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NorCal Preseason All-State Middle Infielders

January 31, 2020
Ryan Ozella
NorCal Area Scout

Lathrop, CA: The annual NorCal Preseason All-State was our latest stop on the road to the California State Games setting up shop at Islanders Field on a cool and foggy day. The weather didn’t stop us from getting to see a large group of talented players at this premier early season showcase with those players ready to show their fall/winter development as their high school seasons are just a few weeks away. This invite only event roster saw just over 70 players in attendance. 

Players were put through a customary pro-style workout that included a laser-time 60-yard sprint, a round of batting practice, defensive workouts at respective positions, and concluded with bullpen sessions for pitchers. We purposely did not include games because we didn’t want to put pitchers who aren’t ready to face live hitters in that situation.

A large majority of the players have been on our radar from previous Springs, Summers and Falls or previous PBR events. A few were attending their first ever PBR California event giving us a first look at these players in a showcase setting. No matter how many times we may have seen players, this was another great showing with many players leaving a lasting impression and quickly getting added to the spring follow list. 

With so many players at the event we've begun rolling out positional breakdowns. We showcased our Quick Hits, Stats Leaders, Catchers and today we focus on the Middle Infielders from the event.

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MIDDLE INFIELDERS:


Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: Lewis regularly showed the tools to impact a roster at the next level during 2019, and he came into the first event of 2020 with his regular quiet intensity and ability to do everything on the field well. The loose and easy swing was on display again as he allowed his barrel to work upwards on time and on plane driving balls around the field early before turning up the intensity later in the round and flashing better leverage to the pullside; the type of professional batting practice we’ve regularly seen from him. On defense the soft glove plays with rhythm and easy athleticism moving around with a bounce in his step. The arm is compact and accurate from multiple angles and shows the ability to get rid of it; he understands when he needs to put more behind it and there’s more strength in the arm than the velocity shown. We’ve seen Jeriah perform in both showcase and game settings for multiple years now and coaches needing a high upside, middle of the field athlete should take notice.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: My first viewing of Cole was a good one where the long and wiry strength frame is athletic and he showed very solid tools that have some space for more growth. 7.02 60yd to kick off the day before showing off a compact barrel that lifts through contact at the plate; the back hip really fired well and matched with his ability to stay inside the baseball as he wore out the RCF gap during his round. The fundamentals of a solid MIF were present during defense as he worked with a flat back and glove out watching the ball into his soft glove; the adjustability and burst in the dirt were noticeable giving him the ability to stick at the position long-term. Cole’s first couple of throws sailed on him a bit but was able to adjust and keep it firm going across the diamond.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: 5-6, 165 compactly built with strength through shoulders/chest/core. Slightly opened and crouched stance gaining ground with lower half as high hands/high back elbow set up shows quick hand pump on higher front foot. Hands are direct with a compact barrel; has improved hand path to remove some of the steepness allowing him to show more barrel speed. Was able to line balls through the middle throughout BP (77 EV). Active feet showing aggressive approach to the baseball; flashed some timing and ability to break down to go through the ball. High elbow on throws with high hand; limited life on throws (65 INF MPH).

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: Butler has been one of my favorite players in the 2021 class for some time, and the tooled-up athlete showed why again during the event. I learned he’s still in basketball season, after playing football, and he claimed he was only at about 85-90% of where he needed to be on the diamond; there’s not many that can match his athletic ability (6.94 60yd). At the plate the explosive hands allow the barrel to create easy lift and there’s a strong ability to transfer energy up the chain and through the baseball utilizing a kick back matched with his locked in front side; linedrives carried through the fog into RCF/LCF/LF showing his ability to manipulate the barrel (96 EV). On defense he shows the ability to cover all over the shortstop position and the ability to break down to stay in time as he moved through the baseball. The arm is a plus for the position as balls regularly showed firm life across the diamond ending chest high (84 MPH); the longer actions could have long-term questions about sticking at SS, but I’ll take the live, plus arm any day. Great character kid with a very high ceiling.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: I saw a lot of Haskins in 2019 and he showed very well against some of the best in Northern California during the event. Haskins’ frame has added good strength to it and the body doesn’t look like it’s done growing; he could be over 6-0 in the near future with more strength helping. Keeping even hands and a high back elbow, Haskins peppered gap-to-gap with carrying linedrives showing an easy and efficient swing that has shortened up the barrel path to the baseball (90 EV). On defense he played with some of the best range adjusting to the baseball and allowing his quick feet to get into the OF on both sides of him. The glove work was impressive fielding everything with just the glove as he kept momentum to his targets before allowing the loose arm to make every throw a SS needs to make (87 MPH). Hard-working and dedicated to his craft, Haskins has a bright future

