Prep Baseball Report

Draft League Scouting Notes - June 22-23


Mike Rosenbaum
Senior Prospect Analyst

Frederick Keys

+3B Jake Plastiak (Kentucky) announced his arrival in the Draft League by homering in his first two games with the Keys. After hitting a 97-mph, 367-foot two-run shot to the opposite field on Tuesday, the right-handed hitting Plastiak unloaded on a 450-foot bomb at 108 mph off the bat Wednesday that cleared the scoreboard in left-center field. He also roped a two-run double in the contest to finish 2-for-5 with three RBI. He drove in five runs between the two games, going 3-for-9.

+OF Mason Auer, an Oregon commit, showcased his plus arm strength on two different throws to third base from right field, then got on the bump later in the game and touched 94.8 mph while spinning his curveball up to 2400-2500 rpm. He’s one of three Draft League players this season to throw at least 91 mph off the mound and also hit a home run, joining Kevin Dowdell (West Virginia) and Michael Slaten (State College).   

+C JP Fullerton (UAB) hit the ball hard on Tuesday, going 2-for-4 with a 104-mph double and a 99-mph single from the bottom of the lineup. SS Zach Dezenzo (Ohio State) hit a pair of doubles as part of a 2-for-5 performance on Wednesday, and C Zac Fascia (Purdue) went 2-for-5 with a two-run double. 

Mahoning Valley

+OF/1B Jason Hinchman (Tennessee Tech) plated three runs in the Scrappers’ 8-2 win over State College on Tuesday. He tallied an RBI single in the third inning and then added a two-run homer in the subsequent frame, driving the ball 415 feet at 102 mph over the fence in right field. The homer was Hinchman’s second of the season (both opposite-field shots), and, overall, he’s pacing the Draft League with 23 RBI in as many games. 


+OF Bobby Sparling (Daytona St.) posted multiple hits on both Tuesday and Wednesday against the Spikes to raise his season average to .365. He recorded two of the Scrappers’ three hits Wednesday, going 2-for-3 with a walk following a 2-for-5 showing that including a 103.2-mph single on Tuesday. 

+Cincy commit RHP Cole Ayers had his full arsenal working Tuesday as he struck out five in four innings, allowing one run on three hits without a walk. The right-hander’s fastball was up to 92.6 mph and netted him four whiffs, and he also picked up two and five swinging strikes with his plus curveball and slider, respectively. He lowered his ERA to 2.70 with the performance and now ranks third in the circuit in strikeouts (34). 

+LHP Garrett Schoenle (Cincinnati) fanned three while working two hitless frames out of the Scrappers’ bullpen. He registered a 53.3% whiff rate (15 swings/8 whifs) with his fastball, which sat 88-91 mph in the outing. RHP Aaaron Haase (Wichita St.) struck out two in the ninth to seal Tuesday’s victory. 

+RHP Deylen Miley (Bellarmine) bounced back from a shaky start against State College last time out to record nine of his 12 outs via the strikeout on Wednesday. He permitted a first-inning run before settling in to complete four innings of three-hit ball. Miley was effective with his fastball, registering a 35.2% CSW with the 91-94 mph (T94.2) pitch, and he also induced whiffs with four of the 10 changeups (84-86 mph) he threw in the outing. He’s fourth in the Draft League in strikeouts, having racked up 30 in just 15.2 innings. 

+RHP Andrew Hoffman (Illinois) ran his fastball up to 94.7 mph while striking out two during a perfect sixth inning. RHP Keegan Batka (Wabash Valley) bumped 93.1 mph in relief of Hoffman, while RHP Jacob DeLabio (Carthage) sat 93 mph (T93.2) during a clean ninth. 


State College

+LHP Connor Oliver, a TCU commit, struck out five in his Draft League debut Tuesday. He allowed five runs (two earned) on seven hits in three innings, walking one. Oliver sat 89-92 mph in the outing and showed good feel for mixing his fastball with a slider (77-80 mph), curveball (76-79) and a changeup (85). RHP Louis Davenport (Eastern Kentucky) fanned four batters over 2.1 innings out of the Spikes’ bullpen. He recorded a 50% whiff rate with his 89-90 mph fastball and posted high spin rates with both his curveball and slider. 

+Oklahoma-bound RHP Griffin Miller and three Spikes relievers combined to fire a three-hit shutout and allowed only one Mahoning Valley baserunner to reach second base on Wednesday. Miller led the way with arguably his best Draft League outing, striking out seven over five scoreless frames. His fastball sat around 91 mph (T93.1) and netted him seven whiffs, and he picked up another six swinging strikes between his 79-81 mph curveball (44.4% whiff rate) and low- to mid-80s slider (66.7% whiff).

+LHP Chris Wall (Columbia College) pitched around three walks and one hit to post two scoreless innings with four strikeouts in relief of Miller. He picked up seven whiffs on his fastball, throwing the 91-93 mph pitch 30 times in the outing. RHP Drew Garrett (Missouri) touched 95.1 mph in the ninth as he offset a leadoff walk with a 4-6-3 DP to earn the save. 

