THE WORLD'S LARGEST AND MOST COMPREHENSIVE SCOUTING ORGANIZATION

| 2,424 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS

2,424 MLB PLAYERS | 15,806 MLB DRAFT SELECTIONS

Tournaments | Story | 10/8/2021

Scorpions/GST trip but don't fall

Jeff Dahn

Photo: Jordan Taylor (Perfect Game)

JUPITER, Fla. – Early morning was rapidly brightening into late morning on Friday at the Roger Dean Complex and the games in the day’s first time slot were wrapping up with the final scores being recorded into the history books of the preeminent Perfect Game WWBA World Championship.

Day 2 at the most heavily scouted amateur baseball tournament in the world was just getting started and only two hours in, teams and their players were already experiencing equal doses of delight and disappointment. Baseball has a knack for bringing reality home to roost on both the positive and negative sides of the aisle.

Let’s be clear before going any further. A loss during pool-play on the second day of a mega five-day event like Jupiter is not a deal-breaker, not with the 25 pool champions and seven wild card entrants that will advance to the 32-team playoffs yet to be determined. The outcomes of the last 50 pool-play games scheduled for Saturday will ultimately determine how that 32-team bracket will look.

The players and coaches from the highly regarded Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Scorpions/Giants Scout Team fully understood how all of the numbers will be tabulated. They also went to bed Friday night knowing that the 1-1-0 record they possessed after a loss to the 5 Star National Midwest (2-0-0) Friday left them in a less than enviable position.

The Scorpions/GST face the US Elite 2022 National (0-2-0) to complete pool-play at mid-morning Saturday knowing it’s a must-win if they hope to keep any shot at a playoff berth alive. Even with a victory, they’re going to need the Dirtbags Scout Team (1-1-0) to knockoff 5 Star and then have tie-breaker criteria work their way. It’s the nature of the beast and it’s now up to the Scorpions, one of the nation’s proudest programs, to conquer that beast.

This unwelcome scenario materialized after the Scorpions were beaten by the 5 Star National Midwest 4-1 Friday morning, a game in which the Scorps managed just two hits but were also walked 10 times, providing for plenty of baserunners.

“We just need to regroup,” Scorpions/GST third baseman and PG All-American Jayden Hylton said postgame. “We’ve got to start putting good at-bats together and stop wasting them – put bats on balls and get baserunners on. We had a lot of opportunities today but we couldn’t cash in. We had small hits here and there but we didn’t have them when they were going to count.”

Hylton, a Stetson commit ranked No. 47 overall in the class of 2022, isn’t the only PG All-American on the Scorpions roster. He’s joined in the dugout by Jackson Holliday, an Oklahoma State commit who came into Jupiter ranked No. 36 overall in the 2022 class; Holliday was in total agreement with his fellow PGAA.

“We have to have a winning mindset,” he said of Saturday’s approach. “We need to come out and score a lot runs and not allow many runs and just win. … We had a lot of opportunities to score and put the game away but we didn’t capitalize. I feel like we can for sure do this. I feel like we’ll come out motivated and ready to win.”

Things started well enough for the Scorpions/Giants Scout Team here on Florida’s central Atlantic Coast when they opened play Thursday with a resounding 8-2 win over the Dirtbags Scout Team out of North Carolina.

2022 catcher Brody Donay (No. 221-ranked, Virginia Tech commit) was a triple short of the cycle with a single, double and a home run, and finished with two RBI and three runs scored; 2022 outfielder Jordan Taylor (No. 64, Florida State) delivered a pair of singles and a double and drove in three runs; 2022 Joshua Hogue tripled and drove in a run and ’22 Cameron Smith singled with an RBI. 2022 right-hander Ryan Fry (No. 408, Miami), allowed one run on one hit and struck-out six without a walk in picking up the win.

That offense all but disappeared Friday, although the 5 Star National Midwest pitchers weren’t throwing much of anything over the plate as 10 walks will attest. 2022 outfielder Nico Banez (t-500, Dartmouth) singled in the top of the third and Smith added a single in the fifth for the Scorpions only two hits; they scored their only run on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Hogue in the fourth.

