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Tournaments | Story | 3/6/2020

HS Showdown: Day 1 Scout Notes

Vincent Cervino

Greg Gerard

Jered Goodwin

Photo: Dylan Ray (Perfect Game)

Starting the first game of the tournament for North Broward Prep was Dustin Snyder (2020, Coconut Creek, Fla.). The right-handed pitcher, committed to the University of South Florida, was dialed in for much of his tough-luck outing. He sat in the mid-80s for his six innings of work, moving his fastball around well and getting sink when he worked his two-seam down in the zone. There is projection left in his slender frame and his short arm stroke on the back side makes it a very clean arm action that is well-timed in his delivery. He mixed three pitches with a straighter changeup that he threw mostly to lefties, more of a front-to-back pitch instead of movement at this point. His go-to off-speed was a mid-70s curveball that has potential for a swing and miss slider as he learns to throw the pitch with intent. In all, he threw six innings while striking out 4 batters.

Bob Jones runs out one of the most impressive lineups in the entire country and it all starts with leadoff hitter Caden Rose (2020, Madison, Ala.). The middle infielder is tightly wound and lots of fast twitch fibers. He plays the game extremely hard, seemingly all over the field, and he gets up to speed in an instant. During his doubleheader on Thursday, he went 4-for-5 with three doubles and added three walks. He brings a lot of energy on both sides of the ball. His swing is short and compact, with lots of hands speed. He has a very accurate barrel and showed excellent pitch recognition. The Alabama commit has the type of skill set that will translate from day one at the next level.

The super projectable righthanded pitcher, Austin Cornelius (2021, Hoover, Ala.), had a standout day on the mound for Hoover High School. The uncommitted prospect threw a complete game shutout and struck out 10 batters. He was in complete control from start to finish. He is tall with long arms and a whippy arm that stays behind his body a long time to add projection. He lived in the mid-80s on a cold day and it’s easy to dream on a big jump in the coming months. His curveball had 11/5 shape and was a consistent pitch for the young hurler. This is an arm that needs to be followed closely in the coming months.

Opposing Cornelius was Wesley Hancock (2020, Zebulon, Ga.) of Pike County High School. The southpaw was equally impressive as he lived in the upper-80s with tough arm-side run. He worked his fastball mostly to the arm side but did show some ability to bust righties in late. The competitive Hancock landed his curveball more in this outing than we have seen in the past, with big break to the pitch around 70-mph. He had some easy innings against a very well-rounded lineup as he threw six innings and struck out eight batters. His arm is loose and there is some upside form a velocity standpoint as he continues to firm his body up. He added a couple knocks offensively as well to round out an impressive day.

The No. 1 ranked player in the 2022 class, Brady House (2021, Winder, Ga.), was simply outstanding on Thursday during his doubleheader. He notched five hits on the day, including a 4-for-4 performance in the nightcap. Of his seven at-bats, even the outs found the barrel. His body looks tremendous as he moved at shortstop with good lateral movement and showed off his well above-average arm strength. His barrel speed is vast offensively and he is confident getting off his best swing every time he unleashes the bat. He added consistent plus run times to round out a great day when the box score matches the prospect status.

A player that has been on Perfect Game’s radar for a long time, Blaze Jordan (2020, Southaven, Miss.) was maybe the most impressive hitter on Thursday. He notched six hits in his doubleheader, with a constant surrounding of cameras set on his every swing. He drove balls deep to all fields in the first game as he hit a double and triple respectively. In a fog-filled night game, he stayed to the middle of the field and still found the ball jumping off the bat hard. The Mississippi State commit has a long track record of hitting and his powerful swing will play very well at the next level. His pitch recognition and bat to ball skills are at the top of the spectrum and he just looks at home in the batter's box.

-Jered Goodwin

Day one of the PG HS Showdown is traditionally the big pitching day of the event, as some of the best teams nationwide are throwing out the best arms on their respective staffs. Thursday was no question as the Hoover Met Complex was home to seeing some outstanding pitching performances from a number of well-regarded prospects.

Logan Austin (2020, Salem, Ala.) got the ball in game one for Russell County and immediately showed off his live right arm and potential for success at the next level. An Auburn signee, Austin allowed just one hit in a little over six innings and showed off his full repertoire during his time on the mound.

