36 Standout High School MLB Draft Prospects To Know From Jupiter 2021

Nicolas Perez, SS, BYOU Academy, Caguas, P.R.
Travel Team: 5 Star National – Black
Commitment: Florida State

While Romero was a known commodity who moved himself up draft boards this week, the biggest under-the-radar player who scouts raved about during Jupiter was Perez.

Perez went 8-for-18 with a home run and three doubles, while helping push 5 Star National – Black to a semifinal game as the team’s shortstop and cleanup hitter. Perez doesn’t look like a typical middle-of-the-order bat, with a 6-foot, 175-pound frame, but scouts noted that he’s added plenty of strength since last year, and that’s translated to surprising pop from his righthanded bat.

He showed an aggressive approach this week, with a tendency to expand the zone high on fastballs and low against secondary offerings, but he drove the ball well when he made contact and avoided leaking out to his front side and lunging early in the swing.

Perez showed solid defensive actions, making a few leaping grabs in the hole at shortstop, and showed a solid-average or tick better arm from the position when he was able to set his feet and get his body fully behind the throw. He failed to convert one 4-6-3 double play as the turn man when he needed to get rid of the ball quickly and sent a low throw that looked more fringe-average. He turned in a pair of above-average run times from home to first.

Given his offensive performance and strength in his swing, some scouts are starting to view Perez as the top Puerto Rican prospect in the class.

Levi Huesman, LHP, Hanover HS, Mechanicsville, Va.
Travel Team: Richmond Braves 18U Platinum
Commitment: Coastal Carolina

Huesman turned in the single most dominant pitching performance of Jupiter, a seven-inning shutout of the Dallas Tigers where he allowed just two hits and struck out 18 batters on 102 pitches. Huesman’s 18 strikeouts were easily the most of any pitcher at the event with five more than the next closest pitchers.

The 6-foot, 185-pound lefty worked from the stretch exclusively in this outing, throwing from a lower, three-quarter slot that he repeated well despite some moving parts. He’s an athletic pitcher who moves well on the mound and fields his position well. He showed good arm speed, though his delivery does have some violence and recoil. Despite that, Huesman filled up the zone consistently with his fastball and slider, throwing 71% of his pitches for strikes.

His pure stuff backed up the performance, with a fastball that touched 95 and sat comfortably around 92-93 mph throughout the outing, with 2200-2300 rpm spin rates and some running action to the arm side. Huesman’s best secondary was a slider in the 75-80 mph range that flashed plus early in the outing when it was closer to 80 mph, with impressive spin and hard, late biting action. It’s a high-spin pitch in the 2400-2600 rpm range, but did loosen up and get a bit slurvier in shape and velocity as his outing progressed.

He showed good feel for the pitch and seemed comfortable using it while ahead or behind in the count, and also threw an 82-84 mph changeup with solid fading life and 1300-1700 rpm spin.

In total, Huesman tallied 16 whiffs with his fastball, eight with his slider and three with his changeup. Against one of the top-ranked bats in the class, Texas infielder Jayson Jones, Huesman faced him three times and struck him out each time.

With athleticism, arm speed and a pair of plus offerings from the left side, Huesman should be moving up draft boards.

Justin Crawford, OF, Bishop Gorman HS, Las Vegas
Travel Team: CBA Marucci National
Commitment: Louisiana State

Crawford is the son of former big leaguer Carl Crawford, and unsurprisingly given his bloodlines, might be one of the most athletic outfielders in the class.

The younger Crawford has a lean and wiry, 6-foot-3, 175-pound frame and is an explosive runner who puts pressure on opposing defenses and covers massive swaths of ground in center field. He played in three games for CBA Marucci at Jupiter, serving as the team’s leadoff hitter, and went 4-for-8 (.500) with three singles, a triple and a stolen base.

