The most intriguing part of Simmons’ performance was his advanced approach to pitching. He showed a four-pitch mix on the afternoon and utilized all of the effectively and often. The fastball sat in the high 80s and topped out at 90 with some late, heavy life to it. Simmons was able to maintain his velocity throughout his start as his last fastball of the day came in at 88 mph. Simmons also threw a hard slider that came in around 77 mph and had tight spin to it with sharp break. The pitch had 10-to-4 shape and was especially filthy when it dropped off the outside corner and into the dirt against righthanders. Simmons mixed in a curveball with 12-to-6 shape that had soft break and a hard changeup in the upper-70s with some fade although he slowed his arm speed a bit on the pitch. Simmons is very polished relative to his age and it will be fun to see how he develops.

The left side of the infield showed some future potential for USA Showcase as shortstop Sevon Battle (2019, Kennesaw, Ga.) and third baseman Bryce Lawrence (2019, Dallas, Ga.) showed off tools during their games today. Battle has a younger look with a small frame of 5-foot-9 and 140-pounds but he has projection and will fill out as he physically matures. He stands with a balanced stance and has a slight toe tap for a timing mechanism. Battle has a short swing path with some quickness and a very compact swing through the zone. Speed is an asset for him defensively and on the bases and he will do a good job extending extra base hits and reaching tough outs. Battle is pretty range-y on defense and has a quick transfer with some arm strength. Although Battle is still young and has room to mature, he has solid tools that should only get better with development.

Lawrence is a bit more physically mature than his teammate, 5-foot-11 and 180-pounds, and is very lean with some projection to his frame. He has a very simple stance at the plate standing slightly open with his bat resting on his shoulder. Lawrence has a high hand set with a high back eblow and did a good job getting the head of the barrel out in front of the plate. He has a line drive swing with some lift and his quick hands allow him to adjust to pitches he doesn’t see coming. An example of this is when he had enough hand strength and power to drive a low-inside pitch to left center for an opposite field double. Lawrence should continue to develop power into his stroke and presently has some strength in his swing with barrel feel.

Although he only threw for only one inning righthander Jackson "Sonny" Dichiara (2018, Hoover, Ala.) of Viper Baseball Academy showed some deceptive mechanics and filthy fastball. Dichiara has a large frame at 6-foot-1, 205-pounds however he throws from a lower three-quarter to almost submarine arm slot. He has a very tight, almost violent, arm action with a compact arm circle and very quick arm speed. The angle of delivery makes it near impossible to hit his fastball from the right side and he hides the ball very well. In his limited time on the mound, Dichiara reesat from 87-89 mph with a lot of arm side run to the pitch. He consistently sat on the arm side of the plate especially to try to bust righthanded hitters on the inside part of the plate. Dichiara did show a breaking ball, but he only threw it once and the one he did throw had 10-to-4 slider-like shape although it was soft and didn’t break much. Dichiara’s angle of release combined with the velocity and run on his fastball make him an intriguing prospect to monitor.

In a big win to get to the quarterfinals the Chattanooga Cyclones center fielder Cade Evans (2017, Chattanooga, Tenn.) had a big day offensively and showcased some impressive tools in the process. Evans is a great athlete, as evidenced by his ability to play both shortstop and centerfield, and has a medium build with room for some additional strength on his 6-foot, 170-pound frame. He has a wide, slightly open stance with a high hand set and high back elbow. Evans has quick hands and a line drive swing with an approach that lets him drive the ball to all fields. An outstanding runner, he was timed at 4.0 seconds to first base from the right side on a bunt. The Auburn commit has impressive arm strength from the outfield and reached 88 mph on the mound as well.

In the opposing dugout for Mission Team Baseball shortstop Crews Taylor (2017, Lawrenceville, Ga.) showed off his all-around skillset. The Georgia Tech commit has a medium frame at 6-foot 1, 180-pounds. Taylor has a slightly open stance with a wide base and a medium hand set with a high back elbow. He has a simple step inward for timing with a clean stroke from the left side of the plate. Taylor has a line drive swing plane with some lift and did a good job at generating power through his hips and back leg drive. He gets good extension on his swing out in front and it showed with a home run to right that had an exit velocity of 96 mph and traveled an estimated 373 feet per Trackman Baseball. With his glove Taylor showed good footwork and gather at shortstop with a fuller arm action and above average arm strength.

Taylor’s teammate Jeccorah Arnold (2017, Athens, Ga.) continued his hot fall with yet another display of power. Arnold shows solid bat speed at the plate and good lower half drive and hip torque to drive the baseball for power. The Lipscomb commit added another home run during Saturday’s action traveling 336 feet and leaving the bat at 89 mph per TrackMan Baseball.

As Perfect Game events have become accustomed to, righthander Ethan Hankins (2018, Cumming, Ga.) put together two dominant innings for Team Elite 17’s Prime. Hankins has a very tall and large frame, listed at 6-foot-6 and 200-pounds, and very lean with a lot of projection left on his body. He has a tight arm action with very quick arm speed as his arm whips through his delivery. Hankins’ delivery is very simple with just a short turn and leg lift into his throwing motion. His fastball sat from 90-92 mph over the course of his outing and the pitch was near impossible to square up especially in the lower third of the strike zone. The pitch has late life to it and he attacked hitters all night with it. Hankins also showed a hard changeup at 81 mph with some fade away towards his arm side and he replicated his arm speed well. He also mixed in a breaking ball with 11-to-5 shape and good depth; the pitch continues to develop well and he showed solid feel for the pitch. The Vanderbilt commit continues to be one of the top overall players, as well as pitchers, for the class of 2018.

Southpaw Dylan Gentry (2017, Danielsville, Ga.) showed a live arm on the mound Saturday night and really impressed with his curveball. Gentry has a medium build on the mound, 6-foot-1 and 190-pounds, with some compact arm action and a shorter arm circle. He pitches from a high three-quarters arm slot and has an easy delivery hiding the ball well. Gentry’s fastball sat from 86-88 mph, and dipped down a bit as he wore down throughout, and was best when he was able to bear down on the pitch from his arm slot. Gentry’s most impressive pitch his was curveball which had 1-to-7 shape and some excellent depth to it. The pitch was able to be thrown for strikes or low out of the zone to be chased. He showed real feel to spin and the pitch flashed plus when his release point was on time. Gentry struggled to throw strikes later in his outing but the Auburn commit has some quality stuff headlined by his curveball.

– Vincent Cervino