Week one is in the books and boy was it a doozy. Our team attended countless games in hopes of evaluating the progress made by some of the top prospects in the 2022 class, as well as aiming to unearth some less-talked about bluechips. Ian Smith had a particularly busy week.
Here are his reports.
C Brady Neal, IMG Academy
A model of consistency, Brady Neal has stood out for me now in the multiple looks I’ve had of the LSU commit over the past 18 months. Neal has added some muscle throughout his frame since last summer, and showed some real ability to drive the baseball, including a pair of triples to deep center field. Bat to ball skills are apparent, and missed extra bases pull-side by a tremendous play by Jurrangelo Cijntje, who was playing a fantastic second base. Defensively, Neal handled multiple different arms who all offer vast different pitch mixes without a passed ball and showed highly advanced blocking abilities. It was a debut that only strengthened his well-rounded profile.
OF Elijah Green, IMG Academy
A year removed from a two home run nuke show in the same event, Elijah Green decided to open his season with a majestic grand slam that was nearly 110 MPH off the bat through the wind and rain, as seen above, but it's everything else that stood out honestly. Swing has changed significantly in a year. The leg kick has been removed to almost no stride, but getting his lead leg loaded a lot sooner. Green presents top of the class bat and hand speed ready, and now eliminating the moving parts in his lower half is allowing his natural strength to thrive and more bat control to stay back and work to the opposite field often. The changes led to just three total whiffs across two games, and one whiff was a pitch before the salami, so it gets a pass. One pitch that really stood out was laying off of a 3-2 Brandon Barriera slider that would have been a pitch he would have tried to get to in the past, and improved swing decisions on this already top ten profile would be a very interesting development if it continues throughout the spring. Definitely trending up for a first look of 2022 in my eyes.
LHP Jackson Ferris, IMG Academy
Another outing where Jackson Ferris and his plus fastball were on full display. Creating a steep, funky angle from an over the top arm slot, Ferris also creates deceptive ride through the top of the zone in the mid-90s that misses a ton of bats and a pitch I’ve yet to see hitters pick up comfortably in now my fourth Ferris start. Curveball was overall inconsistent in this outing with wavering shape and average command, but was rarely needed with the dominance of the fastball. Ferris averaged close to 95 throughout this outing, and arm strength is something the Ole Miss commit isn’t lacking, so there might be more velocity to project.
LHP Brandon Barriera, American Heritage
Even in an outing where he gets knocked around a bit, it’s hard not to fall in love with the potential of Brandon Barriera. Sitting mid-90s, touching 96 with the effort of playing catch and getting some consistent arm side run. Slider is a real separator as a plus pitch in the low-80s with sharp, horizontal movement and will tunnel extremely well off of the fastball. Excellent feel to spin and command of the breaker offer the ability for him to throw the pitch in any count. Flashed a changeup that gets good velocity separation and some fade that he will land for strikes. It’s a profile that organizations will fall in love with and there’s plenty more to project.
SS JeanPierre Ortiz, IMG Academy
The defensive wizard brings his talents to Bradenton for his senior season with a revamped frame that has filled out with good weight in his upper body. Showed ability to whip the barrel with significant bat speed and created an exit velocity of 108 in-game. Linear bat path that leads to a ton of sharp line drives, and starting to grow into extra base strength. Ortiz saw a game both at second base and shortstop, and saw minimal plays but displayed the high level actions that will keep him in the middle infield long term.
RHP Javier Santos, Georgia Premier
Explosive arm speed jumped out as soon as Santos stepped on the mound. Smaller build, but present strength in the lower half and ability to drive through his plant leg. Held mid-90s velocity early, running it up to 98 in the first inning with constant plus spin out of a tough, over-the-top arm slot. Breaking ball has potential as a plus pitch down the road as a power 12/6 curveball that lives in the high-70s with above average ability to spin and maintain shape. Curveball played off the fastball plane well leading to some ugly swing and miss. There’s some effort in the delivery and command can disappear in an instant, leading to some reliever risk but the stuff is loud and will be able to constantly miss bats.
3B Jason Torres, Miami Springs
Easy feel for the barrel and power projection stand out when watching Jason Torres swing a stick. Utilizing a high leg kick, the Miami commit gets into his lower half well while creating separation allows the barrel to stay in the zone for a long time. Huge bat speed stands out with a high finish that shows leverage and a path conducive to possible plus side juice. Torres is able to reach his power in BP and game alike with exit velocities north of 100 in both settings. This wasn’t the best couple of games for Torres with the glove with a few unforced errors due to lack of flexibility and rough hands but clear above-average arm strength and some ability to move laterally.
LHP Jarvis Evans, Georgia Premier Academy
This was my first look at Evans, and the first thing that came to mind was…this is easy. Long, high waisted 6’5” frame, Evans gets down the mound well and creates a steep angle from a high three quarters slot. Ability to repeat his delivery was effortless with a consistent loose finish. Fastball lived in the high-80s with advanced command working to both sides of the plate paired with some natural sink. Low to mid 70s curveball flashed above-average potential with 11/5 shape that creates big depth and an innate feel to spin. (Avg. 2650, High 2931 RPMs). Changeup showed some fade and good feel to act as a solid third offering.
3B Sal Stewart, Westminster Christian
Stewart showed off a hit tool that could be best in the state of Florida from his very first at-bat. Hands really stand out to create present plus bat speed and barrel control that allow the Vandy commit to spray the ball across the whole field with near triple-digit exit velocity or above on every batted ball. Bat path led to a lot of line drive and ground ball contact, but has shown easy ability to lift in the past. A fully filled out, XL frame that leaves little room for error, but Stewart certainly looked the part at the hot corner in the small sample. Made athletic plays moving in all directions, showing ability to bend and above-average to plus arm strength that played consistently across the diamond. Stewart sticking at third base long term still seems tough to project due to his frame but the strength in the bat will be a strong carrying tool of this profile long term.
RHP Connor Staine, UCF
I had heard big things about Staine leading up to last weekend and needed to venture out for the Knights opening series. A recent Maryland transfer, Connor Staine did not disappoint. An ultra-physical frame with present strength throughout, Staine operates out of an athletic delivery with a long arm action and traditional three quarters slot with big arm speed. Held mid-90s on the fastball throughout his entire outing (4.2 IP) and topped out at 97 a couple times with significant ride that created some ugly whiffs and might be an above-average offering. Showed two different breaking balls, leaning on a low-80s slider that when commanded had late, hard movement that looks like a consistent out-pitch. Curveball held big 12/6 shape the few times he threw it and appeared to lock hitters up, not picking it up out of the hand. There’s some projection remaining here, and maybe even more velocity to unlock. This is an arm that could be a hot name in the next few months.