One
of the top prospects in the 2014 class, Michael Gettys made his first
of two appearances at the WWBA Underclass World Championship in 2011.
On Friday his younger (lefthanded) brother Jonathan
Gettys (2016,
Gainesvillle, Ga.) did the same. Michael was a high level two-way
prospect who was ultimately drafted as an outfielder by the Padres
in the supplemental first round this summer. Jonathan is a pitcher
only and has posted even better velocity at the same stage of
development. In fact, his velocity puts him near the top of the 2016
class, and he has few lefthanded peers in the flame-throwing 2016
club.
The
younger Gettys topped out at 93 mph in his start against the Easton
Rockets, while working comfortably at 89-91 and pounded the strike
zone, throwing 42 of his 60 pitches for strikes (70 percent) and
issuing just one walk over four innings. He piled up 10 strikeouts in
a dominant outing, while yielding just two hits over four scoreless
frames.
Jonathan
is slightly more physically developed at the same age than his older
brother – who was known for his physicality – and the arm
strength is top of the scale. He uses a low effort delivery and the
ball explodes out of his hand, and with additional effort he could
likely add a couple more ticks of velocity, though it would be
counterproductive, given his present results, to do so. The breaking
ball was also quite impressive, an upper-70s hammer with big 1-to-7
depth and hard bite His feel wasn't consistent in the early going but
by the third and fourth innings he'd found the feel for his release
point and landed a couple of filthy ones on the backdoor corner for
unhittable strikes to righthanders. He also utilized an occasional
changeup at 80-81, though his high velocity fastball and power
curveball were more than enough to stifle the opposition.
Gettys
wasn't the only impressive left \handed pitching prospect to take the
mound for Team Elite 17's Prime on Friday, as they gave the ball to
Justin
Glover
(2016, Buford, Ga.) in the opener. Glover worked 83-88 with his
fastball from a compact delivery with good downhill plane and
extension out front. He struck out the side to start the tournament
off and finished with nine strikeouts over four scoreless one-hit
innings. He has a clean tension free arm action with a compact arm
circle. Glover also has a good pace to his delivery, working in the
1.35-1.45 second range out of the stretch, and 1.1-1.2 seconds with a
slide-step with runners on base. His fastball tails late down and to
the arm side, which should allow him to become more efficient as he
matures as a pitcher to induce ground ball contact early in counts to
keep his pitch counts low in order to go deeper into games.
Glover
commanded the arm side of the plate well, although he was less
comfortable working to the glove side and lunged a bit towards that
side in order to get there, but did move the ball in and out in this
outing. He showed a big bending 1-to-6 curveball that has some
sharpness to the break and good depth, leaving the hand at 68-70 mph,
though he worked primarily off of his fastball in this outing.
The
position player who stood out most on a very talented Team Elite 17's
Prime squad was shortstop
Cam Shepherd
(2016, Duluth, Ga.) who not only looks the part at a strong and
athletic 6-foot-1, 180-pounds, but has the athletic actions at
shortstop and offensive tools to match. His swing path is efficient
and he generates solid bat speed with a low effort, well controlled
swing with good feel for the barrel. Shepherd stayed on a curveball
well and roped it for a single the first time he saw a breaking ball
in the tournament. He also had a good take on one just off the corner
before roping a line drive single up the middle on a fastball for his
second consecutive hit to open the tournament 2-for-2.
The
most impressive position prospect on the loaded EvoShield Canes
roster is shortstop Grant
Bodison
(2016, Simpsonville, S.C.). The tall, lanky young shortstop has very
long strides in the infield and accelerates well to create plus
present range, and his coordination of those long levers allows him
to make smooth transfers and get rid of the ball quickly while on the
move. Bodison also has good arm strength, and he recently threw 90
mph across at the Atlantic Coast Top Prospect Showcase, and that arm
strength showed in his defensive chances in the Canes' opener.
In
addition to being an elite defender at the most premium of positions,
Bodison offers long-term offensive upside at the plate as well. He
has fast hands and an aggressive line drive swing. He also has good
hand-eye coordination and a simple swing that is very hand reliant at
present. While this creates a contact oriented approach, there is the
potential for him to develop power as he gets stronger and fine tunes
his swing, though the current approach is effective for making hard
line drive contact and utilizing his speed. The defensive profile
alone clearly puts him among the top prospects in the 2016 class
nationally, and adding offensive upside to the profile only bolsters
his case.
