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Tournaments  | Story  | 7/27/2019

17u PGWS: Day 2 Scout Notes

Steve Fiorindo      Vincent Cervino      Connor Spencer     
Photo: Tyler Soderstrom (Perfect Game)

17u PG World Series: Day 1 Scout Notes




Playa Vista Orioles’ Brock Kleszcz (2020, Valencia, Calif.) has had a strong couple of days to start the 17u World Series and the UC San Diego commit has a well-rounded skill-set. The 6-foot-2, 200-pound center fielder has plenty of quick-twitch to go along with present muscle to give him a fairly balanced athletic profile. He’s pretty solid out in center field and the speed shows up on the bases, he turned a 4.6-second time to first base, and though it’s not extreme speed, he moves relatively well for his size. The swing mechanically is fairly sound with a deeper start and a small leg lift trigger moving forward. Kleszcz will show above average bat speed and gets some buggy whip going with his hand through contact. The result is often hard hit and leveraged contact out in front and because of the quickness of his hands and barrel he can be very quiet through the load and still generate impact. Kleszcz is hitting above .500 with a couple of well struck singles and a double during the game on Friday that he dropped into the pull-side gap while he was well out in front. There are a bevy of tools to be successful and though none are supremely loud the well-rounded profile is noticeable.

PG National participant and TCU commit Brayden Taylor (2020, West Jordan, Utah) is a notable draft prospect out of the four corners this spring and he showed solid tools on both sides of the ball as Mountainwest Baseball improved to 2-0 on the tournament. Taylor has ideal size with a lanky 6-foot-1, 160-pound frame and the athletic balance stands out particularly on the defensive side of the ball. His hands are pretty smooth at shortstop as he made a solid play on the charge and turned a pretty nifty double play. Going to his knees to knock down a well-struck grounder, he maintained his poise, got up, and stepped on second while taking his time to toss over to first to get an easy 6-3 unassisted double play out of the hit. From an offensive standpoint the swing is smooth with natural loft while the power projection is certainly intriguing. He’s shown a propensity for power at PG events in the past and he just missed a bomb during the game Friday as his fly out to the warning track in centerfield was able to score a runner from second base. In a later at-bat he adjusted well to breaking ball and drove it down the opposite field line for a double. Taylor is a projection prospect but the baseline of tools right now are fairly intriguing and he’s a guy who could definitely make some noise come next spring.



In a game that featured numerous arms, Rowan Trosky (2020, Carmel, Calif.) stood out as this is his first PG event and the Santa Clara commit was able to run his fastball up to 92 mph on the morning. At a listed 6-foot-2, 175-pounds, Trosky has some room to fill out and project from a physical perspective. The mechanical profile is fairly straight forward, with a simple leg lift and stride, a longer offline arm stroke, and effort at release. Trosky comes right at hitters with the heater and it lived mostly in the 88-90 mph range during the abbreviated performance. The breaking ball was of the curveball variety and it was at its best when he was on top of the pitch. This allowed for better depth on the pitch and it worked mostly in the low-70s. The fastball-dominant approach from Trosky paid off as he got a lot of empty cuts with the heater and offers an intriguing, stuff-based profile out of the ‘pen for Trosky Baseball.



A staple for big time performances this summer, Will Sanders (2020, Atlanta, Ga.) got the ball out in Phoenix and though he struggled in the early portion of the game he settled in to deliver another strong start on the mound. Even if Sanders doesn’t have his best pure stuff he’s a pretty safe bet to turn in a quality start as he throws a ton of strikes and effectively mixes his pitches to keep hitters off balance. The 6-foot-6 righthander is an extraordinary athlete as he’s able to repeat, rotate, and fire on time with his mechanics and pound the strike zone. The fastball worked 88-90 mph throughout the whole start with late sinking action, and plays up due to his plus extension, while the breaking ball was his best pitch on the afternoon. The pitch showed solid average fairly consistently and got a ton of empty swings with the pitch as it was his go-to pitch to get out of jams, especially when hitters were looking fastball. The South Carolina commit really mixed pitches well as he went on during the outing, seemingly going to majority changeups and sliders the third time through the order. Sanders has an extremely high ceiling and we’ll be seeing him next out in Petco Park during the PG All-American Classic.



One of the top-ranked juniors in the country is LVR’s Thomas Dilandri (2021, Las Vegas, Nev.) and he’s developed a reputation as one of the better fastball hitters in the class at this point. Checking in at No. 10 in the class of 2021 rankings, Dilandri is toolsed out with an athletic and strong 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame to go along with his 95 mph outfield arm and 6.6-second 60-yard dash time that he showed off during the Junior National. Dilandri has plus bat speed to go along with huge raw power. There are some inconsistencies as far as his handling of off-speed pitches but he got thrown an 89 mph fastball up and in that he did not miss. Dilandri unloaded on the fastball and hit a home run that’s likely still carrying to the pull side. He’s one of the premier names of the 2021 class and we’ll be excitedly following his progress through the next year.