+C Matthew Ellis (Walters St.) is showing that he can hit the ball as consistently hard as just about anyone in the League. He went hitless on Tuesday but generated a pair of triple-digit exit velocities (102.5, 100.7 mph) on deep fly balls. 

+Purdue commit OF Curtis Washington Jr.'s blazing speed proved the difference in the Spikes’ 1-0 victory on Wednesday. After leading off the bottom of the first with a triple, Washington showcased both his wheels and baserunning savvy by scoring with relative ease on a drifting pop-up to shortstop.

+C Kenny Piper (Columbia College) played a major role in keeping the Scrappers off the basepaths in Wednesday’s contest as he cut down three runners attempting to steal second base. That’s par for the course for Piper, who had a four-CS game earlier in the season. At the plate, the right-handed hitter went 1-for-3 with a 99.7-mph double.


Trenton

+It’s taken SS Carson Matthews (San Diego State) all of 11 games to grab a share of the Draft League home run lead. After going deep twice on Sunday in the first multi-homer performance of the Draft League season, Matthews connected on a two-run shot to the opposite field (94 mph EV, 351 feet) and later added an RBI single to finish 2-for-4 with three RBI in Trenton’s 4-2 win over Williamsport. 

+RHP Garrett Hawkins (University of British Columbia) is opening more eyes each time he takes the mound. He punched out six in four innings on Wednesday, with a solo home run to Williamsport’s Dakota Kotowski representing the only blemish in his outing. He posted a 45.5% CSW with his fastball, which sat north of 92 mph and topped out at 94.2, and a 43.8% CSW with his slider, throwing the two pitches a combined 38 times in the outing. 

+RHP Javier Ramos (Oklahoma) again featured a big fastball, touching 96.5 mph. RHP Rob Griswold (Long Island) covered the final two frames, striking out five while pitching around three walks and a single.  


West Virginia

+The Black Bears’ offense has been firing on all cylinders this week, scoring 22 runs on 23 hits in two games against Frederick. C Tucker Mitchell (State College of Florida) hit a 97-mph RBI double and later added a 94-mph, 366-foot grand slam en route to a five-RBI performance in Tuesday’s 16-8 victory. A .324 hitter through 19 games, Mitchell also is tied for the Draft League home run lead (three) and tied for third in RBI (17)

+OF Garrett Spain (Austin Peay) had singles at 95 and 101 mph on Tuesday, when he went 3-for-6 with a double, two RBI and three runs scored from the leadoff spot. He picked up another double Wednesday as part of a 2-for-6 showing. Eastern Kentucky commit INF Freylin Minyety scored five runs and went 3-for-7 with three doubles and four walks across the two games. He’s batting .365 through 17 games and is tied for second in the Draft League with 23 hits. Switch-hitting MIF Eli Hammill (Holy Trinity HS) continued his recent hot stretch by going 3-for-7 with three walks in two games against the Keys. 1B/OF Ryan McCoy (Wabash Valley) increased his League-leading walk total to 27 thanks to a trio of free passes Tuesday in his return from a minor hand injury, then encored the following day with a 2-for-4, two-RBI showing.

+RHP Lane Flamm (Xavier) posted whiff rates of 47.8% and 37.5% with his fastball and cutter, respectively. He accrued 17 whiffs overall with the two 90-92 mph, 2400+-spin pitches, striking out nine over five two-hit frames in his Tuesday start. Flamm has held Draft League hitters to a paltry .100 average this season while posting 17 strikeouts against two walks in 11 innings. RHP Trevor Tietz (Jefferson College) has now fanned 16 batters in 9.2 innings this season after he struck out the side in order in the ninth inning of Tuesday’s win.  

+LHP Peyton Alford (Iowa) paired a 90-93 mph fastball with an 80-83 mph changeup to strike out four over three one-run innings Wednesday in his first Draft League start. Georgia Southern commit RHP Ga’Von Wray struck out three in two innings, allowing one run on three hits and two walks. He picked up three whiffs on five swings with his cutter, averaging 90 mph while throwing it 12 times. RHP Kobe Robinson (Chattanooga St. CC) sat 94.9 mph (T96.3) while striking out two batters in the eighth. RHP Michael Hobbs (Saint Mary’s) retired the side in order on 12 pitches in the ninth, bumping 94.8 mph and fanning two. 


Williamsport

+LHP Tyler Bosma (Miami Ohio) allowed two runs on three hits and four walks in five innings. He piled up four whiffs with his big, high-spin curveball and recorded another five whiffs using his 87-90 mph fastball and low-80s changeup. The curveball was particularly effective, netting the southpaw a 42.9% CSW. LHP Holden Christian (LMU) permitted a pair of singles but struck out the side in the eighth. He’s totaled 17 strikeouts against two walks in 8.1 innings (5 appearances) on the season. 

+OF Dakota Kotowski (Missouri St.) hammered his second Draft League homer -- a second-inning solo shot that left the 6-foot-5 right-handed hitter’s bat at 106 mph and traveled 396 feet over the fence in left-center field. OF Jaxon Shirley (Lubbock Christian) reached base three times in the loss, going 1-for-2 with two walks from the bottom of the order. 


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