THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,446 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,446 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Tournaments  | Story | 6/4/2021

643 DP Pralgo Does Whatever It Takes

Photo: Brady Pendley (Perfect Game)
ATLANTA, Ga. -- There are few travel teams with a more convincing record than 643 DP Cougars 17u Pralgo’s 27-9-2 mark since September of 2020. Not only does that rank among the top teams in the state of Georgia, but is good enough to earn the Cougars the No. 17 rank in the country per Perfect Game’s overall rankings. 
 
But 643, unlike other prolific travel teams that rely on a plethora of inter-state pieces to compete at the top level, fields a Marietta, Ga.-based roster focused on doing the ‘little things’ right.
 
Self-described as scrappy and determined, 643 is known for their relentless pursuit to win games no matter the score, opposition or odds. For infielder Kai Cunningham, he believes that his team’s ability to work as a unit fundamentally increases their chances of winning.
 
“We’re playing for each other,” said Cunningham. “We don’t really focus on solo at-bats, we kind of just put together each good at-bat, and that just leads to runs. We play small ball. We’ll steal, hit-and-run, bunt, really just all the stuff we need to get one or two runs on the board.”
 
That willingness to sacrifice for the good of the team is not always abundant in a youth baseball environment where top players are constantly competing for eyes. Sure, the goal of many of Pralgo’s athletes is to reach the next level (five players have already committed to schools that include Emory and Alabama-Huntsville), but how they reach that goal is different at 643’s program.
 
You wont find an abundance of Division-I commits on 17u Pralgo, a characteristic so often present on nationally-ranked teams. Instead, 17u Pralgo’s highest rated players (four of them in fact) are among the nation’s top-500 players. His players say that disparity between their squad and some of the others they face is nothing more than a number. 
 
“We could be playing against the best players out here, and we just come out and play for each other,” said right-handed pitcher Reece Robertson. "If someone doesn’t do their job, someone will always have their back and make it happen.”
 
Robertson started 643’s second game of the Southeast Elite Championship this weekend, and carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning, ultimately finishing with zero earned runs and only one hit through five scoreless innings. The righty starter and and occasional infielder is himself ranked among the top-1000 in the 2022 class.
 
“I felt good warming up and everything, got out on the mound, and locked in honestly,” Robertson said. “I was just trying to hit my spots, and even though I missed a few in the beginning, I came back out in the third inning and felt like I had everything.”
 
Performances like those seen today are not uncommon for the Cougars. With a winning attitude and the ability to back that mentality with a crisp on-field product, the team’s bond seems to be as closely-knit as ever.
 
“We all live in a bubble where we’ll play each other in high school, talk crap to each other in the playoffs, and then come out here and it’s just like a family,” Robertson said. “It just builds us up, and it doesn’t really matter who we’re playing against.”
 
To this point in the summer season, 643 has reached the final four teams in their previous two tournaments, and with a third pool play victory on Saturday, will again enter bracket play this weekend. To say that Coach Pralgo gets the most out his players would be an understatement, as is the assumption that his players play for themselves. 
 
“It’s just family, that’s all it’s about. It doesn’t matter about yourself. We don’t come out here to be selfish, we come out here to have fun with your friends,” said Cunningham. “We have great coaches here, and they’re always going to have your back no matter what.”
 
Cunningham and Robertson are certainly not the only players with upside on the team, with other names to follow this summer being shortstop Patrick McCavitt, catcher Scott Mudler, right-handed pitcher Brady Pendley and outfielder Jake Streeter, just to name a few. With the team utilizing such a holistic, team approach, it’s almost certain that multiple players are poised to have breakout summers. 
 
And like every big club in the country, this team has the desire to perform on the biggest stages, the brightest lights. This summer’s 17u WWBA Championship provides just that opportunity. 
 
“The WWBA we are definitely looking at. Obviously, we want to win it, but we really want to finish in the top two or three,” Cunningham said. 
 
That goal is yet to be checked off, but so far, all indicators point to a monumental season for the 17u Cougars. 

