impact pitcher catcher showcase 1-22

The angle for viewers was nice in a couple respects (it was warm) but it was difficult to pick up movement on fastballs from the side. Looking at

1. Hitting the spots (questionable if that's realistic this early in the season)
2. Velocity (also down on some guys)
3. Movement on breaking pitches (you could see some guys with obvious sharp late movement but most weren't getting tight spin yet this year)

There were the obvious guys who you knew would look good:

Adam Warren (New Bern) looked like he was in mid-season form already. Wes Wrenn (Wesleyan) looked strong. Tim Federowicz (Apex) looked strong and threw well also. Will Inman (Virginia - can't remember the High School) looked strong. Reminded me from the side of Russ Ortiz.

The guys you don't hear about much:
Tyler Leach (Kings Mountain) looked good. He had nice pop on the ball. Greg Martin (Chapel Hill) looked good. William Sunderland (Scotland) has a pro type body at Catcher. Arm strength looked decent. I liked Will Davis (North Stanly) behind the dish too. Dusty Stultz (LPH-Rockingham HS) looked good.

The South Meck guys (I know, I know) looked very good. Rubenstein and Morris both threw very well (in the high 80's it appeared). Worrell, coming back from rehab threw free and easy with a delivery that shows 90+ potential for the spring.

There were a fair number of lesser known to unknown pitchers who ranged from very good to decent to HS typical. Only two guys "slipped" in my eyes and had bad outings.

The catchers were all solid. I couldn't stay for the hitting rounds. Maybe Braves will update what he saw there. I did see Jeremy Synan sneak in and pick up a bat before I left. He's an absolute physical specimen, maybe the best conditioned ball player in the state. Nice young man to talk to also.

 

I was just wondering how many scouts came even though they was some bad weather? ....Anyone know
Thanks

 

The scout area was pretty full. I saw a couple of smaller colleges (D2 & D3) but it was mostly Pro Scouts. I believe there may have been 25 or so.

 

Was they any big NC D1 school?

 

It's a quiet period. The D1's schools are not allowed to watch players off of their campus until March 1st.

You will find that many of the Pro Scouts made some phone calls at the end of the day. The baseball fraternity is a very small one. The D1 schools know what went on there, trust me.

 

Elon was the only D1 school allowed to be there. This particular workout was for the pro guys and the Dll and Dlll.

 

ss-05, you were there for the hitting too....

Who stood out in your eyes?

 

From well run to biased in just a few days.... Fun, Surely you don't think you can judge the speed of a catcher's throw from the bleachers. Sorry you weren't happy with the gun readings, but guess what, I'll bet they were gun readings. Yes Andy will promote players on his prospect list -- after all, he put them on his prospect list because he thinks they deserve to be promoted. But you certainly should have something more to back up any accusation that he would record the times on the site any way other than just as they come off the gun.

With all due respect, and borrowing your words, I believe that "explains it all."

 

I know of the catcher that baseballisfun is referring to. I watched him at Elon. My first comment is he did very well. A radar time is just one area of many and certainly is not the most important.

Baseballisfun should be proud that not only his son was invited to the showcase, but was able to compete with some of the best across the state.
Speaking from one parent to another, do not place too much value on how your son performed or no performed at these particular events. They are fun..they can be of value, but they do not determine the quality of a player. You can tell that only by watching him in a game.

Baseballisfun---the fact that your son was invited proves that he is in the upper tier of catchers across the state.

 

I saw most of the pitching , all of the catchers, and most of the hitting. This was a very talented group of guys. Knowing that there would only be Major League scouts there Andy only invited what he thought was the top pitchers and catchers in the area.
When the catchers were going thru their drills, I noticed that guys were having trouble catching their throws across the gym. Then when the guys were hitting I could tell the batters were not seeing the pitches that well. The gym walls were concrete block and painted an off white which made picking up the ball very difficult. That said, I still thought everyone there looked very good. You can bet every scout there understands that the players were not in baseball condition. They used that brief workout to put together their follow lists for the spring. They got a chance to look at fundamentals, mechanics, and physical size of the players. I doubt any of them used that workout to make or brake a player!
One thing you have to be impressed with is the way the event was run. Andy had all of the scouts behind a screen away from the bystanders. He had plenty of help to insure things were run smoothly and on time. Every kid got his fair time on the mound and in the batting cage. He kept all of the scouts informed, loud and clear on who was performing at that particular time.The most impressive thing was the most important, the turn out of the coaches and scouts, who else could get 25 - 30 very important baseball people to watch your son perform in January! If your son gets this invite next year make sure to attend, I think you should take every opportunity to show your skills every chance you get. Then when the day comes that it really means something, maybe in front of a crosschecker or scouting director then it will just be another day in the park for your kid. No pressure, no sweat. Just my opinion.