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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/8/2019

Southeast Qualifier Scout Notes

Greg Gerard     
Photo: Landon Lewis (Perfect Game)

WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1: Daily Leaders




Waiting around for the late game of the evening on Friday, the East Coast Lumberjacks brought out Marist commit Brian Yetter (2020, McVeytown, Pa.) to the mound in a game one starting role. Yetter was extremely impressive, sitting at 87-90 mph with his fastball, sinking it when pitching to the lower third of the strike zone as well. The Marist commit blew the fastball by hitters on a consistent basis and filled up the strike zone at an outstanding rate. His 62 percent strike percentage was highlighted heavily on his fastball but he did flash a breaking ball as well with sharpness to it in the upper-70s when thrown with conviction. The righthander from central Pennsylvania tossed a run-rule shortened no-hitter going five innings and tallying up a remarkable 11 strikeouts.

The ball comes out easily out of Yetter’s hand not appearing to exert too much effort into his operation. The windup is fluid and the lower half gets good drive off of the rubber as he gets downhill. He lived down in the zone more often than not and creating that natural sinking life that his fastball displays. His curveball grades as a 30 on a professional grading scale, but there is no reason to believe that one could not project a 50-grade breaking ball as he continues to develop and refine his craft.

Two weeks in a row Antonio Gleaton (2020, Atlanta, Ga.) was the fastest player in attendance at the East Cobb Complex. Friday night, Gleaton laid down a bunt single batting from the left side and burned down the line for an incredible 3.76 second jailbreak home-to-first time. His in-game speed is at the top of his class. The Citadel commit can handle to barrel in the Upstate Mavericks ST lineup as well. He hit .667 for his team this weekend, spraying the ball to all fields and manipulating the barrel from the right side as well as the left side. His compact swing, barrel skills and contact-oriented approach, as well as his impact speed, make him a game-changing player for the Mavericks.

Uncommitted righthander Landon Lewis (2020, Chattanooga, Tenn.) was an impressive pitcher from the weekend’s event as he pitched eXposure Upperclass Scout Team to a 5-1 victory on Friday evening. Lewis is a big, physical pitcher with a fastball that sits in the upper-80s and developing off-speed offerings. His arm is loose and he throws with some effort, but when on time and in sync with his mechanics he is really dominant on the bump. This outing he struck out a batter and inning getting plenty of swings and misses with his fastball that showed life when located at the knees. He did find bats but by spreading his three hits over his four innings of work, Lewis was able to avoid any trouble and pitch his team to a first game victory. As he continues to refine his craft on the mound, the breaking ball as well as his straight changeup will become more refined and he will see results with added swings and misses from opposing hitters.

Top 100 player in the 2020 class, Brad Grenkoski (2020, Kennesaw, Ga.), had a huge day in Saturday’s action of play. Started by his pair of home runs to his pull side in game one of the day, Grenkoski got the bat head out in front and created extension as well as separation to put two no-doubt home runs out to left field. Each came on pitches that were left out over the heart of the plate with one being a hanging breaking ball and the other being a fastball left down the middle. Grenkoski has elite tools and the game comes so easy to the 6-foot-4, 200-pound two-way standout. The Georgia Tech commit was able to showcase multiple tools on Saturday including the obvious juice in his bat, his strong arm in the outfield and his ability to run the bases at an advanced level. He added to his monster weekend by earning the tournament MVP award notching his home run total on the weekend to three after a big fly in the championship game of the tournament as well.

For the second week in a row Ben Johnson (2020, Tucker, Ga.) showed just what scouts wanted to see as he continues to work back from an injury that set him back a few months ago. The Georgia Southern commit did not quite have the plus command that he showed last week, but the stuff this week, especially the changeup, seemed more pure and could see more potential out of it. His fastball sat at 85-88 mph and he will get to the side of it at times causing some command issues. The curveball is a bit slow in the upper-60s but did get opposing to hitters to swing through it. The changeup at 75-76 was the out pitch during this start flashing hard fading action at times for swings-and-misses. He has the ability to throw the pitch to hitters of either handedness effectively. Johnson finished his start going four innings with five punchouts, three hits and three walks.

