THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION
| 2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
2,384 MLB PLAYERS | 15,805 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS
Sign in Create Account
Sign in Create Account
Tournaments  | Story | 7/9/2021

PG prep champ Eagles still soaring

Jeff Dahn
Photo: Grant McDonald, Christian Rodriguez (Perfect Game)

FORT MYERS, Fla. – A championship mentality is first created through talent and training and then cultivated through hard work and positive reinforcement. Suffice it to say that many of the players performing for the Eagles Baseball Scout Team at this week’s Perfect Game BCS 16u National Championship have that winning attitude ingrained into their very being.

Credit their baseball backgrounds, the ones that have really taken root since they began their prep careers at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., two years ago. The school was the site of a horrific mass shooting in 2017, and the Eagles baseball program has led a resurgence and rebirth that is garnering headlines for much more positive reasons.



This was a truly magical spring for the Stoneman Douglas Eagles. They finished the 2021 campaign with 28-2 record on their way to winning the Florida Class 7A state championship, the big-school class largely regarded as the strongest in the state and one of the strongest in the nation.

As a result, at season’s end the Eagles sat in the cat-bird seat as the No. 1 team in the final PG High School National Top 50 Rankings.

“It was a really good collection of kids [with] talent, chemistry, coaching. It was really a close-knit unit and probably the tightest group of guys that I’ve had in a long, long time,” Stoneman Douglas/ Eagles BST head coach Todd Fitz-Gerald told PG on Thursday, speaking from the Lee County Player Development 5-Plex.

“They were just fun. They came to practice every day and they worked hard. They had one goal in mind and that was to be a state champion.”

Turns out they earned even more than the state championship they had set their sights on winning. Eagles Baseball Scout Team top-500 2022 outfielder/corner-infielder Grant McDonald was a key component on that Stoneman Douglas team and he’s still soaking everything in.

“The experience was amazing, let alone winning a state championship and then we got voted to win the national championship,” he told PG on Thursday. “I won’t forget that for the rest of my life; I’ll always remember that. It was probably the most fun season I’ve ever had.”

Fast-forward a couple of months and many of those same players have traveled across the state to compete on the national stage that is the PG BCS 16u National Championship. It’s an event with 112 teams from across the country and Puerto Rico chasing PG national championship rings that carry a great deal of significance in their own right.

“It’s pretty cool to see all the different teams and how they get ready and how they go about their business,” McDonald said. “It would be awesome to win [this] championship; that’s the goal.”

McDonald is one of eight Stoneman Douglas underclass players rostered with the Eagles BST, and they’re all very talented. Each one finds himself at some level of PG’s national class of 2022, 2023 or 2024 prospect rankings with ’23 outfielder/right-hander Christian Rodriguez leading the way at No. 22. A dynamic presence, Rodriguez is an alumnus of both the 2019 PG 13u Select Baseball Festival and the 2020 PG 14u Select Fest.

In addition to Rodriguez and McDonald, the Eagles Baseball ST also boasts the talents of other Douglas standouts like 2022 outfielder/right-hander Brandon White (t-1,000); left-hander/outfielder Jacob Gomberg (No. 276, Florida commit) and Dillon Moquin (t-1,000) from the class of 2023, and catcher/left-hander Niko Benestad (No. 172) and middle-infielder Devin Fitz-Gerald (follow) out of the 2024 class, among others.

“Staying with the same group, staying with our boys, keeping that chemistry and keeping our bond tight” is very beneficial,” Rodriguez said. “And rolling into next year [after] this great summer together, it’s a lot of fun.”

Todd Fitz-Gerald firmly believes that when you have guys who have been playing together, learning from one another and accomplishing great things during their high school baseball experiences, it only makes sense to try to keep them together during the summer. He sees it as a bit of a win-win because these underclassmen represent the future of his program at Stoneman Douglas.

“And they’re getting coached by their high school coach. What more do you want?” he added. “They’re getting plenty of exposure, plenty of notoriety, plenty of everything – it’s really a no-brainer.”