Scouts saw him turn in 70-grade run times from home to first and he’s fast enough to make even routine ground balls to first base more interesting than they ought to be. Crawford starts with an upright stance at the plate and high handset, before striding to the ball with a simple step forward. During his stride, Crawford’s head lowers a noticeable amount, and he showed a tendency to open his hips early and catch the ball out in front, rolling over to the pull-side at times. Crawford has a level bat path and showed solid bat-to-ball skills.

Defensively, Crawford showed range on a ball that an average center fielder would have no chance getting near. While shading a lefthanded hitter a few steps to left field, Crawford galloped to his right on a fairly routine fly ball to left and would have easily camped under it for a casual catch if his teammate hadn’t been there to make the routine play.

 

 

 

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Brooks Brannon, C, Randleman (N.C.) HS
Travel Team: 5 Star National – Black
Commitment: North Carolina

Scouts were impressed with Brannon throughout the tournament, with some defensive aptitude behind the plate, as well as a few timely and well-struck hits offensively. In total, the North Carolina commit went 6-for-14 (.429) with a double and three walks, and he also had the game-winning walkoff single that pushed 5 Star National – Black into the semifinal round against the eventual champion Ostingers Baseball Academy. Brannon showed a good ability to drive the ball to all fields, particularly on the last day of the tournament when he went the other way for a pair of solidly hit singles to the opposite field, and also got extended and pulled a hard hit line drive down the left field line for a double. There were some ugly swings and misses that Brannon showed against below-average breaking stuff, however. Behind the plate, Brannon showed a good ability to smother balls in the dirt and center them as a blocker, though scouts noted he was inconsistent with his receiving at times.

Tyler Bremner, RHP, Scripps Ranch HS, San Diego
Travel Team: CBA Marucci National
Commitment: UC Santa Barbara

Bremner started for CBA Marucci on day four against the Diamond Devils, and turned in a five-inning, complete game shutout, where he allowed just one hit while striking out 11 batters and walking three.

Bremner worked with a three-pitch mix that featured plenty of movement with every offering. His fastball touched 93 and sat in the 88-91 mph range, but featured solid life, with running action to his arm side and solid ride up in the zone. His fastball paired nicely with a 72-73 mph curveball that had solid depth and three-quarter shape and an 82-83 mph changeup that had similar arm-side horizontal movement to his fastball.

He was a bit scattered with his command, but showed solid control and ability to put each offering in the zone or around it enough to fool batters and keep them off-balance.

Listed at 6-foot-2, 170 pounds, Bremner has a lean and thin frame that should add more weight in the future. He has some extended arm action in the back of his stroke, with a bit of tilt in his delivery, a loose arm and three-quarter slot.

Xavier Cardenas III, RHP, Servite HS, Anaheim, Calif.
Travel Team: CBA Marucci National
Commitment: San Diego State

Cardenas III is an extra-large-framed righthander with a big arm, who ran his fastball up to 98 mph on the fourth day of Jupiter. While he threw hard, Cardenas struggled mightily with his control and struggled to repeat his release point, and walked five batters in just 1.1 innings before getting pulled. Cardenas is listed at 6-foot-6, 213 pounds and has long levers that he’ll need to learn to get in sync more consistently in the future to make the most of his impressive natural arm strength. His fastball could likely play up even more from its velocity given how far down the mound he releases the ball, but when he’s not in the zone there’s not much hitters need to do other than sit back and wait for a free pass to first base. Cardenas showed a 75-78 mph curveball, but he slowed his arm significantly with the pitch, and also threw a changeup in the upper 70s.

Cam Collier, 3B/RHP, Mount Paran Christian HS, Kennesaw, Ga.
Travel Team: MLB Breakthrough Series 2022
Commitment: Louisville

Collier is the No. 12 high school prospect in the class thanks to his standout hitting ability and solid defensive work at third base, but he showed in Jupiter that he’s also a talented pitcher. He threw two innings of relief on the first day of the event and ran his fastball up to 95 mph, while showing impressive usability of a solid low-80s slider as well. Scouts have long noted Collier’s plus arm from the hot corner, but he has a loose arm action on the mound as well and spotted up with 92-94 mph fastballs and a solid breaking ball, to the tune of 70% strikes. He didn’t allow a hit or a run over two frames, while striking out four. Offensively, Collier went 5-for-14 (.357) during the event, with three doubles and a pair of singles. He has a strong case as the best third baseman in the class—and if he winds up making it to campus at Louisville it wouldn’t at all be surprising to see him be a productive two-way player if that was something he’s interested in.