The
2017 class is still in the early stages of emerging and the WWBA
Underclass World Championship is a stage that presents the
opportunity for many of them to establish themselves among the top
prospects. Righthander Hunter
Perdue
(2017, Chesapeake, Va.) certainly made the most of that opportunity.
Perdue came on in relief with his team, the Richmond Braves National,
up big in their opener. With a large handful of college recruiters on
hand to watch the uncommitted hurler, Perdue came in and dominated.
He worked two innings, striking out five of the six batters he faced
on 23 pitches, throwing 18 of them for strikes, and the only
non-strikeout was a weak popup to the first baseman off the handle of
the bat.
Perdue
has a young, athletic build that is still in the early stages of
strength development and offers additional projection in his 6-foot-2
frame. His arm action is deep through the back and comes through fast
and loose. His mechanics are still a bit raw but his natural
athleticism allows him to throw consistent strikes, and as he matures
both physically and as a pitcher he should be able to make the
transition from controlling his arsenal to commanding it.
His
catcher didn't vary his targets much in this outing, and while Perdue
didn't move the ball around the strike zone much, he was consistently
hitting his target and he threw all three of his pitches for strikes.
His fastball sat at 84-88 mph with big tailing life sinking towards
the arm side. His breaking ball was a hard slurve with a deep
three-quarters break at 73 mph that flashed sever sharpness, and with
improved spin direction could eventually develop into a plus
offering, as the underlying spin rate is already highly advanced at a
young age. Perdue telegraphs his changeup by slowing his arm down a
bit, but the pitch gets good life out of the hand with arm-side
tumbling action, and he threw it for strikes. While it's the least
developed pitch in his arsenal, it is also relatively advanced for a
2017 grad.
There
is still a significant amount of development remaining to become an
elite prospect in the class at maturation, but so far Perdue is well
ahead of the curve for his age and has the raw talent necessary to
make that leap.
On
a day loaded with impressive pitchers, there was the rare opportunity
for righthander Mike
Vasturia
(2016, Medford, N.J.) to blend into the impressive crowd. That is
typically a rare occurance for the 6-foot-6, 245-pounder who has a
striking mound presence. And while on paper he looks like just
another 2016 grad throwing stikes in the upper-80s, his ability to
control and coordinate that massive body is highly impressive.
Vasturia's
delivery and arm action are both clean and easy, and the body and
delivery combination are reminiscent of Arizona Diamondbacks prospect
Aaron Blair. He has a quick arm with developing strength coming from
a high three-quarters slot with sharp downhill plane. He managed to
throw a complete game on just 79 pitches and maintained his mid- to
upper-80s velocity the entire outing.
His
fastball is heavy, and while he didn't miss many bats, he induced a
lot of weak contact. Vasturia showed the makings of a quality
changeup, though he tended to bury it, and occasionally tipped it by
slowing his arm down, but he managed to maintain his arm speed on
several and the pitch gets good late dive. His curveball was
inconsistent as well but flashed very good shape with 12-to-6 depth
and sharpness at 73 mph at its best and has a chance to become a
quality off-speed offering for him over time.
– Todd
Gold
Jared
Wetherbee
(2016, Fiskdale, Mass.) is a lefty we’ve seen upwards of 87 mph
with his fastball. He worked closer to 82-84 on Friday, but showed
good command to both sides of the dish. He spun his breaking ball
consistently and has a clean, repeatable arm action. He’s a
polished Division I level college arm, who will impress with his
ability to locate and mix his pitches.
When
you look at a 2017 arm, if you can see a feel for pitching to go
along with raw stuff, you have to take notice. Brady
Netherton
(2017, Decatur, Ga.) showed just that for the East Cobb Astros 16u
team on Friday morning. Netherton, who is listed as a primary
shortstop, shows above average athleticism on the mound, as he fields
his position well. He worked mostly at 82-85 mph with his fastball
and flashed a good feel for a sharp 70-71 mph curveball with lateral
action. He proved adept at starting the pitch at the front shoulders
of righty hitters and spotting it over the inside corner.
There
have been some slick fielding shortstops on display in the early part
of the Underclass tournament, but one of the smoothest we’ve seen
is Florida Mustangs’ Derek
Eberly
(2016, Blountstown, Fla.). He has an above average throwing arm from
shortstop and gets the ball out very quickly. He made consistently
accurate throws on Friday and made some difficult plays look rather
routine. We’ll need to see him more at the plate, but he shows
flashes of good bat speed, and his wiry frame is sure to add some
strength with maturity.