There are, obviously, highly-touted players from other schools on board with this team as well, including No. 291-ranked 2022 Edian Espinal; No. 262 ’23 Paul Guerne (Duke); No. 392 ’23 catcher/infielder Javier Gorostola (FIU). There is also top-500 2023s Bradley Link (Richmond), Andrew Ildefonso, and Robbie Demetree, top-1,000 Joshua Ramos and high-follow Mel Rubiera (FIU), all from the Miami area.

Coach Fitz-Gerald emphasized that this is one team owned and operated by Scott Link and it is not an expansive organization. Link allowed Fitz-Gerald and his other coaches at Stoneman Douglas to put the team together while also bringing in several players of his own to round-out the roster.

“It’s really been a really good marriage,” Fitz-Gerald said. “We just have a good time with these kids because they’re all baseball players. Maybe not the greatest top-to-bottom but they get after it and they play hard and that’s all I ask.”

Rodriguez, the highly regarded junior-to-be, agreed with his coach: “We hold ourselves to pretty high standards. Obviously, we have a lot of fun and we win and we don’t [expect] anything less than that; that’s our goal, really...Each and every one of us wants to win. We help each other to win, our coaches put us in positions to win and we can’t really ask for any more than that.”

The Eagles Baseball Scout Team had been enjoying a fine summer even before arriving here in Southwest Florida, posting a 15-2-0 record at three events. That includes a 7-0-0 championship effort at the PG WWBA 16u National Qualifier June 18-21 up in Hoover, Ala.

And the PG BCS 16u isn’t the end of the road by any means. They’ll be at the PG WWBA 16u National Championship in Marietta, Ga., July 15-22 and at the PG 16u World Series in Sanford, Fla., July 24-28.

“I still think we’re a couple of bats light from being really explosive,” Fitz-Gerald said. “But man, on the mound we can be really good. We’re always going to have a chance with the guys we run out on the mound and that’s all you can ask for.”

Off to a 3-0-0 start after two days of pool-play with two more to follow, he went with the ’22 right-hander White and ’23 righty Bradley Link in Wednesday’s opener, and the ’23 righty Ildefonso and the ’23 lefty Guerne in Thursday’s first game, both wins.

In Thursday’s nightcap, an 8-3 win over the Colorado Yard Dawgs Dillinger, Fitz-Gerald went with ’23 lefties Gomberg, Cullen McConathy (t-1000) and Mel Rubiera and the right-hander Moquin.

The hottest bats are being swung by Demetree, Espinal, McDonald, Rodriguez, Moquin and Gorostola; Espinal and Gorostola each had five RBI through three games and McDonald had four. The Eagles outscored their first three pool-play opponents by a combined 27-9.

The approach the coaches take with their players changes slightly from the high school season to the travel ball season, Fitz-Gerald said. Travel ball is a little more loose because practice time is so limited and the challenge is doing as much as you can in the little time you have to work with them. The key, he said, is finding the right combination that clicks once the players are out on the field.

“At the end of the day they’re 16 years old, right, so you’ve always got to talk to them,” Fitz-Gerald continued. “You’ve just got to keep them focused and understand the prize. You’ve got to keep them mentally in the right frame of mind, you’ve got to really condition their bodies and you’ve just got to take care of them...You can’t take a play off in this game and expect to be successful.”

Travel ball is different from the high school season in another respect, as well. Travel ball teams are much more heavily scouted than a typical high school team if for no other reason than there’s a far greater representation of scouts and college recruiters at these hundred-team PG national tournaments than at a typical high school venue.

The Eagles Baseball Scout Team coaching staff – which is also the Stoneman Douglas staff – understands that player development and optimum exposure are at the roots of travel ball. They want to promote their players and they also want to win, because the deeper a run a team makes in the playoffs translates into more exposure and more opportunities for a prospect to produce.

That’s a fact not lost on these players either, so they’re out there trying to multi-task in a sense: “We know we have to do our individual jobs but in the end it’s a team sport,” McDonald said. “We’ve got to come together as a team and win as a team...I think we’re a really close group, I think we can turn it on when we need to and we can get the job done.”

