Xander
Hamilton

Virginia Tech commit.  Physical athlete at 6 foot 4, 220-pounds.  Slider continues to impress and is a true out pitch.  Quick tempo to the delivery with some funk.  Hands are high at the balance point, with a tucked leg kick, and knee working to the bottom of the chest. Slightly across his body to the plate with a closed toe landing.  Some effort to the delivery, with a quick arm, throwing from a high ¾ slot.  Fastball has run at 88-89 mph.  Touched 90 mph on his last pitch of the day.  Advanced slider with fastball arm speed.  Slider is sharp with late break at 80-83 mph.  Changeup has sink at 82-84 mph and should be at least an average pitch in the future.  
Balanced setup from the left side of the plate.  Small leg kick, with a short stride and the hands working back during the load.  Looks to lift with strength in his swing.  Quick hands, working mostly middle to his pull side.  Gets big at times looking to launch the ball.  Exit velocity recorded at 94 mph.  Athletic in the outfield with fluid feet and average hands.  Arm reached 95 mph with carry to his throws.  Recorded a 4.09 in the 30-yard dash.

09.25.18

Virginia Tech commit.  Athletic presence at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds.  Plenty of room to continue to add strength.  Fighting for rhythm in the delivery and a consistant release.  Quick pace through the delivery, average leg kick, and the head sliding side to side until foot strike.  Long arm swing with the glove following the hand almost to the bottom of the arm arc.  Early front side release and a rotational finish with a high-3/4 slot.   Fastball sat 87-90.  The slider lacked some snap seen at the end of the summer, but will come back with time and reps, ranged 81-82, worked side to side.  Ran a 7.12 sixty as he worked out offensively as well.

08.10.17
Physical presence at 6-foot-4, 203 pounds with a muscular shape and definition in the lower half.  Quickness and strength is present.  Ran a 7.22 sixty with an exit velocity of 89 off the bat.  Right-handed hitter uses the strength and aggression to back spin balls throughout BP.  Wide stance, loads back, using a leg kick and long stride to generate a fast bat.  Some uphill leverage, wants extension, staying gap-to-gap with fluid rhythm.  Barrel awareness in BP, at times thin through the ball did not translate to game situations.  Power potential is evident.  On the infield, works with average hands, working out as an infielder at shortstop.  Athletic stance, the ball does get deep into a high stance, presenting some stiffness through the catch and exchange.  Short arm swing, gets to a high-3/4 slot with carry and some accuracy at 83 across the diamond.

Up to 86 on the bump with occasional arm side run and throwing strikes with fastball and slider.  Slider has out-pitch potential at 77-78.  Hard and late, it comes out of the same window as fastball with a short, tight 11/5 tilt.  The change-up is a distant third pitch but is use-able at 80-81.   Hard out of the hand, the pitch has late sink, creating swing and miss vs. left-handed hitters.  Deception comes from the movement over the velocity change.  Loads his hips at balance with a slight coil, uses the elbow to load the scapular out of the glove, keeping the short arm swing in a strong position.  High-3/4 slot is repeated between pitches.  Stays level and lands on-line, getting better extension on slider than any other pitch right now.

01.28.17
Physically imposing 6-foot-4, 195 pounds.  Strong and athletic, has a presence on the bump.  Righty works from a side-saddle position on the rubber, eliminating the need for motion in the pivot foot.  Short arm action is led by the elbow and allows the hand to work to a high-3/4 slot with the fastball sitting 82-83.  The slider has out-pitch potential, sweeping across the zone, late and hard, at 74-75.  Maintained hand speed and deception on the slider, showing command of the zone.  Uses a split finger grip for the change.  Decent hand speed, although the arm arc seemed stiffer, allowing the pitch to touch 76-78 with limited depth.

Works from an athletic and tall base as a right handed hitter.  Leg kick works to an average stride, loading the back side.  Better than average batspeed works to some uphill leverage while wanting extension.  Some length in the swing, with average barrel awareness.  Exit velocity topped at 84, flashing better carry at times.  Ran a 4.13 thirty with a 8-foot-8 standing broad jump.  Across the infield, short arm action worked to a high-3/4 slot with arm speed measuring at 78.  Ball has life and carry with some accuracy.  Hands and feet work to create some rhythm.  Tends to stab when the feet get heavy.