Jimmy
Jeffries
(2016, Mokena, Ill.) was one of the standouts of the 11:00 a.m. time
slot, as he put a charge into two hard shots from the left side. He
showed big carry on a long drive off the right-center field fence,
showing low-effort power and a compact swing path. Behind the plate,
he was near as impressive, showing a strong throwing arm and easy
receiving actions. Particularly with the bat, he’ll be one to watch
closely as the tournament moves along.
We’ve
known about Justin
Sorokowski
(2016, Mechanicsville, Va.) and his athletic, high upside arm for
awhile not, but Friday was the most raw velocity we’ve seen from
him yet. The 6-foot-2 righthander came in to close out the game for
the Virginia Cardinals and came out firing power fastballs. He worked
mostly at 85-87 mph, mixing in only a couple breaking balls. He
missed bats on the fastball and showed big life through the zone.
Conner
Kimple
(2016, Whitefish Bay, Wis.) showed off some of the liveliest tools we
saw all day at the back fields at JetBlue, with one of his highlights
being a 99 mph line drive off his bat. He has superb bat speed, and
as the exit velocity would indicate, the ball has excellent life off
his bat. He also shows off above average wheels and range in the
outfield. His game action approach and discipline also stood out.
Cal
Coughlin
(2016, Lake Forest, Ill.) swung the bat exceptionally well on Friday
in the Top Tier Americans’ game at JetBlue Stadium, consistently
showing one of the most refined game approaches of any player in
attendance. The 194th ranked player in the 2016 class, Coughlin earns
that ranking on the strength of his polished bat. He produced two
hard line drives on Friday, including a long drive to right-center
field that resulted in a loud out. He stays inside the ball very well
and adjusts well to off-speed pitches. This is a dangerous hitter
against live pitching that will only increase his stock the more
scouts see at-bats.
Lael
Lockhart, Jr.
(2016, Friendswood, Texas) is a talented two-way player that we’ve
seen perform at a high level a number of times before. But, he was
particularly impressive in the early innings of his Friday afternoon
start. Working at 81-85 mph with his fastball, he topped as high as
86, and subtracted at times for two-seam movement. He missed bats on
his 68-71 mph curveball, which flashed hard 2-to-8 depth. Lockhart is
a strong overall athlete with prowess at the dish as well. He lined a
hard shot to the opposite field in his first at-bat, showing good
balance and bat speed.
Davis
Daniel
(2016, Montgomery, Ala.) worked from a number of different arm angles
in his Friday outing, but showed good life on his fastball when he
threw from his regular three-quarters slot. He topped out at 88 mph
and worked consistently at 84-87. He generates some natural cutting
action on his fastball and threw strikes at the corners and down in
the zone. He’ll drop down to a low sidearm slot at times and work
at 78-80 with his fastball as well. He also flashed a solid 73-74 mph
curveball with good 11-to-5 shape. Daniel ended up tossing an
absolute gem, throwing 97 pitches in a complete game outing. His last
pitch of the game was 87 mph.
One
of the cleaner lefthanded arms we saw on day two, Travis
Hosterman
(2016, Oviedo, Fla.) showed off an easy 83-86 mph fastball with late
life through the zone. He pitches downhill and works consistently
down in the zone to both sides of the plate.
Cody
Cummings
(2016, Cypress Springs, Texas) came in to close the game for the
Houston Banditos and opened some eyes with his lively 85-87 mph
fastball, which topped at 88 mph. He also flashed a hard, late biting
11-to-5 curveball at 74-75. Listed as a primary catcher, this is the
first time we’d seen Cummings on the hill in tournament action.
There will certainly be some demand in the scouting world to see his
6-foot-2, 215-pound frame out there again.
Michael
Chambers
(2016, Irving, Texas) made a big impression both with the bat and
behind the plate in Friday’s game action for the Texas Stix. The
righty swinging backstop has a projectable, lean frame but already
flashes good pull-side power. Chambers hit a monster foul ball down
the left field line that registered 95 mph off the bat, and later
smacked a hard line drive single into left-center field.
We
are never surprised anymore to see Anthony
Molina
(2016, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) cruising along with above average stuff.