Manager/GM Johnny Goodrich, a longtime fixture on the Florida high school baseball scene, stressed that the majority of the players come to the Scorpions as opposed to the Scorpions seeking-out the players. He believes they like what the organization stands for and how it goes about its business, but mostly they like how much pride the coaches and directors take in the development of their players.

Although every one of these players are extremely talented young prospects, Goodrich has the ability to look at them and know that no one at this level is a finished product. So the people within the program just try to clean things up a little around the edges and make sure the players are as close to ready for competition as possible.

“We try to leave no stone unturned, obviously, and on the other side of it we really go after kids that fit the character mode,” Goodrich said. “We may not win every game but it’s a joy to be around the players we get to be around because they’re quality human beings and great baseball players.”

So here is this extremely talented roster that boasts, with only a handful of exceptions, players from the classes of 2022 and 2023 who are ranked as top-500 prospects or better.

They are overwhelmingly from Florida but elite players like Oklahoma ’22 shortstop Holliday and Mississippi ’23 shortstop/right-hander Hudson Calhoun (No. 313, Ole Miss) are welcomed additions.

Some of the other top Florida guys from the 2022 class in addition to Hylton, Taylor and the others previously mentioned include catcher Austin Fawley (No. 454, Kentucky) and top-500s in left-hander Justin Jackson (South Florida), first baseman Jack Bello, infielder Michael McAloose, outfielder Evan Griffis (Stetson), first baseman Simon Kohn and right-hander Evan Chrest (Jacksonville).

Don’t overlook the 2023s either, with outfielder Jake Kulikowski (No. 60, Miami) and right-hander Chance Fitzgerald (No. 114, Florida State).

“Everybody jells together so much it’s not like it’s really hard getting along with other people,” the talented Taylor said. “I like to accept people who are really nice and we become teammates pretty quick so it’s not hard to jell with each other.

“Our team is pretty fun. The energy is contagious and when we get going all of us are having fun. You try to have fun on the field and then everything else will kind of play out.”

Added the PGAA Hylton: “Being a part of this team is amazing. It’s a good group of kids who come out here and play their hearts out. It’s just great being around these kids every day.”

There is an unusual yet very intriguing dynamic associated with Jupiter, one in which every team in attendance professes its desire to win the championship while also trying to showcase their top players in front of more than 1,000 scouts from both the professional and collegiate ranks. The whole environment surrounding the event does tantalize the senses.

The PGAAs Holliday and Hylton are at the WWBA World Championship for a second straight year, although the 2020 rendition is a bit of an outlier because it was moved across the state to Fort Myers due to Covid restrictions in place in Palm Beach County. It’s an especially cool environment for Holliday, who has a bit of a recent past in this city.

“This is really neat,” Holliday said, adding that he knows his way around the neighborhood because his dad, former NL All-Star Matt Holliday, spent numerous spring trainings here when he played with the Cardinals, who train at the Roger Dean Complex.

“I lived in Jupiter for a long time so I came to this tournament and watched the older guys; now to be able to play in it is really neat. It really does bring out the competitiveness in you and the will to win. You want to be on top and it definitely gives you that.”

Taylor, on the other hand, is getting his first taste of the Jupiter experience. But with the Scorpions in their “must-win” mode Saturday, he’s trying to keep his blinders in place.

“This is definitely neat seeing all the scouts out here but you can’t really look at it too much or it’s going to get you off your game,” he said. “It’s about coming out here and playing as a team more than worrying about what’s out there. We’re playing a game and we’ve seen (some of) these teams throughout the summer so it’s definitely like a regular game for us.”

The message the Scorpions/Giants Scout Team staff conveys to the players coming into an event that carries the prominence and the respect of Jupiter never varies or never gets off track, and it resonates because of the insistence on a team-first approach.

They talk to the players about competing, always giving their best and supporting their teammates. They insist the focus should be playing for the people inside the fence and not outside the fence (i.e. scouts). The coaches have been around baseball for a really long time and feel like it’s their responsibility to reduce as much as possible some of the pressures their players are feeling.

