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WV Top Prospect Games: Quick Hits

September 2, 2026
Harry Weiss
Northeast Operations

On August 5th, our Prep Baseball Pennsylvania staff hosted the WV Top Prospect Games at West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. Over 35 players made it out to this event, providing us with updated looks and a new list of players to follow in Pennsylvania.

We begin our post-event content today with our quick hits from the event, highlighting some of the notable players from the day and their numbers.

For a look at the entire event page, click HERE.

Position Players  

+ C Trenton Tolliver (Shady Spring, 2028), was an impressive backstop at West Virginia. The catcher comes in at 5-foot-10, 180-pounds, and is an all-around athlete. With an arm up to 78 mph from behind the dish, Tolliver’s pop time of 1.83-1.91 really stands out with the ability to control stolen bases. Smooth, and in control, Tolliver has a good release and made consistent throws on the line to second base. In the box, the primary catcher posted a top exit velocity of 91.3 mph. The swing is impressive as Tolliver is calm in the box with a quiet load that explodes at impact. In gameplay he demonstrated this ability, crushing a ball into the gap for a stand up triple. The catcher is also a 7.17 runner in the 60-yard dash, displaying his overall athleticism. 

+ OF Jayce Salfia (Spring Mills, 2029) showed off a promising bat in Morgantown. The primary outfielder stands in at 5-foot-10, 175-pounds, but projects a lot of power down the road. During batting practice, his max exit velocity topped out at 92.8 mph, with his average impressively at 88.5 mph. He also reached a max distance of 337 feet, third highest at the event. Salfia has quick hands, with a 21.3 max hand speed and a 20.6 average. He is very simple in the box with an easy load and direct approach. He also consistently sprayed balls around the yard during batting practice, but also proved he could do so during gameplay. The rising sophomore showed off his power crushing a high and inside fastball off the wall in left center field for an inside the park home run. Salfia ran a 7.25 60-yard dash and topped out at 73 mph from the outfield. The rising sophomore is one to keep an eye on.

Two-Ways

+ RHP/SS Anderson Levake (Robert C. Byrd, 2028) showed impressive development since we last saw him in January. The 6-foot, 165-pound two-way athlete, improved his pitching velocity across the board. The fastball ranged 82-85, with his cutter 77-80 mph, and the slider was 73-74 mph while the curveball ranged 73-75 mph. Levake’s heater was the highest from the event, putting him about 2-3 mph higher than January. He spins his heater well, averaging 2025 rpm while his slider averages 1877 rpm. Levake generates torque with ease in his delivery, with a whippy ¾ slot release. From the infield, the two-way is 80 mph across the diamond. His exit velocity reached a max of 89.1 as well. He is a good runner, with a time of 7.06 in the 60. Overall, Levake is a good athlete who has shown the ability to improve his impressive four-pitch mix, making him one to watch. 

Pitchers

+ RHP Nikos Palavis (Brooke HS, 2028), who was just featured in our newest Northeast Buzz release, was dominant at the WV Top Prospect Games. Standing at 6-foot-1, 178-pounds, Palavis goes after hitters with a lower three-quarters arm slot, helping him create horizontal movement to both sides of the plate. His three-pitch mix includes an 82-85 mph fastball, a 70-72 mph curveball, and a changeup at 72-73 mph. Palavis tunnels his offspeed well off of his fastball to create deception between his pitches, getting multiple swings and misses. Given his release, Palavis gets over 18 inches of horizontal movement on his fastball which helps him get chases outside of the zone. The right hander from West Virginia will certainly be one to follow this year. 

+ LHP Braeden Laffey (Frankfort, 2028) flashed an impressive five-pitch mix at West Virginia. The 6-foot-1, 160-pound southpaw is an athletic mover who moves quickly downhill. He utilized a fastball, curveball, slider, changeup, and a sinker to collect whiffs both in and out of the zone. The fastball ranged 80-83 mph, topping out at 84 mph. The curveball sat 66-67 mph, the slider at 73-75 mph, and his changeup was 76-79 mph while the sinker was 81-83 mph. The fastball plays up, as Laffey likes to pump his heater inside to righties, blowing by them. He plays the curveball, which has advanced spin at 2426 rpm, very well off the fastball by dropping it away on the outside half for strikes. With Laffey’s legitimate five-pitch mix, the 2028 has caught some attention.

+ RHP Bronson Escue (Hurricane, 2028), coming in at 5-foot-11, 170-pounds, had a good outing at the WV Top Prospect Games. Escue has a two pitch mix with a fastball that ranges 80-84 mph, topping out at 85 mph, and a newly found cutter that ranges 76-79 mph. His delivery and arm path really stand out. Escue seemingly explodes off the mound with the ball jumping out of his hand. The fastball has a 7.3 inches of IVB, giving it a rise effect that plays up. His heater also has 17.3 inches of horizontal movement that creates problems for hitters. A confident, lively arm, Escue is one to track in the 2027 campaign. 

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