Fresno Preseason ID: Pitcher Reports
January 31, 2023
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FRESNO, CALIF. - As an open event, this was conducted as a straight traditional showcase, though due to space contraints of the indoor facility, players ran a 30 yard dash (with 10 yard split), BP round (with Blast Motion sensors and TrackMan), defensive workouts, and pitchers ending the day on the mound throwing 15-20 pitch sessions.
Here are the pitcher reports, including video. These are the final reports to be posted from our first preseason ID of 2023. Click on a player's name for access to his full profile.
CLICK HERE FOR SORTABLE PLAYER STATISTICS INCLUDING TRACKMAN, SWIFT, AND BLAST MOTION DATA
Listed by peak FB velocity
Erik Rico, Redwood (Visalia, CA), 2025, CA Rank #55
Positional Profile: RHP/SS
Physical: 5-10, 172-pounds; 4.13 30-yard, 26.1” max jump height; Lean strength throughout, well-proportioned build with visible strength in legs, average size frame.
Delivery: Small rhythmic foot pitter patter at the start, easy lift just above waist, hands separate off the chest, stride down and out into in-line stride while landing firm and closed, has strong timing and rhythm between hands and feet, powerful move down the slope, early engage of back leg knee and stays into it with stability over the rubber, full finish of back hip through while swinging leg around toward 1st base line.
Arm Action: Loose quick arm, smooth on backside with some inversion as hand is at waist depth with elbow staying below shoulder height, clean arm with no restrictions, gets to high-3/4 release, full deceleration.
FB: T88.4 mph, 87-88 mph range, 2467 max spin; Hot FB while maintaining velo throughout the session, has the look of a FB he will want to challenge hitters with and often up in zone, front side stability did lead to some yanking to glove side, release height and spin both suggest the FB is one that is going to get chases up in zone.
CB: 66.7-67.7 mph, 2717 max spin; Big two plane breaker with tight spin and quick break, release gets a bit higher on CB vs FB look.
SL: 72-73.8 mph, 2375 max spin; Quick break, late break out of zone as a chase pitch, also presents as a slider he can use going in the front door to RHH, trusts it and has feel, presents better off his FB than the CB does given the same release height and feel for the zone.
CHG: 79-81 mph, 2186 avg spin; Release presents well off FB/SL combo, still developing feel for consistent release as he was up in zone more often than not, there is big arm side movement potential.
Max Mendes, San Joaquin Memorial (CA), 2024, CA Rank #213
Body: 6-1, 190-pounds. Lean strength throughout steam-lined build.
Delivery: Small turn at rubber, lift just above waist, smooth and controlled while staying over rubber, in-line stride, quick little kick out of stride foot on way to landing, lands with foot in-line to catcher, backside has quick finish toward 1st base side, can develop more front side leverage to allow for a more fluid and controlled finish.
Arm Action: Fairly compact on backside, quick circle with modest mid-thigh depth, high-3/4 release, loose quick arm, the arm speed is there to see significant velocity spike as the delivery evolves.
FB: T85.7 mph, 83.4-85.3 mph range, 1907 max spin; Sinker type FB, big armside run at times, the finish of backside at times takes the FB to the glove side while still creating some sink action.
SL: 74-78 mph, 1925 max spin; Firm slider, flashes potential for this pitch if can tighten it up a bit while getting fingers off side of ball more to the front, smooth break, does have feel for the bottom of the zone.
CHG: 79-81 mph, 1615 avg spin; Hard running action, potential power change with late hard downward life in the zone.
Jackson Halverson, C.K. McClatchy (CA), 2024
Positional Profile: RHP/OF
Physical: 6-3, 185-pounds; 4.54 30-yard, 21.2” max jump height; Lean strength well-proportioned throughout a broad sizeable frame.
Delivery: Knee lift up to chest height, small turn at the rubber, controlled movement down the slope, in-line stride, creates stability against front side, finishes in decent fielding position with full glove arm swing past body.
Arm Action: Short backside with no backside depth, syncs up with his stride and movement down slope, gets to high-3/4 slot, ability to maintain consistent release point while showing each pitch from same slot.
FB: T84.6 mph, 83.5-84.5 mph range, 2186 max spin; Late arm side movement, can dart it inside to RHH, extension and short arm action present it as a sneaky hot FB.
CB: 67-69 mph, 2354 max spin; Downer depth with feel, enough spin to get quick change of direction if not fully a snappy break, steep depth in zone, same release as FB suggests this pitch has swing and miss usability.
SL: 70-72 mph, 2531 max spin; Shorter break than CB but also has depth and tilt, can create spin while maintaining feel, action is consistent and has feel for both sides of plate, on the arm side it can play as a breaking ball to lock up RHH from getting off a swing.
CHG: 73-76 mph, 1593 avg spin; Trusts the release, body stays quiet as arm travels, big deceleration of spin off the FB, can pull the string.
