(2016, Lake Mary, Fla.) continued to impress in
tournament play, starting on two days rest for the Scorpions 16u
Prime, Peterson followed up his strong opening night outing with
another outing in which he looked crisp, projectable and had good
life on his fastball. He came out of the gate working around 89-90
mph and saw that climb to 92 mph as the game wore on. He throws a
very heavy ball and generates an outstanding downhill plane,
utilizing his powerful 6-foot-5 frame effectively.
It
took him some time to find his curveball, but when he did he snapped
off a couple hard, above average downers with 12-to-6 break at 76-77
mph. The big life through the zone is the separator for Peterson, and
it says a lot that he carried that life and raw velocity into this
outing on just a couple days rest. Peterson put together a masterful
performance in the Scorpions playoff victory, tossing seven shutout
innings on just 65 pitches. Working quickly and efficiently, Peterson
was a groundball machine on Sunday afternoon.
Drew
Mendoza (2016, Lake Minneola, Fla.) simply continues to look like
one of the sweet-swinging pure hitters in the nation. A player that
you just have to see consistently in game action to fully appreciate,
Mendoza never looks in over his head at the plate. In his first
at-bat, Mendoza smoked a rocket into the left-center field gap on a
sinking fastball down and away. It’s an easy swing path that should
allow him to adapt well to more advanced pitching, as he allows the
ball to track deep and uses his hands well.
Speaking
of hitters that need to be seen consistently in game action, Carlos
Cortes (2016, Oviedo, Fla.) has the
look of a blossoming star from the left side of the plate. Cortes
possesses eye opening bat speed and gets on his back leg consistently
to use his leg kick trigger. He has a big sound off his bat, which
was more than evident when he hit an absolute bullet line drive to
center field in his second at-bat of his Sunday afternoon playoff
game for the Scorpions. He followed that with another rocket just to
the left side of second base in his third bat-bat. Cortes has next
level type bat speed and he creates a lethal middle-of-the-order
combination for the young Scorpions.
– Frankie
Piliere
Sunday's
playoffs featured many of the tournament's elite arms making their
second appearance, as the strategy employed by many teams who played
on Thursday was to throw their ace in an abbreviated appearance in
the opener in order to keep him available to come back on three days
rest for Sunday's playoffs.
One
such ace was Marucci Elite righthander Easton McGee (2016,
Hopkinsville, Ky.) who got the start in Marucci's second round
playoff matchup. Just as was the case on Thursday, he topped out at
90 mph and sat comfortably in the upper-80s, living mostly at 88 mph
and maintained it throughout the course of his six innings. He has a
highly projectable frame at 6-foot-6, 170-pounds, with a high waist
and extremely long legs. His delivery is smooth and frequently
features good downhill extension out front when he keeps his front
shoulder closed, though is not consistent yet. When he extends out
front his fastball features late juking action sharply back to the
arm side with heavy sink.
Though
there were many misfires where his arm came through late as a result
of his front side pulling open early, and he'd leave the ball up on
the arm side, that is quite common among pitchers with the
combination of his height and age. McGee's slider flashed sharpness
in the mid- to upper-70s and he also had a big, slow curveball that
he'd drop in as well and flashed on 77 mph changeup. He's shown some
development in harnessing his raw stuff since the summer, and while
he still has a ways to go, there is a lot of upside and he will be
followed very closely between now and June 2016.
McGee's
teammate, outfielder Brock Anderson (2016, Huntsville, Ala.),
made a lot of noise offensively for Marucci during their three game
playoff run on Sunday. The lefthanded hitter features plenty of power
potential and went 2-for-4 with a walk in their two game run at the
Twins Spring Training complex, including a two-run triple in his
first at-bat of the day.
During
the same time slot as McGee's playoff start there was a very
similarly projectable 6-foot-6 righthander throwing on an adjacent
field at the Twins complex, as Noah Murdock (2016, Colonial
Heights, Va.) got the ball to start the Virginia Cardinals' playoff
game. Murdock is fairly well coordinated for his size and age and
worked 84-87 in the early innings and the ball comes out of his hand
easily. He tends to drop his slot a touch on his curveball, causing
him to come around the side of it a bit, creating a sweeping slurvy
break in the low- to mid-70s. However, with the kind of spin rate it
has it projects well as he learns to get over the top of it and
extended out front on the release of it.
Murdock
allowed a run in the first inning as he settled in and would yield
two over four innings. When he'd leave the ball up in the zone Ohio
Elite's hitters would punish him, but when he was on top of the ball
he was nearly unhittable. The life he generated on his 87 mph
fastball to close out the second inning with a called third strike
that tailed back over the outside corner to a righthander was a flash
of brilliance, and may become a more frequent occurrence over the
next couple of years for the Virginia commit.
Murdock's
teammate, third baseman Justin Sorokowski (2016,
Mechanicsville, Va.), drove in the tying run in extra innings with a
sacrifice fly as the Cardinals pulled out the thriller over Ohio
Elite and then followed it up with a 2-for-4 effort in the third
round victory. He features good extension through contact with lift
and power potential as he continues to mature. He moves well at third
base showing good coordination to throw on the run and is a very
interesting all around prospect.