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: Ramocinski has made really nice strength adds to the frame and it’s allowed him to have better top end speed since last season’s NorCal Preseason All-State. The high back elbow/high hands setup get the barrel on plane deep in the swing and that allowed Ramocinski to have easy lift with the hands staying tight and releasing out front; stuck to the middle of the field and pull gap with hard line drives showing solid bat-to-ball skills (88 EV). On defense he plays with more burst than overall speed showing easy actions especially to the gloveside where he made a nice play. The glove is soft and can react to the baseball before allowing his compact arm to keep it on the bag (82 INF). Another big season/summer could see him jumping up lists.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: Lunsford was another player who has made big improvements in a short time from my last viewing at the Area Code Tryouts. The long lean frame has space for added strength, but he plays with top end speed and twitchy actions. At the plate the high hand set up produces a longer barrel turn, but the handsy swing can really whip the barrel head through the zone like he flashed during batting practice as he stuck to the middle and RCF with liners (91 EV). On defense he’s got good first step reactions showing range and the ability to work with the glove out in front of him. The arm is compact and has added strength, though there are times he throws cutters which will sap some of that velocity and accuracy.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: 5-10, 155 long, wiry frame has started to add more strength in it and still has space for more. Even stance with slight bend in the knees keeping high back elbow and hands at back shoulder; hands have quiet, soft lift with small stride to baseball. Barrel has quick arc through the zone with high finish over the back shoulder; shows ability to get top hand to take over late in swing allowing him to pull through the left side line-drives. Contact oriented approach and able to show some bat speed on his pitches (78 EV). Active feet showing ability to react to hops and push range laterally; advanced understanding of timing and rhythm moving through the ball. Showed soft hands with glove out and athletic action for the position; arm has full swing showing his arm strength and ability to manipulate posture on throws (85 INF). With his advanced defense he can work at any spot in the infield and the bat has continued to improve its consistency.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: 5-11, 150 long and slender frame with squared up shoulders. Right hand swing has hands start low in balanced, squatted stance before big hand pump loads on slight foot lift; left hand swing has similar stance with more quiet hands and rocking type of load with body. Right side swing has more bat speed with hand pump building momentum into swing showing his ability to turn the barrel for hard contact through the pullside; Left side swing has a bit more length in barrel turn and tendency to have barrel get ahead of hands as top hand takes over in contact oriented path (82 EV). At SS showed ability to utilize his hips to get low and through the ball with glove out front; consistent footwork to help him stick at position. Arm was loose showing quick release and different angles; often times played too fast losing posture and having balls take off on throws (81 INF MPH). There’s athleticism in the frame and skills to stick in the middle of the diamond; still raw and could keep making leaps in overall tools.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: Kelly was one of my favorite young ‘22’s to get to see during the 2019 season and he put on a show having a strong season in the West Catholic League. Projection has always been there and he’s starting to tap into it more consistently. At the plate the very high hands, squatted stance is athletic with a high front foot allowing the barrel to have a compact swing behind him before unloading upwards through the baseball (90 EV); regularly drove the gap and hit at my count 4 out of the park deep to LF. The late barrel speed is impressive and the added pop will continue to show up more as he matures. At SS, Kelly moves well using his big stride to cover ground with timing and rhythm through the baseball; the glove is soft and there’s good posture when fielding out in front of him. The arm worked from different slots keeping throws firm across the infield (82 INF). Kelly finished the day showing more arm strength on the hill as he stays over the rubber well with a longer stride allowing the compact arm to finish out over the firm front side. FB 84-86 with arm side run and life at the plate. CHG 78 late sinking action. CB 73 11/6 shape and small overhand bend. With the way he swang it and how big his frame is, projecting a power hitting/strong armed 3B at the next level isn’t out of the question. Expect Kelly to be a name high on lists this Spring.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: Gennis was the breakout pitcher at the Top Prospect Games with poise and moxie on the mound matched with a highly efficient and low effort athletic delivery where his loose arm works well through the 3/4 release. There’s still added projection as his hands and feet are both very big suggesting another growth spurt to help the frame add to it. The ball jumped out of his hand on the mound with FB (84-88 MPH) being firm to both sides of the plate, a late bottoming CHG (76-79 MPH) and a tight and biting CB (69-73) that falls off the table. Add in the fact that he also can handle the bat and glove and Gennis might be one of the best two-way guys in the ‘22 class. At the plate the high hand set up works the hands upwards through the zone and his stability on the front side allows for some kick back that creates consistent hard contact working gap-to-gap (83 EV). At SS, his feet are active as he took strong angles to the baseball before allowing his loose arm to let it go across the diamond (83 MPH); tendency to trust the arm and playing back on the edge of the grass. The mound is where I see him landing in the long term, but his knack for the game is present and will be a fun one to see later this year.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: 5-11, 167 high waist and squared up shoulder has started adding good strength to frame with space to keep filling in. High hands/high back elbow stance with balance; load has some coil around back hip with hands working down, loading past the back shoulder. Upwards arc through the zone shows best swing when he has more barrel extension than lift on impact; swing is loose and easy and shows ability to be more aggressive on turns when needing it. Balls lifted through the middle/gaps of the field during BP with hard liners to the gaps (84 EV). Reacts well to the ball understanding hops and adjusting his feet to make plays; knows when to attack and cut the ball off keeping feet underneath him and glove out. Arm is compact with high hand through the slot; kept throws online regularly with flashes of more life (81 INF MPH). Skills to be a high in the order middle infielder at next level.

