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By Dennis Healy and Trevor Brown
Co-Directors of Scouting

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Top Stories of 2016 Rundown:
+ Big Time Commits in 2016

PBR New England's Top Stories for the Year 2016: Breakout Performances in the 2017 Class

 

The Arms

Matt Tabor, 2017 right-hander committed to Elon made a huge jump in velocity this past year. Attended East Coast Pro and Area Codes, and his draft status has jumped through the roof. Always could really pitch, moved it around well but this summer his jump in pure stuff separated him. Velocity wise, the 4th ranked player in the class is up to 88-91 mph with the fastball.

Robert Cerulle, 2017 right-hander from Phillips Andover first jumped on the scene last March during an indoor Pitcher’s event in Hudson Mass. Touched 91 mph that day and showed plus spin on the slider. Took the Ivy League route, committing to Penn. The 6th ranked player in the class should run through hitters in the Ivy League.

Joseph Simeone, 2017 power arm from Groton Dunstable. The arm itself is a joke, and at some point he should touch mid-90s. The command is in question but the 10th ranked player in the class stuff has jumped significantly in the last year. Joseph will take his business to UConn.

Jared Wetherbee, 2017 left-hander from St John’s Shrewsbury has done very well in the past year, making strides with his command and earning at spot at Elon. Huge amount of potential as the ball jumps out of his hand. 

Jacob Shrader, from the Hopkins School, came on strong in the middle of the summer. Attended the academic games, showed an above average fastball in the high-80s. The arm is clean, ball jumps out of his hand. The 14th ranked player in the class committed to Elon will make an immediate impact.

Raymond Bartoli, from Wolcott, more of a position player until this past summer, made a huge jump off the mound. Headed to Army to pitch, the arm is electric, with a fastball in the 85-87 mph, the breaking ball is hard in the mid-70s.

Billy Black, a right-hander from Wilton, had a breakthrough year, arm works out of an easy ¾ slot with late action to the arm side. The fastball is 84-87 mph, look for it to continue to climb. Columbia got a steal, projects out, the frame is long and lengthy.

The Position Players

Andy Hague, a speedster from Amity who is headed to UConn, plays the game at a very fast pace. At the plate, has a line drive approach, looks to spray it to all fields. Runs well above average, clocked at 6.82 in the sixty. Defensively, has good actions at second, is extremely quick side to side. 

Casey Brown, a monster left-handed hitter, had a huge spring for Mike Scott and Darien baseball. Producing over 30 RBI and collecting over 10 extra base hits. Headed to Fordham, the ball travels well to right at their park, look for him to hit some home runs. 

John Thrasher, another speedster, runs the 60-yard dash at 6.6, has a gap-to-gap approach, as he gets stronger and learns to hit better pitching, should be a draft down the road, can change the game with his legs.