a lot of intriguing offensive tools and has the potential to be a very high ceiling prospect as he continues to develop and grow into his frame with already impressive present tools.

Closing out the final game of the night with some electricity was young righthander Pablo Santos (2022, Jersey City, N.J.) who needed only eleven pitches to strike out the side. Santos plays on the 13u Tri-State Arsenal team and is young for the 2022 class overall. The lanky build, present arm speed, and present velocity all play at the level now as he impressively ran his fastball up to 84 mph and sat in the 81-84 mph range for his outing. The pitch worked to both sides with intent and featured late life. Santos’ high lead arm and whippy arm stroke creates some extraneous movement which allowed the stuff to play up and cause some deception. Santos flashed a curveball that he got around at 70 mph, but is still an overall high ceiling prospect and was wildly impressive in a brief stint.

– Vincent Cervino

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