Draft League Scouting Notes - June 2

State College @ Williamsport

RHP Andrew Moore (Chipola) didn’t get a true opportunity to showcase his stuff during his first two appearances, with defensive woes and bad weather limiting the 6-foot-5 right-hander in each outing. On Wednesday, however, Moore finally turned it loose -- and, man, did he look good. From a performance standpoint, Moore piled up nine strikeouts in just four innings out of the bullpen while scattering a pair of soft singles. He retired the first five batters he faced, four via the strikeout, and fanned six consecutive batters at one point in the outing. Moore’s stuff was as impressive as his results, too. He dominated the Crosscutters’ lineup with his fastball, sitting 95+ mph and topping out at 97.2 in the outing. He posted a 54.5% whiff rate with his heater (11 swings/6 whiffs) on the day and registered three swinging strikeouts with his 84-86 mph changeup. Moore also threw both his slider (66.7% whiff rate) and curveball 12 times, showing starter-caliber pitchability on top of the impressive raw stuff. 

Spikes starter RHP Griffin Miller struggled early but once again flashed some promising stuff, led by a 92-94 mph fastball that was up to 2487 RPM. RHP Drew Garrett (Missouri) worked in a similar velo range with his 2500+ spin fastball. 

Williamsport starter RHP Troy Taylor (Cypress College) fanned four batters with no walks over three frames. He flashed a heavy fastball up to 95 mph with late life that netted him a pair of broken-bat groundouts in the first. Taylor paired his heater with a low-80s curveball, posting a 50% whiff rate with the latter. After a perfect fifth inning by RHP Ben Terwilliger (Barry), the Crosscutters turned the ball over to a trio of hard-throwing relievers. RHP Dominic Hambley (Belmont HS, B.C.), an Oregon State commit, and RHP Ryan Velazquez (Alabama State) bumped 94 and 95.5 mph, respectively, while RHP Francisco Mateo (College of Central Florida) reached 92.9 while punching out four over the final two frames.   

Spikes INF Tyler Heckert (John Logan JC) moved into first place on the Draft League home-run leaderboard with his second dinger of the young season, a no-doubt solo shot to left field. The ball left Heckert’s bat at 100.7 mph and traveled 409.9 feet. He reached base three times in the contest, finishing 1-for-2 with two walks and RBI apiece from the bottom of the lineup. C Kenny Piper (Columbia College) stood out on both sides of the ball, going 1-for-3 with three runs at the dish and cutting down an attempted basestealer with ease late in the game. 

CIF Kyle O’Brien (Missouri Baptist) and OF/1B Hogan McIntosh (Parkland) turned in multihit efforts to pace the Crosscutters’ offense. They both recorded a triple-digit exit velo in the contest, with O’Brien (2-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI, BB) hitting a 108-mph single (the day’s top exit velo) and McIntosh (2-for-5, SB) adding a 101-mph knock. O’Brien also drove in a pair of runs in the first inning via a 98-mph double. C Kyle Smith (St. John’s River St. College) also had a run-scoring knock at 98 mph. C Rob Marinec (North Central) coaxed three walks and scored a run from the two-hole. Altogether, the Crosscutters’ offense struck out in 16 of 33 at-bats on Wednesday.  

West Virginia @ Trenton

West Virginia starter RHP Joshua South (Belmont) took a perfect game into the sixth inning against the Thunder before finally yielding a hit. It was the only baserunner he permitted in the outing, finishing with five strikeouts in six innings in the Draft League’s longest start thus far. In terms of stuff, South sat in the upper-80s and topped out at 91.3 mph on Wednesday. He showcased a deep arsenal, effectively mixing his fastball with a low-80s slider (25% CSW%), an upper-70s curveball (45.5% CSW%) and a low-80s changeup (38.5% CSW%). RHP Jay Schueler (Parkland) needed just eight pitches to complete a perfect eighth inning. RHP Michael Hobbs (Saint Mary’s) was up to 93.7 mph with a 50% fastball whiff rate as he struck out the side in the ninth. 

Thunder starter RHP JP Williams (Nova Southeastern) proved more hittable than South on Wednesday -- though not by much. He struck out three and did not issue a walk, scattering three hits over a season-high five innings. Williams did most of his work with his running fastball, which was up to 92.5 mph, and once again showed advanced ability for keeping hitters off balance using his sweeping power breaking ball in the low 80s. RHP Ian Murphy (St. John’s) ran his fastball up to 94 mph in his Draft League debut, working 2.2 innings in relief of Williams, and fellow RHP James Sharkey (Iona) popped 93.9 over the final 1.1 frames.   

