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San Diego, Calif.- This past weekend Prep Baseball California kicked off the fall slate of events with a trip to the University of San Diego for our SoCal Underclass Top Prospects event. With nearly 40 talented '27-'28 grads in attendance to showcase their tools during the workout and compete against each other during game play there was plenty of high quality baseball on display in San Deigo. 

The day got started with a Pro-Style showcase workout for all position players/two-way players in attendance. Players received athletic testing on the Swift platforms including 10-30-60 yard sprint times and RSI/Vertical Jump testing. Blast Motion sensors were in use for all batting practice swings to collect swing metric data while Trackman technologies provided the Prep Baseball California staff with batted ball data on each player throughout the batting practice portion. As well, players worked out at their positions during the defensive portion of the workout to collect arm strength velocities while evaluating actions of each player defensively. At the conclusion of the workout the 13 pitchers in attendance stepped on the mound at Fowler Park to face 6 hitters a piece and give our staff a look at the in game hitting, defense, pitching and base-running abilities of the players in performance.

Today, we will be taking a look at a few of the top performers from SoCal Underclass Top Prospects event. For all information on all players attending the SoCal Underclass Top Prospect event please click here to view the data gathered throughout the event.

SOCAL UNDERCLASS TOP PROSPECTS GAME TOP PERFORMERS:

Lukas Waite OF / RHP / St. Augustine, CA / 2027 Rankings  StateRank: 9 / POS: 3 OverallRank: 54 / POS: 16 Waite entered the event as the Top Ranked '27 in attendance and he quickly showed why during the workout portion of the event. Starting the day with a 6.64 60 time (including the top 10 & 30 yard splits) with a vertical jump at 33" another event best showcasing his top end athleticism. Then he flashed his OF arm strength hitting 90 MPH from the OF with carry to his throws from RF. Stepping in for batting practice Waite demonstrated the intriguing 2-way potential in his profile with an explosive RH swing featuring 79.4 MPH bat speed, 25.4 MPH hand speed, and 23.1 G's of rotational acceleration. His explosive swing combined with present bat to ball ability/feel for his barrel that generated a max EV of 96.3 MPH (2nd best at the event) and 83.8 MPH avg. EV (Top 10) with a 60% sweet spot rate. As impressive as the profile Waite can present as a position player is when the righthander toed the rubber for his inning of work to wrap up the game play he took his profile to the next level. Working off a 4 pitch mix of a FB-SLD-CHG-SPLT each of which he threw during his 6 batter outing the quality of his present stuff is loud with an intriguing operation to his delivery that gives you the feel there is more to come as he continues to mature. Waite ran his FB up to 92.4 MPH at the peak while pitching at 88-91.6 MPH throughout the outing with spin rates above 2600 RPMs on the peak sitting in the 2300 RPM range. As good as his FB is the offspeed mixture from Waite is just as impressive including a power SLD at 78-80 MPH with consistent spin rates at 2600 RPMs while averaging about 11.5" of horizontal break. Then he drops in an emerging SPLT at 80-81 MPH which he can kill the spin rates below 1000 RPMs while getting sink and run on the pitch. He rounds out his arsenal with a CHG in the 78-80 MPH range as well which he flashes feel for. Using this electric arsenal Waite punched out 5 of the 6 hitters he faced while the lone ball in play went for a 6-3 groundout.