Wyatt Danilowicz, LHP, Traverse City (Mich.) West HS
Travel Team: Reds Scout Team
Commitment: Louisville

Danilowicz had a quick one-inning appearance in relief against the Cangelosi Sparks on day one of Jupiter and showed an interesting three-pitch mix out of a strong frame. The lefthander, listed at 6 feet, 200 pounds, attacks downhill from a three-quarter slot with some length in the back of his arm action.

He touched 90-91 mph with his fastball, though the pitch did get put into play and hit around a bit. His best offering was a 2-to-7 curveball with impressive spin, late bite and finish, and he also threw a changeup with solid arm speed.

Gavin Guidry, SS, Barbe HS, Lake Charles, La.
Travel Team: Knights Knation/Dodgers Scout Team
Commitment: Louisiana State

Guidry didn’t have a loud offensive performance in Baseball America’s look during Jupiter, going 0-for-3 with a pair of fly outs, a pop out and a walk. However, he showed impressive defensive ability at third base—with Max Martin handling shortstop in this game—charging a slow rolling batted ball near the third base line, making a barehanded grab and firing to first while off-balance and with impressive accuracy and arm strength. Guidry has also shown promise on the mound, but he’s a plus runner with a lean and projectable 6-foot-2, 182-pound frame who’s shown some bat speed and solid defensive actions at several infield positions.

Michael Gupton, OF, Rolesville (N.C.) HS
Travel Team: ECP/Padres Scout Team
Commitment: North Carolina State

Gupton is the best runner in the high school class, and likely the best runner in the 2022 class, period, as a talented track and field sprinter who has posted easy 80-grade run times in the 60-yard dash. During Jupiter he went 3-for-7 (.429) with two triples, a single, a pair of walks and two stolen bases. One of Gupton’s triples came against an 87 mph fastball waist high that Gupton did a nice job getting extended on. He drove the ball to deep left field and made it from home to third base in just 11.40 seconds.

Adonys Guzman, C, Brunswick HS, Greenwich, Conn.
Travel Team: MLB Breakthrough Series 2022
Commitment: Boston College

Guzman has a reputation as one of the top defensive catchers in the 2022 class, and while he did continue to show off his massive arm strength behind the plate (he threw a runner out trying to steal second and was confidently walking to the dugout before the throw hit the bag), he also performed with the bat. Guzman went 6-for-15 (.400) with a home run and a double. BA had eyes on Guzman for his double on the fourth day of the tournament, a deep fly ball over the left fielder’s head against a soft, 81 mph fastball.

 

 

 

AJ Izzi, RHP, Oswego (Ill.) East HS
Travel Team: Reds Scout Team
Commitment: Wichita State

A relatively unheralded arm coming into this event, Izzi followed Lally for the Reds Scout team and impressed with his natural arm strength and velocity, though like his rotation mate he struggled with control.

Listed at 6-foot-3, 175 pounds, Izzi has a tall and skinny frame. There’s some hooking action in the back of his arm stroke and he throws out of a high, three-quarter arm slot though his arm works fairly easily in general. While he did show scattered fastball command and below-average control in this outing, he touched 94-95 mph early and has the physical projection to throw quite hard in the future. He settled into the 90-92 mph range in later innings, though his fastball showed some late life, and he paired the pitch with a 78-81 mph breaking ball and low-80s changeup.

The changeup is ahead of the breaking ball for now. His breaking ball is an in-between offering that isn’t truly a curveball or slider and hangs up at times without great spin currently.

