Crack of the Bat
More Jupiter Part 2
By Blaine Clemmens
Continuing on our spin around the Jupiter complex at the 2005 WWBA Championships, this report will start with the loaded slate of games that were on the blue side at 10:20 AM on Friday. After watching most of the game between the Dirtbags and All Star Baseball Academy, it was time to really get to work and attempt to cover four games going on simultaneously.
Three teams in particular drew me to the 10:20 games on the blue side: Ohio Warhawks, Midland Redskins, and All American Prospects. A quick look at the rosters and it would be apparent to any scout that I had picked the right group of games.
I first checked in at the Warhawks/PG USA Purple game. The first thing I, and likely most scouts do at a tourney like the WWBA Championships is to stop at the scorer's table and get a look at the line-ups, with the starting pitchers being of particular note. The scout packets that are made available do include rosters with uniform numbers, height, weight, grad year, high school, hometown, position, academic scores, and in some cases the college commitment.
However, some of the teams are putting together their rosters much later than others or they simply put down the names of players that they have been trying to get to play for them, but without a proper number. In any case, most teams do a good job of providing an accurate roster so the numbers of the players on the field match up with the numbers of the players on the roster.
That is not always the case and when it is not, it certainly makes scouting the players much more difficult. Ultimately tournaments and showcases exist for the benefit of the players, but it seems that some coaches don't grasp that concept. Scouting can be difficult enough without having to constantly figure out who each player is. The coaches should be making it easier for the college and pro scouts, not harder.
Ok, back to the Warhawks roster and the reasons I was at that game first. I had seen a number of their top players listed on their roster like RHP Cory Rasmus, 3B Joseph Sanders, OF Travis Snider, 3B Steven Englund, RHP/C Robert Stock, but there was one player in particular I wanted to see, OF Jason Place. Place was a player I had heard about having plus tools, as good as almost any player in the nation. From what I saw of him, he does have plus bat speed, above average speed, plus power potential, and wow, what a baseball body, chiseled 6'3" 205 lbs. His tools do rate with the best outfield prospects in the 2006 high school draft class and depending on signability, he is a top three round type talent.
As for the other players I mentioned, I never did see Snider play for them and I am not sure that he attended. I know that Stock did not play for them because he was playing for the Braves Scout Team. Another fun roster situation that you deal with when scouting some of the all-star teams that get put together for tourneys like WWBA is that you will see some players listed on more than one roster. Some players are being recruited by teams to play in the tourney but the rosters are due at a certain time. So, some teams will turn in a roster with players that they aren't yet committed to them. Final rosters are not official until the team plays their first game. These roster additions are noted by Perfect Game.
The Ohio Warhawks were loaded, but don't be fooled by the "Ohio" part of their name. Not one of their players was from Ohio, but they did have a talented team. Though I did not see it, Rasmus touched up to 97 in that game against PG Purple, the highest recorded velocity of the tournament. Too bad for me, but I had already moved on to one of the other games. That is a risk you run when you leave one game. However, I did see one of the young Rasmus boys, Casey. He is an '08 RHP/C with a good arm stroke and aggressive nature. He ran his fastball up to the 85-87 range.
If you are not familiar with them, the Rasmus family is quite talented. The oldest one, outfielder Colby, was a first round pick this past June and in addition to being one of the top hitters in the nation, he has a power arm, capable of low 90s heat. Cory is a senior and obviously has a power arm, not to mention a plus curveball. Then there are the two younger boys, the aforementioned Casey, and another 2008 grad, Cyle, a speedy second baseman that was invited to the USA Baseball Youth National Team trials last June. Amazing, all in one family.
Englund (Washington State) is an athletic and tooled infielder. He did not look as comfortable at 3B in this tourney as I felt he looked at SS in the Area Codes. No matter, he is going to get upper round consideration in June, there just aren't many 6'3" 195 lb. athletes with his skill set at the high school level. Englund was one among a number of high profile players I had seen once before but wanted to see again before making a more solid decision about their abilities.
