Something interesting is brewing south of Atlanta in Peachtree City at Foundation Sports. A new travel organization run by Steve Smeal, Foundation is focusing on developing young softball and baseball players, both on and off the field. They have a 20,000 square foot indoor facility with wall-to-wall batting cages and plenty of mound space. Recently, Prep Baseball Report held an Organizational Day at their facilities and walked away impressed with the talent in attendance. 

The results were good, as we found out that there are some hidden gems lacing it up at Foundation Sports. In the coming years, I expect even more talent after catching a glimpse at some of the youth players, that came out to watch the event. But this group showed plenty of next-level talent right now.  Here is a brief look into some of the talent that was on display.

Top performers on the day

60 yard dash:

Kohl Nguyen / 2018 / Peachtree Ridge - 6.62

Jalen Lazenby / 2020 / Starr's Mill - 6.62

Kyle Wright / 2019 / McIntosh - 6.75

 

Kohl Nguyen OF / RHP / Peachtree Ridge, GA / 2018 5-foot-11 165-pound Nguyen has good tools for the game. He turned in a camp best 6.62 60 yard dash time, and was 83 mph off the mound, having not really spent a great deal of time as a pitcher. Offensively Nguyen has the obvious run tool, but also shows a good contact approach, while flashing gap power. He starts off slightly open with an upright stance. He has good feel for the barrel and shows a direct path. Nguyen has strong legs and flashes the power to drive the ball when he stays through it. Defensively the outfielder moves well and shows enough arm, turning in an 81 mph outfield velocity.

 

Infield Velocity:

Landon Pope / 2020 / McIntosh - 83

Tucker Dorrity / 2019 / Fayette County - 81

Ira Clifton / 2019 / Grace Christian - 78

 

Landon Pope SS / RHP / McIntosh, GA / 2020 The 6-foot-2 170-pound middle infielder flashes tools and a good young frame. He hits out of an upright stance with an athletic base. He has a  straight away approach, showing good balance and feel for the bat-head. Pope has a projectability with the bat in his hands, and a chance to grow into solid power with strength gains. His load is sudden and early, it almost leads to still hands at launch, will benefit from a slower more rhythmic load putting himself in a better launch position with his hands. Defensively he shows the ability to move around the dirt and make strong accurate throws. Can see Pope developing into an offensive profile at a 2B/3B at the next level. Interesting young player that will be a close follow going forward.

 

Outfield Velocity:

Landon Pope / 2020 / McIntosh - 85

Jalen Lazenby / 2020 / Starr's Mill -83

Ira Clifton / 2019 / Grace Christian - 83

 

Catchers Pop-Times:

Ira Clifton / 2019 / Grace Christian - 2.00 to 2.09

Jacob Cackett / 2020 / Heritage - 2.25 to 2.35

Turner Hasty / 2020 / Whitewater - 2.28-2.32

 

Ira Clifton RHP / SS / Grace Christian , GA / 2019 At 6-foot-1 170-pounds Clifton made the biggest impression as a position player on the day, though he also shows projectability on the mound. First and foremost Clifton is a baseball player and that is not hard to figure out once you are out on the field. He has an athletic frame with weight gains coming. Offensively he has interesting components from both sides of the plate.  The right side is natural and shows more comfort, bat-speed and barrel feel presently, but from the left he is very quiet and shows a clean stroke, leverage and path to the baseball. He has not reached his power potential from either side of the plate presently and it will be interesting to see what results come from strength gains this off-season. Behind the plate Clifton moves very well and shows very good actions, both in terms of actions and transfer. Proven by his 2.00 flat pop-time. Has a chance to be impact-full behind the plate at the right school. As a pitcher Clifton has a nice balanced delivery with an idea of what he is doing.  Shows feel for three pitches, both in terms of executing and commanding them. He is need of strength gains, but the ingredients are in place.

 

Exit Velocity:

Robbie Luman / 2018 / Union Grove - 94

Ira Clifton / 2019 / Grace Christian - 88

RJ Romuno / 2019 / Starr's Mill - 88

 

Robbie Luman 1B / OF / Union grove , GA / 2018 At 5-foot-9 200-pounds Luman has an obvious strong build. The left/left first-base prospect shows solid hands and feet around the base. At the dish, he sets up with a strong base, in a straight away stance. His hands are loose and show a easy path to the ball, and the ball jumps off his barrel, showing a 94 mph exit velocity. Luman is not just a pull guy, he also shows feel for getting his hands inside the baseball and going to other way.  Interesting 2018 with a strong offensive profile.

 

Fastball Velocity:

Andrew Fry / 2019 / Starr's Mill - 86 

Kohl Nguyen / 2018 / Peachtree Ridge - 83

Ira Clifton / 2019 / Grace Christian - 80

 

Andrew Fry RHP / 1B / Starr's Mill, GA / 2019 Fry is the definition of lanky at 6-foot-3 and 180-pounds. He has long arms and legs, that provide a little deception coming down the mound. He can run his fastball up to 86 now with more coming.  He sits in that 84-86 range with very good extension out front. His curveball (70-72) is a late breaker, with good rotation and flashes shape.  There is feel for a change (76) and will be a solid pitch for him in the future. Fry is a sneaky athletic kid and stays under control well on the mound, almost too well. Was impressed with his warm-up session as he stretched out and was able to keep all of his moving parts on time and stay athletic, while really letting it fly.  This is a definite follow for us, and see even more coming out of this arm in the near future.

 

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