He once again brought his fluid, easy mechanics to the hill for the
9:00 p.m. slot at Terry Park Stadium. Molina lived mostly at 89-91
mph with his fastball, clearly holding some in reserve as he
commanded well down in the zone and mixed his pitches like a far
older, more advanced pitcher. He flashed a 75 mph changeup, but the
biggest difference seen from past outings was his breaking ball.
The
6-foot-5 righty showed a hard and very consistent curveball at 73-75
mph with big 11-to-5 depth. Molina is going to pick up some velocity
and fool more hitters with his fastball as he strengthens, and more
importantly learns to use his lower half. He’s still a very short
strider and generates his velocity mostly on the strength of
effortless arm speed. When that lower half becomes more involved, the
extension is going to come along and he’s going to see less
aggressive swings off his fastball. In a number of ways, he’s now
very similar in mechanics and stuff to Ole Miss 2014 Friday night
starter and third round draft choice, Chris Ellis.
– Frankie
Piliere
Since
January, Perfect Game has been able to see two-way prospect Frank
Vesuvio
(2016, Armonk, N.Y.) evolve his game, seeing his best fastball jump
from 83 mph (in January) to 88 mph (in August) to 90 mph this
afternoon.
Physically
built at 5-foot-11, 170-pounds, Vesuvio came out of the bullpen
showing a fast arm with a long, full arm action coming through the
backside. Releasing the ball from a three-quarters arm slot, the
uncommitted Vesuvio worked is fastball in the 87-90 mph range with
good life on the pitch. The more he threw his slider, the more his
feel for the pitch progressed, showing short 10-to-4 break low in the
zone up to 78 mph.
The
arm strength transfers well into the outfield, particularly center
field as he has above average speed as evidenced by the 6.62 60-yard
dash he ran earlier this summer.
Weston
Bizzle (2017, Lynn Haven, Fla.) came in for relief for the
Evoshield Canes 2017’s yesterday morning, doing what he did all
summer. A Vanderbilt commit, the young righthander worked his
fastball in the 85-88 mph from an up-tempo delivery while showing an
11-to-5 curveball with nice depth at 72 mph.
The
lone freshman listed on the Rawlings Hitters National Baseball Club
2016, center fielder Jarred Kelenic (2018, Waukesha, Wis.), is
a name that will be circled in coaches programs over the next few
years. A lefthanded hitter, Kelenic moves well and shows present
strength on his 6-foot build and obviously projects with continued
maturity. He shows solid bat speed and does a nice job of getting the
barrel through the zone, showing speed that puts pressure on infielders
when making throws across the infield.
Righthander
Brian Brown (2016, Safety Harbor, Fla.) may end up being one
of the more projectable pitchers that threw at the Port Charlotte
complex yesterday, standing at 6-foot-5, 190-pounds. The uncommitted
Brown has a high waist with long, lean limbs and repeatedly shows a
loose, easy arm action which he used to work his fastball in the
mid-80s, often times bumping 87 mph. Working exclusively from the
stretch, Brown was working both sides of the plate with downhill
plane exceptionally well with occasional run to his arm side and
projects for more with better directionality out of his lower half.
Staying
tall on his backside, Brown showed a feel for both of his off-speed
pitches, with the strongest feel for his 11-to-5 curveball in the
upper-60s to low-70s. Though he slows his arm action on his changeup,
Brown threw the pitch for strikes well with fade down in the zone,
and as he continues to throw it, the effectiveness will only
increase.
It
would be incredibly hard to miss lefthander Kyle Young (2016,
Syosset, N.Y.) when panning across the Next Level Dugout as he stands
6-foot-9 with very long limbs and a lean, projectable frame. A young
player with such a long frame usually correlates to the inability to
repeat his delivery and fill up the strike zone. The Hofstra commit
was the complete opposite, showing balance throughout his delivery,
working downhill with his fastball showing life up to 84 mph. He
repeats his delivery well, especially given his size, and showed a
nice feel for a 70-71 mph change with some fade to his arm side.
Batting
after Kelenic in the Hitters lineup was Dominic Clementi
(2016, Hartland, Wis.), another projectable athlete with a smooth,
lefthanded swing. A future Michigan Wolverine, Clementi already shows
average speed down the line and projects for more as he continues to
add strength to his 6-foot-1 frame. In his second at-bat of the
morning, Clementi jumped on a pitch he could handle and drove it over
the center fielder’s head for a triple, and seemed to accelerate
first to third.
