Riley
Cooper

Area Code Tryout - Arizona commit; Full-bodied yet maintains athleticism on the mound and a consistent delivery; Stuff was crisp, goes in well vs right-handed hitters with the fastball (87-90 mph), hard curveball is one of the better ones in the 2020 class among left-handers, flashed change-up as usable third pitch. Full repertoire of pitches and high quality stuff to go with that yet scouts will have to make their decision based on his physical projection.

vs Redwood HS - Arizona commit. 6-foot-3 245-pounds, first game of season, one of the state's top 2020 left-handers (ranked #3/#44 overall), stuff played well for 6 IP (7 H, 2 ER, 7 K, BB) as team won 4-2, fastball up to 89 mph in early part of game, touched 88 in the 6th, comfort zone 85-88 throughout, kept ball down well and used the fastball as his primary out-pitch, located on arm side well as he froze a few hitters in that spot. Part of reason he can go out there like that is his hard 75-78 mph curveball that he can snap off down and in to a right-handed hitter and power under their bats. Wasn't his best curveball this day as there weren't many, if any, swing and misses at it. Change-up was effective pitch, getting some swings and misses and soft contact. Does show change-up early with different arm action than FB/CB combo, may need to work that out in time. Competitive streak in him, battled through some traffic, clearly enjoys the competition. Delivery notes from previous outing all hold up.

8/10-8/12/18: Large frame with wide shoulders and thicker middle and lower half; strength in legs, but will need to continue to stay on top of conditioning for future success. Starts balanced on mound showing a full back turn and keeping his hands at the waist; slight pause at highest point of average leg lift before using full body to glide down the mound and attack hitters. Compact, very quick arm from 3/4 showing very late arm speed; times where body can be down mound before arm starts to work and explode on hitters. FB 85-87 T88 showed small cut to the glove side with angle down through the zone; ability to move pitch around and hit all quadrants of the zone as needed. CB 72-75 showing 12/6 actions with 2-level depth from hard, tight spin; as game continued showed an ability to blend the shape to be between 12/6 and more of a slurve shaped 12/8. Pitch was regularly used for swing and miss as Cooper showed feel and ability to manipulate shape and depth. Strong outing with four K's scattering two hits, a walk, and a run over two innings pitched.