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Scouting Notes: Devon Prep at Holy Ghost Prep

April 17, 2013

By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

devon prep @ holy ghost prep (april 16)

Devon Prep and Holy Ghost came into this afternoon's game undefeated in Bicentennial Athletic Independence division action.  Unfortunately for DP fans, their Tide ebbed after a positive flow in the top of the fourth inning, taking the lead on a 2-run HR from 2014 Zach Schellenger, but immediately giving three runs back in the bottom half with a few costly errors and an inability to control the running game.  That was all the Firebirds needed to snatch a crucial 3-2 home victory.

Schellenger, who recently gave a verbal commitment to attend Seton Hall as a pitcher, sat 87-89 with his fastball in the first inning.  When he stayed downhill, this pitch had late action as it entered the hitting zone.  At 6-foot-4 with long legs, he has an ideal pitchers build, with room to add more strength to his 175-pound frame.  Schellenger has a long arm action with a slight hook in the back, good armspeed, and throws from a high-3/4 slot.  He attacked hitters and maintained fastball armspeed on his secondary pitches.  His 77-78 change-up showed some late sink and his 71-72 breaking ball varied between quality 11/5 action and a more 1-plane slider, depending on how well he stayed on-line to the plate.  Schellenger's undoing on this day was a 1.6-1.7 delivery time that did not give his catcher a chance to throw out would-be base stealers.

That catcher, 2015 Dominic Hardaway, is a prospect to watch in his own right.  The solidly built right-handed hitter starts from a wide stance and takes no stride, simply lifting his heel and putting it back down.  He kept his barrel through a pitch on the outer half well, picking up an opposite field single in his second at-bat.  He ran well for a catcher, posting a 4.50 home-to-first time in another trip to the plate.  Defensively, Hardaway received Schellenger's repertoire well, while also showing good arm strength and accuracy.  His arm action is a tad long and has a bit of a hitch, but that didn't stop him from posting three in-game pop times from 2.05-2.15.

Jack SeibertHardaway's tools-of-ignorance counterpart, 2014 Jack Seibert (right), went 2-3 with a line-drive single to right-center off a first-pitch fastball from Schellenger in his initial at-bat and a 2-RBI single just inside the third base bag in the decisive home half of the fourth inning.  Although he was inconsistent with his accuracy, Seibert showed flashes of developing into a quality thrower, posting in-between inning pop times of 2.06 and 2.10.

2015 RHPs Curtis Staropoli (4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 K) and Tim Brennan (2.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) don't possess Schellenger's raw stuff, but they were able to match him for effectiveness on this day.  Staropoli throws from a high-3/4 slot with an abbreviated arm swing and slight wrist wrap.  His fastball sat 77-79 and he commanded a big top-to-bottom curveball at 64-66.  Brennan throws out of a 3/4 slot with a long arm action.  He pitched off of his secondary stuff -- a slurvy 68-69 breaking ball and 66-67 change-up -- while his fastball sat at 76-77.

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