As the SoCal Scout Ball season wears on we'll inevitably see guys multiple times despite our focus on new looks with players. Fortunately for us with the season so early we are still running into new names that are doing good things on the diamond.

As part of our ongoing Scout Ball coverage we were out at Mt. Sac for a doubleheader that featured the A's Green & Gold, the Arsenal, and the Slammers. With this many teams we were going to inevitably see new guys and rest assured that is exactly what happened.

Here we go...

QUICK HITS: POSITION PLAYERS

2019 OF/INF Emilio Luna of Caste Park HS made the defensive play of the day in center field on a ball hit deep in the left-center gap. Luna got a good jump and took a nice route on the fly ball that was hit over his right shoulder. He displayed solid closing speed as he tracked down the baseball before leaving his feet completely to make a backhanded diving catch. He looked graceful and comfortable in the outfield while also displaying nice actions on the infield with fair agility and smooth footwork. He spent one inning at both third and second base, and featured a fairly quick arm with present average strength. He was very aggressive on the bases, flashed decent first-step quickness, and showed an ability to steal bases. He drives through the baseball with a solid swing that is fairly short to the ball and quick through the zone....2019 C Isaac Ramirez of Sonora HS displayed nice actions behind the plate with solid athleticism and a fairly live lower body. He features soft hands with a decent ability to receive and frame the baseball. Presents fair footwork behind the plate. He displayed a nice release/transfer as his pop-time averaged around 2.0 seconds to second base. Swing is compact, short to the baseball, and quick through the zone from the right side. He flashed the ability to get the barrel out in front of the plate fairly consistently....2019 INF Stewart Slessor of Norco HS ffeatured nice actions, fairly soft hands, and a decent feel for the baseball on the infield. He came through grounds balls pretty well, flashed decent footwork, and took fair angles. He played both shortstop and third base. He seems playable as a middle infielder, but is probably better suited at third base down the road. Slessor featured a nice swing path with solid lift and extension. He presented an athletic approach at the plate and looked very comfortable in the box. His swing has some twitch to it, is fairly short to the ball, and drives through the baseball well....2020 INF Nathan Barraza of Mission Hills HS displayed nice actions at third base and also flashed average arm strength for the position. He featured nice body control with fair footwork and a decent feel for the ball on the infield. His hands were pretty soft and his release/transfer of the baseball was fairly quick. At the plate Barrarza made the bat look small, was short to the baseball, and flashed the ability to get the barrel out in front of the plate. He possesses an athletic frame with broad shoulders, long, lean legs, and room to add good muscle....2021 INF Davis Hildebrandt of Esperanza HS displayed decent actions and a fair feel for the ball at both shortstop and second base. On the infield he featured soft hands, took nice angles to ground balls, and flashed decent agility. At the plate Hildebrandt features a compact swing that is fairly short to the baseball with nice bat to ball ability. He showed nice plate coverage and the ability to hit the baseball to each field. He possesses a small frame standing at 5'8", but his body seems to have some thickness and durability to it....2019 INF Alex Seguine of LB Wilson HS displayed nice actions and a nice feel for the baseball at shortstop, third and second base. He came through ground balls well, presented nice footwork around second base with a fair pivot, and demonstrated a quick release/transfer of the baseball. He took nice angles to ground balls, and displayed decent quickness and agility on the infield. At the plate Seguine displayed a quiet, controlled approach with a swing that is short to the baseball and quick through the zone. He seems to have nice bat to ball ability and be a contact oriented hitter....2019 OF Art Ruiz of San Dimas HS did not play defensively on this day, but did get a couple of at bats and featured nice, easy actions in the batter's box. A left-handed hitter, his approach at the plate is quiet, balanced and controlled with a swing that is short to the ball and quick through the zone. He possesses a smaller frame at 5'9", but has a lean, athletic build to his body...2019 INF/OF/RHP Kaleb Lemos of Roosevelt HS showed great versatility on this day as he spent time at right field, third base and on the bump. While he is playable at a corner infield position, his future is may likely in the corner outfield or on the mound. He showed some in-game power potential in his last at-bat of the day as he drove the baseball into the left-center gap for an easy double. He displayed some bat speed and showed nice torque in his swing. Lemos also looked pretty good on the mound. He features nice angles, solid arm action with a medium, smooth arm circle, and a controlled, balanced delivery that has athleticism to it.

QUICK HITS: PITCHERS

2020 RHP Ryan Wentz of South Hills HS possesses a strong frame at 6'4" 200 pounds with broad shoulders, a compact torso, and long, strong legs. He throws from a three-quarter arm slot, features fair angles, travels down the mound well, and is fairly linear to the plate. He threw exclusively from the set position and displayed a delivery that was very controlled, balanced and repeatable. He throws from a nice down-hill plane and the baseball comes out of his hand clean. He showed a three-pitch mix: fastball, changeup and a slurve-type breaking ball. He pounded the zone with strikes pretty consistently, did not walk anybody, and flashed fair control/command ability....2019 RHP Chase Hennesey of Marina HS possesses a strong frame at 6'5" 200 pounds with broad shoulders, a long torso, and long, lean legs. He throws from a high three-quarter arm slot, features decent angles, and is fairly linear to the plate. His delivery is controlled and has some athleticism to it, but tended to lack balance as he seemed to be falling toward first base as he released the baseball. He showed a two-pitch mix: fastball and curve ball. He threw both a four-seam and two-seam fastball. His four-seam featured some natural cut to it with some of it occurring at the plate while his two-seam flashed okay run, but was fairly straight. He can spin the curve ball a little....2019 LHP Mike Gutierrez of California HS possesses a nice frame at 6'2" that is long, lean, and wiry. He throws from a low three-quarter arm slot, features fair angles, travels down the mound well, and is not too linear to the plate. His delivery is controlled, balanced and repeatable with some athleticism to it. He presents a loose arm action with a smooth, medium arm circle that hid the baseball a little and is very repeatable. He threw across his body with decent extension and a decent follow through. He presented a three-pitch mix: fastball, curveball and changeup. He flashed some control as he filled up the zone with strikes pretty consistently.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE	STATE	DATE	LOCATION
Rising Stars Showcase	CA	09/23	Corona Santiago HS
Central Coast Open	CA	10/07	Cabrillo College
Senior Games (Invite Only)	CA	10/13	JSerra High School
Los Angeles Open	CA	10/20	Maverick Field

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