As
the 200 plus team field has become whittled down to double digits,
what has stood out is the number of power bats still left in the
tournament's later playoff rounds, as would be expected of the teams
that are winning playoff games. In the third round playoff matchup
between Elite Baseball Training 2016 and the EvoShield Canes 2017
Prospects, physically imposing first baseman John VanDeMark (Lodi,
N.J.) stepped to the plate with runners on second and third. There
was some confusion in the Canes' dugout about whether or not they
wanted to intentionally walk him with first base open and the score
at 0-0 in the first inning. Ultimately they decided to pitch to him,
and were made to regret that decision as he smashed the first pitch
off the fence in right-center. VanDeMark would go 3-for-4 on the
game, with his only out coming on a loud flyout to right field, and
pairs good hand-eye coordination with strength generated bat speed
and also played a solid defensive first base.
– Todd
Gold
With
a physically built 6-foot-1, 220-pound frame, Connor Hamilton
(2017, Forestport, N.Y.) shows a short, compact swing and uses his
strength to generate big-time bat speed in his righthanded swing. His
swing mechanics are sound and simple with no pre-pitch movement in
his upper or lower halves, and showed a nice feel for the barrel,
going with the pitch and picking up a single to both sides of the
field. A primary catcher, Hamilton is very athletic, which is
recognized by his coaches who had him start in center field for their
fourth game.
The
feel and pitchability that Douglas Nikhazy (2018, Ocoee, Fla.)
displayed on Sunday is well beyond his years, especially given the
fact he has yet to pitch in a high school game. After a long summer
of pitching, the young Nikhazy didn’t quite show the mid-80s
fastball he has, working comfortably in the 81 to 83 mph range with
his fastball. The velocity is in there and given his build and long
limbs Nikhazy will continue to develop over the next four years.
Nikhazy
remains balanced very well throughout his delivery, staying compact
and online with mechanics, which he repeated very well over his four
innings of work. Throwing from a high three-quarters arm slot,
Nikhazy is able to create nice angle on his fastball and pounded the
strike zone for his last three innings of work, settling in nicely
after the first. Despite being only a freshman, Nikhazy showed an
advanced feel for all three of his pitches, throwing a combination of
fastball, curveball, changeup whenever he wanted and would double,
even triple up on off-speed pitches.
His
curveball showed deep, 1-to-7 life and consistently spotted it to the
back foot of righthanded hitters, up to 71 mph. The pitch leaves his
hand just as his fastball does, and when he mixes in a mid-70s
changeup from the same arm slot, the lefthander is very hard to
square up. At present Nikhazy slows his arm action down a bit on his
changeup but the feel for the pitch developed throughout the outing
and showed fading life to his arm side.
Relieving
Nikhazy was another young arm, as righthander Lyon Richardson
(2018, Jensen Beach, Fla.) took the ball. Like Nikhazy, Richardson
has shown bigger velocity earlier in the summer, but still showed
impressive arm strength for a freshman. Though his mechanics aren't
quite as polished as Nikhazy's, there is no denying the arm strength
and potential of Richardson on the mound, especially with the
incorporation of his lower half into his delivery. Throwing with a
short arm action and a high three-quarters arm action, Richardson
topped out at 85 mph and worked down in the zone, mixing in an
11-to-5 curveball in the upper-60s.
Working
out of the bullpen for the USA Elite Baseball 2016’s National team,
Wyatt Tyson (2016, Red Lion, Penn.) came in working his
fastball in the 83-86 mph range, topping out at 87. Showing a short,
quick arm action, Tyson did a nice job of getting on top of the ball
and worked down in the zone with his fastball, showing occasional
life to his arm side. Although his front hip opens early, the
uncommitted Tyson was able to fill up the strike zone and flashed a
sweeping slider in the low-70s.
Jordan
Butler (2017, Tampa, Fla.) is no stranger for being in the daily
recaps, especially in the edition that is published the day after he
takes the mound, just as he was two days ago. This time, however,
Butler has been included for his abilities with the bat from the left
side. Stepping up to the plate three times, the University of Florida
commit reached base safely all three times, picking up two line drive
singles to first base and a bunt single in his first at-bat. His
approach is geared to pulling the ball, but Butler shows a short,
quick swing along with a nice feel for the barrel of the bat.
Graham
Hoffman (2017, Clearwater, Fla.) and Shane Shifflett
(2017, Venice, Fla.) are two middle infield prospects who will be
building blocks for the future Burn teams for years to come. Each are
ranked within the top 70 prospects in the 2017 class and showed well
with the bat in yesterday’s consolation game.
Hoffman
is a long, lean middle infielder who projects well with added
strength to his 6-foot-2 frame. A righthanded hitter, Hoffman showed
a sound approach at the plate, fouling off numerous pitches that were
close to both sides, pitches most young players would either take for
a called third strike or swing over the top of it. Ultimately, he
didn’t win the battle but he showed an advanced feel in the box,
fouling off five straight pitches showing quick hands, and picked up
a line drive single in his final at-bat.
Having
batted the entire tournament righthanded, the young UCF commit
Shifflett showed a fluid stroke in his only at-bat of the day.
Collecting a base hit and showing a feel for the barrel is nothing
new, but this line drive single came while standing in the lefthanded
batters box. For taking a majority of his reps at the plate
righthanded, Shifflett showed a very nice, balanced swing and looked
as though he swings from the left side more frequently than he has in
this tournament. The swing path to the ball was smooth and easy with
the ball coming off the barrel with a loud sound.
– Jheremy
Brown