North Alabama Prospect Games Scout Blog: Pitchers

North Alabama Prospect Games: Pitchers

We had 11 pitchers that threw during the game at the North Alabama Prospect Games. It was a fairly cool day and the conditions weren’t perfect for pitching but there were some guys that really impressed in their outings. Below is a synopsis on each pitcher:

Lawson Russell (2020, LHP/1B, Decatur) Tall LHP that is ultra projectable and showed phenomenal command on all of his pitches. His misses were very minimal, showing the ability to spot up where he wanted to. Clean mechanics and he uses his 6’3 frame to really create down plane on his FB. His FB was 79-81 with nice ASR, topping at 82 and the ability to live on the black on both sides. His breaking ball is a hammer with big time late break and his changeup was thrown with the same arm speed and and created deception and tumble away from RH hitters. Has the ability to add more weight and will continue to progress. Don’t expect him to be uncommitted very long.

Brandon Bentley (2021, RHP/OF, Westminster Christian Academy) Really jumped out on the mound with big time pitchability. A young arm (2021) that has plenty of room to add weight as he matures physically (6’0 155 lbs) Really does a nice job created plane from his over the top arm slot. This slot also allows for depth on the breaking ball which he commanded at 73-74 mph with tight spin. His FB was electric, up to 85 mph with some ASR and the changeup was 77-78 with tumble. Clean mechanics. 2021 RHP that will be interesting to follow.

Lance Clardy (2019, OF/LHP, Buckhorn) Presented a nice presence, clean mechanics  and showed some athletic movements on the mound with a live arm. Showed big time command of the FB with typical LHP movement at 80-82 mph, topping at 83 mph with some “cut” to it. His breaking ball was 65-67 mph and at times it was a plus pitch, especially vs.LH hitters. His changeup was 75-76 from the same arm slot and arm action. This pitch could be an effective one for him, especially as an “out pitch” vs. RH hitters. Intriguing arm.

Noah Watkins (2020, OF/LHP, Lee) A LHP that just attacks the zone. A very good athlete that just competes on the mound and lets his natural actions take over. Does a nice job getting the ball back creating his long arm action. Really pounds the zone and attacks hitters. Has a nice, smooth delivery and it appears to come “easy” for him. Really creates sink on his fastball, sitting 77-78 on the day, and topping at 79 mph, but there is more velocity there. His breaking ball is his “out” pitch which he commanded at 67-68 mph with tight spin, making it difficult for hitters to pick up.

 Riley Harris (2020, RHP/1B, Marshall County KY) This kid is built like a pitcher (6’2 210 lbs) and takes a bulldog type mentality to the mound. Really pounded the zone and had “feel” for all three pitches. Clean mechanics with no wasted action in his delivery. Created ASR on his fastball at 77-79, topping at 80 mph and showed the ability to locate this pitch very well to his glove side. His breaking ball showed depth and really tight spin at 68-69.

Braxton Jones (2019, RHP, Cullman) Impressive, athletic RHP that had a very clean outing and showed the ability to field his position as well. Very smooth mechanically and continually located in the lower half of the zone, forcing soft contact off of barrels. Had a very quick lower half and creates some “whip” with the arm. He threw a 4 seam fastball that topped at 81 mph and mixed in two different breaking balls; a curveball that showed depth and a slider that created cross action. Nice 2019 arm that just pounded the zone and got outs.

Everett Loveless (2022, RHP/C, Scottsboro) An impressive young arm (2022) with a slender build that will continue to fill out. Very impressive on the day with all 3 pitches he threw. Showed an “over the top” arm slot and really kept hitters off balance during his 2 innings of work. His upper half and lower half are really synched which allows him to be on time when his land foot hits the ground. His fastball was up to 79 with big time ASR and some sink forcing hitters to swing over the top of it. The curveball has a nice 12/6 shape with tight spin and he could really get the changeup to tumble at 62-63 mph. Look out for this 2022 RHP.

Dalton Gilmore (2019, 1B/RHP, A.P.Brewer) Did a nice job creating movement on both pitches he threw as his fastball was up to 79 mph, and sat in the mid 70’s during his inning of work. His fastball had late life and really got in on some RH hitters, forcing contact off of the barrel. His breaking ball was 61-63 mph and took nice shape with some late depth vs. hitters. There is more velocity in the tank.

Ryan Crawford (2020, OF/RHP, Bob Jones) Nice arm on this 2020 that did a very nice job of getting his lower half involved and really driving off of his backside. Big stride to the plate. His breaking ball had an over the top 12/6 spin on in and was a multi-plane pitch at 66-67 mph. His change up was very deceptive at 73-74 mph with nice arm action. His 2 seam fastball really created ASR at 76-77 mph and topped 78 mph. He really attacked the inner half of the plate.

Camden Shields (2022, RHP/3B, Lindsey Lane Christian Academy) Nice looking young RHP (2022) that has nice mechanics and does a nice job of getting the ball back with a big arm action. He has some whip in the arm and will no doubt continue to progress in terms of velocity. He pitched in the mid 70’s with his fastball with some nice sink to this pitch. This helped him to be successful on the day. His breaking ball was low 60’s with nice shape and he was able to bury this pitch down in the zone. Strong lower half of the body. Nice 2022 arm to follow.

Cade Prestegard (2022, SS/RHP, Huntsville) Very clean mechanics on this young 2022 RHP that showed a nice feel on how to pitch. Did a nice job of driving off of the mound and striding to the plate. All he did was pound the zone and get outs during his inning. Tall, slender young player that will fill out physically over the next few years. His breaking ball was really good with very nice 12/6 shape that he seemed very confident in, and threw at any time. His fastball had ASR in the lower 70’s as he did a nice job of staying on top of this pitch and creating down plan on the pitch. Another young 2022 to keep an eye on.