Austin is an extremely physical prospect, standing at a listed 6-foot-4, 210 pounds he’s an uber-physical prospect with the size and durability to hold his stuff late into outings. There’s effort to the operation and he battled through some command issues, one hit allowed but five walks on the day, but the stuff is pretty good. He gets downhill to create sinking life to the bottom of the zone in the 88-91 mph range and the life in the bottom of the zone is notable. The changeup was the superior secondary pitch on the afternoon as it showed good action in the upper-70s and he can land the pitch nicely within the strike zone. Austin showed both a curveball and slider as well with the slider grading out a tick higher in terms of viability. There’s some upside on the mound with Austin and the stuff is certainly going to play at the next level.

One of the more intriguing senior prospects on the day was Hoover two-hole hitter Colson Lawrence (2020, Hoover, Ala.) who shows some intriguing tools that will play at the next level. Lawrence, a Wallace CC-Hanceville commit, is a very athletic and physical 6-foot-4, 215 pounds with the athleticism, twitch, and strength to attract evaluators. The peripheral tools are all very good with a solid throwing arm and pretty good speed, especially once he’s underway, as he added a couple of stolen bags on the day. The swing is a bit raw but there’s clear tools with very fast hands and some impressive raw bat speed. He barreled a couple of balls up on the day and showed two-way potential later that night, working up to 88 mph on the mound, and there’s some upside to the overall profile.

Turning in one of the more efficient performances of the day was another Auburn signee in Carson Swilling (2020, Smiths Station, Ala.) of Smiths Station high school. Swilling tossed a complete game shutout on only 66 pitches and showed some intriguing tools on the mound that makes him a follow for June’s draft as well as being a highly talented Division I talent.

He’s a well-built prospect with a compact frame, strong lower half, and some good physicality already present to the build. The arm stroke is quick and efficient, and his higher arm slot gives him some tough angle to square up on a consistent basis. The fastball worked mostly in the 90-92 mph range, dipping a bit below as the outing wore on, and he did a good job at commanding the fastball to both sides of the plate on a fairly consistent basis. There’s some rigidity to the arm stroke at release through acceleration though that doesn’t hinder his ability to replicate and repeat his delivery. The breaking ball showed good potential with two-plane shape and action while he also turned over a pretty good changeup for a strikeout on a lefthanded hitter. There’s a good blend and mix of pitches present while a clear ability to pitch as well and his performance was both dominant and quick.

The performance of the day from a statistical standpoint came from IMG’s Heston Tole (2020, Wichita Falls, Tex.) who was masterful during the 6PM slot as he twirled a no-hitter. The Arkansas signee went the full seven innings for the no-hitter in under 100 pitches while running his fastball up to 90 mph and consistently attacking the strike zone. Tole lived mostly in the upper-80s with the fastball but has a great feel for pitching and a mature mentality as he mixes speeds and really sets hitters up nicely. The slider was a quality out pitch for Tole with late biting action while he also turned over some good changeups. The life and ability to be deceptive on the hill also aid in the fastball quality as almost nothing was very well squared up on the evening. It was a dominant effort for Tole who is one of the more accomplished pitchers at PG events in the class.

Showcasing his loud right arm in the night slot was Louisiana State signee Ty Floyd (2020, Rockmart, Ga.) who ended his performance with four no-hit innings on the day. The only baserunner he allowed was a walk to the first hitter of the game and after that Floyd was nails as he showed out very well by blowing fastballs by hitters on the night.

Floyd is a supreme athlete, he started Rockmart’s second game of the day after playing shortstop and hitting three-hole for seven innings earlier, and his athleticism and raw tools on the mound posit significant upside. The arm stroke is a little bit tucked in the back at times but he shows plus arm speed and significant whip to the stroke. The arm speed coupled with explosive life on the fastball make for a lot of swings and misses, he was up to 95 mph a few times in the first inning and settled in around 90-94 mph, and the fastball quality as well as it’s future potential are very very good. The breaking ball was inconsistent, but the best ones came the firmest when they were up to 79 mph and he showed one or two changeups as well. The offspeed pitches were inconsistent but the arm talent and athleticism is real and significant from a draft status.

On a day full of strong performances, Alabama signee Dylan Ray (2020, New Market, Ala.) turned in one of his own with a five-inning complete game with only one hit allowed on the outing. Ray showed some of the best fastball velocity of the day and showed significant improvements from the last time we saw him to cement his status as a bona fide draft prospect.

