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Positional Notes: Cardinals/Diamond Skills/Tidewater Orioles

October 20, 2020
Jason Burton
Richmond Scouting Coordinator

Today we will cover nine positional players that stood out on Sunday at Dinwiddie Sports Complex in the three team tournament between the Virginia Cardinals, Diamond Skills Dodgers, and Tidewater Orioles. 


Positional Players

Theo Pollack OF / St. John's College, VA / 2021

Athletic 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame with lean strength. Sets up at the plate with a square athletic stance, hands relaxed and set back, while using a simple small step to stride landing on line. Bat path is level with line drive tendency to the swing. Barrel stays in the zone and on through contact. Flashes ability to hit for average and showcased some power potential in the swing with a deep double off the left center field fence.

Casey Gibbs C / 3B / St. John's College, VA / 2021

6-foot, 180-pound athletic frame for the VCU commit. Switch hitting catcher that shows the feet, athleticism, and arm strength to stay behind the plate. Love the way this young man plays the game. High IQ player on both sides of the ball. Has some sneaky power at the plate and handles the bat from both sides of the plate very well. Runs well enough that he is a threat to drag from the left side. High contact rate and tends to ambush pitchers early in counts, but appears comfortable battling deep into an at bat. I think Gibbs will have a chance to hit for high average at the next level and will flash occasional power at the plate. A very disciplined and prepared high school player that has a chance to flourish at the collegiate level.

Jason Schiavone C / SS / St. John's College, VA / 2021

Projectable 6-foot-2, 195-pound frame for the JMU commit. Liked Schiavone behind the plate where the arm strength showed well. Solid receiver behind the plate with a clean exchange on pops. Had as low as a 1.98 pop time in between innings. At the plate there is some power potential in the swing. Slightly open athletic stance, hands drop on load, and has some bat speed through the zone. Fairly level path to contact and gets slightly uphill on extension. 

Ryan Peterson C / 1B / First Colonial, VA / 2021

6-foot, 200-pound frame with strength throughout. Sets up at the plate with a wider athletic base, balance throughout the swing, and has middle of the order power. Hands are fairly loose, but make minimal movement on load. Peterson is short and quick to contact with plenty of bat speed getting through the zone. Had multiple hits on the day including a double off the right field fence on a 76 mph slider that was left up. I have seen Peterson on multiple occasions and he has always shown the power in the swing to the pull side, but today he showed a different aspect of the offensive tools and that is the potential to hit for average as well. Had two hard hit balls up the middle, one on a fastball and one on a breaking ball. All of his hits were versus Division I committed arms and showed no problem handling velocity. High character young man with a knack for the barrel and has a chance to have a very strong career at VMI, where he recently committed. 

Kennedy Jones OF / 1B / Maury, VA / 2021

Physical frame for the 6-foot-2, 210-pound UNC-Greensboro commit. Jones is one of the more prominent power bats in the state regardless of class and he did not disappoint this past Sunday. In his at bats early on Jones struggled seeing offspeed pitches up, but really settled in in the second game and locked in on a few at bats. It is a wider athletic stance with a simple pick up and put down to stride. The hands are quiet before making short move to contact with high end hand and bat speed. He hunts contact out front and has natural loft built into the swing. True power to all fields and has no problem handling velocity. In his second game hit a 76 mph breaking ball off the right field fence and then followed it up in his next at bat with an absolute rocket out of left center field on a 82 mph fastball. Profiles as a first baseman at the collegiate level and a big time run producer in the middle of the order with present power to all fields.

Carson DeMartini SS / 2B / Ocean Lakes, VA / 2021

Athletic makeup standing 6-foot, 185-pounds. Square athletic stance at the plate, maintains balance, and head stays quiet throughout. Hands are loose, plenty of bat speed through the zone, and has some uphill tilt to the swing. High end bat that flashes the ability to hit and produce anywhere in the order. Used the whole field in approach, going backside single in his first at bat of the day and later hit a bolt out of straight away center field with wood. Defensively DeMartini has the arm strength to stay on the left side and the action to work both sides up the middle. I think he is a versatile athletic defender that long term probably winds up at third or second and could be an instant impact bat at Virginia Tech. 

Fenwick Trimble SS / OF / Frank W. Cox, VA / 2021

Long athletic 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame with room to add strength. Starts in a balanced athletic stance, slightly open, and simple stride forward landing on line. Level path to contact and barrel stays in the zone through extension. Went backside single on a breaking ball in an at bat in his second game. Shows some adjustability in the swing and has the size and makeup to add good strength with some power potential there. 

Isaiah Lucero 2B / SS / Clover Hill, VA / 2022

Athletic 5-foot-11 frame with some twitch to the actions. Stands out defensively where he shows soft hands, quick exchange, and an accurate arm across. Has the range and actions to stay on the left side, but I think long term the deciding factor will be the arm strength. Has ability to throw from multiple slots and makes it look easy, but right now arm grades as average. At the plate it is an athletic stance, short to contact, and hands are loose and free. Uses the backside of the field well while flashing some doubles power. Like the makeup of this middle infielder and should be a guy to watch going forward.

Brett Allen RHP / 3B / Hanover, VA / 2021

Projectable 6-foot-3, 190-pound frame. Faced some left handed arms today so we got to see Allen a little more than usual from the right side. From the left side of the plate he has always shown well displaying big power to the pull side, but one question was would he be able to continue to swing from both sides. Sunday he had some quality at bats from the right side, one resulting in a double, deep in the right center field gap. Allen showed the ability to stay inside the ball well and to be an extra base threat from both sides of the plate. Long term I think he shows best from the left side, but that is where he gets most at bats from and that is where he flashes the most power. Has the potential to be a true two way guy at the next level and be a solid 1B/DH while throwing some big innings at UMass-Amherst.