Prep Baseball Report

Draft League Scouting Notes - June 5-6


Mike Rosenbaum
Senior Prospect Analyst

West Virginia

It hasn’t taken C Ryan McCoy (Wabash Valley) long to establish himself as one of the more dangerous hitters in the league. After recording multiple triple-digit exit velocities in his first few games, the left-handed hitter put together a monster offensive game on Saturday, going 2-for-2 with a home run, three RBI, three runs scored and four walks from cleanup spot in the Black Bears’ lineup. He hit the home run 401 feet with a 108-mph exit velo, clearing the right-field wall with ease.

West Virginia OF/INF Jesse Pierce connected on his second home run of the week (99 mph EV; 390 feet) and reached base four times, finishing 1-for-3 with three walks. INFs Freylin Minyety (Wabash) and Jake Reinhardt (North Park) each hit a double and combined to reach base five times en route to scoring two runs each from the top two spots in the lineup. 

Black Bears Saturday starter RHP Logan Clayton posted whiff rates of 31.8 and 42.8 percent with his fastball, which reached 96.1 mph, and curveball, respectively. He struck out eight in the outing, albeit while surrendering four runs on six hits. RHP Kobe Robinson (Chattanooga St. CC) was electric out of the bullpen, striking out a pair in 1.2 hitless innings. The athletic 6-foot-4 right-hander topped out at 96.6 mph in the outing, giving him a share of the daily lead, and consistently hit 95 in the outing. 

Starting pitcher RHP Carlos Lomeli set the tone on the mound in West Virginia's 9-4 victory over Frederick on Sunday. He allowed two hits over four scoreless innings, striking out five. He averaged 91.4 mph with his fastball and maxed out at 93.2, throwing his heater 26 times in the outing. He posted CSW rates of 50% and 37.5% with his curveball and slider, generating at least one whiff with each breaking ball. RHPs Jeffrey Wilson (Pensacola State) and Trevor Tietz (Jefferson College) handled the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, with each hurler notching two strikeouts along the way. Wilson was up to 93.7 mph in his frame, while Tietz bumped 94.3 in the ninth.    

OF Cooper Swanson reached base three times and came around to score each time, finishing 1-for-1 with two walks. Reinhardt also reached three times and drove in a pair of runs, going 1-for-3 with a double and two walks. West Virginia commit and two-way player LHP/OF Kevin Dowdell padded the Black Bears’ lead in the ninth with a three-run homer that traveled 396 feet with a 100-mph exit velocity.

 

State College

Saturday RHP Joe Miceli (Bergen CC) struggled with his control and was barrelled up often on Saturday, as the Scrappers tagged him for seven earned runs on seven hits and three walks in 2.2 innings. Miceli didn’t miss bats as he did during his first two turns but still ran his fastball up to 92 mph in the outing, consistently with his previous turns. RHP Griffin Miller (Dyersburg State) recorded the only scoreless outing for the Spikes on Saturday, fanning three batters over the game’s final 1.1 innings. He ran his fastball up to 95.8 mph and recorded two whiffs apiece with his heater and curveball, posting high spin rates with both. INF/OF Michael Slaten (Benedictine) flashed some intriguing stuff in his first pitching performance of the year, bumping 91.8 mph with his fastball and spinning his breaking ball up to 3000+. 

2B Mark Vierling (Missouri) furthered his scorching-hot offensive start in the Draft League on Saturday by going 3-for-4 with a double. He scored a pair of runs and also reached base via a walk. OF James Jett (Lincoln Trail) put his power on full display when he cleared the second wall in left field with a loud home run. The homer traveled 435 feet with a 105.4 mph exit velocity, and Jett also hit a 107.2-mph double in the contest as part of a 3-for-5 showing. 

