Hall Overcomes Slow Start At Tournament of Stars

CARY, N.C.—At Houston County High (Warner Robins, Ga.), D.L. Hall has long been known as a slow starter.

The 6-foot-1 lefthander would often struggle to find his way in the first inning, but by the second he would find the feel for his downward-breaking curveball and his 88-93 mph fastball would get sharper. By the time he’d reached the bottom of the other team’s lineup for the first time, Houston County coach Jason Brett knew that the game was in good hands.

As Brett explained, the Bears eventually figured out that Hall needed a longer bullpen session than most pitchers before the game. If he could effectively get his first-inning issues out of the way when it was only him, his catcher and a coach in the bullpen, he’d be set for the rest of the day.

When Hall took the mound to start the first game of the Tournament of Stars at USA Baseball’s National Training Complex, his normal pattern started to play out. In the first inning, his curveball was slower and loopier than normal and he struggled with fastball control.

But after dodging and weaving through a 22-pitch first inning (that wasn’t helped by an error), Hall found his curveball and cruised through his final two innings. The Florida State commit ended up striking out five in three hitless, walkess, scoreless innings as he helped Brave beat Free 7-5.

“Once you settle into the game. In the third/fourth innings you figure it out more and the curveball gets sharper and sharper,” Hall said.

Hall’s outing was one of the most impressive ones of the first day of the tournament, which is used to select players for the USA Baseball 18-and-under national team. He showed plenty of velocity, but it’s his curveball that stands out. After beginning with a loopy 72-73 mph breaker, Hall quickly found the feel on it, turning it into a harder 77-79 mph downer curveball that has potential to be a plus offering according to scouts.

Making Hall’s outing even better was his developing feel for his changeup.

“My changeup was sharp today for me, that’s big for me,” Hall said. “The biggest thing is working on the command of my changeup. Today I got a couple of strikeouts with it. It’s just a matter of feeling comfortable with it. Here lately I’ve grown to trust it more.”

Hall is an athlete with plenty of fast-twitch athleticism. He also starts for Houston County’s basketball team, scoring 20-plus points on a regular basis. As Brett explained, Hall dunks with ease.

Last year, Hall was one of three aces on Houston County’s Georgia 5A state champs. Seniors Tony Locey (a Georgia signee) and 5A state player of the year Tanner Hall (an Armstrong State (Ga.) University signee) joined D.L. Hall, then a junior, in a three-headed rotation that proved unbeatable in the playoffs. This upcoming year D.L. Hall will be the clear ace.

That combination of athleticism, a relatively clean delivery, a quality fastball and that breaking ball make Hall one of the more interesting members of the 2017 high school draft class. Especially if he figures out how to handle the first inning as well as the later ones.