2014 Jupiter Impact Players

For five days each October the spring home of the Marlins and Cardinals in Jupiter, Fla. becomes the epicenter of the amateur baseball universe. The talent level and atmosphere are unrivaled, and below is a snapshot of some of the elite players who stood out even amongst their impressive peer group. There are players who missed the cut of this list who will go on to be first round picks, all-stars, and possibly earn even higher accolades. Over the course of five days in October, these are the players who set themselves apart.

The 16th edition of the WWBA World Championship turned out to be the year of the favorite. The defending champion EvoShield Canes knocked off the Orlando Scorpions in the title game, a repeat result of last year's semifinal matchup. GBG Marucci fell short in an epic extra innings semifinal game with the Scorpions in the young organization's second consecutive playoff run in two years of existence.

From a prospects perspective the year of the favorite theme continued as the top ranked prospect in the class, shortstop Brendan Rodgers, accomplished the difficult task of holding serve and living up to the hype. But part of what makes Jupiter must-see scouting is the certainty with which new prospects emerge onto the scene and others make profile boosting jumps, and 2014 was no exception.

Stars on Display

The WWBA World Championship was loaded with elite talent and these select few position players stood out even amongst their impressive group of peers.

Brendan Rodgers (2015 SS, Mets Scout Team/Orlando Scorpions) – Last year Rodgers became the first underclass position player to be featured in this space, and a year of development has taken him from a potential first rounder to a likely top five pick, and legitimate 1/1 candidate. Despite owning present plus power, he is currently a glove-first shortstop. His plus bat speed developed early in his high school career and remains very much intact. Recent strength gains have added additional punch to what was already a potent bat. But the strides he made defensively have altered his profile from that of a power hitter with a legitimate chance to stay at shortstop, to an elite shortstop with an equally lofty offensive ceiling. He played with a target on his back in Jupiter and saw opposing pitchers' entire arsenal in nearly ever at-bat. He didn't have quite the same offensive impact that he had in 2013, but he came up big by driving in game winning runs in consecutive playoff games to send the Scorpions to the championship. There will be questions about his hit tool in the months leading up to the 2015 draft as the scrutiny becomes amplified. There is some swing-and-miss to his offensive profile due to the aggression he swings with, though he can afford to dial back the effort in his swing and still generate plus bat speed. More importantly at this stage; he handled the intense pressure of Jupiter with aplomb and was his team's leader during their run to the championship game.

Demi Orimoloye (2015 OF, Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team) – Canada's top prospect has been on the radar for some time now, though he had a rough landing in his initial foray onto the scene. As a raw underclassman playing up, Orimoloye struggled against the elite prospects of the 2014 draft class, both at the plate and in the outfield. But he learned from those hard lessons, and in the long run has become a better player for it. The rapid development he has shown over the past year is remarkable. And combined with the impressive raw physical tools that his muscular and coordinated 6-foot-3 body possess makes him and early round draft prospect. He is a plus runner, frequently going home to first in 4.1-4.2 seconds (from the right side), and his routes and reads in the outfield have improved significantly. His swing is still a work in progress, and he has a tendency to sweep the barrel, though the overall swing has become significantly more fluid. In addition to the tools and swing refinement, Orimoloye sees the ball well out of the pitcher's hand and has developed quality plate discipline. His strength allows him to generate plus bat speed and he is slowly beginning to tap into his plus raw power. While he's still behind the development curve relative to his competition for the first round of the 2015 draft, his background and recent gains suggest that with time he could close that gap and live up to his immense potential. He has been a fun player to watch develop thus far. 

