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PBR Mid-Atlantic Border Battle: LHP Analysis

July 26, 2014

By Greg Williams
PA Director of Scouting

The summer rush of PBR events in Pennsylvania and West Virginia kicked into high gear in June with the PA Top Prospect Games (June 17-18), Shenandoah Valley College Prospect Showcase (June 23) and the PA Underclass Games (June 24-25) all offering college coaches a glimpse at some 175 prospects in a short period of time.

The month of July has also been a busy one with the Western PA Open ID Showcase (July 8) and the Eastern PA Open ID Showcase (July 9) offering an additional 75 prospects the ability to showcase their talents.

Prospects from six states recently assembled at Harford Community College in Bel Air, Maryland for the PBR Mid-Atlantic Border Battle to complete the July schedule of events. Over the course of the next week we will be analyzing the prospects by position that made the trek to Maryland. Today we take a look at the left-handed pitchers in attendance.

- FINAL MEASURABLES for all prospects in attendance

Pbr mid-atlantic border Battle:
LHP analysis

top prospects


Brendan Cellucci2017 LHP Brendan Cellucci (William Penn Charter)

Cellucci is a 6-foot-3, 180-pound sophomore with projectable size and repeatable mechanics. The lefty utilizes an overhead rocker delivery with a high knee that adds deception to his fastball that topped at 81 mph. Cellucci mixed a 61 mph 1/7 breaking curveball and a 67 mph changeup effectively to face the minimum in his first three innings of work with three strikeouts. The highly ranked sophomore is athletic and is likely to see significant velocity gains as his frame continues to mature.

Cullen Dana2015 LHP/1B Cullen Dana (Don Boscoe Prep, NJ)

Dana is a 6-foot-5, 215-pound uncommitted senior with an effortless, repeatable delivery. He sat 81-82 from a high 3/4 arm slot with much more in the tank. The lefty displayed good rhythm to his delivery and natural cut action to his fastball. Dana also commanded a quality 69 mph curveball with 11/5 action. His breaker showed hard biting 12/6 action at times and was thrown at fastball arm speed. Dana faced the minimum in his two innings of work allowing one ball to leave the infield, while striking out two.

Andrew Malone2017 LHP Andrew Malone (Loyalsock Township HS)

Malone is a 6-foot, 170-pound sophomore that has an advanced understanding of how to pitch. He sat 77-78 from a 3/4 arm slot during four solid innings of work. Malone struck out six and allowed four hits while he pounded the strike zone and effectively kept hitters off balance with a 69 mph curveball that shows sweeping break. Malone hides the baseball well and has the ability to work both sides of the plate. His athletic frame and easy delivery indicates several velocity spikes are likely over the coming years.


best of the rest: (in alphabetical order)


2017 LHP Austin Baker (Governor Mifflin HS)

Baker is a 6-foot-1, 205-pound sophomore that sat 77-79 from a high 3/4 arm slot during an effective four innings on the mound. The lefty displayed some hip coil to his delivery while also commanding a 68 mph 1/7 breaking curveball and a 68 mph changeup. Baker has projectable size and has shown steady velocity gains over the past year. He allowed three hits and one run while striking out two with six of his outs being recorded on the ground.

2016 LHP/OF Luciano Besh (Franklin Regional HS)

Besh sat 80-81 from a high 3/4 arm slot while commanding a 70 mph 1/7 breaking curveball and a 76 mph changeup. The right-handed hitter went 4-for-10 with a double during game action with a bat exit velocity of 83 mph. Besh is a 7.16 runner that shows athletic actions in the outfield with an 83 mph arm. The two-way prospect displayed the ability to play through the baseball and solid straight line carry to his throws.

2015 LHP/OF Derek Cursio (Bishop Guilfoyle HS)

Cursio is a 5-foot-8, 165-pound uncommitted senior that displayed the ability to make pitches when he needed to on a day that he didn't have his best stuff. The lefty sat 80-81 from a 3/4 arm slot and struggled with command issues during the course of his four innings on the mound. While he did not walk anyone he worked from behind in the count frequently but was able to mix his 70 mph 1/7 curveball and 75 mph changeup effectively to induce two inning ending double plays. Cursio showed his competitive nature and battled through his four innings managing to work out of several jams.

2015 LHP/OF Anthony Vlahovic (New Hope-Solebury HS)

Vlahovic sat 76-78 out of a high 3/4 arm slot with solid command of the strike zone and a repeatable deliver. The uncommitted senior allowed one run in four innings of work on three hits while retiring eight hitters on ground balls. Vlahovic effectively mixed a 70 mph 1/7 breaking curveball that kept hitters off balance to get most of his ground ball outs. The 5-foot-11, 175-pound switch-hitter registered a 79 mph bat exit velocity and ran a 7.39 60-yard dash. Vlahovic showed athletic actions in the outfield with an accurate 80 mph throwing arm.


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