Crack of the Bat
More Jupiter Part 10
By Blaine Clemmens
The finish line is in sight for the end of the 2005 WWBA Championships reports. As was stated in report #8 and #9, this final report will highlight some of the prospects on the top teams that have not been mentioned yet. Due to the number of prospects on the Braves Scout team, I am going to get to them last because I don't want to tire out the readers before they get to the other teams, such as the Midwest Blazers. You are likely already pretty aware of the top players on the Braves, so lets get to some players you may not be as familiar with, starting with the Blazers.
Well, maybe our readers are more familiar with the Blazers' top players than I am, seeing as how I live in California and do not see too many players from the Midwest, which is where I am originally from (born in Davenport, IA, grew up in Naperville, IL). I didn't get to a Blazers game until their 8:00 AM game on Sunday against the Homeplate Chilidawgs. It was a good game with talented players on both sides.
The reason there weren't more scouts at this game was because the bulk of them were at the Red quad watching the game between Farrah's Builders and East Cobb Cardinals. LHP Jeffrey Locke was on the mound for Farrah's and after his first outing when he touched up to 93, the scouts wanted a second look at him, myself included. I missed his first outing so I watched two innings of that game before making my way over to Red #1.
Homeplate Chilidawgs vs. Midwest Blazers Scout Team
The Chilidawgs were a good looking team with some quality players. The player that stood out to me as their top prospect in that game was '06 catcher Joey Lewis (6'3" 205, R/R, Starr's Mill HS, Senoia GA). Lewis is committed to Georgia and it was easy to see why they like him. What stood out most, outside of his very good frame, was his ability to throw in game situations.
Lewis keeps it pretty simple as a catcher and thrower. He has strong, soft hands and is a good receiver, which makes throwing that much easier. His release is clean and efficient, his arm is strong and he was dead on accurate in that game. Lewis also showed some middle of the order type physicality with the bat and is going to hit for some power in college, which will enhance his draft status by the end of his junior year. Remember his name for the 2009 draft. He is a prospect for the 2006 draft, but I think his brightest future is after a college career.
A couple of other Chilidawg players stood out in flashes. '06 RHP/MIF Spencer Shelton (6'3" 170, R/R, Starr's Mill HS, Fayetteville GA) is a talented player with a projectable body, especially as a position player. I saw him on the mound (low-mid 80s, slurvy breaking ball), but felt like he was more of a prospect with the bat. He has good bat speed and the ball exited his bat well. I am not aware of a college commitment for Shelton, and have not yet seen enough of him to really have a great feel. What is clear is that the Starr's Mill HS program is very good.
Another Chilidawg MIF, Roman Grimaldi (6'1" 180, L/R, Northview HS, Duluth GA), also caught my eye. Grimaldi showed off a nice short swing and good bat speed. On top of that he ran 4.40 down the line, which is good for the college game, but below average for the pro game. Like Shelton, I am not aware of a college commitment for Grimaldi and this was the only time I saw him and I liked him, I would want to know more before talking about his future at the college or pro level.
The Blazers were made up of players mostly from Wisconsin (half the roster) and Illinois (five). There were a couple players from other states including two from Michigan. I saw this team in this one game and also evaluated their Skill Show workout, so I got a decent feel for them. In particular four players really caught my eye; '07 INF D.J. LeMahieu (6'3" 180, R/R, Brother Rice HS, Bloomfield Hills MI), '06 MIF/OF Chris Roberts (6'2" 180, L/R, Oshkosh West HS, Oshkosh WI), '06 LHP Tony Butler (6'6" 200, Oak Creek HS, WI), '06 C/1B Mike Pericht (6'4" 220, R/R, Providence Catholic HS, Orland Park IL), and '06 C/UTL Derek Mosher (6'0" 170, L/R, Pioneer HS, Ann Arbor MI).
