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 some of the top underclassmen from the Academy World Series.

 

TNXL Academy

 

Jaime Ferrer C / SS / TNXL Academy, FL / 2021 Uncommitted, Stocky body and aggressive. Hits at the top of the lineup and has bat to ball skill with gap to gap power.

 

Dawson Turner LHP / TNXL Academy, FL / 2021 Uncommitted, 6-foot-6 frame, has a lot of upside sitting 80-83 and good arm action. Has to learn how to throw strikes consistently with his fastball and off-speed.

 

Jackson Nezuh RHP / TNXL Academy, FL / 2020 Florida 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 frame with a lot of room for growth. Pitched all 5 innings for TNXL. He allowed one run on five hits, striking out 6 and walking none.

 

Marcus Valle INF / Boone, FL / 2020 Uncommitted, 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.

 

Pro5 Academy

 

Zane Taylor OF / RHP / Crossroads Flex, NC / 2020 Uncommitted, fastball 84-85, curveball 72-73 and changeup 76-77. Commands the strike zone with all pitches and keeps weight over the rubber and stays on line to the plate. Keeps hitters off balanced and mixes pitches well.

 

IMG Performance

 

Kevin Karstetter SS / RHP / IMG Academy, FL / 2020 FAU 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.

 

Jake Gelof SS / RHP / IMG Academy , FL / 2020 William and Mary commit was 87-89 with command, curveball at 74. Ball jumping out of his hand and good action. At 6-foot-1 170 and has room for more growth.

 

Andrew Bergeron OF / 3B / IMG Academy, FL / 2020 Uncommitted, big strong frame at 6-foot-2 185 pounds, still has room for growth, good balanced swing and above average power to all parts of the field, stays through the zone,  Good strong arm and moves athletically in the outfield.

 

Corbin Morrison LHP / OF / IMG Academy, FL / 2020 Tennessee recruit. The left-hander showed high upside with a long, lanky frame and loose 3/4 arm action. Struggled a bit with command, but worked 85-6 touching 89 mph with a 71-73 mph curveball.

 

 

MVP Academy

 

Jose Rodriguez SS / MVP Academy, FL / 2021 Uncommitted, 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.

 

Diego Tamariz RHP / MVP Academy, FL / 2020 Uncommitted, had ten strikeouts through 4.1 innings. He was able to keep hitters on their toes with six of his strikeouts being called third strikes. Displayed a sharp slider and the ability to throw it in any count. His fastball sat 84-86 and topped out at 87. Commanded the running game well from the stretch with 1.22-1.40 times to home.

 

Armando Ramirez OF / MVP Academy, FL / 2020 Uncommitted, 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.

 

 

P27 Academy

 

Billy Amick 3B / C / P27 Academy, SC / 2021 Uncommitted, Good balanced approach at the plate, big athletic frame, a little heavy with the footwork, but moves well. Lot of power in the bat. Feel to hit and stayed on the barrel consistently. High offensive ceiling.

 

Ryan Ouzts 3B / RHP / C / Gilbert, SC / 2020 Uncommitted, strong stocky frame and good arm, just learning catching and has a good base behind the plate, stays low receiving, strong hands. Pop time was 2.1, little long with the transfer. Good barrel awareness and uses the lower half well when hitting, stays through the zone well. 87-89 with a clean arm action.

 

Trevor Rider SS / C / P27, SC / 2020 Mercer commit, Long, lanky frame with broad shoulders. Very projectable, moved well in the infield. Offensively he stood out as the left-handed hitter creates leverage from the left side and showed an ability to turn the barrel.

 

Andrew Duval LHP / P27 Blacksmiths , SC / 2021 Uncommitted, fastball 77-78, curveball 62-63, changeup 65-66, mixes all pitches in for strikes to keep batters off balance and commands the zone, moves in and out well, ¾ arm slot and has a 12/6 curveball.

 

 

Next Level Academy

 

Michael Braswell RHP / SS / Campbell, GA / 2021 South Carolina recruit, really stood out defensively. He has a live body, light feet, moves athletically with above average range and hands. Offensively, stands tall, the path works, level and compact and will continue to improve with maturity and strength.

 

Jake Green C / Next Level, AL / 2022 Uncommitted freshman, perhaps one of the most intriguing prospects on the day. Was 3-for-3 and has a compact swing with strength. Really stood out defensively, where he has flexibility, above average hands and the overall ability to be a well above average defensive catcher.

 

 

Elite Squad Academy

 

Lucas Nido SS / OF / ESB Academy , FL / 2020 Uncommitted, 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.

 

Sebastian Bentz LHP / 1B / Elite Squad Baseball Academy, FL / 2020 Uncommitted, funky lefty went 4 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits and 8 strikeouts. His fastball sat 84-86. He excelled at missing barrels early in his outing. Fastball had sharp arm-side run.

 

 

Elev8 Academy

 

Kyle Murphy C / 3B / Elev8, FL / 2021 Uncommitted, was moving all around behind the plate throughout the game to block everything to give his team the best chance to come back and win the game.

 

Joseph Phan SS / 3B / Elev8, FL / 2021 Uncommitted, stocky, strong frame. Present quick twitch and athleticism. Has a compact, level swing with present bat speed. The uncommitted sophomore has a lot of present tools and offensive upside.

 

Ben Vespi RHP / 1B / Elev8, FL / 2020 UCF commit, 6-foot-3 inches and 175 pounds, fastball 88-90, curveball 77-78, has clean arm action and stay on line to the plate, room for growth in the frame and commands the strike zone with all pitches.

 

 

 

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