VA/DC Scout Blog: Bishop O'Connell & Colgan

March 15, 2022
Jason Burton
Scouting Director PBR Virginia/DC

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On Friday, Bishop O'Connell travelled to Colgan for a highly anticipated matchup that showcased some big arms. We take a look at a few of those arms, as well as some other committed talent from both sides, and a 2024 bat that is continuing to trend up.

Bishop O'Connell

Andy Fronczek OF / Bishop O'Connell, VA / 2024

5-foot-10, 175-pound solid frame. Hands are set at separation, minimal load, and a vertical bat that levels out and gets on plane. Fronczek has some of the better barrel awareness for his class. Just simply hits. Does not swing and miss much, solid pitch recognition, and zone awareness. Faced some really good Colgan arms and handled himself well. Hits it where it's pitched and is not afraid to use the whole field. Better game runner than watch runner. Turned out a couple of 4.35-4.40 Home-First times and a 4.52 turn on his double. He ran hard every time out of the box and had little wasted motion when making his turn. Love the bat and offensive profile.

Carson Mayfield RHP / C / Bishop O'Connell , VA / 2022

Solid 6-foot-4, 185-pound frame for the Cornell commit. Short arm swing and hides it well on the back hip. Whippy low three-quarter arm slot. Hips are elevated while moving down the mound and lands on line at stride. The fastball was 83-85 mph with arm side run. Flattened out a bit when he got it up in the zone. The breaking ball sat 71-74 mph and varied shapes. It backed up on him a couple times, but when he got it out front it showed some nice late bite with some horizontal break to it as well. The breaking ball appeared to be the out pitch and he could throw it for strikes a pretty good percentage of the time.

Jack O'Connor RHP / 1B / Bishop O'Connell, VA / 2022

O'Connor is a physical athlete. Listed at 6-foot-5, 230-pounds with a high waist and lean strength present throughout the frame. On the mound it is a pretty easy operation before a really short arm swing to a higher three-quarter slot and a very quick arm. Long stride down the mound that lands on line. O'Connor's fastball sat 90-93 and touched 94 mph during his three innings of work. The fastball flashed some hard arm side run, especially when he got it out to the glove side. The curveball is a bigger 12/6 breaker at 74-76 mph. The slider had short shape and was up in the zone at 78-80 mph. His best arm speed on his secondary offerings came on the slider. O'Connor is a very good athlete and showed the ability to defend his position. Starter makeup.

Colgan

Christian Abney 3B / 1B / Colgan , VA / 2023

Physical 5-foot-10, 200-pound frame. Abney works with normal effort in the delivery. Shorter arm swing and throws from a three-quarter arm slot. Hips and shoulders aree level and lands slightly closed. The fastball velo was a little down from what we have seen, but it was a pretty cold night so I wouldn't be surprised to see the 82-84 mph pitch in the 84-86 mph range as we move into the spring season. The fastball, when working to the glove side, had some slight cut as he worked around it, but also showed occasional run when he stayed behind it and worked it to the arm side. Abney had a solid feel for the slider, throwing it consistently for strikes at 72-75 mph. The slider had the makings of a solid out pitch.

Jae'dan Carter C / Colgan, VA / 2023

The 5-foot-11, 185-pound Future Games alum really impressed Friday night. Carter, a Dayton commit, was super aggressive at the plate, but showed patience in getting his pitch. Had three hits in his first three at bats, including a double down the left field line in his third at bat. Swings with intent and does a nice job matching plane. Behind the plate the receiving was solid, stole a few strikes on the edges, and made a couple of quick on line throws to second and behind runners at first base. Was a really good look and saw some big jumps from the junior backstop.

Ryan Kennedy RHP / 3B / Colgan , VA / 2022

Large 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame. Normal effort delivery, hips slightly elevated, and lands slightly closed. Kennedy throws from a high three-quarter arm slot with a longer arm swing on the backside. The fastball sat 87-89 mph and touched 90 a couple of times in his three innings of work. It played mostly to the arm side and up with gradual fade, but when he did get it out front and got it to the glove side it seemed to have a little extra hop through the zone. Kennedy threw two breaking balls, both for strikes. The curveball had a 12/6 break with bigger shape and looked to be more of an early count strike pitch at 73-74 mph. The slider sat at 75-78 mph and flashed some hard depth at times. In my opinion, the slider was the better out pitch of the two and when the shape gets more consistent it has a chance to be a legitimate out pitch. Did not throw many changeups, but I did get two at 80 mph and he showed a solid feel for the small sample.

Connor Knox RHP / 1B / Colgan, VA / 2022

Knox stands at 5-foot-11, 175-pounds with an athletic frame. On the mound Knox is one of the best command arms in the state. He attacks hitters, can expand a strike zone, and works at a quick pace. The delivery has normal effort and builds pace. It is a longer hand break and arm swing, high three-quarter arm slot, and has arm speed present on all pitches. Moves the 87-88 mph fastball around at will. Showed two breaking balls, a curveball at 73-74 mph and a slider at 77-80 mph. Displayed ability to throw both for strikes. The curveball had a more gradual break and was a solid early strike count pitch, while the slider had finishing ability with tight late shape.

Brett Renfrow OF / RHP / Charles Colgan, VA / 2023

Renfrow is a 6-foot-2, 210-pound large human being. Very strong lower half and maturity to the frame. At the plate Renfrow did not have much to show for some of the loud contact he produced, but he showed his high end strength and power. Got out front in an early at bat and muscled it to deep center field and later on did a nice job pulling the hands in and barreling the pitch to deep center field again. The swing got a little longer early in a few counts, but made some nice adjustments getting back on time and getting the barrel out front. Hits against a firm front side with hands inside and real power to all fields. Later on Renfrow jumped on the mound where he was 85-88 mph on a cold night and threw a 72-73 mph breaking ball that backed up out of the hand. Threw a couple of changeups in warmups that had nice late fade and solid feel for the pitch. It is a short arm action and throws from a higher slot. Leverages the fastball creating downhill plane on the pitch.

Matthew Westley 3B / RHP / Charles Colgan , VA / 2023

6-foot-1, 200-pound athletic frame. On the mound Westley has a shorter arm circle, arm posts up on the backside, and works from a three-quarter arm slot. Hips and shoulders are elevated moving down the mound and he lands on line. The fastball sat 86-89 mph and got some nice run back over the outside edge when he worked to the glove side. The breaking ball was a little on the slower side in comparison to the fastball and varied in shape at times, but it didn't lack the ability to get swings and misses and outs. The 67-70 mph breaker was best when it had a little more horizontal break to it and still got some depth, getting multiple swings and misses with the pitch. At the plate Westley had an outstanding night. He had multiple extra base hits, working gap to gap, and showed some juice and a nice feel for the barrel.

Marsden Zajac C / OF / Colgan, VA / 2023

5-foot-11, 175-pound thin athletic frame. Square balanced stance, small stride on line, and hands make a small load. Zajac is short to contact with a level path and the barrel stays in the zone through extension. Got out front in a later at bat, but was able to keep the bat in the hitting zone long enough to get the barrel on it and muscle it for a single.