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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/29/2019

Pacific Invitational Scout Notes

Connor Spencer     
Photo: Scott Ellis (Perfect Game)

Pacific Coast Invitational Scout Notes: Day 1-2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6

With the Pacific Coast Invitational coming to a close, day seven saw things come down to the wire for teams to earn playoff spots, while day eight brought a change in atmosphere going from the suburbs to the inner city for the 17u semifinal and championship games.




In the morning slot on day seven Robert Bolton (2020, Long Beach, Calif.) proved to be an interesting player for coaches with his very projectable frame and feel on the mound. Bolton has a slow motion with a low-mid leg lift. He has a longer arm action from an over-the-top slot and his front side stays low throughout. Bolton’s fastball does not possess much action and sits 80-82 mph and he touched 83. His breaking ball is a 12-to-6 curveball that has good depth but lacks the spin rate to be a plus breaking ball. However, Bolton feels like he’s a step away from unlocking something great. With primarily a two-pitch mix and a low-80s fastball, Bolton’s current stuff does not project at the next level, but with his highly projectable athletic build and baseball actions, he’s a good coach away from unlocking some more velocity, and possibly developing a third pitch to his arsenal. He pitched four full innings, striking out five while allowing one run.




Fresh off his performance at PG National, Scott Ellis (2020, Newbury Park, Calif.) created a lot of buzz by college coaches and scouts who are now becoming aware of his plus tools on the bump. Friday Ellis recorded a new PG personal best on the gun topping out at 91 mph. Every time Ellis pitches he seems to get better and his plus plus changeup feels that much more effective. Today he was backing up his changeup with his late-breaking slider, which left righthanded batters miserably guessing whether the ball was going to drop off the table or not. Ellis is also throwing a two-seam fastball with intent that has sharp run and sink, however, his command with the pitch is still developing as he lost the handle of it on a couple occasions. No matter, it was another dominant outing for Ellis who struck out 10 through five innings pitched while allowing only one hit. It’s only a matter of time now before he receives serious offers for his pitching services.

SSC 17u and Hit Club 17u battled back and forth in a shootout of a game and Jon Peters (2021, Belmont, Calif.) made some loud noises at the plate for Hit Club 17u going 2-for-4 with a ringing double into the right-center gap. Peters has good hands and generates solid bat speed through the zone. He stays tall on his back-side and has a simple leg lift trigger from an upright stance. Simple yet violent, he has a solid foundation to continue to build off of at the plate.

Steve Bowman (2020, Citrus Heights, Calif.) was also 2-for-4 with a double in the game but for SSC 17u. He laced a ball over the center fielder’s head for his double and uses an upright stance as well. Quick hands and a good quick linear weight shift in the box gives him a chance every time he steps up to the plate. He has a very simple load and stride and gets his barrel on plane quickly giving him room for error through the hitting zone. His hands are constantly working down after launch and he drives the ball with backspin on a consistent basis.




The 17u playoffs began in the evening with a heated battle between the San Diego Diablos and the Santa Barbara Junior Foresters 17u. Xavier Martinez (2021, National City, Calif.) proved to be the spark that the San Diego Diablos needed throwing 4 1/3 shutout innings while fanning nine. Martinez has a shorter sweeping arm action with a high front side and a true three-quarters arm slot. Martinez hides the ball well thanks to his high front glove arm that he releases late and hard down the mound. His fastball sat 81-to-83 and at times possessed solid arm-side run. His low 11-to-4 shaped breaking ball missed quite a few barrels throughout his outing and showed good depth. He’s mostly a fastball-curveball type of pitcher and he loves to fill up the zone with his fastball. He’s not afraid to come right after hitters and Santa Barbara had no answer to him.

Although Santa Barbara Junior Foresters 17u’s three-hole hitter Parker Ledbetter (2020, Goleta, Calif.) struggled at the plate in their final game, it’s worth noting that he had a fantastic tournament with three doubles and has an extremely projectable build and skill-set. Ledbetter has an upright, slightly backloaded stance at the plate and stays compact and short throughout his swing. He has great hands and present strength at the plate. Ledbetter checks off plenty of boxes as an outfielder with his speed and awareness of the game as well.

On day nine, the final rounds moved to a new location at East Los Angeles College as the San Diego Diablos took on one seeded Juggernaut Group Baseball Academy 17u in the first semifinal game of the day. In a tight 1-1 ball game Luke Romag (2020, San Diego, Calif.) played the hero for Juggernaut smoking an RBI double over the left fielder’s head. He has quick hands and a simple load and stride that stay quiet throughout. Juggernaut Group Baseball Academy 17u moved on to the championship game.




In the second semifinal game, CBA Wave defeated JGB Prime 2020 in an absolutely wild back-and-forth game, and it was initially a battle between the four-hole hitting pitchers. For CBA Wave Austin Schroeder (2020, La Jolla, Calif.) threw five full innings while striking out three. He has a lengthy athletic build with a short arm action from an over the top slot. His fastball sat 80-83 and he touched 84 mph on the day. He uses both a breaking ball and off-speed pitch but prefers the breaking ball as his main secondary. It’s an 11-to-5 shaped curveball that is inconsistent but shows good depth and bite at times. His straight 76 mph change has some sink to it but doesn’t have a large enough speed differential from his fastball to miss bats. At the plate he has a slightly open, narrow upright stance with a high leg kick trigger. He has simple hands that work direct to the baseball and bit of an upward plane through the zone.

For JGB Prime 2020 Cristian Enriquez (2020, Fontana, Calif.) has an easy, free-flowing motion and a mid-leg lift that sweeps out and down the mound. His shorter arm action from a high three-quarters arm slot gives his 80-83 mph fastball some arm-side run at times. His 10-to-4 shaped slider has solid late bite and sweeps across the plate proving especially tough for lefthanded hitters. Enriquez really got it done at the plate going 2-for-4 in the game. He has a narrow slightly open stance and stays quiet throughout. He has a light tendency to come around the ball with his hands but when he’s able to stay inside he has a beautiful smooth stroke.




In the championship game between Juggernaut Group Baseball Academy 17u and CBA Wave, CBA Wave received yet another pitching gem, this time by Ethan Caschetta (2020, Chula Vista, Calif.). Caschetta threw a complete game while only allowing two and one run helping lead CBA Wave to a 17u championship. He has a long arm action that whips up and through to a high three-quarters slot. His arm is strong, and his fastball has some life to it sitting around 81-to-83 but touching 86 mph. Caschetta was the epitome of efficiency as he lived in the strike zone throughout his outing and used his defense behind him. His 11-to-5 shaped breaking ball lacks the bite to be a kill pitch but complements his fastball nicely. He also throws a changeup that sits around 78 mph, but he rarely uses it and its effectiveness is still developing. Caschetta came out and went right after hitters from his first out to his last and shut the door on a rolling Juggernaut squad. As a result the CBA Wave are the Pacific Coast Invitational 17u Champions.
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