2016 NHSI: Day One Notebook

The field of talent at this year’s National High School Invitational is excellent, with several of the top high school teams in the country and many elite prospects attending the event. The event kicked off on Wednesday morning, and the talent did not disappoint.

A Pitching Duel Of Duality

The marquee pitching matchup of the event took place during the 11 a.m. game, when Florence (Ala.) High took on Liberty Christian Academy (Lynchburg, Va.). Florence used lefthander Braxton Garrett against Liberty Christian righthander Zack Hess. The two pitchers dueled for eight innings, with Garrett coming out on top.

Garrett showed off a clean, repeatable delivery as he cruised through eight scoreless innings. The southpaw has a clean arm action with a slight wrap in the back, and he found his three-quarters arm slot consistently, throwing all three of his pitches with the same release. Garrett has a well-coordinated leg lift as he centers himself over the rubber, and he lands online toward home plate, with his torso consistently getting over his front side.

The Vanderbilt commit showed the ability to pound the bottom of the strike zone, locating his 88-91 mph fastball to both corners throughout the outing. Garrett’s fastball peaked at 92, and he held his velocity for all eight innings. He was also consistently on top of his tight-spinning curveball, which showed bite and depth all game long. Garrett’s changeup was also excellent, sitting mostly at 82-84 with fading action as he located it down and to both sides of the plate.

Garrett has been strong out of the gate this spring, and his 11-strikeout performance at NHSI could drive him even further up draft boards. He ranked as the No. 35 prospect in Baseball America’s most recent draft rankings, and his strong start this spring, coupled with the limited number of polished lefthanded pitching options could put him in first round consideration.

Hess also showed intriguing stuff, but he gets to it very differently than Garrett does. The Louisiana State commit has an athletic delivery, with a quick-twitch leg lift and stride, and he shows plus arm speed when throwing his fastball. Hess’ fastball sat at 89-91 for most of the game, touching 93 once in the first and touching 92 in the third. Hess has shown better velocity in short stints in the past, touching 94 at the Area Code Games and bumping 95 at East Coast Pro.

Hess brings his hands close to his face, and his hands break just as he begins to drive his hips forward. There’s a slight wrap in the back of his arm action before he fires through a slightly lower three-quarters arm slot. His arm fires across his body and recoils, and his head snaps as he finishes, a mechanism that scouts usually associate with bullpen arms.

While Hess’ effortful delivery looks the same as it did during last summer’s showcase circuit, his breaking ball had more consistent top-to-bottom shape than it had in the summer, when it showed more 10-to-4 sweep. The pitch sat at 73-79, flashing tight spin and late diving action. At times on Wednesday the pitch spun with softer break, but at others it showed powerful break and two-plane break.

SoCal Studs Strut Their Stuff

Blake Rutherford is currently the top-ranked high school player in the 2016 class, checking in at No. 3 in Baseball America’s most recent rankings. During batting practice on Wednesday morning, Rutherford showed off his loose swing and line drive approach, peppering both gaps. He showed fringy arm strength in an infield/outfield session prior to Chaminade Prep’s victory over Flanagan High.

Hitting in the leadoff spot, Rutherford went 2-for-3 in the game, hitting a hard ground ball through the right side in his first at-bat and smacking a line drive to right field in his second trip to the plate. Rutherford was hit by a pitch in his third plate appearance. In his fourth, Rutherford swung and missed at a curveball to start the count before eventually getting underneath a 1-2 fastball on the outer half for a flyout.

Mater Dei center fielder Josh Stephen had a tremendous day at the plate. The Southern California commit is one of the better pure hitters in this year’s prep class, able to generate good bat speed from a compact stroke. Stephen went 4-for-4 in Mater Dei’s loss to The First Academy.

In his first at-bat, Stephen punched a fly ball to left field for a single. In his second and third plate appearances, Stephen ripped two doubles off the wall in right field. In the sixth inning, with his team trailing 4-2, Stephen smacked a three-run home run over the wall in right field. His bat should be heavily monitored in the coming days.

Stephen stood out at the Arizona Senior Fall Classic last October. While he plays center field now, it is unclear that he will stay at the position long term. He ran the 60-yard dash in 6.94 seconds at the Perfect Game National Showcase last June, and at the Fall Classic he posted run times from the lefthanded batters box to home in the neighborhood of 4.35 seconds, making him a slightly below average runner.

2017 Arms Impress

Huntington Beach (Calif.) High sent junior righthander Hagen Danner to the mound against Poly Prep (New York) righthander Nicholas Storz. Both pitchers also batted in the cleanup spot.

Danner, who struck out 13 in a complete game shutout at last year’s NHSI, showed promising stuff in Wednesday’s outing. His fastball sat at 88-91, and his curveball flashed late 12-to-6 dive. Danner’s command came and went throughout the outing, and he walked five batters over 5 2/3 innings. Danner is no stranger to pitching in front of scouts; he played for the 18U National team last summer and pitched at the Area Code Games, where he worked 90-93 and showed off a hammer breaking ball. He is committed to UCLA.

Storz has a chiseled frame with wide, square shoulders and a thick lower half. There is some effort to his delivery, but he showed potential with two pitches. The Louisiana State commit pitched mostly at 86-89 with his fastball, but he touched 92 in the first inning. His breaking ball often backed up and hung up in the zone, but at times it showed tight spin and darting action down and to his glove side. Storz was not consistently getting over his front side, and missed up in the strike zone often, but he has the raw materials to develop into a prospect as he matures.