Ryan Suppa (2019, Acworth, Ga.) threw four innings in the USA Showcase Prime Friday game, giving up one unearned run and allowing zero hits, while walking two and striking out six. Suppa does an excellent job of mixing pitches. His fastball ran from 87-90 and he paired with a good, solid 11-to-5 breaking curve that he commanded very well throughout the game. Suppa works quickly which disrupts hitters timing and the ball explodes out of his hand.
Luke Daniel (2020, Muscle Shoals, Ala.) is a freshman righty who displays a confident mound presence and upside as he throws with a nice loose and easy arm action that produces a mid-80s fastball with decent life. Daniel was cruising through his outing, sporting a no hit bid all the way up to the fourth inning. He throws a good, late breaking curveball that had continuous break that moved away from hitters causing many swings and misses.
Tyler Olah (2018, Tallahassee, Fla.) threw two scoreless innings for the East Cobb Astros on Friday, giving up one hit and striking out six. Olah does a great job of staying on top of the ball and pushes off the mound well to drive towards the plate with a solid arm action that produces a fastball that runs from 89-91 with good life. He pairs is well with a slow, hard curve that’s at least twenty miles per hour slower than his fastball which constantly keeps hitters off balanced and unable to pick up hits.
Josh Murdock (2018, Snellville, Ga.) was impressive at the plate for Team Elite 17U Premier as he went 2-for-2 with a double and a run scored. Murdock has a patient approach with a good, simple contact swing with an excellent ability to keep his hands inside the baseball. He displayed his quick hand speed at the plate with his to left against the hard throwing Tyler Olah in the first inning of the game.
Ryland Goede (2019, Kennesaw, Ga.) is listed at 6’6 and 235 lbs and used every bit of strength to hit a two run homer and help lead the 643 DP Cougars to victory in their 17-0 win over the Georgia Bombers 16U Gaines team. Goede has a large, athletic frame with and stands with his hands over the plate and a closed stance. He swings with a long, strong swing some lift and makes consistent hard contact. Goede went 3-4 with three runs and three RBIs.
Keyshawn Askew (2018, Powder Springs, Ga.) threw six shutout innings today and gave up three hits, while walking two and striking out eight. Askew is a Clemson commit and displayed excellent arm speed as his fastball ran from 87-90 with good arm side run. He also has two quality off speed pitches with his curve that has good 1-7 break and excellent depth and movement and a good change up that ran in the high 70s with good fade and runs away from righties and dips in on lefties. His arm works very well and his velocity should increase as he gets stronger.
Noah Ledford (2018, Buford, Ga.) and Jack Alexander ( 2018 MIF Kennesaw, Ga.) led the East Cobb Colt 45s 17u to victory by a score of 8-0. Ledford hit a two-run shot to right field with a exit velocity of 103 mph which traveled 342 feet in the fourth and Alexander had two runs batted in as well as two runs scored and two doubles. Ledford, a Georgia Southern commit, does a great job of staying strong on that backside and rotating the hips to produce power and drive the baseball out of the ball park, while Alexander, a Notre Dame commit, swings with a long, hard contact swing that produces good pop and consistent hard contact.
Alex Havlicek (2018, Oakland, N.J.) pitched for the Team Elite 17U Prime in their night game. Havlicek threw with a slight hitch in the hips before committing to home plate with a over the top arm angle. He has a large , mature frame and has excellent life on his fastball and a major league quality slider that has great depth and breaks both planes with its break. He does a great job of pounding batters in and setting them up with his slider, that runs from 74-78. With a violent delivery, large size and excellent life on his fastball, he can cause hitters to sometimes bail out and produce weak swings and poor at bats. His fastball sat from 86-90,touching 91, but was mostly at 87 and 88. Havlicek threw five shutout innings, giving up one hit and walked one while striking out eleven. Havlicek is a Virginia Tech commit.
– Brandon Lowe
Matthew Cassandra (2020, Cumming, Ga.) impressed me all week for Roadrunners Baseball. Cassandra can flat out hit to all fields. He has a sound hitting approach and never tries to do too much. He looks to hit the ball hard where it is pitched. His bat in the Roadrunners' lineup was a key to their Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational championship run. In the championship, he had a double down the left field line that helped lead them to a 10-0 win. Cassandra has a narrow base and a very high hand set. His leg lift trigger is frequently on time and he creates recurring barreled contact.
Gavin Collyer (2019, Buford, Ga.) started the championship game on the mound for Team Elite 15U Nation. The skinny righthander sat 86-88 touching 90 in the first inning, but his velocity fell to 84-86 in his innings to follow. His fastball has heavy life due to his high three-quarters arm slot. He also mixed in a plus 11-5 curveball that had excellent bite and good depth. Collyer has a quick arm that he does occasionally slow down when throwing curveballs. Overall, the rising junior has plenty of room to fill with a high ceiling.
