NCTB Fall Classic: Day 1 Quick Hits

Club All Star

2020 C Nico Gomez (St. Mary’s HS) must have blocked 6-7 balls in the dirt, at least four times with a runner on 3^rd base. He has a strong arm and can make snap throws and back pick runners. The receiving was good too. He’s a winning type catcher with high level defensive skills. The bat didn’t come into play much tonight, so we will keep an eye on him. He’s recruitable right now as a defensive catcher and that was sealed when on a swinging bunt that was going to be a hit, he pounced, had his feet set the right way, quickly grabbed the ball and threw a seed to 1^st. Fun to watch him compete.

2020 Jaylen Anteneh (Bishop O’Dowd HS) did a lot of good things in this game. Switch-hitter but only got to hit left-handed tonight and though didn’t have any knocks to show for it, he hit two balls on the screws, one to 2^nd base and one hit hard to left field. He’s a compact and athletically built player and is well-suited to play up the middle. He was at shortstop in this game and looked the part, playing to and through the ball, showing good hands and a quick release, plays low through the ball as well. Showed instincts by looking for outs at other bases when one option was closed.

2021 Jacob Fernandez (Lincoln HS-Stockton) is a lithe body and energetic player, his passion for competing stood out. Left-handed hitter with a spray approach, he lashed ball to left field and hustled it into a double. Later in the game while playing 3^rd base he made a nice diving extension play to his left and a strong accurate throw across the diamond to get a runner.

Dub Dynasty Black (2019/2020)

2020 OF Tyler Keenan (Monte Vista Christian HS) is an impressive athlete with size and speed, arm strength and power potential. He’s R/R and doesn’t look the part of a HS centerfielder but he is one and is a good one, with range and reads to go with a strong and accurate arm. Offensively he worked the middle of the field well and has a hitter-ish look in the box. Looking forward to seeing to more games from him.

2020 RHP Aidan Lee (Monte Vista Christian HS) was really impressive. He is a 6’3” lanky right-hander with a cross body stride and loose arm. He sat up to 86 mph on a cool evening and pitching into the 6^th I believe, maintaining at least 83 mph in each inning. His big wide curveball became a weapon he could trust and though it’s not a sharp breaker, it has steady movement and just leaves the zone when hitters think they have it. He also mixed in a change, but it’s that crossfire stride and scissor effect of his fastball with arm side movement and the lateral sweeping curveball. He’s a good one, one of Northern California’s better 2020 pitchers.

2019 OF West Andrade (San Benito HS) is a left-handed hitter with a high level of feel for the barrel and hard contact. He has bat speed and surprising strength given his lean 5’11” body. He can go gap to gap and hits the ball frequently on a line. Nothing real complicated or hard to figure out. His hands work, he is on time, he will use the middle of the field and the ball gets hit hard. He was 4.51 on a turn on a double so he also runs well.

2019 SS Brady Miguel (San Benito HS) is a compactly built (and strong) left-handed hitting middle infielder and he likes to play baseball. Plays well on the move, has good hands and timing to make plays. Good feeds on double plays and a strong arm, though his throws can be a little high and the arm stroke might play better on a consistent basis at 2^nd base. Strong contact skills the plate and can sneak a ball into and through either gap. Seems to see the ball well at the plate. Good solid baseball player.

Dub Dynasty Blue (2020/2021)

2020 CF Zachary Buzzetta (San Benito HS) grabbed early attention by throwing out an advancing runner from 2^nd to 3^rd base as he tried to tag on a ball to medium deep centerfield. It was a dart and right on the bag. He’s a left-handed hitter and put the barrel to it twice, though he tends to like to swing and can work on knowing what he wants. He ran 4.38 down the line.

2021 OF P.J. Kissee (Live Oak HS) had a real strong morning BP session with a big exit velocity. He then put the barrel to ball twice in the game. The swing is strong and he has bat speed. Will have to see how it all plays as the weekend goes along. But a good day for him today.

2022 MIF Zachary Lewis (Pacific Grove HS) is a left-handed hitter with a quick stroke. He’s a smaller bodied player with athletic proportions. Possesses a quick bat and put good wood to a hard line drive out. Looking forward to seeing more of him in the next two days.

