Prep Baseball Report was on hand at the Twin Creeks Sports Complex in San Jose, CA to get a look at the top Underclass players during the NCTB Summer Classic Tournament. This tournament was filled with 20+ teams and one of the largest groups of talented underclass players all year. Here is a list of the players who caught our attention during games and testing day during the event.

2020 Jonathon Sarmiento – R/R; RHP/1B – Kimble HS

XL Frame with long legs and wide shoulders; physical build with present strength and space to continue to add onto strong frame. Quick, simple delivery starts to build momentum that comes attacking down hill before 3/4-release from quick, loose arm. FB was 86-88 with angle down through the zone and extra life when needed. SLD 69-72 with short tilt and ability to miss bats. Built to be a power pitcher and could easily see big jump in velocity as he continues to strengthen body.

As a hitter, shows plus raw power all around the field with multiple extra base hits during the week. Stands tall with slightly open stance and even hands using leg lift to gather and stays behind ball through contact. 94 exit velocity during BP testing and runs well especially for size; 7.29 60-yd dash.

2020 Kris Leffle – L/R; C/INF – Pittsburgh HS (verbal to St. Mary's College)

LG frame with athletic build; twitchy player with long/lean, present muscle throughout body. Balanced stance with even high hands from left side; quick compact stroke with tight turns on ball. Gap power now (80 exit velocity) with barrel control of line drive stroke; looks like he could add more power as he starts to fill out and quickness of bat. Regularly barreled balls during week; multiple games with multiple extra base hits. Defensively utilizes his elite athleticism to be able to make play at multiple spots; showed MIF actions on top ball and ability to get rid of it quickly while also showing off quickness from behind the plate (1.84/1.91 Pop). Above average arm currently with flashes of more; was 80 MPH across infield during testing and then was 83-85 on mound in final day. Athleticism shows up everywhere as well; ran a 6.95-60yd dash and I had him regularly 4.5 on the turn during multiple 3B's in game. Ability to turn up speed when needed.

2020 Tristan Moore – L/L; LHP/1B/OF – Antilles School (St. Thomas, VI, USA)

Medium frame with long, lean, athletic build; long limbed body with ability to project more strength as he matures. On mound, simple side-step delivery with slight pause before high knee hand break; compact, loose arm gets to 3/4-release quickly. FB 79-82 showing commanded arm side sink/run; attacks with pitch regularly to arm-side against hitters on both sides of the plate. CHG 74-75 with heavy sink off FB look; ability to have pitch sink off FB look for multiple swing/miss. CB 66-68 with tight spin and sharp break in tight 1/6 actions; mainly used as put away pitch. 15 K in 5 innings on mound with plus tempo and command of all three pitches. Offensively showed a compact stroke from left side with line-drive stroke to middle of field; 88 exit velo during BP with lots of barreled balls from tall balanced stance with bat N/S. Defensively can play both OF (84 MPH) and 1B (78 MPH) showing athleticism in tracking balls down in outfield and soft glove around the bag. Ran 7.02-60yd dash with ability to use long legs to gather speed quickly.

2020 Ryan Wong – R/R; RHP/MIF – Alameda HS

Medium frame with length in limbs and high waist; present strength in lower half with budding muscles in upper half. Very quick, late arm with extra life on ball; utilizes body well to get momentum going before arm explodes from 3/4-slot. Simple delivery with timing changes on mound before clean hand break from mid-chest; medium/longer arm actions in back with limited impediment and clean actions. FB 85-87 first game with life through zone; FB 82-84 one day later in shorter outing with same life through zone. Regularly pitches up in zone with ability to have more angle going down through zone; when not angled generally straight pitch. CHG 69-72 straight with tumble; developing pitch that is used to keep hitters off timing the FB. SLD 66-68 with lateral break; acts more like a cutter with true lateral action and limited tilt. Offensively, balanced, slightly open with higher hands and a high leg lift; quick, compact bat with CF approach and ability to drive ball into OF. Defensively showed good feet and a solid glove in the middle infield with the ability to move well and make plays in his area; smaller range may push him to 3B at next level where arm would still play.

2020 Roberto Nunez – R/R; 3B – Monte Vista Christian HS (Watsonville)

Large frame with long legs/arms; present strength, but very lean. Body has projectability with extra strength only improving overall profile; will need to stay on top of flexibility to stay fluid as hitter and fielder. Narrow, slightly open stance with bat resting on shoulder; lifts bat to N/S on small foot lift load. Regularly on time with multiple pitches and ability to use load to stay behind baseball; quick hands matched with very quick back hip (85 mph Exit Velo). Multiple hits in multiple games including extra base hits and showing raw pull pop; turned around 88 from Sarmiento in one game with missile back up the middle. Defensively showed quick reactions at hot corner with ability to come get topped ball and throw accurately on the run; above average arm (78 mph from OF and SS) with quick, accurate release. Shorter stride that can be improved to help running ability (7.7-60yd), but has ability to turn it up to next level when needed.

