Prep Baseball Report

PBR Florida All-State HS 2nd Team Announced


Mike Maerz and PBR Florida Staff


With the conclusion of the high school baseball season last week, the PBR Florida staff has put together the All-State HS 2nd Team to highlight the list of players who helped lead their team throughout the season. Below is a list of the position players, pitchers, and two-ways who made the list along with their final stats for the season:

 

Caleb Roberts C / St. Thomas Aquinas, FL / 2018

 

.494, 53 RBIs, 6 HRs

02/23/18- North Carolina recruit. The catcher looks to have added lean muscle to his projectable frame. Still moves well with flexibility and athleticism behind the plate. Offensively the has a wide base with a compact swing. Power in the future. Showed ability to adjust and an advanced approach.

 

 

Coy Phillips 1B / Seven Rivers, FL / 2018

.435, 5 HRs, 38 RBIs, 14 SBs

 

 

 

Cory Acton MIF / American Heritage, FL / 2018

 

.443, 9 HRs, 40 RBIs 

03/10/18- Florida recruit.The stocky infielder was playing second base on the night. First time I have seen him there and it is intriguing There is some stiffness, but moves well enough and seems to have the range and ability to make all of the plays. Offensively, he was 2-4 with a walk and an RBI. He showed his above average hit tool on both single. Stays tall, stacked on the backside and trusts his hands. Shows above average bat speed and will have a chance for above average power.

 

 

Xavier Edwards MIF / North Broward Prep , FL / 2018

.406, 24 SBs, 43 Rs

 

 

 

Austin Knight MIF / Bolles, FL / 2018

 

.426, 26 RBIs, 8 HRs, 21 SBs

03/30/18- Tennessee recruit. Currently stands at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds with a projectable, athletic frame. Shows range and bounce in his step at short, fields the ball out in front, and makes a strong, accurate throw across the diamond. Drove a key two-run home run over the left-centerfield wall during the championship game in his first at-bat. Quick hands, level path through the zone. More power to come as he continues to fill out his frame.

 

 

Luis Ruiz MIF / Brito Miami, FL / 2019

 

.585, 26 RBIs, 21 SBs

Uncommitted, stands at 5-foot-11, 160 pounds. Defensively, he continued to show rhythm and above average hands defensivley. He has some present athleticism, may end up playing better at second, but should be an average to above average defender at the next level. Offensively, he conitues to improve and add strength. While he wil need to get stronger, he has present bat to ball skills and shows ability to stay on the barrel, which trasnlated to a single in the game. There are present tools and with added strength, should continue to improve.  

 

 

Triston Casas 3B / American Heritage, FL / 2018

 

.387, 34 RBIs, 7 HRs

03/10/18- Miami recruit. Played third on the night, also the first time I have seen him there. There is some stiffness and does not look overly comfortable there yet. Would be interesting to see later in the year, but most likely still profiles at first base. Offensively, he was 1-3 with a double, three RBIs and a pair of walks. He is balanced with a strong, wide base at the plate. There is some swing and miss, but he has an advanced approach. Showed the ability to drive the ball to the opposite field with a double to left. There is present strength and above average power with chance for above average hit.

 

 

Giovanni DiGiacomo OF / Canterbury, FL / 2018

 

.368, 6 HRs, 34 RBIs

6-foot-1, 175 pounds with a lean, projectable, athletic build. Displays accurate throws with carry along with quick feet and range from the outfield. At the plate shows some quick twitch with some loft in his swing that allows him to drive the ball with authority showing some pull-side pop. Aggressive runner, makes the turns. Continues to improve.

 

 

Robby Martin OF / Jefferson, FL / 2018

 

.453, 4 HRs, 24 RBIs, 32 Rs

Florida State recruit. Long, loose, projectable frame with plenty of room to fill out. Offensively, the left handed hitter has loose wrists and creates above average bat speed. He has a low hitch load, but when he’s on time he uses his long levers to generate power. You would like to see a less rushed load, so that he is on time more often. Even rushed at times, he shows above average bat to bal skills and has a lot of offensive upside. Had a double and a single during the games, both squared up. The bat, frame, athleticism and power potential will make him a high follow.