In this outing, Izzi threw three shutout innings, allowed two hits and two walks and struck out three.

Bradley Hodges, LHP, St. Johns Country Day HS, Orange Park, Fla.
Travel Team: FTB/Philadelphia Phillies Scout Team 2022
Commitment: Virginia

Hodges threw three no-hit, shutout innings of relief for FTB on day one of Jupiter with seven strikeouts and no walks on just 37 pitches. He worked quickly and efficiently with good command and each inning went 1-2-3, finishing his appearance with five straight strikeouts.

He showed impressive feel for spinning the baseball and landed his 72-77 mph curveball seemingly at will throughout the outing, while also mixing in a sneaky, 88-91 mph fastball that generated more whiffs than velocity alone would suggest.

Hodges’ curveball was at least an above-average looking breaking ball here, with impressive depth and shape. While it was on the slower end at times, even then the pitch showed impressive downward finish and spin to get beneath bats. At times Hodges would pitch off his breaking ball more than his fastball, but at least in this outing, he did so to great success.

The Virginia commit is listed at 6-foot-1, 190 pounds and throws with a high, three-quarter slot that is almost straight over the top. There’s some length to his arm action and a bit of wrist wrap in the back, but neither component of the stroke seemed to limit his command or ability to spin the baseball.

Marek Houston, SS, Venice (Fla.) HS
Travel Team: Ostingers Baseball Academy 2022
Commitment: Wake Forest

Houston was named the event’s Most Valuable Player after going 9-for-20 (.520) with two doubles, three walks and a pair of stolen bases.

A Wake Forest commit with a big, 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame, Houston hit several balls hard on the final day of the event, including a pair of hard line drives in the semifinal matchup against 5 Star National – Black. He doubled to right field on an 82 mph fastball in his first at-bat and then hit a hard line out to shortstop against an 87 mph fastball in his second trip to the plate.

Houston has a simple, direct swing from the righthanded batter’s box and gets down the line quickly, turning in plus run times while often jailbreaking his swings by cutting off his follow through in order to get out of the box more quickly.

Defensively, Houston showed an ability to make the routine plays at shortstop. If not flashy, he has solid actions and glovework with a strong arm that looked at least above-average on multiple occasions. He could eventually outgrow the position and be a better fit for third, but seems to have more than enough arm strength for the position.

Termarr Johnson, SS, Mays HS, Atlanta
Travel Team: MLB Breakthrough Series 2022
Commitment: Uncommitted

The No. 1-ranked player in the class had a limited sample of games during Jupiter, after exiting a game pulling up with a leg issue. Unsurprisingly, he was effective and productive in the three games he played in, going 3-for-5 (.600) with three singles—including a walkoff knock through the right side of the infield on day one—and four walks. While normally in complete control of his at-bats, Johnson did have an uncharacteristic strikeout when he expanded the zone low and away on a breaking ball. Defensively, in the chances Baseball America saw, Johnson made the routine plays at shortstop and showed an accurate arm on a 4-6-3 double play, though many scouts think he’ll eventually slide to second base where his advanced bat can be pushed more aggressively.

Druw Jones, OF, Wesleyan HS, Norcross, Ga.
Travel Team: FTB/Philadelphia Phillies Scout Team 2022
Commitment: Vanderbilt

With Elijah Green not attending Jupiter, Jones was the second-ranked bat at the event behind only Termarr Johnson. It wasn’t the best showing for the Vanderbilt commit, who tallied just one hit in five games and 15 plate appearances, going 1-for-11 (.091) with a single and three walks. Jones did put the ball in play consistently and often with hard contact, but he regularly hit loud ground balls right at the shortstop or second baseman. He turned in a few plus run times from home to first, but otherwise had a fairly quiet week.

David Lally, RHP, Grand Blanc (Mich.) HS
Travel Team: Reds Scout Team
Commitment: Notre Dame

Lally entered the year as one of several notable arms out of Michigan and started the second game of the day for the Reds Scout Team on Thursday, against Knights Knation.

