Jeff
Dahn Day 5 feature: Michael Kopech
MINNEAPOLIS
– Hailing from the small town of Columbia, Miss., Ti’quan Forbes
has shown his dedication to becoming a baseball player just by being
at the Metrodome this week. The athletic shortstop traveled by plane
for the first time in his life to be at the Perfect Game National
Showcase, and he did it by himself.
“I’m
here to show my talents and I was happy that I got invited,” Forbes
said. “I just wanna do my best and show everybody that I’m a good
player.”
Coming
into the event, Forbes was ranked the No. 54 prospect for the 2014
high school class, but after the performance he’s had here in
Minneapolis, he will surely jump in the rankings.
“When
it’s all said and done, we could be looking at a top-of-the-draft
type guy,” said Frankie Piliere, a scouting coordinator for Perfect
Game. “If he could stick at shortstop we really have something that
could be special.”
At
6-foot-4, 175 pounds, Forbes has a projectable frame that should fill
out, and if that happens, the sky is the limit for the fleet-footed
shortstop.
“He’s
a bat speed guy,” Piliere said. “He already showed the raw power
in batting practice. We already saw that from him, so he can hit the
ball out of the park.”
The
bat speed wasn’t just on display during batting practice; scouts
say it has translated over into the games as well. Forbes collected
an opposite field single in one of the games and drove a fastball
back up the middle for a hit to start off his day on Monday, the last
day of the event. He then added another opposite field single in his
second at-bat.
A
three-sport athlete, Forbes said it’s time to stick to just one,
and he chose baseball. “(My parents) just told me I should stick to
one and I can just work and get better and become really good.”
When
asked why he chose baseball over basketball or football Forbes’
answer was simple.
“I
just really like playing it,” he said. “I like the atmosphere of
it and the environment.”
Forbes
plays baseball year-round, playing his travel ball with the Texas Sun
Devils. Although his summer schedule is baseball, baseball, and more
baseball, Forbes doesn’t seem to mind.
“It’s
fun,” said Forbes. “If you love baseball, you’ll do it
year-round.”
Forbes
is a competitor by nature who plays the game to win. He recalls his
fondest memory on the diamond when he won a state championship in his
ninth grade year. “I was really excited,” he recalled. “I
pitched the last few innings.”
He
hopes to make some more memories this summer with his travel ball
team. He likes what he has in those guys.
“I
think the team is pretty good,” Forbes said of this year's Sun
Devils team. “We have a nice team and nice people down there, nice
coaches. I think we’ll do pretty good this summer.”
With
Forbes on the team they should fair pretty well. The No. 2 ranked
high school prospect in Mississippi, according to PG, plays the game
with many different tools. He can hit, field, throw, and he can
absolutely fly on the bases.
Forbes
was clocked running a 6.56-second 60-yard dash during his workouts
here in Minneapolis and has displayed that speed, swiping a few bags
in the games.
“I’ve
enjoyed myself the whole time I’ve been down here,” said Forbes.
“It’s the best of the best.”
Surrounding
himself with top-of-the-line competition this week at National,
Forbes has soaked in the atmosphere and enjoyed the challenge of
taking his game to another level.
“Everybody’s
good. Everybody’s got talents,” he said. “You see 96 mph; you
don’t see that everyday. It’s been real fun, I’ve really
enjoyed myself.”
Having
fun and impressing the scouts made his trip a worthwhile journey.
– Matt
Rodriguez
Live
Streaming
For
the second straight year the Perfect Game National Showcase is
available for everyone to watch online. The live stream to all of
the workouts, batting practice sessions and games can be found on
iHigh's dedicated Perfect Game page:
http://www.ihigh.com/perfectgame/
PG
National Scout Blogs
There
were no workouts on the fifth and final day of the 2013 Perfect Game
National Showcase. To view all of the workout results from Days 1-4,
as well as detailed reports on all 18 games that were played over the
five-day event, please visit this link:
https://www.perfectgame.org/blogs/View.aspx?blog=335
National
Impressions
• Day
5 of the National Showcase was a quick one, relatively, given the
non-stop baseball activity on the field during the first four days of
the event. Three games were on the schedule for the last day,
starting with a contest between the Royals and Steel teams in Game
16.
