Trosky Fall Team vs College of San Mateo Notes
October 4, 2018
On Saturday I was on hand for two fall ball games between Trosky and the College of San Mateo (JC). The Trosky Fall Team is comprised of some of the best talent in NorCal and getting to see them challenged against a Junior College team was great, especially during this time of the year. Trosky took batting practice before the game so I got to see a lot of swings in a short amount of time.
Here's some notes on players from the event.
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Omar Plascencia C / 3B / Bear Creek, CA / 2020Plascencia stood out with a strong batting practice where he drove balls deep into both gaps and then behind the plate defensively during the games. The senior catcher has a strong frame with wide, sloped shoulders and a barreled chest to match. His physical maturity is capped, but there's plenty of muscle currently on this medium frame while showing quick actions behind the plate and when hitting. Offensively he has a lot of pre-pitch movement with his high hands and high back elbow bouncing the bat off his back. His toe-tap timing allows him to work his hands to pull the bat back to N/S and then directly back. He's got quick hands that work on a slight uphill plane with a strong backside driving through the ball. The timing of his pre-pitch needs to be matched with the pitcher or the bat can be late to the zone, but he showed patience and the ability to make hard contact during the games. Defensively he showed quick pops (1.97, 1.85 Pop) in game with a caught stealing while showing a quick transition from the glove to match with an average arm. His receiving and blocking skills were also on display keeping runners from advancing and showing a firm yet soft glove hand keeping it low in the zone, especially on breaking balls. |
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Eddie Park OF / LHP / Valley Christian , CA / 2020The Stanford commit continued to show why he’s one of the state’s top 2020 players. He put on a high quality batting practice focusing on spraying the ball gap-to-gap and carried that bat control over to the games lining a ball into LCF gap. His ability to use his speed was shown with a sharp groundout up the middle (4.32 H-1st) where he was at full speed after a few steps and also when he stole second without a throw. That same speed carried over to CF, where he showed his agility and athleticism by adjusting his body on a ball hit directly over his head before reaching out at the last second to make a nice grab. In the 2nd game Park jumped on the mound and showed off an impressive arsenal. His delivery keeps his hands at his waist and allows his quick arm to come through cleanly at 3/4. The FB was 77-79, T81 MPH showing spots of arm-side run with good angle to the bottom half of the zone. Park’s arm was very loose with limited effort and touched the higher velocity when putting more intent to the pitches while still maintaining his command. I haven’t seen much of him on the mound and project the velocity being higher once into the spring season. Park also showed the ability to spin the ball with a 12/6 CB (67-70 MPH) having late, hard spin and the ability to be 2-level strikeout pitch. His SLD (73-75 MPH) showed short, lateral cut and was down in the zone. |
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Rowan Trosky RHP / 2B / Carmel, CA / 2020The uncommitted Rowan Trosky jumped out to me in this outing showing a strong, lean muscle build with a tight waist and length in his legs. He only pitched one inning but was very good in that inning striking out three. His delivery keeps his hands away from the body while staying at his waist, building tempo with a quick leg lift while allowing his very quick arm to be compact on the back and releasing in a high-3/4 spot. He can really turn his core and creates great angle commanding to the lower half of the zone before finishing over a stiff and solid front leg. The FB was 85-87 T88 MPH with late cut to the glove side and being able to spot the pitch on both sides of the plate. The late cut action made the pitch jump on hitters and kept them uncomfortable. He blended two off-speed pitches, CB and SLD, with better feel for the SLD in the outing. The SLD was 72-75 MPH with tight lateral spin while showing short break. He often pitched backwards, starting hitters off with the SLD or CB and showing the ability to go back-to-back with the pitch for punch-outs. The CB was 71-73 MPH with short, late action and 12-to-6 shape. His command was on point with all three pitches pounding the zone and he kept a great tempo throughout the outing. A name to follow for spring.
