Underclass Area Code Games: Day 3
August 13, 2019
BREWERS:
2021 LHP Gage Jump (JSerra) - UCLA commit. Jump started the game against the A’s showing the repertoire to be a starter at the next level as he cruised through three innings striking out four and giving up two hits. Jump has an athletic delivery with a high front knee keeping the arm tight to his body through a compact swing showing a quick arm to it’s high-3/4 release point. Jump stays over the rubber well allowing him to control his body and gain extension over his strong front side. FB 87-90 T91 showing above-average command of the pitch using it to all quadrants and showing strong angle down through the zone; his ability to change eye levels to set up his above-average curveball is special and makes the pitch play up. CB 69-74 with sharp 1/7 shape showing late bend in the pitch and the feel to throw it for strikes early in the count or to bury through the zone and get the swing and miss; chance to be even better as he matures. CHG 80 showing some arm-side fade; didn’t need the pitch with the usage of his FB/CB combination. Jump and Jewett give JSerra a powerful 1-2 punch going into the 2020 season.
2021 OF Roc Riggio (Thousand Oaks) - Uncommitted. Riggio continued to hit and show off tremendous energy flying all over the field and showing he’s a truly special type of player built to be on base and kick start an offense. On Day Three, Riggio continued to square up the baseball doubling over the right fielders’s head and ending the day turning around a 92 MPH FB right at the center fielder. As we’ve mentioned, he’s a terror on the base paths continuing to steal bases at ease adding two more to his collection and bringing him to eight on the weekend. To show how special he is on the bases, Riggio put an exclamation point stealing home with a RHH in the box yelling “Don’t Swing!!” as he came barreling in head first to take it.
2021 INF Tyler Whitaker (Bishop Gorman, NV) - Arizona commit. Whitaker has had a solid weekend picking up a hit in each of the games and playing solid defense at multiple positions. He kept that going during the final game going 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs as he barreled the ball three times during the game. Whitaker kickstarted the Brewers offense in the first doubling into the LCF gap before hitting a deep fly ball for an out in LF and finishing with a solid single through the middle. Whitaker is aggressive in the zone showing a wider base and ability to keep the hands inside the baseball working the swing on a slightly upwards path. On the bases and in the field the athletic ability is present as he moves freely showing quick reactions and using his 6-4, 185 frame well.
2021 1B Kaden Moeller (Martin Luther King) - Long Beach State commit. Moeller is another player who’s had a solid weekend consistently putting good swings on the baseball and helping his team with consistent quality AB’s. The 6-0, 180 frame is still young and has the space to tighten as he matures, but shows strength currently in it. From the left side, Moeller has showed the ability to control the barrel with lots of contact earlier in the week to the opposite field. Moeller showed his power on Day Three with a HR to RF showing barrel speed as he turned around a 1st pitch FB while also picking up a single through the middle. He’s got the ability to lift the baseball and looks like the type of left handed hitting first baseman that will hit for extra base hits and power.
2022 RHP Matthew Porchas (Santa Margarita) - Texas commit. Worked the final two innings for the Brewers showing off his prototypical power pitchers build/arm/and velocity. The rising sophomore work in the upper 80’s both innings touching 90 three times. The curveball was sharp and he showed a couple of varieties of it - one more of frisbee break while the other was more of a sharp, downer break - while maintaining the velocity on both at 74-75 mph. There’s clear present arm speed along with some controlled aggression to the delivery. Porchas has improved the timing of his landing considerably now landing inline more consistently and with the bulk of his weight on his thick, strong lower half allowing him to drive down the mound. Pitching with four stitches in the palm of his throwing hand, Porchas’ command of his pitches stood out as he consistently pounded the zone with strikes with both the curveball and fastball.
