2019 Perfect Game WWBA: Day 3 Notebook

Day 2 Jupiter Notebook

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Masyn Winn | SS/RHP | Kingwood (Texas) HS
Committed: Arkansas
Travel Ball Team: Rawlings National Scout Team – Stix 

A 5-foot-11, 180-pound two-way player out of Texas, Winn had one of the loudest Jupiter performances in recent memory Saturday afternoon. 

The Arkansas commit got the start for Rawlings National Scout Team – Stix and showed arguably the best pure stuff of any pitcher at the tournament. Winn got his fastball up to 98 mph and sat around the 95 mph range throughout his entire three-inning outing, racking up five strikeouts and just one walk—he allowed no hits. 

Winn lived up in the zone with his fastball, but intentionally so, and completely overpowered opposing batters in the process. In addition to his fastball, Winn threw a curveball that was consistently an above-average offering and flashed plus, and also threw a changeup that looked like a plus pitch as well. Scouts high on him could have realistically graded him out with a future 70 fastball, 60 curveball and 60 changeup (on the 20-80 scouting scale).

That sort of stuff on its own would turn heads and get attention, but Winn also did a tremendous job out of the righthanded batter’s box, going 3-for-4 with a home run, triple and single. All of Winn’s hits came with exit velocities that were 95 mph or greater.

He excelled in every way imaginable Saturday, and radically boosted his draft stock in the process. While Winn has obvious two-way talent, his upside seems higher on the mound at this point, and scouts were raving about the stuff he showed in this outing, which puts him squarely in the mix alongside other power-armed, but smaller high school righthanders like Jared Jones and Alejandro Rosario.

Isaiah Greene | OF | Corona (Calif.) HS
Committed: Missouri
Travel Ball Team: GBG Marucci 2020 Navy

Greene saw his draft stock soar late this summer when he hit at a high level against USA Baseball’s 18U National Team, and has one of the better hit tools of the prep class. He showed that Saturday afternoon, by going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles against Team Mizuno Puerto Rico. 

Greene—a 6-foot-1, 180-pound lefthanded hitter recently committed to Missouri—has a simple, quiet setup at the plate. He starts crouched with a slightly wide, but even stance at the plate with minimal pre-pitch movement that gives him a smooth, fluid swing. It’s a minimal setup that lets his hands work and prevents him from getting out of sync—though he didn’t face impressive velocity or secondary offerings in this look.

Greene’s first hit came against an 82 mph fastball, which he lined softly into right-center for a single, before showing solid baserunning instincts and advancing to second on a long throw from the outfield. In his second at-bat, Greene got down in an 0-2 count, fouled off a pair of pitches to stay alive and eventually chased an offspeed pitch low and away out of the zone for a strikeout. He rebounded in his third at-bat, driving another line drive into right-center for his second hit of the day.

Greene played left field in this outing—though he has the running ability to handle center—and while he wasn’t challenged with much more than a few routine balls, he did have one nice jump on a fly ball in shallow left that he tracked down with no issues.

Cade Udell | RHP | Lake Mary (Fla.) HS
Committed: Duke
Travel Ball Team: Scorpions Founders Club

Udell entered in relief for the Scorpions Saturday afternoon, and a flock of scouts quickly assembled to see what the 6-foot-5, 225-pound righthander had to offer.

What he showed was a quick, efficient inning as the Florida product struck out the side and showed an impressive fastball/slider combination. Udell opened up with a 91-93 mph fastball in the first and used that to finish two of his three strikeouts in the frame. 

He paired the pitch with a 79 mph slider that got several whiffs below the zone and in the dirt. It looks like a solid out-pitch already. 

Udell did show one 83-mph changeup, but didn’t have much feel for the pitch as his arm flew out and the ball sailed to the backstop. 

For now, the Duke commit has an exciting two-pitch mix and physical frame, throwing from a low, three-quarter arm slot with some hooking action in the back and crossfire in his land.

Udell is sure to get plenty of looks next spring, thanks to his own talent and the fact that he’s teammates with Dylan Crews, who is a potential first round talent.

Charlie Saum | C | Thousand Oaks (Calif.) HS
Committed: Stanford (Class of 2021)
Travel Ball Team: GBG Marucci 2020 Navy

Saum showed some solid defensive chops Saturday morning, particularly in regards to his blocking ability. Handling a pitcher who went to a curveball with solid depth consistently, Saum did a nice job moving laterally and getting down to keep the ball in front of him and prevent runners from advancing. He didn’t have many opportunities to throw in Baseball America’s look, but his movement behind the plate alone was an encouraging sign for his defensive prowess in the future.

He’s currently ranked No. 45 on our 2021 high school rankings.

