Over the weekend I attended the Future Stars Series showdown at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Playing in the event were five JUCO teams, New Mexico State, Blinn, Northwest Florida State, Navarro College, Odessa, and San Jac. In addition to these top-tier programs was a team of some top-tier high schoolers, who were split into two teams. Getting to see this much talent in one place is a great opportunity, and getting to see it on a big-league field adds some great perspective. Fly balls that are usually blown out at these players’ home parks are easy flyouts in this stadium. It puts into perspective how good professional players are. With all that being said, it’s important to remember the context of this event. It’s January, so a lot of these players aren’t close to the rhythm of the season yet, the scoreboard isn’t operational. It’s good to treat it as more of a spring training-like environment, and not too much weight into the results. Below are some players that caught my attention throughout the weekend.
Slade Caldwell, OF, Future Stars
An ultra-twitchy, squatty outfielder, the Ole Miss commit impressed with his speed and athleticism. Busting multiple 70-grade run times on hard-hit ground balls, Caldwell’s speed allows him to cover plenty of ground in center field, as well. At the plate, Caldwell showed a mature approach, working multiple walks and showing a good feel for the strike zone. He didn’t flinch at secondaries and jumped on fastballs in his zone. Caldwell has a sweet swing and is an explosive rotator, putting out impressive bat speed for his stature. He shows great plate coverage and ability to manipulate the barrel, long story short, Caldwell is going to get on base a ton. While he may have below-average arm strength in center, his athleticism and range give him a good chance to stick there. Caldwell is a super exciting player with a high on-base and defensive floor, whose explosiveness may give him more power than you would expect from his stature. With a serious chance to go on Day 1 of the draft, he should be a fun player to follow this spring.
Brandon Arvidson, LHP, San Jac
After redshirting at Texas A&M in 2023, Arvidson headed South to San Jac. In this outing, the Texas commit was 91-94 MPH and touched 95 MPH a few times, throwing both two-seamers and four-seamers. Arvidson threw one 87 MPH slider to an LHH, but his main bread and butter was his 80-82 MPH curveball, which he was landing for strikes against right-handed hitters and left-handed hitters. With short 1-7 movement and coming from his over-the-top release, hitters had a hard time picking it up out of the hand, generating multiple whiffs. Arvidson also flashed a few changeups at 84-85 MPH. These had more fade than depth but were a good change of pace off of his fastball. I’d like to see him throw that high 80s slider more often, as it could be a missing weapon needed against left-handed hitters. Arvidson threw strikes but lacked consistent fastball command. His tilted shoulders and hips give him some reliever red flags, but he may throw just enough strikes to give him and his deep arsenal a chance to start at the college level should he make it to Austin.
Thomas Mangus, RHP, Navarro
Up to 94 MPH in the past, the physical Oklahoma commit Mangus was 89-92 MPH, touching 93 MPH in this outing. Mangus didn’t show crazy fastball shape, generating some ride and getting a few whiffs, but he was able to command it to both sides of the plate, from a high ¾ slot, and often elevated it late in counts. Mangus showed an interesting 80-82 MPH sweeping slider. Thrown to both RHH and LHH, this pitch generated whiffs in and out of the zone. Mangus threw it mostly late in counts, and it’s something I’d personally like to him throw it more often in the future. With an upper-half heavy delivery and two-pitch mix, Mangus looks like he’d be a good fit in the bullpen, but with the development of a third pitch, you may see him get a chance to start. Mangus looks like he'll be a reliable weapon out of the Navarro bullpen in 2023, and in Norman in 2024.
Sam Gerth, RHP, Navarro
Another physical RHP, the DBU commit Gerth features a higher effort rotational delivery, creating a three-quarters slot that allows him to get heavy sink on his 90-93, T94 MPH heater. His command may limit how this pitch plays, as the control over command profile put him behind in many counts. When he didn’t have a great feel for his heater, Gerth went to his best offering, his 80-83 MPH sweeper. One of the better breaking pitches of the tournament, Gerth threw this to both LHH and RHH, buckling the knees of both and garnering whiffs in the zone. While he didn’t throw any changeups, and elected sliders over changeups to LHH, his three-quarter slot gives him a chance to turn over a changeup in the future, though homing in his fastball sights might be higher on the priority list. Regardless, Gerth looks like he’ll get plenty of punchouts with this sinker/slider combo.
Tanner Reaves, MIF, Blinn
An LSU commit, Reaves is a steady force in the Blinn lineup and infield. At the plate, Reaves has a smooth, controlled swing. He covers the plate well and features a bit of loft geared for line drives, though did struggle to get to fastballs up in the zone. Reaves doesn’t have eye-popping bat speed, but enough to handle velocity and shoot gaps for doubles. He often looked up the middle and other way, but what impressed me most about Reaves was his approach and feel for the strike zone. Reaves consistently was patient and worked counts in his favor on multiple occasions and laid off secondaries looking to garner a chase. Reaves got innings at both second and short, not showing crazy range, but solid hands and average arm strength. He’s likely more suited for second, but at the college level, he could fill in at short in a pinch and could likely handle third if needed as well. Reaves isn’t a great runner or features any loud tools, but an all-around solid ball player with a good floor. There’s still some room for Reaves to add strength and explosiveness, so a team may take a chance on him on Day 3 of the draft, but should he make it to Baton Rouge, he’ll be a nice consistent player for the Tigers.