Dilandri’s teammate Tyler Whitaker (2021, Las Vegas, Nev.) is an extremely well-rounded prospect with upside both on the pitcher’s mound and in the batter’s box. A primary position player, The Arizona commit looks the part of a lanky third baseman and there’s still room to add strength to the frame. Whitaker has a very simple swing with an easy rock back into a super loose stroke. He creates leverage out in front of the plate with some barrel lag to drive the ball up the middle and create carry on fly balls. Whitaker also hopped on the mound for a quick one-inning stint and looked impressive, sitting 87-89 mph with a ton of arm-side life on the fastball. His breaking ball is sharp in the upper-70s and the two pitch present mix, to go along with the obvious physical projection, make him one of the more intriguing 2021s to monitor moving forward.



Now one of the top uncommitted prospects in the class, Lucas Gordon (2020, Los Angeles, Calif.) got his first start on the bump since he reopened his commitment and though he went only two innings the stuff looked fairly good. Gordon got worked a bit in the first inning by a good NorCal Prime team but he still showed that he has some of the best pitchability and repertoire of 2020 lefthanded pitchers. Gordon isn’t overly physical, but he’s balanced throughout his delivery and clears his front hips well with a cross-fired landing leg. The fastball worked in the 88-90 mph range while topping out at 91 mph, showing really good life and angle to the pitch. Gordon went mostly to the changeup as a secondary pitch and some flashed solid average on the day in the upper-70s with good life and the ability to mimic the fastball very nicely. The curveball showed some good spin to the pitch and could be landed in the low-70s but Gordon’s stuff is certainly comparable to most other high end Division I commits at this stage.

The offenses came alive in what was likely the game of the day as Kevin Parada (2020, Pasadena, Calif.) and Devan Ornelas (2020, Chatsworth, Calif.) lead the charge at the top of the lineup for the GBG Marucci squad.



Parada, a Georgia Tech commit and PG All-American, is one of the more skilled catching prospects in the class with a hose for a right arm and a sweet swing from the right side that routinely hits for power. The 6-foot, 192-pound prospect is very strong at the dish, creating ample bat speed and keeping the swing smooth with some length through the hitting zone with fluidity and strength. He really generates a good amount of carry from his lower half when he squares the ball, which is what he did in his first at-bat when he rocketed a double off the base of the wall in left field. The power is noteworthy for the Georgia Tech commit and gives him the impressive combination of raw power and raw arm strength in terms of his draft profile.



Ornelas is one of the more exciting hitters in a very talented lineup and he is a true all-fields hitter with the ability to smoke line drives to all fields. The barrel head is whippy with lightning quick hands that allow him to generate good impact off the bat to the middle of the field. The swing is really smooth and athletic as he is extremely balanced and has good feel for controlling the barrel. The athleticism and speed are notable, he’s an above average athlete and runner, as he’s turned in times to first base on a bunt in around 3.8 seconds on multiple occasions. He steals a lot of bases, and though he’s a primary shortstop, there’s some scouts who believe that the TCU commit’s pure athleticism might be better suited to center field in the future.



One of the smoothest swings in the class you’ll see belongs to UCLA commit Tyler Soderstrom (2020, Turlock, Calif.) and the PG All-American’s aesthetically pleasing lefthanded swing draws praise from scouts of almost every corner. The 6-foot-2, 190-pound catcher has a loose and easy swing that creates a good amount of bat speed and his preternatural feel for the barrel is extremely impressive for the age. The trigger is very easy and he gets some natural loft on the swing; the loft of the swing combined with the projection from a physical standpoint on the frame leave scouts to dream on how much power Soderstrom can hit for at maturity. He took one of the more impressive at-bats on the afternoon as he worked an 11-pitch single off Lucas Gordon in the first inning of the game on Friday. After about the fourth foul ball Gordon laughed and looked at Soderstrom gesturing to “make up his mind” about either hitting it fair or sitting down, but Soderstrom fouled off some other tough pitches before blooping an elevated changeup to the pull side.

Soderstrom’s teammate Tino Bethancourt (2020, El Dorado Hills, Calif.) is a big, physical middle infielder with a 6-foot-2 and 190-pound frame. Bethancourt has whippy hands through the hitting zone and turns the barrel over the inside part of the plate nicely while getting extended through the finish. The San Diego State commit had a good day on Thursday that included a rising line drive over the head of the left fielder that resulted in extra bases and then he added another hit on Friday during game action. The bat speed and physical tools from an offensive perspective are certainly notable and Bethancourt has had a very good two game start to the week out in Phoenix.

