JUPITER—Day One
East Cobb, Cards Scout Team Set Fast Pace

BY ALLAN SIMPSON

JUPITER, Fla.—Perfect Game’s World Wood Bat Association Fall Championship kicked off with an abbreviated nine-game slate Thursday and yet it was apparent that two clubs, the East Cobb (Ga.) Astros and St. Louis Cardinals Scout Team, have already emerged as favorites in the 80-team field.

The Astros, the 2005 WWBA champs, opened up with an 11-0 win over the Florida Pokers while the Cardinals, a beefed-up version of the Florida-based All-American Prospects travel team, easily handled the Indiana Scout Team 9-1.

Both teams were considered pre-tournament favorites along with the Atlanta Braves Scout Team and the Texas Scout Team. Those teams are scheduled to begin play Friday.

East Cobb, the nation’s most decorated youth baseball program, has made it a custom to play its WWBA opener in the tournament’s feature game on Opening Night at Jupiter’s Roger Dean Stadium, spring training home of both the Florida Marlins and St. Louis Cardinals. They made short order of the Pokers, winning a run-ruled contest as lefthander Brett DeVall (Kell HS, Marietta, Ga.) and righthander Michael Palazzone (Lassiter HS, Marietta, Ga.) combined on a one-hitter. Both pitchers are projected to be drafted in the first two rounds in 2008.

DeVall, whose fastball was clocked at 90 mph, threw three hitless innings while Palazzone, who was clocked at 91, gave up his team’s only hit, in the fifth and final inning. First baseman Chase Davidson (Milton HS, Alpharetta, Ga.) and outfielder Evan Martin (Sequoyah HS, Woodstock, Ga.) sparked the East Cobb offense with two doubles apiece. Davidson, a University of Georgia signee, drove in three runs.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, broke open their game early by scoring five first-inning runs, the first run scoring on a double by third baseman Rolando Gomez (Flanagan HS, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and two more coming around on a single by Jack Armstrong (Jupiter, Fla., HS). Both those players are targeted for the top three rounds of next year’s draft.

The early explosion enabled the Cardinals to lift starter Ryan Weber (Clearwater Central HS, St. Petersburg, Fla.) after just two innings and save him for later in the tournament. Weber allowed a first-inning run but combined on a two-hitter with lefthander R.J. Fondon (Flanagan HS, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) and righthander Greg Conver (Miami Northeast HS). Between them, the three struck out 11, three by Weber.

Weber was clocked mainly at 88-89 mph, and touched 90. He also threw a slider and changeup with excellent command to both sides of the plate. Success is nothing new to Weber as he was the No. 1 pitcher for Team USA on both its youth national team (16-and-under) in 2006 and junior national team (18-and-under) in 2007.

He was the losing pitcher for the U.S. this summer in a heartbreaking 3-2 semifinal loss to Cuba at the COPABE Junior Championship in Mexico (a qualifying event for the 2008 World Junior Championship), despite taking a 2-0 lead to the ninth inning.

For all his success, Weber isn’t projected to be an early-round pick in the 2008 draft as he is slightly built at 6-feet and 160 pounds and may never throw much harder than he does now. But few pitchers in the 2008 high school class pitch with as much precision or have his track record of success.

Georgia On My Mind
A lot of eyes were on Georgia Thursday, and will continue to be for the rest of the weekend. Not only were the East Cobb Astros victorious on the tournament’s first day of play but no individual player earned more attention than Atlanta Blue Jays shortstop Tim Beckham, who attracted more than 250 scouts and college recruiters to the Jays 4-3 win over the International Scout Team.

Beckham, rated by Perfect Game as the top high school prospect for next year’s draft, went 1-for-3 and was instrumental in his team’s win as he drove a pitch over the left fielder’s head in the fifth inning for a run-scoring double and came around to score what proved to be the game’s winning run. In his two previous at-bats, Beckham was less impressive as he took three called strikes from New Jersey righthander Jason Knapp (North Hunterdon HS, Annandale, N.J.), and was jammed on a pitch as he grounded out weakly to first base. Knapp’s 93 mph fastball was the fastest-recorded velocity on the day.

The other Georgia entity that will draw the close scrutiny of between 500 and 600 scouts and college recruiters expected to attend the five-day event is the Braves scout team—a team assembled by the Atlanta Braves specifically for the tournament that includes some of the nation’s premier high school prospects. Players from 13 different states are on the roster.

Both the Braves and the Astros have three players apiece that are ranked among the nation’s top 10 high school prospects by Perfect Game. The trio on the Braves are catcher Kyle Skipworth (Patriot HS, Riverside, Calif.), No. 3; righthander Gerrit Cole (Orange Lutheran HS, Santa Ana, Calif.), No. 4; and first baseman Eric Hosmer (American Heritage HS, Cooper City, Fla.), No. 6. The three Astros players are third baseman Ethan Martin (Stephens County HS, Toccoa, Ga.), No. 7; Palazzone, No. 8; and DeVall, No. 9.

The Braves assembled a similar all-star team two years ago, but never were a factor in the tournament as the Astros—a club team—walked away with the title.

Two players who were scheduled to play for the Braves, catcher/righthander Jordan Swagerty (Prestonwood Christian Academy, Plano, Texas) and outfielder Austin Yeager (American Heritage HS, Davie, Fla.), will not participate in the tournament. Swagerty came down with a sore arm while Yeager broke his foot playing football earlier this week. The losses could hamper the Braves, who now have only 10 position players available. But they are well-stocked from a pitching standpoint to play potentially eight games in four days as they 16 pitchers on the roster and three position players that are capable of taking the mound.

DAY ONE NOTEBOOK
Rain fell most of Thursday night’s feature game between East Cobb and the Florida Pokers, and thunderstorms were predicted from Friday through Sunday, which could create havoc for a schedule with little wiggle room. Friday’s games were scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. on 13 fields, but play never got started on time . . . Eight of the top 10 prospects in the 2008 high school class (per Perfect Game’s top 1,000) are participating in the WWBA tournament. Besides Beckham and the three players apiece that are playing with East Cobb and the Braves Scout Team, shortstop Harold Martinez (Braddock HS, Miami), ranked No. 5, is playing for the St. Louis Scout Team . . . Tri-State Arsenal outfielder Matt Marquis (Immaculata HS, Annandale, N.J.) hit the only home run Thursday, a solo blast in the third inning that capped a three-run outburst that led his team to a 4-3 win over the Austin (Texas) Baseball Club. Lefthander Eric Pfisterer (Don Bosco Prep, Saddle River, N.J.) came on in relief to pitch the final 4 2/3 innings for the Arsenal, allowing one hit and no runs while striking out eight. Pfisterer’s fastball peaked at 87 mph. The Tri-State club is composed of players from New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania . . . The Puerto Rico Baseball Academy, one of two Puerto Rican teams in the tournament, and the South Charlotte (N.C.) Panthers played to a scoreless tie as righthander Julio Rodriguez and lefthander Alex Wood (Ardrey Kell HS, Charlotte) traded three-hit shutouts. Rodriguez peaked at 87, while Wood, a junior, topped out at 86 . . . The tournament is broken into 16 pools of five teams apiece. Each pool winner advances to bracket play, which begins Sunday at 3 p.m. The championship game is slated for Monday at 12 noon.