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Last week Patriot and Riverside scrimmaged, giving us an early look at the highly-ranked Pioneers and the 2019 Class 4 State runners-up. Pitchers were on short outings and it is early in the season, but there was plenty to see and discuss.

Riverside

Wyatt Lunsfurd-Shenkman RHP 2021 (East Carolina)
Shenkman didn't look great overall, but it was his first outing against live hitters in 2020 and it is very early in the season and there were some things to like. Overall, he looks like he has thinned out a bit, his frame is still strong but he looks more athletic this spring. Arm action looked clean and easy, looks healthy and is working up to game speed, which is all very good. Fastball was 84-87 with more movement than he had showed in the past. He was around the zone but had trouble getting strike calls and was working behind hitters. It didn't help him that Patriot's lineup is very good with commanding the strikezone. Only threw a few curveballs being behind in the count and early in the spring, but the ones he threw looked very good. Good armspeed, pitch came in at 72, sharp 11/5 break, showing as a swing and miss pitch now. Overall the results weren't good, but for a first outing it was fine and Shenkman looks ready for a good 2021.

Patrick Sheffield SS 2021
Sheffield looks like he got a bit stronger in the offseason. Still has an athletic frame with projection left to it, but he was moving the bat quicker and showing some more strength at contact. Had a hard single to left in one of his at-bats, pitch was a fastball in, kept hands inside and got barrel to ball with extension through. Sheffield looks like he will start to show some more extra base power this season while still maintaining his speed and athleticism.

Jared Smith RHP 2020
Smith came in as the third pitcher for Riverside and was an intriguing arm. Very lanky, has a lot of projection left to his frame and room to add strength. Throws from a submarine slot, normal effort to his delivery. Fastball was 77-78 with a lot of sink and run. Showed two offspeed pitches, a slider that came in at 73-74 with good armspeed and some late break to it. Also showed what appeared to be a subby knuckleball at 63-65. Showed ability to pound strike zone and generate swings and misses. Worked ahead in count and forced some uncomfortable at-bats. Did a good job of either being in the zone or making the pitch look like it would be a strike to draw a swing. Just got outs, swings and misses or weak contact.

Michael Walsh LHP 2021
Walsh has a lankier athletic frame that has a lot of projection left to it and still has room for him to add strength. He throws from a lower three-quarters arm slot with a short free arm action that is quick, normal effort to his delivery. Lands on line with a square finish, bit of a head whack in his delivery. Fastball was 83-85 with heavy armside run to it. showed two breaking balls, a slider with good armspeed that was 77-80 and late hard 2-8 break. Also showed a curveball with bigger break, more 1/7 tilt that was 67-68. Showed ability to throw all three for strikes and the slider drew some swing and misses. Lot to like here and a 21 that coaches need to see when they can.

 

 

 

Patriot

Luke Basler LHP 2020
Basler is a lankier lefty with projection left to his frame, plenty of room to add strength left. Throws from a higher three-quarters arm slot with a free arm and some effort to his delivery. Fastball was 79-80 in the windup, dropping a tick to 76-77 in the stretch. Pitch had some late sinking life and he showed the ability to locate it to both sides of the plate. Slider had good armspeed, coming in at 72-73, with hard 1/7 break, pitch got some swing and misses, struck out 2 in 2 innings with no walks.

Max Ehrhardt SS 2022
Ehrhardt has an athletic frame that has projection left to it. Played shortstop in the game and showed the ability to get to balls laterally. Has plenty of arm strength for the position and looked comfortable making the turn. Hands work at short as well. Hits down a stacked Patriot lineup where he won't be asked to do much, but did show his line drive swing in one at-bat, staying inside and singling to center.

AJ Escobar RHP 2020 (Wake Tech CC)
Escobar has an athletic frame that has some projection left to it. He throws from a high three-quarters arm slot with a free arm action and normal effort. His fastball was 78-80 with some late sink to it. He held that velocity when in the slide step and was quick to the plate. Clearly has awareness of the running game and how to help control it. Curveball had 12/6 break with good armspeed, pitch came in at 71-72. Strike thrower, got some swing and misses, was able to strike out 2 in 2 innings with no walks.

Eli Serrano 1B/LHP 2022 (NC State)
Serrano is very tall and has a lanky frame. He has added strength during the offseason but still has a ton of room to continue to do so as he develops. We will start on the mound, Serrano worked two innings, struck out six hitters and didn't allow a walk or hit. Pounded the zone with 22 strikes in 29 pitches. Throws from a high three-quarters arm slot, breaks hands long, but shortens up during his arm stroke, quick arm action with easy effort to his delivery. Drop and drive delivery, lands a bit closed with some recoil in his delivery. Fastball was 79-82, working pretty consistently in the 81-82 range in his first inning, more 79-80 in his second. Threw the fifth and sixth innings on a chilly night after playing first base, so velo may be a tick down because of that and how early it is in the spring. Fastball had hard late cut to it, showed ability to work to both sides of the plate, and move up or down in the zone. Curveball was swing and miss, pitch was 71-73 with sharp 1/7 break and very good armspeed. Showed ability to back door it or back foot it to righties. Look forward to seeing it again in the future with the spin gun.

 

 

At the plate, Serrano hits from the left side from a slightly open athletic stance. Short stride on line, smooth quiet load back. Hips are violently explosive, good base and balance at contact. Short to the ball, keeps hands inside, great extension through contact and has a lot of natural loft in his swing. The swing in the video is a home run he hit out to dead center of Shenkman in his first at-bat. The contact really isn't that good, but he has enough leverage to drive the ball 370 to center. He had another home run in a previous scrimmage that looked like this as well, and hit another one late in this scrimmage. He has very long levers and a ton of power, he has shortened up his swing to contact a bit over the offseason which will help him get on the barrel more often, but he obviously has plenty of present power to all fields even if he doesn't get great contact. Very high ceiling for him at the plate as his power continues to manifest.

 

 

 

Kyle Vandenburg C/OF 2022
Vandenburg has an athletic frame that has present strength but still room to project more strength onto it in the future. He is a catcher by trade but is speedy and athletic enough that he often times won't catch. At Patriot, he plays right field where he has the speed and a good arm for the position. He is athletic enough that its hard not to imagine him being able to play third base as well if needed. Offensively, hits from the right side from a relaxed athletic stance, strides on line, short smooth load back. Very short and quick to contact, a ton of strength at that contact point, driving up through the ball with some natural loft. Fast bat, uses all fields, gap to gap hitter with power present. Has shown in the past he can turn on the ball. The swing in the video is off of Walsh, he stayed on a ball and drove it up the right-center alley, legging out a triple pretty easily. He has a knack for the barrel and has been successful against high level pitching, easily one of the top uncommitted bats in the 2022 class.