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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/26/2017

14u WWBA Day 3 Scout Notes

Vincent Cervino      Jheremy Brown     
Photo: Perfect Game

Early on it was apparent that Hayden Skipper (2020, Manchester, Tenn.) was going to be in for a strong performance both on the mound and at the plate. The lefthander is listed at a physical 6-foot, 180-pounds with present strength and twitch athleticism on the frame. Skipper’s athleticism allowed him to repeat his delivery very well as it featured a lot of moving parts which aided in some deception. He remained balanced throughout and his over the top arm slot was able to allow him to generate good plane on the fastball.

The arm action itself was short and quick throughout an abbreviated arm path. The stride foot will hesitate and hand in the air which helped to disrupt the timing of opposing batters. Skipper’s fastball worked mostly 79-82 mph early on and had good sink to it. He also mixed in a curveball and a changeup that had some down action to it.

When he is not on the mound, Skipper is patrolling centerfield and has sound tools at the dish. The stroke is compact and travels quickly through the hitting zone. He can create backspin and is looking to drive balls in the air with carry; Skipper knocked an 86 mph triple that traveled an estimated 323 feet.

Another center fielder who showed excellent projection was the lefthander Christian Smith (2021, Atlanta, Ga.). The three-hole hitter for the 643 DP Cougars, Smith has a very lean and projectable frame with a ton of room on his body for added physicality as he continues to develop and grow. The swing is very smooth from the left side and there is looseness to his hands and allow him to take the ball to any side of the field. Smith is able to generate line drive contact to all fields and will be able to hit for more power as he continues to add strength to the frame.

A pair of hitters stood out for Beaver Valley during their 7-0 victory on Sunday as catcher Luke Lambert (2021, McDonald, Pa.) and outfielder Chris Juchno (2021, Erie, Penn.) were strong presences near the top of the lineup.

Lambert is a well-rounded, athletic backstop with twitchy actions behind the plate. He moves well to both sides and is a quality receiver for his age; those are evidenced by his recorded home to first time of 4.32 seconds from the right side. The arm strength and some of the actions are still developing but there is a solid foundation to build upon. He is also a high-contact rate hitter and does a good job at getting the barrel head onto the ball. There is little separation, however that is advantageous to the approach as Lambert can get a shorter path to the ball. Lambert works all fields and is able to produce consistent line drive contact, that of which included his four hits during the game on Sunday.

While Lambert batted leadoff for Beaver Valley, Juchno was slotted in the two-hole and showed off an easy, fluid swing. The path itself would get long at times, however for the most part he showed a naturally lofted swing plane with a direct hand path to the ball. There was good hand speed and looseness which allowed him to square up balls on either side of the plate for hard contact. The approach on Sunday was not strictly to the pull side of the field as he laced a 85+ mph line drive to the opposite field that was snagged by the third baseman. Juchno is a very lean and projectable athlete that will definitely be key to monitor as he continues to develop both on the field and physically.

One of the tallest and most projectable arms in this event, lefthander Tyler Franks (2021, Dublin, Ga.) showed off high level tools during his start on Sunday evening. The lefthander stands at an immensely projectable frame of 6-foot-4, 180-pounds with long limbs and a high waist; indicative of future physical development.

The delivery is very simple, and Franks does a nice job at doing that in order to aid in repeatability and reducing moving parts. He pitches exclusively from the stretch and the arm is extremely loose through the back of the arm path. There were some inconsistencies with the release but he was very effective at getting the fastball to both sides of the plate with relative ease.

The fastball worked 81-84 mph early in the game and he maintained his velocity rather well. The high three-quarters arm slot allowed him to generate solid plane on the fastball; the pitch was extremely effective at garnering swings and misses for the outing. He also mixed in a big curveball in the low-70s that had considerable break to it. Franks has the mold of a future ace and it will be of note to continue to watch as he develops.

Righthander Tyler Hare (2021, Atlanta, Ga.) toed the rubber during the late slot for the Ninth Inning Royals and showed off an easy delivery with an effective two pitch combination. Hare is a very lean pitcher and the arm action, loose and whippy, combined with the effort level, considerably low, are both indicators of future velocity increases. Hare worked heavily with his fastball, which was 80-83 mph early on, and showed off very good command of the pitch to both sides of the plate. He racked up five strikeouts through four innings, and took a no-hitter into the fourth inninf of the game.