The most intriguing unknown player on the Warhawks, at least for me, was a lefty named Robert Fish. I never did see Fish, he was too slippery for me, but I was told that the 6'2" 205 lb. lefthander showed an 88-91 fastball and good spin on his curveball. Other quality college bound players on the Warhawks were SS Cody Bartlett (Washington State), 3B/OF Joseph Sanders (Auburn), LHP Paul Applebee (UC Riverside), RHP Travis Kelly (Cal State Fullerton), C Jay Ponciano (Washington State), and OF Travis Snider (Arizona State), though I don't know that he was at the tourney.
After catching a couple innings of the Warhawks, it was time to check in on the Midland Redskins. Like the Warhawks, Midland is based out of Ohio, near Cincinnati. Also like the Warhawks, Midland is made up of mostly players NOT from Ohio. Year in and year out they are one of the most talented teams put together, and they regularly compete for titles such as the WWBA Championship and the Connie Mack World Series.
This years edition of the Midland team was very good, but at the top I don't think it was as strong as last year's team that featured two first rounders in Cameron Maybin and Brandon Snyder. The big '06 names on the roster were LHP Brett Anderson (Oklahoma State), OF Jared Mitchell, and RHP Josh Thrailkill (Clemson). The '07 players on Midland are some of the top talents in the nation; SS Justin Jackson (same high school as Maybin and Thrailkill, T.C. Roberson HS in Asheville, NC), OF/LHP Michael Burgess (FL), RHP Tommy Toledo (FL), and SS Christian Rodriguez (UT). They also had other top '07s with INF Ryan Dent (CA), LHP Tanner Robles (UT), RHP Sam Runion (NC), and 3B/OF Todd Brazeal (FL).
I had previously seen Anderson (for me, he is one of the top 3-4 pitchers in the '06 class), Mitchell (talented and tooled, though still needs polish), Thrailkill (power arm with at times plus stuff), Jackson, Rodriguez, and briefly saw Dent a couple summers ago. My goal was to get a look at some of the others like Burgess and Toledo. I don't know that Rodriguez, Mitchell, and Robles played in the tourney because in the three different times I saw Midland, I never saw either of them. However, I did see Burgess and Toledo and was impressed by both.
Burgess has freak type ability. He has a stocky and powerful build that lacks projectability, but I saw him touch up to 94 on the mound and from the left side of the plate he has plus bat speed and legitimate power potential. The only other '07 grad that I have seen with that type of two way talent is Robert Stock. I have not seen Michael Main, the '07 RHP/OF from Florida, and widely recognized as the #1 talent in the '07 class. Burgess is far from refined, but scouts will follow him closely.
As for Toledo, he is a long and lanky righty with a quick, loose arm and is easily projectable. He didn't show a big fastball, but was 86-88 with good arm side movement and occasional sink. He has a big curveball that needs to tighten up. However, Toledo belongs on all RHP follow lists for the top college programs and for pro ball. His feet are big, his ankles are skinny, he controls his delivery well, and all in all, he is very projectable.
As for the other top players, the one I watched the most was Justin Jackson. In most conversations about the top '07 players, and in particular the top '07 shortstops, Jackson's name is always near the top. He is a good player, with a polished defensive game, complete with smooth actions and the ability to play on the run. He seems to have a great feel for defense and a baseball clock that allows him to know just how hard he has to go on a particular play. His feet are a plus on the defensive side. The question he will have to answer starting this spring and certainly next summer is the question about his bat.
He is an athletically built 6'2" 170, and still underdeveloped in terms of musculature and raw strength. He does not get overmatched against the top pitching so his ability as a contact hitter at this stage is a good indicator of future success. Jackson will use the whole field and his bat tends to stay in the zone pretty well. His swing was shorter than I had seen it before. Again, next summer will tell us a lot about Jackson's bat. He sure is fun to watch play defense and will remain in the category of the very best '07 prospects, and rightly so.
I watched Midland for a couple of innings and then caught the tail end of the game between the All American Prospects and the St. Louis Pirates, which is just weird to write. After all, I am a Cubs fan so St. Louis and Pirates just do not go together. Sorry about the tangent, it happens to me frequently.
Many of the top players on All American Prospects I had seen this past summer. Some of them are among the top players in the nation, but again, after seeing most of them at least two other times and in some cases three other times, I didn't spend a lot of time on them. One player in particular did escape me all summer, 3B Chris Marrero (committed to U of Miami, FL), generally regarded as their top professional prospect.
