Yellowhammer State Games: Quick Hits, Pitchers
June 24, 2024
ALBERTVILLE, AL - The inaugural Yellowhammer State Games was held on Tuesday, June 18th and Wednesday, June 19th at Sand Mountain Park in Albertville, AL. This event was the premier invite-only event of the summer that consisted of some of the top prospects from the 2025-2028 classes. These players went through extended pro-style workout that included batting practice using Trackman and Blast Motion, ran the 60-yard dash using Swift Performance, and much more. Pitchers were able to throw during a gameplay setting with a monitored pitch count and were able to get numbers and metrics off of our Trackman unit, such as pitch velocity, spin rate, horizontal & vertical movement & much more. There were some players who showed up and continued to build off of prior performances, but there were also some new names who jumped onto our radar with a strong showing this week.
Continuing our post-event coverage for this event, we dive into some of the top pitchers from the event. Please continue to check back over the next week, as we will release quick hits articles, other various event leaderboards, individual scouting reports, and much more on each player present at the event.
View entire event stats HERE.
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Evan Malone RHP / Northridge High School, AL / 2026Uncommitted. 6-foot-2, 219-pounds. Strong, durable build with defined strength. Has really filled out his frame over the past year and has the appearance of a future front-line starter with the reportoire to back it up. Regarded as the second-ranked right-handed pitcher in the 2026 class in Alabama. Pitched three clean innings during his start and settled 87-90 mph and touched 90.7 mph in his first inning. Possesses good life and some natural arm-side to his fastball while locating it in the zone. Paired it with a hard slider sitting 78-83 mph with tight, short break to it. Good feel to land it to the glove side and below the zone for swing-and-miss for chase in late counts during the outing. Also mixed in a 72-75 mph curveball with bigger shape and bite to it while showcasing more sweep and vertical break. Pitches with poise and good mound presence. Has always had a live arm on the mound, but appears to be harnessing the command and throwing more strikes after a notable spring season and a good start to the summer. High-level uncommitted prospect in the 2026 class in Alabama.
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Ethan Walls RHP / 3B / Prattville Christian, AL / 2025Uncommitted. 6-foot-0, 205-pounds. Medium, athletic build. Present strength scattered throughout with some room to add in the future. Showcased the electric, high-octane arsenal throughout his outing and generated some really uncomfortable swings by some good hitters. A bit of a unique windup with hands and glove going over his head with a rocker step, but explodes down the mound and produces an lively fastball sitting 90-92 mph consistently throughout his three innings of work. Possesses sizable arm-side run and can really get it in on right-handed hitters. Spins a sweeping slider ranging 79-82 mph with 13-15 in. of horizontal movement. More horizontal break than lateral, and has a feel for landing it in the zone and beneath it. Also has a fading changeup sitting 76-79 mph with killed spin. Long, loose, whippy right-handed arm who was more in the zone than not during this viewing. Can swing it from the left side, too. Should be a high-level name to know in the 2025 class in Alabama.
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Gabe Jones RHP / OF / Oak Mountain High School, AL / 2025Uncommitted. 5-foot-9, 167-pounds. Super-athletic, twitchy prospect. Plenty of two-way intrigue shown during the event but possibly even higher upside as a right-handed pitcher. Has really started to full dedicate more efforts to pitching and it appears to be paying off. Command has been something that needed to be improved at times in the past, but in this look, the right-hander was consistently in the zone sitting 87-89 mph and touching 90 mph early on. But that's not even his best pitch, as his upper-70s curveball showcased as a future plus offering, showcasing tons of hard, downward bite and spin rates reaching 2900 RPM. He displayed the ability to pour it in for strikes in the zone, while also being able to start it at the bottom of the zone and bury it in the dirt for swing-and-miss in two-strike counts. Really high upside with lively, athletic arm and feel for spin. Certainly a pitcher in the rising senior class in Alabama to get eyes on this summer.
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Colby Durden RHP / OF / Hewitt-Trussville High School, AL / 2025Uncommitted. 6-foot-1, 190-pounds. Lean strength to build with room to add. One of the top available pitchers in the 2025 class in Alabama. Former Prep Baseball Future Games alumni who showed well at that event and continues to make sizable jumps. Pitches from a higher release point and over-the-top arm slot that creates a tough look for all hitters. Fastball operated 86-88 mph during this outing with plenty of strikes and has some carry and late life in the zone. Really lived on the outer-half to right-handed hitters during the outing. Has been up to 92 mph this summer at LakePoint. Spins a 73-75 mph with good conviction and intent, while showing tons of depth in a more 11-5 shape. Generated plenty of swings-and-misses against some good hitters during the outing. Showcased a power changeup at 80-81 mph with diving action as a quality third offering. Another talented uncommitted pitcher in the 2025 class in Alabama to see this summer.
