RF Spencer Jones, Vanderbilt
Dates Seen: 5/6, 5/7
Performance: 5-9, 1 2B, 2 BB, 1 K
Jones showed a fairly advanced approach and pitch recognition at the dish this weekend--has confidence in takes with two strikes. He’s looking to go to the opposite field and adjust to balls coming in on the hands, as evidenced by his batted ball profile over the weekend. Drove the ball to LCF with authority on pitches middle away, and is strong enough to lift pitches bearing in on him for hits. Did show a hole down and in that Jonathan Cannon was able to exploit with sliders and cutters in the middle of game two--the downside of being 6’7” is that there’s almost always a spot that your long levers will make available to good pitching. Defense was uneven in right field, questionable routes but good recovery speed. Can see the plus arm strength on mere non-competitive throws back to the infield, and his speed was on display when going second to home he looked like an edge rusher pursuing the quarterback.
1B Dominic Keegan, Vanderbilt
Dates Seen: 5/6, 5/7
Performance: 4-10, 2 HR, 2 K
Keegan had some troubles seeing fastballs this weekend, and was pitched to on the edges of the zone with frequency--where he couldn’t do all that much. But the über productive Vandy first baseman did what big run producers do with mistakes--he lifted and deposited them over the fence. On Friday, a hanging Nolan Crisp slider was skied over the left field wall. On Saturday, a first pitch fastball from Jonathan Cannon was annihilated over the 40 foot tall batter’s eye in straightaway center. Keegan brings legit plus game power to what is becoming a first base profile, with below average foot speed and a lack of quick twitch to meet the blocking and throwing prerequisites behind the plate. However, the glove is solid around the first base bag and he shows an ability to pick the short hop throws coming his way--traits that show he’s more than capable of handling that position in the pros.
RHP Chris McElvain, Vanderbilt
Dates Seen: 5/7
Performance: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 5 K
McElvain works with a big windup, but has a clean arm and pitched with minimal effort over the course of this start on Saturday. Medium sized frame with thick lower half offers confidence that he’ll be able to handle a starter’s workload, but additional physical projection is limited. Fastball was 90-92 with natural cutting action, doesn't have enough carry to miss barrels when left over the middle--but does have enough to get whiffs when located up and/or sequenced well. Slider was 80-84 with above average tilty shape. Locates gloveside well, can live there and get weak contact or called strikes. Will also be aggressive with two strikes and go below the knees and get whiffs--a firmly above average pitch over the course of this start. Occasional curve at 78 that flashes strike stealing profile and change at 87 with firmness. Command came and went in this outing, but it projects to improve in the future with how clean and fluid McElvain’s delivery is.
RHP Jonathan Cannon, Georgia
Dates Seen: 5/7
Performance: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 5 K
Cannon missed a few turns in April due to a forearm injury, so it was nice to see him featuring the same velocity and stuff he had back during my last look in March. His two-seam sat at 93-95 all game with darting arm side run, the cutter at 89-91 with good downward biting movement, and the slurve was 82-84 with 10-4 shape. Command was lagging a bit--Cannon wasn’t able to hit the edges with his fastball and cutter like he usually does and got into some bad counts early on. However, the Georgia ace showed adaptability by going to spots with his fastball and cutter that he could reliably get weak contact, and eventually found spots down with his slurve and said cutter to get whiffs. Despite the early flurry of hits and runs, he settled down and got through seven innings--much needed for his Bulldogs after the previous night’s runfest.