Looking around at his teammates while they took some cuts in the 5-Plex’s batting cages on Thursday, McDonald liked what he saw. He feels at ease being around these guys, a feeling of contentment brought about by a sense of familiarity and a shared commitment:

“We all have the mentality to win. We’re all really close on and off the field and we just love the grind,” he said.

It was the same grind the players who were part of the Stoneman Douglas state and national championships embraced every step of the way: “It was surreal just with the chemistry we had; the way we played with each other,” Rodriguez said. “We played hard and we had such a great season. We had fun doing it but we took it seriously and we came out on top.”

Coach Fitz-Gerald could only smile looking back on what was the second Florida state championship he’s guided the Stoneman Douglas Eagles to during his 10-year tenure, with the first coming in 2016. He called this year’s group “the cardiac kids” in reference to the large number of come-from-behind wins it pulled out on the way to that glossy 28-2 record.

“I thought we were a pretty complete team: pitching, hitting and defense all the way around, so it was really a special year,” he concluded, “and the good thing is, we’re probably on pace to do it again [next] year.”

That can only mean one thing: Keep an eye out for the 17u version of the Eagles Baseball Scout Team in the summer of 2022.
Give us your feedback
Tournaments | Story | 1/27/2026

MLK East Scout Notes Recap
Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
‘28 OF Jakob Groeschel (OH) continues to impress with the bat on the circuit, picked up 2 2Bs in the first game today. Really athletic, went 4.4 on turn; easy to dream on all the traits. #MLKEast @PG_OhioValley pic.twitter.com/wOIwnGKnkg — Perfect Game Florida (@Florida_PG) January 17, 2026 2028 OF Jakob Groeschel (Springfield, Ohio) broke out at this event last year hitting a casual .909, and although he didn’t turn in quite the same performance, he hit a strong .462 with 4 extra-base hits, 5 walks, 5 bags and only struck out once. He’s a pretty dynamic athlete who can do a lot of things well, but the bat is the calling card as he just lives on the barrel and has no problem handling all kinds of pitching. It’s a simple swing, but he’s got fast hands and he can really impact the ball without being overly physical yet.  2030 RHP Michael Vazquez...
Read More
High School | Rankings | 3/3/2026

High School Top 50 Update: March 3

Tyler Russo
Article Image
As we get rolling deeper into the spring here in the southern states, other states are only a few weeks away from their seasons beginning and some are even starting the day this will be posted. We’ve concluded the first major event on the high school schedule, the PG High School Showdown, and it was an epic weekend in Hoover. The event was littered with talent and these rankings reflect just that. St. John Bosco (CA) holds onto the first spot in this update and are being pushed by an IMG Academy (FL) team that’s 8-0 after winning the High School Showdown as well as beating two preseason top-10 teams in the first few weeks of the season. Orange Lutheran (CA) holds onto the No. 3 spot after a 1-0 start to the year and just a few weeks away from NHSI. A trio of Florida schools follow Olu in South Walton (FL), fresh off a win at the HS Showdown, Venice (FL), a surging team...
Read More
Press Release | Press Release | 3/3/2026

PG & RaceTrac Expand Partnership

Perfect Game Staff
Article Image
  667 Progress Way | Sanford, FL 32771 | 319-298-2923 www.perfectgame.org | facebook.com/perfectgameusa | @PerfectGameUSA     FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   PERFECT GAME AND RACETRAC ANNOUNCE EXPANDED PARTNERSHIP   Sanford, Florida (Tuesday, March 3, 2026) - Perfect Game, the world’s largest youth baseball and softball platform and scouting service, today announced an expanded partnership with RaceTrac, naming the convenience store brand the Official Convenience Store of Perfect Game in Georgia and Florida. The enhanced relationship significantly broadens RaceTrac’s presence across Perfect Game’s premier tournament venues and digital platforms, deepening its engagement with players, families, coaches and fans throughout two of the most active youth baseball markets in the country.   As part of the expanded agreement, RaceTrac will launch a robust...
Read More
College | Story | 3/3/2026

