Quick Hitters: Dirtbag Pitchers
May 18, 2023
PBR of North Carolina was on hand at Southern Alamance High in Graham, NC on Saturday May 13th for a Scout Day with the Dirtbags Organization. The scout day featured players from the 2024-2027 grad classes.
The day began with catchers going through a defensive evaluation, followed by pitcher throwing a bullpen with Trackman collecting ball flight analytics. After the pitchers, position players ran a laser timed 60 followed by BP on the field Trackman gathering ball flight data on each hitter. The day concluded with outfielders and infielders going through a defensive evaluation.
Below we begin our breakdown of the players in attendance. Look for more stories to follow in the days ahead.
Click Here for full roster and stats.
Quick Hitters
Maddax Brown, RHP, Smithfield HS, 2024
Length present at 6-foot-2, 190 pounds. Long arm action. Elbow works above the shoulder line. Easy through the high-¾ release. Whippy arm with a slight cross fire in his foot-strike. Fastball at 80-82, 2167rpm. Average ride with some arm side movement. Top to bottom action on the curveball at 71-74. Hard with depth.
RJ Browning, RHP, Topsail HS, 2027
Intriguing young athlete with a lot of potential ahead. Athletic frame. Stands 5-foot-9, 145 pounds. Fastball up to 82, 2136rpm with solid ride through the zone. Showed feel for three pitches in the zone. Solid arm speed on the change-up. Short arm action, easily loading the scapular in a natural action. Over-the-top, loose, with good arm speed.
William Leahy, LHP, Heritage HS, 2025
Average frame. Athletic. Stands 5-foot-10, 150 pounds. Fastball ranged 80-82, 2167rpm with average ride and run. Run out of the hand. Good feel for the arm side with the fastball. Hard, sweeping slider at 68-70, 2059rpm. Flashed advanced feel for slider and change-up giving him three pitches to attack the zone, and hitter with. Long, athletic arm action. ¾ slot. Average to above arm speed.
Max Luzarraga, RHP, Weddington HS, 2025
Wiry and long at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds. Long arm swing, working level and on-line. Slow arm path working to a quick hand through an over-the-top slot. Pounded the down zone. Good angle on the fastball and change-up. Good arm speed. Fastball has advanced ride at 86-89, spinning up to 2470rpm. 1:00 spin tilt at release. Pounded the zone consistently with the fastball. Short, top to bottom breaking ball at 75-78, 2484rpm. Good arm speed. Misses were elevated and to the arm side with his spin pitch.
Kayden McGlauflin, RHP, Weddington HS, 2026
Lean 6-foot, 170 pounds. Room to continue to add strength. Strong arm with average ride at 85-87, 2222rpm. Elevated throughout, flashed an ability to hit the down zone later in the bullpen. Good feel for the change-up with solid arm speed and run out of the hand at 78-80. Breaking ball is still developing, spinning up to 2394rpm. Short arm action, working to load the scapular. Arm strength over arm speed. Over-the-top slot.
James Sawyer, RHP, DH Conley HS, 2025
East Carolina commit. Athletic at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds. Showed an ability to move the baseball and create deception with pitch shape. Fastball at 84-86, 2501rpm. Just average ride and playing true, metrics suggest there is a high ceiling to what the fastball could become. Slider has out pitch potential at 69-73, Long arm swing, slightly plunging out of the glove working to a high-¾ slot. Good arm speed. Athletic through release. Strike thrower.
Owen Simmons, RHP, JH Rose HS, 2025
Strength and athleticism present at 5-foot-10, 180 pounds. Multiple slot guy working from a slightly exaggerated over-the-top slot and a ¾ slot. Good arm speed through both. Fastball peaked at 89, 2273rpm, playing true with solid ride. Slider from the lower slot has 10/4 tilt. Harder, top slotted, curveball has late depth at 73-76, spinning up to 2347rpm. Raw but stuff should give hitters fits at this level and translate to outs as he continues to mature and move up in levels.
Camden Spangler, RHP, Northside HS, 2027
Average frame. 5-foot-11, 145 pounds. Fastball peaked at 79, 1878rpm. Average ride, playing true with a 1:00 spin tilt out of the hand. Downer breaking ball with 11/5 tilt at 65-68, 1931rpm. Solid feel for the fastball and breaking ball. Simple delivery. Short strider. On-line. Loose arm through an over-the-top slot. Solid arm speed.
Matthew Aldridge, LHP, JH Rose HS, 2025
Physical presence at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds. Average to high kick, kicking out as he works to an on-line landing. Some pelvic tilt up and a high front side. Long arm swing to an over-the-top slot. Strong arm with solid arm speed. Fastball at 83-86, 2000rpm. Some ride, playing true through the zone. 11:15 spin tilt at release. Hard, downer breaking ball at 70-72, 2021rpm. Better feel for glove side with fastball and breaking ball. Erratic at times. Raw but stuff has a high ceiling.