Fall Upperclass Games: Quick Hits - Pitchers

PBR Georgia hosted its second annual Fall Upperclass Games on Sunday, November 8th at LakePoint Sports in Emerson, GA. The event brought together over 100 uncommitted prospects from the 2021-2022 class for a pro-style workout and simulated game. Today, we will be spending some time highlighting the pitchers we saw from Sunday in the form of our Quick Hits post.

We already took a look at the top statistical performers with leaderboards and full stats on every prospect in attendance in our Statistical Analysis, TrackMan Hitting Analysis and TrackMan Pitching Analysis. Within the next few weeks, videos from this event will be posted into profiles and we will have scouting reports on each of the prospects in attendance. For now, here are the highlights from Sunday.

Southpaws

+ LHP Riley Cruce (Loganville, 2022) continues to show well at PBR events. The 6-foot, 190-pound left-handed pitcher has a lean frame with a broad set of shoulders. He pounds the zone with a three pitch mix, and, on this day in particular, showed a deceptive, swing and miss changeup that had fade and sink. A high level strike thrower, his fastball sat 81-85, while mixing in a curveball at 71-72 and a very effective changeup at 72-75.

+ LHP/OF Tyrus Cobb (Locust Grove, 2022) works long to an over-the-top slot, quick arm speed. Was effective with his fastball in game, locating it high in the zone and getting batters to chase, sat 80-83. Also mixed in a 12/6 breaking ball at 70-73.

+ One of the largest prospects in attendance and in the state, LHP Jeb Satterfield (Ola, 2021) stands a towering 6-foot-9, 235-pounds. Satterfield worked 78-80, touching 81 with sink. There is much more in the tank as he adds muscle to his extra large frame.

+ LHP/OF Blake Wood (Glynn Academy, 2021) had one of the biggest days on the mound. In an extended inning, Wood struck out seven batters while walking zero batters, pounding the zone with four pitches. The athletic southpaw sat 79-82, touching 83 with his fastball. He showed two distinct breaking balls, a curveball at 62-65 and a slider at 68-71.

Projectable Right-Handers

+ RHP/3B Charlie Siegel (North Paulding, 2022) has made some huge strides in the mound this fall. Siegel is a physical 6-foot-2, 205-pound who continues to fill out his frame with usable strength. His arm works short and quick. Siegel attacked the zone with a heavy fastball, sitting 84-86, touching 87. He also mixed in a slider and a changeup effectively.

+ RHP/1B Barrett Eldridge (Walton, 2022) had one of the most projectable frames at the event, standing a long, lanky 6-foot-4, 200-pounds. The big righty is a bit raw on the mound, but with his frame and arm strength, there is a lot to like. He sat 81-84, touching 85.

+ An arm to keep an eye on moving forward is RHP Elijah Reece (North Hall, 2022). Hall is a lean, lanky 6-foot-3, 185-pounds. His arm works whippy to an over-the-top slot, really pulling down on the ball to create tilt. Reece continues to see consistent upticks in velocity, now sitting 83-85, touching 86 (was up to 87 earlier in the fall). He showed good feel for a 12/6 curveball that has depth, and a sinking changeup at 78-80.

+ One of the many breakout arms at the event was RHP/1B CJ Whaley (Kennesaw Mountain, 2021). Whaley has a strong, sturdy 6-foot-3, 205-pound frame and is a good athlete on the mound. In his extended inning on the mound, he struck out five of the six batters he faced, allowing zero hits. Whaley mixed in three pitches for strikes. His fastball sat 84-85, touched 86 with running action. He consistently used his curveball as an out pitch, burying it low in the zone for swing and misses.

+ RHP Jack Butler (Pope, 2022) has a frame that will draw plenty of attention at 6-foot-4, 190-pounds. Butler impressed with his fastball and curveball, striking out three of the six batters he faced. He sat 80-84, touching 85 with run and a 2350 spin rate. His curveball took a 12/6 shape and featured depth.

+ RHP/3B Tazwell Butler (St. Pius X, 2021) has made some big velo gains in the past few months. We saw him early in the spring season up to 81, he came out at the Fall Upperclass Games running his fastball up to 87. Butler has a loose, whippy arm action that comes out of high ¾ slot, creating good tilt on his fastball. He mixed in a 12/6 breaking ball with depth and a changeup at 78-79.