College Players of the Week: March 3

Craig Cozart
Article Image
March 3 Perfect Game/Player of the Week:  Cider Canon, OF, Duke  The Duke Blue Devils (11-3) went through massive changes in the offseason, with a new coaching staff and heavy roster turnover like is often seen in the college game today.  That hasn’t held them back as they have kind of flown under the radar on their way to a tie for the most wins in the nation.  They won 4 out 5 games last week and Cider Canon was the driving force behind their offensive onslaught.  The 5-11/180 outfielder from San Marino, CA put together an incredible week collecting 9 hits in 14 at-bats, good for a .643 BA, scoring 7 runs, with 3 walks, 4 home runs and driving in a total of 10 runs.  After a successful couple years at Davidson College, Cider made the trip north to Durham and has fit right into the Blue Devil’s high-octane offense.  For the season, he is...
Read More
High School | General | 3/2/2026

HS Showdown Scout Notes: Days 2-3

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
High School Showdown Event Page | High School Showdown Preview High School Showdown Scout Notes: Day 1 An extended look at ‘26 3B/RHP Coleman Borthwick (FL)… 4 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 8 K, 0 BB #PGShowdown @SWseahawks @Florida_PG @PG_Draft https://t.co/IHJFWFbn4T pic.twitter.com/I2izGcEdyA — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) February 28, 2026 Coleman Borthwick (2026, Freeport, Fla.) was excellent over the weekend, securing MVP honors and delivering one of the best starts of the event on the mound. At 6-foot-6, 255-pounds, Borthwick is an ultra-physical prospect and one of the top two-way prospects in the draft. The Auburn signee drew the biggest crowd of MLB scouts in attendance as there were around 50 or 60 so lined up behind home plate on Friday morning. Borthwick was nothing short of dominant, striking out eight hitters and...
Read More
College | Rankings | 3/2/2026

College Top 25: March 2

Vincent Cervino
Article Image
Three weeks in and we are beginning to see some separation across the country.  The quality and depth, or lack thereof, are becoming evident and the conference segment for several conferences starts up this weekend.  Midweek games continue to be a tossup and only the teams that are strong on both sides of the ball have been able to maintain momentum.  We have a new No. 1 in this week’s poll as UCLA (9-2) has already accumulated 5-wins against teams that are currently or were previously ranked in the Top 25.  With last weekend’s sweep of No. 17 Tennessee (8-3), Texas A&M (10-1) and No. 4 Mississippi State (11-1) at the Amegy Bank College Baseball Series, the Bruins leap now No. 2 LSU (11-1) and No. 3 Georgia Tech (11-1) to take over the top spot.  The Texas Longhorns (11-0) are up to No. 5 as one of only 3-remaining undefeated teams in the nation,...
Read More
High School | General | 2/27/2026

HS Showdown Scout Notes: Day 1

Tyler Russo
Article Image
High School Showdown Event Page | High School Showdown Preview ‘27 1B Frank Thomas (FL) goes liftoff once again for 2nd HR, again in the L on L. Leveraging w/ such easy juice. #PGShowdown @IMGABaseball @Florida_PG https://t.co/BgWiDyMiMo pic.twitter.com/IC6sdAkhmT — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) February 26, 2026 Frank Thomas III (2027, Sarasota, Fl.) was all over a breaking ball in the first inning of an IMG Academy offensive explosion, making it back-to-back-to-back homers to start the game. He did not turn back from there, homering on two more occasions. The ball explodes off the barrel with low effort strength and he showed the ability to manipulate the barrel to lift with authority. Thomas III is built strong and physical and he is just beginning to tap into that huge power upside. He showed no issues handling left on left matchups, with his first two homers coming...
Read More
Draft | Prospect Scouting Reports | 2/26/2026

