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Tournaments  | Story  | 9/11/2016

PG/Evo Underclass Day 2 Notes

Jheremy Brown     
Photo: Perfect Game


2016 PG/EvoShield National Championship (Underclass) Day 1 Scout Notes

After being written about yesterday due to the defensive strides he has made this summer, Nolan Gorman (2018, Ariz.) was back to business with the bat, going 2-for-3 with a double and a home run in SACSN’s win late Saturday night. It’s been well-documented by Perfect Game just how impressive his offensive skills are, and he continues to put them on display pretty much every time he takes the field. His hands are unbelievably quick at the plate, generating plus bat speed already (remember he’s still an underclassman), with an ideal swing path to launch angle, and plenty of power. He’s shown the ability to drive the baseball to all parts of the field with over-the-fence power, and he’s done nothing but continue to get stronger and hone those raw hitting tools over the course of his development, making him one of the best hitting prospects in an absolutely loaded class of 2018. As mentioned yesterday as well, his defense continues to improve on the left side of the infield, thanks in part to continued increases in quickness, footwork, and overall athleticism. Coach Jay Johnson and the University of Arizona should be absolutely ecstatic with his development overall.




2018 righthander Blake Burzell (Calif.) showed up in a huge way on Saturday morning at Camelback Ranch, and the 6-foot-5, 205-pound righty looks the part of a future top-of-the-rotation ace at Duke. He’s extremely athletic and obviously projectable on the mound, with a simple delivery that he repeats well, in addition to a very clean arm action with advanced arm speed. He threw three innings on Saturday, allowing only a single walk while racking up 9 strikeouts as a part of a combined no-hitter for Birds Black in their 11-0 victory. He worked in the 87-90 mph range for the entirety of his outing, reaching as high as 91 and looking extremely easy while doing. He worked downhill with plenty of plane and life on the fastball, generating an incredible 20 swings and misses out of his 51 pitches total. Even more impressive was the fact that the vast majority of the pitches he threw were fastballs, often climbing the ladder to get swings and misses up in the zone.

The BPA 2018 squad is absolutely loaded, per usual, and rolls into the playoffs having allowed zero runs in pool play, while scoring 27 across three games. On Saturday morning they won in a 14-0 rout behind a run-rule shortened four-inning no-hitter from Zach Hare (2019, Nev.).

Several BPA hitters stood out, as one would expect when scoring 14 runs. Maxwell Foxcroft (2018, Calif.) is committed to Oregon, and looks the part of an impact top-of-the-order hitter and middle infielder for the Ducks in the future. He’s an extremely smooth defender up the middle with easy actions and above-average range and footwork, having no problems around the bag or to his glove side. At the plate, he lofted a long triple over the right fielder’s head, clocking in at 4.52 seconds on the turn, and showing a combination of speed and power that isn’t often seen in middle infielders. The swing plane is ideally lofted and the bat speed is enough to consistently produce power up the gaps, with home run power on the way as he continues to physically mature.

Uncommitted 2019 lefthander and outfielder Josh Hahn turned some heads on Saturday as well at the plate, with a highly advanced approach and some serious bat speed. The Huntington Beach native roped a line drive into right field in his first at bat and followed it up with a pair of walks. The swing is leveraged extremely well at contact, and he’s got plenty of bat speed and strength in that swing, capable of producing impressive exit velocities at will. He takes with intent as well, something evaluators absolutely want to see in young hitters.




Mason Goodman (2018, Calif.), a righthanded pitcher, started on the mound for GBG Marucci Navy in their Saturday afternoon affair, earning the win with six quality innings of two unearned run baseball, scattering six hits and a walk to go with four strikeouts. He’s a big, physical prospect with lots of strength throughout his body, using that strength to power downhill well from the mound with good leg drive. The delivery is slightly crossfire due to the closed landing, but he gets over his front side well and generates good angle to the plate from a slightly lower three quarters arm slot, hiding the ball well until release and not giving opposing hitters a very good look at the ball. He worked 82-84 mph early on with his fastball, getting to the bottom of the zone well and eliciting lots of weak contact thanks in part to both the plane and the sinking life he’s able to generate, mixing in a deep, good-spinning curveball as well. GBG Marucci Navy will advance to the playoffs thanks to a 3-0 run through pool play.

The San Diego Show-Black team advanced to the playoffs on the heels of a 3-0 pool play record, including a decisive 6-1 victory on Saturday evening. Zach Prajzner (2018, Calif.) started on the mound and allowed only a single run over three innings to go along with five strikeouts. He touched as high as 86 mph, sitting in the 82-85 range, pounding the zone downhill with his fastball, clearing his hips well and getting downhill online with good extension out front at release. His curveball was a weapon for him on this day, with 12-to-6 shape and very good depth, throwing strikes consistently with the pitch and on the whole keeping the opposing hitters extremely off balance thanks to his ability to pound the zone consistently while mixing pitches effectively.

