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Texas-NM JUCO All-Star Game Scouting Reports

October 1, 2021
Tad Slowik
Special Assistant, Scouting Operations

There was no shortage of quality baseball talent displayed at the Texas-New Mexico Junior College All-Star Game on Sept. 24-25. Held at Dallas Baptist University, the event and venue provided Major League scouts and college coaches with a unique scouting opportunity.

Regions 5 and 14 were well represented, with perennial powerhouses San Jacinto, Grayson, Temple, Weatherford, Midland and McLennan, the defending national champions, all sending high-profile prospects to the two-day All-Star event. 

San Jac had the deepest talent pool, showing again that they are a force to be reckoned with on the National stage at the JUCO level. 3B Sabin Ceballos and SS Harold Coll are two of the top position players in the country and will be high on the list when PBR rolls out its JUCO player rankings in the fall. 

At 6-foot-3, 200 pounds, Ceballos is a big, strong guy, with good defensive skills and a plus-plus throwing arm that he isn’t afraid to show off. He has an advanced approach at the plate and the ability to drive the ball to all fields with plus power. 

Coll shows very good actions at shortstop, with quick hands and plenty of carry on his throws. He has very good bat speed at the plate, with a short compact swing and good raw power. He is capable of hitting for average and power at the next level. 

The Gators have plenty of depth with UTL Ben Greer who gives them versatility at many positions. They also have solid players in OFs Mason Lytle and Luke Pectol and INF Alan Shibley. San Jac also has a strong backstop in Jared Rhodes, a good catch and throw guy to handle a pitching staff that has many good arms. 

On the mound, Gators RHP Matt Tieding is a strike-thrower with a plus-moving fastball up to 92 mph and a good slider. He knows how to pitch and get hitters out. 

Chris Stuart, a southpaw from the Netherlands, has a heater up to 94 with late life and a tight sharp diving slider. Fellow LHP J.J. Sanchez is a live-body guy with a 92-94 fastball that has hard sinking action. He also has a sharp, late slider to go with his heater.

Pitcher Scouting Notes

The sheer quality of talent at the event was evident on the mound, as seven different hurlers reached 95 mph or better to earn a spot on PBR’s JUCO Heat Sheet.

+RHP Luke Young (Midland College) was 92-96 with good late life. The ball comes out of the 6-foot-2 righty’s hand with ease and gets on hitters quickly. Young also imparted good spin on his sharp, 11-5 curveball that had some late action. He has a developing changeup and an overall feel for pitching. 

 

+RHP Benjamin Wilson (Tyler) showed a very quick arm that produced a 91-96 heater with tail and sink. He has a feel for two distinct breaking balls: a hard 83-86 slider with tight rotation and sharp, late diving action, and a sharp downer curve that he spins well at 78-79 with sharp late bite. Wilson competes well and has a chance to develop three plus pitches.

+RHP Adrian Siravo (Weatherford College) has a power frame at 6-foot-5, 245 pounds. He creates leverage with his over-the-top delivery and boasts a 93-95 fastball that gets on hitters quickly with some hop in the zone. He complements his heaters with an 80-84 slider that has sharp, late diving action. 

+At 6-foot-7, RHP Sam Mendes (Cisco College) is a long-limbed, high-upside righty who works at 93-96. He throws quality fastballs in the zone and imparts decent spin on his 78-mph downer curve.

+RHP Davis Pratt (Temple) showed a very quick arm. The 6-foot-2 righty used that arm speed to generate a 93-95 fastball with plus late life. Pratt threw many quality fastballs in the strike zone and showed a sharp-breaking slider that projects as a future quality secondary pitch. He had a strong mound presence and competed well.

+At 6-foot-6, 235 pounds, RHP Sean Goodwin (Bossier Parish) is an intimidating figure to opposing hitters. His fastball tops out at 95, with good late life on both sides of the plate, and he pairs his heater with a hard slider at 84-85 that is deceptive and features a sharp late break. These two quality pitches will play well at the next level.

