SS Chandler Pollard, Woodward Academy (GA)
Dates Seen: 4/7
Performance: 2-2, 1 2B, 1 BB, 4 SB
Woodward Academy ventured up to Sandy Springs this Thursday to play Riverwood, with leadoff man Chandler Pollard showcasing the athletic ability that has captured the attention of scouts going back to the PG National Showcase last summer. Twitch is present in all aspects of the Wazzou commit’s game; he can make on-the-fly adjustments when fooled, get good breaks on balls hit in his vicinity, and if he times up a pitcher right then he almost certainly will steal a base. Physicality was evident from the 6-2 170 lb. Pollard in this game, with a double and single coming on hard line drive contact to his pull side. With that said, there were some whiffs in the favorable counts that preceded those hits, but a strong two-strike approach helped him work some pitches to drive. Demonstrated plus plus speed on the basepaths with four stolen bases, and times on the steals of second base ranged from 3.2 to 3.4.
2B/SS Chandler Simpson, Georgia Tech
Dates Seen: 4/8, 4/9
Performance: 6-10, 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 K
Chandler Simpson returned to the Georgia Tech lineup this week after missing time with a knee injury suffered on March 13th, when he awkwardly planted his knee on a sliding attempt to catch a foul fly vs. Virginia Tech. He left evaluators with zero questions about his health after running wild on Florida State this past weekend, posting plus plus run times and taking extra bases on the basepaths multiple times against a flustered Seminole defense. As far as the bat, Simpson is further galvanizing a plus hit tool with demonstrations of excellent plate coverage and bat to ball skills. The power was gap to gap, as it usually is, and he showed good defensive range at both infield spots with a solid arm.
C Kevin Parada, Georgia Tech
Dates Seen: 4/8, 4/9
Performance: 5-10, 3 HR, 1 3B, 1 K
It’s hard to come up with more adjectives to describe Kevin Parada’s feel for the barrel. The Yellow Jackets’ backstop always seems to find a way to drive a ball deep, and it’s usually to any part of the field he wants. Parada started off Friday night taking a Parker Messick fastball on the outer third 400+ feet to RCF, and continued to mash mistake heaters and breaking balls from the Seminole pitching staff over his next nine plate appearances. If you want to nitpick, Messick was able to strike him out with a few nasty changeups in their second matchup, but that’s about it. On defense, Parada did have some rough spots receiving but showed off his strong arm by nabbing FSU SS Jordan Carrion at second base with a 2.00 second pop time.
1B Andrew Jenkins, Georgia Tech
Dates Seen: 4/8, 4/9
Performance: 6-10, 1 2B, 0 BB, 1 K
Somehow Andrew Jenkins has been neglected in previous live looks that included Georgia Tech, so allow me to remedy this. The Yellow Jackets’ first basemen found the barrel early and often against some really good Florida State pitching this weekend, and smashing baseballs have been a recurring theme when any of the Prospects Live crew has seen Jenkins this Spring. He makes a decent amount of contact with okay swing decisions, but that is honestly more than enough to get his plus power into games. Jenkins has been at first base for the majority of 2022 and handles the position well, though flashes above average straight-line speed and arm strength that suggests he could play in an outfield corner with targeted development.
LHP Parker Messick, Florida State
Dates Seen: 4/8
Performance: 2.2 IP, 10 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
Parker Messick just did not have on Friday night vs. Georgia Tech, surrendering six runs and failing to make it out of the third inning. The culprits were primarily poor fastball command and a downtick in velocity--Messick sat 87-91 MPH and touched 92 on a chilly evening in Atlanta. Messick does create deception and utilizes strong extension to create a flat vertical approach angle with the heater, but at such a low-velocity band he lacked the pinpoint command necessary to handle one of the best lineups in college baseball. Off the fastball, the FSU ace used his low 80s changeup that flashed plus depth to get a handful of whiffs but did leave a few up that Tech hitters were able to elevate. Rounding out Messick’s arsenal was a sweeping low 80s slider and mid 70s curve with more depth--each flashed average. With mechanical quirkiness and a mature 6-0 235 lbs. body, it’s hard to project much more velocity in Messick’s professional future. However, Friday really showed the importance of him finding that low 90s fastball velocity going forward, and showing that this cold night was a fluke.
LHP Bryce Hubbart, Georgia Tech
Dates Seen: 4/9
Performance: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Bryce Hubbart battled on Saturday afternoon, but could not get out of the fifth inning against a Georgia Tech team that touched him up for four runs on seven hits. Hubbart’s velocity was also down a tick on a cold day in Atlanta; he sat 87-91 MPH and touched 92 once, and Tech batters rarely whiffed on it. The substantial carry Hubbart generates on his four-seam still allowed him to get a lot of pop ups early on, but the pitch was barrelled more in his 2nd and 3rd times through the order. Complimenting the fastball was a curveball at 74-78 MPH that Hubbart can really spin with two-plane movement. It got a couple of whiffs, but for the most part Hubbart’s ability to land it for strikes was intermittent, and the Yellow Jackets were more than happy to take and sit fastball. Hubbart also blended in a slider at around 80 MPH, a variation of his curveball with more abbreviated shape in exchange for added velocity, and flashed a firm change in the low 80s with late fade. Hubbart’s story is somewhat similar to Messick--he needs to find the extra ticks on his fastball that allows him to operate in the zone more, and will hope to reassure teams with more warm weather outings through the rest of his college season.
RHP Chance Huff, Georgia Tech
Dates Seen: 4/8
Performance: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 1 HBP, 8 K
Chance Huff got the ball on Friday, as he has for every preceding start to open up a weekend set for Georgia Tech. Like most of those starts, Huff dealt against Florida State--shutting down the Seminoles over six innings of scoreless work. The tall and lean righty got up to 96 early on, before settling into the low to mid 90s with minimal loss of velocity as the start extended into its later stages. There’s not much life to it and it didn’t miss bats, but Huff located it well and got a lot of called strikes and weak contact. Blended in two breaking balls; a high 70s curveball with sharp downward tilt and a mid 80s slider with sharp lateral break. Each breaker garnered a few whiffs, and a firm mid 80s change with some fade was mixed in with paucity. A big step forward in command and a burgeoning swing and miss curveball drives Huff’s profile right now.