Let's start with the seniors. Of that group, the most impressive to me was Roberts. He has a quick bat (remember, he is a left handed hitting middle infielder with a very good baseball body), is flat through the zone, demonstrated good balance during his swing and did a very nice job of staying inside the ball, letting the pitch travel, and using the opposite field. He did not show much pop in this game and that part of his game is still developing, but everything else he showed with the bat was very good. For me, he is a star waiting to happen at the collegiate level (heading to Michigan State).
Roberts is quite athletic. I did not get a running time on him, but he moves fluidly on the field. In the infield workout he showed the ability to move to and through the ball well and made quick release peg type throws. His release and accuracy are better than his overall arm strength in the infield (strong average at the D1 level), but I still feel that he can play on the left side. In the outfield he showed more pure arm strength and a loose arm, though the ball sailed on him. He showed natural instincts in going to the ball and putting himself in position to throw. It is very possible that Roberts could blow up this spring and get first day consideration in the draft, but his brightest future would come after a college career.
Butler is going to get pro interest this spring as most 6'6" lefties who can touch up to 89 do. Butler is committed to Arkansas, a top program, so it remains to be seen how that may play into his signability. What is known about Butler is that he is big and has a strong arm. He has an overhand arm stroke and once his arm reaches the top of its arc, it gets quicker as he moves toward extension. There is more arm speed in there, but his overhand slot may not allow him to maximize it at this point. I saw his fastball mostly in the 87-89 mph range, though I did not see much feel for fastball command yet.
His curveball is a usable pitch for Butler right now, further enhancing his draft status. Out of his hand it really does not look that tight, but I think it was due to where he grips the ball and the way the ball rotates toward the plate. The depth and action at the plate suggest that there is more rotation on his breaker (76-77 mph) than I thought. Butler also showed a change-up. Knowing how lefties are generally highly valued in any given draft, it is not inconceivable to consider Butler as a top 10 round caliber prospect.
Pericht stood out in the game with his bat and then I got to see him defensive abilities in the Skill Show workout. Pericht has a big time body and even at 6'4" 220 he looks like he will be able to stay behind the plate and handle the day to day grind that comes with that position. With the bat Pericht drove the gaps well and is physically strong. He will bring power to the catcher position in time. Defensively he showed a strong, accurate arm and a quick exchange. His pop times were from 1.90-2.06 in the Skill Show workout so he has some innate catch and throw abilities.
Mosher was very interesting to me, a sleeper type player who will emerge as a prospect during his college career. He has a wiry and lively type body and approaches the game aggressively. He was catching in the game I saw and I saw him toss an accurate 2.05 seed on the bag during the game. What was more impressive was that he took his time on that throw and still was 2.05. In the workout his arm was quick, loose, and alive. He was between 1.90-2.02 on his throws and was accurate. At Pioneer HS he had a chance to catch one of the top pitchers in the nation last year, RHP Zach Putnam (now at Michigan), so the caliber of D1 pitchers should not be a problem for him early in his career.
With the bat I really liked Mosher's approach. He has a plus opposite field approach and looked like he could pepper left field all day. His bat really stayed in the zone well. When he starts to physically mature, look for Mosher to really emerge as a line drive, gap driving hitter. He could conceivably be a very good two hole because of his contact ability and bat control, but I wouldn't put it past him to develop into a three hole in college. I also got the feeling that he is a baseball rat. As far as I know Mosher is uncommitted, and if that is the case, he is going to be a very good spring sign for someone.
One of the Blazers' top prospects I did not come across was '06 RHP Tony Sedlmeyer (6'1" 195, Ft. Wayne Snider HS, IN). Sedlmeyer is committed to LSU and based upon his physical profile (sub 6'3" righty), he is likely to end up on campus next fall. I did see Sedlmeyer at a fall tournament in Peoria, AZ so I have some awareness of him. In Jupiter we had him up to 89 mph with the fastball, which is about what I saw him top out at in Arizona. The most impressive thing about Sedlmeyer is the movement his gets on his fastball, which comes out sneaky fast and his very tight curveball (70-72 mph). He throws the curveball aggressively and does a very nice job of keeping the ball down. His stuff is going to get him on the mound early in his college career, especially the breaking ball.
