SoCal ProCase Spotlight: LHP Ben Jacobs

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San Juan Capistrano, Calif - Strikeout, strikeout, strikeout, strikeout, strikeout. Huntington Beach left-hander Ben Jacobs was absolutely dominant at the SoCal ProCase. Not only did he strikeout all five batters he faced but he did it against elite 2022 hitters in; Toussaint Bythewood (UCLA), Mikey Romero (LSU), Austin Overn (USC), Cooper Whitton and Ryan Ward (Arizona). If you had to choose one player from the SoCal ProCase to perform at the next level today, the choice is Jacobs. 

The Report

Body: 6-0, 185 pounds. Proportional build with a strong lower half. Developed leg strength with more to come bodes well for holding velocity three times through the order. Mature body movement with good upper and lower half alignment. Starting pitcher look and feel despite below-average major league pitcher’s height. Utilizes whole frame lowering injury concerns. 

Delivery: Makes it look easy with a smooth and consistent overall delivery. Showing rather sound mechanics making his rhythm and timing repeatable and sustainable. Utilizes his lower half well helping create drive and alignment towards home plate. Consistent release point and arm speed helps create his consistent velocity readings on his two-pitches.

FB: Jacob’s live at-bat throwing session provided 11 fastballs, with 8 of 11 for strikes, averaging 89.3 mph and topping out at 89.7 mph, with an average spin rate of 2151 (MLB average 2233) and a max spin rate of 2241. Induced vertical break of 21.0 (extreme ride, 93rd percentile) and horizontal break of -5.9 (low cut, 79th percentile). Fastball extension 6.3 (slightly-above, 64th percentile). Jacob’s VAA (vertical attack angle) of -4.2 (very flat, 93rd percentile) is very intriguing, with lots of statistics that show how effective his fastball can be. To summarize in laymans terms, his fastball is going to miss a lot of bats. 

With special help from the PBR Hop Score team, Jacob’s Hop Score is as follows:

Hop: 12.7

Hop+: 119.5

xHop: 11.17

xHop+: 105

The plus stats are set to the MLB average. xHop+/Hop+ of 100 is MLB average. So the Hop+ score of 119.5 means he has 19.5% more Hop than the average MLB fastball. Taking a closer look at MLB fastball hop leaders through April-May 2021 likens Jacob's hop score to Trevor Bauer of the Los Angeles Dodgers. 

Jacobs session was a small sample size of data to collect, meaning that his score could be inflated some but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see his true hop to stay over 12 with more pitch data gathered. 

CB: Jacob’s live at-bat session provided 10 curveballs, averaging 73.6 mph and topping out at 75.2 mph, with an average spin rate of 2464 (MLB average 2609) and a max spin rate of 2660. At times shows true 12/6 breaking action otherwise breaking with more survey 11.5 action. As Shooter Hunt put it “lots of swing and miss...ripping off some tight, multi tier CB’s” throughout his five hitter showing. Impressed with his command of the pitch, throwing the pitch early in the count for a strike and out of the strike zone when ahead in the count. 

Lights OUT performance from ‘22 LHP Ben Jacobs (CA) who struck out all 5 hitters that he faced.@UCIbsb recruit collected lots of swing and miss w/ 88-90 FB & ripping off some tight, multi-tier CB’s at 72-74

Impressive stuff from a player to take note of…@PBR_California pic.twitter.com/6UpJhFKTBo

— Shooter Hunt (@ShooterHunt) June 20, 2021

Major League Comp: Scott Kazmir 

Summary: Between Jacob’s on-field performance and impressive hop score there is a lot to be excited about. He passed the eye test with his five strikeouts and passed the hop score with a score that mirrors Trevor Bauer. The biggest remaining hurdles for Jacobs are his development of a third pitch and how much more velocity will he gain. He will need to develop a third pitch to be a starter at the pro level and will need to throw harder. Jacob’s analytics and mechanics point to him being able to do so but that is still in question. Overall and exciting pitcher with a bright future. 

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
Top Prospects ID	CA	07/07	Hart Park
Rising Stars Games ID	CA	07/13	Hart Park
Rising Stars Games ID - NorCal	CA	07/14	Islanders Field
California State Games (INVITE ONLY)	CA	07/16	Islanders Field
2021 PBR Future Games (California Invite)	CA	07/28	LakePoint Sports
PBR Junior Future Games	NATIONAL	07/28	LakePoint Sports
PBR West Coast Games (California Invite)	CA	08/13	UNLV & College of Southern Nevada
Northern California Academic Games	CA	10/09	Islanders Field

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