The number one player in the state of Kentucky for the 2018 class is Trae Harmon (2018, Somerset, Ky.) and on Friday he showed why. The big builded, strong first baseman has gap power and makes very hard contact when on time. In the Perfect Game/East Cobb Invitational semi-finals, he went 3-4 with two scorching doubles to the left-center field gap. Harmon's swing is short and compact, but the strength he has generates the power in his swing.
The East Cobb Astros 16u have two very good arms in lefthander Dawson Taylor (2019, Boiling Springs, S.C.) and righthander Caleb Reis (2019, Marietta, Ga.). Taylor is a mid- to upper-80s slinger with frequent sink and run to his arm side. He also mixed in two different breaking balls. The University of South Carolina commit first used a 12-6 curveball at 75 and then a 2-to-8 curveball at 73. Taylor did struggle with command in his outing Friday with a tendency to spike fastballs, but still showed projectability. Reis came in in relief of Taylor and showed impressive stuff striking out two batters in a bases loaded jam. The rising junior righthander sat 86-88 touching 89 from a three-quarters arm slot that is difficult for righthanded hitters. He shows good command of the fastball that has riding life. The uncommitted prospect also showed a tight slider in the mid-70s.
Cabera Weaver (2018, Decatur, Ga.) is an impact player with his plus speed. A routine single to left field, he was thinking double after a few jogging steps out of the box, but was thrown out by half of a step. His time from home to first base was 4.49 seconds with a turn, but aforementioned, the first few steps were not quick. The University of Georgia commit has a a skinny, athletic build with a wide base and a leg lift trigger. He has very quick hands and good bat speed.
Stephen Owen (2019, Auburn, Ala.) started day two of the WWBA 17U Qualifier with a very impressive first two innings on the mound by getting the first six outs of the game via the strikeout. The righthander from Auburn has a fastball in the 80-83 mph range and touched 85. The fastball has occasional life to armside due to the high three-quarters arm slot that he sometimes drops to three-quarters for added deception. He also mixed in a curveball in the upper-60s and a changeup in the 72-75 mph range. The curveball has good depth and the changeup is deceptive as he maintains arm speed. Owen likes to work fast and create soft contact with his off-speed repertoire.
Trevon Flowers (2018, Lithonia, Ga.) has a very fluid stroke and an excellent two strike approach. The University of Kentucky commit has a narrow base and leg lift trigger. When he gets two strikes on him, he shortens up and looks to hit the ball the other way. The rising senior is also a plus runner. On his single to right field, he showed a 4.25 home to first time with a turn. Once he is on base, he is disruptive on the base paths. He also has a good glove at shortstop with soft hands and the ability to read hops well. Flowers is a 5-tool player and high follow.
Patrick Conlin (2017, Woodstock, Ga.) and Zack Hunsicker (2018, Wentzville, Mo.) combined for five solid innings for Rawlings Southeast 17U National. Conlin, a Trevecca Nazarene University commit, has a fastball in the 85-86 mph range from the windup and 81-83 mph range in the stretch. Conlin is a filled out tall, big build righthander. The recent graduate also mixed a curveball and changeup to go with his fastball. He showed a feel for the curveball in the low-70s. The changeup is very good at 75-76 showing deception. The number one righthanded pitcher in the state of Missouri for the class of 2018 is Zack Hunsicker. Hunsicker has a tall, very physical and very projectable frame. He has a fastball that he commanded to both sides of the plate well. The fastball sat 85-86 with occasional life to armside. He mixed in a good sharp curveball that showed good depth. The 11-to-5 curveball sat in the mid-70s and created frequent swings and misses. The uncommitted rising senior has a balanced delivery, staying tall on his backside. The delivery has a high three-quarter arm slot and good AA, but does have a tendency to fall off the first base side of the mound which resulted in lack of command.
Drew Hamrock (2018, Roswell, Ga.) is a very good catcher for 643 DP Cougars Pralgo showing advanced catch and throw ability. His first pop time I clocked was the most impressive at 1.92 seconds. Hamrock has a quick transfer and quick release with online carry in his arm. He also frames well. To go along with his catching ability, he can swing the bat well too with noticeably quick hands and good bat speed.
USA Showcase Prime is an impressive young team with several top 2019 players. Bryce Lawrence (2019, Dallas, Ga.) and Ga'Von Wray (2019, Douglasville, Ga.) are two of those standout players. Lawrence is a strong, physical third baseman. His swing shows big time power potential. He has a narrow base with an exaggerated open stance and high hand set. his At third base, he has soft hands and makes all plays, but does throw from a sidearm slot that limits the ability to throw out a plus runner. Wray is a very athletic and projectable outfielder with lots of room to fill. The 6-foot-3 188-pound righthander has a wide base at the plate with very little hand movement. He has an even stance at the plate and a line drive swing plane. His day on Saturday started slowly, but came up big when it mattered in the bottom of the seventh with a walk off single to deep right-center field.
– Gregory Gerard