“Every day you play you learn something new,” Taylor said. “You learn more about your game and maybe see something else that somebody does that you can implement into your game. Everyday you’re just trying to get better yourself. You just look at what you did and look at what somebody else did and add that to your game so you can better the next day.”

Or, as Goodrich put it: “If it’s about the team then I think things become a little bit easier; if it becomes about ‘me’ things become a little more difficult. The biggest challenge is that … you’re just trying to create the camaraderie that’s necessary to be a good team and understand how to be productive in certain situations; that’s never an easy thing. The win is never final and the loss is never fatal and there’s going to be other games after this one. Just keep going and keep putting one foot in front of the other.”

It’s all a part of the Jupiter experience, even when the lesson of dealing with losses is one that must be learned. This also likely brings to a close the overall Perfect Game tournament experience for the seniors on the Scorpions/Giants Scout Team roster, which is bittersweet in many respects.

“I think this is a special time for them,” Goodrich concluded. “This is the end of their travel ball career and everybody wants to go out on top and it’s not possible for everybody. So, it’s about just taking the moment and enjoy it because this is the last hurrah when it comes to travel baseball.”

PERFECTGAME.TV

Give us your feedback

Tournaments | Story | 4/21/2026

Southeast Super NIT #2 Scout Notes

Jason Phillips

Chase Jelks (‘30 GA)- with a long double to deep CF. Huge day from the primary SS, 5-for-6 w/ 4 doubles & 6 RBI. #SESuperNIT @TheDreamBall @PG_Georgia https://t.co/biFSzXCrUt pic.twitter.com/HCQMduedb5 — Perfect Game Youth (@PGYouthBB) April 20, 2026 Chase Jelks (’30, Atlanta, Ga.)- the left-handed hitting Jelks was all over the barrel on Sunday in a pair of games for The Dream 14U Black. He finished the day with five hits in six at-bats which included four doubles and six runs batted in. His two doubles and four runs batted in played a big part in the Gold Playoffs Round 1 victory over the talented BPA squad out of California. He backed up that performance with three more hits in a quarterfinal’s loss to the East Cobb Astros 14U Orange to finish the tournament with a .600 batting average and 1.636 on-base plus slugging percentage. A primary utility infielder,...

High School | General | 5/1/2026

Texas High School Notebook

Jay Vossler

Cullen Scott (‘28 TX) strikes out 8 over 6 IP. 4-Seam 94-97 T98 carry up. 2-Seam 90-93 ASR. And it’s easy velo out the hand; held velo into 6th. Slider 78-81 (2400 RPM) short and tight tilter. Curve 76-79 (2400 RPM) power depth varies between 10-4 and 11-5. Change 82-83 rolls out… pic.twitter.com/aFCQ6m70Ax — Perfect Game Texas (@Texas_PG) April 18, 2026 Cullen Scott (2028, Melissa, Texas) was as advertised in this look as he went 6 innings while striking out 8 batters. Throws 2 different fastballs and holds velo well throughout outing. 4-seam works 94-97 and topped out at 98 with carry up just jumps out of hand. 2-seam works 90-93 with good arm side run. Held velocity into the 6th. Slider 78-81 plays short with tilt and late bite getting upwards of 2400 RPM. Curve 76-79 with power depth that varies between shape 10-4 to 11-5. Change 82-83 rolls out of hand with...

Draft | Mock Draft | 5/1/2026

MLB Mock Draft: May 1

Tyler Henninger

Pick Team Player Position School 1 Chicago White Sox Roch Cholowsky SS UCLA 2 Tampa Bay Rays Grady Emerson SS Fort Worth Christian 3 Minnesota Twins Vahn Lackey C Georgia Tech 4 San Francisco Giants Jackson Flora RHP UC Santa Barbara 5 Pittsburgh Pirates AJ Gracia OF Virginia 6 Kansas City Royals Eric Booth Jr. OF Oak Grove 7 Baltimore Orioles Ace Reese 3B Mississippi State 8 Athletics Jacob Lombard SS Gulliver Schools 9 Atlanta Braves Ryder Helfrick C Arkansas 10 Colorado Rockies Drew Burress OF Georgia Tech 11 Washington Nationals Jared Grindlinger LHP/OF Huntington Beach 12 Los Angeles Angels Cameron Flukey RHP Coastal Carolina 13 St. Louis Cardinals Cole Carlon LHP Arizona State 14 Miami Marlins Gio Rojas LHP Marjory Stoneman Douglas 15 Arizona Diamondbacks Tyler Bell* SS Kentucky 16 Texas Rangers Justin Lebron SS Alabama 17 Houston Astros Chris Hacopian SS Texas A&M 18...

