California Summer Championships: Day Three Notebook
July 24, 2022
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California, Irvine - The annual PBR Tournaments California Summer Championships continued on Saturday with a few teams in the loaded field looking to separate themselves in their respective brackets. As we move towards bracket play on Sunday, we anticipated many standout performances and that’s exactly what we got on Day Three of the tournament.
Below are a handful of the Day Three standouts from the PBRT California Summer Championships.
Joshua Butler
The ‘23 ASU commit got the start for Team AZ Marucci and he had himself a quality outing against a good Playa Vista Orioles National lineup. Ended up going 4 giving up 2ER/1BB/5H/5K. The first thing you notice with Butler is the starter’s build as he currently stands at 6’6 205 lbs. Showed a 3-pitch FB/CB/CH mix. FB was 86-89 T90 and it flashed heavy life through the zone getting a lot of foul tips and jam-shot GBs. His CB was his strikeout secondary as it sat 74-76 and it showed hard late bite. The arm works clean and quick and shows repeatability in both armspeed and slot on all pitch types.
Quick ? at ‘23 @ASU_Baseball commit @JButler_bball of @AZ_Athletics. Stands 6-6/205lb. Went 4 giving up 2R/1BB/5H/5K.
— Joey Cohen? (@JoeyCohen20) July 23, 2022
FB: 86-89 T90, flashed heavy life
CH: 80-82, downward fading action
CB: 74-76, 11-5 shape. Hard/late bite. @PBR_California @PBRArizona @PBRTournaments pic.twitter.com/eXMIgdseTi
Brynner Waiolama
Waiolama’s outing was the best our staff took in yesterday. He went 5 full giving up 2H/1ER/9K. He kept a good pace throughout the game working fast and consistently pounding the zone. With his fast pace, he was still able to maintain repeatability with his delivery. His FB velo showed a wider velo range getting up to 89 while sitting 85-88. His SL at 73-76 was his best secondary showing decent depth and a lot of horizontal action to it which showed effectiveness against both RHHs and LHHs.
Easton Hawk
Hawk is a most recent commit to UCLA and he showed why on Saturday. Started with his first AB where he blasted a ball to the CF wall for a stand-up double. The simpleness in the swing along with his present strength and bat speed makes him a dangerous extra-base threat at the plate. Then he got on the mound and K'd the side showing his huge upside there where his loose whippy arm got his FB up to 89 sitting 87-88. Also showed good feel for a depthy CB at 75-77.
Tommy Molina
Molina is coming off a strong junior campaign where he hit .430 with 7 HRs for Steele Canyon HS. He showed some of his offensive skills on Saturday when he barreled up a FB for a double deep into the left-center gap. Molina has present above-average bat speed with a stroke that works flat through the zone and gets good extension. With his solid performance this past spring that is continuing into the summer, Molina is solidifying himself as a top uncommitted '23 catcher.
Austin Castillo
The ‘23 LBSU commit showed some of the best strikeout stuff of any pitcher on Saturday when he went 3.2 and K’d 8 for CBA Victus San Diego. Castillo uses an easy effort delivery with a clean, continuous, quick arm. His FB sat in the high 80s getting up to 89. His best secondary was his SL at 74-77 which garnered a lot of whiffs against RHHs due to its present horizontal sweep and present depth.
Levi Ham
We got to see Ham during the HS season where he put together a strong sophomore season at Maranatha Christian with the bat and he showed that on Saturday as well when he hit two doubles. Ham has a physical build at 6’2 195. His swing has some present rhythm with a bat path that works flat through the zone with above-average bat speed and natural feel for the barrel. With this performance this past spring and this summer Ham is continuing to solidify himself as a top uncommitted ‘24 bat.
‘24 Levi Ham putting 16U Team California on the board driving this ball the opposite way to make it a 1 run game early. pic.twitter.com/EoNcjk4OKm
— ??? ?????????? (@PBR_California) July 23, 2022
Owen Faith
Faith of NorCal Baseball went a strong 3.1 shutout innings on Saturday giving up 2H and K’d 6 using just a simple 2-pitch FB/CB mix. Faith currently stands at a higher waisted 6’0 175 pounds. He has an easy quick arm that works out of a higher ¾ slot within a delivery that he repeats well. Faith showed solid glove-side feel of his 82-85 T86 FB early. Also landed a slurvy CB at 70-72 for strikes which kept hitters honest. Faith has got on our radar as one of the better NorCal uncommitted ‘23 RHPs.
‘23 Owen Faith of Team Norcal has looked really impressive in his outing today coming in relief. Great frame and repeatable delivery lots to like. FB 82-85 T86, CB 70-72 pic.twitter.com/htaTaxYMfZ
— ??? ?????????? (@PBR_California) July 23, 2022
Cody Liscio
The '24 SDSU commit 2-way put together a real good spring for Temecula Valley this past HS season and showed his upside on the mound yesterday. Liscio currently stands at a lean and athletic 6'0 165lbs which shows there is still some projection there. He went 3.2 innings giving up 1ER and K’d 9. Liscio uses crossfire-type arm action that works to a lower ¾ slot which has its deception. FB got up to 85 and he mixed in a slurvy breaking ball at 73-75 as well.
‘24 Cody Liscio starting on the hill for @sdshowbaseball and getting in a groove early striking out the side to begin his outing. pic.twitter.com/Frnl24wZS1
— ??? ?????????? (@PBR_California) July 23, 2022
UPCOMING EVENTS
SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
PBR Junior Future Games | NATIONAL | 07/26 | LakePoint |
2022 PBR Future Games (California Invite) | CA | 07/27 | LakePoint Sports |
California State Games | CA | 07/30 | Hart Park |
West Coast Games (California Invite) | CA | 08/12 | Las Vegas, NV (UNLV/CSN) |
NorCal Rising Stars Game | CA | 09/10 | Islanders Field |