Michael Aleman RHP / 3B / Etiwanda High School, CA / 2027 Rankings  StateRank: 98 / POS: 12 Aleman jumped on the Prep Baseball California radar with an impressive opening day start for Etiwanda against Orange Lutheran to open the 2024 Prep Baseball California Spring Invitational. At University of San Diego our staff had the chance to see his gains on the mound while also getting an interesting look at his tool set as a position player. Aleman clocked a 7.4 60 time while adding in good actions on the INF dirt during the workout portion of the day to give you a potential 2B/3B defensive profile. He flashed some sneaky RH impact peaking at 91.4 MPH on his max EV during batting practice with a max 330' batted ball distance giving some intrigue to his potential as a RH hitting infielder. Once the righthander took the mound in the 10th half inning of game play he showed quickly why he is ranked inside of the Top 100 players in the '27 class with potential to make a rise up this board in the coming years. Using a FB with heavy arm side run (16.6" of avg horizontal run while peaking at 20.5" of horizontal run) Aleman has seen his velocity tick up into the 84-86 MPH range while showing control/command of his FB. He backs the FB up with an intriguing SLD that he threw at 74-76 MPH with up to 15" of horizontal break giving him an east/west attack profile off these two pitches which when he adds in his 78-79 MPH CHG with nearly 18" of horizontal run he has a well rounded arsenal to attack both RH and LH hitters while projecting a starters profile.

Russell Del Castillo RHP / 3B / Damien, CA / 2028 Del Castillo is a 2024 Team California Junior Future Games alumni and is the lone '28 to make this list. Although there were several others who had very strong showings the physical RH hitting and righthanded pitching product from Damien stood out from the group. The 6'4 220 lbs. Del Castillo impressed during batting practice when he launched the farthest ball of the event at 368' while finishing in the Top 5 with a 95.4 MPH max EV and a Top 10 finish in hard hit %. He gets there from a swing which shows present strengthe including 20.6 MPH of hand speed, 70 MPH of bat speed 10.7 G's of rotational acceleration. Russell showed that his swing can perform in game when he launched a loud double to the LCF gap in his first plate appearance of the day. As good as his RH hitting profile presents there is plenty to like about what this rising '28 can do on the mound. Working off a FB at 81-84 MPH that shows present spin rates above 2200 RPMs while averaging 14.7" of IVB and peaking at 20.6" of IVB. His primary secondary at present is a developing 66-70 MPH SLD which shows sweeping action to the movement profile with an average of 20" of horizontal break. Del Castillo presently shows control of the strike zone with both pitches, but can improve his command of the arsenal to miss more bats in the future. He struck out 1 hitter, while allowing 1 baserunner and retired 5 of the 6 hitters he faced.

Lucas Huang OF / RHP / Torrey Pines High, CA / 2027 Huang flashed some intrigue as a RH hitting OF who has some tools on the position player side, but what the Torrey Pines righthander did on the mound earned him a spot on our Top Performers list. Huang presently features pitchability and feel for the strike zone over loud stuff, but demonstrated his ability to pitch by punching out 4 of the hitters he faced in a 6 batter inning with a line drive out and ground ball out recording his other two outs of the inning. Huang worked off a FB at 76-79 which he consistently pounded the strike zone with up to 19.3" of IVB at the peak while averaging 14.7" of IVB and present spin rates above 2200 RPMs. His SLD worked at a present 67-70 MPH with nearly 16.5" of horizontal break at the peak while averaging 11.5" of break. While the stuff doesn't light up the board what Huang showed as a pitcher with control/command of the zone and a competitive streak on the mound earns him a spot on the Top Performers list. If he can continue to add power to his stuff as he matures there is plenty to like about the future for Huang.

Trevor Rivas SS / 2B / Maranatha, CA / 2027 Rankings  StateRank: 108 / POS: 30 Rivas made his debut on the Prep Baseball California '27 class rankings after a good showing this summer sitting just outside the Top 100. After his performance at the SoCal Underclass Top Prospects event there is plenty of reason to anticipate a big rise coming for the Maranatha High school product coming in the future. An athletic build at 6' 160 lbs with wiry present strength and room to fill he demonstrated the actions in his footwork, hands and present arm strength that gives you the sense he could potentially stick at SS long term while more than capably play 2B/3B if a move is necessary. During batting practice the RH hitting Rivas showed off a quality swing with 20.9 MPH of hand speed, 69.3 MPH of bat speed, and 11.9 G's of rotational acceleration. His approach and swing at the plate showed well during batting practice with a max EV at 95.8 MPH while averaging 87.1 MPH during BP. The swing path is geared for lift with nearly a 100% Fly Ball-Line Drive rate and 62% sweet spot rate. When the game play started Rivas did not collect a hit but showed off his ability to drive the baseball to the OF with a pair of well struck baseball that carried well of the bat and as he adds strength to his present profile show his intriguing offensive ceiling.

