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GHSA Scout Blog - NW Whitfield v Pickens County Duel

March 20, 2022
Phil Kerber
Georgia Scouting Director

TUNNELL HILL, GA - A matchup between two of the state's top arms did not disappoint as LHP Cade Fisher (Northwest Whitfield; Florida) and RHP Connor Shouse (Pickens County; Georgia Tech) went head-to-head. A small group of scouts were in attendance to check in on the senior Fisher, but they ended up sticking around to watch the standout performance of the sophomore Shouse. Shouse put the Dragons on his back as he carried them to a 2-1 extra inning victory, leading the team on the mound and at the plate.

Shouse set the tone from the very first pitch of the game, as he took a fastball from Fisher and deposited it in the tree line behind the fence in left field. To Fisher's credit, he brushed it off and went back to work immediately. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound southpaw was nearly untouchable for the remainder of the game, picking up a no-decision as he went 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 10 K, 3 BB, 1 HBP.

Fisher showed what we have become accustomed to seeing, a low effort delivery with high level pitchability. The future Gator works from a low 3/4 slot and does a good job of staying short on the back-side, allowing him to easily repeat. Striding across the mound, Fisher creates deception in his delivery as he hides the ball. His fastball ranged 84-89 on the day, sitting 84-87 in the 1st before getting up to 87-89 in the 2nd and 3rd innings. The velocity held at 86-88 in the later innings, touching 89 in the 7th inning. Fisher pitched to both sides of the plate with his fastball, and routinely used the running action to get under the hands of hitters or get them to extend the zone. Much like his fastball, Fisher has great feel for his curveball, able to locate it at-will. The pitch takes a 1/7 shape with depth and big break. He maintains his slot and arm speed, creating deception. Fisher is able to induce swing and misses along with weak ground ball contact on it.


As we mentioned above, Shouse put his stamp on the game from the very onset. While his offensive capabilities are noteworthy, it is what he was able to do on the mound that left everyone in attendance impressed. The right-hander is an athlete on the mound with quick twitch actions and lightning quick arm. While there is some length on the back-side, Shouse has so much arm speed that he is able to stay in sync and get out front on-time regularly. Operating from a 3/4 slot, the ball simply jumps out of the hand of Shouse. He worked 88-91, touching 92 and 93 early on. The fastball has running life to it and is overpowering. He complements it with a curveball and changeup. The offspeed pitches played up as opposing hitters tried to focus on catching up to the fastball. The 11/5 curveball flashed bite when Shouse was on top of it, sitting 75-77. He did not go to the changeup often, coming in at 79-80. Shouse's day on the mound ended after the 6th inning, going 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 7 K, 1 BB.

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