Vierling picked up on Sunday right where he’d left off the previous day as he recorded a pair of hits, including a two-run single, during State College’s nine-run first inning. He finished 2-for-5 with two runs and three RBI -- one of four Spikes hitters to record multiple hits on the day. INF Brady Brecklin raced around the bases in the first inning for a two-run inside-the-park homer, while 3B Marques Paige (NW Oklahoma State) capped the nine-run frame with a mammoth, 103.1-mph homer that cleared the batter’s eye in center field with ease. When it was all said and done, every Spikes starter had scored at least one run in the 12-2 victory. 

State College starter RHP Cade Carlson scattered two runs on six hits over 5.2 innings in his longest Draft League start. He struck out four and walked three. RHP Drew Garrett (Missouri) fanned the two batters he faced while touching 93.9 mph out of the Spikes’ ‘pen. RHP Payton Rice worked a scoreless ninth while spinning his breaking ball 2500+.


Frederick

Saturday starter RHP Luis Guerrero (Chipola) was charged with six earned runs on seven hits in 2.1 innings on Saturday but featured a lively fastball up to 95.5 mph. LHP Shane Barringer (Bellarmine) topped out at 92.9 mph with his fastball, throwing the pitch 52 times for a 36.% whiff rate. OF Kameron Wells (Dyersburg State) headlined the Keys’ offense Saturday by going 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, two runs scored and an RBI. OF Anthony Herron Jr.’s (John Logan) lone hit left his bat at 107.5 mph, the day’s second-highest exit velocity. 

RHP Will Stevens (Iowa Western CC) has flashed some of the best stuff in the league thus far with his fastball-slider combo. The big righty had both offerings working against the Black Bears on Sunday as he recorded all nine of his outs via the strikeouts over three innings. He did not allow a hit but issued five walks. In terms of stuff, Stevens reached 97.8 mph and averaged 94.1 with his fastball, throwing it 48 times for a 52.9% whiff rate in the outing. He also recorded a pair of whiffs with his hard 85-88 mph slider, throwing it for a 38.5% CSW% on the day. 

Florida Gators recruit C Rene Lastres was an offensive standout for the Keys, connecting on his second home run of the season as part of a 2-for-3 showing at the plate. INF Yareb Martinez (Georgetown) reached base in all four trips to the plate in his Draft League debut, going 3-for-3 with a walk and an RBI from the bottom of the lineup. 

 

Trenton 

Saturday starter LHP Justin Garcia (Roger Williams College) allowed one run on two hits and three walks over four innings, striking out six. He was as high as 91.1 mph with his fastball and posted a 57.1% whiff rate with his curveball. RHP Logan VanWey (Missouri Southern) fanned a pair of batters while tossing two hitless frames in relief of Garcia. He was 92-94 mph (T94.5) with his fastball, spinning it up 2483. RHP Joe Sprake’s (Elon) heater bumped 96.5 mph, tying him for the day’s peak velocity, and he operated at 94-96 mph over two innings, striking out five. LHP Chandler Brierley (Stevens IT) operated at 90-91 mph while working a scoreless ninth. 

Trenton’s offense racked up nine extra-base hits in Saturday’s 14-2 win over Williamsport. C Cy Kerber was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, one of which left his bat at 101 mph, and OF Adan Fernandez (Nova Southeastern) roped a 103-mph double. OF Jake Topolski went 2-for-2 with a double and two runs scored before he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. 1B Christopher Brue hit and a double and scored two runs while going 2-for-5 from the bottom of the lineup. 

Thunder 2B Dexter Swims was a table-setter from the leadoff spot Sunday, scoring four runs in a two-hit, two-walk performance. Ryan Cepero Roman went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored from the two-hole, while OF Garrett Thornton went 3-for-4 with three RBIs. Thornton also played the hero for Trenton when he threw out the tying run at the plate in the ninth to complete a game-ending double play. 

Trenton starter LHP Nick Mondak (St. John’s) tossed four innings of one-run ball in his Draft League debut. He yielded two hits and one walk in the outing, striking out three. The southpaw featured a deep arsenal on Sunday, mixing an 87-90 mph fastball (T90.5) with a cutter, slider and changeup to keep the opposition off balance. RHP Ethan Routzahn (St. John’s) also bumped 90.5 mph with his heater while striking out two in relief of Mondak. RHP James Sharkey (Iona) followed with 1.2 scoreless innings thanks to a fastball which touched 93.5 mph.    