High School | General | 4/30/2026

High School Notebook: April 30

Jordan Gates

Slo-mo look at the swing by Jordan Ransom (‘26, AZ) #PGHS @QCHS_Athletics @PG_Draft https://t.co/fyPaOimF5k pic.twitter.com/T7yH6a1qRI — Perfect Game Four Corners (@PG_FourCorners) April 29, 2026 OF Ryan Harwood, Casteel (Ariz). Harwood is one of the premier draft names in the state and showed why in the regular season finale. The Texas A&M commit collected a pair of hits and also threw a runner out at home from left field. Harwood possesses impressive physicality that can produce big impact at the plate. The profile has middle of the order upside. Defensively, Harwood profiles best for a corner outfield spot long term. The arm strength may allow him to slide over to right field, as he can produce strong on-line carry. Harwood showed off that arm strength on the mound, where he threw the last inning and ran the heater up to 91 mph. IF Jordan Ransom, Queen Creek...

High School | Rankings | 4/29/2026

High School Top 50 Update: April 29

Tyler Russo

With another week in the books across the country in the high school baseball season, we have another update to the National Top 50. The southern states are rolling through the playoffs as the weeks unfold along with northern states starting to get to the back half of their schedule as the summer is quickly approaching. The top-10 holds firm in this update as Venice (FL) continues to hold onto the top spot after rattling off W’s since returning home to Florida. Barbe (LA) comes in at No. 2 this week after being ranked at No. 3 a week ago and sport a 37-1 record with 36 straight wins. Orange Lutheran (CA) drops one spot to No. 3 and a pair of Texas schools round out the top-5 as Tomball is at No. 4 and Aledo is at No. 5. 5-9 is the exact same this week as last as IMG Academy (FL) comes in at No. 6, Trinity (KY) is at No. 7, Harvard-Westlake (CA) is at No. 8 and Grapevine (TX) is at...

Juco | Rankings | 4/29/2026

JUCO Top 25: April 29

Troy Sutherland

Two teams reached the 50 win mark this past week and both are in the top two spots of this weeks ranking. Pearl River continues to win and represents our top ranked D2 JUCO team. Welcome to the top 10 to Cloud County, who is putting together an outstanding season at 43-5. Fresno City, Palomar and Ohlone are the top teams in California. And welcome back to the top 25 to the NWAC and Lower Columbia. Check back next week as teams head into postseason play. Rk. School Record 1 Johnson County (KS) 50-2 2 Gaston (NC) 50-3 3 Walters State (TN) 45-10 4 Blinn (TX) 37-12 5 Pearl River (MS) 43-9 6 Southern Nevada (NV) 35-10 7 Florence-Darlington (SC) 46-10 8 Florida Southwestern (FL) 35-15 9 Chipola (FL) 40-11 10 Cloud County (KS) 43-5 11 McLennan (TX) 39-11 12 John A Logan (IL) 44-8 13 Midland (TX) 44-6 14 Georgia Highlands (GA) 41-11 15 Fresno City (CA) 37-3 16 Cochise (AZ) 40-13 17 Harford...

College | Rankings | 4/29/2026

DII/DIII/NAIA Rankings Update: April 29

Nick Herfordt

Across all three divisions of college baseball, the teams making the most noise heading into the postseason share a common trait — they score runs, and they score them relentlessly. Along with the updated rankings, this week we take a look at the top run-producing programs in DII, DIII and NAIA baseball, spotlighting a trio of teams from each division whose offenses have separated themselves from the field. The numbers tell a compelling story. Whether it's the defending NAIA champion LSU Shreveport Pilots reloading with a new roster yet still posting 10+ runs per game, the Pittsburg State Gorillas hanging blowout after blowout on opponents, or the Lynchburg Hornets making a case as the most complete team in Division III baseball, the formula is largely the same — deep lineups, disciplined at-bats, and the ability to keep pressure on a pitching staff from the first pitch to...