The righty stands at a very mature 6-foot-3, 215 pounds with lots of strength present particularly throughout the lower half. The arm works from a very high slot and generates above average life on the fastball. The pitch plays very well to either the lower or upper part of the strike zone as the life plays and when he locates up in the zone it is able to set up his breaking ball very nicely. The pitch worked 92-94 mph early and he settled in 90-94 mph for the most part with the last pitch of the day coming at 91 mph. The curveball is a 12/6 shaped pitch with hammer like depth and very good spin. Given the progression of the pitch over the last year it could absolutely develop into a plus offering at maturity. Ray was fantastic as he allowed just one-hit and struck out six and established himself firmly on teams’ radars heading into the rest of the spring.

The Bob Jones lineup came to play on day one of the showdown and the last hit might have been the loudest as Slate Alford (2021, Madison, Ala.) launched a missile of a two-run home run late in the second game. Alford, an Auburn commit, has very impressive physicality and raw bat speed. He bats high in the lineup in the two-hole and took advantage of pitches he got to hit, especially when he worked the count. The power is Alford’s calling card and he took a high breaking ball and roped it deep and over the left field fence. The whole Bob Jones lineup is potent with Division I and Draft talent all throughout and Alford offers significant pop in the middle of that lineup.

The final stellar outing of the night came from DeSoto Central’s Cade Smith (2020, Southaven, Miss.) who had the strikeout pitch working with eleven punchouts over seven innings of one-run baseball. The Mississippi State signee allowed one run in the first and settled in from then, really mixing speeds and going to his breaking ball often for the strikeout.

Smith has a very simple and athletic delivery keeping it compact throughout with a clean arm stroke and plenty of arm speed to boot. Smith worked 88-92 mph with the fastball, spotting the pitch up well to both sides of the plate with intent. He used his fastball nicely to set up the breaking ball that was consistently above average to plus on the night with very good efficiency of spin and good two-plane snap to the offering. He misses bats nicely with the pitch and racked up strikeouts during his time on the mound. The whole profile bodes very well for Smith as he’s sure to be scouted heavily heading into the draft in June.
-Vinnie Cervino

Victor Mederos (2020, Miami, Fla.) had a large crowd in to see him at Mountain Brook High School as he took the mound for Westminster Christian. He showed a fastball that was down according to recent reports in terms of velocity up to 93 a pair of times but mostly sat 89-92 mph. His command got away from him a bit early in counts making him have to get into hitters counts while finding barrels often when doing so. He mixed in a curveball that showed solid average up to 81 mph but had the tightest spin and best biting action when thrown more in the 74-76 mph range. The changeup was the pitch he had the best feel for in this look as he offered it up to left-handed hitters most often. Mederos is a big-bodied righthander with a fastball that works on a downhill plane to the plate. Mederos may have had a forgetful outing in this look, but is still a name to follow in South Florida for this year’s MLB Draft.

With Mederos on the mound, it was a pair of uncommitted 2020 graduates who stole the show in Mountain Brook High School’s Alex Gauld (2020, Birmingham, Ala.) at shortstop and Will Yarbro (2020, Birmingham, Ala.) in left field.

Gauld stood out all over the field opening up the game with a hard groundball single to the pull side off of a 91-mph fastball and then followed that up with another barrel to the opposite field gap on a line. He made multiple plays in the infield at short ranging to both directions and showing off a strong arm moving to his right deep in the 5-6 hole. Gauld, as mentioned, is uncommitted and has the tools to play at the next level. His speed getting down the line also stood out while manning the top of the order for the Spartans.

Yarbro was the man of the hour for the Spartans driving in 4 RBI on a triple deep into the pull side gap off of a 92-mph fastball and later hitting an 81 mph changeup over the right field fence for a three-run homer. Yarbro is a physical outfielder who has ran a 6.71 second 60 on turf at the 2018 PG Sunshine Southeast Showcase and is really gifted athletically. The left-handed swing is a bit raw, but very strong and compact/direct to the baseball. Standing at a believable 6-foot-4, 205-pounds, Yarbro has power from his frame as well as getting the most out of his lower half driving through the baseball at impact. The uncommitted outfielder from Mountain Brook made a big statement at the plate in this contest and should not remain uncommitted for too much longer.

Jayden Melendez (2021, Palmetto Bay, Fla.) is one of the premier catchers in the 2021 class and he showed it on Thursday night with his ability to handle low-90s velocity with ease. He receives with a such a sure mitt, agile movements laterally and a really strong arm. Opposing runners did not attempt to run on the Florida International commit but he did get to showcase it with multiple back picks to both first and second base. Melendez has all the tools scouts look for in a catcher and what might be the best aspect of his game is his ability to block at such a high level. Both fastballs that were short of the plate as well as breaking balls in the dirt, Melendez picked them with ease and transfers well into a quick and ready position to throw. He also connected on a loud barrel at the plate in the game that resulted in a line drive right to the right fielder. The FIU commit has a fast bat with plenty of whip staying compact to the point of contact while showing the ability to use the whole field.