2020 Joey Taddie – R/R; 1B/C – Leland HS

XL frame with long, muscular legs and arms; long frame moves well and showing present strength throughout. Stands tall with a wide base and even hands; small leg kick helps keep weight behind baseball and body in time. Compact swing with loft and plus raw power (91 exit velo); stays on time with FB well and ability to adjust to off-speed and use large body to go down and get the lower pitches. Ended up with 4 HR's and multiple extra base hits during week event. Showed quick release from average arm behind the plate during testing; 2.03-2.06 Pop times with ball regularly on the bag. Showed off catching ability in game with couple caught stealing, but think long term home of 1B due to size. Not going to be a base stealer (7.48 60-yd), but runs well under way with long legs able to move quickly and can go 1st to 3rd or score from home

2021 Garrett Cutting – R/R; SS – Arbor View HS (Nevada)

Medium/Large frame with long legs and high waist; quick-twitch athlete with ability to reach full speed quickly. Wide, balanced stance with hands high; compact load staying very balanced at plate with simple step and excellent turn through ball. Regularly barrels balls to middle of the field with very quick hands that stay tight to body; line drives and balls into gaps now with more pop to come (86 mph Exit Velo). Defensively, shows the twitch with quick reactions and excellent 1st step movements at SS; ability to go get the ball at SS covering lots of ground. Showed an above arm (84 mph) with understanding of timing and when to get rid of the ball; in game quickness with ability to make every play look easy. Fluid hips and quick feet show up all over the field (7.25 60-yd) and used to steal bases or track down balls. Showed quality stuff from mound during game. FB 83-85 with ability to locate around plate; generally straight but quality angle on pitches and ability to spot in lower half. SLD 70-72 with tight lateral break and short depth; small tilt flashes on pitches but generally used off-plate. CHG 77-78 hard with short depth sink; limited feel currently, but chance to keep developing. Future at SS with Pitching helping to strengthen arm.

2021 Jace Buck – R/R; C/MIF – Durham HS

Large frame with long torso and legs; shows quick twitch muscles in legs and physical build throughout. Projectable body that looks like it could add good muscle to help overall profile. Offensively showed a very quick, tight bat that has power currently (84 mph exit velo); crouched stance with high back elbow and hands at the shoulder while staying balanced through finish. Multiple games with multiple extra base hits including one game with multiple HR's. Very quick bat stays on plane for a long time and explodes through contact. Defensively showed athleticism and ability to make plays at multiple positions. Naturally a Catcher and showed impressive quickness with 1.72/1.9 pop times on testing day. Arm is average (75 mph from behind plate and SS), but has flashes of more when needed. Excellent footwork behind plate that translates to footwork in field at SS. Size may push him to Catcher full time, but could handle 3B at next level due to excellent reactions and quick release. Moves better underway (7.49 60-yd), and shows off excellent jumps and reactions when on bases. Aggressive player at every facet and willing to take extra bases going around diamond.

2021 Ty Uber – R/R; RHP – Ponderosa HS

XL frame with very long legs and small waist; wide shoulder and long arms with present strength throughout. One of the top 2021 pitchers in entire state; projectable body with ability to be workhorse Friday night guy at the next level. Simple, wide stance delivery on mound keeping hands mid chest away from body; hand break allows arm to come out cleanly and very fast. Compact, very quick arm with high-3/4 release; arm/ball stay hidden till very last second where it explodes on hitters. 5IP 9K's 0R in dominant outing. FB 86-87 with extra life through zone and ability to change location of pitch; spots down with angle and has pitch run up through the zone for swing/miss. CB 73-76 with true 12/6 actions on tight spin; power pitch with ability to change shape to be more slider break as needed. True strikeout pitch. If he continues to perform the way he's been showing should be a high draft pick in 2021.

2022 Jaron Nevarez – L/L; LHP/OF/1B – San Ramon Valley HS

Medium frame with long limbs and high waist; fit and athletic build with lean muscle currently and frame to handle growth and added strength in near future. Utilizes athleticism on the mound with high front leg and repeatable delivery by keeping hands close to chin; compact and quick arm from 3/4-release has ball jump on hitter. FB 78-80 with ability to have more life going through top of the zone; spotted ball to all quadrants and keeps hitters off balance with late life and deception of delivery. CHG 70-71 with late dive down through the zone; feel for pitch and ability to break off similar path of FB. SLD 66-68 with tight lateral tilt; developing pitch that has potential for consistent swing/miss type stuff. During testing showed up with 84 MPH throws from OF and 83 MPH throws from 1B; really athletic player who attacked baseball and uses full body for success. During BP showed line-drive stroke with ability to drive into gaps; 83 Exit Velo. Ran a 7.23 60-yd dash; athleticism plays up when in the OF tracking balls down.

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