My first look at Marrero was at the Youth National Team trials in 2004. Back then he was still at shortstop but I loved his actions and energy. Since then he has gotten bigger and stronger (now 6'4" 215) and reputedly has developed one of the top power strokes in the '06 draft class. I caught a couple of his at-bats and was impressed by his bat speed and balance in his swing but did not get to see him drive anything with authority.
In any case, it was important to get a look at how his body works and to burn a new mental image of him over the one from the summer of 2004. Defensively he has good hands and feet and a plus arm. I have not heard a lot of buzz on Marrero lately, but at one point I know he was considered a top round talent, and for some, a first round talent.
I didn't see RHP Colton Willems (committed to Florida) in this tourney, but did see him twice last summer, so I was comfortable with my awareness of his abilities, which could earn him a selection as high as the second or even the supplemental round. Loose, easy delivery, excellent frame, solid mid-90s fastball, with a plus curveball that is a legit out-pitch.
Another of their polished players that will get a lot of pro interest is OF David Christensen (committed to U of Miami, FL). Christensen was not swinging the bat well in the couple of at-bats I saw, but he is a polished player with a potent bat. His body type and lack of significant projectability may scare away some pro clubs, but not as much as a commitment to Stanford or Georgia Tech may have.
Christensen, a south Florida native, surprised many by choosing the Hurricanes, simply because Miami is not the reputed academic institution that some of his other suitors are, notably Stanford, Georgia Tech, and North Carolina. Christensen can flat out play. He is a good runner, has a plus arm, hits screaming line drives with an aggressive line drive swing, creates backspin that will result in a gap to gap power stroke, and has instincts in both the outfield and on the bases. If he is not an upper round selection in June, he will be after three years of playing for the Canes.
The top '07 prospect on the AA Prospects is SS/3B John Tolisano, a switch hitter with plus actions and power in his bat. Tolisano has all the tools and if he made himself available for the draft next June (he is home schooled and legally could become draft eligible) he could get upper round consideration. Switch hitting infielders with power, soft hands, above average speed, and plus arms do not grow on trees.
One other '07 grad I was interested in seeing was LHP Mark Peterson. I saw him last summer at the Junior Olympic East tournament and felt like he was one of the most projectable lefties in that draft class and already had a plus breaking ball. He was there, but I did not come across him in Jupiter.
There were plenty of other college bound players on All American Prospects and some of them will get strong draft consideration, including stocky lefty Chris Armstrong (Oklahoma State, low 90s fastball, power curveball) and SS Adrian Cardenas (Florida, left hand hitter with plus defensive abilities).
There are a couple of their players that are still uncommitted but well known, INF Gabby Saade (FL) and OF/1B Jonathan Edwards (TX). It is shocking that a college has not secured Saade's talents yet, he is a talented and high energy player suited very well to the college game. Edwards is a bit more of a mystery. He has an arm that registers in the mid-90s from the outfield and in BP sessions will show prodigious power. However, the knock on Edwards is that he has not shown well with the bat against top pitching. He will get drafted, but the guess here is that he is a draft and follow and attends a JC. It is too early to give up on his bat, but there are plenty of coaches and scouts that may want to take a shot at developing that arm on the mound.
Ok, that is enough for today, but rest assured (and I am sure that after reading my stuff rest comes quite easily) I will be back with more from my time at Jupiter. I hope that you are getting a feel for the incredible amount of talent that is at this event. Truly, it is astounding and even more so when considering that I have really only touched on a few of the 67 teams that were in Jupiter.
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The 11:00 games on Friday were not that strong with prospects but one game at 12:40 promised to have some good action. I headed to the stadium for that game between the NY/SF Bandit Stars and the Louisiana All Star Baseball Team with dozens of other scouts to get a look at one of the buzz players, a righty from Cuba named Hassan Pena. The next report will focus on Pena and some of the other players from that game, as well as reports from the three night games at the stadium, featuring talented teams like the Houston Heat, Orlando Scorpians, ABD Bulldogs, and the Akadema/IN Yankee Nationals.
That will basically wrap up my first full day at the 2005 WWBA Championships. Holy cow, I just realized that I haven't even talked yet about a few of the most talented teams, the Atlanta Braves Scout Team, East Cobb and Chet Lemon's Juice. That will be fun, but you are going to have to wait.