Tournaments | Story | 5/21/2026

Memorial Day Classics Set to Kick Off

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
Southeast Memorial Day East Cobb Baseball will welcome more than 100 teams spanning the 13-17u age groups this weekend as summer baseball gets underway with the highly anticipated PG Southeast Memorial Day Classic, commencing on Thursday, May 21st. This weekend’s annual premier event will feature 11 nationally ranked teams across the five age groups with the No. 9 16u East Cobb Astros headlining the 17u division alongside top prospects such as No. 11 ranked Bryan Johnson Jr. And No. 22 ranked Georgia Tech commit, Malachi Butler. The No. 34 17u ranked 643 DP Cougars will also be a squad to watch as they will look to challenge the Astros for the championship amongst the other 14 17u division teams. While the oldest division will draw lots of attention with highly touted prospects, the 16u field is stacked with 29 total teams including three nationally ranked clubs. Over 30 top 1000...
High School | General | 5/22/2026

Northeast High School Notebook: May 22

Anthony Gambardella
Article Image
‘26 RHP Hunter Brown (@NHLionsBaseball - NJ) struck out 1️⃣5️⃣ thru 6 IP w/ 0 BB & 2 H allowed. FB lived 90-92, T93 w/ ASR & late life. Froze bats with his 11/5 CB both early/late in counts (2600rpm). Mixed in fading CH & short/tight SL. #WeAre commit. @PG_Draft#PGHS @PG_Scouting pic.twitter.com/NbSSOmCyD0 — Perfect Game Mid-Atlantic (@PGMidAtlantic) April 23, 2026 Hunter Brown - 2026 RHP, North Hunterdon Reg (N.J.) was utterly dominant in his start against Franklin last month, tossing six shutout innings with 15 strikeouts, zero walks and just two hits allowed. The 6-foot-5 215-pound right-hander has pitched to a 0.97 ERA this spring with 78 punchouts over 36 innings of work. Brown has been one of the many northeast arms receiving increasingly more buzz ahead of the MLB Draft this July. Brown’s heater lived in the low-90s throughout the duration of his...
Press Release | Press Release | 5/22/2026

Wolforth Throwing Mentorship: Article 65

Ron Wolforth
Article Image
The Insidious Lie That Hurts Pitchers Thep Most How many of you have ever had a terrible outing and afterward couldn’t really explain what went wrong? And how many of you have ever had a great outing and couldn’t explain what you did differently either? That gap between what is happening and your awareness of what is happening may be one of the most important gaps in player development. Closing that gap has a name. It is called metacognition. In simple terms, metacognition means thinking about your thinking. It is the ability to understand how you learn, how you perform, how you respond under pressure, and how you make adjustments when things are not going your way. For a pitcher, that matters because no matter how good your coach is, he cannot stand on the mound with you. Your coach cannot take the ball with the bases loaded, two outs, and the best hitter in the league...
College | Rankings | 5/20/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: May 20

Nick Herfordt
Article Image
There is a reason the preseason pick to win it all rarely does. College baseball's postseason is a gauntlet — double elimination, best-of-three’s, then a full World Series format — and the team that looks unbeatable in February has to prove it again in May against opponents who have had just as long to get ready. Plenty of programs have entered the tournament as the obvious favorite and gone home early. It happens every year. Nobody should be shocked when it does. Top-ranked teams flaming out in regional weekends happens so many times it has become its own genre of schadenfreude Which makes this particular moment worth noting. The Perfect Game preseason picks to win the NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division III national titles — Tennessee Wesleyan, UT Tyler, and the University of Lynchburg — are all still alive heading into the final rounds. All three...
College | Story | 5/21/2026

Coppy's Corner: May 21 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella
Article Image
Each week I huddle with Vinnie Cervino and Craig Cozart  to discuss Top-25 rankings and Players of the Week. In Coppy’s Corner, I dive deeper into these Players of the Week, providing analysis from 20+ years working in baseball front offices at the highest level.   Co-Player of the Week: Carson Tinney – University of Texas  As a Notre Dame alumnus, it pained me to see Tinney transfer from the Golden Dome to the University of Texas after an All-American sophomore season for the Irish. He’s picked up in Austin right where he left off in South Bend and is currently hitting .321 AVG, 20 HR, .475 OBP / .695 SLG / 1.170 OPS on the 2026 season. It’s plus right-handed power and a plus arm; with the numbers I have found indicating that Tinney has erased more than half of attempted base stealers over the past two seasons of college baseball. Tinney threw...
Tournaments | Story | 5/19/2026

