Underclass Invitational: 2017 Pitchers Analysis #2
February 26, 2015
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By John Nolan
Assistant Director of Scouting
On Sunday, February 15, Prep Baseball Report Virginia/DC hosted its first event of 2015, the Underclass Invitational for members of the 2017 and 2018 graduating classes. Over 70 players showcased their skills for PBR staff at Virginia Sports Complex in Ruther Glen, Virginia. Here is our analysis of the pitchers from the Class of 2017. (Listed Alphabetically)
Pitchers analysis: 2017 Graduating class (mccleod-whitten)
+Ricky McCleod, LHP, King’s Fork
McCleod has a lanky frame and throws from a three-quarters arm slot. He has a bit of a wrap to his arm action, but otherwise he is loose. He has drop and drive mechanics and his shoulders are closed and uphill and footstrike. He stays on line throughout his delivery and comes to an athletic finish. McCleod’s fastball had a bit of run to it and he kept it down, coming in 72-74 mph. His slider had late 2/8 action and ran 56-62 mph. He slowed his arm on his change-up, but kept it down and it came in 66-67 mph. He does a good job of creating downward plane on his pitches.
+Antonio Menendez, RHP, Herndon
Menendez has a lanky frame and is a sidewinder. He has a long, loose, quick arm action. He has a smooth, explosive rhythm to his delivery and his shoulders are level and he does a good job of staying online before falling off a bit after release. Menendez worked 78-81 mph with his fastball, touching 83 mph with good, late run. He threw a good, late breaking frisbee slider that ran 71-73 mph. He threw a good and a fading change-up that ran 71-74 mph. He had good command of all of his pitches and kept them down.
+Ryan Miles, RHP, Woodgrove
Miles has an athletic frame and throws from a three-quarters arm slot. He has a drop and drive delivery with a bit of a wrap to his arm action before a quick armstroke. His shoulders are on line and a bit uphill and his landing is a bit open, causing him to fall off a bit as he finishes. Miles threw a flat fastball that ran 77-78 mph, touching 79 mph. He threw a 12/6 curveball with gradual break that was up and ran 65-66 mph. He also threw a sinking change-up with decent armspeed that ran 72-74 mph.
+Will Moore, RHP, The Covenant School
Moore has an athletic frame and throws from a three-quarters arm slot. He has a long arm action and a quick armstroke. He has drop and drive mechanics and stays online throughout his delivery, with uphill shoulders before finishing in an athletic position. Moore’s fastball was 80-81 mph with heavy sink and run to it that he commanded at the bottom of the zone. He threw a slider with gradual 10/4 break that ran 73-75 mph that projects to be good as it tightens. Moore’s change-up ran 76 mph with heavy fading action to it.
+Ronald Payne, LHP, William Monroe
Payne has a strong lower half to his frame and throws from a three-quarters slot. He wraps on his back side but has a quick armstroke. He has drop and drive mechanics and lands a bit open, causing him to fall off as he finishes. His shoulders are online and uphill as he heads towards the plate. Payne’s fastball has cutting action to it and ran 74-76 mph, he did a good job of keeping it down. He threw a 1/7 power breaking curveball that ran 60-63 mph and was up in the zone on the day. His change-up had slight cutting action and was thrown with full armspeed at 64-66 mph.
+Cade Pickette, RHP, Patriot
Pickette has an athletic frame and throws from a high three-quarters slot. He has a short, wrapped arm action. He has a drop and drive mechanics and stays online throughout his delivery, with uphill shoulders before a slight fall off to his finish. Pickette’s fastball was 67-71 mph, touching 73 mph, with slight run to it. He threw an 11/5 downer curveball with late break that ran 61-62 mph. His change-up was thrown with decent armspeed and had armside run to it, sitting at 64 mph. Pickette commanded all three of his pitches well.
+James Price, RHP, Patriot
Price has an athletic frame and throws from a three-quarters arm slot. He has a long arm action with a bit of a wrap before a quick armstroke. He has drop and drive mechanics and stays online throughout his delivery with uphill shoulders creating good downward plane to his pitches. He finishes in an athletic position. Price’s fastball was 76-78 mph with slight late run to it that he commanded well. His curveball has 11/5 action and was a bit inconsistent and up in the zone, running 65-68 mph. He threw a fading change-up with good armspeed that ran 65-68 mph.
+Zachary Runk, RHP, Massaponax
Runk has an athletic frame and throws from a low three-quarters slot. He has a long, loose arm action. He throws with drop and drive mechanics, his shoulders are downhill and online, and he strides a bit closed before falling off slightly after he finishes. Runk’s fastball had late sinking action to it and ran 70-73 mph. He threw a gradual 10/4 breaking slider that was 58-60 mph. His change-up was thrown with decent armspeed and ran 61-64 mph. Runk’s fastball command was good but had inconsistent command with his secondary pitches.
+Logan Sanders, LHP, North Stafford
Sanders has an athletic frame with a strong lower half and throws from a low three-quarters slot. He has a long arm action that is loose. He has tall and fall mechanics and uphill shoulders. He lands open and comes to an athletic finish. Sanders’ fastball sat 70-71 mph, touching 73 mph, with slight run to it. He threw a slider with gradual 1.5/7.5 action to it that he slowed his arm down to throw in the 55-57 mph range. He threw a fading change-up with decent armspeed that ran 63-66 mph. Sanders’ did a good job of working down with all of his pitches.
+Adam Schools, RHP, King William
Schools has an athletic frame with a strong lower half and throws from a low three-quarters slot. He has a stiff, short arm action. He throws with a tall and fall delivery, with shoulders that are uphill and online before landing a bit open. He finishes with a slight fall off. Schools’ fastball had heavy sinking action at times, sitting 74-78 mph and touching 81 mph once. His slider has potential to develop into a good pitch. He slowed his arm down on it, and it had late 10/4 break to it, sitting 67-69 mph. He spun off and slowed his arm down on his change-up, which sat 65-67 mph.
+Tyler Tarrh, RHP, Caroline
Tarrh has a lanky frame and throws from a high three-quarters arm slot. He has a long arm action with a bit of a wrap and generates a quick arm with some effort. He has drop and drive mechanics, his shoulders are uphill and online, he lands a bit open. Had the tendency to fall off a bit as he finishes. Tarrh’s fastball was mostly straight, with some cut to it and sat 75-78 mph. He threw a sharp 12/6 curveball that was a bit inconsistent, running 58-63 mph. He threw a fading change-up with full armspeed that ran 60-64 mph.
+Will Thomas, RHP, Gonzaga
Thomas has an athletic frame and throws from a high three-quarters arm slot. He has a short, loose arm action and a quick armstroke. He has drop and drive mechanics and stays online throughout his delivery with uphill shoulders before falling off a bit at his finish. Thomas demonstrated good feel and command for all of his pitches. His fastball sat 77-81 mph, touching 84 mph once with slight run on it. He threw a sharp 11/5 curveball with full armspeed that ran 66-69 mph. He threw a fading change-up with full armpseed that ran 71-73 mph.
+Kyle Whitten, RHP, Osbourn Park
Whitten has a lanky frame and throws from a high three-quarters slot. He has a short, loose arm action and a very quick armstroke. He has drop and drive mechanics with a smooth rhythm. His shoulders are uphill and on line, and he creates good angle on his pitches before falling off a bit at finish. Whitten’s four seam fastball sat at 84 mph with little movement and his two seamer sat 82 mph with good action to it. He threw an outstanding, sharp slider with full armspeed that ran 70-74 mph. He also threw a fading change-up with full armspeed that ran 75-77 mph. Whitten threw all of his pitches with outstanding command.
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