The second half of February was mostly spent bearing down on high schoolers north of Atlanta proper, though there was a quick trip to Russ Chandler Stadium to catch an interesting draft eligible arm from Georgia Tech. Let’s dive in!
RHP Luke McNeillie, Milton HS (GA)
Dates Seen: 2/13
Luke McNeillie didn’t have his best command in his first start of the Spring, but battled and gave Milton four innings of scoreless ball. He sat 90-93 MPH with his fastball, touching 94 early with good carry, and mainly worked in a good low 80s slider that flashed plus bite. Interspersed vs. left handed batters was an 83-85 MPH changeup with above average slicing life, and McNeillie got whiffs on each of the three pitches in his arsenal. McNeillie gets to his stuff with ease, and got into grooves where he was dotting up fastballs and landing sliders perfectly. However, there were occasional armside misses on his fastball and slider, with the arm arriving late in his short tall and fall delivery. This led to some situations with runners in scoring position in a tie ballgame, but McNeillie showed advanced poise and composure and got out of trouble each time.
SS Antonio Anderson, North Atlanta HS
Dates Seen: 2/15, 2/20
Antonio Anderson has come out the gates swinging and looks refreshed after a long summer showcase circuit. The Georgia Tech commit has shown an ability to barrel up fastballs and breaking balls, with his arm bar not prohibiting from getting on time and out in front of pitches that he can drive. Looks so far have come exclusively from the left side in games, but Anderson’s swings in BP from the right are looking less wristy than they did last summer. Showing power from that side in game would be a plus, but the smooth left handed stroke, gliding actions and plus arm strength at short are the basis for Anderson’s Day 1 draft stock right now.
RHP Jackson Finley, Georgia Tech
Dates Seen: 2/19
An integral two-way player for Georgia Tech, Jackson Finley got the start on February 19th for the Yellow Jackets in their final game vs. Miami (OH), and pitched five strong innings to help the Ramblin’ Wreck sweep the RedHawks. The redshirt sophomore was able to locate well in this outing, but a stiff arm path and rigidity in his delivery could cause command issues down the road. Finley sat in the 92-94 MPH range with his fastball that features heavy arm side run, and primarily pitched off of it with a sweepy 79-80 MPH slider that flashed above average shape and got a handful of whiffs during his outing. Finley didn’t go to his 83-84 MPH changeup often due to the righty heavy lineup he was facing, but mixed it in late and showed above average depth plus the ability to put away left and right handed hitters with it.
SS Dylan Cupp, Cedartown HS (GA)
Dates Seen: 2/20
Dylan Cupp showcased his hit tool and advanced defense in Cedartown’s win over North Atlanta on President’s Day. Cedartown’s starting shortstop put together a good round of batting practice in the morning, which didn’t feature a ton of raw power but showed his aptitude for spraying line drives to all fields. At the plate in game settings, Cupp went with fastballs pitched away and was able to lift one over the right fielder’s head to put his team ahead in the middle innings. Long a fixture of the 2023 class, the northwest GA native has been lacking in the power department and doesn’t have the quickness of his contemporaries, but is still seen as a high floor prospect due to his feel for contact and defensive instincts up the middle.
RHP Mac Heuer, TG DBacks Academy (GA), 2023
Dates Seen: 2/23
Evaluators flocked to East Cobb on Thursday night to observe Mac Heuer in his abbreviated first outing of the Spring. The big and burly Texas Tech commit overpowered his Academy League competition in two plus innings of work, sitting 91-95 MPH with high carry four seamer that finished over barrels all night long. Off the heat, Heuer went to his sharp sweeping slider in the 77-81 MPH range that froze hitters and elicited a few whiffs, and mixed in a loopy low 70s 12-6 curveball and a stiff changeup at 83-86 MPH. Only expected to pitch two innings, Heuer started to lose his fastball command in the third inning and was pulled after hitting his 35 pitch count. There are some reliever traits present in this profile, and development of a third pitch is crucial. With that said, Heuer’s fastball/slider combo and ability to throw good strikes are definite pluses for his draft stock.