By Dennis Healy
PBR MA Director of Scouting

This past weekend, some of the top teams from the Northeast gathered at the New England Baseball Complex Tournament. Below, we recap notable performances and names to follow in the coming months.

RIGHT-HANDED PITCHING

David Stiehl, RHP, Manchester HS (CT), 2015
6-foot, 180-pounds with athletic arm.  He is still uncommitted and fits the reliever mold at the next level. He pitched in the mid 80’s with a short slider. He attacked the strike zone and competed, also showing the ability to handle the running game. We didn't see much of a minus (change up) pitch but I am sure he will pick that up as he goes.

Morgan McSweeney, RHP, Worcester Academy, 2016 
Came on big time this past weekend for me. He has an athletic build with a projectable 6-foot 2 frame , leading us to believe there is much more in the tank. He pitched 86-89 with a frisbee style spin pitch at 70-72. He did show a 77 mph change up which he used on botyh halves of the plate. He was a quick 1.2 to the plate and held his velocity for the most part.  He will smooth that out as he grows. He has a simple delivery with a fast arm, repeatable and should stay healthy.

LEFT-HANDED PITCHING

Jared Wetherbee, LHP, St. John's Shrewsbury, 2016
Showed well this past weekend. He showed us a clean arm swing wtih life and extension. His slot tends to get a little too high at times but when he gets it right, it comes out very well. He showed the abiility to spin the baseball and with growth the pitch could be a frontline one. His change up is still developing and shoud be in play by the time he reaches college. Delivery is clean, and repeatable but needs some better direction. He is one to see for sure.

Jared Shuster, LHP, Tabor Academy, 2017 
Pitched in the slop this past weekend. He is long and lean, showed a great downhill plane from a high 3/4 slot. His breaking pitch is a small slurve and with physical growth and maturity should be fine. He pitches in the low 80’s now and should develop nicely in the next couple years. His delivery is repeated and should be able to grow into once he gains weight. Should be fun to watch him progress.

CATCHING

Gian Martellini, C, Bishop Hendricken HS, 2015 
Showed nicely this past weekend. He showed a good throwing arm with the ability to swing he bat. His bat path is solid and he shows pull side juice, would like to see him spread out a bit and use the field more but that will come with time. He has an athletic build and should be able to put on more muscle to make himself into a physical player.

Aaron Soucy, C, Pomfret School, 2017
He shows advanced tools at a young age. His bat path is very good and he handles the barrel well. Behind the dish, he has plenty of arm strength, blocks well and his receiving is skilled. He is 5-foot-11, 180-pounds with room to fill his body out. It wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination for him to be a 6-foot 200-pound physically gifted catcher in two seasons.

Chris Collins, C, South Kingstown HS (RI), 2015 
He has catching and throwing tools that are good. His arm is very good, leads me to think, maybe he pitches? At 6-foot-2,175-pounds his frame projects to fill nicely. He did barrel up a couple balls and showed an athletic gait around the bases.

OUTFIELDERS

Connor Bacon, OF/1B, Hudson HS, 2015
The left-handed hitting outfielder/first baseman showed extremely well this past Saturday. He is a Boston College commit, who was hammering the ball all over the yard Saturday afternoon. His swing is a tad uphill with some lift in it, which should bode well in college for power. He has good pull side power and should be able to shorten down his clean swing as he matures. He is an average defender who will have to work hard on the defensive part. I can see him as a middle of the order first baseman.

Derek Lefebvre, OF, St. John’s Shrewsbury, 2016
Played well in centerfield for Northeast Baseball. He is likely a 6.9 runner with an average arm, but gets off the ball well and shows good routes to the ball. He plays very aggressively on the bases and at the plate. He swung the bat well in the at bats that I saw and played the game hard all day. His pitch recognition is fine and he is likely a 2-hole guy at the next level.

INFIELDERS

Jake Rosen, IF, St. John’s, 2016
The Virginia Tech commit showed solid tools all over the diamond. He can stay in the middle of the field at the next level and showed the ability to handle the bat and spread the field. The Hokies got a very good player, it will be nice to watch him play these next two years scholastically.

Scott Holzwasser, IF, Lincoln Sudbury, 2016 
He has a flat bat path to the ball with the ability to use the short game. In the field, he shows a slight above average arm, good feet and glove. He is a very active player with a bunch of energy. He played second base for most of the day but you can see him being able to flip to shortstop in a pinch at the next level.

Matt Trehub, 1B, BB&N, 2016
The left-handed hitting first baseman is a good athlete who is very skilled around the bag and shows above average arm strength. He could definitely kick to left field if need be. At the plate, he works the barrel above the hands in his approach and is still developing. He is big, athletic and left-handed, a great deal to like. As he cleans up his swing and gets stronger, he could be a very good prospect. Keep an eye on this guy as he progresses, very good student as well.

Justin McQuarrie, IF, 2015, Guertin HS, 2015  
He played second base and showed solid defensive tools, above average arm strength with a skilled glove. He is good at the pivot and could move around the infield if necessary. At the plate, his swing is a bit long and he needs to add some physical strength but he had a couple knocks and his pitch recognition was good.