 

Mahoning Valley

The Scrappers’ offense erupted for 21 runs on 20 hits and 11 walks on Saturday. The team’s Nos. 3-7 hitters did the bulk of that damage, combining to 13-for-21 with 18 RBI. OF/1B Jason Hinchman (Tennessee Tech) had a particularly big game, going 3-for-5 with five RBI. He plated two runs with his first Draft League homer, a 101-mph, 37-degree moonshot to the opposite field that traveled 363 feet. 

C Duncan Hewitt hit a double and a triple and drove in four, finishing 2-for-4. OF Bobby Sparling (Daytona State) doubled and drove in four in a 3-for-4 showing, while CIF Jarrod Belbin (Western Arizona) and 1B Dan Harwood (Butler) each hit a triple while combining for five hits, five RBI and six runs scored. Altogether, six different Scrappers scored at least three runs on Saturday. 

RHP Deylen Miley (Bellarmine) dominated in his second Draft League outing, striking out six over 2.2 hitless frames out of the bullpen. He popped numerous 94s for the Scrappers, posting a 53.8% whiff rate and 54.5% CSW with FB, which averaged 92.5 mph. RHP Jacob DeLabio (Carthage) surrendered his first run of the season via a long home run to Jett, but he also recorded five of his six outs via the K over two innings, during which he touched 95 mph while posting a 35% whiff rate with his fastball. DeLabio also recorded a 62.5% whiff rate with his slider, inducing five whiffs on eight swings. 

Mahoning Valley’s bats were held in check by Spikes pitching on Sunday, with the offense pushing across two runs on eight hits. 3B Tommy Benson collected three of those hits including a triple in a 3-for-4 performance. Additionally, the Scrappers had three other hitters post triple-digit exit velocities in the game: OF Sam Crail (102.2 mph), Hinchman (102.2) and Branden Comia (102.1), the latter of whom singled in his first Draft League at-bat. 

After a trio of Scrappers hurlers combined to allow 12 earned runs over the first six innings, RHP Trey Nordmann (Howard CC) and LHP Jimmy Burnette (Saint Leo) allowed a total of one hit while striking out five over the final three frames.

 

Williamsport

RHP Ryan Velasquez (Alabama State) fared the best of Williamsport’s pitchers Saturday, striking out four over three innings of two-run ball. He breezed through the first two frames, allowing zero hits and walks, before struggling in his third inning of work. That said, Velasquez was still consistently 93-94 (T95) at 2300+ in the outing. RHP Francisco Mateo (College of Central Florida) showcased a swing-and-miss fastball, sitting 92-94 with up to 2522 spin en route to two strikeouts in two innings. 

Leadoff man INF/OF Trey Steffler (Missouri Baptist) went 1-for-3 with a triple and a walk. Two-hole hitter INF/OF Freddie Matos (Butler) was one of two Crosscutters to finish with multiple hits (2-for-4, RBI). 

All but two Williamsport starters recorded a hit in Sunday’s 9-8 loss to the Thunder. Steffler had another productive game, going 2-for-5 with an RBI, and C Kyle Smith (St. John’s River St. College) went 2-for-4 with an RBI double. OF/1B Hogan McIntosh recorded the day’s hardest-hit ball (103.4 mph) on a double and also reached twice via a walk to finish 1-for-3. 

RHP Dominic Hambley (Belmont HS, B.C.) looked sharp in his second outing in three days, striking out four over two one-hit innings. His fastball topped out at 93.1 mph in the outing, and RHP Owen Holt’s (Alvin CC) bumped 92.7 in the ninth. Bridging the gap between Hambley and Holt was LHP Holden Christian (Loyola Marymount), who fanned two during a perfect eighth. 

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