Prep Baseball Report

Preseason Upperclass Invitational: Top Pitchers


TJ Hunt
Director, PBR New Jersey

On February 6th, the PBR New Jersey team hosted its first showcase of the new year: the Preseason Upperclass Invitational.

If you missed us in on February 6th, check out our showcase page to see when we’re in the neighborhood next.

Today, our staff collaborated to highlight the biggest takeaways and highlights from last Saturday's showcase, and we’re publishing them within this Pitcher Quick Hits piece. Throughout the rest of this week, we’ll be taking diving deeper into all of the data we collected, too, with the help of our Blast Motion and TrackMan devices.

For now, check out our notes and findings from Saturday's event in Hillsborough.

Quick Hits - Pitchers

Class of 2021

+ There were four uncommitted 2021s that really raised eyebrows on the bump last Saturday. Starting off with uncommitted 2021 RHP Joseph Carrea (Cranford HS, NJ) was one of the first arms to showcase his stuff at the event, and certainly proved that he is one of the top uncommitted arms left in NJ. The lanky, athletic right hander stands at 6-foot-2 170-pounds with room to fill out. He topped at 87 mph and sat mostly 85-86 in his bullpen. He flashed a brekaer  at 69-71 with some late 11/5 bite and a change with arm side fade at 73-75. Long, repeatable and easy effort from a high-3/4 slot, Carrea certainly stood out as a top performer on the bump.

CARREA VIDEO

+ Uncommitted 2021 RHP Logan Musey (Millville HS, NJ) has a projectable frame at 6-foot-3 195-pounds with loose, wiry limbs. The two way prospect showed off his arm strength in the first part of the workout, firing throws from the outfield that topped at 90 mph. On the mound, Musey was consistently 81-84 touching 85. Long, quick arm swing into an over the top slot, Musey was able to fill up the zone on Saturday with fastballs. His breaker showed sharp 12/6 bite at 72-74 for strikes.

MUSEY VIDEO

+ Uncommitted 2021 Anthony Scarlata (Bridgwater-Raritan HS, NJ) showed arguably the best pure "stuff" from the event. We've gotten a good look at Scarlata over the past few years and the lanky righty has certainly maintained growth throughout his high school career. Still lanky but visibly has added strength at 6-foot 187-pounds, Scarlata was pumping fastballs to the bottom of the strike zone at 83-85 touching 86, which is a tick up from when we last saw him in July 2020. The fastball plays as more of a sinker with 1930 rpm and some horizontal break at 8" (average). His slider showed -9.4" horizontal, above average spin (2330 rpm), and 32 Bauer Units which all combined make it a plus offering for him. Scarlata can fit into any college staff right now with his polished strike throwing abilities and clear put away pitch in his slider.

SCARLATA VIDEO

+ uncommitted 2021 LHP Ethan Shaub (Haddon Township HS, NJ) was a surprise top performer at this event on the mound. Shaub was consistently 84-85 with some ride through the zone at 15.4" Average Induced Vertical Break. Athletic looking frame at 6-foot 175-pounds, Shaub uses a compact, repeatable arm action from a high-3/4 slot and delivered strikes throughout his bullpen session. His curveball showed some 1/7 break at 71-73 mph, and was more slurvy in nature based on his average induced vertical break at -8.5" and average horizontal break at 8.2." He also flashed feel for a harder str changeup at 77-79 mph.

SHAUB VIDEO

+ The final 2021 that stood out on Saturday was Montclair State commit RHP Alex Smith (Scotch Plains Fanwood HS, NJ). Smith has gained some strength to his frame since we last saw him early in the fall at 6-foot 165-pounds. His fastball was consistently 85-86 on the day from a high-3/4 slot. Smith shows a long arm stroke with some quickness to it on release. His curveball showed more slurvy-like at 62-64 and -13.2 Average Horizontal Movement and 1.2 Average Induced Vertical break. He also flashed a straight changeup at 69-71.

Class of 2022

+ Far and away the most impressive prospect from the event was uncommitted 2022 RHP/INF Andrew Goldan (Watchung Hills HS, NJ) Goldan stands a solid, athletic 6-foot-1 185-pounds still with some room to fill out. On the mound, he was blistering fastballs at 88-90 mph with ride through the zone at 2438 rpm average. There was certainly some foreshadowing going on in the first part of the event, when he topped at 90 mph across the infield. His curveball was 72-74 with smaller, later 10/4 bite and a changeup at 81-84 with fade. Easy, repeatable mechanics and arm stroke, Goldan's high-3/4 slot was an impressive arm to see out of the gate on Saturday.

