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Tournaments  | Story | 6/29/2018

14u WWBA Scout Notes: Day 7

Jheremy Brown
Greg Gerard
Photo: Zach McWilliams (Perfect Game)

14u WWBA National Championship: Event Page | Daily Leaders
Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6




While playing with the older age group out of town, Gerald (Cross) Jumper (2021, Jonesboro, Ark.) made the trip to PG Park South for playoff action as his Dulin Dodgers team made a nice run at a national title. Jumper is a young 2021 graduate who is eligible to play in the 14u tournament and stands out in a big way. Jumper has real bat speed that plays very well into his swing as he combines that bat speed with good barrel control. There are not many players who are going to put the barrel of the bat to the baseball as often as Jumper does. With all of his hits leaving his bat with high exit velocities. In his first game of the day, which resulted in a four inning run-rule prior to a long rain delay, Jumper was a home run away from the cycle and barreled up all of his hits on his 3-for-3 day. Jumper is a strong kid as well while physical mature for his age. The verbal commitment to Tennessee also pitched in a later playoff game that night and showed good velocity as well topping out at 88 mph with nine strikeouts in a five-inning one-hitter.

Dylan Lesko (2022, Dacula, Ga.) has rapidly shown some improved velocity in the past few weeks starting at the PG/East Cobb Invitational moving to the National Academic Showcase and now to the 14u WWBA National Championship. Lesko sat mostly 84-86 mph during his playoff start while also bumping an 88 mph fastball on his last pitch of his first inning. The pitch came on an 0-2 count for a strike out as well which is worth noting and is his new best recorded fastball to date. Unfortunately, his outing was cut short due to a five-plus hour weather delay. What he displayed in a short stint, is certainly worth noting. His arm stroke is mostly compact and he stays online throughout his delivery. The ball really jumps out of his hand and he creates plenty of life to his arm side on his fastball as well.  

Opposing Lesko was Rawlings Southeast Mavericks righthander Zach McWilliams (2021, Hendersonville, Tenn.). McWilliams is another young 2021 graduate who can run his fastball into the mid-80s. McWilliams has a quick arm that works long through the back with a deep stab as he reaches back. His fastball topped out at 85 mph and consistently sat in the 82-85 mph range for the duration of his outing. McWilliams threw against a talent-filled East Cobb Astros team and was not fazed holding his own and throwing enough strikes with his fastball and power slider. His slider was a swing-and-miss pitch in this viewing as he could command it well and bury it when needed.

Skyler Hutto (2022, Trinity, Ala.) gave a short glimpse of his ultimate potential on the mound. Only throwing one inning, albeit an impressive one, Hutto sat 78-80 mph with a very clean delivery for his size and age as well as a loose arm stroke. The 6-foot-1 righthander has loose limbs and a right arm that really works. Hutto’s strength is the way he locates the fastball and is able to repeat his delivery so well for such a young age. Hutto worked a clean inning of relief mixing in a pair of pitches. His fastball sat, as mentioned, in the 78-80 mph range has heavy plane when down in the zone. His secondary pitch, a curveball with 11-to-6 shape and plenty of depth sits in the mid-60s while having his best one at 66 mph specifically.

Ethan Ott (2021, Chesapeake, Va.) continued to swing a hot bat this tournament getting the Canes National on the board early in their first playoff game. Ott came into the playoffs batting .412 and repeatedly put the barrel to the baseball. Ott took that hot bat to the first of two late playoff games due to weather by putting the Canes ahead in the top of the first with a hard home run to his pull side. The ball left his bat at 92 mph and got out of the park in a hurry.

Riley Stanford (2022, Gainesville, Ga.) has made plenty of noise on the mound recently running his fastball up to 88 mph, but what he has done this tournament has been really impressive with the bat. The tall 6-foot-3 athlete swings with intent and when squared the ball jumps off of his bat at a high rate. He makes a lot of squared contact as well. Setting up in a upright and open stance, Stanford takes a high leg lift and gets it down continually on time. He has done nothing but hit this entire event batting .536 with four extra-base hits including a home run.

