SoCal Uncommitted Senior Games: Quick Hits
October 1, 2019
FULLERTON, CA. - The 2019 SoCal Uncommitted Senior Games took place at Fullerton College home of the Hornets baseball program. The invitation only event drew over 60 players looking to show their wares in front of several Division I, Division II, and Junior College coaches in attendance.
Players were put through a pro-style workout that included running the 60-yard dash, on-field batting practice, and a defensive workout prior to a 10 inning game. PBR California scouts were on hand to take measurements and evaluate players on all facets of their games.
As we dive deeper into our notes and videos we will release more post-event content, but for now we present our Quick Hits on some early standouts.
QUICK HITS
 |
Bryce Cermenelli C / 2B / Norco, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Five-foot-7, 168-pounds. Medium/large frame with strength throughout. Squared shoulders with strength down into the wrists. Showed fast hands at the plate where he whips the barrel through the zone while on-plane. Direct barrel path to the ball getting extended post contact. Spray orientated hitter with present power to all fields from the left side. Ball jumps off the bat. Defensively Cermenelli worked out behind the plate showing soft hands and athletic actions. Sets up even and explodes out of crouch with proper footwork, quick and clean transfers. Throws were accurate to the bag on the first base side. Played third base in-game and showed excellent range to his left and the ability to make the backhand play with strong, accurate throws to first. Drove a ball to deep right-center-field that was tracked down for a long out showing his strength/power at the plate. |
 |
Joey Vidal 2B / OF / Highland , CA / 2020Uncommitted - Five-foot-7, 170-pounds. Medium frame with proportional strength throughout. Strong body, particularly in the lower half. Starts slightly open and upright with high hands. Maintains barrel on a flat path through hitting zone while showing the ability to manipulate barrel plane. Showed pull side power during BP and in-game. Defensively Vidal showed excellent range to both sides with quick feet and proper body positioning. Made three outstanding plays in-game - one to the left, one to the right, and one going back into shallow right field to make a catch. Ideal profile for a second baseman with his range, instincts, and arm strength. |
 |
Charlie Rhee OF / 3B / St. Augustine, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Five-foot-9, 155-pounds. Medium frame with wiry strength throughout. Squared shoulders with room to add strength/mass to the frame. Athletic player who continues to improve with each viewing. Shows a simple approach staying gap-to-gap with a direct barrel path to the ball. Showed present bat speed from a loose almost effortless middle-middle approach. Defensively showed very good range to both sides with soft hands and clean transfers on throws. Plays/moves around with very good body control. Arm proved to be strong with accuracy on throws across the diamond. Backhand was true and he easily turned the double play ball. Clocked a 4.36 home-to-first time on an in-game ground ball. Rhee sports a 3.93 GPA and 1140 SAT score. |
 |
Nathan Blocher OF / 2B / Orange Lutheran, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Five-foot-10, 150-pounds. Medium/large frame with present proportional wiry strength throughout the frame and room to continue to add both mass and strength. Opened with a laser-timed 6.89 60-yard dash before taking to the hitting wheel where he demonstrated an improved approach at the plate. There’s more whippiness to the barrel than in recent viewings. Showed to prefer a middle-middle approach by driving balls with a slightly uphill barrel path resulting in backspun balls to the middle part of the field. Showed some sneaky power in driving several balls to the wall. Defensively Blocher showed range to both sides with controlled aggression in approaching balls. Funnels out front before releasing from a 3/4 arm slot with accuracy on his throws. Clocked a 4.49 home-to-first time in-game. |
 |
Jack Odell 1B / LHP / Long Beach Wilson, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot, 180-pounds. Large, lean frame with wiry strength in the upper body and significant strength in the legs down through the calves. Stars with bent knees and an even setup with high hands. Present power in the bat to the pull side. Hit one out and one off the top of wall during batting practice. Showed a middle-middle approach while looking to lift the ball. Defensively Odell showed athletic actions in the outfield where his range is fair and his instincts/read are very good allowing his athleticism to play up. Arm strength (80 mph) is fair with accurate throws to the bags. Athleticism really stood out at first base where he showed quick feet and soft hands. On the mound Odell showed a dip-and-drive delivery from a 3/4 arm slot. Repeated mechanics and delivery consistently in his outing. Hides the ball well with a compact arm while the fastball shows some cut action as it enters the zone. Curveball is a tumbling 11/5 shaped breaking ball. |