The arm is extremely loose and easy through a full arm circle and he delivered from a three-quarters arm slot, although he raised the slot when he would fire his breaking ball. What stood out about Hare’s fastball was the occasional cut the pitch had to it. The movement was effective with late bite and even broke a bat during his outing. The breaking ball was a bit inconsistent in terms of shape but it was up to 73 mph and often looked like a slider. Hare was downright dominant on the mound and held a team with multiple Division I commits to only one hit through four innings.

A pair of shortstops have impressed throughout this week’s games in Alex Mooney (2021, Rochester Hills, Mich.) of the Indiana Bulls and Joe Jaconski (2021, Plymouth Meeting, Pa.) of the Sluggerville Philly Blue Sox.

Mooney is a pretty sound athlete, even at this young of a class, and it shows as he is a primary shortstop but his smooth actions translate well ot third base where he has been playing. Mooney has advanced arm strength relative to the class, he has been recording average run times in the 4.3 to 4.4 second range from the right side, and he has been a sure gloveman over at the hot corner all while making strong, accurate throws in the process. Mooney’s swing is short and direct to the ball and it is vey easy when the ball jumps off the bat. He had been one of the tournament’s hits leaders entering the day and he added two more with an infield single in the second inning and a clutch, game-tying double late in the game. Mooney stands from a wide base and bars a bit through his load but is able to get extended well through the point of contact. Presently, there is not much lower half involvement in the swing but his strength and hand speed allow him to make consistent contact with the barrel of the bat.

Jaconski put on a defensive clinic while facing off against Mooney’s Indiana Bulls. Jaconski is listed at  a very lean and projectable 5-foot-11, 159-pounds and he has strong instincts at shortstop. He turned multiple 6-3 double plays with consistently good reads on grounders which included a couple of hard hit balls that allowed him to show off his soft hands. The arm strength played particularly well too as he nailed a runner at home plate with a strong, accurate throw from short left field, which ended up being a big play to preserve the lead. The range was shown off well as he made a diving stop on the other side of second base early in the game; although he couldn’t complete the highlight reel play, it showed as an example of his range at short. At the plate, Jaconski had a big, run-scoring double early in the game that he was able to drive to the opposite field and left the bat at 89 mph. The swing presently is highlighted by his hand speed which helps allow him to be on time as the pitch is delivered.

– Vincent Cervino



Grant Taylor (2021, Florence, Ala.) doesn’t even need to throw a pitch in order to demand your attention as the 15-year old righthander is a physical presence on the mound at 6-foot-2, 200-pounds but after a single warm up pitch he immediately takes hold of everybody who’s looking on. Currently the No. 4 ranked player in the class of 2021, Taylor opened his outing by pumping fastball in the 88-90 mph and continued to show that premium velocity throughout his 2.1 innings of work, something you just don’t see at this level.

Pitch after pitch Taylor lit up the radar guns, both out of the windup and stretch, and though he’ll have some things in his delivery to iron out (and he has plenty of time to do so), the velocity comes extremely easy with a full and loose arm action through the back. He gathers on his back side over the rubber before striding on line down the mound and when everything is on time Taylor can generate sharp plane with riding life through the zone. Out of the stretch he has less moving parts and filled up the zone, working around a couple of jams by simply overpowering the opposing bats with his fastball.

A special arm who has already been up to 91-92 mph earlier this spring, Taylor isn’t done yet and should continue to see his velocity tick up moving forward. Though he went predominately to his fastball, the young Alabama native also flashed a couple of tight curveballs in the 78-80 mph band and did a nice job of mimicking his arm speed and release point on the pitch.

As promised in the first recap from the 14u WWBA, we caught another look at Brady House (2021, Winder, Ga.), Team Elite’s highly regarded shortstop, as a position player after first detailing him as a pitcher thanks to his opening day performance. Built much stronger than your typical rising freshman at 6-foot-2, 180-pounds, House has both the hand strength and bat speed to turn the course of a game with a single swing. He didn’t put any balls over the fence in this game, though his first piece of the day may have been just as impressive. Rather than try to pull around an outer half pitch, likely resulting in a rolled over ground ball, House did a nice job of getting his arms extended and drove the outer-third fastball over the right fielder’s head for a triple, showing plenty of quickness to his barrel head. He also shifted all around the infield in terms of position and looked at home when playing shortstop as he showed balanced footwork and soft hands out front at the ball.

