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Tournaments  | Story | 7/30/2019

17u PGWS: Day 5 Scout Notes

Steve Fiorindo
Vincent Cervino
Photo: Maxwell Carlson (Perfect Game)

17u PG World Series Scout Notes: Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4




After helping guide GBG Marucci to a Silver Bracket championship, it was clear that few if any had a better tournament than Kevin Parada (2020, Pasadena, Calif.), at least when looking at the statistics. The Georgia Tech commit and PG All-American hit .524 with 13 RBI that included a grand slam in the final game of the tournament as Parada was barreling everything close to him all week. The righthanded hitting slugger has real extra-base power that’s evident when you just look at the stat line, and his feel for turning the barrel over and impacting the ball while extended is a fairly advanced skill at this point. His happy zone is working to the power alley in left-center field, where he hit his grand slam and two of his three doubles, as the impact he generates off the barrel is truly impressive. The hit and power tools are both extremely impressive and play even better considering his profile behind the backstop and the next checkpoint on Parada’s journey will be at Petco Park for the PG All-American Classic.



Canes pitching has been something else all week and that trend continued with semifinals starter Ryan Sveningson (2020, Ladera Ranch, Calif.) as he struck out three hitters while allowing only two hits over the course of 3 2/3 innings. The long-limbed, projectable UC Irvine commit has a lot of room to add strength to his 6-foot-4, 170-pound frame and the operation is fairly clean too with a compact and efficient arm stroke through release. Sveningson generates good angle on the fastball that worked in the 86-90 mph range early and gets some cutting life to the pitch on occasion. He showed three pitches early and went to his slider often. The fastball-slider combination paid dividends for Sveningson as he was able to tunnel both effectively with the slider showing some cutting action in the 81-83 mph range. Sveningson showed some feel for a changeup too and he showed a strong three-pitch mix while he should get attention early next season playing for national power JSerra.



Lucas Gordon (2020, Los Angeles, Calif.) had a bit of a tough outing in his first start of the tournament but turned in a dazzling performance in the Silver Bracket semifinals as the uncommitted lefthander went six shutout frames while striking out nine batters. The fastball command was exemplary in this start, sitting mostly in the 86-89 mph range and topping out at 90 mph, as he moved the fastball from side to side and would use it to set up his secondary pitches. He does throw the fastball with a bit more effort but it looks fairly similar at release to his changeup, which is his superior secondary pitch. The cambio showed very good action from a similar tunnel, working in the 76-78 mph range as he used it both as a swing-and-miss offering and also to land at the knees for a strikes. The breaking ball was in the low-70s and gives him a third pitch as Gordon possesses a polish and feel for pitching that shouldn’t keep him without a college home for much longer.

Turning in a pretty solid performance this week was Canes leadoff man Dominic Johnson (2020, Edmond, Okla.) as he put his speed on display in nearly every game. The Oklahoma State commit is one of the best runners in the prep class as he turned in a 6.22 second 60-yard dash time at PG National and routinely turned in home-to-first times in the above average-to-plus range (between 4.2 and 4.1 seconds from the right side). That speed showed up with six stolen bases but also with his two triples on the week. Both triples were eerily similar as Johnson was out in front on off-speed but had enough pitch recognition and wherewithal to keep his hands back and explode onto the ball and drive it into the right-center field alley. The feel to hit is the tool that has progressed nicely as the summer has gone along as the overall profile is extremely toolsy and if he shows scouts he can consistently rope the ball to all fields he can generate some serious draft intrigue.



The MV-Pitcher on the weekend, Joseph Ingrassia (2020, El Cajon, Calif.), turned in a strong start in the semifinals for the San Diego Show as there’s a lot to like about Ingrassia’s profile on the whole. He’s a long and lanky lefthanded pitcher with a longer whippy arm stroke in the back that can produce some easy velocity for the southpaw at times. The UC Santa Barbara commit worked up to 89 mph with the fastball but sat mostly in the 85-88 mph range with good life and quality overall given the deception in his release. Ingrassia showed a sweeping slider in the mid- to upper-70s that showed good break and projection while his feel for pitching is solid as well, mixing both pitches effectively to hitters of either handedness. Ingrassia is young for the grade – he’s going to be 17 still on draft day – and the projection is something to keep an eye on for when, not if, Ingrassia pops from a velocity standpoint.



Showcasing some loud overall stuff in the Silver Bracket final was Sticks/NEB righthander Markevian Hence (2020, Pine Bluff, Ark.) as the Arkansas commit checks a lot of boxes for scouts and evaluators. He’s listed at 6-foot, 160-pounds, but the length of his arms and plus arm speed portend big velocity gains as he approaches physical maturity later down the line. The operation itself is a bit raw overall with a longer arm stroke and some differing release points at foot strike; he’ll cut the fastball across too hard at times and it looks like the arm could be too fast at times. That being said, the stuff is real as in the first inning he worked a painless frame while sitting 91-94 mph and showing a sharp, solid average curveball in the 75-77 mph range. The fastball eventually settled around the 90-92 mph mark and got some good arm-side life at times while the curveball was inconsistent at landing, but the sharpness and spin both project to be a wipeout pitch. Hence is young for the grade – he’ll still be 17 on draft – and there’s enormous upside and potential on the profile given the physical tools, projection and athleticism.

Pitching was once again the story for the Canes in the Gold Bracket final as Maxwell Carlson (2020, Savage, Minn.) and Jason Savacool (2020, Baldwinsville, N.Y.) combined to toss a shutout and give the Canes their second major championship of the summer.



Carlson, a PG All-American and North Carolina commit, was terrific on the afternoon, tossing 4 1/3 innings of shutout ball with nine strikeouts. The operation has some effort but it’s fairly clean, and despite the head movement, Carlson is able to really work the strike zone and command his offerings to both sides of the plate with intent. He missed a good number of bats, 10 swings-and-misses in the first two innings, as the fastball sat in the 88-92 mph range, averaging around 90 mph, and mixing in two solid off-speed pitches. Carlson drops his slot on the changeup but sells it with his arm speed to get short action to it while the curveball worked in the low- to mid-70s and showed good shape and projection to the offering. There’s potential for three solid average pitches at maturity here and given Carlson’s ability to hold his stuff and command his pitches he’ll be a major target next spring for Midwest scouts.



Savacool, a Maryland commit, came in chucking bullets to end the game, sitting around 92 mph and touching 93 and 94 whenever he needed it, as he struck out three hitters over the final 2 2/3 innings on the mound. The arm is whippy and loose in the back and the fastball quality is extremely good as the arm action is deceptive and generates good sinking life on the fastball. He leveraged the ball well to the lower third of the zone from a three-quarters arm slot while really coming out of the gate attacking hitters. The breaking ball was thrown a handful of times and would at times back up on him, but showed the spin, shape and quality to project as a potential plus pitch moving forward. Savacool’s track record combined with his performance this week makes him a notable draft prospect out of the Northeast and Canes pitching was instrumental in their road to the championship all week long.



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