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Tournaments  | Story | 10/3/2021

Astros lead charge into Under semis

Photo: Paul Farley (Perfect Game)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Just moments after the East Cobb Astros had won their Sunday quarterfinal-round playoff game at the Perfect Game WWBA Underclass World Championship, head coach Kevin Baldwin made sure to deliver a special shout-out to his pitchers. The guys who had just labored through three playoff victories over the course of about eight hours on a very warm day in Southwest Florida.

The words of praise were not only much-deserved they were also spot-on, at least when it comes to giving credit where credit is due. That’s because while the Astros also happen to have some of the best hitters from the national class of 2023 on their Underclass World roster, it’s their pitching that has them playing into Championship Monday.



“Honestly, we’re all just trying to work as a team,” top 2023 right-hander Paul Farley told PG after the No. 1-seeded East Coast Astros held-off the determined No. 56-seeded 5 Star National 16u Black 9-3, in play Sunday at the JetBlue Park Player Development Complex. “We’re trying to get to the next person and we’re all trying to do our job to be there for the team and move on and go as far as we possibly can.”

And right now that’s Monday morning’s semifinal round, which will also be played at the JetBlue Park facility, the MLB Spring Training home of the Boston Red Sox. Try to start paying attention early. It should be quite a show.

In two premier pairings, the No. 1 East Cobb Astros (Georgia) face the No. 5 Canes National 17u (Virginia) in one of the semis, while the No. 27 Power Baseball 2023 Platinum (Florida) take on the No. 3 South Charlotte Panthers 2023 (North Carolina) in the other.

All four teams come in at 7-0-0 and this really could be a final-four for the ages, at least in the 20-year history of the WWBA Underclass World Championship.

The EC Astros seemed to be working on figurative cruise control the entire weekend, earning the top seed by outscoring their three pool-play opponents by a combined 19-0. They then won their first three playoff games by a run margin of 17-0, stretching their streak of consecutive shutouts to six games.

That is almost unheard of at an event with the stature of the WWBA Underclass World Championship. The quarterfinal victory, incidentally, came on the heels of 7-0 win over the Midland Braves on Saturday, and 8-0  and 2-0 victories over the No. 32 Canes Illinois-Gold and the No. 17 Knights Knation Baseball in the second and third rounds, respectively, on Sunday.

“We knew we had some good arms,” Baldwin told PG in perhaps the biggest understatement of the weekend. “They’re guys that have been in the program for a long time and we knew what they could do but anytime you throw six straight shutouts, that’s exceeding any expectation.

“We’ve just got to continue to play situational baseball on offense and make plays behind (the pitchers) and hopefully we’ll continue this run.”

The streak came to an end in the top of the second inning of the quarterfinal contest when the 5 Star National 16u Black plated a pair of unearned runs with Farley doing the pitching. He was still stellar, allowing just four hits and striking out five while walking one in five complete innings of work. It was, in fact, his second outing here and he’s thrown 10 innings in total, striking out 12, without allowing an earned run.

The bats were good against 5 Star, as well, with John Cooper Williams contributing a double, triple, two RBI and two runs. Dylan Cupp, a Mississippi State commit ranked No. 11 overall in the class of 2023, singled twice, drove in a run and scored one; Luke Dotson doubled, singled, drove in two and scored; Camden Wimbish singled with two RBI and a run and Jackson McKenzie doubled and scored.

Things really did click for the Astros over these first four days. The right-handers Tate McKee and Isaiah Mamea combined to throw 13 2/3 shutout innings and allowed just one hit apiece; McKee struck-out 11 in 7 2/3 frames while Mamea fanned nine in his six innings. The right-hander Wimbish and the lefty Jake Hembree each through four shutout innings.

Cupp and Cooper Williams have six hits apiece heading into Monday; Wimbish and Shawn Andrade have five each.

“I think everybody kind of feeds off of each other,” Baldwin said. “We came down really short-handed – we only had 10 or 11 position players to start with – so we’re down to just nine or 10 guys. We’ve just got to continue to grind and they know they’re going to be tired (but) hopefully they can build a little bit of adrenaline and keep playing well.”