PG Draft: Early Season Underclass Performers

Tyler Henninger
Article Image
Dax Whitney (@BeaverBaseball) showed LOUD stuff. FB up to 100, cruised at 95-98. Pair of plus secondaries. CB at 77-79 (2923) with sharp, 12-6 action. Firm SL at 89-91 (2714) with bite. Flashed fading CH at 87-88 (1425). Ranked No. 1 on the ‘27 board @PG_Draft So./‘27 elig. pic.twitter.com/9PNbjJ53Zo — PG College Baseball (@PGCollegeBall) February 13, 2026 RHP Dax Whitney, Oregon State (‘27 elig.) Whitney may not just be the best arm in next year’s class, he may be the best arm in the entire country right now. The right-handed sits 98 mph with the heater and has been up to 100 mph. Both the slider and curveball are plus offerings that he spins extremely well. Whitney will mix in a quality Gavin changeup that sits in the upper-80’s and has also introduced a new cutter. All the pitches come from the exact same release point and jump out of the hand. He...
Read More
High School | General | 2/26/2026

PGHS Showdown: Academies Scout Notes

AJ Denny
Article Image
Jordan Burwell (‘26 NJ) going WAY out to right. Rhythmic approach and smooth swing get into big time power. #Mountaineers commit. @PGMidAtlantic #PGShowdown pic.twitter.com/qyDaIPxIol — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) February 22, 2026 Jordan Burwell (‘26 NJ) First live look at the left-handed hitting West Virgina commit. The power is real, launched two long homers in game action this weekend. Easy mover with very clean path with sky high offensive ceiling if he continues to show like this. Swing is built for power and lofted pull side impacts.    CJ Alfano (‘26 NY) long PS bomb this morning. Just leaning on everything that’s thrown over the heart. #WVU commit. @PGMidAtlantic #PGShowdown pic.twitter.com/4lGnhOEyrl — Perfect Game Scout (@PG_Scouting) February 22, 2026 Cj Alfano (‘26 NY)Just an impossible out throughout the weekend....
Read More
High School | General | 2/27/2026

SoCal High School Notebook: Feb. 27

Steve Fiorindo
Article Image
5 K's over 4 hitless innings of work for Jared Grindlinger (2026), making first start as member of the 2026 class. 92-94 t95 w/ the FB, SL 80-83, CH 81-83, CB 77/78. Efficient outing, 50 pitches, 39 strikes. #PGHS @PG_scouting @PG_Draft @HBHS_basebll @PG_Uncommitted pic.twitter.com/y7jwX1oPyB — Perfect Game California (@California_PG) February 25, 2026 Jared Grindlinger, LHP, Huntington Beach High School (2026) Gringlinger’s first start as a member of the 2026 class was a good one… 4 innings of no hit ball with 5 strikeouts.  Ran the fastball to 95, lived 92-94, throwing a ton of strikes.  50 pitches on the day, 39 strikes, pretty much landing all four pitches in the zone.  Went to the slider early and often, quadrupling up on the slide piece to the first hitter of the game. The slider shows late lateral action with some vert, living 80-83.  Used...
Read More
Softball | Softball Tournament | 2/25/2026

Perfect Game Softball 16U Winter Elite Showcase

Dave Durbala
Article Image
SPRINGFIELD, IL - Perfect Game Softball 16u Winter Elite Showcase, February 20-22, 2026. Twenty-Four teams arrived in Springfield for the opportunity to showcase some of the best talent in the midwest. After 3 pool play games,  the field was split and seeded into either the Platinum or Gold Division to begin bracket play.  With several highly sought after young arms on display, it was Indiana Magic Gold 16U Carroll and Indiana Magic Gold 14U National making it into the Platinum Division Championship, and through a mutual agreement, they decided to end the tournament as Co-Champions. In the Gold Division, it was Gts 16u Elite-Gonzalez with a 7-2 win over Cedar Rapids Blue Devils 14u, to earn the championship. Below are some of the players that played their way onto the top performers list, including the MVP and MV-Pitcher from both the Platinum and Gold Divisions. Earning the...
Read More
Loading more articles...
About Perfect Game :: Contact us :: Terms of Use :: Privacy Policy :: Testimonials :: Job Opportunities
Copyright 1994-2026 by Perfect Game. All rights reserved. No portion of this information may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of Perfect Game.