Tyler Collins | OF | Boyd HS, McKinney, Texas
Committed: Oklahoma State (Class of 2021)
Travel Ball Team: Dallas Tigers

Collins—the No. 96 player on our 2021 high school ranking—went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout against a strong Giants Scout Team – FTB club Saturday afternoon, but showed game-changing speed and some pop in the process. 

After drawing a leadoff walk to start the game, Collins quickly stole both second and third base and looks like an easy plus runner, if not better. In his second at-bat, Collins smoked a line drive to deep center field that would have been a standup triple if not for an excellent jump and running catch from center fielder Brandon Fields.

A 5-foot-10, 175-pound outfielder committed to Oklahoma State, Collins has shown good on-base skills in Jupiter, with four walks and a .545 on-base percentage through three games, allowing him to make the most of his running ability. He has four stolen bases, which is tied with a handful of players for the second-most in the tournament through three days.

Mario Zabala | OF | International Baseball Academy, Ceiba, P.R.
Committed: Florida International
Travel Ball Team: Giants Scout Team – FTB

Zabala has been an enigma for much of the scouting community this summer thanks to his standout toolset that includes above-average speed, raw power and arm strength but also very crude in-game skills. 

He showed some of the swing-and-miss that concerns scouts in his first at-bat against the Dallas Tigers, whiffing over a breaking ball for a strikeout, and didn’t get on top of a throw while in left field in one instance, letting the ball sail high and wide of his target at home plate. 

However in his second at-bat, he showed a glimpse of what it looks like when he’s able to make contact and allow his tools to play. He caught a pitch out front and drove a screaming ball to left field—a deep line drive that might have been caught with a better first-step from the left fielder—which came off his bat at 99 mph, per TrackMan, and gave Zabala a triple after he flew around the bases.

On the tournament, Zabala has done well for himself, going 4-for-6 with a triple, three singles and three walks.

Cole Foster | OF | Plano (Texas) Senior HS
Committed: Texas Christian
Travel Ball Team: Dallas Tigers

An athletic and physical switch-hitting shortstop out of Texas, Foster is similar to Zabala in that he has a frame to dream on and impressive raw tools, but some questions about the playability of those tools. 

After striking out in his first at-bat, Foster swung and missed twice in his second trip to the plate before smacking a double to deep right field from the left side of the plate. The contact was loud, and TrackMan had the ball coming off his bat at 105 mph, and the 6-foot, 185-pound TCU commit showed good running ability as well and got around first base in 4.40 seconds on his way to second.

With athletic bloodlines (his father played in the NFL) and some interesting power potential as a middle infielder, Foster is another member of an increasingly deep 2020 prep class to keep an eye on. 

Ryan Sonnier  | OF  | Peachtree Ridge HS, Lawrenceville, Ga.
Commitment: Florida A&M
Travel Ball Team: Ohio Warhawks

Sonnier went hitless in two at-bats and also drew a walk for the Ohio Warhawks in their 1-0 shutout over PG Navy Select on Saturday morning. He patrolled centerfield in the close game and showed glimpses as to how his tools could be impactful in the future.

Sonnier has a 6-foot-3, 180-pound frame that has plenty of room to add strength. He is athletic  and should project well as he matures with more strength. At the dish, Sonnier uses a slight crouch and shows off bat speed. His bat-to-ball was good on Saturday, showing a direct path to the strike zone. He is slightly closed with some pre-swing hand movement and good rhythm as he begins his swing. Sonnier uses a small leg lift as he starts his swing, and gets a bit of separation as he pulls back his hands before launching the barrel into the zone which should help him to develop more pop. His at-bats were controlled and showed confidence at the plate as well.

In the outfield, Sonnier takes good routes and is light on his feet as well. He shows feel for the outfield and should stick out there down the road.

Benjamin Wiegman | RHP | Carmel Catholic, Antioch, Illi.
Commitment: Louisville
Travel Ball Team: Reds Midwest Scout Team

Wiegman tossed four innings for the Reds Midwest Scout Team in their 5-3 victory over East Cobb Astros 18U. He allowed one unearned run on just one hit, but also walked three batters. Wiegman showed a good arm with an interesting angle that proved difficult for batters to deal with.

Wiegman is 6-foot-4, 215-pounds with a strong body. He is athletic on the mound with a bit of room left for projection to grow into. He works from a low three-quarters arm slot that features a small bit of cross-fire action toward home plate. This proves extremely difficult on righthanders, who had difficulty with his fastball from pitch one. He was able to consistently throw his fastball above the hitting zone and got plenty of swings and misses by expanding the zone. Wiegman has plus arm strength despite his sling-like delivery in which he doesn’t make the most of his legs at this point in time.

His fastball topped out at 90 mph, sitting more in the upper-80s. He worked best with it up in the zone and late in the count, as hitters couldn’t lay off of it. Against lefties he had to work inside before going to his breaking ball to put them away.