Chris Betts (2015 C, CBA Marucci) – The lefthanded hitting catcher has one of the most lengthy and impressive prospect resumes possible. He's been on the national scene for the entirety of his prep career, playing for Team USA's 14u National team in 2011 and starting for a prominent powerhouse high school program as a freshman. He started for the West team at the 2014 PG All-American Classic and was making his third appearance at the WWBA World Championship. Scouts thought they knew Betts very well prior to Jupiter, but he showed up in noticeably better shape, having shed significant weight in the months leading up to the tournament. While catcher is a position where scouts are more comfortable with a prospect his height playing at well over 200 pounds, the improved conditioning allowed him significantly improved mobility. Despite plus arm strength behind the plate, Betts' pop times rarely snuck below 2.0 seconds in the past. But with his new, lighter body he shaved about a 10th of a second off of his pop times and was frequently in the 1.9 range between innings. He still has some work to do with improving his agility and anticipation as a receiver, but he is showing improvements at the right time. There has never been much question about the bat and he proved his offensive tools against high velocity pitching on a big stage, yet again. The offensive minded lefthanded hitting catcher was already in the mix for a potential first round selection heading into Jupiter, and he built upon his stock a bit further with his showing and has put himself in good position heading into the spring.

Nick Plummer (2015 OF, Orlando Scorpions/Mets Scout Team) – On paper it looked like Plummer had a quiet showing, going 2-for-18 on the tournament without an extra base hit. But on the other side of the coin he posted a .484 on-base percentage, drawing 11 walks in addition to a pair of hit by pitches in 31 plate appearances. His walks were not the product of facing pitchers with poor control either. His strike zone judgement is exceptional, and he was occasionally punished for making correct decisions by inaccurate called strikes. Despite that he remained undeterred and ran up nearly five pitchers per plate appearance and provided more value to the Scorpions lineup out of the two-hole than the casual observer likely realized. When he swings the bat he rarely misses and has shown playable power on the national stage. He's a below average runner whose polished routes and reads in the outfield allow him to play above average present defense, though he'll likely move to a corner as a professional. While his profile isn't as loud as the typical early round draft prospect, he is extremely polished for a high school prospect and he has already proven that his tools translate well to game situations.

Nick Shumpert (2015 MIF, Tri-State Arsenal) – One of the most polarizing prospects in the 2015 class, the range of opinions amongst scouts on Shumpert is huge. The athletic middle infielder owns a very loud set of tools, though the gap between his present skills and long-term potential is significant. While his swing is still long, he has cut down on that length considerably over the past couple of years and still generates plus bat speed with the shortened version. He has above average raw power and is an above average present runner with solid arm strength. While he lacks the polish that a lot of baseball-only athletes from warm weather states possess, Shumpert has been developing his game "in public." While some scouts are going to be turned off by the amount swing-and-miss and errant throws that are still present in his game, others are going to be enamored with his upside as a potential power source at an up-the-middle defensive position. The wide gap between present skills and future upside should be expected of a high school player from Colorado, given the limited number of outdoor reps available. As a result there hasn't been a high school player drafted in the first round out of Colorado since outfielder Darnell McDonald went 26th overall in 1997.

Well-Armed

In a tournament where high velocities were the norm, this group of elite pitchers stood out from the impressive field at the WWBA World Championship for their ability to not just throw hard, but for their ability to pitch.

Nick Neidert (2015 RHP, Team Elite Prime)– A case could be made that no other pitcher did more for their draft stock in Jupiter. Neidert has quietly put together a strong resume over the summer and fall. While working in the upper-80s to low-90s with advanced feel for three pitches, Neidert's name often got lost in the shuffle as the power arms hogged the headlines. But scouts certainly took notice of Neidert as well and have been tracking his progress. He was one of the most impressive pitchers to take the mound at the 2014 PG National Showcase, spotting up to all parts of the zone while carving some of the nation's top hitters. There was never any question about his pitchability, but he lacked the kind of firepower that sets first round prospects apart, as touching the mid-90s is practically a prerequisite for first round consideration. On the draft's single biggest stage, Jupiter, Neidert unleashed more velocity than he'd shown in the past, topping out at a tournament best 96 mph. His final (80th) pitch of a complete game shutout registered 95 mph. His breaking ball also showed improved power and his overall arsenal has come along to a point where he now belongs in the conversation for best present ability righthanders in the 2015 class.

