By Jacob Gill
Philadelphia Region Director of Scouting

It was championship day of the Metropolitan Baseball Classic, which meant that all eight participating teams were in action at Citi Field. Highlights from the day are below, split up by players inside and outside PBR's current coverage area.

PBR Coverage Area

+ St Louis Mets senior RHP Nick Dalesandro (Joliet Catholic Academy, IL) turned in one of the top pitching performances of the day, going five innings while allowing only a flare single and issuing no walks against six strikeouts. Athletic with a quick arm, the Purdue recruit sat 85-87 mph and touched 88 in his final inning. Ranked No. 3 in the Illinois 2015 class for his double-duty abilities (he is also a standout catcher), Dalesandro's go-to secondary offering was a late-breaking slider at 79-81 that was hard to pick up out of his hand. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder also showed an ability to flip a curveball at 73-74 for a strike as well as drop down sidearm for an 84-mph fastball with arm-side run. Dalesandro pounded the strike zone (71 percent strikes) and fielded his position well.

+ A couple of right-handed hitting senior outfielders who are verbally committed to Louisville showed well for the St Louis Mets. Chris Botsoe (Hinsdale Central HS, IL) has a lean frame with room to add strength and exhibited quick wrists with a penchant for using the middle of the field. The No. 9 2015 prospect in Illinois also recorded a steal time of 3.37 seconds. Josh Stowers (Mount Carmel HS, IL) has some present strength in his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. Ranked 17th in the Illinois 2015 class, he runs easy and posted a top home-to-first time of 4.04.