Coming in relief for Johnson was North Carolina commit James Triantos (2022, McLean, Va.). The two-way talent from Virginia filled up the strike zone with a loose arm that produces a fastball at 85-88 mph with plenty more to come in the future. Triantos has a quick and loose arm while working downhill to the plate. The North Carolina commit out of the state of Virginia pounded the zone in this look using a fastball-curveball combination that each had plenty of movement. The fastball is lively to arm side and the breaking ball is sharp in the low- to mid-70s. Triantos is a really interesting young righthander on the mound and can swing the bat as well. His primary position is shortstop and this weekend playing for East Cobb Baseball the UNC commit played third base and hit in the fifth spot in the order. His swing is quick with easy bat speed and fast hands to the point of contact. Triantos collected his fair share of walks while also barreling the baseball for a hard-hit single in the first game for East Cobb.

Jackson Ritchey (2020, Huntingdon, Pa.) was another righthander that the East Coast Lumberjacks brought to Georgia with tremendous upside and is a real athlete on the mound. Ritchey, a 6-foot-5, 188-pound righthander, has a fastball that reaches 90 mph. His arm is extremely loose and online to the plate. The body projects and there is certainly reason to believe that there is more in the tank for the two-sport talent (basketball). The command was a bit problematic for him in this one but the overall package, as well as the ceiling in which Ritchey can reach, are intriguing nonetheless. His changeup and curveball are both developing pitches and project well with proper development and the right adjustments. Ritchey stays tall on his back-side before firing to the plate and the effort he exerts is really easy. At times, the timing of his upper and lower half are not in sync causing some inconsistencies with his release point, but when on time the fastball as well as the off-speed offerings have swing-and-miss potential.



In the state of Georgia this upcoming spring Donye Evans (2020, Decatur, Ga.) is certainly a name to follow for professional evaluators. Standing at 6-foot-6, Evans has a frame that pro scouts can dream on. His arm is loose and whips quickly through the back. The Kennesaw State commit has a fastball that topped out at 92 mph a pair of times in this game and sat in the 87-90 mph range mostly. Evans creates a steep downhill plane to the plate and stays online well. When staying in sync to the plate, Evans can locate at the knees with his fastball and blows opposing hitters away with it. His fastball will show varying life especially when located down in the zone. The future Owl and Redan High School product has a pair of off-speed pitches that each project really well along with his frame. The slider is the pitch he went to more often and projects more than his changeup, but the changeup was the more effective pitch on this day. The slider flashed above average but was a developing pitch for the most part in this one. His changeup is firm but is his pitch to get lefthanded hitters out effectively. The upside is immense for Evans and it is going to be fun to see him in Jupiter later this fall as well as this coming spring in his draft year.

Caleb Logerwell (2021, McDonough, Ga.) is a large and physical two-way prospect for the Upstate Mavericks ST. Logerwell was most impressive on the mound during the WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1. The uncommitted righthander went four innings punching out six batters thanks in large part to his 86-90 mph fastball. Not only does his fastball top out at 90 mph but his breaking ball is really what sets him apart from others. The pitch is a swing-and-miss strikeout offering and he uses it well. He is able to locate the pitch down in the strike zone, and when he lands it it misses bats consistently. Logerwell is an uncommitted 2021 graduate with impressive talent. He uses a full arm action and stays online to the plate while working downhill effectively. His arm strength is noteworthy and on this day his command was impressive as well. Logerwell is an uncommitted righthander who will certainly have big-time offers heading into his spring high school season.

Cooper Kinney (2021, Chattanooga, Tenn.) had a monster weekend a week ago getting on base seemingly every at-bat. The WWBA Southeast Qualifier #1 this weekend was very similar with his barrel ability to all parts of the field as well as flashing power to his pull side. Kinney connected on a home run during playoff action Sunday that hit the right field foul pole just above the 320-feet sign. Kinney has a confidence approach at the plate looking to hit the ball out in front with strength at impact and a high exit velocity. He gets his hips and hands going into his swing with a clean shift into contact and a fluid swing path. The South Carolina commit collected four doubles in six games in last week’s action and added to that hot fall season with three extra-base hits in four games this weekend as well.
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