 |
Luc Balcom SS / 2B / Palos Verdes , CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot-1, 180-pounds. Large frame with proportional strength throughout, particularly in the lower half. Physical player with room to add more strength/mass. Showed significant bat speed with a slight uphill path resulting in backspun balls to all fields. Direct path to the ball without wasted actions. Showed the ability to use all fields. Bat plays now; single to LCF gap; single to CF in-game. Defensively Balcom shows nimble footwork to go with soft,fast hands that gets the ball out quickly and accurately. While playing middle infield in-game, Balcom’s athleticism may play up at third base where. |
 |
Shaun McHale SS / RHP / Valencia, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot-1, 175-pounds. Large, wiry strong frame with room for continued physical development. High waist with long limbs. Starts upright with a slight leg kick and stride. Creates backspin with a slightly uphill barrel path and fast, whippy hands that allow him to maintain barrel path through the hitting zone. Barrel is short to the ball and long through it getting extension post contact. Defensively McHale showed solid footwork with fair range to both sides to go with soft hands and quick/clean transfers. Plays with excellent body control. Arm was accurate across the diamond to go with turning the double play ball easily. On the mound, McHale showed a solid three-pitch mix with a fast, compact arm staying tall on the backside and driving down the mound. Fastball showed late run as it entered the zone while his curveball was tight, with depth and 11/5 shape. Curveball is a very projectable pitch. Maintains arm speed on changeup creating deception while missing down with the pitch and inducing swing-and-miss results. |
 |
Mason Grace C / 1B / Redondo Union, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot-2, 170-pounds. Large, long, lean, wiry strong frame with room for continued physical development. High waist with long limbs. Starts with a neutral setup with a slight knee bend and hands above shoulder. Uses his present strength at the plate well where he maintains barrel on a slight uphill path through the zone to generate lift. Finished his BP round with a pair of homeruns showing his ability to get the barrel on the ball. Had a pair of standup triples in-game showing some speed on the bases to back up his 7.06 60 yard dash earlier in the day. Does a very good job of incorporating the lower half in his swing. Defensively he sets up in a neutral crouch with weight evenly distributed down through the heels. Showed soft hands with clean/quick exchanges. Arm strength (81 mph) was evident on his accurate throws to the bag. Only miss was just off the bag to the first base side. In-game showed his ability to set hitters up through his pitch calling by varying locations and mixing up eye levels. |
 |
Peyton Gleich RHP / 1B / JSerra, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot-3, 205-pounds. Extra large frame with proportional strength and room to tighten up overall. High waist with large feet and long limbs. Stays tall on the backside before driving down the mound through to an over-the-top arm slot with an out front release point. Commanded the fastball to both sides of the plate for strikes with some cut action on the two-seamer. Curveball was a tightly spun pitch with 11/5 movement and late breaking action that induced swing-and-miss results. Changeup showed some two-seam action with its late depth and cut. Misses were down with all pitches that resulted in weak rollover contact. Gleich showed a deep understanding of how to pitch that resulted in a clean inning of work. |
 |
Corbin Ellis OF / RHP / El Dorado, CA / 2020Rankings StateRank: 98 / POS: 19
Uncommitted - Six-foot-4, 205-pounds. Extra-large frame with significant strength throughout the body. Ellis is a starting free safety on his high school football team and he plays baseball the same way he does football - full go! Started the day running a 7.08 60-yard dash showing an athletic, ground eating gait. Showed a compact swing that is direct to ball and long through to extension. Present power to the middle and pull side. Does a fair job of incorporating the lower half into the swing to generate some of the power. Does a very good job of keeping the barrel on plane throughout the swing. Had a hard hit single to center field in-game. Defensively he showed athletic actions in the outfield while aggressively charging and gathering the baseball out front. |
