By John Nolan
Assistant Director of Scouting

On the weekend of November 8 and 9, Prep Baseball Report hosted the 2014 Top Prospect Games at Davenport Field on the campus of the University of Virginia for members of the 2016 and 2017 classes. Over 65 players participated, with some of the best talent from all corners of the Commonwealth showing off their ability on the field over the weekend. Here is our analysis from the pitchers of the Class of 2016 (Listed Alphabetically).

Jake Agnos, LHP, 2016, Battlefield, VA

11/8/2014-Agnos is an East Carolina University commit that stands 5-11 and has an athletic frame. He is a drop and drive pitcher who throws from a three-quarters arm slot with a quick arm. He is smooth and stays on line throughout his delivery. Agnos’ fastball sat 84-85 and touched 86 with good late run on it. He showed a slurvey curveball that 70-72 and was very sharp when it started down in the zone. Agnos also demonstrated good feel of a change-up (76-78) with good arm speed and run. He did a good job of using all three pitches effectively in all counts.

Alex Amos, RHP, 2016, Millbrook, VA

11/8/2014-Amos has an athletic 5-10 frame and is also a very good infielder. He throws over the top and has a quick arm that generates easy velocity. He has a smooth rhythm and very clean, simple mechanics. Amos’ fastball sat 84-86 on the day and touched 87. He showed the ability to cut it and sink it late. Amos threw and outstanding overhand curveball with sharp downward break and full armspeed (73-76). He also showed a good change-up that sat 78 with late sinking action. Overall, Amos’ command of all three pitches was outstanding from the wind-up.

Carter Bach, LHP, 2016, Centreville, VA

11/9/2014-Bach stands a lanky 6-6 with a strong lower half.  Bach throws from a three-quarters slot and has a short back arm action and a quick arm that generates easy velocity. His mechanics are smooth and he stays on line through a complete finish. Bach’s fastball sat 81-83 and touched 84 with some sinking action to it. He showed the ability to turn it over harder and make it bite more when he wanted to. Bach threw a slider that had a 1/7 break that he threw from 66-71. He also threw a straight change-up that was 69-76.

Michael Blanchard, RHP, 2016, Nansemond River, VA

11/9/2014-Blanchard stands a lanky 6-6 and has a projectable frame. He throws from a low three quarters slot and has a long, loose arm action that allows him to generate velocity with easy effort. Hs mechanics are smooth and he stays online throughout his delivery to a complete follow through. Blanchard’s fastball has heavy running action on it and was 80-82 on the day. He threw a slider that had tight spin and late break that was 72. Blanchard’s slider has plus potential as he gets stronger and the ball bites more. He also flashed a change-up at 73.

Alex Burke, RHP, 2016, Potomac, VA

11/9/2014-Burke stands 6-2 and has an athletic frame. He throws over the top with a quick, max effort arm action that is long and somewhat rigid. He strides down the mound on line but lands a bit closed with his feet, causing him to fall off a bit on his finish. Burke’s fastball ran 81-83, touching a few 84s, with some slight running action to it. He commanded the pitch well but spent most of the outing at the top of the zone. Burke also threw a sharp, 12/6 curveball that he kept down in zone that ran 68-70. He also got swings and misses on his change-up, which he threw with full armspeed and sinking action and ran 74-75.

Nick Cintron, LHP, 2016, George C. Marshall, VA

11/9/2014-Cintron stands 6-2 and has an athletic frame that he can add weight to. He throws from a low three-quarters slot and has a short, loose arm action. His mechanics are smooth and he lands closed, creating a classic low slot lefty crossfire. Cintron’s fastball had heavy run to it and sat 78-79, touching 80. He threw a big 2/8 slider at 68-69 that he commanded well. Cintron also threw a change-up with full arm speed that had a lot of run on it that came in at 68-74.

Michael Coritz, RHP, 2016, Paul VI, VA

11/9/2014-Coritz is 5-9 and has an athletic frame. He throws from a high three-quarters slot and has a shorter arm action due to a wrist wrap. His mechanics are smooth and he strides on line to home plate before landing a bit closed. Coritz’s fastball sat 80-82, touching 83 with slight cutting action to it that he commanded well. He also threw a 12/6 curveball with a more gradual break to it that ran 66-69 that was up in the zone most of the day. Coritz’s change-up came in at 69 and had arm side run to it.

Jack Cunningham, RHP, 2016, Paul VI, VA

11/9/2014-Cunningham is 6-2 and has a lanky frame that he can add weight too. He throws from a high three-quarters slot and generates easy velocity in spite of a short arm action due to a wrap. He is smooth through his delivery and lands open before falling off after release. Cunningham’s fastball sat 82-83 and touched 84 with slight late run to it. His command was better in the wind-up than in the stretch, due to some arm drag. Cunningham also threw an 11/5 curveball that had good bite to it and ran 65-69.