Daniel
Bakst (2016, New York, N.Y.) has shown his ability to swing the
bat all summer at numerous showcases and tournaments and did so again
yesterday with Team Rawlings Citius. Currently ranked 91st in the 2016 class, the uncommitted Bakst shows nice balance in his
swing with a strong feel for the barrel and turned on an inside pitch
for a hard ground ball single through the 6-5 hole.
The
Ohio Elite team rolled out two interesting 2016 arms late yesterday
afternoon, both of whom are uncommitted. Cameron Junker (Liberty
Township, Ohio) started the game, showing an easy arm action from a
three-quarters arm slot that produced a fastball that sat 87-89 mph
in the first inning, peaking at 90 mph once with the ability to bring
his fastball in on lefthanded hitters. His feel for his curveball
developed through his outing, peaking at 73 mph with short, slurvy
action.
Relieving
Junker was Damon Egnor (Paulding, Ohio), a strongly built,
broad-shouldered righthanded pitcher who came in and shut down the
opposition. Egnor showed a long, fluid arm action with a
three-quarters release and did a nice job of generating downhill
plane to his fastball that worked in the 85-87 mph range, topping at
88 mph. Uncommitted, Egnor pounded the strike zone and missed bats
with his fastball due to some deception he creates in his delivery.
He kept hitters honest by mixing in an 11-to-5 curveball with depth
and feel in the low-70s and flashed a changeup at 81 mph.
Playing
third base for Ohio Elite was Noah
West (Westerville, Ohio)
a quick-twitch athlete listed as a primary shortstop whose actions
would play well there at the next level. West made his presence felt
early defensively, charging in on a weakly hit ball, picked it up
barehanded and delivered a strike to first base while his momentum
was taking him away from first.
– Jheremy
Brown
One
of the top pitching prospects to take the mound was Elite Baseball
Training righthander
Bobby
Miller (2017,
McHenry, Ill.), who threw three innings in one of the most exciting
games of the day, a 5-4 win for Stars Baseball 2016 Blue over Elite.
Miller is 6-foot-4, 185-pounds with very long limbs and a loose, easy
arm action that is whippy and low effort at release. Miller threw in
the 84-87 mph range but is just scratching the surface of his
fastball potential. His 70 mph knuckle curveball had very impressive
spin and depth to it as well. Miller threw 21 out of 26 of his
pitches in three innings for strikes (81 percent) and showed lots of
athleticism for a young pitcher in his ability to repeat his delivery
and release point.
Chain
Black righthander
Zachary
Strickland
(2016, Waycross, Ga.) and Scorpions 2017 righthander
Dalton Terrell
(2017, Jacksonville, Fla.) drew probably the largest contingent of
college coaches for any game at Terry Park all day in what turned out
to be a 5-3 Chain Black victory. Strickland went the first three
innings for Chain, striking out seven against no walks, but allowed
four hits. He was consistently 87-89 mph with his fastball from an
extreme over-the-top arm slot that really enabled him to power the
ball downhill. His low-80s slider had power but not much depth and is
still in its development stages.
Terrell,
who is very strong at 6-foot-2, 210-pounds, had a very different set
of mechanics, with an extremely long takeaway in back that showed the
ball to the hitter for a long time. His extended three-quarters
release point did the same thing. Terrell has big arm strength,
though, topping out at 88 mph early while flashing some spin on a
low-70s curveball.
The
Charlotte Megastars' Jacob
Raby
(2016, Granite Falls, N.C.) didn't need to throw a masterpiece, as
his teammates filled up the box score with 13 runs in a five-inning
run rule victory, but he did anyway. The righthanded Raby has a
very simple delivery, with good pace and balance, a short stride out
front that creates plenty of height and angle to the plate and a
smooth arm action. He threw 78 percent of his pitches for strikes, including starting off 15
out of 17 hitters with strike one, in a no walk, 10 strikeout
performance. Raby pitched in the 83-87 mph range with his fastball
and showed very good power and depth to a mid-70s curveball that he
probably could have used more if he had needed. A Perfect Game staff
member teased the home plate umpire at one point late in Raby's
performance about needing to call more balls and the umpire responded
"I can't find many pitches that I can call a ball."
The
only 90 mph fastball that this scout saw on Friday came from the
strong right arm of SCORE International 17u Andrew
Belcik
(2016, Oldsmar, Fla.). Belcik has a well proportioned, 6-foot-2, 215
build and a loose, athletic delivery. In addition to his fastball,
Belcik showed a nice power slider in the 79-83 mph range that really
flashed good depth at times. And continuing on the theme of pounding
the strike zone, Belcik threw three no-hit, no-walk innings with five
strikeouts, throwing 69 percent of his pitches for strikes.