• Dominique
Key started Game 16 for the Royal squad and was immediately
impressive. With an athletic frame and a strong lower half, there's
a little added movement to his delivery which creates a fair amount
of deception. The ball explodes out of his hand, creating easy 90-92
mph heat in his first inning of work. He also gets big 12-to-6 break
on his overhand curveball thrown in the low-70s.
• Erik
Manoah Jr. also came out firing in innings 5-6 for the Royal team,
producing easy 90-92 heat peaking at 94 mph. With a sturdy and
compact 6-foot-2, 210-pound build, the ball exploded out of Manoah's
hand. He also threw a low-70s curveball, and showed good fastball
command.
• Ti'quan
Forbes, as profiled above, and Tim Susnara each hit hard singles up
the middle for the Royal team. Both players have made a strong
impression during the event.
• There
were a pair of really nice defensive players in the outfield in this
game. In the first inning, Zach Jancarski, ranging hard and fast to
deep left-center, made a really nice back-handed catch in which he
was fully extended, sliding on the turf as a result.
In
the fifth, Hunter Tackett fired a strike from right field to third
base to gun down a runner.
• Left-hander
Mac Marshall quickly made a statement in the second game of the day,
Game 17 overall, starting the game for the White team and hitting 94
on the gun with his first pitch. With a quick, easy arm action and
obvious arm strength, he settled in at 92-94 for his first inning to
work while also flashing a promising 76-77 mph curveball with big,
sweeping break. At 6-foot-4, 200-pounds there's plenty of reason to
believe he's just starting to scratch the surface of what he's
capable of.
• Fellow lefty Lake Dabney may not have had Marshall's stuff, but at 6-foot-6, 192-pounds he's ultra projectable. His fastball sat at 85-88 and he showed the ability to add some late sinking action to it while using his size and long limbs to throw downhill on batters, while also doing a good job pounding the lower half of the strike zone.
• Zack
Plunkett continues to show a quick release behind the plate, gunning
down two more runners today giving him three during game action the last two days. He added a booming double to deep left-center as well, showing is well rounded skills both offensively and defensively.
• Khevin Brewer also hit the ball hard in Game 17, with a pair of hits both squared up well, including a double deep to straight away center field.
• Luke Dysktra added an extra-base hit of his own on a base hit sliced down the right field line. A missed diving attempt by the outfielder allowed Dykstra to turn on the jets for a triple.
• Fittingly, the final game of the National Showcase, Game 18 overall, was highlighted by pitching performances.
Grant Schneider was the first pitcher to take the mound, showing an athletic and strong 6-foor-3, 195-pound frame. He pounded the strike zone with 85-89 mph heat, touching 90, with a really sharp 76-77 curveball.
Justus Sheffield, the younger brother of 2012 National Showcase participant and PG All-American Jordan, arguably was the most impressive all-around pitcher in the entire event. His fastball sat at 90-92 and he showed the ability to change speeds and throw strikes with his 80 mph slider and upper-70s change. Both innings were quick and crisp, and there's no reason to believe he won't get even better as he continues to add strength.
Zach Shannon, also a hard-hitting outfielder that blasted a double in game action yesterday, took to the mound in this game and came out firing. The big-bodied righty was 91-93 throwing mostly fastballs, but then dropped in a few very impressive 79-81 breaking balls and made quick work of the opposing batters.
• B.J. White made one of the event's highlight plays by completely laying out in left-center to rob a potential extra-base hit.
• On a day dominated not only by pitching, but also by strong defense, catcher Kainoa Harrison showed off his arm by throwing out a runner and his overall defensive prowess by positioning himself well at home plate to block, and tag out, a runner on a throw home.
That's a wrap from the 2013 Perfect Game National Showcase. Thanks to all of the players, family members, friends, scouts, coaches, recruiters and fans for being a part of another successful event.