Florida Bombers
The Bombers are one of the top teams from year to year. At the '05 WWBA Championships they made it to the quarterfinals, losing to the East Cobb Astros 2-1. At least they scored against the stingy Astros pitching staff, one of only two teams to do so. This team was loaded with underclassmen prospects and a few very good '06 players as well. Let's first talk a bit about some of those seniors.
There were three '06 players I liked in particular, one of whom I had seen before, but that was way back in December of 2004. That player was RHP Alex Koronis (6'1" 190, Miami Pace HS, committed to U of Miami). Koronis has a quick arm, just as I saw that December, but now his delivery is considerably better. He is in control of his body on the mound and was focused from pitch to pitch, at least he was in the game I saw. Koronis is a strong and lean bodied athlete on the mound and he is aggressive with the ball.
He pitched in and out with the fastball (86-91 mph) and very effectively mixed in his two breaking balls, a slider and a curveball. His slider was sort of a cutter, but bigger and it had tight spin and late, small action (83-85 mph). That slider is a good pitch to steal strikes or as a change of pace of his fastball, but his curveball (69-73 mph) is a plus pitch, especially for the college level. Koronis can really spin the curveball and he gets sharp and late action on it, resulting in a lot of swing and misses from the hitters.
From what I saw of him, if he stays healthy, Koronis looks like a weekend guy in the ACC and will pitch a lot as a freshman. He is also going to get pro attention this spring, but like a lot of undersized right handers, it is not likely to be in a round where forgoing his opportunity at Miami would be an attractive thing to do.
Two other '06 grads caught my eye as good college prospects. Those two players were twins Cory and Cole Figueroa, both of them are middle infielders. Cory is listed at 5'11" 185 and Cole was listed five lbs smaller. Cole is a switch hitter and Cory hits only from the left side. Both of them are decent runners for the college game, in the 4.4s down the line. For me, Cory is the more advanced hitter, and Cole was the better defensive player.
Cory made consistently hard contact and really takes an aggressive hack. He is not big but is strong and has a quick bat, suggesting a lot of doubles in his future. He does a nice job of hitting ground balls and line drives, keeping the ball out of the air and putting pressure on the defense to make plays.
I only saw Cole hit from the left side, and curiously it was against a left hander on the mound, though he was listed as a switch hitter. His hips were a bit early left on left, but I don't have much more to offer than that. I did note his ability to play 2B. He took good angles and set-up to field the ball well. I am not aware of a college commitment for either player, but both look like D1 college baseball players.
I did not see '06 RHP Shane Hill (committed to Tennessee). I saw him last December at the same event I saw Koronis, but have not come across him since then.
For me, there were no less than six outstanding '07 prospects on the Bombers and that doesn't include outfielder Hunter Ovens (Cardinal Mooney HS, Bradenton FL) because I did not see him play. I have read his name as one of the top '07 prospects in the nation, but I will have to wait until next summer to see Hunter.
The '07 players I did see and like were 1B/P Iden Nazario (6'1" 190, L/L, Southridge HS, Miami), LHP D.J. Swatscheno (6'2" 180, Flanigan HS, Pembroke Pines FL), C/1B Danny Rams (6'3" 215, R/R, Gulliver HS, Miami), C Yasmany Grandal (6'2" 215, S/R, Miami Springs HS, Hialeah FL), OF/P Denny Almonte (6'2" 190, S/R, Miami HS), and OF Jose Rodriguez (6'1" 195, R/R, Hialeah HS, FL). I am not sure what year OF Joey Belviso is, but I liked his bat.
Due to the number of their prospects and the fact that I have to still cover the Braves Scout Team, I am going to try to keep the reports on the Bombers short and sweet. The good thing is that they are underclassmen so I am not going to delve into my thoughts regarding their professional prospects.
