Gustavo Rodriguez is a young player from the Dominican who’s listed as a 2018 graduate which means he’s already 16 years old (16 and four months to be exact) and is eligible for this July 2nd signing period. His swing certainly isn’t that of your typical would-be sophomore in high school as the righthanded Rodriguez was able to generate easy and big bat speed with strength that hi 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame may not indicate being in there.
Rashad Collymore is a young and physically gifted switch-hitting prospect from Canada who showed both bat speed and strength from either side of the plate with better leverage coming at the point of contact from the left side.
David Lamanna took a round of batting practice that was very similar to the round a year ago at the Junior National as he showed a smooth feel for the barrel with solid present strength coming off the barrel to the middle and pull side parts of the field.
Brian Morrell, like Lamanna above, is another Notre Dame commit who impressed with his righthanded swing, showing a simple swing with solid bat speed and strength to his pull side.
Ben Ramirez has been a known name on the national scene for some time and his swing has continued to evolve ever since his debut. Now 6-foot-3, 180-pounds Ramirez projects very well with physical strength though he’s already able to generate solid leverage and bat speed with loud contact coming to the pull side.
Shane Muntz is a very strong and physical 6-foot-4, 240-pounds and he may have been responsible for perhaps the single most impressive piece of contact on the night, sending a long 430-foot home run (per TrackMan) over the center field wall.
Adam Hall, another young prospect from Canada, put together an extremely loud day one and continued to impress with the bat after running and throwing very well. From the right side the Texas A&M commit did a nice job of incorporating his lower half and explosive hands into his swing, consistently driving balls off the Green Monster in left field.
Cole Turney has long been lauded for his lefthanded power and he once again put it on display once he got his swing going. Both the bat speed and hand speed can rival almost any in the class and he put both on display as he was able to create big leverage to center field and even rattled one off the Pesky Pole down the right field line.
Kennesaw State appears to have another talented outfielder locked up in Josh Hatcher a year after having one of the biggest risers in high schooler Brandon Marsh. Hatcher is already 6-foot-2 180-pounds with present strength but projects very well as his hands are extremely quick and the path is plenty fluid with present jump coming off the barrel.
Nick Allen is another California player who’s been on the national scene for a bit and while he’s noted for his standout defensive actions, which he showed during the drills, he also swung it well from the right side. He doesn’t try to do too much as he stays within himself, hitting line drive to both the middle and pull side parts of the field with an easy, fluid swing.
Jeter Downs, who impressive in every other facet of his game, also took a loud round of batting practice, putting his righthanded hit tool on display for the scouts in attendance. His hands are plenty quick and he was able to generate leverage at the point of contact with hard line drive contact coming off the barrel.
Calvin Mitchell is a strong 6-foot-1, 200-pound San Diego commit and he captured everybody’s attention with his lefthanded stroke. The swing features plenty of rhythm and balance and the bat speed comes easy with hard contact coming off the barrel, showing solid extension out front at the point of contact.
Royce Lewis looks the part physically at 6-foot-2, 188-pounds and his swing is one that projects very well. His overall path is short and quick to the ball while generating leverage out front, helping to create big carry to the opposite field.
Ethan Gallagher made his way down from the Northeast and he didn’t disappoint with his righthanded power. After registering an exit velo of 104 mph in the Zepp testing, Gallagher continued to swing a heavy stick from the right side with hard and loud jump coming off the barrel to the middle and pull side parts of the field.
Garret Mitchell followed Calvin Mitchell and did so in just as impressive of a way. Another strong lefthanded bat, Garrett Mitchell showed big present bat speed as well as fast hands which helped generate consistent and hard contact coming off the barrel.
Danny Zimmerman may be listed as a primary righthanded pitcher in the program but with the way he swung the bat he appears to have two-way ability should he make it to Michigan where he’s committed. The 6-foot-5 righthanded hitting Zimmerman did a nice job of creating leverage and incorporating his physical strength to generate loud contact to the middle of the field.
Quentin Holmes turned in the top 60-yard time at the National Showcase with a 6.15 and he also showed well from the right side of the plate. Staying short and direct with his path Holmes was able to create line drive contact to the middle of the field with strength coming off.
Cole Brannen came up just short of the top 60 time for the event to Holmes above with a 6.18 time and also threw 91 mph from the OF. Showed very impressive bat speed and leverage with a line drive swing plane. Worked the ball very well to both pull side and up the middle with intent to drive the ball.
Luis Campusano showed very impressive rhythm and timing with a quick bat and strength originated from his lower half with torque into his swing. Created good leverage and made contact on every ball he turned around showing barrel control and bat speed including one that went off the Nike "Defy Limits" sign on top of the left field wall.
Philip Clarke and Cooper Swanson are a pair of athletic Vanderbilt commits who turned in loud batting practices as well. Clarke started narrow with a simple stride to the ball with a very quick barrel and drive ability pull side. Swanson showed similar physical strength and bat speed with lightning quick hands and a line drive plane. They both blistered baseballs and scattered them around the field with consistent barrel ability.
Shane McGuire drove the ball very well with good leverage and strong torque through his lower half. He showed good bat and hand speed through the zone with a simple shift to the ball and good rhythm throughout. The uncommitted catcher also stood out with an impressive 6.82 60 time during workouts.