 |
Drew Standen RHP / 1B / Aliso Niguel, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot-4, 210-pounds. Extra-large frame with a high waist, long limbs and large feet add to the projection. Working from a slight drop-and-drive delivery through to a high 3/4 almost over-the-top arm slot to an out front release point. Incorporates a high leg kick and a slight back turn that hides the ball in his compact path in the back. Standen impressed in his outing with a three-pitch mix that featured a lively fastball with two-seam cut action that induced several swing-and-miss passes. It’s a heavy fastball that seems a lot firmer than the 87 mph he was throwing it. His curveball showed a true 12/6 shape with late sharp biting action that missed bats. The bottom just drops out of the pitch. Showed feel for the changeup that worked down in the zone with late diving action to the back foot of righties. Maintains same arm speed/slot on all pitches adding to his deception. |
 |
Ryan Wentz RHP / South Hills, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot-4, 205-pounds. Extra-large frame with proportional strength throughout. Enormous hands and large feet give the indication he may not be done growing. Stays somewhat tall on the backside before using his lower half strength to drive and gain ground down the mound. Delivery goes from deliberate to explosive. Fastball has life as it enters the zone at 89 mph while showing the ability to work it black-to-black for strikes. Can pound it in on hitters on both sides of the plate and induced weak rollover contact with the pitch. Also elevated for swing-and-miss passes. Slider has a chance to be a special pitch with it’s tight spin and late break and depth. Throws the pitch from the same tunnel as the fastball making causing havoc for hitters. Threw both pitches for strikes in a clean outing that didn’t see a ball hit out of the infield. Wentz has a fresh arm after not throwing a ton in the spring and sports a 3.5 GPA. |
 |
Conor Burdian OF / RHP / Santa Margarita Catholic, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot-1, 165-pounds. Large, athletic, strong frame with significant strength in the lower half and down from the shoulders to the waist. Physical athlete. Burdian flashed his speed (7.02 60 yard dash) throughout the day whether on the bases or in the outfield where he narrowly missed making a diving catch after sprinting 30 yards from the other side of center field. Big time arm strength (89 mph) from the outfield where he gets excellent reads off the bat and takes direct paths to the ball without wasted movements. At the plate his athleticism stands out in his fast hands/bat speed that helps him create backspin on the ball from a simple setup and approach. Favors the pull side but shows the ability to go up the middle as well. |
 |
Eric Barajas RHP / OF / Eleanor Roosevelt, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Six-foot-2, 175-pounds. Large, lean athletic frame with strength in the legs and through the squared shoulders. Arm is loose, easy, and compact from his drop-and-drive delivery through to his 3/4 slot and out front release point. Barajas shows excellent command of the strike zone with his easy, fluid delivery while using a short rotation to add deception. Pounded the fastball in on hitters to both sides of the plate inducing weak contact throughout his outing. Curveball was a tight spinning pitch that he commanded well with his easy, repeatable motion. |
 |
Garret Ostrander SS / 2B / Del Norte, CA / 2020Uncommitted - Five-foot-11, 175-pounds. Medium frame with proportional strength throughout. Started off running a 7.22 laser timed 60-yard dash before entering the hitting wheel where he showed a simple setup with a toe tap trigger and quick hands and present bat speed. Maintains barrel on plane through the zone and showed flashes of raw power to all fields. Finished the game 3-for-5 where he demonstrated excellent base running skills. Defensively he showed excellent footwork to go with soft hands and clean/quick transfers. Easily handled the double play turn and showed enough arm strength (81 mph) to make throws from various angles. Ostrander showed himself to be an athletic middle infielder who may profile best at second but can handle shortstop now. |
UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| NorCal Uncommitted Senior Games | CA | 10/06 | College of Marin |
| NorCal Top Prospect Games | CA | 10/13 | College of Marin |