Joey
Ventresca

Futures Preview South (June 4th, 2017)
Ventresca has a strong, broad shouldered frame at 5-foot-11 165-pounds. Ran the 60 yard dash in 7.82-seconds. Exit velocity topped at 86 MPH. Offensively- LHH starts in a wide stance with weight on back leg with hands above back shoulder. Short, simple approach – toe tap to start swing, small hand load. Explosive hips and hands through the zone. Finishes balanced with some lift to swing. Ball jumped off bat differently from other participants of the event. Line drive hitter with gap to gap potential. Defensively- took reps at shortstop. Throws topped at 78 MPH across the infield with carry and backspin. Smooth, effortless exchange and transition. Short, quick arm action. Able to throw from different arm slots. Pitching- Fastball topped at 85 MPH and sat mostly 83-85 for his outing. Mixed in an 11/5 breaking ball at 75-76 and a changeup with armside fade at 73-74. Up tempo, controlled delivery. Repeatable mechanics and slot. Short quick arm from high-3/4. Level shoulders going down the mound. Square landing leg and foot, will spin off to first base side on occasion. One of the top performers from the entire event.


WWBA Underclass 10/7/16
Ventresca has an athletic build at 5-foot-10 145-pounds. Played SS for most of the game, came in for the last two innings to close the game out. Sat 80-81 with FB, dropped a breaking ball in  for strikes between 68-71 mph with 11/5 depth. Drop and drive type pitcher, uses back leg drive to produce power and explosiveness. 72 mph straight changeup for strikes. Needs to finish through delivery with legs more. Can get more out of velocity if all momentum can truly go toward home plate.  Threw two innings, had three strikeouts, no walks.

Joey is a wiry and strong 5-foot-10 170 pound SS/RHP who ran a 4.48 home-to-1B. Offensively- Joey starts with a slightly open and narrow stance with a hand position just off the shoulder and a bat angle of 25-30 degrees. Controls his load back with a stride forward, sitting deep on his back side. Aggressive lower half effort with some shoulder dominance within the swing, creating a cross cut swing through the zone. Stays through the middle and pull side well, inside-outing the middle out swings to LF. Exit velocity was 83 MPH. Defensively- Joey showed active feet and squares up everything with hands in front. Gets through his throws with a positional velocity of 78 MPH. Good bounce in his step and could project well also at 3B over the long term. Pitching- Joey was very impressive on the mound with pitchability beyond his years. He uses a slight side step up to a belt line knee drive.Slightly seals himself off to the plate, sitting over his back side into landing. Works up and over front side well with decent arm extension. Arm action is long and works from a higher 3/4 slot. Repeats delivery and efforts. FB stays arm side and down at 81-83 MPH with more in the tank. Curveball had some slurve feel to it at 67-69 MPH with his change up settling in at 70-71. Arm speed on secondary stuff may have slowed up but that can be typical for a younger players at this time of year. Above average velocity and polish for age.