CBA Marucci came out on top during their game on Friday and it featured a couple of loud offensive performances from Rocco Peppi (2020, Huntington Beach, Calif.) and Zavien Watson (2020, San Diego, Calif.).



Peppi, a Long Beach State commit, is a throwback type of player with a fairly polished ability to find the barrel and some requisite athleticism throughout the other aspects of his game. The 5-foot-11, 177-pound prospect is a good athlete and runner, turning in mostly average run times on the Major League scale around 4.3 seconds to first, and that aids his defensive ability where his arm strength has already been recorded up to 89 mph across the diamond in the past. The swing is quick through the zone and he gets his hands through very nicely with fluidity to get some excellent contact off the barrel. He uses the whole field well and collected three hits on the afternoon including a scorched double down the opposite field line in his first at-bat where he turned a time of 4.51 seconds on his way to second base.



Watson, an Arizona commit, is more of a physical prospect at a listed 6-foot-2, 205-pounds and he has good impact off the barrel of the bat. There’s very good bat speed that he creates from his swing with a fast trigger and fast hands throughout the hitting zone. The impact is notable as of his three hits on the day almost all of them were scorched upon entry to the hitting zone. Watson’s swing is very direct to contact and the bat speed and strength in his wrists are more than enough to impact the ball with impressive force. He drives forward with his backside nicely and the power he creates is certainly notable while he profiles well at third base presently at the next level.



Canes National starter Jason Savacool (2020, Baldwinsville, N.Y.) didn’t have his greatest start on the mound but he showed off why he’s firmly in the discussion as one of the top righthanded pitchers in this year’s prep class. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound prospect is an athletic and projectable righthander with a fluid and easy delivery that allows the arm stroke to be on time while there’s still projection remaining from a physical standpoint. The fastball worked mostly 88-92 mph while topping out at 94 mph once in the first inning and the pitch gets really excellent sink and downward action. Savacool does a good job at leveraging to the bottom half of the strike zone in order to live at the knees and maintain consistency of his pitch life. The breaking ball is more of a slurvy offering at present but it shows good shape at times though it’s best at present when he slows and lands it for strikes. The stuff is very good and though the command wasn’t quite there today it’s easy to see why he’s high on scouts’ lists to monitor into the fall.

A day after impressing with the offensive tools, Kemp Alderman (2020, Decatur, Miss.) once again did it with the stick as he launched a moonshot of a home run deep to the pull side. Alderman’s strength off the barrel is among the best in the class, relatedly so is the raw power he possesses, and his hitting accolades are really starting to pile up as the summer ends. He also pitched during this look on Friday as the Ole Miss commit ran his fastball up to 93 mph. Alderman has a longer stroke in the back and generates above average sink and life on the fastball that misses barrels and allows him to miss bats on a consistent basis. The breaking ball shows tight spin and works as an effective secondary pitch while on the whole Alderman is looking the part of one of the most impressive prospects at the tournament.

Turning in an impressive performance in his first PG event was righthander Lex Garcia (2020, Lubbock, Texas) as the 6-foot-3, 185-pound righthander has a very quick arm and worked with an impressive two-pitch mix. Garcia has a compact and quick arm stroke that he releases from an over-the-top arm slot and worked in the 87-89 mph range with the fastball while topping out at 90 mph. The delivery is up-tempo with some moving parts but he did a nice job at getting ahead with fastballs only to knock them down with the slider. The pitch worked in the 75-78 mph range with late biting action to it and was extremely effective against righthanded hitters as the pitch would leak off the outside corner of the plate. The two-pitch mix was dominant to the tune of 10 strikeouts over five innings and this was a very loud start for an impressive and yet uncommitted righthander at this juncture.

– Vinnie Cervino


Day two of the PG 17u World Series brought some intriguing uncommitted arms for college coaches as they search for key players that can make an impact in their programs. What better place to find them than Scottsdale as pitchers this week are having to face some of the best offensive travel teams in the country.