It wasn’t his best outing, as Lally struggled with command and missed the zone with both his fastball and breaking ball. He touched 94 mph and pitched in the low 90s early, before dropping to 87-91 in his second inning. The Notre Dame commit threw a low-80s slider that backed up on him and an 82-83 mph changeup that was his best pitch in this outing. In total, Lally threw three innings, allowed three hits and five runs, while striking out four and walking three.

He throws from a three-quarter arm slot with a short arm action and his delivery is a bit stiff, with some tilt in his leg lift and recoil and head whack throughout his finish.

Isaiah Lowe, RHP, Combine Academy, Lincolnton, N.C.
Travel Team: Boston Red Sox Scout Team
Commitment: Wake Forest

Lowe followed Weaver in relief and pitched three shutout, no-hit innings. He was effectively wild in this outing, with six punchouts but four walks.

Lowe is listed at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds and is solidly filled-out now. He throws with an easy and simple delivery and loose arm action that feature drop and drive as he strides to the plate, with average depth in his arm action and a three-quarter slot.

In this outing, Lowe showed a split three-pitch mix, with a fastball that touched 93 mph at peak, as well as a low-80s slider and changeup around 82 mph. His command of the slider was better than his fastball command in this outing, and at times he pitched off the breaking ball, particularly later in the outing when his fastball control lagged and he started laboring.

The slider has good horizontal movement with 10-to-4 shape. He started the pitch at righthanded batters’ hips to dart into the zone and effectively backdoored lefties. Lowe’s changeup had slight tumbling action and he also showed some feel to land it against lefthanded hitters.

Max Martin, SS, Moorestown (N.J.) HS
Travel Team: Knights Knation/Dodgers Scout Team
Commitment: Rutgers

Martin showed impressive ability on both sides of the ball during Jupiter, starting with one of the better day one hitting performances, going 3-for-3 out of the leadoff spot against Reds Scout Team.

Martin barreled the ball in each plate appearance. He first singled to center field on an 82 mph changeup, then turned on an 87 mph fastball for a triple down the left field line, and then finally singled up the middle on another hard line drive in his third plate appearance. His feel for the barrel was impressive, and he also flashed the leather at shortstop later in the tournament.

He threw accurately from a low slot without fully showing off his arm strength on a fairly routine 6-3 groundout, and he also displayed a quick exchange on a tough slow roller in front of him, displaying impressive body control, balance and arm strength while throwing on the run.

Cullen McKay, RHP, Maury HS, Norfolk, Va.
Travel Team: Baseball U Prospects
Commitment: Virginia

McKay was a standout arm for scouts on the second day of Jupiter after he struck out three batters in three innings, while showcasing a high-spin, three-pitch mix. Listed at 6-foot-1, 191 pounds, McKay throws from a fairly simple and clean delivery and worked in the 92-94 mph range with a 2,400 rpm fastball, a downer curveball in the upper 70s with 2,500 rpm spin and a hard, low-80s slider with spin rates over 2,600 rpm.

Owen Murphy, RHP, Riverside-Brookfield HS, Riverside, Ill.
Travel Team: Team Elite/Atlanta Braves Scout Team
Commitment: Notre Dame

Murphy filled up the strike zone in a 2.1-inning relief stint for Team Elite against a strong Dulin’s Dodgers team. He allowed one hit and struck out six on just 28 pitches, while throwing 89% of those pitches for strikes. Murphy ran his fastball up to 94 mph, but scouts were more impressed with the spin characteristics of the offering, with impressive life that allowed it to play up even more. Murphy also threw a slider around 80 mph and flashed an 84 mph changeup.

