2019 Academy World Series: All-Tournament Team
May 16, 2019
On May 10th-12th, 2019 at the Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, PBR Florida hosted the First annual Academy World Series. This years event featured eight academies from Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Alabama. The event featured a pair of pool play games followed by single elimination bracket-play. There were many players that stood out this past weekend. Here's a look at the All-Tournament Team and Tournament MVP from the Academy World Series.
Tournament MVP
All-Tournament Team
Catcher
 |
Kyle Murphy C / 3B / ELEV8 Academy , FL / 2021Uncommitted, sophomore, 6-foot-1, 160 pounds with a lanky body. Has a lot of room to grow and get stronger. Was moving all around behind the plate throughout the tournament to block everything to give his team the best chance to win games.
|
First Base
| |
Jake Nemith 1B / Next Level, AL / 2019Uncommitted, the stocky first baseman showed strength in the swing. There is some stiffness, but present power. Had 3 extra base hits in the tournament including a triple and a home run. Also had 4 RBI.
|
Third Base
| |
Marcus Valle 3B / Boone, FL / 2020Uncommitted, 6-foot-1, 185 pound athletic body with great balanced approach at the plate, great barrel awareness and has above average power from the left side, moves athletically on defense and has good hands, good arm. Homered and had 2 RBI and played solid defense at third.
|
Middle Infield
| |
Jose Rodriguez SS / MVP Academy, FL / 2021Uncommitted, super athletic undersized gamer, plays bigger than his size, Moves really well in the infield and has good hands, good balance when fielding and has a good arm, aggressive on the bases and runs them well, aggressive at the plate and has good bat speed, has gap to gap power. Hit .333 for the tournament and played solid defense at shortstop.
|
Middle Infield
 |
Kevin Karstetter SS / RHP / IMG Academy, FL / 2020FAU recruit, strong athletic frame and moves very athletically around the field, has an above average arm and can make the backhand play in the hole at shortstop, but projects as a third baseman in the MLB. Has above average power at the plate and stays through the zone long and has great strike awareness and doesn’t swing out of the zone too much. Quick hands and gets the barrel on top. Had multiple hits in the tournament including a home run off a 92 mph fastball from UNC commit Joe Charles.
|
Outfield
| |
Benino Mendella OF / 2B / IMG Academy, FL / 2019Earlham University commit, super athletic and quick on the field, plays bigger than his size at 5-foot-9 inches and 165 pounds, gamer on the field and plays hard, plays good outfield with a good arm, great barrel awareness and stays balanced at the plate with his approach. Hit .538 for the tournament with a triple and a home run. Played solid defense in center field including a fancy diving catch.
|
Outfield
| |
Simms Owens OF / C / P27 Academy, SC / 2019Charleston Southern University commit. Athletic build with sneaky quickness. Good approach at the plate and has barrel awareness, gap power. Moves smoothly in the outfield and gets behind the ball well with an above average arm. Hit .571 with 4 hits in the tournament, including 2 doubles to the warning track and 2 RBI.
|
Outfield
| |
Armando Ramirez OF / MVP Academy, FL / 2020Uncommitted, lefty hitter who has good barrel awareness, good balanced approach at the plate and uses the lower half well by staying connected when swinging, moves athletically in the outfield and has a good arm. Strong, athletic frame. Hit .417 with 5 RBI and 5 stolen bases for the tournament.
|
Pitcher
| |
Reece Fields RHP / P27, SC / 2019North Greenville University commit, 6-foot-2, 210 pounds. Tall, stocky right hander, 85-87 on the fastball, sweeping curveball 75-76 and command of all pitches. Front-door curveball produced many swings and misses. Threw 6 shutout innings and had 9 strikeouts and 2 walks.
|
Pitcher
| |
Kieren Collins RHP / IMG Academy, FL / 2019John Hopkins commit, tall, athletic right hander, fastball 82-84, curveball 73-74, changeup 70-71, commands the strike zone with all pitches and keeps hitters off balance, 6-foot and 170 pounds has room for growth, stays on line when going towards home and repeats mechanics easily. Whippy arm action. Threw 6 shutout innings and had 5 strikeouts.
|
Pitcher
| |
Jackson Nezuh RHP / RHP / TNXL Academy, FL / 2020Florida commit. Good smooth arm action, 88-90 with fastball, slider 72-73, stays in line to the plate. Commands all three pitches. 6-foot-1, tall, athletic frame with a lot of room for growth. Pitched 5 innings for TNXL. He allowed one run on five hits, striking out 6 and walking none.
|
Pitcher
| |
Jackson Sobocinski RHP / 3B / Pro5 Baseball Academy, NC / 2019Uncommitted, big, strong RHP pitched a complete game, striking out 10 batters. Clean delivery with no wasted motions was easily repeated the entire game. His fastball sat 80-82 and featured some arm-side run with depth.
|
Utility
| |
Lucas Nido SS / OF / ESB Academy , FL / 2020Uncommitted, Top uncommitted 2020, 6-foot 170 pounds, continues to show out offensively. Homering in his first at-bat, the physicality plays very well offensively. Still has looseness to the swing and creates above average bat speed and big offensive toolset. Solid defensively in the infield. Homered twice during the weekend.
|
Utility
 |
Tyrell Brewer SS / 2B / TNXL Academy, FL / 2019FSU recruit. He showed exceptional patience at the plate by working long at-bats the entire game. His swing was very short and compact with the barrel staying through three to four balls. Flashed great instincts on the base paths, stealing multiple bases. Reached base in 7 of his 8 plate appearances. Stole 4 bases.
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| Panhandle Summer Kick-Off Games | FL | 05/18 | Northwest Florida State |
| PBR ProCase - Florida (Invite Only) | FL | 05/25 | IMG Academy |
| PBR Summer Kickoff ID | FL | 05/26 | IMG Academy |
| Underclass Games - UCF (Invite Only) | FL | 06/23 | John Euliano Park - Central Florida |
| Prospect ID - FIU | FL | 06/29 | Infinity Insurance Park - Florida International |
| Underclass Games - Miami (Invite Only) | FL | 06/30 | Alex Rodriguez Park - University of Miami |
| Top Prospect Games - Jacksonville (Invite Only) | FL | 07/06 | John Sessions Stadium - Jacksonville University |
| Prospect ID - UCF | FL | 07/13 | John Euliano Park - Central Florida |
| Underclass Games - South Florida (Invite Only) | FL | 07/14 | USF Baseball Stadium - South Florida |
| All-States Games (Invite Only) | FL | 07/27 | Alex Rodriguez Park - University of Miami |
| Junior Future Games | NATIONAL | 07/30 | LakePoint |
| 2019 PBR Future Games (Florida Invite) | FL | 07/31 | LakePoint - Cartersville, GA |
| Improve My Profile with Game Video (Florida) | FL | 02/26 |
Scouting Report
5/16/2019
UNCW recruit, 6-foot-2 inches and 215 pound infielder, Big body and moves aesthetically with power to all fields. Stays on plane and through the zone well when hitting and showed that he’s not just an intimidating presence in the box because of his size. He had an advanced approach and plate discipline, laying off close pitches and 2-strike breaking balls in the dirt. He also showed his ability to let the ball travel and go the other way. Made some nice plays in the field and showed off a strong arm from third base. Hit .500 and reached base 7 of 9 plate appearances. Even showed off his athleticism with a couple stolen bases. Also hit a walk-off single against IMG that sent Pro5 to the championship.