A’s:
2021 RHP Gavin Ochoa (Casa Grande) - Long Beach State commit. Ochoa started Game 1 for the A’s going two strong innings as pitching around three hits, a run and striking out one. The long 6-3, 196 frame has space for more strength as he continues to mature and projects well. On the hill, Ochoa stands tall allowing his athletic delivery to to show controlled effort with a high front knee and smooth transition of weight out over his strong front leg. The arm is loose and whippy showing a full swing moving quickly to it’s 3/4 release and repeating it’s release point for all three pitches. FB 89-91 jumps in the zone being firm to the glove side and showing run going arm side; tends to stay away from hitters, but will show in to help set up the CHG and CB. CHG 79-80 shows late run at the plate being a swing and miss pitch being able to throw the pitch in any count and going to it back to back with an idea of expanding the zone. CB 74-76 shows tight spin in its 11/5 shape showing short bend later in its path with the feel to throw it for strikes or to start it low and finish out of the zone for the swing and miss.
2021 RHP Anthony Susac (Jesuit) - Oregon State commit. Susac came back for his second outing closing out the final inning and having all his pitches tick up from the first outing. Working with tempo and rhythm, Susac has a quick knee tuck gaining momentum as he moves down the hill and allowing his compact, strong arm to attack from the 3/4 release point showing a three pitch mix that plays up all the pitches with a consistent release point. In his second outing, Susac cruised through three hitters, striking out 1 and inducing two weak contacts. FB 91-92 with angle to the bottom part of the plate locating to both sides and using a two-seam variant to the arm-side. SLD 80 was late, biting laterally away from hitters and being a pitch that hitters will have a tough time barreling up. CHG 83 showed power dive through the bottom of the zone with an ideal separation in velocity from the FB. At 6-3, 215, Susac has the build to be a workhorse during the 2020 season.
2021 OF Malakhi Knight (Marysville-Getchell, WA) - Oregon State commit. Knight continues to show he’s one of the top players in the 2021 class with the frame of a future pro (6-3, 190) and the skills to continue to make leaps in his game. Knight finished the weekend on base in every plate appearance (6 BB, 3 Hits, 4 stolen bases) showing as a tooled up player that will be able to stick in any of the three OF spots. On Day Three, Knight showed that the plus raw power he had in BP was real getting to it in game as he crushed a ball off the scoreboard in LF for a solo HR; hand speed is real and the strength in the two-handed swing makes the ball jump off the bat. He also showed off his speed, getting down the line on a 6-4 fielder’s choice (4.27 H-1st) and stealing second and third. In the OF, Knight played both RF/CF in CF showing the ability to track the ball off the bat with good first step reactions and the closing speed to come in and grab the ball. His arm fits best in RF being above-average and showing well in CF as well. Look for Knight to be a big riser in the 2021 class rankings.
2021 INF Carson Crawford (Cardinal Newman) - Cal commit. Crawford has done a little bit of everything this weekend pitching an inning and showing the arm strength (84-85 MPH) that carries over to the left side of the infield where he made some really nice plays during Day Three. At 3rd base he showed the reactions and ability to open his hips cutting balls off including on a diving play where he got up and threw a strike to first; the longer release suggests 3rd base might be his future but with the reactions he showed could be an above-average defender there. Crawford had a great day at the plate showing quick hands and a loose swing able to work with a tight barrel getting through the zone. On Day Three Crawford picked up three hits and three RBI’s including doubling down the LF line showing an athletic stride out of the box and the body that can continue to strengthen (6-1, 170).
2021 INF Jabin Trosky (Carmel) - Oregon State commit. Trosky has played all three infield positions during the weekend showing a consistent ability to play defense and the type of bat that should stay atop lineups with a contact oriented approach. Day Three was another strong outing for Trosky as he picked up two hits, a walk, and five stolen bases. The swing has similar even hands from both the right/left sides with a compact bat showing direct hands able to spray the ball around the field. His defense was solidly consistent again making plays at 2nd in the first game before moving to 3rd and making plays there as well. At second he went full dive up the middle to make a great play before coming to get a top ball at 3rd throwing a strike on the move. His instincts on the bases are very strong taking bases easily with a great first step. Trosky is the type of high floor player colleges love and with his solid fundamentals has the projection for a strong ceiling.