The run the 5 Star National 16u Black made into the quarterfinals should not be ignored. It’s a very good team with a roster constructed entirely around prospects from the class of 2024 that had to overcome a pool-play loss just to get into the playoffs. The 16u Black even had to beat one of their own, the 5 Star Outlaws 2023, 3-2 in a battle of Nos. 56 and 57 seeds in a third-round pairing with a berth in the quarters on the line.

“I’m pretty excited that they haven’t really looked at the challenge of being in this event as too big,” head coach Brian Hoop told PG. “We’ve got a lot of really good players on the roster top to bottom and baseball’s baseball. You’ve got to throw it over the plate, you’ve got to catch it, you’ve got to hit it, so we’ve just kind of taken care of the basics really well. …

“They’ve been in World Wood Bat (WWBA) numerous times, they’ve been in these playoff games and you can see they’re still loose, they’re still enjoying the game. At the end of the day that’s what really
kind of helps them succeed.”

At the risk of letting hyperbole run wild, Monday’s semifinal pairing between the East Cobb Astros and the Canes National 17u could be borderline epic.

It pits teams representing two of the most successful and recognizable brands on the national travel-ball circuit over at least the last decade (East Cobb Baseball’s exploits date back much farther). The prospects wearing the Astros and Canes uniforms inevitably move on to accomplish great things in college or in the pros; there really will be no loser regardless of the outcome.

The numbers are similar. The Canes National 17u outscored their pool-play opponents by a combined 32-2 and their three playoff foes by an 18-2 margin. They beat a very solid Dirtbags 17u Camo club 4-1 in the quarters behind a combined nine-strikeout six-hitter from top 2023 left-hander Mason Yokum and ’23 righty Jonah Conradt.

It’s the type of challenge Baldwin knows his players will embrace, and his pregame message to them will be very simple: “Just continue to do what you’ve been doing and we’ll just coach accordingly.

“Eventually you’re going to run out of arms,” he added with a laugh. “We’re just going to keep putting them out there and hopefully they keep pitching well and we’ll see what happens.”

The uncommitted Farley, ranked No. 187 overall nationally, won’t be available but it’s certain Baldwin will have several suitable arms at his disposal despite his reference to eventually running out of pitching.

“We’re such a good team here and we all just love to hang out with each other,” Farley said. “It’s just great chemistry and honestly it’s just something fun to do. … It’s going to be more of the same. Just move on to the next person and everyone’s got to do their job: Throw strikes, get people out and move on inning-by-inning, out-by-out.”


Tournaments | Story | 9/27/2023

Midwest Invitational Scout Notes

Tyler Kotila
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Creighton Tuzzio (2024, Clarinda, Iowa) took the ball in the semi-final game and was able to get on the bump and carve for his team. Tuzzio is a taller 6-foot-6, 210-pound frame with plenty to like in the operation. The right-handed pitcher has a slower and more controlled operation as he works through the delivery. He lifts the leg up around the belt and then works through a three-quarters release with good whip through it. The fastball worked up to 86 mph on the fastball and held in the low- to mid-80s. He creates some angle on it with the taller & projectable frame. It runs arm-side and can be a problem for right-handed hitters. He also showed a low-70s curveball with a bigger 11/5 tilt to it and good depth to miss some bats. The Iowa Western commit threw 5.0 innings, allowing just 1 run, with 4 walks and 6 strikeouts to his credit.   There’s no surprise here, but...
Tournaments | Story | 9/26/2023

WWBA World Championship Pool Preview

Perfect Game Staff
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Pool A Team Top Pos. Player RK Class Top Pitcher RK Class Location Boston Red Sox Scout Connor Lane 500 2024 Tague Davis 59 2024 Boston, MA Cangelosi Sparks Tyler Bell  122 2024 Brady Chambers 500 2024 Lockport, IL Dirtbags National 2024 Dalton Wentz 74 2024 Riley Leatherman 251 2024 Sedalia, NC Florida Burn Colton Schwarz 214 2025 Presley Woodson 500 2025 Sarasota, FL Projected Pool Winner: Dirtbags National 2024 With one of the deepest and most physical lineups in the nation, the Dirtbags National 2024 club have been putting up runs in bunches. No hitter is hotter than Austin Irby, as the ECU commit is While sluggers Dalton Wentz, Will Craddock and Palmer Hornick won’t be in attendance, Lee Sowers, Will Brooks, Jon Young Jr. and spark plug Carter Richardson lead an offense that averages over 7 runs per game. They can cover ground on...
Tournaments | Story | 9/26/2023

