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Tournaments  | Story  | 6/10/2023

14u/18u National Elite Scout Notes: Day 1

Tyler Russo
Colton Olinger
Photo: Cam Caminiti (Perfect Game)

2027 RHP Will Hayes (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) got the ball for only a few innings here on the first day of the event, but it was enough to show that the stuff is good, and the upside is vast. He’s a long and projectable 6’2/175 right now and controls the body well at that size for being still 14. He was mostly 84-86 early in the look, before settling slightly lower, and the slot he works from makes it tough on the hitter to pick up, especially when he’s just living in the bottom part of the zone. What has really taken a step forward is the slider, especially so from the lower slot as he can create a really strong tunnel off the fastball and let the sharpness and spin quality miss the bats for him. Overall, it’s a profile that looks the part of a premier arm in the class at this stage and the sky is the limit when it comes to what he could look like as he adds strength to the mix.

2027 3B Brody Hasquin (Troy, Ill.) had a great start to the event, and summer circuit, as he had two extra-base hits in this first game, going to each gap with them. He’s a pretty physical young hitter at 6’1/185, but he’s got good control of his body and overall, the process of his swing and the way he impacts the baseball is very fluid and easy right now. He gets good connection with the lower half, lets the hands really fly to match plane and already hits the ball pretty hard. It’s a solid approach and the offensive traits to match what he’s trying to do; he’ll be followed a bit throughout the summer circuit.



2027 SS Banks Addison (Germantown, Tenn.) hits right at the top of a talented young Team Elite lineup and he’s a fun player to watch already. He’s a good athlete with lots of twitch to his game showing good bat speed and the handle of the barrel that produces consistently good results at just 14, and there’s a good bit of physical upside in the current look that’ll project him to impact the baseball pretty well long-term. He had a couple knocks here to open the event and he’s the kind of table setter that you could plug at the top of just about any lineup right now and he’ll fit.
 

2027 SS/RHP Drew Davis (Sumrall, Miss.) only threw like 15 or so pitches in a shorter relief look, but it was plenty enough to make an impression and show that’s very interesting on the mound. He’s an athletic 5’11/155 with real twitch to his profile and standout tools away from the bump, but he hopped on here straight from shortstop and just blew 84-87 from a really fast arm, while getting down the mound and to the bottom half very well and showing a sharp downer breaking ball. It’s the combination of now velocity with legit arm speed that can hold more in the longer term and the athleticism to the profile that makes him a priority follow over the summer circuit.

2024 RHP Trey Tarkington (Dyersburg, Tenn.) went five solid innings of work and stands out a bit as a still uncommitted rising senior with the stuff that should certainly land him a place to play at the next level. He’s a massive 6’4/225 but is pretty athletic at that size as he works with a ton of tempo down the slope, stays compact to his release and produces a pretty easy 85-88 on his fastball, running it hard to the arm side and showing both effectiveness and real command of it. He’s got some real sharpness to the breaking ball, with good foundational components for it to be a real effective next level pitch, and overall he should throw a good bit harder, especially with the fact that he just turned 17 and will graduate a good bit younger than the class average now.
 

2025 RHP Austin Minichino (Columbus, Miss.) certainly opened some eyes over the course of what was three strong innings of relief work as he punched out seven and brought good stuff. He’s a 6-foot right-hander, but already produces stuff that jumps, sitting in the 87-90 range with the fastball for the most part as he stays over top of it and gets downhill well even at his size. What really stood out was the quality of the slider paired with his ability to maintain and tunnel it off the fastball. It’s a pitch he throws in the 75-76 range with real short but hard and late bite and he can absolutely miss bats with it. He’s still uncommitted and a bit of newer name to the PG circuit, but he should certainly jump onto some coaches’ radars after this outing in Hoover.

2023 RHP Connor Mattison (Goodyear, Ariz.) is a name we very much know as one of the more talented right-handers on the west coast for this year’s class and his stuff was just as nasty as we have seen many times here in Hoover. He went six innings and struck out nine against just two hits and not a single walk; he had his way with hitters a bit throwing all three pitches. It’s a very difficult delivery to pick up any of his pitches with a loose but fast arm and a different slot; the fastball is a good one in the 88-92ish range and he holds that velocity throughout the entirety of his outings and can beat hitters with it. His best pitch is the signature changeup though as he throws with a ton of power and truly devastating action, almost impossible to hit when thrown at its’ best. He’s got a really good breaking ball too, just didn’t throw it well as the other stuff in this look. He’s a guy that’s going to strike out a lot of guys wherever he ends up at the next level.

