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Junior Future Games - Game Recap

July 30, 2020
Dan Jurik
Scouting Director - Pacific Northwest

Lake Point, GA - On Wednesday night, we kicked off the first day of the 2020 Prep Baseball Report Junior Future Games. Every summer, the Junior Future Games brings together 13u and 14u players from across our 35+ state coverage to compete in a tournament setting at Lake Point in Georgia. 

The event starts with a workout that allows players to showcase their ability early on. After that, the games get started up. 

Thursday was the first day of game action for the 2024 and 2025 grads from Washington and Oregon who are members of team Pacific Northwest. 

After battling a strong, physically advanced Oklahoma team, the Pacific Northwest went toe-to-toe with West Virginia in a tightly contested, low-scoring affair. 

junior future games

Game 1

Oklahoma prevailed by a final score of 6-1 after some untimely defense allowed them to push across 3 unearned runs. The Pacific Northwest was guided by stout pitching performances from 2025 LHP/OF Calvin Gregory (Lakeridge, OR) and 2024 RHP/INF Connor Udland (Aloha, OR)

Gregory got the start and went 4 strong innings allowing only 3 hits with 1 BB and 1 K. He consistently filled up the zone with a diverse arsenal that includes a FB, Cutter, CB and CH. He doesn’t overwhelm you with velocity, sitting mostly 70-71 with his FB, but he understands how to effectively set it up and miss barrels. Plus he uses his secondary pitches exceptionally well to keep hitters off balance. His most impressive asset on the bump might be his ability to control the run game and make big pitches out of the stretch in tight situations. He’s very young, but Gregory has the look of an arm that will end up winning a lot of games with whoever he is pitching for. 

Gregory was chased by Udland, who only gave up 1 ER over 3 innings of work while allowing 3 hits with 2 BB and 2 K. Udland featured similar velocity as Gregory, sitting mostly 70-72 and pairing his FB with a sweeping CB in the 56-60 range. He releases the ball from a lower, right handed slot and gets some late arm-side run when he stays on top of the ball out through release. Udland showed some moxie in his 3rd inning of work when he came back out after a tough 2nd inning. After a small lapse in command and some issues on defense behind him, Udland came back out in the 7th and had a big shutdown inning. It’s also worth noting that in his first AB of the game, he got absolutely drilled square in the back with an 82 mph FB but didn’t hesitate to get on the mound later on in the game. 

Offensively it was a tough game for the hitters as they faced 2 high profile arms from Oklahoma who could both run it up to 82-83 and paired their velocity with sharp breaking balls. 2025 Xavier Neyens (Conway Middle, WA) notched the only hit on the game with a hard single up the middle. He also walked in his other AB, continuing to prove he has a mature approach at the plate with consistent strike zone discipline. 

2024 Grady Woodward (Eastlake, WA) 2025 Cesar Gonzales (Jesuit, OR) and 2024 Jack Turnquist (Oregon City, OR) all had hard contact during the game but unfortunately found defenders when they squared the ball up. Had 1 or more of those balls dropped in, it would have helped the offense put a bit more pressure on the pitching. 

On the defensive side of the ball, 2024 Luke Chaney (Union, WA) and 2024 Luke Klooster (O’Dea, WA) both proved they have exceptional ability behind the plate at the catching position. Each threw out a runner during game action and their athleticism/arm strength make a huge difference in games at this level. They control the run game well and are capable of taking away cheap hits with their ability to field their position.

Game 2

The 2nd match-up of the day against West Virginia was more of the same for the Pacific Northwest, it was tough to get the bats going but the pitching was again outstanding. This time it was the duo of 2024 C/RHP Lane Simonsen (Lynden, WA) and 2024 LHP/OF Jacob Bishop (Jesuit, OR) going 7 combined innings and only allowing 2 ER. 

Simonsen showed some of the best velocity we saw on the day, sitting mostly 77-80 with his FB but reaching as high as 82 early on. He keeps a short, tight arm path with late hand speed out front. Ball comes out of hand easily with impressive carry into the zone. He didn’t need his breaking ball much but he throws a tight 11/5 breaker at 70-72. His final line for the day was 4 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 3 BB and 4 K. He also helped his own cause at the plate with a run scored when he ended up on base after he smoked a line-drive that went thru the glove of the defender at SS. 

Bishop came in after Simonsen and was terrific at disrupting timing and getting hitters off balance throughout his 3 innings of work. He ended up surrendering 3 H for 1 ER, 1 BB and 2 K. He works from a higher ¾ slot with a FB/CB combination. He lands his FB down in the zone and induces weak contact when he’s at his best. Sits mostly 70-71 right now with more to come as he gets stronger. CB has plenty of shape to it at 60-62 and comes into the zone with steep downward angle. 

Offensively, Gregory, Udland and Klooster all contributed hits of their own. 2025 1B/RHP Sinjon Lash (Anacortes, WA) looked like he was destined for an extra base hit after he pulled a ball into the RCF gap while hitting from the left-side. But he was denied as the CF for West Virginia did a great job tracking down the ball after covering significant ground. 2025 1B/RHP Brady Ackerman (Canby, OR) has put up quality at bats so far but hasn’t been able to find any space out there yet. Through 5 ABs he has yet to strikeout and does a solid job of only attacking strikes. 

Defensively, Xavier Neyens got behind the dish for the first time and continued the stretch of strong defensive play from our catchers, throwing out a runner of his own. But the play of the day went to 2025 OF Braden Bartholomae (Skyline, WA) who went full extension in the OF to make a terrific diving catch coming in on the ball. He’s made every play that has gone his way out there and has also drawn 2 walks in 5 ABs while not striking out yet. 

Tomorrow the guys face off against Alabama and Tennessee. We will have more coverage on our social media platforms as well as game reports once the action is complete. 

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