Florida State commit Brodie Chestnutt (2021, Warner Robins, Ga.) may have not had the command that he wanted nor all the help he could have had with his defense behind him in the game, but he did show positive attributes to his overall repertoire on the bump. Chestnutt sat 86-90 mph with his fastball for the first two innings of his outing while having to throw lots of extra pitches and ultimately dipping his velocity a little afterwards. The righthander from Houston County High School has a live arm with plenty of ease to his delivery. He shows signs of life to armside with his heater when down in the strike zone while having a shorter slider to go with it. The handful of time he did touch 90 mph in his outing it was noticeable that he would reach back for more and ultimately there is more in the tank in the future for him.

Facing off against Chestnutt was Cartersville High School’s Micah Earwood (2021, Cartersville, Ga.) who showcased some of the nastiest sinking fastballs seen by this scout in a long time. Earwood is a junior who has a frame to really project on at 6-foot-3, an arm that works and a fastball that is going to produce groundball contact as well as plenty of swings and misses. The fastball works in the 83-86 mph range with plus sink, a changeup that has similar sinking action as the fastball and a slider that sweeps with huge depth and just adds to his all around nasty arsenal. Earwood’s final stat line in the win for the Purple Hurricanes was just as impressive finishing off a shutout spreading out 3 hits over 6 innings with 9 strikeouts and 2 walks.

Always been a fan of the way OF Treyson Hughes (@HughesTreyson 2021 GA) handles the barrel and he shows it here for a very hard single through the right side on a low heater. #PGHSShowdown pic.twitter.com/6ZYrg3PDUE
— Gregory Gerard (@GGerardPG) March 5, 2020

Treyson Hughes (2021, Warner Robins, Ga.) swung the bat well in his final at-bat of his first game of the day and followed that up with a triple in the nightcap for Houston County. Hughes has a sweet left-handed swing with lots of balance and quickness to his bat path. The West Virginia commit smoked a lower third pitch through the pull side getting the barrel to it on time and producing a very high exit velocity. The right fielder for Houston County is an athletic player with a strong arm in the outfield. He attended the Jr. National Showcase in June of last year putting his name on the map in a big way. Hughes bats in the three hole for a talent-loaded Houston County team and a top-notch player to watch for 2021.

The nightcap featured at Mountain Brooks High School featured a really strong pitching matchup between MBHS’s Edward Berry (2020, Mountain Brook, Ala.) and Locust Grove’s Connor Crisp (2023, Locust Grove, Ga.).

Berry is a listed 5-foot-10 righthander committed to Swarthmore College and really dominated from start to finish for the Spartans. Sitting 87-89 mph and holding it throughout even in the cold weather, Berry pounded the strike zone with a steep downhill fastball and a sharp put-away curveball with good shape and tight spin. Berry has a clean arm through the back and gets it through repeatedly on time into his release point out in front. Berry has a really strong feel for the strike zone with his two pitches and the future Swarthmore Phoenix righthander struck out 8 in his 6 innings of work.

Opposing Berry was freshman Georgia commit Connor Crisp. The righthander, for his age, has an impressive feel for the strike zone and three pitches that he can each manipulate with ease. Crisp was up to 87 mph multiple times in this look while having been up to 90 mph this fall. Crisp held his own against a hot Mountain Brook team who swung the bat extremely well in both of their games going up against a pair of future Division I arms. The ball jumps out of Crisp’s hand and the velocity is easy although there is not a ton of strength to his frame yet. The arm really works and stays online throughout the throwing process. He showed a feel for a pair of secondaries that each project really well. The changeup seemed to be the pitch he was more confident in throwing. The changeup is firm at 80-82 mph but shows short fade out of the hand while the slider is short, tight and going to be a weapon in his future.

Fellow freshman accompanying Crisp on the Locust Grove Wildcats is infielder Bransen Powell (2023, Locust Grove, Ga.). Powell, also a verbal commitment to Georgia, has a fast bat with plenty of whip through the hitting zone. Powell seems to have grown even more since the fall with additional height and some added strength as well. Powell’s bat speed has always stood out and the intent he swings with is eye-opening for a player with such youth. The infielder mans third base for the Wildcats and made a really nice slow roller play charging in and throwing on the run. Powell has a strong arm that he will likely get to showcase later in this tournament on the mound as well.

-Greg Gerard

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