Team Mid-Atlantic Breakdown: Infielders
August 19, 2020
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In the third part of our Future Games: Team Mid-Atlantic breakdown we take a deeper dive into the infielders.
Team Mid-Atlantic: Infielders
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Mikey Banch Caliz 3B / RHP / James River (Midlothian), VA / 2022Compact frame at 5-foot-7, 187-pounds. Banch Caliz stood out at the plate where he collected multiple hits over the course of his plate appearances at the Future Games. Starts with an athletic open stance, small leg lift to stride, and shows ability to adjust and be on time with the front foot. Hands have rhythm on load before moving into a flat path to contact. There is some line drive tendency in the swing and he is not afraid to use the whole field. Banch Caliz projects primarily at third base right now and shows solid glove work with average arm strength across.
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Ethan Brooks SS / 3B / Glen Allen, VA / 2022Athletic frame at 5-foot-11, 160-pounds with some room to add strength. Where Brooks stands out the most is his defensive ability. He is one of the best middle infielders in the Mid-Atlantic regardless of class. Bounce in his step, soft hands, and quick exchange and release. The arm strength is average/above average, but what separates Brooks with the arm is his ability to get rid of it quickly and with ease and accuracy from any arm angle. He displayed that ability on an in-between hop in the 5-6 hole where he picked it and threw from an awkward position and spot on the field to throw out the batter-runner at first base. He has very sneaky lateral range and is as sure-handed a defender as you will find. At the plate Brooks started to show some adjustment in his approach and swing. The swing, in previous viewings, has gotten a little long and disconnected on the backside and tends to try to lift a little too much, but this week was different. He appeared to be shorter and simpler in approach and was quicker to contact. Brooks had a line drive single on day one off of a tough left hander from Florida. Brooks is a middle infielder that will be able to step on campus day one and be a contributor in the middle of the field and should only get better as he adds strength to the frame which should help the offensive production.
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Nicholas Morabito SS / 2B / Gonzaga, VA / 20225-foot-10, 175-pound athletic frame. Morabito is a high end runner, turning out a 6.79 60 at the Future Games and has been down as low as a 6.68 this June at a Top Prospect Games event. He is very aggressive and gets excellent jumps and reads on the bases. After reaching base versus the Carolinas, Morabito proceeded to swipe second and third in about a 3-4 pitch sequence. At the plate Morabito starts from a square athletic stance, short level path swing, and has line drive tendency working gap to gap. He gets out of the box well putting pressure on the defense on just about any ball put in play. Defensively Morabito showed off the arm strength on the workout day, posting a 85 mph infield velo, proving he has the arm strength to stay on the left side. Feet work well around the bag and has some positional versatility in the infield.
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Benjamin Santiago SS / RHP / Douglas Freeman, VA / 2022Athletic 6-foot, 200-pound frame. Santiago is an easy high end runner turning out a 6.84 60 at the Future Games. Santiago continues to shine at the plate. Athletic stance at the plate with rhythm in his hands, short to contact, and elite hand speed through the zone. Santiago has no issue handling velo and has the ability to use the whole field with power potential to all fields. He is a high end bat that can hit for average and power. Defensively he is an adequate defender at third base and second base, but long term may end up in corner outfield and possibly even first base. The swing plays and he continues to trend in the direction of being an early contributor on the offensive side at the next level. Santiago committed to VCU in the past few days.
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Brayden Simpson SS / RHP / Cosby, VA / 2022Projectable frame at 6-foot-1, 170-pounds with athleticism. Simpson offers positional versatility where he projects corner infield and corner outfield long term. Has plenty of arm strength to play third, as he posted a 87 mph positional velocity. At the plate Simpson starts from a square athletic stance, hands load back to separation, and a leg kick to stride landing on line. Quick hands through the zone with slight uphill tilt and displays pull side power to the swing. Simpson hit a double to deep left during our first day of games that would score two. He also put up a 94.78 mph average exit velo, which was the third best average Trackman exit velo during the BP session on the workout day. He is a high energy teammate and is vocal on the field and in the dugout.
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