Riley
Stanford

A high school teammate of Lesko, Stanford has a big, strong and durable frame. He pitches with a high-3/4 slot and gets late life at the plate on a fastball that ranged from 92-97. He throws quality fastballs in the zone and it gets on hitters quickly. He also mixes in a tight slider at 84-85 with hard, late break. The changeup has some deception and sink. He’s athletic, repeats his delivery and knows how to compete.

Georgia Tech commit. 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-handed outfielder and pitcher, extra large frame with strength throughout. Came out of the bullpen for the final two innings against Marist: 2.0 IP, 3 K, 0 BB, 3 H, 1 ER. Fastball sat 88-93, challenges hitters with. Slider, 79, downer action, tried to bury for swing and misses.

Georgia Tech commit, No. 5 prospect in Georgia’s 2022 class. 6-foot-4, 210-pound right-handed outfielder and right-handed pitcher, large, physical frame, highly projectable, one of the strongest arms in the 2022 class. Came out of the bullpen to close out the game for Buford. Explosive arm action, pitches with controlled aggression, ultra whippy arm, comes out of a ¾ slot. Pitches with lots of emotion, fired up. Used nothing more than his fastball as he struck out the side to secure the victory over Parkview. Fastball sat 91-96, heavy, located to both sides, liked to run in on RHHs with.

Stanford is about as live a bodied athlete as you will find.  His 6-foot-4, 185-pound frame is long and has room for more weight.  This was our first extended look at Stanford as a position player and it was not a disappointing one. He generates elite bat-speed at the plate and he has the ability to keep the barrel in the zone for a long time. Defensively Stanford moves extremely well in the outfield  and shows knowledgeable routes to the baseball. As you would imagine with his prowess on the mound, Stanford has major league caliber right field arm. Scouts watching Stanford at the Futures Game saw all of his raw abilities, but the thing that jumped out was just how much fun he has on the baseball field. Stanford missed the showcase portion of the event, where he would have likely been a show stopper, but in his return Team Georgia’s energy level went way up with the outfielder in the fold.

One of the more impressive athletes to take the mound during the Future Games. Stanford's arm strength is impressive with a fastball that can reach into the mid-90's. His breaking ball is still a work in progress and can be inconsistent, but as Stanford learns to trust his stuff and attack the zone he will be a force to be reckoned with down the road. While Stanford has electric velocity, his spin rates are not as eye popping and lend them self to that of a strong power sinker baller. Stanford's present grip and rip mentality plays well on the mound now, but he has a chance to be scary as he learns a little more touch and feel.  Overall Stanford's excellent competitive nature and athletic ability that it would not be wise to sleep on.