Austin Bergner (2016 RHP, Florida Burn) – The WWBA World Championship is an event where prospects establish their draft stock for the following June. As such, it is a senior dominated event. But occasionally an underclassman will make a huge impression and establish themselves early. Bergner did just that with an impressive five strikeout to no walk four inning start. He's certainly no stranger to the national stage, as this was his second tour of duty in Jupiter and he debuted as the No. 1 prospect in PG's initial class of 2016 rankings. His performance undoubtedly caught the eye of MLB scouts who were on hand working on their 2015 draft preparations. Bergner sat 93-95 with a hammer curveball at 80 mph. He also has a solid changeup to go with those two present plus offerings and generates them with a short arm action and a repeatable delivery. He's athletic for a 6-foot-5 underclassman and would be a Division I recruit as a position prospect if he had never taken the mound. He already checks all of the boxes that scouts look for in a pitching prospect, as any additional refinement he adds between now and 2016 will bolster his stock further upward.

Juan Hillman (2015 LHP, Cardinals Scout Team/FTB Chandler) – There is a whole lot to like about Hillman, and more than just what the radar gun says. He topped out at a solid 91 mph, but more importantly he generates that velocity with a minimal effort delivery that he repeats well. He pounds the strike zone and hides the baseball extremely well and his delivery and arm action are both loose and easy. In his opening night tune-up he turned in one of the most dominant two inning starts possible, striking out all six batters he faced while throwing 18 of his 23 pitches for strikes. He commanded both sides of the plate at 88-91 and dropped a big sweeping low-70s hook into both lower corners of the zone while also mixing a solid mid- to upper-70s changeup that he also showed feel for. Hillman was the most impressive lefty on display in Jupiter and he projects well going forward.

Ashe Russell (2015 RHP, EvoShield Canes) – The defending champions anointed Russell as their ace, and he had big shoes to fill, as the Canes' top arm in 2013, righthander Grant Holmes, "slipped" to 22nd overall in the 2014 draft. In his opening night start Russell dominated, painting the black on both sides with his breaking ball. In an unusual twist, Russell is one of the rare pitching prospects who actually commands his breaking ball better than his fastball. He controls his fastball well enough to get ahead and set up the breaker, which he uses to put hitters away. It's particularly confounding since his breaking ball is a deep, sweeping slurve that typically would be difficult for most pitchers to command, especially from a delivery with as many moving parts as his. But time and time again Russell has shown the ability to do just that. He defies conventional wisdom regarding pitching prospects in several regards, but he topped out at 94 mph and has a swing-and-miss breaking ball and is a case study in not overthinking prospects who don't fit the mold. He has consistently shown the ability to utilize his high caliber arsenal, and that is what matters most.

Beau Burrows (2015 RHP, EvoShield Canes) – The tournament champions were built on pitching and Burrows is one of the premier pitchers in the class. He topped out at 95 mph, but it's not just the velocity that stands out about Burrows. He shows advanced fastball command and his changeup is one of the better righthanded changeups in the class. The question mark that scouts had about his repertoire coming into Jupiter was the curveball. While that pitch has flashed plus in short spurts, it has been inconsistent and a section of the scouting community hadn't yet seen his curveball at its best. In the first few innings of his outing in Jupiter that continued to be the case, but he eventually found his release point late in the game and unleashed several 80 mph yellow hammers for strikes. Just as he was finding his groove, his teammates put an end to the one-sided contest early with a mercy rule abbreviated victory. But his fourth and final inning of work was his best, and while scouts would liked to have seen if he could sustain it, it was a strong final impression heading into the offseason.

Hidden Gems

This is a group of players who entered the WWBA World Championship with their talent relatively unknown to the PG scouting staff as well as many of the scouts and recruiters in attendance. They came away from Jupiter with their ability burned into the back of scouts' minds.

