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Pitt Lands Five Pennsylvania Players During Early Signing Period

November 25, 2014

By Greg Williams
PA Director of Scouting

The University of Pittsburgh recently announced the addition of five Pennsylvania recruits who signed National Letters of Intent during the early signing period. The group includes four pitchers and an infielder. Pitt comes off a 22-30 campaign in 2014 with a 11-19 mark in the ACC. Assistant coach Bryan Peters discusses the latest additions to the Panther program.


2015 Early Commits

LHP Corey Augenstein (Bethel Park HS) - PBR Rank #27

Peters: Corey is a competitive lefty who has some pop on his fastball and quality secondary stuff as well.

PBR: Augenstine is a 5-foot-11, 170-pound lefty that gets a lot out of his somewhat undersized frame. He sits in the mid-80s with the ability to touch 87-88 mph. Augenstine's out pitch is a two-plane curveball with 11/5 rotation that he throws in the low 70s. 

LHP Dylan Cyphert (Cranberry HS) - PBR Rank #16

Peters: Dylan is a left-hander with massive potential. He has shown a strong fastball and a compliment of off-speed pitches.

PBR: Cyphert has appeared near the top of the PA Class of 2015 rankings since attending a PBR event in January of 2013. Cyphert has done a nice job adding strength to his frame (now 6 feet, 185 pounds) that previously resembled rail-thin former big-leaguer and Texas A&M star Casey Fossum. He pitches with a quick arm and up-tempo, attacking delivery that features a little hop at the top of his balance point. He pounded the strike zone (70 percent strikes) with his fastball at 84-87 and was able to get in on right-handed hitters during the Metropolitan Classic in August.

RHP Blair Lewis (Lower Dauphin HS) - PBR Rank #54

Peters: Blair is a solid right-hander that has shown the ability to mix and locate well while keeping hitters off balance.

PBR: Lewis is a 6-foot, 180-pound righty that sits in the mid-80s with good rhythm to his delivery. He locates well and uses a 78 mph slider, 76 mph changeup effectively in a quality three pitch mix.

RHP: Jextin Pugh (Bishop Guilfoyle HS) - PBR Rank #7 (Class of 2013)

Peters: Jextin went to Binghamton out of high school and transferred to JUCO national champion Iowa Western this year. He is a very physical RHP who swings it from the left side as well.

PBR: Pugh had a solid day at the Super 60 Showcase in 2013, topping all infield arms on throws of 88 mph across the diamond. Pugh also showed his power potential at the plate and a bat exit velocity of 94 mph. During his bullpen session Pugh sat 89-90 and showed a curveball that had tight 11/5 rotation at 75 mph. Pugh went 1-1 with a 4.17 ERA as a freshman in 2014 at Binghamton. He also hit .154 with 2 RBI in 26 plate appearances.

SS David Yanni (Central Bucks East HS) - PBR Rank #20

Peters: David is a left-handed hitter with a high baseball IQ. He is capable of playing any infield position.

PBR: Yanni is a 6-foot, 185-pound infielder that makes plays defensively with enough arm strength to remain on the left side of the infield. The left-handed hitter is a prototypical top of the order hitter that has shown the ability to hit to all fields and developing gap power.

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