The Georgia Scout Blog will be a weekly blog with reports and videos from the players and teams that we go out to cover each week. The blog will remain for the length of the week with notes being added the day following each game. At the end of the week we will update the POWER 25 and CLASSIFICATION RANKINGS, then at the beginning of the following week we will announce 2 Player of the Week awards, along with our Diamond Notes, which is a culminaton of all players that were not selected for player of the week. Note: Player of the Week submissions are sent in by high school coaches. 

Tuesday, February 13th

Jackson Barberi, RHP, 2024, Brookwood
Florida commit. Barberi has been a riser in the ‘24 class for the last year, and proved why on opening night. The buzz after the scrimmage amongst the scouts was real, and we were excited to see him after a full off season. The frame is lean, at 6-foot-4 180-pounds with room to fill out. The fastball was electric, and held velo all game, which was probably one of the biggest takeaways from the game. He relied on the fastball early, and often turned to the wipeout slider for the swing and miss. The slider was sharp, with tons of depth. He flashed the change-up during warm ups, and threw it a few times in game with good shape and deception off the fastball. The talk around Barberi for the MLB draft is growing stronger by the day, and with 25 scouts in attendance last night, he made his case even stronger.

Talan Shirey, SS, 2024, Darlington
Two Sport (Baseball/Football) Birmingham Southern Commit, 5-foot-10, 180-pounds. Shirey has plus athleticism, and will be relied on to do a lot of different things for Darlington this season. The switch hitting middle infielder shows a good approach from both sides of the plate, with a short/compact swing. Shirey will be dangerous on the base baths as he is always looking to take the next bag. Defensively, he has a strong arm, with good hands and plays well around the bag.

Chandler Thiel, RHP, 2024, River Ridge
A North Georgia commit, Thiel looked great in his season debut. A stocky, physical frame with a bulldog demeanor on the mound, the senior kept Cherokee off-balance with a heavy dose of a quality fastball-slider combo. Thiel creates some deception on the fastball, hiding the ball well while getting downhill at 87-89 with arm-side life. Slider played way up with present command to land on both the inner and outer halves of the plate. Good tilt from the arm slot and created some swing and miss. Finished going 3.0 scoreless with three strikeouts and no walks.