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Cooper Pennington RHP / 1B / Shelby County High School, AL / 2026Uncommitted. 6-foot-2, 229-pounds. Ultra-physical, work-horse type build with mass throughout. A top-35 prospect in the 2026 class in Alabama with some two-way intrigue, but the power right-handed arm really jumped out during this viewing with a pair of clean innings during his outing. Really drives the ball down the mound using his advanced strength using a quicker-paced devliery. Fastball appears to play a tick up in the zone while sitting 85-88 mph during the outing, and getting plenty of sink to the offering and induced some weak contact throughout. Features a power slider at 78-80 mph as his primary secondary offering with tight, horizontal shape. Showed the ability to tunnel it at times to the back-foot of left-handed hitters after setting them up on an inner-half fastball. Rounds out the three-pitch mix with a 75-78 mph changeup that shows subtle arm-side action. Power-hitting left-handed bat with physicality, but likely has more upside as an arm.
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Jack Shaw RHP / Bob Jones High School, AL / 2025Uncommitted. 6-foot-3, 192-pounds. Some present strength to build which should carry more down the road. Another highly-ranked uncommitted pitcher in the rising senior class in Alabama. Known for his competitive traits and mentality after winning three-consecutive Game 3s in the Class 7A playoffs to lead his team to a state championship and has the stuff to back it up. Clean, fairly low-effort right-handed operation. Sitting more 84-86 mph during this outing while touching 87 mph a few times with sizable arm-side run to it. Can really spin a firm slider ranging 76-79 mph with sharp, lateral break and the ability to land it to the outer-half against right-handed hitters. Also mixed in 77-80 mph changeup with the same arm-side run as the fastball. Can throw any pitch in any count and exudes confidence on the mound. Name-to-know uncommitted right-handed pitcher in the 2025 class in Alabama.
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Colman Gann RHP / Priceville High School, AL / 2025Uncommitted. 6-foot-4, 183-pounds. Long-limbed, projectable frame. Certainly showcased as one of the better pitchers from the event while showcasing an intriguing two-pitch mix. Collecting numerous swings-and-misses during the outing while flipping in any pitch in any count and showing confidence in it. Sitting 84-86 mph with the fastball with future jumps likely. Has good arm-side run to the pitch and seems to play up some. Best pitch was easily his slider raning 71-74 mph, as he possesses the innate ability to spin it. The offering features late snap to it and tunnels well off the fastball while registering spin rates in the 2300-2400 RPM range. One of the better secondary pitches from the event. Already off to a good start to the summer and continues to boost his stock after this week's performance.
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Brayton Goode LHP / OF / Alexandria High School, AL / 2025Uncommitted. 6-foot-3, 187-pounds. Longer frame with sizable projection. Really jumped onto the radar and created plenty of buzz this spring in limited outings. Off to a good start to his summer and turned in a quality outing at this week's event. A recent riser in the recent Class of 2025 Rankings, the southpaw operated 85-87 mph with an average of 16 in. of induced vertical break and allowing the pitch to play up in the zone a bit. Slider sitting 73-75 mph showcases sharp, lateral break and can move it around the zone. Also turned over a couple quality changeups at 75-76 mph during the outing. Well-rounded three-pitch mix who is a bit of a late bloomer, but really has come onto the radar as of late and made a big name for himself. Name-to-know uncommitted southpaw in the 2025 class in Alabama this summer.
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Boston Brown RHP / Smiths Station High School, AL / 2027Uncommitted. 6-foot-3, 214-pounds. Durable build with advanced physical strength for his age. A top-10 prospect in the 2027 class in Alabama. Cruised his two innings of work during the outing and showcased an intriguing three-pitch mix in the process. Appears to have good poise and mound presence with confidence in all pitches. Threw some big innings for a quality 7A program this spring. Larger frame produced an 83-85 mph fastball with tons of arm-side run, registering and average of 15.7 in. of horizontal movement. Competing in the zone with the pitch. Also spins a tight slider in the mid-70s with good 11-5 shape, but the changeup was arguably the most impressive pitch of the repertoire during the outing. Ranging 75-77 mph, Brown was able to get tons of arm-side fade to the offering and averaged 17.8 in. of horizontal movement with the ability to land it for strikes. Starter traits with some two-way ability as a power-hitting corner infielder, as well. |
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Maxwell Crowder RHP / SS / Hoover High School, AL / 2026Uncommitted. 5-foot-11, 174-pounds. Lean, wiry frame with well-rounded athleticism. An intriguing two-way prospect in the rising junior class in Alabama who threw a large chunk of important innings on the mound for one of the better 7A programs this spring. Repeatable, athletic delivery. Sitting 84-86 mph during this outing with good command to both sides of the zone and has some arm-side run to the fastball. Spins a quality slider at 67-71 mph with sharp, 11-5 break to it and registered spin rates near the 2400 RPM range. Feel for spin comes easy with the athleticism. Turns the changeup over nicely in the upper-70s with typical arm-side fade. Also a really talented right-handed bat who possesses a line-drive approach at the plate with an athletic swing and feel for the barrel. Clocked a 7.09 60-yard dash and was up to 90 mph across the INF. Talented two-way prospect in the 2026 class in Alabama to monitor. |
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