By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

4A #21 neshaminy @ bensalem (april 25)

Neshaminy took the lead in the top of the first inning and never looked back in a workmanlike 8-3 win over Bensalem. The Redskins scored in five of their seven offensive frames, banging out eight hits and taking advantage of some shoddy outfield play (two dropped flyballs and a miscommunication that allowed another ball to fall) by the Owls.

2014 LHP/OF Cole Creighton earned the win for Neshaminy with a line of 5 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 5 K. Creighton has a solid build and a strong lower half. He exhibits a loose arm, good arm speed, and works from a 3/4 slot. Creighton throws his glove at the hitter when separating his hands, creating some deception that helped him get a number of swing-throughs on elevated FBs and a couple dozen opposite field foul balls. He worked his FB in/out/up/down and was not afraid to pitch inside against right-handed hitters. His SL was a quality pitch when he maintained his armspeed. He used it almost exclusively as a chase pitch and will need to throw it (or another off-speed pitch) for a strike as he progresses in his career.

Creighton also showed some tools with the bat in his hands. The right-handed hitter is able to have success standing on top of the plate due to possessing very good bat speed. He floats forward a bit with his stride and didn't always get his foot down on time, which led to some inconsistency on this day, but his bat speed and strength give him a chance to put up numbers.

2014 RHP Jake Franzen took over for Creighton to begin the top of the sixth. Working from a high slot, he finished with a line of 2 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 3 K. While his FB lacked significant action, Franzen can spin it, featuring a nice 12/6 CB as his out-pitch.

On the position player side, Neshaminy 2014 SS Ryan Sheplock exhibited above average feet, a solid arm, and, despite taking a topspin grounder off his chest late in the game, does a very nice job fielding the baseball out front. Sheplock hits from a square, balanced stance, and, while he lacks a ton of physical strength, gets his barrel to a good launch point.

Bensalem's standout on the day was 2014 Andy Moser, an advanced defender with an ideal build for a catcher. Moser showed terrific receiving ability with a soft-but-firm glovehand and did a tremendous job keeping his thumb underneath the baseball. His arm action could be shortened a touch, but his plus arm strength more than makes up for it (he threw out one runner by three steps from his knees). Moser directed his team vocally, while also providing positive non-verbal feedback to his pitcher, and every one of his throws back to the pitcher were chest high with something on it. With the stick, Moser has bat speed accompanied by some length in his swing and could produce solid power numbers. He launches his hands from around armpit height, which didn't allow him to get on top of elevated FBs from Creighton.

For detailed scouting information including velocities, pop times and bat exit speeds see The Pennsylvania High School Scouting Blog.

• PA - Apr 26, 2013
  Scouting Notes: Methacton at Upper Perkiomen
• PBRPlus - Apr 26, 2013
  The Pennsylvania High School Scouting Blog
• PA - Apr 25, 2013
  New Website Feature: The Pennsylvania High School Scouting Blog
• PA - Apr 25, 2013
  Top Performers in the State Recognized