Best of the Best Event Preview

Jheremy Brown
Article Image
In simplistic terms, the Best of The Best tournament is an absolute gauntlet as seemingly every game brings a playoff game atmosphere. Coaches must strategically map out their pitching to ensure they can get through Pool Play while also making sure they have arms to make a deep playoff run. Each and every age group is loaded with the best teams, composed of some of the best players that travel baseball has to offer. The 9u & 10u age groups will respectively have 9 out of the Top 10 Teams within the latest PG National Team Rankings participating in the event. At 9U, LTP-Reign will look to hold on to their #1 ranking but will have plenty of competition with the likes of ZT National Prospects and HTX-Wildcatters 9U looking to take over that #1 spot. In the 10u age group, Elevate National will look to fend off plenty of talent with #2 ranked Kaos National, East Cobb Astros and ZT...
College | Story | 5/19/2026

College Players of the Week: May 19

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
May 19th Perfect Game/Co-Players of the Week:  Carson Tinney, C, Texas  The Texas Longhorns just finished off another stellar regular season and are heading to Hoover for the SEC Conference Tournament as the No. 2 Seed this week.  To secure their 2nd place finish, they had to sweep Missouri at home last weekend and did so in large part to the power bat of Carson Tinney.  The 6-4/240 catcher from Castle Pines, CO transferred to Austin after two sensational seasons at Notre Dame and has thrived in his draft year.  In the 3-game set, Tinney collected 7 hits in 13 at-bats, scoring 5 runs, with a double, 3 home runs and he drove in 10 runs all told.  With some of the most prodigious power in the college game this year, Tinney is now slashing .321/.695/.473 with 10 doubles an incredible 20 home runs and 54 RBIs while playing in the most spacious ballpark in the...
College | Rankings | 5/18/2026

College Top 25: May 18

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
The regular season is behind us, and it is now tournament time and wow, is there a lot to still be decided.  We are a week away from the Field of 64 being announced and hosting opportunities, at-large bids, as well as automatic bids are there for the taking.  The UCLA Bruins (48-6) continue their stranglehold on the No. 1 spot in the land, finishing the regular season without losing a series all year.  ACC powers, UNC (43-10) and Georgia Tech (45-9) remain at No. 2 and No. 3 respectively and SEC regular season champs, the Georgia Bulldogs (43-12) stick at No. 4.  After that there was a small amount of shuffling within the Top 10 with No. 5 Texas (40-12), No. 6 West Virginia (37-13) and No. 7 FSU (38-16) moving ahead of now No. 8 Auburn (36-18) after they were the only team in this group to drop their weekend series.   No. 14 Florida (37-18) and No. 15...
High School | General | 5/18/2026

High School Notebook: May 18

Jordan Gates
Article Image
‘27 RHP Grant Slater (@BoydCoBaseball) gets his 1st start of the year (3rd appearance) as he works his way back. FB opened 89-92 w/ ride & was still up to 91 in the 5th (run rule), while touching 93 in the 3rd. CT worked in the mid 8s & breaking ball in mid 7s (sweep). Big summer… pic.twitter.com/w9EXl6Jmrx — Perfect Game Ohio Valley (@PG_OhioValley) May 8, 2026 Grant Slater, 2027, RHP, Boyd Co (KY) Slater made his full start of the year back on May 7th. He had appeared in a few games in relief roles prior as he has come back from a few injury bugs. The Alabama commit went five strong innings, in a complete game fashion (run rule), only allowed a couple hits, one walk, and struck out 13 batters. Slater is beginning to ramp up at the right time with postseason right around the corner. Slater’s fastball peaked at 93 mph a few times, held velocity in the...
High School | General | 5/14/2026

CPBL Showcase Scout Notes

Troy Sutherland
Article Image
Logan Cummins (‘26 ON) Silky op with big arm speed and projection. Shaky FB command early, 91-93 T94. CH is present plus, weapon vs both LH & RH hitters at 83-84. Good arm side depth to it. SL has some length to the mostly lateral action @ 77. #KState commit.#CPBLShowcaseWknd pic.twitter.com/7TdJ2neOv6 — Perfect Game International (@pg_int1) May 8, 2026 Logan Cummins (‘26 ON) Very intriguing athletic upside here, came out early a bit juiced up leading to inconsistent fastball command but settled in and started dotting. Ran the fastball up to 94 with running life. Changeup is ahead of the rest of the arsenal  in terms of quality, and has a parachuting arm side dive that gets frequent swings over the top. Slider is tight with varying length at its best it does have an extra gear to garner a late count whiff. Should fit nicely at Kansas State if he decides to...
Loading more articles...