South Alabama Select Scout Blog: Pitchers

Position by Position Analysis at the South Alabama Select: Pitchers

Tyler Bell (2020, RHP/C, Faith Academy) Power arm that has very simple mechanics as he allows his athleticism to take over. Quick, whippy arm action that really located down in the zone and consistently showed the ability to locate the power FB to his glove side. His fastball was consistently 85-86 and topped at 87. His power breaking ball showed nice shape at 75-76 with a plus changeup at 73-75. Very athletic and is quick to the plate out of the stretch, able to help control the running game.

Jacob Cravey (2020, RHP/1B, Andalusia) 6’6 RHP that is ultra projectable and will continue to add strength and weight to his frame. He did a very good job of creating down plane on his FB, constantly pounding the bottom half of the zone and he has more velocity in him. Had good feel on his secondary stuff showing a CB with depth at 61-65 and a slider with tight spin at 72. His CH had tumble at 73-74. Really attacked hitters.

Drew Druckenmiller (2021, RHP/OF, Faith Academy) Big time 2021 arm with a quick twitch “whippy” arm. Physical looking RHP that really attacks the zone and works fast. His fastball showed serious late life with ASR at 82-84 and topping at 85 mph. Another RHP that creates good plane with his FB. His breaking ball had nice shape with good spin at 73-75 and late depth. A definite 2021 RHP to follow.

Hunter Redding (2019, RHP/2B, Mobile Christian) The guy can pitch. Was lights out in his inning of work and worked as quick as any pitcher we have seen. Really gets the ball and attacks hitter. His stuff is legit as well. His did a phenomenal job of commanding his FB with big time ASR at 82-83 and topping at 84 mph. His breaking ball was low 70’s with big time late depth that is a “knee buckler” and he showed the ability to consistently bury this pitch in the zone, A 2019 RHP that will be a nice pickup for someone. Very impressive!

Jackson Lee (2020, RHP/1B, Bayside) Pitching is about missing barrels and that is just what this sidearm RHP does and does not let hitters get comfortable in the box at all. Don’t let the velocity fool you at 77-78 and topping at 79 as he can absolutely command both sides of the plate with the FB that really backs up on hitters. After establishing the FB he showed off a late breaking CB at 69-70 that has late sideways break with legit tight spin. Hitters couldn’t pick up the spin at all. Big, physical kid at 6’3 230 lbs.

Zack Henderson (2020, RHP/3B, Russell County) A bulldog on the mound that challenges hitters with his FB that sits 81-82 and topped at 83 mph. This pitch was successful for him because he located down and the pitch had late sink to it, disappearing from hitters. His changeup was thrown with the same arm action at 74-75 and created deception and had tumble into RH hitters.

Ethan McPherson (2020, RHP, Mobile Christian) A RHP that showed some quick twitch actions on the mound. Worked quick in between pitches and did a real nice job of mixing all of his pitches and was linear to the plate. Really commanded the zone with his pitches, a FB that was consistent at 77-78 mph and topped at 79. His FB had a different feel to it showing some nice sink to it. His breaking ball showed nice spin and depth at 66-68 mph. Challenged hitters and showed good feel how to pitch.

Thrasher Steed (2022, RHP/C, Gulf Shores) Very projectable 2022 that had an impressive mound presence. His FB appeared to have “late life” and seemed to get on hitters a little quicker than expected. His FB was 78-79 and topped at 80 mph and his breaking ball had 11/5 action with tight spin. He also featured a changeup at 71 that can be an effective pitch for him. A definite 2022 arm to follow.

Cole Berry (2021, 1B/LHP, Faith Academy) Typical LHP action on the mound with very clean mechanics and was down in the zone during his inning of work. The 2021 grad showed a FB that really took off to his arm side in the upper 70’s and topping at 79. His breaking ball was an upper 60’s pitch (67-69) that showed good shape and some tight spin. The breaking ball really created down action and was a 2 plane pitch.

Chadwell Coffman (2020, RHP/OF, McGill Toolen) Over the top arm action that created good plane vs. hitters and showed the ability to attack hitters down in the zone. Clean mechanically and showed some deception in his delivery, really hiding the ball from hitters. His FB was up to 79 mph (76-78). His breaking ball was also an over the top pitch that obviously created depth from the arm slot at 66 mph and his changeup was 71 mph with tumble.

Devin Polk (2022, RHP/C, Gulf Shores) Another Gulf Shores 2022 RHP with loose arm action and the potential to add weight and strength to his solid mechanics. Showed confidence in all 3 of his pitches with a FB 73 -76 and topping at 77 mph with the ability to really locate to his glove side. His breaking ball was 63-65 with 12/6 action and nice spin. His changeup showed deception and can keep hitters off balance.

Gatlin Hines (2020, LHP/OF, Foley) Really commanded the strike zone from his straight over the top arm slot. Could stay on plane to the plate a little more from his delivery, which is easily correctable. Showing a FB at 74-75 and topping at 76 mph, the ball really moved in on RH hitters (ASR run). His breaking ball (from the same over the top slot) showed some depth and took a 12/6 shape. He was able to bury this pitch down in the zone.

Justin Paul (2021, RHP/3B, Saraland) Showed some clean mechanics and really gets the ball back and presents a ¾ arm slot that creates some action on his FB. No wasted movement in his delivery and his FB shows some sink to it at 72- 74 mph, topping at 75. From his ¾ slot, his breaking ball has slider type action with some spin at 66-69. Showed a feel for how to pitch.

Jacob Jernigan (2021, 3B/RHP, Saint Pauls) A young 2021 RHP that has a connected lower half and top half in his delivery with an over the top slot. He was able to be down in the zone and can add some velocity in the future by getting more drive off of his back side. Has some athletic movements. His FB was 70-71 and topped at 72 mph with some run into RH hitters. His breaking ball was 65-68 and was more of a slider than a curveball with good side to side action.

This wraps up our scout blogs from the South Alabama Select. For more information visit www.prepbaseballreport.com and follow us on Twitter at @PBR_Alabama .