Tue January 8, 2019
Welcome back to another season of Prep Baseball Report - New York’s "Headed North", where we select members to discuss, highlight, and point out what is to be seen this coming spring and summer at the ball park. The previous two seasons, we highlighted three student-athletes in each article. For our 2019 editions, we will highlight a single student-athlete to keep an eye on throughout the spring and summer as they have recently climbed in our latest rankings.
Now that the calendar reads January - it is almost that time. With winter workouts continuing and the start of the 2019 season not far away, be sure to keep checking in with Prep Baseball Reports upcoming events and coverage throughout the whole high school and summer seasons. As for this first edition, keep an eye on Brandon Ortiz and his Warwick High School squad as we enter 2019. Overall he is a strong talented player with a high ceiling. For everyone else, keep working hard - you never know who is watching.
Upcoming Events
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| Super 60 Pro Showcase | NATIONAL | 02/03 | The Max |
| Preseason All State - Central/Southern Tier | NY | 02/15 | 434 Sportsplex |
| Preseason All-State - West | NY | 02/18 | Pinnacle Athletic Campus |
| Preseason All-State - Downstate | NY | 02/20 | House of Sports |
| Preseason All-State - East | NY | 02/21 | All-Stars Academy |
| Preseason All-State - Long Island/NYC | NY | 02/22 | Long Island Sports Complex |
| Preseason All-State - Hudson Valley | NY | 02/23 | SUNY Sullivan / Paul Gerry Fieldhouse |
| Junior NYS Games Trials | NY | 02/24 | SUNY Sullivan / Paul Gerry Fieldhouse |
| Northeast JUCO Day - Upstate NY | NY | 06/04 | Gutchess Lumber Complex |
| Northeast JUCO Day - Downstate NY | NY | 06/05 | Dutchess Stadium |
Climbing the rankings
Previous Ranking: 70th
Current Ranking: 50th
Base Camp
Currently in the PBR NY rankings, Ortiz sits 50th Overall with being 12th overall as a Middle Infielder. Offensively Ortiz shows the ability to hit to all fields with a short, compact swing. He covers the plate well with an athletic stance. Ortiz has the ability to drive the ball to the gap and run which makes him viable threat anytime he enters the batter’s box. Defensively Ortiz shows quick athletic footwork to the ball with good hand eye coordination. He has smooth glove work into his body with a quick transfer showing the ability to get the ball up and out throughout a variety of arm angles. Overall defensively, Ortiz shows shows the ability to play both multiple positions in the infield.
The Ascent
Ortiz has shown consistent improvement in exit velocity over the course of his PBR attended events. Ortiz is quick on his feet with posted best times of 4.00 Home to 1st, and a 6.95 60-yard dash. His positional arm velocity best is recorded at 84 MPH set at the 2018 PBR NYS Games which has consistently increased over the course of his attended PBR Events. Ortiz has started to separate himself from other middle infielders with his ability to drive the ball to his pull side.
Reaching the summit
"In order to continue to work his way up through the PBR-NY rankings we'd like to see him drive the ball to right center as well which would open up his game to additional doubles/triples. Although his arm is strong, a consistent release and continuing to improve his accuracy will allow him to continue to climb the rankings."
PLAYER COMPARISON*
2018 MIF David Stirpe (Hilton '18 / Messiah College Freshman)
*Note: Many times coaches will ask our staff "Who does he remind you of?" Player "comps" are a popular tool in the scouting/recruiting world and we have decided to add that niche to our feature articles. Sometimes it's within the physical build, the numbers, the actions or a combination of all three.