 

 

Bennett Shell OF / Pace, FL / 2018

 

.407, 37 RBIs, 6 HRs, 21 SBs

 

04/13/18- South Alabama recruit. The stocky center fielder showed his present strength in his first at-bat home run. The swing is short and compact and uses the lower half well. Walked a pair and finished 1-2, but shows a quality approach and the swing is consistently short

 

Christian Scott RHP / Calvary Christian Academy, FL / 2018

 

11-0, 84 Ks, 1.44 ERA

03/17/18- Florida recruit. Still, long lanky and thin, but has added muscle to the frame. Works from a high 3/4 arm slot with a full arm action. Command was scattered early and breaking ball wasn’t sharp. Made an adjustment in the third, ball had more life in the zone, was up to 93 and struck out the side. Curveball was also better. More slider/slurvy shape at 70-73. When extended, it is tight, with some late bite. Also threw and occasional changeup early at 76 mph. Projection in the frame and arm action, curveball could turn to more of a slider with harder and later action. High follow.

 

 

Landon Kennedy RHP / Trenton, FL / 2018

 

11-1, 80 Ks, 1.01 ERA

 

 

 

Ryan Cabarcas LHP / American Heritage, FL / 2019

 

11-1, 89 Ks, 2.05 ERA

03/10/18- Florida recruit. The lefty has added some strength, is undersized, but lower half is stronger. There is some length in the back, but still gets to a release point consistently. Works from a high 3/4 slot and the arm is quick with present hand speed. The fastball sat 86-89 mph and showed a feel for a curveball with tight spin and depth at times at 77-79 mph.

 

 

Raymond LaFleur III OF / LHP / J M Tate, FL / 2019

 

8-1 2.82 ERA / .307 7 HRs 27 RBIs

04/13/18- Ole Miss recruit. LaFleur would shine early for Tate High School. Striking out four in the first two innings, the left-hander has gotten much more comfortable on the mound. Featuring a fastball/slider combo, he showed a much improved feel for both pitches early. The arm action is clean and more compact, with the ball coming out of the hand in the same tunnel with tilt. The fstball worked 83-87 mph all evening while the slider ranged from 75-77 with two-plane tilt. The command would falter slightly in the third and fourth He would walk two and hit one in the third before allowing a run on a fielder’s choice and would allow a run on a pair of singles in the fourth. LaFleur struck out the nine hole hitter to end the fourth and would proceed to settle in and strike out 6 of the last eight hitter he faced, finishing with a final line of six innings pitched with two runs on three hits, three walks and striking out twelve.

 

Benjamin Specht RHP / Evangelical Christian, FL / 2018

 

4-2 1.19 ERA 106 Ks/ .403 5 HRs

Florida recruit. Fastball sat 90-91 mph with a 75-76 mph curveball and a 79-80 mph changeup. Struck out two in his two innings pitched. The arm is quick, but he tended to get separated late and did not get to extension. As he learns to get separated on time and work out in front with his fingers on top of the baseball, he should see some jumps in velocity and command as the arm is quick and he is athletic.

 

 

Pablo Garabitos OF / LHP / Lakewood Ranch, FL / 2018

 

11-1, .50 ERA, 103 Ks / .406, 21 RBIs, 10 SBs

USF recruit. The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder has a long limbed frame with elastic, athletic body.  Moves well with athletic strides, and showed off a long, loose arm from the outfield.  Looked the part, and the throws had some carry with accuracy.  Shows a lot of overall athleticism and moves well side to side. Projects as a solid corner outfielder who may be able to play centerfield too.  At the plate, hits from a balanced stance in a slight crouch with his hands held set back. He has loose wrists and a feel for the barrel from the left side. He stays in the zone well, but could generate more from the lower half. Showed pull side power in batting practice, but was more impressive gap-to-gap. This translated to the game where he went 2-5 with hard contact four out of the five at-bats. May have been more impressive and projectable on the mound where from a high 3/4 slot, he showed a loose, whippy arm action with a fastball that was up to 88 with arm side run to it, and created a downward plane. The fastball would sit at 86-88 mph and have some late sinking life and produce some swing and miss. Fastball velocity played up because of a near plus changeup that he featured at 77-78 mph. Also featured a 1/7 curveball at 72-73 mph that showed a quality shape with potential of a solid third pitch. Extremely athletic, but the arm may have high upside in the long run.

 

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