RHP Jacob Zibin, TNXL Academy (FL), 2022
Dates Seen: 5/17
Jacob Zibin has really shot up boards this Spring after showing increased velocity over the winter and into the month of March, and drew a throng of evaluators to his start vs. Pro5 Academy. The South Carolina commit has a large and lean frame, with projectable body traits with long legs. Works from low 3Q armslot, will switch up front leg kick to alter timing. Clean arm with some effort, issues syncing his lower and upper body can be explained by lack of reps due to very young age (17.5) for class. The fastball sat 89-94 MPH and touched 95, maintaining low 90s velocity from 1st to 6th inning. Throws a two-seam with good sink, but will raise the arm for a four seam that plays at the top of the zone. Not ideal fastball movement, but will have a flatter vertical approach angle due to a low release point. Slider was at 79-81 all day, with sweeping movement that flashes plus. Changeup at 79-81 MPH, bread and butter with fall off the table drop, sits plus all outing. Command was a bit rocky--really started pulling his fastball in the 2nd. But when things got rough he leaned on his stuff and made pitches to get out of trouble, made it through six scoreless innings with nine strikeouts. Combination of size, youth, athleticism and a strong three-pitch arsenal will likely ensure Zibin gets his name called no later than Round 2.
RHP Jonah Tong, Georgia Premier Academy
Dates Seen: 5/18
Another Canadian arm whose stuff ticked up in the early months of 2022, Jonah Tong drew a fair bit of scouting attention in his start vs. TNXL Academy. The GPA righty works with a high--near overhead--arm slot, and has a hip turn in his windup. The finish to his delivery is erratic and effortful with head whack. Fastball sat 91-94 all day and touched 95 in the first inning, with a flat shape created from near perfectly backspinning axis. The heater has plus carry with strong spin rates. Curveball was at 76-78 MPH, big 12-6 shape with above average vertical depth and spin rates. A firm splitter with late wiggle was mixed in 2nd and 3rd time through the order to lefties at 83-85 MPH, and Tong showed ability to finish in chase spots and get whiffs early. Feel for it faded as outing lingered. Command was about as good as you could ask for with extreme over the top delivery delivery, a real testament to his athleticism. Fastball and curve were thrown for strikes, and when Tong started to get behind hitters later in the outing, trust in stuff and a bulldog mentality allowed him to get back in counts and limit damage. Made it through six innings allowing three runs and striking out 10 batters. Considered to be very draftable due to his mid major North Dakota State commitment, Tong has shot up boards into Top 5 round consideration and should be in line for a good payday come July.
MIF Logan Wagner, P27 Academy (SC)
Dates Seen: 5/16-5/18
Wagner had a good week at the plate for P27, showcasing hitterish traits from both sides of the plate. The Blacksmiths’ middle of the order threat is physical and twitchy in the box, with a lot of bat speed and is capable of lifting the ball with regularity. An average runner, Wagner most likely is a long term fit at 2B or 3B as body continues to mature. However, the offensive floor is quite high, and could get teams in on the Louisville commit as early as the end of Round 3.
RF/LF Eli Serrano, Pro5 Academy (NC)
Dates Seen: 5/16-5/18
Serrano put together some of the most competitive at bats of any hitter all week in LakePoint. He starts his swing with low hand position, which caused some issues early in counts with high fastballs that he whiffed on. But the lanky corner outfielder was able to battle and eventually work pitches into his wheelhouse that he could drive. Still an incredibly tall and lean athlete that checks lots of boxes, but legitimate hit tool concerns might push Serrano to NC State.
LHP Connor Prielipp, Alabama
Dates Seen: 5/23
In the company of scouts and decision makers from nearly every team in the major leagues, Connor Prielipp threw a fifty pitch bullpen at Hoover High School prior to the beginning of the SEC Tournament. The Alabama lefty is now a full year removed from Tommy John surgery, and built up his stuff from the first 25 pitch interval to the second. The fastball sat low 90s with armside life and decent carry at the top of the zone, touching 93 near the end. Preilipp worked off the heater was a high spin rate slider in the low to mid 80s that had snap and plus vertical shape, and a low to mid 80s changeup that flashed above average depth and feel. He also sprinkled in a curveball at 80-81 that was above average in limited usage--really showing the potential of developing a plus third pitch in his arsenal with the innate talent he has to spin breaking balls. Prielipp worked with tempo and a high leg kick, and exuded very little effort with a clean arm path. Aside from a few overcooked secondaries, he located his arsenal consistently throughout this outing. All in all, Prielipp showed strong mechanics, easy velocity and tantalizing secondaries--emboldening his believers and locking him in as a first round arm.