By John Nolan
PBR Virginia/D.C. Assistant Scouting Director

The Virginia Cardinals has been a long-standing power in the travel baseball circuit. With top prospects from across Virginia, the Cardinals will be competing in the Under Armour Classic on June 17-19 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. The UA Classic features 12 of the top 16U programs from around the country, each with a number of high level 2018/2019 prospects.

A look at some of the Cardinals’ top prospects:

Tyler Bailey, IF/RHP, Thomas Dale, 2018
Bailey hits from a balanced stance with a smooth load, and a short stride. Good balance, average bat speed with a good approach, using the whole field. Exit velocity of 77. Swing has a level path to the ball and he works gap to gap. Three-quarters arm action with some accuracy. Average arm strength with a position velocity of 78. Average hands with clean exchanges.

Tucker Bushby, OF/LHP, James River, 2018
Bushby is a switch hitter. He has a balanced stance, smooth load, and a short stride. Has a decent lower half with good balance and average bat speed from the right side, exit velocity of 85. He has a loose, three-quarters arm action, with decent carry and accuracy, position velocity of 78. Average hands with fluid footwork and a clean exchange. Athletic with good position, 60 time is 7.23.

Wes Glass, LHP/1B, Riverside, 2018
Glass has a tall, athletic frame with a strong lower half. Throws from a low three-quarters arm slot with a drop and drive delivery. His shoulders are downhill and closed and he lands square with recoil as he finishes. His fastball has heavy run and good angle, sitting 76-78, touching 79. Also has a fading change-up and a slider.

Michael Peterson, OF, Prince George, 2018
Peterson stands a lanky 5-10 and hits from the right side. He hits from a slightly open, athletic stance with a long stride and a slight wrap to his smooth load back. He has an explosive lower half and maintains good balance throughout his swing. He has average bat speed and a longer swing path with good extension, exit velocity is 81. He had good rhythm and showed a pull approach. In the outfield, Peterson takes good routes to the balls and has a very good, quick release. He throws from a high three-quarters arm slot with a loose arm action and a positional velocity of 79. Home to first time of 4.47.

Scooter Ray, C, Manchester, 2018
Hits from an athletic, balanced stance that was slightly open on the front side. Smooth load back with a slight arm bar. Utilized an inward front knee turn to generate power in the lower half. Lower half was explosive. Stride was on-line with excellent balance. Fluid rhythm with strong hands. Excellent bat speed with an exit velocity of 88 mph off of the tee. Took an advanced approach and had a short, level bat path with great extension. Line drive stroke. Has all of the tools to be a major power threat at the next level. Behind the plate, threw from a high three-quarters arm slot with a long arm action. Throws had carry in game with a positional velocity of 75. Athletic behind the plate with an exchange from glove to hand that was quick. Pop times ranged from 2.06-2.22. Big target with hands that were above average as a receiver.

Gregory Ryan, SS, Benedictine, 2018 (Pittsburgh)
Ryan hits from a crouched stance that stood open. Smooth load back with a stride that gets on line. At times rushes to front side. Average lower half turn that stays balanced. Bat exit velocity of 83 mph. Quick hands with a level approach to the ball. Good extension. Line drive hitter with gap power. Threw from a loose, high three-quarters arm slot with some accuracy, position velocity of 81. Soft hands with athletic footwork that played through the ball. Quick, clean exchanges. Athletic player with smooth range. 

Tevin Tucker, SS, Prince George, 2018
Hit from a tall stance that stood slightly open. Tall hands with a smooth load back. Controlled stride that gets back on line. Good lower half turn the ball. Maintains balance throughout swing. Bat exit velocity of 79 mph. Short, level swing path with good extension. Line drive hitter with potential pull power. Fluid rhythm. Quality mechanics that should develop to an above average hitter. Threw from a quick, high three-quarters arm slot with some accuracy. Positional velocity of 76 mph. Decent hands with clean exchanges. Showed some athleticism with his footwork. Played through the ball.

+ Logan Amiss, C, Powhatan, 2018

+ Hunter Andrews, OF, Monacan, 2018

+ Jonathan Walton, RHP/1B, Prince George, 2018

+ Tyler Butler, 3B/RHP, Manchester, 2017

+ Drew Camp, 1B/C, Thomas Dale, 2018

+ Matthew Church, RHP/2B, Powhatan, 2018

>> CLICK HERE to view complete IMG CLASSIC schedule and rosters

ABOUT THE IMG CLASSIC

The inaugural Under Armour Classic, powered by the Prep Baseball Report, is set forJune 17-19 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL. This premier 16U tournament will feature 12 high-end travel baseball organizations, with each team featuring loaded rosters of 2018 and 2019 prospects from across the country. 

The 12 teams involved in the Under Armour Classic are:
+ Elite Squad (Florida)
+ FTB (Florida)
+ Bubba Baseball (Pennsylvania/New Jersey/New York/Maryland)
+ Top Tier (Illinois)
+ Ohio Elite (Ohio)
+ Dulin Dodgers (Tennessee/Mississippi)
+ Toronto Mets (Canada)
+ GRB Rays (Wisconsin)
+ Louisiana Knights (Louisiana/Alabama/Mississippi)
+ Virginia Cardinals (Virginia)
+ North East Baseball (New England)
+ Georgia Titans (Georgia)

Unlike many tournaments that have you spending more time in the car driving field to field, all the high-level competition will be in one quad, with staggered starts, posted pitching rotations, complete roster packets, and all other amenities to make your recruiting that much easier. And, of course, it’s all free. If you have attended the Prep Baseball Report Future Games in the past, you can expect the same level competition and event execution. Pool-play games will begin on Friday, June 17, and the tournament will conclude around 2 pm Sunday.