Draft League Scouting Notes - June 18-20

Frederick Keys

+Oregon commit OF Mason Auer was one of three Keys players to homer over the weekend as he connected on a solo shot Friday in Frederick’s 17-13 loss to Trenton. He went on to collect at least one hit in all three weekend contests.

+SS Zach Dezenzo (Ohio State) showcased some easy right-handed power with a pair of weekend dingers. He hit his first Draft League homer Friday, launching an impressive 398-foot shot at 105 mph over the wall in right-center field as part of a 2-for-4, three-RBI performance, then roped a hanging breaking ball 390 feet at 102 mph down the left-field line on Sunday. He scored a team-high two runs, finishing 2-for-3 with two RBI and a walk. 

+OF Max Ryerson, a Georgia State commit, has reached base in 10 straight games for the Keys, continuing his recent hot streak at the plate. He went 1-for-5 with two RBI on Friday, then, after an off-day Saturday, hit a two-run homer on Sunday to help power Frederick’s 8-6 win. The homer, a two-run shot, was Ryerson’s first of the season and left the park in a hurry, traveling 361 feet with an exit speed of 101 mph. 

+OF Paul Komistek (Cincinnati) had a big weekend for the Keys, going 4-for-12 with two extra-base hits, four runs scored and four RBIs across three games. He did the bulk of his damage on Sunday, hitting a two-run double as well as a triple as part of a 2-for-4 showing. He also recorded the day’s hardest-hit ball via a 106.4-mph lineout. 

+LHP Ronan Kopp (South Mountain) fired four innings of one-hit ball, striking out five and walking four, to pace the Keys in Saturday’s win. The 6-foot-7 southpaw posted a 30.8% CSW with his fastball, topping out at 95.7 mph and averaging 93.7 in the outing. What’s more, Kopp also posted the day’s best fastball spin rate (T2787 rpm) and the best breaking ball spin rate (3008) with his slider, which netted Kopp a trio of whiffs. Overall, Kopp has compiled a Draft League-best 37 strikeouts while allowing just four hits (and 20 walks) in 17.2 innings this season.   

+LHP Shane Barringer (Bellarmine) scattered three hits and two walks over four scoreless innings on Sunday. He struck out four while topping out at 92 mph and 2425 rpm with his fastball. He’s punched out 17 in 13.2 innings on the season while holding hitters to a .204 average. 

Trenton Thunder

+INF Daryl Myers (Benedictine) led the way with a season-high five RBIs Friday as helped power Trenton past Frederick, 17-13. Myers drove in all five runs within a two-inning span, as he delivered a two-run single during the Thunder’s seven-run second inning before connecting on a three-run shot, his first Draft League homer, in the subsequent frame. He added another two hits in Sunday’s contest to finish the weekend 4-for-6. 

+SS Carson Matthews (San Diego St.) authored the first multi-homer game in Draft League history on Saturday, hitting a pair of solo shots to account for all of Trenton’s scoring in a 4-2 loss. Both of Matthews’ homers were fairly similar, traveling 371 and 372 feet at 98 and 97 mph off the bat, respectively. 

+C Andrew Cossetti (St. Joseph) got in on the home run action Friday with a 369-foot solo shot (92 mph exit velo) to left field. He rounded out his weekend with a 2-for-5 showing that included a double. 

+RHP Dylan Heid (Pitt Johnstown) extended his Draft League dominance by throwing three hitless frames with five strikeouts on Saturday. Throwing 93.1% fastballs in the outing, Heid racked up 10 whiffs on 23 swings and posted a 40.7% CSW with his heater, which topped out at 94.2 mph. He’s been one of the top hurlers in the circuit this season, pitching to a 0.64 ERA with 29 strikeouts and four walks in 14 innings. Opposing hitters, meanwhile, are batting just .085 against Heid. 

+RHP Logan VanWey (Missouri Southern) struck out a pair during a scoreless inning out of Trenton’s ‘pen Saturday. He ran his fastball up to 92.8 mph in the frame, registering a 75% whiff rate with the pitch. 

Mahoning Valley Scrappers

+OF/1B Jason Hinchman (Tennessee Tech) led the Scrappers’ offense on Friday with a 3-for-4, three-RBI performance. Hinchman recorded a pair of RBI singles early in the contest, hitting them at 104 and 106 mph, respectively, and later plated a run via a broken-bat single. He also delivered the game-tying hit in the ninth inning of Sunday’s contest to secure a 7-7 tie. 

+OF Bobby Sparling (Daytona St.) went 5-for-12 with four doubles, five RBI and four runs scored while hitting safely in all three weekend games. He hit a 105-mph double on Friday, had a pair of run-scoring doubles on Saturday and capped his weekend on Sunday with a two-run double. In addition to batting .348 through 19 games, Sparling leads the Draft League in doubles (nine) and is tied with Hinchman for the circuit lead in RBI (20). 

+LHP Jimmy Burnette (Saint Leo) had a rocky first inning Friday but settled in to complete four innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on three hits. He issued one walk, striking out four. He averaged 91.4 mph and maxed out at 93.8, pairing his fastball with a low-80s slider that he used to record a 38.5% whiff rate. LHP Garrett  Schoenle (Cincinnati) was up to 93.9 mph as he worked three scoreless innings of one-hit ball in relief of Burnette. 

+RHP Aaron Haase (Wichita St.) recorded two of his three outs via the strikeout in the ninth inning of Saturday’s 7-7 tie. The undersized, high-spin righty touched 94.3 mph in the outing and posted two of the day’s better spin rates with his fastball (T2722 rpm) and slider (T2863). 

