Prep Baseball Report

Eastern PA Fall Review Analysis: Pitchers



By Jacob Gill
Pennsylvania Assistant Director of Scouting

The fall schedule of outdoor PBR events in Pennsylvania concluded this past weekend with the 2016 Eastern PA Fall Review at Widener University. Over 30 prospects from two states gathered to showcase their abilities during the course of two nine-inning games and a showcase. Today we continue our analysis of the prospects in attendance by taking a look at pitchers.

Note: pitchers who also participated as position players will be covered in tomorrow's article looking at two-way prospects

FINAL MEASURABLES for all prospects in attendance

Brendan Carroll, 2017, RHP, Jim Thorpe Area
6-foot-1, 180-pound frame. Gathers over rubber well and leads to plate with front hip. Square toe landing and pitches out of an over-the-top slot with an upright finish. Fastball at 73-75 had some armside action and he showed a very good feel for a 12/6 curveball with depth at 62-64.

Ryan Giovenco, 2017, RHP, Parkland
6-foot-1, 180-pounder who pitched entirely out of the stretch with a rhythmic delivery and slight hook in his arm action into a three-quarter slot. Stuff ticked up a bit from last month's viewing. Pounded the zone with a four-pitch mix that included a four-seam fastball at 82-85, a cutter at 81-82 with late darting action, a curveball at 65-67 that flashed solid 11/5 break, and a change-up at 68-71 with a bit of armside fade.

Aaron Groller, 2019, LHP, Souderton Area
6-foot, 150-pounder again showed intriguing upside. Holds his hands high during his wind-up, lowers them to his waist to separate into an arm swing that leads to a low three-quarter slot. Very solid fastball/slider combo that comes out of the same window. Fastball sat 77-80 with baby tail, while the slider, which he showed an ability to backfoot to right-handed hitters, clocked in at 69-70. Would benefit from maintaining armspeed on his change-up at 73-74, but it exhibits the potential to be a solid third pitch for him.

Jake Morgan, 2017, RHP, Souderton Area
Strong, 6-foot-3, 210-pound build. In wind-up, slight hesitation in rocker step, hands and legs work in concert (chest-belt-chest for separation), some funk in arm action, ball appears to come out almost from his ear. In stretch, sets at belt with abrupt glove raise to chest. Fastball sat 75-79 and was accompanied by a solid change-up with fade at 68-70. Also incorporated a 12/6 curveball at 64-66 and a slider with short cut action at 69-72.

Kris Pirozzi, 2018, RHP, Lampeter-Strasburg
5-foot-11, 180-pounder who works slightly crossfire out of a high three-quarter slot. Long, clean arm action generates an easy fastball at 84-88. Will work around front side at times (more so out of the stretch), inhibiting ability to get the ball down in the zone and get on top of his curveball at 66-68. Showed some feel for a change-up at 74-76 with occasional hard diving action.

Blaise Sclafani, 2018, RHP, Souderton Area
Projectable 6-foot-5, 180-pound frame and is fairly new to the mound. Works fast. Wind-up incorporates a mid-delivery tempo change (quick rocker step with hesitation at the balance point) into a three-quarter slot. Spins around his front leg, although was still around the strike zone. Occasionally was able to get downhill with a fastball at 80-82 that had some life. Has a potential next-level out-pitch in a tight slider with late tilt at 72-75. A mid-70s change-up was a rarely used third pitch.

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