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By Greg Williams
Pennsylvania / West Virginia Director of Scouting

and Jacob Gill
Pennsylvania Assistant Director of Scouting

Of the 100 prospects to showcase their abilities over two days of the 2017 Preseason All-State Showcase nearly 40 percent participated as pitchers. Today we continue our analysis of the prospects in attendance by taking a look at the pitchers in the Class of 2019 and 2020. Those pitchers who also worked out as position players have already been evaluated at their defensive position in a previous article.

+ PLEASE NOTE: positioning of the radar gun and LED board on day one led to numbers visible on videos that were, at times, 3-5 mph too low. Both mounds on day one also had radar guns running directly behind the respective catcher. As such, numbers reported below may differ from those on the video, but are accurate and were announced over the public address system during the course of the day's action.

Top Prospects

Jeff Extor, 2020, LHP, Shipley School
5-foot-10, 170-pound lefty delivered an up-tempo bullpen with a very quick arm out of a high 3/4 arm slot. Initiates his delivery with a side-rocker step and gets a lot out of his lower half in getting downhill repeatedly. The freshman sat 85-86 with command of the lower half of the strike zone with limited wasted motion in his delivery. He also showcased a slider at 78-80 and a changeup at 76-79 with good sell. Both pitches are above average offerings for an underclassmen. Extor has since been added to the Team Pennsylvania roster for the 2017 PBR Future Games in August.

 

Adam Grintz, 2019, RHP, Downingtown West
Still growing 6-foot-1, 180-pounder who competed for Team Pennsylvania at the 2016 PBR Future Games. Rhythmic delivery with hands and lead leg working in concert and chest-high leg lift. Deep arm stroke into a high three-quarter slot. Good direction to plate with slightly closed toe landing and gets over front side well. Fastball sat 84-85 with minimal effort. Curveball at 72-74 was slider-like with tight spin, but not a ton of depth. Also showed a straight change-up at 75-77.

 

Luke Wagner, 2020, LHP/OF, Red Land
5-foot-11, 155-pound two-way prospect really stood out on the mound. Showcased a deliberate, repeatable delivery with a quick arm and gets above average drive off his backside. Sat 84-85 from a 3/4 arm slot with more to come. Curveball shows slurvy, 2/8 action with more lateral than vertical break at this point at 70-73. Thrown at fastball arm speed and will become an above average pitch for him in the near future. Changeup is thrown at near fastball arm speed with excellent command at 77-78.

 

Other Participating 2019 & 2020 Pitchers

Nathan Beimel, 2019, LHP/1B, St. Marys Area
6-foot-2, 185-pounder has added significantly to his frame over the past 18 months leading to a 6-7 mph spike in fastball velocity. Lefty sat 81-83 from a high 3/4 arm slot with an aggressive leg kick to near should height. Fastball showed late, natural cut and was commanded down in the zone. Curveball showed tight 1/7 rotation at 64-67 and changeup was thrown at fastball arm speed with some fade at 69-71.

Nick Breznak, 2019, LHP/1B, Lancaster Catholic
6-foot-2, 175-pound lefty has a long, projectable frame with room for 20-30 more pounds of good weight. Sat 80-83 from a 3/4 to high 3/4 arm slot with natural cut to his fastball. Worked solely from the stretch with some head wag at release while staying directional to the plate. Curveball showed 1/7 rotation with occasional two-plane action at 69-71. Also commanded a 74 mph splitter and a changeup at 71-73.

Hunter Curley, 2019, RHP/OF, Spring-Ford
6-foot-1, 190-pounder with strong legs pitches out of a high three-quarter slot. Compact, repeatable delivery with slight lean back over the rubber. Finish can be a bit upright, but armstroke is clean, indicating he's got more in the tank on his fastball that sat 79-80, but touched 83 mph on his first and last pitch. Showed a solid feel for his change-up at 72-75. Elbow can get low, at times, leading to him not always getting out front on his curveball at 70-71 that has slurvy, across the plate break.

Troy Emert, 2019, RHP/3B, Rockwood Area
5-foot-9, 170-pounder who pitches out of a high three-quarter slot. Compact, repeatable delivery, maintains direction to the plate, and threw his entire arsenal for strikes. Fastball sat 77-78 and his change-up at 68-69 showed some one-plane fading action. Good feel for his 11/5 curveball at 62-64 and consistently located it at the bottom of the strike zone, while his slider at 70-71 has short, one-plane cut action.

Kamal Gray, 2020, RHP/SS, Archbishop John Carroll
5-foot-11, 165-pounder showcased a raw, athletic delivery with an above average upside sitting 80-81 from a high 3/4 arm slot. Uses a side-rocker delivery with a compact leg lift and a quick arm that often gets around his fastball leading to some hard cut action. Slider at 72-75 resembles a cutter at this point in his development with significant cut at times. Also showcased advanced feel for his 74-76 changeup with armside fade and sinking action.

Aaron Groller, 2019, LHP, Souderton Area
Long limbed 6-foot-1, 155-pound left with an easy, loose delivery and plenty of room to add to his frame. Sat 80-82 from a 3/4 arm slot with a fluid, repeatable delivery that showed some armside run. Slider has tight, late break at 73-74 while he displayed an above average feel for his 76-78 changeup. Has shown incremental velocity gains over past six months and projects for significant gains in the future.

Tristan Lockett, 2019, RHP/SS, Mifflin County
6-foot, 165-pound righty sat 78-80 from a high 3/4 arm slot. Starts with a side-rocker step and shows an up-tempo, repeatable delivery. Commanded a 11/5 breaking curveball with occasional two-plane action at 64-68 and showcased a 68-71 changeup at near fastball arm speed with some armside run.

Michael Morrone, 2019, RHP/OF, Seneca Valley
5-foot-11, 165-pounder with some hook in his arm action who maintains good direction to home plate. Out of a high three-quarter slot, fastball sat 77-79. Exhibited a good feel for his change-up, which he located down with occasional sink. Curveball has decent 11/5 shape, but is slow and loopy at 56-59.

Shane Murphy, 2019, RHP/2B, North Allegheny
5-foot-10, 170-pounder who pitches out of a high-three quarter slot. Compact delivery with short arm action and soft stab out of glove. Fastball sat 73-76, while he also featured an 11/5 curveball at 63-65 and a change-up at 67-69 with some fading action.

Brendan O'Donnell, 2019, OF/RHP, Great Valley
Lanky, projectable 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame. Long armstroke, into a high three-quarter slot. Gets good extension and stays on-line to home plate. Fastball sat 82-83, which he maintained in the stretch, and touched 86 mph. Good feel for and command of a change-up at 72-73. Tended to bury his curveball at 70-73. Reminds of current La Salle University RHP C.J. Pruitt, a former two-way guy from the Ches-Mont League himself.

Jake Pothering, 2019, RHP, Schuylkill Haven Area
Country strong 6-foot-3, 215-pounder pitches out of a high three-quarter slot. Stable landing with slightly closed front foot and stays on-line to the plate. Fastball sat 84-86 and showed some feel for a change-up at 72-74 with occasional sink. Struggled to get on top of and spin his mid-60s curveball during this bullpen session.

Tyler Thompson, 2020, RHP/OF, Cumberland Valley
5-foot-8, 140-pounder with some hook in arm action into a three-quarter slot. Gets good extension down the mound and has some hand speed out front. Fastball sat 79-81 with the occasional bit of tailing action, slider flashed solid three-quarter break, and change-up checked in a 74-76.

Preseason All-State Showcase News