Scouting Report

NorCal Preseason All-State: 5-6, 155 compactly build showing current muscle in shoulders/chest and twitchy attributes (7.04 60yd). Squatted stance with flared elbows and bat at back shoulder; engages lower half on load as hands lift with small foot lift. Hands are direct to the ball with level path and high finish; times where barrel get around hands leading to lots of pulled contact (81 EV). Feet are active and quick at SS using his athleticism to make plays look easy; glove is soft playing with two hands out front and ability to press through hops when needing. Arm is compact (76 MPH), but has a tendency to pop out of posture leading to throws high at the target during event. There’s more available in the arm and the tools have space to keep improving. A 2022 to follow over this season.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Winter Update Series powered by FBK1 CA 01/30 FBK1
Winter Update Series powered by Monterey Bay Pirates CA 01/31 Monterey Bay Pirates Facility
California Far North Preseason I.D. CA 02/01 Chico HS
Super 60 Pro Showcase NATIONAL 02/02 The MAX - McCook, IL
Winter Update Series powered by Mike Murphy Baseball CA 02/08 MMB - Walnut Creek
SoCal Underclass Games ID - Los Angeles CA 02/09 O'Malley Family Field
Winter Update Series powered by EM Sports CA 02/10 EM Sports - Rancho Cucamonga
SoCal Underclass Games (INVITE ONLY) CA 06/13 Hart Park
SoCal ProCase CA 06/14 Hart Park
2020 PBR Future Games (California Invite) CA 07/29 LakePoint Sports

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