His primary breaking ball was a slider with good shape in the lower-80s. The pitch added another dimension to how he attacked hitters, as Wiegman could get them to expand the zone up with his fastball and down with his slider. He collected four strikeouts with his two-pitch mix even though his command was not consistent throughout the outing.

Carter Baumler | OF | Dowling Catholic, Grimes, IA
Commitment: TCU
Travel Ball Team: Reds Midwest Scout Team

Baumler collected two hits in three at-bats while also driving in a run and coming around to score once for the Reds Midwest Scout team on Saturday. He reached on an error in the second inning and laced an RBI-single in the third inning. Baumler followed that up with another base knock in the sixth inning.

Baumler is an athletic outfielder with strength but has more room for projection with his 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame. He has an athletic, wider stance at the plate, making the most of his strong lower half. Baumler’s bat speed really shined, as he made consistently loud contact thanks to his hands and sheer strength. He was under control at the plate, and showed feel for the barrel as well. Baumler’s swing has some natural loft to it and projects to have power as he matures.

In the outfield, he showed a good first step and above-average arm. His throws had natural carry and were accurate as well.

Alec Gonzalez | SS/3B | Marian Catholic, Flossmoor, Illi.
Commitment: Tennessee
Travel Ball Team: Padres Scout Team/ECB

Gonzalez had one hit in three at-bats for the Padres Scout Team/ECB in their 9-1 victory over D-Bat Elite 2020. The infielder showed athletic actions at the plate and also in the field, proving to be comfortable at both shortstop and third base. He toggled every other inning between shortstop and third base, switching off positions with his teammate Sebastian Murillo.

Gonzalez has a slightly wider-than-normal stance at the plate with a slight crouch. He doesn’t have much pre-swing hand movement, but is able to transfer his weight efficiently as he drops the barrel into the zone. Gonzalez generates good torque from his midsection and has a short, direct path to the ball which helps him to make contact. While he will grow into power, his hit tool should be high-contact as he matures. Gonzalez did chase a breaking ball out of the zone on occasion, but managed to make hard contact when he connected.

He is loose on the infield, showing good body control and a sound internal clock for the game. He moves well laterally and knows how to read ground balls properly. Gonzalez has a good arm and is able to throw on the run when necessary. His leadership skills showed on the field, as he was aggressive going after balls hit into the field of play.

Carter Brady | OF | Elev8 Sports Institute, Parkland, Fla.
Commitment: Charleston Southern
Travel Ball Team: US Elite 2020 National

Brady did go hitless in two at-bats, but managed to draw a walk and came around to score for US Elite 2020 National in their 5-4 loss against Banditos Scout Team 2020. While his stat line isn’t gaudy, Brady made his presence felt defensively and has plenty of tools on both sides of the ball.

Brady has a strong build at 6-foot-2, 198-pounds but is athletic and moves well in the outfield. He showed some bat speed thanks in part to his strong lower half. He uses a leg lift to get his swing going, but stepped in the bucket a few times and opened his hips too quickly. When he did get his swing under control, he showed some natural power and good loft when he made contact.

As an outfielder, Brady runs well under way. His arm looks average for the position and makes accurate throws. Brady made a highlight-reel catch late in the game, getting an excellent jump on a hard fly ball hit into the left center field gap. He got a good first step and took the proper route to catch up to the ball and recorded the out. His feel to play the outfield is apparent and looked confident throughout the game.

Christian Williams | LHP | Matthews HS, Port Haywood, Va.
Commitment: TCU
Travel Ball Team: US Elite 2020 National

Williams needed 84 pitches to navigate his way through 4 1/3 innings for the US Elite 2020 National team. The lefthander allowed seven hits in his four-plus frames, while walking two and striking out six along the way. While he did allow five earned runs, his ability far exceeded what his pitching line looked like.

Williams has an athletic pitchers body but has room for more projection. The 6-foot-1 lefthander works from a repeatable motion and a wider three-quarter arm slot. He has a shorter arm action in the back but is able to repeat his motion consistently.

The lefthander topped out at 90 mph with his fastball but sat comfortably in the mid-80s range. The pitch worked best when it was kept down, as batters routinely square it up when he left it up and to his arm side. His heater doesn’t have much angle due to his arm slot, but he was able to throw strikes with it inside to both lefties and righties.

His breaking ball stood out early on. Williams throws a slider in the upper-70s that has slurve-like shape with a short break on it. Hitters couldn’t pick up the spin, and routinely chased it as it dove out of the hitting zone. He has feel to spin the ball, and although the pitch did mimic a curveball at times, it was equally as effective when thrown off the fastball.

Williams also showed some feel for a changeup. It was a straight changeup and he threw the pitch sparingly. He didn’t slow his arm action down, and was able to induce some weak contact during the middle of at-bats with the offering.