Prep Baseball Report

State Games Of North Carolina: Day 4 Notebook



By Brandon Hall
PBR North Carolina Director of Scouting

The fourth day of the State Games of North Carolina brought some excitement as seedings were finalized from pool play and the medal games were set. Below are some of the players that stood out on Saturday.

Noah Jones, RHP/C, DH Conley HS, NC (2017)
The 6-foot, 160-pound righty uses a high leg kick and long arm action that stalls a little at the bottom, to produce a loose, athletic and high-3/4 slot. The fastball had downhill action and sat 86-87 mph. Jones maintained the velocity throughout the outing and mixed in a SL that featured some depth at 74-76.

Garrett Tyndall, SS, South Lenoir HS, NC (2017)
Tyndall is a high energy player that is very active at shortstop and has shown an ability to catch the ball and work from multiple angles on the move with accuracy on his throws. At 5-foot-7, 170 pounds, Tyndall has shown above average speed, running a 4.26 home-to-first.

Jonathan Peacock, RHP/3B, Rosewood HS, NC (2018)
Peacock stands at a wiry and loose 5-foot-11, 155 pounds. Utilizing a fast twitch and loose delivery, Peacock lands slightly closed and works from a high-3/4 slot. The fastball ranged 83-84 and touched 86. His curveball has early, sweeping action between 67-69. The changeup is a third pitch that had deception at 76, but came out of a slow hand when 71-73.

Aaron Beasley, LHP, Voyager Academy, NC (2018)
Beasley stands at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds and produced some buzz today with a fastball sitting 83-85, reaching up to 87. The big-bodied lefty uses some coil at balance, an arm swing that takes the elbow above the shoulder line, and a high glove in the front side to create some deception with his high-3/4 slot. Beasley has excellent extension and the fastball jumped on hitters creating a lot of swing and miss, especially when elevated in the zone. The curveball is a bit soft, but provides deception, coming out of the same release point as his fastball. The curveball was consistently 69-71 and was a tough pitch on the left-handed hitters.

Aaron Hedgepeth, 1B/P, Triton HS, NC (2017)
The 6-foot, 225-pound left-handed hitter has shown raw power in BP and around the cages throughout the week. It translated in a big way Saturday as he connected on a double off the wall to the pull side, and the event’s only home run to clear the fence. The double was clocked at 96.5 mph off the bat, per Trackman. A few innings later, Hedgepeth took a fastball over the right field wall. Trackman measured the distance at 402 feet and the exit velocity at 102 mph.

Kyle Blendinger, RHP, Southwest Guilford, NC (2017)
A 6-foot-2, 180-pound North Carolina recruit packs high-energy effort into an electric arm from his thin frame. The fastball ranged from 88-90 from both a high-3/4 slot and a low-3/4 slot. His slider is a separator pitch—ranging from 77-80 with late tight action that misses bats consistently. Blendinger sits on his backside as he gathers and allows the energy to explode forward as his arm works. The action will take him offline and create some head movement at times. As he worked through the outing, the movement became less and his command improved.

Jake Whitcomb, SS, Hickory Ridge HS, NC (2017)
Whitcomb has a high motor and is a fast-twitch athlete committed to Charlotte. He has shown quickness with his bat from a very basic, balanced set-up and linear approach. Most of his barrels have resulted in hard-hit balls to the pull-side of the six hole. Whitcomb ran a 6.69 during Wednesday’s workout and has shown a 3.95 home-to-first time on a drag bunt. Defensively, Whitcomb plays going forward and attacking. His hands are good enough to get him out of any trouble the aggression can cause and he has shown enough carry to think he can stay on the left side of the field moving forward.

Josh Dotson, RHP/SS, AC Reynolds HS, NC (2018)
Starting on the first-base side of the rubber and working down his line with a high leg kick, Dotson produces some arm-side run from his high-3/4 slot. The slender 6-foot, 160-pound righty sat 83-85 and touched 86. The slider sat 74 and is an advanced pitch with tilt and depth. His loose hips, good extension and athletic delivery will have Dotson on the radar moving forward.

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