Alabama Scout Blog: Week 9 Games

6A Wetumpka (2) vs. 6A Stanhope Elmore (0)

Thursday, April 15th @ Wetumpka High School

+ RHP Zach Stevens (2023) is a prospect that has really made strides on the mound using a lively fastball and a breaking ball that has shown high metrics in each look. Pitching in Game 2 of each series as a sophomore, Stevens was tasked with facing Wetumpka in an area championship on Thursday. The sophomore right-hander opened up working 86-88 mph with his fastball, hammering it into the inner-half against right-handed hitters. He was effectively wild with his fastball and wanted to ensure to hitters that he owned the inside part of the plate. Stevens settled in to throw 82-85 mph in the later innings with better command. Breaking ball was the equalizer and kept hitters off the fastball at 75-76 mph with spin into the 2700 rpm’s and hard 11/5 break. It was thrown for strikes consistently, and showed the ability to throw low in the zone for chase a few times. Able to elevate the fastball and spin the breaking ball in the same plane. He finished tossing 7 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 HBP & 7 K’s and pitched well enough to win, but was the “tough luck loser” in this outing.

RHP Zach Stevens (4/15/21)

+ LHP Jaxon Shineflew (2023) may not have had the same electric stuff as his counterpart, but the sophomore southpaw did an excellent job changing speeds and creating deception to be successful. In his start with a chance to clinch an area championship, Shineflew was extremely efficient, only facing three over the minimum through his seven innings of work. Shineflew worked mostly right around 80 mph while touching 82 mph in the 2nd with the fastball, and pitched out of multiple arm slots to generate arm side action. Breaking ball had sweeping action to it at 72-73 mph with spin around the 2500 rpm’s, and was thrown almost exclusively to left-handed hitters. Kept it low in the zone and out of the hitter’s reach to do any damage with. Also featured a 74-75 mph changeup thrown to right-handed hitters with the same arm action and movement as the fastball. Not much hard contact against the pitch, as he kept it on the outer-half to induce many rollover and weak ground balls. Finished tossing 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB & 3 K’s to earn the win on only 85 pitches.

LHP Jaxon Shineflew (4/15/21)

7A No. 6 Florence (8, 11) vs. 7A No. 5 Bob Jones (9, 7)

Thursday, April 15th @ Bob Jones High School

+ RHP/3B Camden Smith (2022) was one of the more impressive pitchers in a doubleheader of two teams that can really swing the bat. He came on in relief in Game 1 of the day as the Falcons trailed 8-1, but Smith was able to hold a powerful Bob Jones lineup scoreless over 4.1 innings. Smith was the tough luck loser, but that doesn’t diminish the day he had on the mound. Smith doesn't have the most over-powering stuff, but he was able to keep hitters off balance with a solid mix and lived on the outer-half of the plate. Working from a very low ¾ slot, the junior creates solid action on everything he offers. The fastball consistently sat in the upper 70’s, but at times showed arm side action and also seemed to cut at times. He was able to feature a slider from that low slot as well that showed sharp, late action at 68-69 mph. Smith is an ultra-competitive arm seemed he thrived in the raucous environment he was pitching in. 

RHP Camden Smith (4/15/21)

+ SS Jackson McCreless (2021, Calhoun) is just a baseball player that plays the game with a hard-nosed attitude. Hitting in the 3-hole for the Falcons, McCreless never seems to get fooled and seems to always come through in big situations. There is plenty of juice in the barrel with a mostly pull side approach, but has continued to hammer balls to the left center field gap over the numerous times we have seen him this season. Very simple set up and controlled lower-half allows him to be on time with the barrel. 

SS Jackson McCreless (4/15/21)

+ 1B JW Hopkins (2022) is a power bat that we have seen multiple times over the last year. There is no questioning the juice off the bat, as he showed immense power this past July at the Future Games with Trackman exit velocities as high as 102 mph off of the barrel. That power is still there, but the junior seems to show more discipline at the plate according to the count as he worked a long at-bat in a crucial situation in Game 1 and shortened his swing and sent a line drive to the left center gap. Even with the shortened swing late in counts, there is plenty of bat speed and power in his 6-4, 220 pound frame.

+ OF Jack Ollis (2023) was one of the leaders on offense for the Huskies by driving in multiple runs in three of his plate appearances on Tuesday night. Hitting in the 7-hole, Ollis started off the scoring in the 2nd with a RBI sacrifice fly out to right field. Facing an 89-91 mph fastball, the sophomore outfielder showed no issue handling velocity. Later in the game, Ollis came back up to the plate with a chance to drive home another run. With a runner on 2nd and two outs, Ollis worked the count to 3-2 by fouling off pitches, and finally got one to handle and drove it to left field for a RBI single. Starts in an upright stance at 5-10, 155 pounds and uses a small, quick leg kick to be on time. Short path to contact and extends through the swing well.

OF Jack Ollis (4/13/21)