Bradley Polinsky (2018, Calif.) provided some of the fireworks for the Show, tripling on a frozen rope down the right field line and adding a walk as well. His swing is compact and very quick, and he’s got some pretty significant strength in addition to the raw bat speed he creates, and has consistently hit at Perfect Game events for a long time now.

– Brian Sakowski



At this point in time it’s not vividly clear as to whether 2019 Vanderbilt commit Spencer Jones (Encinitas, Calif.) ends up on the mound or in the batter’s box, a good problem to have if you’re the young 6-foot-7 prospect who’s currently ranked No. 6 in the class. Jones was handed the ball and got the start on the mound during Phenom’s first of three games on the day and though he ran into some bouts of command issues, his opening frame was one of the more impressive innings of work I’ve seen this tournament.
Typically, when you have the combination of Jones’ size and age on the mound you see a young delivery full of moving parts and a struggle to repeat as the pitcher is still figuring out the length of his body. And while Jones did have his moments when his halves got disjointed and out of sync, he definitely showed what he’s capable of and the end result could be something very, very good. Unlike the description of pitchers similarly built to Jones above, the future Commodore showed plenty of balance and athleticism to his delivery and once he found his release point in the first inning he made quick work of the hitters. He sat 84-86 mph with his fastball and bumped an 87 while creating obvious angle and plane given his size.

Still one of the more projectable arms in the tournament despite his listed size as he stands at 185-pounds, Jones snapped off one of the better breaking balls I’ve seen thus far in the tournament. While maintaining the same high three-quarters arm slot, Jones showed very tight rotation on the 75 mph pitch with late and hard bite with 1-7. And while everything I’ve said to this point would point towards him pitching in the future, he’s just as impressive with the bat and shows the same type of balance and athleticism in the box. Jones’ swing is both full and fluid with loose hands and as he continues to develop physically it’s easy to envision him leaving the park with the long ball as he can already backspin the ball to either gap.

Another member of Vanderbilt’s 2019 recruiting class, Wesley Scott (Riverside, Calif.) is known for his right arm that produces a low-90s fastball already but yesterday he impressed with his righthanded swing. Employing an aggressive approach with quick hands and sound bat speed, Scott regularly found the barrel and was able to work all fields picking up a couple of singles to both the opposite and middle parts of the field.




An Arizona native, uncommitted 2019 righthander Chandler Murphy (Peoria, Az.) drew a nice crowd of on looking college coaches and rightfully so. Listed at a very projectable 6-foot-3, 185-pounds, Murphy appears a little bit more physical standing on the mound but nonetheless still projects nicely and showed the type of arm action that will allow for further growth.

As he is now, Murphy pumped the strike zone with fastball that sat in the 84-86 mph range and did so rather easily showing a full and fluid arm stroke in the back before generating really nice extension out front upon release. With that extension Murphy was able to live down in the zone frequently with his heater while showing short running life to the arm side. His first four innings on the mound were clean and part of the reason for that, aside from the fastball and the ability to work either side of the plate, was his slider. Thrown in the 72-74 mph range, Murphy did a nice job of staying on top of the ball and generating short and late tilting action with tight rotation and a near mimicked arm action.

Another player committed to TCU who made the trip out to Arizona, Pennsylvania native and 2018 graduate Nick O’Day (Coatesville, Pa.) continues to impress with the bat. Still growing and adding strength to his frame, O’Day’s hands in the righthanded batter’s box have remained extremely quick with which he’s able to generate solid bat speed while whipping the barrel head through the zone. We got to see a little bit of everything from O’Day on a single swing as he showed off the swing and strength by doubling to the base of the left field wall in his second trip to the plate, as well as the foot speed as he moved well on his feet and accelerated nicely from first to second once turning around the bag.

It was a nice night at the yard for 2018 North Carolina commit Will Schroeder (Leesburg, Va.) as he excelled on both sides of the ball and showed plenty of athleticism just as he did during my looks at him this summer. Listed as a primary short who’s 6-foot-1, 170-pounds, Schroeder showed well defensively both up the middle and at third base where he shifted after a couple of innings. But before moving over Schroeder made to very nice, athletic play at shortstop the first of which came on a slow roller that came chagrining in on hard, picked the ball on the run, and delivered a strike across. And it wasn’t too long after that play that Schroeder showed off his lateral range moving up the middle, fully extended on a ground ball, sprung to his feel, spun, and nearly got the runner there. The future Tar Heel also impressed with the bat he connected for a hard line drive single through the six-hole before tripling to the left-center field gap, showing the same speed he did prior on a 6-3 putout in which he ran a 4.3 down the line.