EJ Sports Warriors

2020 3B Zachary Tallerman (San Ramon Valley HS) is in fact, tall, as his name suggests and is growing into his body with those long legs. But he did show good glove skills and soft hands. The arm will improve as he gains overall strength. Offensively he had a good workout BP session and in the game showed a quiet approach, quiet hands, fairly short to the ball, worked middle of the field and has some projectable pop. Given time and strength, he’s got a shot.

2021 SS George Thompson III (Pittsburg HS) has a runner’s type body, with lean streamlined proportions and long legs. He ran fair but did play shortstop with good feet. A hard line drive to 2^nd base was his best contact and he also beat out an infield single. As he gains polish and future strength, there is a good chance for very positive development.

2020 CF Scott Saunders (San Ramon Valley HS) did enough to keep my eyes on him. Good athletic build was noticeable first. Hand path was good on swings, has strength, could develop better timing of getting the barrel there, was just a bit late. In centerfield his angles and jumps and reads were good. Will see again and know more.

NCTB Navy

2021 1B Blake Burke (De La Salle HS) is a big L/L hitter who didn’t have his best day at the plate but narrowly missed on a few pitches. We’ve seen him hit and hit well, so no concern there. He is a hitter capable of hitting for average AND power. What we did see were soft hands at 1^st base and good work below the ball on short hops. He’s also a capable corner outfielder.

2022 3B Joe Brown (Petaluma HS) was on the Team USA 15U gold medal winning team and was the youngest player. Brown isn’t a big kid and given his body type, I don’t think he will be, though he is compact and strong. But he hits MUCH bigger than his size, with a quick and aggressive bat, shocking pop (2B over CF head to warning track), and a lot of confidence. As the saying goes, he can roll the pole. Defensively he takes good angles and has soft hands with a quick release and solid arm.

2020 1B/OF Sam Brown (Petaluma HS) is the older brother of Joe. He’s a L/L player and has got big power potential and barreled multiple balls in this game, from center to left center. His swing can get large but today he was quite good and direct to the ball. His power potential is fairly well known, but it was a play he made in left that stood out. It was a sure double over his head, but he ran a perfect route and got a perfect jump and made an over the shoulder running catch. It was something else.

2022 1B/OF Jaren Nevarez (San Ramon Valley HS) is an advanced hitter for his age and if you didn’t know he is a freshman, you’d never know it. He laced three balls tonight, all to left field and it was his approach that took him to left and how he was pitched. One ball kept traveling down the line and hit the fence. Crazy good barrel awareness and bat speed and feel for hitting. He’s just getting started.

2021 MIF Ryan Werner (St. Mary’s HS-Stockton) is an electric athlete. He’s a switch-hitter and in this game was only on the left side, showing extra base power with a triple and speed to burn. He’s a rangy middle infielder with a strong arm and good effort to make and finish hard plays. The arm stroke has some length in it that can be refined, but overall, this is a fun player to watch. The ball really comes off his bat with life.

2021 RHP TeJean Smith (Capital Christian HS) went into the 5^th inning I believe and he was really effective, deftly mixing a 77-81 mph FB with a good change-up and usable breaking ball. He is gutty and competitive and his team can feed off that. He’s also a talented position player and took some at-bats today, showing bat speed and aggressiveness, though can get a little bigger than need be.

2021 INF Cameron Butler (Modesto Christian HS) is yet another athletic and exciting young player on this team. He’s R/R and made LOUD barrel contact on a couple of occasions, with bat speed and life through the zone. He ran a 4.36 down the line, showing speed to go with the bat talent. Defensively his athleticism showed up with good range and a good arm. Athletically built, he’s got a chance to develop into a MIF with real power.

2019 C Carson Stevens (Franklin HS) is an UNCOMMITTED catcher who is among the best defensive catchers in all of Northern California, including committed kids. He catches every ball in the pocket, he has agility, energy, can block the toughest of chances, has a good and accurate arm, and can flat out receive, with soft strong hands and the ability to stick pitches and steal others. How he is uncommitted is a bit mind-scratching. Offensively he does have bat speed and he is on time, he has some sneaky doubles pop but can do a better job of staying above the ball and hitting line drives. He has very good zone awareness and knows the zone.