Sam
Brown

Area Code Tryouts - Upper Class Notebook

at Sonoma Valley HS - Uncommitted; 6-foot-3, 180-pounds, strong frame. Very simple and repeatable mechanics from the left side, uses his body well to generate velocity as hard throwing lefty. FB 84-85 T87, SL 70-73. Pounds down in the zone consistently, has very good feel for pitches, can locate his FB anywhere in the zone, late life on both pitches. Has a good mound presence and shows good composure, fields his position well. Addition of a good change-up would allow him to be a starting pitcher at the next level or beyond.

vs Drake - Uncommitted; strong durable type 6-foot-3, 210-pounds, player we've seen multiple times in the last year and can appreciate his power potential and physical gifts when they show up. Like many of his teammates in this game, the approach left something to be desired, with a lot of pull-side swings, barrel getting well ahead of the hands and just not getting to a couple of hittable pitches in good counts. At his best we've seen him drive the ball in the middle of the field, which obviously what we see of good hitters. Seemed to be hunting one spot in all at-bats and the pitcher just never gave in to him. There will be many better days ahead. Defensively he plays the position quite well, with good feet and a strong above average arm. Consistency of using his hitting tool (not the power tool) is going to be the key to his future.

10/27-10/29/18 - Fall tournament - Uncommitted, large frame with strong lower upper half showing current strength throughout; frame has room to add and tighten muscle in next years as he matures, shorter legs. Open stance with high hands and lots of pre-pitch movement; very aggressive hacks all weekend showing flashes of pull power, in an early game repeatedly drove the ball on a line in the middle of the field with power. Can use speed to go 1st to 3rd and showed outfield range on a ball that should have gone over his head in left field yet he made a direct route and grabbed it over his head, was surprising range and burst given what we had previously seen, and quite impressive. On mound showed compact and quick 3/4 release; hands start at waist going up to his head with the high front knee while showing some glove tap. Fastball 80-85 with ability to move spots. Curveball 67-70 with 1/7 shape and big depth showing 2-level break; feel for the pitch with ability to break through the zone and feel for the pitch using it early and late in counts. Slider 66-69 from drop down release; lateral actions showing short bite and control of pitch. Able to use slider to both front/back door and freezing hitters. changeup 77 mph with arm side sink; limited usage in the outing.

8/10-8/12/18 - Large frame with length in arms/legs and wider shoulders; pretty mature body currently showing upper-half strength with ability to tighten body as he continues to mature. High Hands set up with lots of pre-pitch movement; gets bat into strong hitting position and keeps hands tight through turn. Swing has loft to pull side showing strong hands/wrists with ability to turn on ball; raw pull power in BP with ability to backspin balls out of RF. Struggled during weekend and was not regularly on-time with pitches; lots of weak contact to right side with hands regularly around ball. Average defender at first with average arm; limited range, but showed ability to assist teammates with picks and make plays in his area. 4.7, 4.9 home-to-first with below average speed showing limited explosiveness out of box; moves better in field and underway.

7/14-7/15/18: Medium/Large frame showing present strength; long limbs with strong muscles showing. High Hands set up with lots of pre-pitch movement; gets bat into strong hitting position and keeps hands tight through turn. Strength shows in swing with ability to drive ball into gaps (91mph exit velo) and having flashes of more pop to pull side. Showed control of barrel in game doubling into RCF gap and down LF line. Smooth footwork around bag at 1st with soft glove hand. Showed quick release with average arm that has flashes of more when needed; showed better arm in OF and on mound. Aggressive out of box and around bases (7.38 60-yd Dash, 5.22T on 2B); below-average runner with aggressive streak playing this tool up. On mound, hands are in/out of the glove with a high front knee while hands are going up/down from waist before mid-3/4 release. FB was 80-83 T85 showing arm side sink; tends to open early with front shoulder causing pitches to take off. CB 66-70 with slurve shape; limited depth with slow spin and 1-to-7 action. SLD 71-73 with sweep across plate late at plate; threw pitch to front-side against LHH and had times where his elbow dropped throwing it.

4th look at Brown, including two games at a spring tournament just a bit over a week ago, continue to see the tools that exist but in this game finally saw the barrel get to the fastball on time and the result was a homer to right field. The power is present and undeniable, the actions around the bag are good and the arm is good. There is some youth and maturity that need to get worked out but as for talent and tools, he's got those.

Big physical hitter with plenty of bat speed, looks to have pop and swing path to produce power, lower half and timing could be smoothed out as he was in-between during his at-bats this day, moved well around the bag with good feet, throws the ball confidently, tools are present, could really emerge as polish is added to the tools.