Florida
Hardballers righthander
Trevor
Castell
(2016, Chiefland, Fla.) showed plenty of arm strength from a low
effort delivery and high three-quarters arm slot, pitching in the
85-88 mph range for three innings in a 3-1 win over PRBAHS Blue.
Castell also showed the ability to pull the string on a big, slow
12-to-6 70 mph curveball that very effectively throws hitters off
balance.
PRBAHS
Blue lefthanded
pitcher Yelin
Rodriguez
(2016, Arroyo, Puerto Rico) showed plenty of promise in his three
inning outing despite what his coach even said before the game was
his lack of experience. He has a 6-foot-2, 185-pound build that is
strong in the hips and lower half and young and loose in his upper
half. His mechanics from the windup are almost bizarre, with a hard
pause way further out front than one would ever expect, but his
stretch mechanics are smooth and more natural. Rodriguez topped out
at 86 mph from a mid three-quarters release slot and projects to add
plenty more velocity.
Scorpions
Underclass Tampa outfielder
Connor
Scott
(2018, Tampa, Fla.) resembles his high school teammate, 2014
Perfect Game All-American Kyle Tucker at a similar stage of their
development.
The lefthanded hitting Scott has Tucker's long and lean body at
6-foot-2, 155-pounds and lots of raw bat speed, and the ability to
drive the ball at a young age. Scott also topped out at 83 mph from
the mound in picking up the save in the Scorpions 5-2 win.
East
Coast Baseball first
baseman Trace
Tyre
(2016, Clinton, Miss.) stands out for his country strong 6-foot-3,
230-pound build as well has his lefthanded swing, which is very short
and direct for a big young player. Tyre went 2-for-2 and was hit by
pitch with four RBI in East Coast's 8-6 win over the WBA 17's,
scalding the ball on both hits. The big blow was a no-doubt,
three-run home run that landed on the building room behind the
right-center field field fence on Clemente Field at Terry Park that
broke a 5-5 tie. The most impressive thing is that it was clear that
Tyre didn't even get all of ball.
Gallagher
Team Mizuno looked like a strong hitting team up and down their
lineup in a 10-0 win over Iowa Select Royal. The two hitters who
stood out during this look were third baseman
Christopher Rodriguez
(2016, Manalapen, N.J.) and catcher
Brandon Martorano
(2016, Marlboro, N.J.). Rodriguez had the best bat speed on the
team, with a loose, whippy swing that produced hard pull contact, and
he also ran well. Martarano didn't catch, as Gallagher has three
primary catchers who all hit in the middle of their lineup and play
other positions, but has a very athletic 6-foot-2, 175-pound build
and a quick, short swing that showed good power.
Stars
Baseball 2016 Blue catcher
Hunter Gore
(2016, Hamilton, Va.) catches the eye immediately as a 6-foot-3,
195-pound lefthanded hitting catcher. He showed very impressive
athleticism behind the plate in his ability to shift and block, along
with a quick release that produced pop times between 1.98 and 2.03 in
between innings. Gore showed good barrel skills in squaring the ball
up a couple of times, but tends to load his hands very low and tight
on his body, which deprives him of the ability to get separation and
use his strength and leverage to really drive the ball.
Another
catcher who stood out in a short look was Louisiana All-Stars
Nicholas
Webre
(2017, Youngsville, La.). Webre has a tightly wound and strong
5-foot-10, 175-pound build and lots of quick-twitch actions, both
offensively and defensively. He also has lots of lefthanded bat
speed, but has the tendency to fly open early with his left side and
lose direction and leverage at contact. We've seen this frequently
in young hitters across the country this summer and fall.
The
most humorous play of the first two days occurred at the Stadium
Field at Terry Park on Thursday. With a runner on first, a wild pitch
enabled the runner to easily trot down to second base. At the very
same time, a foul ball from adjacent Brett Field rolled on to the
field and went directly to the second baseman, who picked it up and
smoothly made a tag on the approaching, and probably very confused,
runner. The umpire merely shook his head in a "nice try"
gesture, and the second baseman, with a smile you could see from
behind the plate, sheepishly tossed the intruding ball off the field.
– David
Rawnsley