C/3B Ryan McCoy (Wabash Valley) stood out offensively for the Black Bears, going 2-for-4 with an RBI triple that left his bat at 99 mph. McCoy also generated the day’s fourth-highest exit velocity in the contest via a 104.6-mph groundout. OF/INF Jesse Pierce put West Virginia on the board in the seventh with his first home run of the season -- a 383-foot solo shot that he hit at 100 mph with a 26-degree LA. SS Jeron Williams (Lincoln Trail) stayed hot as he improved his League average to .444 with a 2-for-4 performance.

For the Thunder, INF Daryl Myers (Benedictine) collected half of his team’s four hits, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored from the three-hole. Both of Myers’ hits were singles, one of which featured an exit velocity of 104.6 mph. 2B Dexter Swims (Missouri Southern) and INF/UTL Jordan Hollins recorded Trenton’s two other hits, with both players finishing the game 1-for-3.  

Mahoning Valley @ Frederick 

Scrappers starter LHP Collin Floyd (Youngstown State) was the story of the night, as the southpaw out of Akron, Ohio gave up an unearned run on two hits while striking out seven in four innings. Floyd worked from an up-tempo delivery throughout his outing with short, quick arm action from a deceptive low-to-mid three-quarter slot. The fastball played down in the zone at 87-89 mph, and he showed good feel for a tight, 73-75 mph curveball (45.5% CSW%) along with a low-80s changeup (56.2% CSW%).

LHP Jimmy Burnette (Saint Leo) once again was lights-out out of the Scrappers’ bullpen, recording five of his six outs via the strikeouts across two hitless frames. He was 91-93 mph on Wednesday and showed a deeper arsenal than his previous two outings, mixing in more changeups on top of his usual plus slider. Through three appearances in the Draft League, Burnette has fanned 13 batters while allowing just one hit in five innings. 

One of the biggest sparks in the Scrappers’ lineup came from INF Bobby Sparling (Daytona State), as he went 2-for-5 at the plate with a double and three RBI. He showcased present pop to the pull side with quick hands and bat speed through contact, ripping a two-run double into left-center field in the third inning on a tough fastball on the inner half, and then adding an RBI single in the fifth inning to add onto the already substantial lead.

OF Mathieu Vallee (Northeast Oklahoma A&M) and UTL Buck Anderson (Cerritos College) each scored three times from the first two spots in the lineup, respectively, while 1B/OF Jason Hinchman (Tennessee Tech) and INF Chase Valentine (Sandra Day O’Connor HS, Ariz.) scored twice. Anderson had an especially productive day at the plate, going 2-for-2 with four walks and an RBI. Hinchman was 1-for-3 with two RBI. 3B Tommy Benson (Triton JC) hit a double and plated three runs in a 1-for-4 performance.  

Keys starter Peyton Zabel (Iowa Western CC), a big, 6-foot-7 right-hander, worked under pressure throughout much of his outing. The command was slightly erratic, leading to three walks through his two plus innings of work; but, early on, the fastball jumped out of his hand at 87-90 mph, touching 91 a few times. Zabel showed occasional command to both sides of the plate and found success down at the knees. He showed feel for a bigger curveball with sharp, downward tilt at 76-78 mph, and worked in a late-fading changeup at 78-80 mph. The Keys’ defense didn’t help Zabel on the night, as three of the six runs allowed by the right-hander were unearned. 

RHP Luke Anderson (Central Oklahoma) gave up five earned runs in 0.2 innings in relief of Zabel. The command was shaky and led to Anderson issuing four walks, but the hard-throwing righty showed promise when in the zone. The fastball exploded out of his hand at 93-95 mph (T95.7), with plenty of ride through the zone. He mixed in a tight curveball with 12/6 shape at 79-82 mph that showed some swing and miss potential when in or around the zone.

RHP Kamron Fields (Texas Southern) breezed through his first two innings of work out of the bullpen before running into some trouble in his third inning of work, giving up two runs. The fastball worked heavy in the zone at 93-95 mph with excellent life, and he mixed in a tight, hard, late-breaking slider at 84-86 mph that produced plenty of weak contact and whiffs. Altogether, Fields struck out three in 2.2 innings.