2024 RHP Eli Buxton (Sand Springs, Okla.) got a single inning of relief behind Mattison’s outing and impressed given what he has now and the upside of the profile. He’s every bit of 6’6/185 and is already working downhill in the 87-88 range on a good fastball, with a shorter but real quick arm. Off that, it’s the breaking ball that he really misses bats with showing short downer bite and the deep tunnel necessary to do it at a high level. He’s long and projectable with good stuff and the ceiling is pretty immense; he’s still uncommitted and should gain interest quick.


2024 OF/LHP Cam Caminiti (Scottsdale, Ariz.) didn’t take long to make his impact felt as he got on the second pitch he saw of the event and banged a double off the 375 sign in right-center. He’s made headlines of late with his jump up to the 2024 class and for good reason as he just immediately debuts in the Top 10 and becomes one of the signature names to follow for draft purposes moving toward next year. He’s got a really exciting blend of premium 2-way tools and the game comes easy. Offensively, he creates such easy backspin and impact on balls, showing he can leverage the baseball and hit it well to any part of the yard while still not being all that physical yet. On the mound, he’s mid to upper-90s from the left side with devastating stuff.

-Tyler Russo


Cameron Hanes (2027, Windemere, Fla.) was tabbed as the game one starter for the Canes National 14U team and its easy to see why with his fastball that reached the upper 80’s more than a few times over his two innings of work. While the fastball command may not have been as dialed in as he was hoping he was able to find a grove with the breaking ball when he needed it and work back-to-back scoreless innings with three strikeouts to only one walk. The fastball got up to 89 mph but lived more in the 86-88 mph range. When he needed the swing and miss it was the breaking ball he went to in most cases, throwing it with intent and doing a nice job repeating the arm slot while adding and subtracting depth from the offering when he needed to with well above average spin numbers registering over 2700 rpm on multiple occasions. Leaving the game after just 30 pitches will allow Hanes to come back should his club need him in a playoff run.

Brandon Ott (2027, Chesterfield, Mo.) got his Stl Legacy 14U – Kessler group off to the start they were looking for as he took the ball and was able to put up a zero in both of his innings of work allowing his team to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. The 6-foot-3 right-hander was working the fastball and the changeup predominantly in the first inning as he was able to set up his mid 70’s changeup with a fastball that got into the low 80’s and topped out a 82 mph. The feel for the slider came along in the second inning as he was able to find the release with better extension and hand placement allowing him to land it with the shape, he was looking for toward the bottom third of the zone. While the stuff he showed was solid the excitement really lies in where he can go from here with his ability to fill out his wiry 6-foot-3 frame while adding to the already above average arm talent he put on display.

Yariel Diaz (2028, Saint Cloud, Fla.) took the ball right after Hanes and gave quite a different look with stuff that was equally as impressive. The 13-year-old ran his fastball up to 83 mph from the left side with plenty of arm side life from and athletic delivery working to a three-quarters arm slot. He paired the fastball with a quality top to bottom breaking ball that he was able to get on top of consistently and land with late depth resulting in hitters giving up on the pitch. Over his two innings Diaz racked up four punchouts and will certainly be a name to keep an eye on over the next few months.

Barrett Standley (2027, Bixby, Okla.) was the second out of the pen for the Canes National squad as they went back to another hard throwing right-hander. Standley’s one inning of work saw him run the fastball up to 85 mph while he worked a scoreless frame striking out two and walking just one with no hits allowed. The slider was his go to secondary offering with two plane shape as he matched the hand speed of the fastball throwing it around 70 mph when he was getting his best bite on the pitch. The upside in the two-pitch mix goes hand in hand with his clean delivery and ability to use his lower half with intent as he gets down the hill. Much like his teammates he was able to keep his pitch count in a spot that should allow him to see the mound again this weekend should the situation call for it.
 