Coastal Soph. Fall Invite Scout Notes

Todd Coffey
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Michael Flores (2026, NC) looking great through 4 innings pitched with 11 k’s. Great command and completely missing barrels. #2023WWBACoastalSophmoreFallInvatational pic.twitter.com/Oqd3WD0E05 — PG Coastal Scouting (@PG_Coastal) September 24, 2023 Michael Flores (2026, Mooresville, NC) put on an electric performance to watch for the SBA Futures 2026 in their matchup versus the Carolina Reds. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound, RHP did his job for his team today to keep them in the game. Flores throws with a high leg lift and creates some good motions towards the plate with his whippy action. Flores has a great feel for the zone and pounded strikes at a 66% rate. Flores generated swing and miss after swing and miss and it was clear he was in control out there on the mound. He sat in the 70-mph range to 79-mph range with his fastball with the ability to pinpoint it wherever he pleased....
Tournaments | Story | 9/26/2023

Fall Frenzy Scout Notes

Jason Phillips
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James Sherry (’26, Aiken, S.C.)- the 6-foot-1, 155-pound right-handed pitcher tossed a complete game for Xtreme Xposure Baseball-Bennett in an 8-1 win over 2 Way Athletics 16U. A primary outfielder, Sherry finished with 15 strikeouts and just one walk while controlling the zone at a 65% strike rate. Appearing in only his second PG tournament, Sherry turned in another great pitching performance after being selected to the All-Tournament Team at the 2023 16U PG Southeast Labor Day Classic. Aidan Petrocco (‘24 GA)- singles here into LF to load the bases for @643DPAthletics Primary MIF 2-for-4 w/ run scored on the day. #FallFrenzy @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/Ly7zEuRwyg — Perfect Game Georgia (@PG_Georgia) September 24, 2023 Aidan Petrocco (’24, Johns Creek, Ga.)- the 5-foot-9, 160-pound right-handed hitter for 643 DP Cougars 18U led the 18U Southeast Fall Frenzy...
Tournaments | Story | 9/27/2023

Sophomore WWBA Scout Notes: Day 3-5

Kyler Peterson
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A high speed look at this 2B from Keon Johnson... #WWBAWorlds @PG_Georgia https://t.co/Ejl8GirIgk pic.twitter.com/ate7ro35cp — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) September 24, 2023 Keon Johnson (2026, Macon, Ga.) started off the morning loud, going down to get a pitch down and smoking a double that split the opposite field gap at a 92 mph exit velocity. The shortstop has one of the best hit tools in the class and has tremendous feel for the barrel. The swing is quiet and simple, staying loose through the zone. The ball jumps and the parts really work. At short, Johnson looked silky with good actions, range, and plenty of arm strength across. The game comes easy for the Georgia native, and still just 15, the all-around game is very well-refined for the age.  Jaxson Wood (2026, Hoover, Ala.) finished batting .500 over the tournament, including three extra-base hits. The primary...
Tournaments | Story | 9/25/2023

Deep South Fall Invitational Scout Notes

Alex Dorso
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Patrick Kovacs (2026 Knoxville TN) was dominant in his outing in game two of pool play for Exposure National. The southpaw tossed three scoreless innings allowing two hits while striking out eight. He showed plus command of the fastball dotting it to both sides of the plate while working off the corners at times. Patrick sat 75-78 topping at 79 multiple times throughout. He mixed in a tight breaking ball with two plane movement that he had no problem mixing in any count keeping the opposing hitters off balanced in the box. Coming from a mid 3/4s slot there was some deception within the operation making it tough to pick the fastball up out of the hand. The frame has plenty of athleticism within with plenty of more room for additional strength as he continues to mature. Kovacs should be a fun follow as he continues to progress through high school. Ryan Riojas (‘26 TN) drives this...
Tournaments | Story | 9/24/2023