Coleman Duty, LHP, 2016, Goochland, VA

11/9/2014-Duty is 6-0 tall and has an athletic frame. He throws from a low three-quarters slot with smooth mechanics and easy effort. Duty lands closed and has a classic low-slot lefty crossfire, adding a ton of deception to his pitches and making him especially tough on lefthanded hitters. Duty’s fastball has heavy running action on it and sat 77-79, touching 81.   He throws a slider that he showed the ability to either sweep across the plate or drop more down to catch the corner that ran 65-69. Duty also threw a change-up with good armspeed and late fading action that ran 69-71. He showed command of all three pitches and did a very good job of mixing up his pitches and locations throughout his outing.

Matt Favero, LHP, 2016, James Madison, VA

11/9/2014-Favero stands 6-3 and has an athletic frame. He throws from a high three-quarters slot and has a short, loose arm path. His mechanics are smooth, his shoulders are uphill and closed at power position, and he stays on line through a complete follow through. Favero’s fastball sat 82-83 on the day, touching a few 84s. He showed some run on his fastball that was more prevalent when he threw it to his armside of the plate. Favero also threw a hard breaking curveball that ran 65-70 and a good change-up with full armspeed and running action to it that sat 72-78. Favero commanded all three pitches well and used them effectively to generate a lot of swing and misses and poor contact.

Austin Gerber, RHP, 2016, Patriot, VA

11/8/2014-Gerber stands an athletic 5-11. He throws from a three-quarters slot and has a free arm action. He does a good job of staying online and has very smooth drop and drive mechanics. Gerber’s fastball sat 79-81 on the day with heavy running and sinking action on the pitch that he commanded well. His breaking ball had 11/5 action with sharp snap to it. It ran 62-66 and his command of the pitch was a bit erratic on the day. Gerber’s best pitch was his change-up, which generated a lot of bad swings. He throws his change-up with full arm-speed and it has a lot of late sinking action to it. His change-up ran 70-73 on the day.

Grayson Gough, RHP, 2016, Patriot, VA

11/9/2014-Gough stands 6-2 and has an athletic frame with strong legs. He throws with max effort from a high three-quarters slot and has a quick arm that hitches a bit. His shoulders are uphill and closed at power position, and he does a good job of staying online through his complete follow through. Gough worked at 79-82 on the day, touching 84 a few times with some slight, late run on his fastball. He threw a slider that had 11/5 action because of his arm slot that ran 66-70 with late break to it. He also threw a change-up that had late sink to it that was 73.

James Handley, RHP, 2016, George C. Marshall, VA

11/8/2014-Handley stands 6-2 and has a strong lower half to his frame. He throws from straight over the top and has a good arm action with regular effort. He does recoil after release. Handley’s fastball was a 78-79, touching 80 with some sinking action to it. His breaking ball ran 11/5 at 67 with more of a gradual action to it.

Matt Holt, RHP, 2016, Nansemond River, VA

11/8/2014-Holt is  6-2  with a very strong lower half. He throws from a high three-quarters slot and has a short arm action due to a wrap. His shoulders are uphill and closed at power position but he lands closed after his stride, forcing him to come back across his body to the target. Holt’s fastball sat 82-84 on the day and touched 86. He generated a lot of swinging strikes with it. He showed an 11/5 breaking ball from 67-70 that had a gradual breaking action to it. Holt mostly used his fastball but has a lot of upside as his feel for his secondary pitches improves. 

Jack Howell, RHP, 2016, Patriot, VA

11/8/2014-Howell has a 6-3 lanky frame. He throws from a three-quarters slot and has a quick, loose arm action. Howell’s shoulders are closed at power position and he stays on line and recoils a bit after his release. Howell’s fastball sat 78-81 on the day with heavy run to it, touching 82. He showed a good slider with sharp 10/4 bite to it that ran 68-70. Howell also flashed a change-up at 70 with some late arm side run to it.

Steven Johel, RHP, 2016, George C. Marshall, VA

11/9/2014-Johel stands a lanky 6-3. He throws from a three-quarters slot and has a long, quick arm action that generates easy velocity. His mechanics are smooth and he stays on line. Johel’s fastball ran 80-83 with heavy late run on it that he commanded well, inducing a lot of weak contact. He also threw a slider that ran 67-69 and bit harder when thrown at the higher velocity. Johel also threw a change-up with good armspeed and movement that ran 72-73 and he commanded well.

Brett Kreyer, LHP, 2016, Stone Bridge, VA

11/9/2014-Kreyer is 5-11 and has a strong lower half on his frame. He throws from a high three-quarters slot and has a short arm action as he wraps his wrist. He is smooth and stays on line and finishes his mechanics in a good fielding position. Kreyer’s fastball sat 80-82 and touched 83 on the day. He threw two breaking balls, a 12/6 curveball with a big, gradual break that was 64-65 MPH and a sharp slider that ran 2/8 and 67-69. He also flashed a fading change-up at 73. Kreyer commanded all of his pitches well and did an outstanding job of mixing locations and pitch types to keep hitters off balance. He clearly has a good feel for how to pitch.

