Sean McGrath
Scouting Director, New Jersey

The Garden State Baseball Underclass Games event turned out to be excellent, like it has been for three years now. It gathers many of the top juniors and select sophomores and freshmen at Diamond Nation, a beautiful turf complex in Flemington, New Jersey.

This year’s event was very solid in all areas of the game, especially on the mound. Ten pitchers had a max fastball velocity of 88+ miles-per-hour and 26 that were 85+ miles-per-hour. While it may be hard to shine at an event like today with so much talent on hand; a handful of players did stand out in different ways amongst the crowd.

Top 2016 Performances (Pitchers)

Robbie Peto, RHP, Monroe High School
The University of North Carolina commit showcased excellent “stuff” in his inning of work. His fastball ranged from 88-91 tonight and he did manage to peak at 92 mph. He lived largely down in the zone with his fastball and although he occasionally cut his fastball to his glove side, he showed solid fastball command. He also showcased a hard curveball with late 11-to-5 action at 76-77. There is a lot to love with Peto as he may be one to start throwing even harder soon. He has a fluid elbow climb arm action and easy, athletic mechanics. He did a ‘Q & A’ session with us this spring which could be found here: Q & A with Robbie Peto.

Christian Scafidi, RHP, Highland Regional High School
Scafidi had a very firm fastball tonight as he sat 85-88 miles-per-hour and peaked at 89. He has a great 6-foot-4 frame, is already very strong and can add more size to his power pitcher’s frame.