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Draft League Scouting Notes - June 15

June 16, 2021
Mike Rosenbaum / Tad Slowik
Senior Prospect Analyst / Special Assistant, Scouting Operations

Mahoning Valley @ State College

After he was pegged by Prep Baseball Report scout Tad Slowik earlier in the day as a player who has improved his stock so far in the Draft League, State College catcher Kenny Piper (Columbia College) went out and turned in his finest performance of the season, going 4-for-5 with a home run, two doubles and six RBI to power the Spikes past Mahoning Valley, 14-8. Piper hit a bases-clearing double in the third inning and then added a three-run shot in the sixth, driving the ball 370 feet at 97 mph over the left-field fence. It marked the second homer in as many games for Piper, who also threw out four basestealers on Saturday (and another Tuesday) and hit what should have been his first Draft League homer (ruled foul) the next day. 

2B Mark Vierling (Missouri) put the Spikes on the board in the third inning with his first Draft League homer -- a two-run shot that traveled 361 feet at 101 mph off the bat. He finished 2-for-5 with three RBI and a walk.


INF Tyler Heckert (John Logan JC), 3B Zion Pettigrew (Illinois-Springfield) and OF Nathan Church (UC Irvine) all went 2-for-5, with Heckert and Pettigrew also scoring two runs apiece. University of Arizona commit 3B Damiano Palmegiani scored three runs in a 1-for-3, two-walk performance from the cleanup spot.  

Spikes starter RHP Louis Davenport (Eastern Kentucky) gave up three runs in the first inning but bounced back to complete four frames. He pitched around traffic on the basepaths in the outing, allowing three hits and five walks while striking out one. He sat slightly above 90 mph and topped out at 92.8 and posted a 50% whiff rate with his slider, spinning the 82-84-mph offering 2600-2700 rpm on average. RHP Austin Cheeley (MTSU) recorded three of his five outs via the strikeout out of the Spikes’ bullpen. The 6-foot-8 righty topped out at 93.3 mph in the appearance and recorded at least one whiff apiece with his slider, changeup and splitter. 

OF Bobby Sparling (Daytona St.) was a bright spot for the Scrappers’ offense as he drove in four runs in a 2-for-5 showing. He plated runs with both hits, tallying a two-run single in the fifth inning before adding a two-run double in the eighth. MIF Branden Comia (Illinois) reached base four times in the contest, going 1-for-2 with three walks and an RBI. OF Sam Crail (Saint Leo) went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI knock.

Mahoning Valley starter LHP Nathan Lavender (Illinois) was tagged for six runs (five earned) on four hits and three walks in 2.2 innings but flashed a pair of impressive pitches in his fastball and slider. Specifically, Lavender induced eight whiffs on 18 swings (44.4% whiff rate) with his 90-92 mph heater (T93.1) and five whiffs on nine swings (55.6%) with his low-80s slider. RHP Keegan Batka (Wabash Valley) delivered 1.1 perfect frames out of the Scrappers’ bullpen before turning the ball over to RHP Jacob DeLabio (Carthage), who fanned four in two innings. DeLabio is second in the Draft League with 31 strikeouts -- a total he’s amassed in just 14.2 innings while issuing just three walks and holding hitters to a .164 average.

Trenton @ West Virginia

Trenton’s offense came out in full force Tuesday night as they racked up seven extra-base hits including three home runs in a 9-5 win over West Virginia. Leadoff hitter INF Jonny Weaver (Grand Canyon) set the tone when he opened the game with a 362-foot home run to left field that had a 94-mph exit velocity. 

OF Ben Norman (Iowa) connected on his first Draft League homer in the subsequent frame, as he hammered an 0-1 pitch 424 feet over the fence in right field at 107 mph off the bat. 

Freshly removed from his weekend walk-off home run, OF Jordan Hollins (Ottawa University, Ariz.) smashed a two-run shot (417 feet, 102-mph EV) to grab a share of the circuit home-run lead. He reached base three times in the contest, going 1-for-2 with two runs, two RBI and two walks. 