Carson Tatsumura, Clovis North (CA), 2025
Positional Profile: RHP/OF
Physical: 5-11, 200-pounds; 4.03 30-yard, 23.4” max jump height; Physical body with muscularity through shoulders, broad sturdy frame.
Delivery: Starts with rocker step into tuck knee lift just above waist, hands start off chest stay there prior to separation, in-line stride, lands with outstanding lower half stability, energy direct to and through the target, creates some upward shoulder tilt as he allows arm to work on backside, quiet head throughout, glove arm creates stable front side leverage, powerful lower body usage.
Arm Action: Calm with some smooth pocket path depth, easy transition from backside getting to overhand release, quick acceleration from the top of the arm stroke.
FB: T83.9 mph, 81-83 mph range, 2092 max spin; Can create steep angle to bottom of the zone while also flashing feel for riding it up and on arm side, feel for the ball and zone.
CB: 67-70 mph, 2349 max spin; Big downer CB, 12/5-12/6 type break with plunging depth though out of wind-up the action took place on the arm side of the zone, displayed consistent feel for the pitch, out of stretch got more traditional down and away break away from RHH.
CHG: 73-74 mph, 1848 avg spin; Can use to both sides of plate, kept down in zone, presented as a usable CHG off the FB to both RHH and LHH.
Arturo Becerra, Buchanan (CA), 2024, CA Rank #236
Positional Profile: SS/P
Physical: 6-0, 175-pounds; 4.00 30-yard, 26.6” max jump height; Lean body with angular lanky build.
Delivery: Smooth, knee lift just above waist, simple turn at rubber, maintains body control throughout, long stride down the slope, outstanding timing with separation of hands while coming out of his lift, in-line stride with slightly open foot strike, full backside hip finish.
Arm Action: Compact on backside, shallow with control of the arm stroke, repeatable arm action that gets to a high-3/4 release, no restrictions, slight recoil after finish.
FB: T83.9 mph, 81-83 mph range, 2159 max spin; Strike throwing ability with feel for arm side location and movement.
CB: 68-69 mph, 2115 max spin; Late downward action, smoother break with ability to get finish below the zone, presents as a pitch that would get swing-overs and topping contact.
CHG: 77-79, 1473 avg spin; Third pitch he displayed feel of, keeps control of body while allowing arm to travel, presents with deception off the fastball look.
Estevan Hernandez II, Redwood (Visalia, CA), 2025
Positional Profile: MIF/P
Physical: 5-8, 142-pounds; 4.00 30-yard, 23.1” max jump height; Lean sinewy body composition on average/smaller frame.
Delivery: Simple movement over rubber, knee lift to waist height, in-line stride, lands with foot closed, separates with equal and opposite arms, speeds up the delivery as he separates and throws glove arm toward the hitter, tends to drift through the front side which is affecting some velocity potential.
Arm Action: Compact pocket path on backside, high-3/4 slot, occasional small stab out of glove, generally consistent and repeatable, some recoil after finish.
FB: T69.6 mph, 68.7-69.5 mph range, 1741 max spin; Showed feel for bottom of the zone with fading action on the arm side.
CB: 60-62 mph, 1559 max spin; Action was more often than not one the arm side of the zone though with traditional shape and smooth rolling action, if hand can travel just a bit further toward release he can add some action away from RHH.
SL: 62-64 mph, 1530 max spin; Smooth lateral break, hand travels a bit further to release than the CB, was consistently around the zone.
CHG: 73-74 mph, 1166 avg spin; Big spin reduction which is a good thing off his FB, trusting the hand to travel a bit further could create late downward action to bottom of zone.
Kevin Baldwin, El Diamante (CA), 2024
Body: 5-9, 135-pounds. Average size body, some lankiness to the frame.
Delivery: Sizeable rocker as he gets hips perpendicular to plate, high lift up to chest, gets lift foot up quite high with toes angles up, stays firm over flexed post leg over rubber, in-line stride with out and around lead leg down the slope, uses glove arm well for leverage, does maintain body control throughout the delivery while finishing in strong fielding position, back leg/hip tends to lack behind and has some untapped energy.
Arm Action: Long clean circular backside, smooth easy stroke, gets to high-3/4 slot with lower elbow at release, consistent arm action, looks fully capable of consistently delivering strikes.
FB: T65.1 mph, 63.6-65 mph range, 1553 max spin; Was generally up in the zone, hints of some fade on the arm side, low spin and present velocity could combine to develop and down in the zone sinker/ground ball getting pitch as he pitches to contact.
CB: 55.5-56 mph, 1705 max spin; Big rolling action with smooth tumbling break, presets the grip in the glove.
CHG: 57.5-58.5 mph, 1067 avg spin; Presents similarly to the FB in release height and movement pattern.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
East Bay Preseason ID | CA | 2/05 | Chabot College - Hayward |
Rising Stars ID: Sacramento | CA | 3/12 | McBean Stadium - Lincoln |
Rising Stars ID: Bay Area | CA | 4/23 | Chabot College - Hayward |
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