Grant Hill (2026, Birmingham, Ala.) drew the start in what was likely the 14U game of the day. The young right-hander gave Excel Blue Wave National a shot in the arm as he was able to pick up the first two innings allowing his club to jump out to an early lead. He started the game with a quick 16 pitch first inning retiring two of the three hitters he faced on punchouts with the fastball that topped out a 86 mph. He gets on top of the fastball well and can throw it downhill from his higher slot giving hitters a different look than the typical arm side run they are used to seeing. Off of the fastball he has feel for a low 70’s curveball that he will throw with good depth as well as a mid-70’s changeup that he can use with more arm side action if he needs to, to keep it off the barrel.

Excel turned to Luke Reed (2026 Pisgah, Ala.) in relief and all the lefty did was turn in the longest outing of any pitcher in the game. Reed was able to post three straight scoreless innings as he was in the zone consistently and showed no fear of challenging hitters with his three-pitch mix. The fastball didn’t necessarily have overpowering traits but when he was able to pair it a breaking ball as well as a changeup it was enough to keep hitter from timing him up and getting the barrel to it.
 

Blake Lundy (2027, Ooltewah, Tenn.) showed up ready to do damage at the plate. The big physical right-handed bat from Tennessee wasted no time getting the barrel to the ball in a literal and figurative sense. He was aggressive with his approach hunting pitches up in the zone that he could lay the barrel to the inner half on and use his physicality to create impressive impact at the point of contact. Not only was the approach aggressive but so was the hand speed he showed which when paired with the aforementioned strength leads to some loud barrels. In his first at bat, he was able to square up a single back through the box and later followed that up with a missile that found a home in the right-center-field gap for extra bases. It will be interesting to see how the 30th ranked player in the class is able to follow up his performance over the next few days and into what should be a strong bracket come later in the weekend.

Sebastian Wilson (2027, Chicago, Ill.) found back-to-back loud contact in his second and third at bats both times going the other way. While the weight in the swing found its way forward, he was able to keep the hands back on both pitches and create some whip through the zone. After a hard-hit line drive with nothing to show for it in his second at bat Wilson made to get his money’s worth in his third trip to the plate as he split the left-center-field gap plating a run and wheeling his way to third base for a triple. Both of his swings to day point toward good things to come as he was able to not only use the whole field but also showcase the control, he has over the barrel with his hands which are two tools that will serve him well down the line as pitching gets even better.

Caeden Patterson (2027, Danville, Kent.) was rolling on auto pilot for most of hi two inning of day one as his offense was able to jump out to a big lead and he was able to attack hitters with what showed to be a solid mix of a full arsenal. The fastball had plenty of giddy up to blow it by hitters running it into the mid 80’s on more than one occasion. Even with that being the case through the right-hander still put one of the better breaking balls of the day on display with a nasty slider that became almost the go to pitch in his second inning of work as he piled up three K’s on the day. Patterson and his ability to attack the zone should certainly be in play for Wow Factor National later in the event as they look to make a deep run in what is a field loaded with talent.

Zachary Hernandez (2023, Fayetteville, Tenn.) took his start deep into the 8:00 am slot for Knights South 18U Marucci. The Belmont commit allowed just one run while scattering three hits over five innings allowing his team a chance to battle back in a pitcher dual. Hernandez ran the fastball up to 89 mph while sitting in the 84-87 mph range for most of his 87 pitches. He was also able to find a solid comfort level with the breaking ball, especially when he found himself with runners on base. The curveball shows a lot of promise as he can spin it in the mid 70’s with late 12-6 shape off of his fastball plane. As he looks to make the jump to the next level come this fall it would be hard to imagine that the breaking ball doesn’t play a pretty big role in whatever successes he finds.

Maximus McClellan (2024, Avon Lake, Ohio) was a named to have circled coming into the event as it isn’t often you get your first look at a 6-foot-7 right-hander this late in the process. For McClellan this was the case though as he made his Perfect Game debut in a game one start for the FTB Phillies Scout team. The big righty did touch 90 mph with his fastball but sat more in the 86-88 mph with a handful of 89’s mixed in. he was working predominantly with his two breaking balls off of the fastball, showing a harder slider in the mid to upper 70’s with late turn in it as well as a curveball that he could work with more vertical actions early in counts. When you factor the whole thing together though it creates an interesting package with a solid mix of present stuff and plenty of upside to tap into moving forward as he continues to mature into his long frame.

-Colt Olinger
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