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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/23/2016

16u BCS Finals Day 5 Scout Notes

Brandon Hohl     


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Another intriguing prospect from Chet Lemons Juice is Yeakarlos Lleras (2018, Carolina, Puerto Rico). When I look at Lleras his body type and style remind me of Melvin Upton Jr. He’s still rail thin but the athleticism shows through the lack of physical maturity, which is a great sign. At the plate he stands narrow and open, the torso is upright, with the hands above the shoulder. Lleras begins his swing with a gather to the rear leg, uses a leg lift with slight internal rotation that coils the hip, his hands drop while wiggling the barrel to a tipped launch position. As he strides forward, Lleras maintains his coil and lands in a torqued position. His lower half is explosive which generates bat speed and leads to probably one of the better bat paths I’ve seen in the past two weeks. Lleras is currently hitting .444 for the tournament with three RBI and a run scored.

The Boca Raton Thunder have impressed through pool play with the help of Jack Hay (2019, Parkland, Fla.) At the plate he stands with his feet slightly wider than shoulder width, and upright torso and his back elbow up with the barrel resting on the shoulder. He begins his swing by gathering in to the rear leg with a toe tap, lifting the barrel off the shoulder before striding forward, creating good hip and front-side coil. Jack lands in a strong torqued position and has a good path to the ball. His bat speed is still developing but Hay has great mechanics that put him on time with every pitch he sees. Jack has had success at the plate so far in the tournament, ending pool play hitting .500 and scoring five runs.

Also impressive for the Boca Thunder was uncommitted shortstop Christian Larson (2019, Boca Raton, Fla.). Larson has the prototypical shortstop frame standing at a lithe 6-foot and 150-pounds with plenty of room to fill. He shows great actions in the field with great hands and a good arm. At the plate he has a loose rhythmic stance with the feet set shoulder width, and upright torso and hands held at shoulder height. Larson has beautiful mechanics to start the swing by keeping the rear leg braced, with a leg lift with internal rotation that coils the hip and front side. His hands and the barrel move back as he strides forward, creating a great launch position. He really gets in his legs while maintaining explosiveness in the hips and working up to the ball. Like his teammate, Jack Hay, I think the bat speed is developing and the strength will come with maturity.

Chain National-Dobbs continues to throw impressive arms on the mound the most recent was uncommitted Mason Hand (Columbia, AL 2017). On the mound has a high leg lift with internal rotation that creates torque in the rear leg, kicks out with lead leg in to a long stride, long arm swing gaining speed to an over-the-top release. Touching 87 miles per hour with his four seam fastball, Mason showed command of the strike zone by attacking hitters early in the count and working both sides of the plate. He would occasionally miss high with the fastball but he would set up his 11/5 slurve at 70 miles per hour by changing elevations as well. Mason also impressed with his ability to maintain command of his pitches by controlling the running game while varying his looks and holds with runners on base. The uncommitted right handed pitcher finished with three innings of work while allowing only two hits and five strikeouts.

A pair of catchers for Chain National-Buress continue to impress at the plate. First up is Darius Diaz (2018, Perth Amboy, N.J.), who who has a wide stance, upright torso, and rests the bat on his shoulder. Diaz starts his swing with a quick gather to the rear leg, barely lifting his foot off the ground as he takes a small stride forward and uses his lower half violently. His mechanics allow him to work up to the ball with his body and his bat path follows. Darius matches plane with his bat path with great bat speed and strength. His primary position is catcher and he definitely has the ability to stay behind the plate in the future. The only thing I’d like to see him continue to develop is his arm. He also runs well for a catcher and because of his success at the plate I only have trotted singles timed down the first base line. Diaz is currently 7-for-15 with a double and a triple.

And then there is uncommitted Orlando Adams, Jr. (2018, Atlanta, Ga.), who, with his imposing size in the box, stands with his feet wider than shoulder width, an upright torso and a high back elbow and bat held at 45-degrees. Orlando keeps his hands and barrel in a strong launch position throughout his movements, so the hands barely move as he strides forward. His weight shift to rear leg coils his front side, then lands in a torqued position, engaging his hips violently as he works up to the ball. He has sudden bat speed and strength at contact. Between the two catchers, Adams is more physically mature and advanced at the plate where Diaz is the more skilled catcher. Both run above average for catchers and do not clog the bases.

Uncommitted outfield prospect for Top Tier, Clay Thompson (2018, Richmond, Ill.), shows raw athleticism hitting from the left side. He stands tall at the plate with feet shoulder width apart and holds the barrel high above his head. With rhythm he shifts into the rear leg, then using a short stride Thompson separates, dropping his hands and tipping the barrel to a low launch position, landing in a torqued position. He has a really fluid swing, showing bat speed and a good path working up to the ball. His lower half finishes in a good position with the hips showing quick rotation. I do think that he stays too tall with his upper body throughout the swing. By doing this he can create more leverage on the barrel and generate power in to the ball. Thompson is currently 5-for-11 with three RBI and four runs scored.

From Thursday, making a relief appearance for the FTB Rockets was a tall and projectable righthanded pitcher, Jacob Mercado (2017, Royal Palm Beach, Fla.). His fastball reached up to 86 mph, although he struggled to find the zone at his peak velocity, sitting mostly at 82-84. The fastball showed an impressive amount of arm-side run generating a lot of swing and misses from both lefthanded hitters and righthanded hitters. In my opinion his best pitch was the changeup, which he showed incredible command of as well. Mercado threw it arm side at 75-76 mph with good fastball arm speed, good depth and run. Despite its movement, the changeup did get hit hard due to the fact that it moves almost identical to his fastball. In two innings of work, Mercado recorded three strikeouts.
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