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State Games - Georgia (Day 2 & 3 Notes)

June 1, 2019
Kyle Colletta
Georgia Staff

Days 2 and 3 of the State Games - Georgia event at LakePoint brought out some top committed and uncommitted talent. Take a look at some of the highlighted performers before Championship Sunday:

Triton Rays 17u

Ryan Whitener, RHP North Cobb Christian, GA 2019
Oglethorpe Commit. The 6 foot 2, 200 pound frame. Fields position well and shows athleticism for size. Simple leg kick with the ball coming from behind his ear on delivery. Attacks the zone, spots his pitches; efficient. Fastball sits at 82-83,T85. 10/4 curveball with tight spin; 68-71. Played with a double leg kick to effect hitters’ timing.

Nathan Jenkins C Johnson Ferry Christian Academy, GA 2020
The 5 foot 11, 180-pound catcher has an athletic frame. Short compact swing that is short to the ball. Hits the ball where it’s pitched. Receives the ball well behind the plate and had accurate throws down to 2nd. Commands the infield and is a vocal leader. 

GA Road Runners

Ian Kennedy (2020 OF, Whitefield Academy)
6’3 215 strong athletic frame. High athleticism with powerful legs and swift feet. Great barrel awareness and is short to the ball with gap to gap power. Is transitioning from his usual first base position to the outfield. Works behind fly balls well, takes appropriate routes, and gains ground through the ball.

Kareh Valentin (2020 SS/RHP, Chapel Hill)
Shorter frame, high athleticism with great footwork and active hands. Smooth funnel and compact throwing motion. Likes to use his plus speed to drag bunt for base hits, but features a compact inside out swing.  On the mound, he has a simple ¾ delivery with his fastball sitting in the low 80’s, touching 83. Sparingly threw a slider with great glove side movement around 71. 

Duluth Noles 17U

Jacob Harper (2020 C, Paulding County)
6-foot, 170 pounds. Medium frame. Showed advanced swing and approach, so far, this weekend. Made loud contact each game this weekend. Active hands and lower-half. Showed pull-side power, but stuck to line-drive, gap approach most AB’s. Showed advanced blocking behind the plate. Had a strong showing at the Top Prospect Games.

 

Kade Snell (2020, LHP, Wicksburg, AL)
6-foot, 205 pounds. Auburn commit. Works from a low ¾ slot. Quick arm with good run and deception. Very good balance throughout motion; in control of body. Repeated delivery well. FB sat 85-88,T89; commanded well. SL worked well from slot. 2/8 movement; back-doored RHH and ran away, sharply, from LHH. Solid out-pitch. CH had good sink at 76-77. #19 in AL 2020 rankings.

 

Hardknox Orioles 17U

Spencer Wilkins (2021 RHP, Strong Rock Christian)
6-foot-1, 195 pounds; strong, athletic body. Strong lower-half that he uses to drive down the mound. Worked at a good pace. Heavy FB that induced weak contact at 81-83,T84 on second appearance of the weekend. CB: 70-73. Had two quality appearances on the mound, challenged hitters and spotted up. Quality arm.

RBI Titans 17U

D’Sean Prinkleton (2020, Pike County, KY)
5-foot-10, 175 pounds with frame to add strength. Already matured lower-half. Uses leg kick at the plate with twirl-tempo with bat. Good presence in box. Smooth swing that stays through zone well.


Sox Baseball 17U

Austen Millians (2021 RHP, Whitewater)
6-foot-1, 170 pounds; proportional frame. OH release, gets on top of ball, decent extension. Works quick to home with a consistent 1.2. FB sat 78-80 with good tilt. Mixed in a 12/6 CB at 68 and a CH at 71.

43 Rays 17U

Cannon Daversa (2020 C/RHP, Madison County, AL)
Big-framed kid with muscular build at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds has swung it well this weekend and he showed more on the mound. At the plate, hits from open stance, simple load, stays through ball well. On the mound, heavy FB at 83-85,T86. Had some 2-seam action to it. SL at 71 had good depth and came out well. Used subtle hesitation variance in his windup.

Adam Williamson (2020 OF, Huntsville, AL)
5-foor-11, 170 pounds. Athletic build matches athletic skill set. Hit balls hard on the ground and showed off speed. Used middle of the field well. Solid defender in the OF.

John Kirchner (2020 RHP, North Gwinnet)
6’2 175 pound frame with room to fill out. Jerky unorthodox delivery that hides the ball almost until he releases the ball. Mixes all three of his pitches, with the ability to throw them all for strikes. Fastball sits around 82-84. 12-6 curveball has bite in its movement, sitting around 76-77. Changeup had little movement but sat around 66-68 which kept hitters off-balance.

Holton Payne (2021 C, North Forsyth HS)
5 foot 11, 160 pound has an athletic build with present strength. Solid defensive actions behind the plate, has good footwork. Throws are accurate with some carry from a slightly lower arm slot.  Line drive swing plane with a pull side to middle of the field contact, has strength in his swing when timed with some gap power.