Antonio Santillan (2015 RHP/SS, Dallas Mustangs) – A primary shortstop coming into the tournament, Santillan made a splash on opening night in his relief appearance against the Orlando Scorpions. He topped out at 94 mph and struck out the nation's top prospect, Brendan Rodgers. He's somewhat new to the mound and he battled his control in his start during the Mustangs' final pool play game, but he has big arm strength. His low-90s fastball is complemented by a pair of breaking balls that each flashed plus, though sparingly. He showed a sharp 12-to-6 curveball up to 78 mph and an 84 mph late-biting slider. Santillan also offers plenty of potential with the bat, but his arm strength is the standout of his profile and his upside on the mound is quite high. As he improves his delivery and begins to get more out of his natural arm strength he could see his power arsenal take a further step forward and generate significant interest. All of the raw ingredients to become an impact arm on the mound are present.

Tyler Nevin (2015 CIF, CBA Marucci)– The son of MLB veteran and former first overall pick Phil Nevin was on the national radar at an early age. But an elbow injury cost him most of the past two years and he fell behind as the 2015 draft class established itself. After attempting to rehab from the UCL injury, he ultimately required Tommy John surgery to repair the ligament and wasn't able to return to game action until a few months ago. Scouts are still trying to build a track record on Nevin, and getting to see him face elite competition in Jupiter was a big step in that process. He possesses impressive upside with the bat, combining quality bat speed with good hand-eye coordination and an advanced approach. He has a frame that is capable of handling significant strength gains and projects to develop plus physical strength, suggesting that his power ceiling is quite high. As he gets more competitive games under his belt his profile and draft stock will begin to become more clear. And while his stock hasn't come into focus yet, his return to the field in 2014 was a highly successful one and he has put himself in good position heading into the spring of 2015.

Logan Gillaspie (2015 RHP/C, GBG Marucci) – While he made the Area Code Games and was somewhat of a known name to west coast scouts as a catcher, his performance on the mound in Jupiter alters his prospect status considerably. His arm strength behind the plate translates very well to the mound and he served as a lockdown reliever in GBG's playoff run. He worked 90-92 with a sharp low-80s slider that comes out of the same plane as his fastball. He threw a lot of quality strikes from a simple, repeatable delivery and projects for more power to his arsenal as he gets stronger. He's a switch hitting catcher with some pop who already had some interest in him as a position player, but the pitching version of Gillaspie is a very intriguing one.

Ian Kahaloa (2015 RHP, Houston Banditos) – The Hawaiian islands' geographic isolation creates a significant hurdle for prospects to be seen. Thus Kahaloa could have easily slipped through the cracks despite his obvious talent. But he came up with a big performance for Campbell High School during the state championship tournament this spring with numerous scouts on the islands to see eventual first rounder Kodi Medeiros. Kahaloa's name began to circulate after he made a couple of successful trips to pitch in front of scouts in Arizona, including at the PG/EvoShield National Championship in September. Thus his appearance in Jupiter drew a strong turnout. He was used in a relief role on a deep Banditos pitching staff, and while his performance itself didn't live up to his potential, he held his own against quality hitting prospects. More importantly, high rankings scouts who had heard the name finally got a chance to lay eyes on him and see how well his arm works and how much life his 92 mph fastball has on it. His delivery is still a work in progress, as the fast pace and moving parts make repeating it difficult, but he's a strong athlete who has shown the ability to harness his raw stuff fairly well in previous appearances and features significant upside.

Indelible Impressions

These are a few of the moments and performances that are etched in the minds of the PG scouting staff from the WWBA World Championship.

Holton halts GBG run, earns MVPitcher honors – Lefthander Tyler Holton, a Florida State commit, tossed a gem in pool play, working three uneventful innings in his first start. He then got the ball for a huge matchup in Monday morning's semifinal game against GBG Marucci. He delivered a big performance in that big game, firing seven shutout innings to setup what turned out to be a classic Jupiter battle, which his Scorpions ended up winning in 10 innings. When it was all said and done Holton punched out 13 in 10 shutout innings of work, including nine in the semfinals, while walking just one. He worked primarily in the mid-80s, peaking at 88, but commanded his fastball well to both sides of the plate. He also showed feel for his deep 12-to-6 curveball in the low-70s and deep sinking changeup. He projects well, and while mid- to upper-80s pitchability prep arms aren't typically in high demand come June, he showed that his pitchability is matched by his competitiveness. If he makes it to Tallahassee the Seminoles could be getting one of the premiere pitchers in college baseball.