Keegan McGinnis, RHP, 2016, Battlefield, VA

11/8/2014-McGinnis is a Virginia Tech commit and stands a lanky 6-5. He throws from a high three-quarters slot with a quick, loose arm action. His shoulders are closed at power position and he does a very good job of staying on line to a complete follow through. McGinnis’ fastball worked from 84-86 and touched 87 with some late run on it. His command was a bit inconsistent on the day, but was outstanding at times. McGinnis primarily used his fastball but also showed a 12/6 power curveball that ran 73 mph.

Bryce Moore, RHP, 2016, Midlothian, VA

11/9/2014-Moore stands 6-2 and has an athletic frame that he could add weight to. He throws from a high three-quarters slot and has a short, free arm action that generates easy velocity. His mechanics are smooth and his shoulders are uphill and closed at power position. Moore’s fastball 81-83, touching a few 84s, with slight run to it. He threw a sharp 12/6 curve that ran 64-68 that he slowed his arm down on a bit. Moore also threw a change-up with arm side run that ran 70. Moore’s fastball command was good, but he struggled with the feel of his offspeed pitches.

Banks Northington, RHP, Charlottesville, VA

11/9/2014-Northington stands 6-2 and has an athletic frame. He throws over the top and has a short arm action. His delivery is smooth and he strides out on line before landing closed. Northington’s fastball sat 73-75, touching 77 without much movement. He threw a 12/6 curveball with gradual breaking action to it that came in at 62-65. He showed good command of both pitches.

Robert Riddick, RHP, 2016, Paul VI, VA

11/9/2014-Riddick stands an athletic 6-4 and has a prototypical pitcher’s frame. He throws from a high three-quarters slot and has a quick, long arm action that generates easy velocity. He is smooth throughout his delivery and his shoulders are uphill and closed at power position, creating excellent downhill plane. Riddick’s fastball sat 86-87 and touched 88 on the day and had some late boring action in addition to the angle his height creates. He also mixed in a few cutters that were 84-85. Riddick’s primary offspeed offering was a slider that had very late 11/5 break to it that ran 73-76. He also flashed a change-up that he threw with full armspeed and came in at 80. Overall, his command of all of his pitches was outstanding.

Fox Semones, RHP, 2016, C.D. Hylton, VA

11/9/2014-Semones is an athletic 5-11 and could add some muscle to his frame. He is also a middle infielder and brings that athleticism with him to the mound. Semones throws from a high three-quarters slot and has a short, loose arm action that generates easy velocity. He is smooth and stays on line to his target as he strides down the mound. Semones’ fastball sat 86-88 in his first inning of work, touching 89. It tailed off to 84-86 in the second. He had heavy, late run on it and commanded the pitch well. Semones also showed a 12/6 curve that ran 72-74 and a slider that came in at 76.

Michael Taylor, LHP, 2016, Osbourn, VA

11/9/2014-Taylor has an athletic 6-1 frame. He throws from a three-quarters arm slot and generates easy velocity. He has smooth mechanics and stays on line throughout his delivery. Taylor’s fastball has heavy late run on it and he worked at 84-85, touching 87. He threw 2/8 power curveball that was 76-79 and made heavy use of his change-up, which he threw with full armspeed at 75-79 and had good late run to it. Overall, Taylor commanded all three pitches well, and was consistently working at the knees with all of his pitches.

Rafi Vazquez, RHP, 2016, Bishop O’Connell, VA

11/9/2014-Vazquez stands 6-2 and has an athletic frame. He throws from a low three-quarters slot and has a short, loose arm action that generates easy velocity. His mechanics are smooth and he does a good job of staying on line throughout his delivery. Vazquez’s fastball has heavy run to it and sat 85-87, touching 88. He also threw an outstanding slider with sharp, late break that came in 75-78. Vazquez flashed a change-up with late fade that ran 74-77. He showed outstanding command of his fastball and slider to both sides of the plate and kept his change-up down.

Jacob Weis, LHP, 2016, Hanover, VA

11/9/2014-Weis is a University of Richmond commit who stands 5-11 and has an athletic frame. He throws from a high three-quarters arm slot and has a long, quick arm action that allows him to generate his velocity with some effort. Like most lefties, he lands a bit closed, but otherwise he stays on line to his target. Weis’ fastball sat in the 84-86 range and touched 87. He showed the ability to cut his fastball from time to time and commanded it well at the top of the strike zone. Weis also threw a good 12/6 curveball with sharp, late break to it that ran 68-72.