Charlie Cummings SS / 2B / Sierra Canyon, CA / 2027 Cummings joins a growing list of talented Sierra Canyon underclass prospects who show high level tools and feel to perform in game. A RH hitting middle of the diamond INF defender his actions give you some SS potential in the long term with 7.17 present 60 speed and quickness off the line (1.7 10 yard split - 3.95 30 yard split) that even if a move is needed off SS he can handle a move to 2B to stay on the dirt. He starts from a unique set up at the plate with his hands set low below the rear shoulder and the bat laid back with barrel pointed towards the catcher, but don't let that fool you his RH swing shows high potential. There is explosiveness to his hand speed at 24.7 MPH (3rd best in the event) 72.7 MPH of bat speed (6th best of the event) while showing off impressive torque with 37 G's of rotational acceleration at peak and averaging 31 G's. His approach is heavy on contact with some sneaky impact including 90.5 MPH max EV on a 344' drive. As good as his batting practice performance was it was the work Cummings did during game play that really impressed as he collected a pair of well hit singles in 3 trips to the plate. An emerging '27 this was our staffs first look at Cummings and he left the event strongly on our radar as he looks to compete for a prominent role in the Sierra Canyon lineup as a sophomore.

Jayden Serna C / 1B / Norco High, CA / 2027 Rankings  StateRank: 123 / POS: 16 Serna put himself on the radar of our staff with his strong showing at the Prep Baseball Calfornia Inland Empire Summer ID in June at Temescal Canyon HS where his sweet LH swing and intriguing catching profile stood out. He joined the rankings for the '27 class at the conclusion of the summer and now after another strong showing in front of our staff looks poised for a rise up the board in the future. An athletically built 6' 160 lbs Serna shows room to add strength to his frame as he matures which will add to his already presently strong foundation of tools. With present quickness in his hands at 18.9 MPH while showing 66 MPH of bat speed with 13.2 Gs of rotational acceleration he takes a quality batting practice. Serna's swing features more bat to ball with leverage than raw power as evidenced by his 87.5 MPH max EV, but he hits the ball hard consistenlty with a 81.2 MPH average EV. His swing and approach showed well during the game play portion including a pair of well struck outs with a line drive right at the leftfielder and then was robbed of a single on a hard line drive up the middle when the 2B made a leaping grab. His toolset behind the plate is very strong with a good glove, some wrist strength, mobility in his lower half while adding in present arm strength with accuracy to his throws. The overall package of tools is solid and with room to add strength/athleticism to his profile the arrow is pointed up on Serna.

Austin Olness 3B / SS / Mira Costa, CA / 2027 The left side of the INF defender out of the very strong Mira Costa program Olness made a loud statement with his workout and even louder statement during the game play with his offensive performance. A solidly built 6'1 190 lbs RH hitter Olness caught eyes during batting practice where he showed off hand speed at 22.3 MPH with quickness to his bat 70.7 MPH while generating good torque in his lower 1/2 with 12.7 G's of rotational acceleration. The quality of his swing carries into a good approach at the plate which he showed off consistently during BP including 94.9 MPH max EV while averaging 85 MPH on his EVs with an event 3rd best 360' barrel during BP with a 66% sweet spot rate. As good as Olness was during batting practice he backed it up with an even better performance in game. During his first trip to the plate he worked a 3-2 count before unleashing a violent swing on a FB over the plate which he crushed to straight away LF for a no doubt homerun and then backed it up by staying back on a pitch a drilling a loud drive to RF in his 2nd plate appearance although this one went for a solid F-9. His RH hitting profile with present power and potential to handle the hot corner long term was on display at Fowler Park and puts him name firmly on the mind of the Prep Baseball California staff going into his sophomore campaign.