PAL shifts into final four– The year of the favorite featured a final four that included three teams that have racked up a pile of trophies in recent years and entered the tournament with expectations to contend. The recent track record of Palm Beach PAL suggests that it should come as no surprise that they crashed the party, though it's difficult not to call their quarterfinal victory over the Cardinals Scout Team/FTB Chandler an upset. The Cardinals Scout Team boasted six PG All-American Classic alumni, and a handful of underclassmen who may join those ranks in the future. PAL has always been known for doing all of the little things to squeeze every last bit of production out of its roster, and in 2014 that included bringing the shift to travel ball. It was only a matter of time before someone did it, as the shift has become extremely prevalent at the Major League level and has infiltrated it's way all the way down to the rookie ball ranks in pro ball. We're going to begin seeing more and more of it in the amateur game, and "Moneyball Palm Beach" (as one MLB exec referred to them) became one of the early adopters during the WWBA World Championship playoffs. It was only employed a handful of times by PAL, and had no tangible effect on the outcome, but rather served as a distraction to get into the heads of a lineup that already owned a strong flyball tendency. They finished off the game with a two-out save from a submariner righthander, Zach Schneider, who frustrated a toolsy lineup with low-80s fastballs that he commanded well and punched their ticket to Championship Monday.

Zimmerman deals under the radar – When top pitching prospects take the mound in Jupiter golf carts pile up several rows deep as scouts jockey for prime position. In fact, you can get a decent sense of where a pitcher's stock currently sits based on what kind of scouting turnout they draw. If that holds true for lefty Michael Zimmerman it's good news for the Florida Gators and bad news for the rest of the SEC. The 6-foot-3 southpaw doesn't light up the radar gun, working primarily in the mid- to upper-80s, though he did touch 91 mph in Jupiter. But the plus life that he imparts on all three of his pitches from a low three-quarters arm slot makes him a brutal matchup. He threw well in Jupiter, showing an idea of where to release his dancing arsenal in order to keep it within the strike zone. His fastball features big sinking tail, his curveball bites hard in the mid-70s with sharp 1-to-7 break and his changeup has late darting action to the arm side. He seems to be flying a bit under the draft radar at this point, and if that continues he looks poised to have a major impact in college.

Coach Fineman's Debut – Catcher Ryan Fineman has a reputation with SoCal scouts as a team leader and draws strong reviews in the makeup department. He recently lost a significant amount of weight and his pop times improved into the plus range, with frequent sub 1.9 between innings throwdowns in recent months. He was showing off his catch-and-throw ability in GBG Marucci's first game of the tournament when he felt a pain in his throwing elbow. He immediately took himself out of the game, which is something that would only happen in extreme circumstances. It turned out that he suffered a spring in the UCL of his throwing arm. After returning home from Jupiter he was given the good news that the ligament isn't torn and likely won't require surgery, but he didn't know that during GBG Marucci's playoff run. It would be a devastating blow to any player, and it almost certainly was to Fineman, though he wouldn't let his teammates or outside observers know it. While he's seen as a catching prospect, scouts and college coaches that know him also consider him to have an equally bright future in coaching or scouting after his playing career comes to an end. Thus it should come as no surprise that following the injury he immediately appointed himself to the GBG coaching staff. The way in which he responded to a crushing blow was extremely impressive and suggests that he's likely to take his rehab seriously and continue to squeeze the most ability out of himself possible. While he wasn't able to show scouts his ability between the lines during Jupiter, the Indiana commit scored huge points in the makeup department.