Nazario's bat is most intriguing to me. I first saw him at the USA Baseball Junior Olympic East tournament in Jupiter last June. Nazario has a lively and quick bat. He is short to the ball and stays flat through the zone. He has a good trigger that regularly puts him in a ready to hit position. Nazario is currently more of a power line drive hitter but in time his power numbers will increase, as we all know that power is the last thing that develops for most players.
Nazario is aggressive to pitches in the zone but at the same time has patience - that asset goes back to his readiness to hit on each pitch and his ability to pick up the pitch early. Another thing I love about him as a hitter is that he is very competitive in each at-bat. Nazario clearly loves to hit and he has some flair for the game. He seems to really enjoy being watched by onlookers and being on a big stage.
Defensively I have seen Nazario also do some good things. He made a very nice play on a pop-up on a very windy day and looks to have soft hands and decent feet. His arm is strong and would also fit in right field. On the mound I was surprised a bit by Nazario. He pitched the quarterfinal game against East Cobb Astros and competed very well. He featured a tailing fastball that ranged from 84-89 mph and a big 65-68 mph 1/7 shaped curveball.
Nazario pitches from an over the top slot and makes a quick, clean circle on the back side. There really isn't too much body in his delivery, it is basically all arm. He is competitive on the mound and clearly can be effective, especially against left hand hitters (including Cody Johnson and Cedric Hunter). However, his future, for me, is with the bat and it is a very good future. I would rate him among the top hitters in the 2007 class.
Ok, so much for short and sweet. I like Nazario, so hopefully I can keep the other Bomber reports short. Then again, now I am about to talk about a Danny Rams, regularly discussed as one of the top players in the 2007 class. I had heard his name before, but WWBA Jupiter was my first look at Rams. What did I see? In five at-bats I saw a deep F8 when he pulled off the ball a bit but still drove the ball a long way, I saw him crush a hanging change-up for a home run, I saw him hit a laser off the fence for a double, I saw him a tracer down the left field line for another double, and I saw a backward K on a fastball in. Five at-bats, four of them with plus contact.
There is no doubt that he is as legit of a power prospect as there is in the 2007 class. The great thing about Rams is that he has a short power stroke, not a big, load up and swing out of your shoes stroke. He has a quick trigger and that short path to the ball will allow him to not only hit for tremendous power, but also for average. He has strong arms and hands and a physical lower half. Whether he catches or plays 1st base, his power is a plus, but obviously at the catcher position, his power rates as plus plus.
I didn't get to see him make any throws on attempted steals and really didn't get to see him have to work to hard behind the plate. I was not a fan of how high he sets up behind the plate, but I know there are other big, strong bodied catchers that get away with that. He is a very physical and firm looking lower half and really didn't look like his agility was going to allow him to stay behind the plate long term. He can continue to work on his defensive game and agility. It is his bat that is most attractive.
Denny Almonte was yet another top 2007 grad on this team. Physically he is one of the first players you notice on the field. He is long, strong, lean, and athletically built. Almonte moves with fluid actions and just absolutely has the look that suggests a very bright future. A switch hitter, I liked him much more from the right side than the left. His balance and length of his swing were much better from that side. As a left hand hitter he a nice swing path and takes an easy swing, but there is some length in that swing that creates some problems.
Almonte should continue to work on switch hitting, but at some point in the near future, he likely is going to have to significantly improve from the left side before scouts start suggesting to him that he strictly hit from the right. My guess is that he will figure it out this offseason (just seems like too good of an athlete not to figure it out) and unveil a better left handed swing this spring and next summer.
In the outfield he moves gracefully to the ball and has a big arm that will allow him to play in right field if he develops the type of power bat that would fit there. However, he is so fluid and smooth in centerfield that moving him from there would seem like a crime. With Rams, Nazario, and Almonte, the Bombers had three premium '07 prospects, all of them will be scouted heavily by the pro game next summer.