+ South Georgia State commit RHP Kyle Felker (Coahulla Creek, 2021) has a long, lean 6-foot-1, 150-pound frame, with a ton of room to fill out. Felker sat 84-85, touching 86 and showed good feel for his offspeed. His curveball worked 12/6 while his changeup featured fade and sink.

Spin Wins

+ RHP Thomas Smith (2021) led the entire event in offspeed spin rate, snapping off a curveball that had a max spin rate of 2681. The curveball sat 68-73 with sharp, slurve-like shape. Smith consistently threw it in the zone, 78.6 % of the time according to TrackMan, inducing swing and misses routinely. His fastball sat 82-84 with a 2279 spin rate.

+ RHP/INF Agyei Quinichett (St. Pius X, 2022) was the final arm to throw at the event and capped off the night with a bang, striking out the first five batters he faced and getting the sixth to pop up on the infield. Quinichett has a long, yet quick arm, allowing for him to get out front on time. He controlled the zone with his fastball and curveball combo, collecting a high volume of swing and misses on both. His fastball sat 84-86, touching 87 with a 2342 spin rate, and his curveball, the go-to out pitch, has sharp 12/6 shape with a 2556 spin rate.

+ RHP Parker Mirick (Brookwood School, 2021) impressed with some of the liveliest stuff at the event. His fastball and slider complimented each other well, coming out of the same window and showing opposing movement patterns. The fastball, up to 87, had heavy run action. Mirick did a good job bringing in one the hands of right-handed hitters. The slider had sharp sweep and some late downer bite to it, sitting 73-76 with a 2563 spin rate.

+ RHP Avery Brown (East Coweta, 2022) filled up the zone with his fastball and slider. An athletically built 6-foot, 180-pounder. His arm works long and quick to a ¾ slot, getting out front on time allowing for him to work down in the zone. The fastball sat 85-86, touching 87 with armside run and a 2210 spin rate. The slider showed tight cutting action and depth, sitting 73-75 with a 2434 spin rate. 

+ RHP Ethan Chernik (Blessed Trinity, 2022) showed an aptitude to create good spin on his fastball and curveball. The fastball, topping out at 83, had a max spin rate of 2259. The curveball had one of the top spin rates at the event at 2417, while sitting 72-74.

+ RHP/INF Matthew Morgan (LaGrange, 2021) works athletically on the mound with a quick, clean arm. Morgan had one of the highest spinning fastballs at 2308, the pitch sat 84-86, topping out at 87. He mixed in a big breaking 12/6 curveball and a sinking changeup at 75-76 that he was really able to take the spin off of, averaging an 1100 spin rate. Morgan attacked the zone in his inning on the mound, striking out four of the five batters he faced.  

Physical Arms

+ RHP Cole Munhall (2022) laid claim to the top fastball at the event, sitting 86-88, topping out at 89 with a 2253 spin rate. Munhall has a strong, sturdy 5-foot-11, 185-pound frame with a physical lower half. In addition to his high powered fastball, he added in a 12/6 curveball that showed depth and has the makings of a swing and miss pitch. In his inning on the mound, Munhall struck out three while allowing zero hits.

+ RHP Aedan Cates (Trinity Christian, 2022) has a wide, physical 6-foot-1, 205-pound frame with strength throughout. The big right-hander worked his fastball up to 85, sitting 82-84. Cates mixed in a sweeping slider at 71-75.

Pitchability

+ An arm that we became very familiar with over the summer and fall, RHP Conner Sizemore (Northside, 2021) did his thing once again at the Fall Upperclass Games. The 5-foot-7, 145-pound right-handed pitcher consistently pounds the zone with a quick, clean arm action. Sizemore has feel for three pitches, striking out four of the six batters he faced. His fastball sat 84-85, touching 86. He located his slider to both sides of the plate effectively, creating swing and misses and weak contact.

+ 3B/RHP Caleb Piland (Cherokee Bluff, 2022) did not feature overpowering stuff, but he made up for that with his ability to locate his four pitch arsenal. In his extended inning on the mound, he struck out four batters while allowing one hit. Poland’s fastball topped out at 80 while he mixed in two breaking balls at 69-71 and a changeup at 7071.

+ RHP/3B Luke Edmonds (Johns Creek, 2022) flew through his inning on the mound. Another arm that did not have overpowering stuff but showed great feel for a four pitch mix. Edmonds did not allow a ball out of the infield in his appearance, striking out four batters and getting two ground outs.

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