Top Stories of 2022: Big Buzz From the Super 60

Following high school baseball in North Carolina, we all know, there are a ton of great stories, players, and teams to follow each year.  As we continue to look back at 2022, we will take a look at some of the great stories of the year.  Today’s look back features a player that took advantage of a big stage, leaving the PBR Super 60 as the most talked about player at the event.

Jackson Humphries (2022 LHP) was a bit of a late bloomer in the 2022 class.  While all of the national events and invitations were flowing out, Humphries was beginning to make his climb toward the top of the 2022 class.  PBR Scouts got a glimpse of his gains at the 2021 PBR NC Top Prospect Games.  The Campbell commit lit it up against some of the other top players in North Carolina.

As PBR Scouts continued to track Humphries progress through the fall and winter break, it became clear that he had positioned himself as a draft follow, a name that MLB Scouts should, and would know.  At that point, Humprhies received an invite to the biggest preseason draft showcase in the country, the PBR Super 60.

Humprhies arrived in Chicago as another name on the list, except to a select few that had a feeling he may be ready for a big jump.  PBR Vice President of Scouting, Shooter Hunt was on several phone calls with the North Carolina Scouts, getting information that Humphries could be that guy that takes a big jump on the national stage.  His bullpens throughout the lead up to the Super 60 were trending up and the body had added strength.

When Humphries arrived at the Super 60, he seemed relaxed and ready to go.  His preparation had peaked and he was very confident. During the Super 60, there is a low level buzz as scouts are talking and moving about throughout the workouts.  Sometimes, as an intriguing frame begins his workout, there will be a slight hush that comes through the facility.  This hush came over the crowd as the  6-foot-1, 210 pound southpaw took the bump.  What happened next typically happens once, maybe twice a year at the event… a relative unknown was climbing draft lists with each pitch he threw.  

Humphries came out blazing, peaking at 95mph and sitting 93-94 in his first six pitches. He featured a curveball and slider that had separation from each other, with the slider spun up to 2971rpm.  

This was the write-up shortly after the Super 60 on Humphries, from Shooter: 

To say that the Campbell recruit stole the show at the Super 60 would be an understatement. He flat out hijacked it. Taking the mound early on in the rotation, the southpaw touched 95 mph with his fastball while sitting mostly 93-94. His 6-foot-1, 208-pound frame features some thickness in the trunk and lower-half, and he gets adequate use of the lower-half in maintaining efficient movement patterns down the mound which allows a loose arm stroke to play quickly out front from a high ¾ slot. Pounding the zone with an electric fastball that featured late arm side life was just the start of a stellar bullpen as Humphries, who was well known internally for his aptitude for spin, demonstrated feel for both a horizontal slider and curveball that exhibited multi-tier break. Demonstrating some feel for separating the two, the 2971 RPM max stood out as elite, and promised potential bigger advancements in the future. Capping off his arsenal, Humphries demonstrated command of an 85-86 changeup that profiled well off the fastball with similar horizontal characteristics. Looking back on his ascent from an uncommitted “pick to click” prior to the PBR Future Games in 2020, to the electricity that he showcased at the Super 60, Humphries upward trajectory is sure to excite all MLB scouts, and should he delivery consistent outings throughout the spring, he could continue a growing trend of Carolina arms that catch immense helium leading up to the draft each year.

Humphries entered the spring season as a high end draft prospect.  A finger issue limited some of Humphries outings in the spring, eventually moving him to an 8th Round pick of the Cleveland Guardians.