Of the other '07 grads that caught my attention on the Bombers, I think the one I liked most was OF Jose Rodriguez. He has life in his bat, with plenty of bat speed and strength to suggest very good future power numbers. If Rodriguez can learn to drive the ball the other way and commit to hitting middle away, he is going to be very dangerous with the bat. He is put together very well and will get a lot of attention from major D1 programs as well as from pro ball next summer. I don't have any notes on his defensive abilities.
Catcher Yasmany Grandal is another top catching prospect on the Bombers. He is a physical switch hitter. I saw Grandal swing the bat from the left side and saw a flat swing, a quick bat, strength, and hands that really work in the swing. He was a little late to the ball but his hand path and swing plane allow him to be late and still drive the ball the other way from the left side. At 6'2" 215 lbs and swinging the bat from both sides of the plate, Grandal is also going to garner his share of attention from major D1 programs and pro baseball as well.
I have notes on LHP D.J. Swatscheno, but they are from another of our scouts. The report I got was that the 6'2" lefty was 86-88 with the fastball and also featured a very nice 76 mph 1/7 shaped curveball. Our scout said the curveball was his best pitch. He pitches from an over the top slot and has a long arm action, with a little cup of the wrist on the backside. There are some things he can work on that will allow him to gain even more velocity in the coming year, such as better balance over the rubber, better front side stability, and direction to the plate. Overall, the report was very positive, in particular because of his body, raw arm strength, and feel for a hard breaking ball.
That is it for the Florida Bombers. I have decided that I am going to have to dedicate a full report to the Braves Scout Team. There is one more team I want to touch on a bit, the Bellaire Offseason Cards, a team made up of players from one high Texas high school, Bellaire HS (Houston area). I kind of have a soft spot in my heart for a team made up of players from one school that competes as well as Bellaire does in tournaments like WWBA against what are essentially all-star teams, some made up of players from all over the nation.
The more I watched Bellaire, the more I liked a couple of their players. The top '06 position player I saw was 1B/LHP Jeremy Gould (6'3" 190, R/L). Gould is listed LHP/1B, but I saw him swing the bat in a way that had me writing, "can hit" by his name. When a scout keeps it that simple, it is a good thing. Gould stayed inside the ball well and made solid contact to both sides of the field. Physically he is proportioned very well.
Another '06 player, RHP/OF Michael Johnson (5'10" 160, R/R), also caught me eye. He is not your prototypical RHP prospect in terms of his size, but his 88-91 mph (T92) fastball sure was prototypical of a prospect. He has a very quick arm from a high 3/4 slot and is aggressive with the ball. He is a thrower, but the arm sure does work. Johnson is going to have to develop his offspeed pitches in order to pitch at the D1 level. Offensively he has a quick bat and gets through contact well. If he is not committed to a four year school, some program could get themselves a pretty good looking talent in the spring signing period.
'06 catcher Justin Shufelt (6'2" 195, L/R) also showed well in the brief time I saw him. He really looked the part physically and on paper with that body and L/R profile at the catcher position. I liked Shufelt's arm and actions. He is another player that if unsigned, is a good spring sign for the D1 level.
The player I liked most on Bellaire was '07 SS Matt West (6'0" 178). West can flat out play the position. He made numerous plays on the move, showed range to his left and right, and displayed excellent body control. His arm is a legit left side arm and his release time was good. West does not run well (4.6ish home to first), but his first step is good, his angles are good, and his hands are sure. Some will want to move him off SS because of his foot speed, I have a feeling that they would move him back to SS after they realize that he simply makes all the plays he is capable of making.
Offensively West is not as advanced as he is defensively. He stands in well and sets-up to the ball well, but I saw him spinning off the ball with his hips. With the hand-eye coordination he showed on defense, I suspect that he can and will hit, but he is going to have to work on controlling his lower half to stay on the ball longer.
Ok, I know that I promised this would be the last '05 WWBA Championships report, but seeing as how I am already on the eighth page in a Word document, I think it is time to shut it down and get to the Braves reports in the final "last" report.
I hope you all had a happy and SAFE New Year's celebration and look forward to a wonderful 2006.