Weaver and Norman tallied two hits and two RBIs apiece. INF Daryl Myers (Benedictine) also swung the bat well, going 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored, and 3B Daniel Harris IV (Eastern Kentucky) and CIF T.J. Rumfield both finished 2-for-5.

Trenton starter RHP Christopher Jefferson (New Mexico St.) showcased arguably the best changeup in the Draft League while tossing three solid innings in his Thunder debut. He relied his 79-83 mph changeup as often as his 88-92 mph fastball (T93.2) in the outing, throwing the former with excellent arm speed and deception as well as late sinking action. He recorded five whiffs on 15 swings with the pitch and induced even more weak contact, all while showing the confidence to throw the pitch in any count against hitters on both sides of the plate. Jefferson’s changeup is a potential out-pitch at the next level, and he impressed with his ability to throw strikes with each of his three pitches -- he also has a 79-81 slider with tight spin -- on Tuesday. 

RHP Javier Ramos (Oklahoma) sat 95.8 mph and touched 97.3 to record the day’s top velocity.  He used his big fastball to record four whiffs on six swings, throwing the pitch 15 times in the hitless outing. 

All but one of the Black Bears’ starters notched a hit Tuesday. C/1B Tucker Mitchell (State College of Florida) went 2-for-5 with a double and a 96-mph RBI single from the leadoff spot, and Toledo commit SS Jeron Williams reached base three times from the bottom of the lineup, going 2-for-3 with a walk and RBI. 

Ryan McCoy (Wabash Valley) went 1-for-4 with a two-run single and his league-leading 23rd walk. OF/1B Grant Hussey (Parkersburg South) plated a run with his only hit, a 106-mph double, and Paul McIntosh (West Virginia) tripled in a 1-for-4 performance.

Two-way player and West Virginia commit LHP/OF Kevin Dowdell posted the only scoreless outing of the night among Black Bears pitchers, operating with a fastball that sat 88-92 mph with late tail. RHP Jeffrey Wilson (Pensacola State) allowed two runs on two hits and three walks but once again flashed some impressive stuff, sitting 89-92 mph (T92.9) with a slider that he spun at 2500-2600 rpm while showing a fast arm from an athletic delivery.     

Frederick @ Williamsport

Crosscutters starter RHP Troy Taylor (Cypress College) once again showed some of the most sustainable velocity in the Draft League on Tuesday by topping out at 95.6 mph and sitting north of 93 mph for five innings. He allowed two runs on three hits and a walk, striking out five. Taylor posted a 30.3% whiff rate while throwing his heater at an 88.2-percent clip in the outing. What’s more, the 13 balls put in play against Taylor’s fastball had an average exit velocity of 83.9 mph.

RHP Dominic Hambley (Belmont HS, B.C.) notched a pair of strikeouts during two scoreless frames in relief of Taylor before giving way to RHPs Zack Klapak (Lackawanna CC) and Hunter Caudelle (Georgia Gwinnett), who fanned two batters each during their respective scoreless innings.

3B Nolan Wosman’s (Quincy) bases-clearing double in the fifth inning put Williamsport ahead for good. OF Lance Logsdon (Quincy) went 2-for-4 with a double and scored a team-high two run, and SS Michael Turconi (Wake Forest) provided a pair of run-scoring singles in a 2-for-3 performance. 

Frederick starter RHP Dwayne Marshall (Maryland Eastern Shore) gave up four runs on six hits over 4.1 innings in his longest Draft League start. He ran his fastball up to 93.9 mph and generated three whiffs with his curveball, throwing the two pitches a combined 65 times. RHP Brodie Cooper-Vassalakis (Grand Canyon) worked the final two innings for the Keys, allowing just one hit. 

Georgia State commit OF May Ryerson had been heating up at the plate even before he went 2-for-3 with a double and a triple on Tuesday. 3B Kevin Jimenez (New Mexico St.) and 2B Tyler Doanes (West Virginia) both were 1-for-3 with a walk from the top two spots in the Keys’ lineup. 

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