PA Travel Baseball State Championships Team Review: Team All*American
August 28, 2016
By Jacob Gill
Pennsylvania Assistant Director of Scouting
and Greg Williams
Pennsylvania / West Virginia Director of Scouting
The inaugural Pennsylvania Travel Baseball State Championships concluded without a champion, as rain washed out the final day of competition, but twelve teams from around the region were still able to play from sun up to sun down on the Friday and Saturday of action. Over the coming week-plus, we will highlight some of the top performers and prospects from each team, continuing today with ...
Team All*American
Hempfield Area 2017 RHP Jacob Rife sports a towering 6-foot-7, 205-pound frame with room to add significant strength. Long arm action features a wrist wrap into a high three-quarter slot with some recoil. Repeated delivery fairly well early on with good extension, getting downhill with some sink for two innings before tiring and starting to elevate the ball. Fastball sat 82-84, touching 85, while he also incorporated a mid-70s change-up with good sell and a developing breaking ball at 76-77.
Hempfield Area 2017 OF Jordan Fiedor no longer regarded as a two-way prospect, is among the top uncommitted senior position players in the state. The 5-foot-11, 185-pounder has shown 90 mph arm strength and a 94 mph bat exit velocity. The right-handed hitter runs well (6.84 60-yard dash, 4.44 home-to-1B) and displayed middle of the order juice in his barrel. Fiedor went 4-for-9 with a triple, three walks and three RBI during the course of the tournament.
Greensburg Central Catholic 2017 RHP/OF Neal McDermott flashed the two-way abilities that currently have him ranked No. 137 his class. McDermott sat 81-85 off the mound and put up solid offensive numbers out of the two-hole all weekend. The left-handed hitter went 5-for-10 with two walks, a double and three runs scored.
Norwin 2017 right-handed hitter Ryan Weaver showed a feel for the barrel throughout the weekend, hitting the ball hard to all parts of the field. Listed as a primary outfielder, the 5-foot-9, 155-pounder also flashed some defensive ability on the infield, running down pop-ups in left field, effectively handling slow rollers, and featuring a solid arm across the diamond.
Plum 2017 catcher Nick Workman consistently barreled the baseball to the pull side, including showing an ability to go down and get a pitch at the bottom of the zone, going 5-9 with one double and a run scored over the course of the tournament. Sound defender behind the plate receives well and has quick feet. Showed consistent between innings pop times of 2.15-2.25 with a top in game of 2.27.
Pine-Richland 2017 RHP Hunter Treece struck out eight in four innings of work, four on fastballs and four on breaking balls. Out of a high three-quarter slot, his fastball sat 82-84, while he also featured an upper-60s curveball and mid-70s slider, both of which were solid at times, but inconsistent due to a wrist flip as his arm comes forward.
Treece's high school teammate, 2017 LHP Thomas Zbezinski, a recent Newberry College commit, was dominant in his four inning outing. The 5-foot-9, 165-pounder sat 79-80 from a controlled, repeatable delivery facing just two over the minimum. The lefty worked well off his fastball with a 71 mph curveball, a 68 mph changeup with good sell and a 67 mph splitter that he commanded for strikes. Zbezinski registered five strikeouts while allowing just one hit without walking a batter.