GOLDAN VIDEO

 

+ Another prospect that we've been able to get a good look at over the ourse of the last few years has been uncommitted 2022 RHP Walter Schwartz (St. Joseph's Metuchen HS, NJ) Schwartz has put on some size since we last saw him at 6-foot-1 195-pounds. His fastball is up a tick, sitting at 83-86 touching 87 on Saturday. His curveball showed more slider-like at 65-68 with -7.7 average Horizontal Movement and -2.3" Induced Vertical Break. There's some downhill to his offerings at a high-3/4 slot. Expect Schwartz to continue to gain velocity as the weather warms through the spring season.

 

 

+ Schwartz's high school teammate, fellow uncommitted 2022 RHP Yatharth Kaushik (St. Joseph's Metuchen HS, NJ) is an interesting prospect to keep an eye on in 2021 at a durbale 6-foot-8 225-pounds. Kaushik flashed a fastball that sat mostly 83-84 touching 86 on Saturday. He flashed a curveball with sharp 11/5 downer break and plus spin at 2494 rpm average. Long levered and long, loose arm action, Kaushik's raw ability is present. Will need to continue to polish his command, but there's no denying Kaushik's ceiling when it's all said and done.

+ Uncommitted 2022 RHP Louie Mosca (Old Tappan HS, NJ) has an athletic build at 5-foot-11 185-pounds. Fastball sat mostly 85-86 with some ride through the zone. his breaker showed plus spin at times at 66-68 with true 11/5 bite and flashed a changeup at 73-76 with armside fade. Compact, quick arm action from a high-3/4 slot, Mosca showed his ability to spin the baseball for strikes.

+ In just about 18 month's time, uncommitted 2022 Niko Logothetis (Ramapo HS, NJ) has transformed himself into a solid looking right hander. In October 2019, Logothetis topped at 74 mph. Last Saturday, he topped at 85 mph. Noticeable strength added at 5-foot-7 150-pounds, Logothetis was spinning the ball at 82-84 (85) consistently. He was able to break off a couple curveballs for strikes at 68-69 with some 11/5 tilt and a changeup with armside run at 71-74. Compact from a high-3/4 slot, Logothetis showed effortless ability and a consistent release point.

+ A similar story line to Logothetis is uncommitted 2022 RHP Nico DiGrazio (Morristown-Beard HS, NJ). Present strength added since we last saw him in September at 5-foot-8 165-pounds, DiGrazio was up to 84 mph on the mound. In September 2020, DiGrazio was topping at 77 mph. Last Saturday, he was backspinning fastballs in the 83-84 mph range with 2236 rpm average. Flashed more of a cutter-like breaker at 73-76 mph with -8.3" average horizontal movement and 5.4" average induce vertical movement. 

+ Uncomitted 2022 RHP John Rigas (Boonton HS, NJ) brought some juice to his bullpen when he was sitting 83-85 touching 85 mph. Impressive ride through the zone at 17.2" Induced Vertical Breka and just 5" on the horizontal movement, Rigas can live up in the strike zone to get swings and misses. Showcased a slurvy curveball at 73-75 as well.

+ Really liked the way the ball came out of the hand of uncommitted 2022 LHP Matthew Monteleone (Seton Hall Prep HS, NJ). Easy, effortless delivery with uphill shoulders going down the mound, Monteleone topped at 81 mph and sat at a comfortable 79-80 with strikes throughout. Flashed a two-plane breaker at 66-69 with -12 IVB average and 6.4 HM average.

Other Arms to Note

+ Uncommitted 2022 LHP Holden deJong (St. Augustine Prep HS, NJ) was 80-82 touching 83 mph with ability to spin a breaker for strikes at 72-73.

+ Uncommitted 2022 RHP Matthew Thomas (Maple Shade HS, NJ) was 80-82 and flashed a curveball at 69-71 with slider-like movement.

+ Uncommitted 2022 LHP Blake Weinstein (Cherokee HS, NJ) showed some promise on the bump with a fastball at 79-81 and two solid offspeed offerings. His curveball sat 69-70 with smaller gloveside break at 2.3 HM and 7.1 IVB and a changeup with heavy armside fade at 71-73 and 10.8 IVB and -15.4 HM.