The first interesting uncommitted arm that emerged on day two was Tucker Shalley (2020, Grafton, Ill.) who showcased a strong arm capable of touching 90 mph. Shalley has a lengthy frame with a long arm action that comes up to a three-quarters arm slot. His delivery is a little quirky as he includes quick flinches with his leg lift and separation through a mostly long delivery. At the beginning of his outing, he sat 86-88 mph and touched 90 pretty freely. However, as his outing went on, his velocity dropped to the 85-86 range. Moreover, he has a tendency to tug his fastball across his body, but he does find some arm-side run when locating to his arm side and when staying linear down the mound with his drop-and-drive actions. His breaking ball is a high 10-to-4 shaped curveball that he stays behind and gets around as it comes across the plate more than it dives. The breaking ball does not have the bite it needs to possess to be a kill pitch at the next level but deems effective for him with his consistent fastball and breaking ball mix. Shalley was at his best Friday when he was elevating his fastball, then burying the breaking ball back-to-back. He started to run into trouble when his breaking ball started to float up over the plate, thus, eliminating the effectiveness of his heavy mix.



Team Warstic 2020 suffered a tough 1-0 loss to the Chicago Cubs Scout Team, but uncommitted righthander Benjamin Baker-Livingston (2020, Richardson, Texas) gave Warstic three quality innings allowing one run off three hits while fanning five. Baker-Livingston has a longer, sweeping arm action that sweeps up to an over-the-top slot with some angle. At the beginning of his outing he had some good arm-side run action to his fastball which sat 86-88 mph while touching 89. Early his command was solid, changing hitters’ eye levels and mixing in his breaking ball frequently. His high 11-to-5 shaped curveball shows some solid depth at times, but he often doesn’t get on top of it, and the pitch just spins across the plate instead of diving away from right handed bats. Baker-Livingston’s effectiveness on the mound could astronomically elevate with the addition of pronated off-speed as his over-the-top slot proves a perfect foundation for that pitch. He feels like a few simple coaching tweaks away from becoming a force on the mound, especially as his arm strength continues to develop.



Dylan Schwartz (2020, Chino, Calif.) was yet another uncommitted arm with good stuff on day two. Despite his medium, developing frame, he still gets good downward angle towards the plate and at times had heavy sink on his fastball. Throughout his outing, his fastball sat 86-88 mph while touching 89. Early he looked untouchable, running his fastball down and in to righthanders who had a tough time with its sink. He has a short arm action, but sometimes has some trouble getting on top as he leans back towards second base as he shoves down the hill. His 12-to-6 curveball has good depth and sits around 75 mph. With its larger shape, he has to start the pitch up in the zone to get it to fall in for a strike, otherwise hitters did not have a particularly tough time spitting on it in the dirt. He stuck with primarily a two-pitch, fastball and breaking ball mix, and much like Baker-Livingston, he could seriously benefit from a confident off-speed, especially from his slot. The action that he applied to his fastball early is what makes his stuff so promising. He was able to punch out four batters through 2 1/3 innings.



Uncommitted outfielder Cody Turner (2020, Palmdale, Calif.) looked good at the plate going 1-for-3 with a triple and a well-struck, back-spun fly ball deep to right. Turner has a tall, upright and slightly open stance at the plate with hands that swing down back then up into his load. There’s a lot of loud movements going on during his load that he’ll have to work on moving forward, but they’re easy fixes in the hands of the right coach. His hands and high leg kick trigger work in rhythm with each other – one goes back as the other lunges forward. Moreover, his stride to the pitcher is a large one, giving him a huge linear momentum shift towards the pitcher when he lands and fires his back-side. His hands work well to the ball and with his down to up load his bat plane immediately fires down through the zone to create good backspin to all fields. If Turner can simplify some of his movements to more consistently barrel up power and plus pitching, then he’ll be a great asset at the next level.



UCF commit and 2019 PG National player Najer Victor (2020, Clermont, Fla.) battled through some command issues and showcased his plus stuff against Sticks Baseball Academy/NorthEast Baseball. Victor’s stuff is electric sitting 88-91, but with strong break Z (meaning his velocity does not decline much from when he releases the ball to when it gets to the plate). Victor has a slow motion that speeds up as he gets to the window and this creates even more deception for the hitter making his fastball feel quicker than it actually is. His fastball has plus two-seam run that gets into the hands of righthanded batters and he’s not afraid to elevate with his fastball either. His 10-to-4 shaped slider is a true hard breaking slider that is a plus-plus pitch and is a definite kill pitch to hitters on either side of the plate. The slider sits around 77 mph and looks like a fastball for a good chunk of its way to the plate until it takes a hard turn left to the back foot of lefties late. He worked with primarily a two-pitch mix throughout most of his outing, though he did sprinkle in a few 81 mph changeups that still need work to become an integral part of his arsenal. He was consistently missing up with the pitch, and there was no need for him to mix it in with how effective his slider is, however, at the next level he’ll want to hone in the off-speed. He did run into trouble in the third as he lost a feel for the plate, and although he looked to lose his composure for a few batters, he did dial back in and worked himself out with his high action fastball. Victor has Electric stuff and is a definite prospect heading into his senior year.

– Connor Spencer
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