+RHP Andrew Hoffman (Illinois) fanned three in 1.2 innings, pitching around a hit and a walk in his second Draft League appearance. His fastball was up to 93.6 mph and 2521 spin in the outing. 

State College Spikes

+In touching 98.7 mph on Friday night, RHP Andrew Moore (Chipola) established a new top pitch velocity in the Draft League. He averaged 96.6 on his heater, throwing the pitch 16 times en route to a 66.7% whiff rate and 50% CSW. Overall, Moore struck out four in two hitless frames, walking one.  

+RHP Drew Garrett (Missouri) showcased a pair of impact pitches as he struck out the side in relief of Moore. He registered four whiffs with his heater, sitting 94.5 and bumping 95.6 mph with 2500+ spin, and flashed a 78-80 mph curveball with T2847 spin. Starter RHP Richie Holetz (Omaha) struck out nine over five innings, allowing one run on two hits, to earn the win. He featured an 88-90 mph fastball and was highly effective with his secondary pitches, recording respective whiff rates of 54.5% and 33.3% with his changeup (19 pitches) and slider (21) in the start.  

+OF Nathan Church (UC Irvine) went deep for a second time in as many days on Friday, connecting an opposite-field solo shot that carried 395 feet with a 95-mph exit velocity. He finished the game with three RBI, also plating runs via a walk and hit-by-pitch in the contest, and contributed an RBI double in Sunday’s 5-4 win over the Crosscutters. 

+Arizona commit 3B Damiano Palmegiani went 2-for-5 with a solo homer and a two-run single on Friday. He hit his first Draft League homer 379 feet at 101 mph mph off the bat after clubbing 26 homers for Southern Nevada during the collegiate season.

+C Matthew Ellis (Walters St.) went 2-for-4 with a 108-mph single and a 103.3 groundout on Friday. Purdue commit OF Curtis Washington Jr. was a catalyst from the leadoff spot, going 3-for-7 with three runs and two walks. C Kenny Piper (Columbia College) recorded only one weekend hit but drove in three runs. 

West Virginia Black Bears

+INF Kaeber Rog (Eastern Florida State) continued to swing a hot bat over the weekend, hitting safely in two of the Black Bears’ three games. Rog was the only West Virginia player to tally multiple hits Friday, when he was 2-for-4 with an RBI double, then provided a key two-run homer in the eighth inning Sunday that proved the difference in the Black Bears’ 9-7 victory. Rog’s homer was a line-drive shot to right field that left his bat at 106 mph with a 19-degree launch angle, traveling 363 feet.  

+Also going deep on Sunday was OF/1B Grant Hussey (Parkersburg South), who smashed a three-run shot off the scoreboard in right-center field, 424 feet away. Hussey’s 102-mph bomb was his first of the season and highlighted the left-handed hitter’s 3-for-4 day at the plate.  

+C/1B Tucker Mitchell (State College of Florida) hit his second Draft League homer Saturday -- a two-run blast to left field that traveled 414 feet -- in the Black Bears’ 7-7 tie against the Scrappers. He also singled in the content to finish 2-for-3, improving his season average to .308 through 17 games.  

+After a breakout performance at the plate on Thursday, INF Eli Hammill (Holy Trinity HS) continued to rake over the weekend, tallying an extra-base hit in back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday. The switch-hitter ripped a triple and also reached via a walk in Saturday’s contest, then went way deep from the right side of the plate Sunday, hitting a 396-foot, no-doubt solo shot to left field.    

+Florida State commit LHP Mitch Bratt lasted only three innings but still turned in another strong outing, allowing two runs on four hits while striking out five on Saturday. Bratt was effective with his fastball, posting a 33.3% whiff rate with the pitch while topping out at 92.5 mph. He also induced two whiffs apiece with his changeup and slider and another with his curveball, flashing a deep arsenal on the day. 

+RHP Michael Hobbs (Saint Mary’s) bumped 95 mph for a second straight outing while striking out two batters over two perfect frames. RHP Trevor Tietz (Jefferson College) also flashed some velo, touching 95.8 mph, and RHP Kobe Robinson (Chattanooga St. CC) was up to 96.3 mph on Sunday, recording the day’s top velocity. RHP Zach Bravo (Lamar) posted intriguing spin rates with both his fastball and curveball, spinning them up to 2509 and 2689 rpm, respectively. 

Williamsport Crosscutters

+C Rob Marinec (North Central) laced a 96-mph RBI double on Friday and added two more hits Sunday, headlined by his first Draft League homer -- a 98-mph, 372-foot solo shot to left field. He reached base three times in the contest, going 2-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. 

+OF Lance Logsdon (Quincy) tallied a 104-mph single in the first inning on Sunday and later added an RBI knock to finish 2-for-5. MIF Issac Nunez (South Florida) hit a two-run double Sunday that had an exit velocity of 98 mph. 3B/OF Freddie Matos (Butler) was 4-for-8 with a double in the two weekend contest. 

+RHP Francisco Mateo (College of Central Florida) struck out the side in order during the 7th inning of Friday’s game. He worked at 92-94 mph (T94.6) with his fastball, spinning it up to 2530 while inducing four whiffs on five swings.

+RHP Troy Taylor (Cypress College) continued to improve his Draft League Sunday with another strong performance. Tossing four innings, Taylor allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits while striking out three. He impressed with his velocity once again, topping out at 94.9 mph while averaging better than 93.