Nolan Nawrocki, SS, Chaminade HS, Mineola, N.Y.
Travel Team: MVP Beast 2022
Commitment: Michigan

Nawrocki had a standout game against Knights Knation on day three of Jupiter, going 2-for-2 with a pair of hard-hit singles and an intentional walk. Listed at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Nawrocki is lean and strong, with impressive physicality currently. In addition to driving the ball well with a strong righthanded swing, Nawrocki covered an impressive amount of ground defensively at shortstop, showing range up the middle, where he made several difficult defensive plays and showed off an above-average arm from difficult angles. On top of his bat and glove work, Nawrocki looked like a solid-average or 55-grade runner in this look. For the tournament, he went 3-for-7 (.429) with three singles, two walks and a stolen base.

Jaden Noot, RHP, Sierra Canyon HS, Los Angeles
Travel Team: MLB Breakthrough Series 2022
Commitment: Louisiana State

Noot started the first game for a loaded MLB Breakthrough Series 2022 roster on Thursday and pitched four innings while striking out eight, walking none and allowing two hits and one unearned run.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 235 pounds, Noot has a solid, filled-out frame. He throws with a loose and easy delivery from a three-quarter arm slot with a short arm action. Noot touched 95 mph early in the outing, and was sitting in the 89-92 mph range with his fastball in the final frame he threw. He spotted the pitch well throughout and generated lots of whiffs with it up in the zone.

Noot also threw a breaking ball in the upper 70s that showed slider shape at times with good finish and late tilt, and a second breaking ball with more top-to-bottom shape. With the latter pitch he casted and slowed down his arm speed. Noot threw his changeup in the 78-82 mph range.

What stood out more than any velocity or performance was simply the looseness to his operation and solid feel for spotting his entire repertoire of offerings.

Dillon Orr, RHP, Shadow Ridge HS, Surprise, Ariz.
Travel Team: 3N2 Sticks Baseball – Brewster
Commitment: Tennessee

Orr followed Wood in relief on day two against the Boston Red Sox Scout Team. He pitched four no-hit, shutout innings and struck out a pair of batters while throwing 71% of his 39 pitches for strikes.

Listed at 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Orr pitched from the third base side of the rubber and showed a loose arm that featured some dangling action in the back. He threw from a three-quarter slot and had a bit of coil and tilt in his delivery, as well as a slight crossfire landing.

Orr showed a solid three-pitch mix and good control of his fastball/breaking ball combination. His heater touched 92 mph, his breaking ball was in the mid 70s and he also flashed a slow changeup around 72 mph. Orr’s breaking ball showed decent spin, but broke early and humped out of his hand at times, with a slurvy look on occasion with average depth and bite. His changeup showed solid fading life, but he also slowed his arm speed down when he threw it.

Ethan Petry, 3B, Cypress Creek HS, Orlando, Fla.
Travel Team: Ostingers Baseball Academy 2022
Commitment: South Carolina

Petry was the three-hole hitter for the WWBA champions, and while he went just 5-for-20 (.250) with a pair of doubles and a triple, opposing teams still feared him enough to put him on intentionally in key situations and he regularly made loud contact—even if many of his batted balls were hit right at defenders. Petry has a lot of strength in a large, 6-foot-4, 220-pound frame and has solid power potential thanks to that physicality. He’s got a lot of moving parts in his swing, with a sizable leg kick, a small hand hitch in his load and a bit of movement with his head throughout the swing that could create timing issues at the next level. He’ll need to hit for impact to profile well, as he’s a below-average runner with an awkward gait and limited range both side to side and moving in on balls at third base. Petry does have above-average arm strength, but was caught in awkward positions on balls hit down the line to his back hand that he struggled to field cleanly, or otherwise struggled to create good angles to first base with footwork that needs improvement.

Oliver Santos, LHP, Orange (Calif.) Lutheran
Travel Team: BPA
Commitment: Duke

Santos toed the rubber for BPA against a solid Canes Prospect team on day two, tossing five innings and allowing three hits and one run, while striking out nine batters and walking none. A 6-foot-4, 210-pound lefthander, Santos works out of a deliberate windup, with a bit of length and depth in his arm stroke, but a fairly easy delivery overall and solid command of a four-pitch mix.