In my first look at Daniel Corona (2021, Brooklyn, N.Y.) the young New York native exhibited some of the looser actions up the middle on defensive with extremely soft hands and fluidity to his footwork while also displaying a strong arm across the diamond. Well, that arm strength was also on display yesterday as Corona provided relief for Taylor and continued to impress with his abilities on the diamond. Still not turning 14 for another mound, Corona came out and sat in the 82-85 mph range with his fastball rather comfortably. With a right arm that acted as a whip through the back side Corona was able to create solid angle to his glove side from landing closed with his strike foot, something that also helped generate solid sinking life to the pitch. Corona also showed the feel to work to either side of the plate with his heater, allowing him to escape an inherited jam, and frequently mixed an 11-to-5 shaped curveball for strikes in the 71-73 mph range.

The reason for not a lot of Team Elite Nation hitters being written up is because of righthander Doyle Gehring (2020, Summerville, S.C.) who managed to keep the bats at ball all the way until the bottom of the seventh inning. Gehring, who’s listed at 5-foot-9, 135-pounds in the program, is much bigger than that listing and did the most important thing a pitcher can do; throw strikes. And throwing strikes is something the uncommitted righthanded did early and often, commanding his low-80s (up to 84 mph) fastball to both sides of the plate from a short and quick arm action. Even more impressive was his ability to harness the cutting life on the pitch as he worked within the zone, staying off barrels while missing his fair share of them as well. In total Gehring punched out nine and walked just one (intentionally in the bottom of the seventh), all while throwing predominately fastballs, though he did mix in a couple of curveballs in the low-70s.

I talked about Jeffery Waters (2021, Mableton, Ga.) in the first recap of the tournament and his overall skill on the diamond is worth detailing again. Though he won’t turn 14 for another six months per his Perfect Game profile, Waters showed big skills on both sides of the ball. His hands are incredibly quick and strong with his righthanded swing as he stays short to the ball and delivered the walk-off, game winning hit with what goes down in the books as a single but would’ve been an easy triple as he barreled the ball deep to left field, clearing the fielder’s head. The jump off the barrel to all fields is real, as is his arm strength on the mound. In 1.2 innings on the mound, Waters worked an extremely easy 83-86 mph with his fastball, bumping 87, all the while working out of the stretch and generating short running life to his arm side. The ball comes out of his hand clean and with little effort, making it easy to project a good bit more in terms of velocity in the future, especially as he continues to incorporate additional lower half.

Kristian Campbell (2021, Marietta, Ga.) already has his college commitment taken care of as he’s verballed to Florida International and he’s just one of several talented plays on the Team Elite Nation roster. Like every player in this tournament, Campbell offers big projection as he continues to fill out his 6-foot, 157-pound frame, though he already shows well on both sides of the ball. His defensive actions are similar to those of teammate Daniel Corona in that they’re bouncy and fluid with soft hands out front. He also shows an understanding of the strike zone at the dish, laying off close pitches while showing a clean path through the zone with a feel for the barrel on offerings he can handle. There are certainly parts to his game to like and he’ll only continue to improve moving forward.

If the combination of “Briones”, “catcher” and “California” ring any bells there’s a chance you’re thinking of Gabe Briones, a catcher and Southern California commit in the class of 2019. As we’ve seen with Jayden Melendez in this tournament, high-level catching skills just might be genetic as Danny Briones (2021, West Covina, Calif.), the cousin of Gabe, shows all the makings of a high-level defender behind the dish. Still growing into his body and already looking taller than his listed 5-foot-9 stature in the program, Briones’ receiving skills are nearly unmatched in this tournament thanks to strong wrists, yet soft hands, and plenty of overall flexibility to his actions. The catch-and-throw skills for Briones jump out on a single throw down to second in between innings (recorded a 1.93) as there’s plenty of arm quickness and strength, as well carry out of his hand. Briones’ defensive skills may be ahead of his offense but it’s only a matter of time before his righthanded stroke catches up as he already shows intent in his load and fluidity to his swing while projecting for additional bat speed with gains in the physical strength department.

