High School Crosscheck: Week 11

Tuesday night in Florida featured a premier showdown between IMG Academy, FL, and Montverde Academy, FL—pitting some of the state’s top pitchers against its top hitters. In the end, it was the pitchers that won out, as four of them between the two teams combined for 30 strikeouts in eight innings.

For Montverde, RHP Kerry Wright got the start. A Louisville recruit, he was working 90-93 mph, touching 94, with heavy, late action and a lot of down plane. He also showed a hard, improved slider early at 83-86 and induced a lot of swings and misses with it. Wright won’t turn 18 until September and has a high ceiling. There are some mechanical flaws to his delivery that should be corrected by his natural athleticism. His full arm swing gets to quality extension, allowing the fastball to get on top of hitters. As he learns to continue to leverage his strong lower half, the velocity should make big jumps. He also showed feel for a changeup at 77-79. He allowed two hits and two walks over five innings while striking out 11.