+RHP Kyle Mosley (Hill College) headlines an impressive group of pitchers who didn’t reach JUCO Heat Sheet territory but still had good outings. The 6-foot-3 hurler showed a quick arm, sitting 91-93 with good late life, and his 78-79 curve featured good spin and sharp, late downer break. He repeats his delivery well and pounds the strike zone.

+McLennan showed strength on the mound with a pair of strong right-handers in 6-foot-7 Will Carsten and Gray Harrison. Carsten was 90-94 with hard, late tail and sink, threw his slider at 81-83 with deception and sharp, late diving action, and also demonstrated feel for a changeup. Overall, he showed that he could throw strikes with three quality pitches.

Harrison was also impressive, boasting two quality pitches: a hard, late-tailing and -sinking fastball up to 93, and a sharp, downer curve with bite. Both are pitches that could help McLennan make another run at a title.

+RHP Dax Dathe (Grayson) was impressive in his outing. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Houston transfer showed good arm strength with an effortless delivery. He featured a 93-94 mph fastball with late life and a hard slider at 81-83 with late diving aciton. But while power may be Dathe’s bread and butter, he also has the ability to change speeds with a quality changeup with late drop. He’s athletic and repeats his delivery, showing the potential to command three pitches.

+RHP Megumi Fukuyama (New Mexico Military Institute) had a quality performance. Fukuyama featured a heater up to 94 mph and a sharp slider that was deceptive and tough for hitters to pick up in an easy inning of work. He pounded the strike zone with both pitches. 

+6-foot-4 RHP Ian Sexton (Coastal Bend) also worked a solid frame, filling the strike zone with a 92 mph fastball and a downer curve that drew weak swings. Finally, 6-foot-1 LHP Fernando Gonzalez (New Mexico JC) threw his 90 mph fastball with late life and put away hitters with a big, sharp, late-breaking curve.

 

 

Position Player Reports

+Out of all the top position players at this event, SS/2B Stanley Tucker (New Mexico JC)  may have had the best performance. The 5-foot-9, 155-pound middle infielder is a plus runner with a live, athletic body. His explosive first step makes him dynamic on the basepaths and the potential to become a top basestealer. He keeps the bat in the zone for a long time, driving the ball to all fields with power. Defensively, Tucker impresses with his feet, hands and range and can really turn a double-play thanks to an ultra-quick release. He has enough arm strength as a second baseman to think shortstop could be possible. He’s an exciting player to follow closely. 

+2B Austin Green (Weatherford) has a complete set of tools. Nothing he does is flashy, but the ingredients are there for him to become a very productive player at the next level. Green’s instincts, along with his all-around defensive ability, enable him to play anywhere on the infield. Offensively, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound switch-hitter shows an advanced approach from both sides of the plate. His ability to square up and drive the ball consistently gives him a chance to become a middle-of-the-order guy at the next level.

+SS Tyler Wulfurt (Midland) is a strong and athletic player, at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds. He gets carry on his throws and has good actions, including a quick first step that allows him to play all over the infield. At the plate, the right-handed hitter has a good approach and the ability to drive the ball with power potential. 

+C Mauricio Milan (El Paso CC) has a durable and flexible body that gives him quickness as a blocker, as well as quick hands that help him steal extra strikes. His quick release produces accurate throws with carry needed to shut down the running game. Offensively, Milan has a solid approach at the plate with raw power potential -- a good defender who has a chance to hit. 

+C Ben Columbus (Wharton County JC) has a strong, durable catcher’s body (6-foot-1, 180 pounds), with first-step quickness to block and hands that keep the ball in strike zone. He has a good release, producing 2.05-second pop times and accurate throws with carry. Those qualities should help him combat the running game at the next level. A left-handed hitter, Columbus demonstrates a sound approach and keeps the bat in hitting zone, showing power potential.

+CF Matthew Etzel (Panola College) is a physical athlete, at 6-foot-3, 210 pounds, who can fly (6.4-sec 60). He gets good jumps in the outfield and covers a lot of ground and has a strong, accurate arm. He could be a plus defender. Offensively, the left-handed hitter has solid approach at the plate and makes consistent hard contact, driving the ball with power potential.


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