He touched 93 mph early in the outing but sat around 90-91 for the most part, while also showing two distinct breaking balls and a firm, upper-80s changeup with fading action to the arm side.

His primary breaking ball was a slider in the 78-80 mph range that showed solid tilt and three-quarters shape. The pitch hung up at times and looked below-average later in the outing but at best it was a solid-average secondary with 2,100 rpm spin. Santos also broke out a lower-70s curveball that he struggled to get on top of consistently, and for now his more firm breaking ball is his better spin offering.

For the most part, Santos showed solid control of his entire repertoire, landing his breaking stuff in the zone and elevating his fastball for whiffs. He worked three straight 1-2-3 innings to start his outing and finished with 73 total pitches and 71% strikes.

Javier Santos Tejada, RHP, Georgia Premier Academy, Statesboro, Ga.
Travel Team: Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team
Commitment: Northwest Florida State JC

Tejada has been a late-rising name in the 2022 class and has shown a premium fastball multiple times in the last few weeks, first at the Minority Baseball Prospects All-American Games in Miami, and then during Jupiter for the Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team. Santos Tejada attends the same Georgia Premier Academy program that produced Indians rightander Daniel Espino, and in Jupiter he ran his fastball up to 97 mph, sat in the 92-95 mph range and flashed a solid breaking ball in the low 80s, with spin rates around 2,600 rpm. Control has been a consistent issue for Tejada and in this outing he needed 55 pitches to get through two innings, with just 41% of his pitches going for strikes. He struck out five and walked four, allowing one hit and one run in the process. There’s certainly refinement needed here, but there’s no doubting his raw arm talent potential upside.

Luke Schmolke, RHP, Lake Norman HS, Mooresville, N.C.
Travel Team: Canes National/New York Mets Scout Team
Commitment: Georgia Tech

Schmolke threw one inning of relief for Canes National on Friday night against Hawaii Elite, and while he did give up a hit and two runs, showed the arm strength and velocity that have scouts intrigued. He ran his fastball up to 95 mph and sat in the low 90s. Scouts have also seen his 12-6 curveball as a plus pitch in the past, but in this outing he didn’t show the best feel for the offering, and left it up in the zone where it was hittable. Schmolke has a filled-out frame and throws with a very lengthy arm action that’s straight and extended in the back. That arm action, combined with a high-effort delivery, will lead many scouts to put reliever tags on him in the future, but he has two potential plus offerings to work with.

AJ Shepard, C, Patriot HS, Nokesville, Va.
Travel Team: Canes National/New York Mets Scout Team
Commitment: Indiana

Shepard was one of the more consistent bats for a talent-heavy Canes National Team and went 6-for-13 with a triple, a double and a pair of walks. Shepard created plenty of hard contact during the event, and is built with a strong and stereotypical catcher’s frame. He’s listed at 5-foot-11, 205 pounds and is thick and strong in both his upper and lower half, with sloped shoulders and short arms that might allow him to be more consistent offensively, with more than enough wrist and forearm strength to do damage on contact. Currently he’s shown plenty of in-game power to left field.

Luke Smith, OF, Texas HS, Texarkana, Texas
Travel Team: Rawlings National Scout Team
Commitment: Uncommitted

Smith is an uncommitted outfielder out of Texas, listed at 6-foot, 175 pounds who showed solid feel for the barrel from the left side, with a bit of pop to his pull side as well. For the tournament, Smith went 6-for-15 (.400) with four singles and two triples—one of which came against an 87 mph fastball and was driven to the right field warning track. Smith did show swing-and-miss tendencies in BA’s brief look, getting out in front on a pair of pitches, but he adjusted well within the at-bat and has a fairly clean lefthanded stroke.