Jace Wooley SS / OF / CARDINAL NEWMAN HIGH SCHOOL, CA / 2027 Rankings  StateRank: 60 / POS: 13 Wooley was a standout performer at the 2024 NorCal Preseason All State Event and traveling down to SoCal to compete at Fowler Park the compact framed, but strong Cardinal Newman product showed off his loud toolset. While being on the smaller side in stature Wooley does not lack for big tools including arm strength as he uncorked accurate 89-90 MPH OF throws to home from RF and moved around with athleticism on the INF dirt showing his arm strength to handle the left sid of the dirt if he remains on the INF. When he stepped in for his batting practice rounds Wooley displayed an aggressive RH swing which features 20.1 MPH of hand speed, 67.7 MPH of bat speed while demonstrating impressive torque as he generates on average 25.8 Gs of rotational acceleration while peaking at 29.3 Gs. As good as he swing is he combines it with a quality bat to ball approach with present strength including 95.2 MPH max EV and 86 MPH avg EV and a swing with leverage which produced a nearly 60% line drive/fly ball rate. Wooley did not collect a hit, but barreled the baseball in the game play portion while showing his defensive versatility at a high level making him amongst the more intriguing prospects in attendance.

Bobby Ramirez 3B / SS / Pacifica High, CA / 2027 Rankings  StateRank: 51 / POS: 3 Once again Ramirez attends a Prep Baseball California event on the back end of a stellar freshmen season for the Pacifica Tritons of Oxnard and once again he leaves as one of the top performers at the event. His tools are solid across the board with nothing jumping off the page to be an elite tool, but what the medium framed INF does with his tools during workouts and game play does jump off the page. He moves around well on the INF dirt with good feet and confidence in his hands that could play SS long term, but also shows really well at 3B and can more than easily handle 2B. Wherever the spot is Ramirez profiles to stay on the INF dirt and be a potentially impactful defender especially if his athleticism makes a jump in the future. At the plate his compact direct RH swing (17.1 MPH of hand speed, 66.6 MPH of bat speed from 12.2 Gs of rotational acceleration) plays to his bat to ball high contact approach which wears out the entire field with well struck baseballs. His rounds of batting practice was barrel after barrel through the middle of the field including an 88 MPH max EV and a 75% sweet spot rate showing off his present feel to hit which will add power as he matures to add more strength to his frame. Yet, again in the game play portion he stood out with a loud drive to CF for an out in his first plate appearance while playing solid defense. Sitting just outside the Top 50 players in the state for the '27 class there is plenty of reason to believe we may see him push inside that group in the future.

Wes Gomes 3B / C / Vista Murrieta , CA / 2027 Rankings  StateRank: 59 / POS: 5 Gomes quickly catches your eyes with a phsyicality to his frame that is unique for a sophomore in high school at 6'2 215 lbs with plenty of strength throughout his body. Far from just a physical body he brings a strong set of tools across the board as a catch/throw backstop with arm strength which showed low carry with a quick release during the defensive work behind the plate while adding a strong feel to receive with strength in his wrist and mobility in his lower 1/2 to get low in his crouch. His RH hitting profile shows plenty of present strength with 20 MPH of hand speed and an impressive peak of 75.2 MPH of bat speed while generating 16.8 Gs of rotational acceleration to use his lower half for power. His present strength with a solid RH swing foundation and a good approach at the plate carried into a loud batting practice performance including an event 99.7 MPH max EV line drive to CF at 347' while averaging 89.1 MPH on his EVs with a 75% hard hit rate which are both also event best metrics and adds a 75% sweet spot rate to go with that. He translated his work at the plate into the game with a hard single to RF for an RBI and another well struck ball on a ground out to SS. A power potential RH hitter who shows a high ceiling defensive profile at a premium spot he definitely embodied the event title of "Underclass Top Prospect."

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