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Joey Bell 3B / 1B / San Joaquin Memorial, CA / 2020Bell showed a quality three-pitch mix in his two innings of work and projection in the body and arm. The righty has a lean upper half build with strength in his long legs and the room to add strength to his frame as he matures. He utilizes a high front knee with a simple step-and-turn delivery while dropping his hands to the waist and allowing his long action to reach to a high-3/4 release. There was a little tendency to spin off his front leg, but it didn't impact his command of the lower half of the zone during the outing. The FB was 82-83 T85 MPH touching higher velocity as he got into the second inning. The pitch had angle down through the zone and induced weak groundballs. The CB was 70-73 MPH showing short depth with flashes of tight 12-to-5 actions and feel for the pitch going back-to-back with it. Late in the second inning he brought out a CHG (78 MPH) that flashed above-average bottom with good feel for the pitch through the zone. The project-ability of the body and more velocity with the current command showed Bell to be a follow for the spring season. |
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Jabin Trosky SS / Carmel, CA / 2021The Oregon State commit showed off defensive chops above and beyond his young age and the quickness, agility and range to stick at the spot at the next level. He's got a medium frame with a high, tight waist and lean muscles throughout. During BP he showed off his defensive skills moving to all three-infield spots and consistently working to get his eyes behind the glove and showing quick feet to cover plenty of range. This carried over into game with him showing the ability to make the routine plays, but also the range to go deep into the outfield. He flashed extended range to both his glove and arm side and matched the range with an arm showing enough strength to make throws from both middle infield positions. His athleticism carried over when on bases, as he's a fluid runner able to steal bases and put pressure on opposing pitchers (4.59 H-1st). I liked seeing the aggressive approach on the bases especially during the fall as he gets to know when and where to utilize it. Offensively the switch hitter profiles a similar swing from both sides. He works with high hands/elbows and a slight leg lift and tuck for timing from a slightly open position. The hands are direct to the ball with the ability to spray line drives over the middle infield positions and showing some barrel control that can continue to grow as he matures and strengthens. |
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Trevor Haskins SS / 2B / Valley Christian , CA / 2021The Stanford commit showed a very projectable frame with present skill on both sides of the ball that will carry over to the next level. He's got a medium frame with a high waist and wide, sloped shoulder while showing lean muscles and projects to be able to add to the frame without taking away from his current game. Offensively he has a very quiet and simple set up keeping his hands tight and lower in the back pocket with a high back elbow before working the hands back early with a slight foot lift for timing. The hands stay back while the lower half starts moving forward and are very quick getting onto and staying on plane for a long time with his balanced swing. He showed in BP the ability to drive the ball into both gaps then showed off surprising pop in game driving a ball over the CF head for a triple. In game he showed patience not seen by many Sophomores regularly taking off-speed pitches while staying balanced then adjusting to be on time for the fastball. Defensively he showed above average rhythm and timing with excellent feet and the ability to quickly react on the left side of the diamond. The arm is average, but showed a quick release and the ability to make throws from different angles especially when he caught a runner trying to extend a 2B at 3rd base. The firm throws across the diamond indicate there's more there when needed. He's an average runner (4.75T H-3rd) using a shorter, choppy stride length that gets better underway rather than initial burst out of the box. The actions on the diamond just ooze with potential over the next seasons. |
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Blake Burke 1B / LHP / De La Salle, CA / 2021Burke's one of our Top 2021 players and with this being my first time seeing him I can understand why. The large frame already has some budding strength in it and can continue to firm up and add to it as he matures and ages. During BP he really worked the oppo side of the field with the ability to drive the ball into the gaps. He's got a tall stance with very high hands/elbows that work in time with his lifted front foot. The hands work down and back in the load before attacking the ball with an uphill path and allowing the backside to drive through the zone and finish over a stiff front leg. The bat shows quickness as it accelerates into the zone and matched with his strength could be a big bopper from the left side of the plate as he reaches maturity. Defensively he showed some range at 1st and an average arm starting a double play turn while behind the runner with guys on 1st and 2nd. Burke plays high and can continue to work on his flexibility to assist in getting balls out of the dirt and allowing him to make more plays. He's a heavy runner using the length in his leg rather than quickness while getting down the line. The physical build stands out and if he can continue to tighten the body as he matures, should be a middle of the order bat at the next level. |
UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| 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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