– Gregory Gerard



Throwing for the third time in the tournament, young righthander Jacob Miller (2022, Baltimore, Ohio) saved his best outing for last as he nearly tossed a complete game, going 6 1/3 innings in which he punched out another nine, giving him 20 on the tournament in just 10 1/3 innings pitched. Like many players in the tournament, Miller exudes physical projection with his listed 6-foot, 145-pound build and when coupled with his fast right arm and ability to spin one of the better curveballs in the tournament, the future appears to be a bright one for the Ohio native.

Miller opened up the game sitting in the 83-86 mph range with his fastball and did an excellent job of maintaining that range throughout the game and even bumped an 87 to end the sixth inning, his best bolt of the game. The velocity surely stands out in a 14u tournament and it plays up even further given how well he hides the ball behind his back hip, limiting the batter’s ability to see the ball before working to his higher release point. While he’s occasionally work across his body out of the stretch, Miller showed plenty of comfort working on the hands of batter, whether right or lefthanded, staying off barrels while eliciting weak contact.

As mentioned above, the curveball for Miller proved to be a true out pitch with 12-to-6 shape and late depth you simply don’t find at this level. Yes, the power will continue to develop on the 69-71 mph pitch, but he already shows an advanced level of comfort to land the pitch for strikes and doubled up on it more than a few time while tunneling the pitch from a very similar release point.

Having just turned 14 years old, outfielder Roman Anthony (2022, Wellington, Fla.) already stands at 6-foot-2, 164-pounds and given the length of his limbs and broadness of his shoulders, he’s nowhere close to physical maturation. Hitting in the eight-hole for the Canes, Anthony put one of the better swings on display in their opening round win over the Banditos as he got his arms extended and connected for a double to his pull side, gliding well into second base. Throughout the Canes’ run into the championship, Anthony continued to show a loose and fluid stroke, finding the barrel repeatedly though the overall projection is even more enticing. The young outfield also made a key defensive play to help the Canes hold off the Dallas Tigers as he came up throwing to second base to nail the runner for the first out of the inning, who would have been the game tying run.

It was quite the tournament for outfielder Will Fincher (2022, Marietta, Ga.) of Titans Baseball as he proved to be a consistent bat for his team, finishing the week with a .452 batting average while setting the tempo for a playoff run from atop the order. A long and projectable 6-foot-1, 170-pounds, Fincher shows a linear stroke in the box which is geared towards contact and putting the ball in play as evidenced by his average, but also shows a natural feel for the barrel. He moves well down the line and out in center field with long strides and will be a name to follow the rest of the summer throughout the remaining tournaments.

Matthew Matthijs (2022, Greenville, N.C.) was detailed for his performance earlier in the tournament out of the ‘pen, but last night he provided a look as a starter, nearly completing his no-hit bit until allowing a knock through the left side in the last inning. Still the 6-foot-1, 158-pound righthander impressed, sitting in the 79-82 mph range with his fastball while pounding the zone and ultimately punching out eight. His fastball is true in terms of life but he worked on top of the ball consistently, creating plane while showing the ability to get to either side of the plate. He mixed both a curveball with depth and a late fading changeup for strikes, working in the low-70s with the breaking and mid-70s with his changeup, giving the young righthander (he could be a 2023 grad based on age) a three-pitch mix which he could land for strikes.

Jayson Jones (2022, Savannah, Texas) of the Dallas Tigers connected for a hard piece of contact with one of the more impressive swings during the opening round of the playoffs. One of many physically impressive players on the Tigers’ roster, Jones starts at third base and hits in the middle of the order thanks in part to his strength and ability to impact the baseball. And that’s something he certainly did in the morning slot as he did a nice job of getting his hands out and barrel extended on an elevated fastball which he drove to the wall for a line drive double, his fourth of the tournament.

Another arm who was briefly detailed for his performance out of the bullpen earlier in the tournament, Dulins Dodger start Trent Hodgdon (2021, Smiths Station, Ala.) turned in a magnificent complete game (five inning) start in which he punched out eleven and filled the strike zone. Over his nine innings on the tournament the uncommitted Hodgdon rang up 18 opposing batters with his fastball that sat 82-85 mph throughout, creating some angle out of the hand while working down in the zone. The fastball was his go-to pitch as he worked almost exclusively off the heater though he did mix in a few curveballs in the upper-60s for strikes.

– Jheremy Brown
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