Zion Taylor (2021, OF, Hope Christian)
6-foot-3, 170 pound frame. Long limbed, good body control. Wide stance, hits from solid base. Smooth swinging LHH. Fast hands that react well. Drove low FB to OF for a single in game. Good follow.

Rawlings SE MAD Mavericks

Langston Patterson (2022 INF, Christ Presbyterian)
6-foot, 190 pounds. Frame projects well for skill set. Linear at the plate, stays on ball well. Produced hard line-drives in multiple AB’s. Disciplined hitter that looks for his pitch. Had a good showing this weekend.

Graham Blackwell (2021 RHP, Montgomery Central)
6-foot, 180 pounds. Low balance point on the mound, throws from a high ¾ slot. Rotational finish. Heavy fastball that had late life at 83mph; lived in the 80-81 range. Worked both sides of the plate with all pitches. Competed well and had a strong appearance.

Tanner Langley (2021, Overton)
6-foot-1, 195 pounds. Imposing figure in the box with thick frame. Quick hands from a tight stance. Bars out front arm but recovers well. Good bat speed, good approach. Raw skill set with the physical tools present.

Scott Collins (2022, Brentwood)
Solid player, all around. Has advanced feel in the box. Front knee comes past middle of body on load. Comes toward pitcher on swing, generating extra strength. Stays through ball tremendously well. Battled in the box with two strikes.

Grant Dotson (2021, Hickman County)
5-foot-10, 170 pounds. Athletic build. Impressed both at the plate and in the infield. Athletic set up, possesses good bat speed with hands staying inside ball well. Plus pitch recognition; continually left breakings balls in dirt, seeing early out of hand. At shortstop, used quick, small steps on approach to ball. Fields out front, plays through ball well. Good actions.

Easley Baseball – Moss 16U

Daedrick Cail (2021, Marion, AR)
5-foot-11, 185 pounds; thick build. Above average mobility for frame. Showed power to both sides of the field. Tall stance, up and down tempo with hands. Simple stride. Hit deep triple to CF.

Dre McCray (2022, Water Valley, MS)
5-foot-11, 170 pounds. Showed a quiet, simple swing at the plate. Gets barrel head out, looks to drive. Discipline as he recognized spin. Hit HR to LF in game.

Brayden Sanders (2021, Lewisburg, MS)
Sanders, who was mentioned in the Day One recap, showed his two-way potential. A quick arm with clean arm action, Sanders sat 87-89,T91 with his FB; spin rate of 2200-2400. Tight breaking ball at 72-76 with a spin rate ranging 2270-2310. Bulldog mentality on the mound, impressive young arm who will continue to make strides as a premier arm in the state of MS.

 

Easley Baseball – Moss 16U

Grant Ream (2020 RHP, Halls)
6-foot-2, 170 pounds; slender build but has frame to fill out. Fastball sat low 80s, touched 83. Curveball had good 10/4 movement and sat 68-70 mph with late break.

East Cobb .22's

James Craig (2021 RHP, Pope)
6-foot-4, strong build. Powerful arm that showed extremely well in his appearance. Linear stride, well-balanced. Fluid delivery. Topped out at 86 with a sharp 12/6 at 67. Interesting watch for this summer, and with Pope in the spring. 

DRB 15U

Jason Avila (2022 CF, Redan)
Athletic leadoff and CF for DRB. Calm tempo, simple approach. Gets good use of lower-half. Can really defend. Covers ground well and showed an above average arm from the OF. Will be a good player to watch out of Redan in the coming years.

USA Prime 15u

Ashton Odak (2023 SS, Denmark)
Lean, Athletic 6 foot, 155-pound frame with proportional strength. Above average fielder with solid footwork and quick, strong arm. Has the ability to make a big throw from the hole.  Possesses good plate discipline and is short to the ball with a tight compact swing.


Gunnar Plante (2024 LHP, North Atlanta)
6 foot 3, 145-pound left handed pitcher with projectable growth.  Hides pitches well with lanky delivery and overhead arm slot. Fastball sat 66-68, topped 69 with late glove side run. Ton more in the tank.

Easley Baseball – Thompson 15U

McClain Ray (2022, Tupelo, MS)
6-foot-1, 160 pounds; projectable frame. Arm really works; athletic all-around movements. Winding, high frontside. Gets good extension upon release. Rotational finish. Fastball lived in 85-88 in first couple innings, then came down to 83-86 range in 3rd. FB had above average movement, barreling in on RHH. Lowered slot a bit on CH; 78-80. Became more comfortable with CB as game progressed; spin sharpened up; 68-70. Established himself as an exciting arm in the Mississippi ’22 class.


Mari Boyd (2022 OF, MS)
Really impressed with speed on the base paths this weekend. Showed ability to swing the bat; wiry, loose limbs. Moderate movement in stance. Gets barrel to ball well thanks to above average hands. Quick-twitch athlete that will be an interesting follow as he continues to develop overall skill set.