College | Story | 4/30/2026

Coppy's Corner: April 30 POY Deep Dive

John Coppolella

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. Player of the Week: Jarren Advincula – Georgia Tech Last week, Fernando Mendoza was taken with the first pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. Mendoza transferred from the University of California – Berkeley (Cal) to Indiana University in advance of his draft year. Upon transferring, he won the Heisman Trophy and led the Hoosiers to a national championship. Advincula also transferred from Cal in advance of his draft year, but he took his talents to Georgia Tech. And, while there is still time left in the season, Advincula has positioned himself to be in the conversation for College Baseball’s...

Leagues | Story | 4/28/2026

Iowa Spring League Notebook: Week 5

Perfect Game Staff

Dawson Weller (2027, Ottumwa, IA) showcased his two-way potential with a strong performance this weekend. On the mound, worked two clean innings while striking out 3 consistently living in the zone and getting ahead with first-pitch strikes. Showed the ability to control tempo and attack hitters throughout the outing. At the plate made a big impact in the same game, collecting two doubles and a home run. Displays quick hands through the zone with the ability to connect on an uphill path and generate carry off the barrel. A well-rounded showing that highlighted impact on both sides of the ball. Will Frederiksen (2026, Bettendorf, IA) had a loud weekend at the plate, launching 2 home runs and showing real impact with the bat. Generates plenty of juice in the swing with a simple, controlled load that allows him to stay on time. The swing works clean through the zone and produces strong...

College | Story | 4/28/2026

College Players of the Week: April 28

Craig Cozart

April 28th Perfect Game/Player of the Week: Jarren Advincula, IF, Georgia Tech It is well documented how good the Georgia Tech offense was in 2025, so when the Yellow Jackets added Jarren Advincula from the transfer portal in the off-season, the expectations went through the roof for ’26. Somehow, the team and Advincula have not only met but exceeded those expectations in virtually every way. Advincula, the 6-2/195 infielder from Santa Clara, CA, has been a fixture in the middle infield and is an elite defender with the leather. He shows natural instincts for the game and as the season has progressed, he has found himself inserted into the 3-hole in their powerful lineup. Hitting from the left-side of the plate, Advincula put together an impressive week as Tech took down Georgia in the mid-week and swept Wake Forest on the weekend. He was...

College | Rankings | 4/26/2026

College Top 25: April 27

Vincent Cervino

It was another weekend of upsets, upheaval and consequential series victories across the nation. After the dust settled, the UCLA Bruins (39-4) remain the No. 1 team in the nation after their (3-1) week stepping outside Big Ten play, taking a series against Sacramento State. Their perfect (21-0) start in conference play is still intact with three weekend series to go. UNC (36-8) sticks at No. 2 this week after they went across town to take on archrival Duke, winning that series and finishing the week with a (3-1) record. The No. 3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (36-7) showed their moxie by coming back from large deficits multiple times and swept conference foe Wake Forest, extending their lead in the ACC standings to 2-games. The Texas Longhorns (32-9) are No. 4 in the poll this week after winning a tightly contested series on the road against Vanderbilt. ...

Loading more articles...

PERFECTGAME.TV

SPEND MORE. SAVE MORE.

Event Types

Special Events

Featured

Baseball Showcases

Player Rankings

DRAFT BOARD

Team Rankings

Travel Team Rankings

College Rankings

Softball Player Rankings

Top Ranked Players

PG Rawlings Preseason All American

Top Ranked Teams

Recruiting Menu

Event Results

MLB Draft Content

DRAFT BOARD

PG EVENT CONTENT

HIGH SCHOOL CONTENT

MLB DRAFT CONTENT

COLLEGE CONTENT

RECENT ARTICLES

PG Alumni

NOTABLE MLB PLAYERS

About Perfect Game