There aren’t too many players in this tournament who can rival the physicality or raw bat speed that Joey Mack (2021, Williamsville, N.Y.) brings to the table with him. After catching the first couple games of the tournament, where he shows big time arm strength and carry on his throws, Mack played shortstop last night and showed the same zip on his throws, though catching may be his long-term home defensively. A lefthanded bat, Mack can whip the barrel through the zone thanks to his strong 5-foot-11, 188-pound frame as well as his loose and quick wrists. With a rather simple, line drive path through the zone Mack is able to impact the baseball, especially to his pull side as he’s already registered a ball 96 mph off the barrel and will only continue to improve.

Hitting at the top of the East Cobb order, lefthanded hitting James Tibbs (2021, Marietta, Ga.) is certainly a player I’ll continue to monitor this weekend, largely in part to his swing and overall looseness he shows in it. Tibbs, a rising freshman at Pope High School, shows a quick barrel through the zone, as well as fluidity with solid bat speed and has the comfort to work all fields with barreled contact. He does a nice job of staying short to the ball with plenty of balance and barrel control, all aspects to his offensive game that’ll continue to evolve as he adds additional strength to his 5-foot-10 frame in the future.

A primary lefthanded hitting shortstop who’s been detailed as such throughout the spring, Dylan Taylor (2021, Ellaville, Ga.) took to the mound for the East Cobb Astros yesterday morning and impressed with his potential on the bump. With a loose and athletic 6-foot, 160-pound build Taylor was able to work in the 80-83 mph range with his heater early on, sporting an up-tempo delivery and a quick right arm. He didn’t rack up the strike outs this outing but by consistently finishing over his front side, Taylor was able to generate steady life to his arm side while living down in the zone, resulting in ground ball contact throughout his 4 2/3 innings of work.

When evaluating players in this age group there’s a lot of factors that are looked at from body type to projectability, coordination to athleticism, as well as on field tools. Reece Holbrook (2021, Columbia, S.C.), the starting center fielder for the Diamond Devils certainly as a tool to help him stand out and it’s his speed, something he knows how to use to his advantage both on the bases and in center. An above average runner down the line, the lefthanded hitting Holbrook’s speed puts pressure on the defense when he’s at the plate and on base. He shows a shorter stroke at the plate and has present bat speed, an area of his game that’ll only continue to develop as he adds additional physicality to his frame.

A rising freshman at Allatoona High School, Brett Blomquist (2021, Acworth, Ga.) impressed yesterday morning with both his righthanded swing as well as his play at the shortstop position. Listed at 6-foot, 150-pounds, Blomquist projects well but already shows the athleticism and twitchiness to impact a game. At the plate Blomquist found the barrel more than once and generated solid jump, especially on his triple to the opposite field which burned the right fielder. He moves well on the bases and on defense which he showed by rounding a ball up the middle with quick footwork before delivering a strong, accurate throw on to first base.

Hayden Durke (2020, Abbeville, La.) was handed the ball to start yesterday’s game for Sheets Baseball and he didn’t disappoint as he tossed three innings of no-hit baseball. What impressed most with Durke was his ability to consistently work on top of the ball, generate plane, and pound the strike zone while comfortably locating to his glove side. On top the command, he ran his fastball up to 84 mph which is a successful combination on the mound. His arm action is both loose and quick and he did a nice job of living down in the zone. The rising sophomore flashed a curveball in the upper-60s though he didn’t quite have a feel for the pitch, something that’ll continue to develop with additional reps on the mound.

Brody Drost (2020, Sulphur, La.) was highlighted in yesterday’s recap more for his performance on the mound as he ran his fastball up to 84 mph from the left side, but as his Perfect Game profile suggests, Drost is a primary outfielder who can swing a loud stick from the left side. Phyiscally built at 6-foot-1, 170-pounds, the uncommitted Drost packs plenty of that strength into his swing as he’s able to generate big bat speed through the zone and impact the ball to all parts of the field. In his first trip to the plate in game one of his team’s double header Drost found a pitch he could drive on the outer half and did just that, connecting for a loud triple to the opposite field gap. He moves well on his feet and his instincts on the bases allow the speed to play base-to-base as well.

– Jheremy Brown
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