Tommy Specht, OF, Wahlert HS, Dubuque, Iowa
Travel Team: Reds Scout Team
Commitment: Kentucky

A 6-foot-3, 190-pound outfielder committed to Kentucky, Specht impressed with a smooth and powerful lefthanded swing during Jupiter, going 4-for-11 (.364) with four singles, a pair of walks and several hard hit balls that won’t show up in the box score. Specht has a simple, repeatable swing in the box, with a wide and slightly bow-legged setup, quiet hands with minimal pre-pitch movement around his back shoulder, a small leg kick to get started and a quick, slightly uphill swing plane. Specht expanded the zone on a few occasions on low pitches, but showed a good ability to get extended and drive pitches with solid pop to center and the pull-side gap. His lower half is fairly filled-out now, though he likely has more room to add weight, and he looks like a solid or fringe-average runner underway who could back up in the future as he adds more strength and power.

Kassius Thomas, RHP, Sierra Canyon HS, Los Angeles
Travel Team: MLB Breakthrough Series 2022
Commitment: Duke

Thomas showed solid strokes and a three-pitch mix during a two-inning relief appearance for MLB Breakthrough Series on day four. He ran his fastball up to 93 at best, but worked mostly in the 89-92 mph range, while also throwing a 70-75 mph curveball with 11-to-5 shape and impressive depth and a straight change at 84 mph that he threw with fastball arm speed. Thomas worked out of a deliberate tempo windup, with ease and fluidity, long arm hooking action in the back of his arm stroke, a three-quarter slot and an in-line, direct finish to the plate. While none of his offerings looked above-average in this outing, his feel for the zone and mixing pitches allowed everything to play up.

Aidan Weaver, RHP, Central Bucks East HS, Doylestown, Pa.
Travel Team: Boston Red Sox Scout Team
Commitment: Duke

Weaver threw three innings on day two of Jupiter, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out three and walking three. Weaver, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound righthander, has a tall and lean frame that still has physical projection remaining and showed a fastball that was up to 94 mph.

The pitch was easily his best offering in this outing, and at his best he showed solid control with it, but a lack of feel for his secondaries meant hitters started sitting on the pitch, and once his fastball command wavered the outing unraveled a bit on him.

Weaver also threw a low-80s slider and a changeup in the mid 80s, but in this look he struggled to land both secondaries for strikes, missing to his arm side with the changeup and putting the breaking ball in the dirt and below the zone frequently.

Weaver has a stiffer operation, with a short arm action and three-quarter arm slot. He finishes with a slight crossfire landing, but has a heavy open toe position that some scouts are wary of, though he adds deception with a slight shoulder tuck and hip turn in his leg lift.

Gage Wood, RHP, Batesville (Ark.) HS
Travel Team: 3N2 Sticks Baseball – Brewster
Commitment: Arkansas

Wood started for 3N2 Sticks on day two of Jupiter, throwing three innings and allowing three hits and two runs, while striking out six and walking two.

A 6-foot-1, 190-pound Arkansas commit, Wood has an average frame and throws with some effort and recoil, but showed impressive feel to spin a good curveball.

The pitch was in the 76-80 mph range and featured three-quarter shape, solid depth and finish and sharp two-plane break at its best. It was a real chase pitch that generated plenty of ugly swings out of the zone and in the dirt.

When he was locating his fastball in the zone, opposing hitters were kept off-balance, but he did struggle with scattered fastball control and when he was missing it was easier for hitters to stay off the breaking ball. Wood touched 93 and averaged 90 with his fastball in this outing.

Cole Young, SS, North Allegheny HS, Wexford, Pa.
Travel Team: Canes National/New York Mets Scout Team
Commitment: Duke

After being one of the more impressive hitters at the Area Code Games this summer, Young didn’t stand out too much offensively in Jupiter. He went 3-for-11 (.273) with three singles, but continued to show the plate discipline, pitch recognition and two-strike approach that scouts have come to admire about the Pennsylvania shortstop. He gets on plane well and has a fluid and loose lefthanded swing, with a willingness and ability to use the entire field. While it wasn’t a standout performance for him, scouts still think he can be a plus hitter from the left side while handling all of the routine plays at shortstop.