Prep Baseball Report

Elite Prospect Showcase Analysis: Pitchers



By Greg Williams
Pennsylvania / West Virginia Director of Scouting

The 2016 Elite Prospect Showcase took place Saturday, October 29th at Keystone State Baseball Academy in Manheim, PA with nearly 70 prospects from four states displaying their skills. Today we continue our analysis of all prospects in attendance by reviewing those players who showcased as pitchers.

Note: pitchers that also participated as position players will be covered in a coming article looking at two-way prospects

FINAL MEASURABLES for all prospects in attendance

Top Performance

Jacob Marcus, 2018, RHP, Conestoga
5-foot-10, 155-pound junior raised his stock dramatically throwing the bullpen of the day. The righty sat 84-85 from a 3/4 arm slot with a hip coil delivery that leads to some arm-side run to his fastball. Marcus is long in back with a very quick arm that gives his fastball late life. A pair of quality secondary offerings give Marcus three pitches to work off with the potential to get outs. His slider shows tight rotation and late action at 72-74 out of the same arm slot as his fastball. Marcus also showed very good feel for a 79 mph changeup thrown at fastball arm speed. At its best the pitch showed significant arm-side run.




Matt BendaMatt Benda, 2018, RHP, New Hope-Solebury
Long limbed, 6-foot-3, 180-pound righty sat 77-80 from an over-the-top arm slot with an up-tempo, high-knee stack delivery. The junior was down in velocity from when we saw him during the spring in the low-to-mid 80s. Benda's changeup is sat 67-69 and was thrown at near-fastball arm speed with occasional cut. The junior's curveball showed 12/6 rotation and was commanded routinely down in the zone.

Aaron GrollerAaron Groller, 2019, LHP, Souderton Area
6-foot, 150-pounder continued to impress with a loose, easy, rhythmic delivery. The sophomore hides the baseball well with a high knee stack and a break of the hands at waist level. He sat 79-81 with his fastball that has some late fade. Groller's changeup/curveball off-speed combination are two advanced pitches that he routinely commands for strikes. The changeup is thrown with good sell at 75-76 with arm-side run and his slider has back knee breaking action to right-handed hitters at 70-72. His athletic frame has plenty of room to fill out with additional velocity likely in the coming years.

Dylan KinganDylan Kingan, 2018, RHP, Eden Christian
6-foot-3, 175-pound righty sat 75-76 from a 3/4 arm slot, down a few ticks from where he worked with his fastball this fall. Kingan has a long frame with room to fill out and continues to display a loose, fluid arm action with an up tempo delivery. The junior commanded three off-speed pitches for strikes including a 72 mph slider, a 71 mph changeup with some arm-side run and a 63 mph curveball with 11/5 rotation.

Dawson MagarDawson Magar, 2018, RHP, Donegal
6-foot, 170-pound right-hander with athletic frame has added several mph to his fastball since we last saw him in June. The junior sat 81-82 with some fade from a high 3/4 arm slot with a repeatable, easy delivery. Magar also commanded a 70 mph curveball with tight 11/5 rotation and an advanced changeup that sat 74-76 with some sink. With a pair of solid secondary pitches and a fastball that shows signs of additional velocity gains to come, Magar has positioned himself as a pitcher to watch in this class.

Shayne OstrowskyShayne Ostrowsky, 2019, LHP, Pennsbury
5-foot-10, 200-pound lefty sat 75-77 from a high 3/4 arm slot. The sophomore hides the baseball well incorporating some hip coil and a high lead elbow into his delivery. He compliments his fastball with a 69 mph curveball that has 1/7 rotation and a 74 mph changeup thrown at near fastball arm speed with occasional arm-side run. Additional velocity is likely if Ostrowsky adds strength and better incorporates his lower half into his delivery.

Jake PotheringJake Pothering, 2019, RHP, Schuylkill Haven Area
Physical, 6-foot-3, 210-pound righty has a simple, repeatable delivery with a quick arm. On this day his fastball sat 83-84 from a high 3/4 arm slot with arm-side run and some sink. The sophomore's curveball sits 62-64 with 11/5 rotation and shows signs of being an effective pitch if he continues to work on throwing it with better arm speed. Pothering sells his changeup well with fastball arm speed. The pitch sat 72-73 with some arm side run and comes out of the same arm slot as his fastball.

Blaise SclafaniBlaise Sclafani, 2018, RHP, Souderton Area
6-foot-5, 180-pound righty impressed again with a projectable frame and an up tempo delivery with plenty of moving parts that cause deception. The junior sat 80-84 from a 3/4 arm slot with the ability to command both sides of the plate. His 76 mph changeup shows some arm-side run and is thrown at fastball arm speed. Sclafani's signature pitch is an advance slider at 72-75 with tight, late break that he has been able to throw routinely for strikes in game action at several PBR events this summer and fall.

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