Sophomore WWBA Scout Notes: Day 3

Troy Sutherland
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Sophomore WWBA Scout Notes: Days 1-2 Extended look at Gunnar Garrison... 7 IP, 1 H, OER, 13 K, 1 BB (70% K) #WWBAWorlds @PG_FourCorners https://t.co/V89oASpD8r pic.twitter.com/tsP1mWCoNz — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) September 21, 2023 Colorado right-hander Gunnar Garrison (2026, Eaton, Colo.) was magnificent in his start for Slammers Anderson 2026’s. The big and physical 6-foot-4, 210-pound arm threw a complete game, seven inning, one-hit shutout, striking out 13 and walking one. The fastball had downhill life to it, sitting in the 85-88 range for the entirety of the game. Garrison held the velocity and reached back for his fastest bullet of the game, at 89, in the seventh inning. Finishing the outing with 70% strikes, he filled up the zone and went right at hitters. He also induced swing-and-miss on a curveball, featuring late...
Tournaments | Story | 9/22/2023

Northeast Qualifier Scout Notes

John McAdams
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Jack Harley (2024, Mendham, NJ) put together a dominant performance at the plate in the WWBA NEQ, leading his team to a coveted Jupiter bid while also earning MVP-honors. The 6-foot-1 left-handed hitter showcased his advanced bat-to-ball skills on several occasions. He batted .643 with two doubles, a home run and six stolen bases. Harley utilizes a repeatable, synced-up stroke with clean separation into launch. He has a great feel for the barrel and creates good strength at impact to all parts of the diamond. The future Hokie recorded a hit in all six of his games and proved to be a reliable bat at the top-of-the-order for Clubhouse 2024 EvoShield. Harley’s build offers a good balance of strength and athleticism, making him a well-rounded prospect with intriguing upside moving forward.  .#VandyBoys commit Aiden O’Connell (‘24, NH) is back on the bump in the #NEQ...
Tournaments | Story | 9/23/2023

Sophomore WWBA Scout Notes: Days 1-2

Vincent Cervino
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Nathan Caldwell (2026, Columbia, S.C.) looked the part in the batter’s box as the Team Elite three-hole hitter had one of the hardest hit balls of the day. There’s really impressive bat speed and the ability to create violence and rotational acceleration through contact. He missiled a single during the game and there looks like there’s going to be pretty significant impact potential long term. He’s a strong kid with good indicators and offensive tools to like. Drew Borkowski (2026, Huntley, Ill.) showed plenty to like in the arm as he got the start in game one on the day for GRB. At 6-foot-1, 170-pounds he’s got a lanky frame with long limbs and plenty of room for physical projection. It’s a quick arm with solid arm speed throughout and he opened up sitting 85-87 mph with the fastball. The fastball showed good sinking life and he used it to get a lot...
College | Story | 9/22/2023

Cape Cod Top 2025 Prospect List

Vincent Cervino
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Earlier this week we debuted our Cape Cod Top 100 Prospect List and mixed amongst the 100 names were some 2025 graduates who will be eligible for the upcoming 2024 MLB Draft. Below, each of the 50 names are eligible in 2025 and those listed with an "^" are continuing their careers at a new school this fall.  Name Pos. Team School Hometown State Adonys Guzman^ C Bourne Arizona Valley Cottage NY Aidan Jimenez RHP Chatham Oregon State Elk Grove CA Anthony Martinez 1B YD UC Irvine Fairfield CA Ben Jacobs LHP Bourne UCLA Huntington Beach CA Bradley Hodges LHP Hyannis Virginia Fleming Island FL Brady Neal C YD LSU Tallahassee FL Brody Donay^ C/1B Hyannis Florida Lakeland FL Caden Bodine C Bourne Coastal Carolina Haddon Heights NJ Cam Leiter^ RHP Orleans Florida State Island Heights FL Cannon Peebles^ C Cotuit Tennessee Mechanicsville VA Drew Faurot^ SS Orleans Florida State Tallahassee FL...
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