If you’re only going to look at the radar gun when watching 2019 uncommitted lefthander Quinn Mathews (Aliso Viejo, Calif.) then you won’t get the whole story in terms of what he is on the mound. Ultra-projectable at 6-foot-2, 150-pounds, Matthews sat rather comfortably in the 79-81 mph range over the first couple of frame and continuously showed off a full and clean arm action with a rather simple set of mechanics. Matthews works from a higher release point, which when coupled with his long limbs and ability to get on top of the ball, allowed him to pump fastballs to the lower third of the strike zone with short running life to the arm side. Even more impressive though is his advanced feel for his low-70s changeup, a pitch he’d throw regardless the count and did so with confidence and conviction. As he continues to incorporate additional lower half into his finish and grow in terms of physicality, the velocity with undoubtedly tick up though he already has the pitchability side of things locked down.

The Pacific Northwest program continues to bring down talented rosters each year to Arizona and this year is certainly no exception. Getting the ball in their third and final pool play game was uncommitted 2018 lefthander Samuel Lauderdale (Vancouver, Wash.), who like a few other arms this tournament, drew a nice crowd of on looking coaches. Listed at a very long and lean, highly projectable 6-foot-1, 160-pounds, Lauderdale came out pumping 84-86 mph fastball, bumping 87s, and did so with a clean and easy arm action. His arm action is full through the back and he worked down in the zone well early in the game, showing nice angle from an extended three-quarters arm slot with short running life. Lauderdale’s overall delivery is simple and pretty balanced, which bodes well for when he adds additional strength to his core and frame and should in turn see another uptick in his overall arsenal.

A recent commit to Southern California, it’s clear as to why the Trojan’s coaching staff pulled the trigger on young 2019 lefthander Campbell Holt (Las Vegas, Nev.). Listed at a very lean and projectable 6-foot-2, 170-pounds, Campbell got the start for the SY Titans and immediately went to work, pounding the strike zone with three pitches and steadily missed bats and induced weak ground ball contact as nothing he throws is straight. His arm action alone makes for an uncomfortable at-bat as he works from a low three-quarters arm slot, then add to the fact that he’s in full attack mode and throwing three pitches for strikes and it could be a touch overwhelming. He ran his fastball up to 84 mph and showed off a quick arm while living in the low-80s and proved capable of creating consistent angle to the bottom of the zone with short sinking life. Campbell’s breaking ball is more of a slurve at this point with sweeping finish at 69-70 mph but there was enough shape and solid rotation to be an effective offering. Always working ahead in the count also allowed Campbell to mix in his changeup, a low-70s pitch with which he maintains both his slot and arm speed very well and shows nice fading life out of the hand.

One of the fun parts of this tournament is uncovering the previously unseen talent and the very young talent that litters the rosters and two players who fall into both categories are a couple of 2020s in the Pacific Northwest’s Cameron Green (Renton, Wash.) and GBG Baseball 2019/18’s Carter Graham (Calabasas, Calif). If you put the two side-by-side you might be able to tell they’re the same age given the youth in their faces but in terms of build it might be a little harder to tell.

Green, who’s listed at 6-foot-2, 170-pounds, got the start out in centerfield and projects very well with a high waist and a long, lean built whereas Graham already stands at 6-foot-2, 200-pounds with impressive physical strength for a senior in high school, let alone a player who has yet to play a high school inning. Green showed off his athleticism out in centerfield with a quick first step and a fully extended diving catch while charging in and also shows some tools with the bat as he stayed short with his swing and picked up a single over the shortstop’s head. Graham was playing first base in my initial look though he’s listed as a primary outfielder, though more telling about his game was the fact he was hitting in the three-hole despite being the only 2020 listed on the roster. A presence in the batter’s box, Graham shows nice balance to his swing already, as well as quick hands and a short, direct path to the ball and as he continues to develop leverage into his swing it isn’t too hard to envision the ball going a long way off of his barrel.




Continuing with the theme mentioned above, Terrell Hudson (Phoenix, Ariz.) is listed as a primary third baseman in the program and though he swings a powerful stick from the right side (doubled early in the game) he appears to have an awfully bright future on the mound. In an underclass type tournament such as this Hudson’s physical frame is certain to stand out as he’s listed at 6-foot-4, 215-pounds though that type of build stands out on any baseball field. With broad shoulders and plenty of present strength, Hudson showed athleticism to his delivery and though it’s not a finished product just yet, it’s certainly on its way. The arm action works very well right now and though there’s some length through the backside there’s also enough arm speed that he’s regularly on top of the ball and able to generate severe downhill plane to his heater on a regular basis. Early on he worked in the 83-86 mph range, touching a few 87s and did with relative ease from a higher three-quarters arm slot. And while his four-seam showed sound life to it, he also featured a two-seamer at 82 mph as well as a surprising feel for his breaking ball at 70-74 mph, offering nice depth and maintained arm speed while also showing comfort to double up on the offering.

– Jheremy Brown
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