Brendan Sweeney, RHP, Blinn
At 6’6”, 200 lbs, Sweeney is an imposing force on the mound. With a tall and fall delivery and high three-quarters arm action, Sweeney creates a tough vertical angle on hitters. Pair this with his heavy sinker, and you have a ground ball specialist. Up to the mid-90s in the past, Sweeney was 90-91 MPH, and threw a ton of strikes with his fastball, keeping it low in the zone and commanding it well to both sides of the plate, especially the glove side. Sweeney’s best offering was his plus changeup in the low-80s. This pitch tunneled great with his fastball and produced whiffs to both lefties and righties. With more depth than fade, it completely fell off the table and was thrown at the same arm speed as his fastball. He threw some that had straight vertical movement, making me wonder if he was mixing a splitter in as well. Sweeney’s pronation bias has some drawbacks, as he struggled to find a consistent pitch moving to his glove side, throwing a gyro slider at 80 MPH, and an 11-5 curveball at 77 MPH. Sweeney still has room to fill out and has a good chance to throw harder in the future, raising his ceiling even higher. Should he make it to Columbia, he’ll be a great ground ball weapon to have out of the bullpen, with the capabilities of starting.
Bryce Hubbard, C, NWFS
The saying “the best catchers go unnoticed” didn’t apply much to Hubbard this weekend. With runners in scoring position, Hubbard made multiple big blocks on hard-breaking balls. On top of this, the Mississippi State transfer displayed an above-average arm to go with his 2.0 second pop time to nab a runner. A Georgia commit, Hubbard is ultra-physical and strong, and this goes on display in the box as well. With multiple hard contacts, Hubbard also showed great adjustability in his lower half, putting good swings on a few offspeed pitches. Hubbard’s reliability behind the plate should land him plenty of playing time in Athens in 2025, and his bat will be a reliable presence in the middle of the Northwest Florida lineup this season.
Mack Estrada, RHP, NWFS
A freshman at Northwest Florida, Estrada came out firing, sitting 90-94 MPH with a sinking fastball. His best weapon, however, was an 84-85 MPH slider. This pitch flashed plus, with good depth and average sweep. Coming from a high three-quarters slot, this pitch baffled right-handed hitters, generating whiffs in the zone. This pitch was having enough success that Estrada elected to go to it vs left-handed hitters over a changeup. Estrada has room to fill out still at 6’4. Right now, it’s a control over command profile, with a high-effort delivery that he had a hard time repeating. Estrada is still an uncommitted freshman and is only going to get better from here. If he gains consistency in his delivery and develops a reliable third pitch, he’ll have professional teams knocking at his door before he gets a chance to go to a four-year school.
Colin Linder, RHP NWFS
At 6’4”, Linder has a nice build and physicality, being big-chested and broad-shouldered. He did a good job repeating his compact, over-the-top delivery, which resulted in a ton of strikes. At 92-93 MPH, Linder dominated with his fastball. Featuring an intriguing cut ride shape, Linder got plenty of swings under this pitch, as well as called strikes. While the strikes weren’t perfect, he did show the ability to move his fastball to both sides of the plate. Linder’s dominance with his fastball mitigated a need for any secondaries in this outing, though the few he flashed were short, low-80s sliders. Linder, an Arizona State commit is a name to watch this spring. With his loud stuff, he's a bat-missing machine, giving him a chance to be taken on Day 3 of the draft. Should he make it to Tempe, he has a good chance to pitch out of the Sun Devil’s weekend rotation.
Robbie Demetree, 3B Future Stars
At 6’1, 190, Demetree had a solid weekend at Globe Life Field. Showing a solid approach and spitting on multiple secondaries, Demetree hunted fastballs. a few hard contacts, Demetree showed a good ability to not only time up some good fastballs but to also catch them out in front and pull them. While Demetree doesn’t have the best plate coverage, whiffing on some fastballs up in the zone, the power potential is real, putting multiple balls over the fence during BP. At third, Demetree has solid hands, and a plus arm, making throws from behind the bag and on the run. Demetree should put together a good college career at UCF, and with some refinement may hear his name called early in 2026.
Loic Guilmette, LHP, Future Stars
An LHP, FIU commit from Canada, Guilmette stands at 6’4” with plenty of room to fill out. Given his 2-way background (hit multiple HRs in BP), Guilmette had fairly good body control. He struggled to locate his high-80s fastball, but his sweeping slider missed bats against RHH & LHH. He was able to command it to both sides of the plate and threw it in all counts. His slider’s success mitigated a need for a changeup in this game, and the ones he threw weren’t competitive, running out of the zone and not getting any swings. Guilmette’s feel for his slider gives him nice upside, and his cold weather, two-way background gives scouts and coaches plenty to dream on.
Other Players of Note
Lucas Davenport, RHP, Blinn
Davenport was 89-91 MPH with his fastball and didn’t throw many secondaries, but the ones he did throw were excellent. The low-80s changeups he threw completely fell off the table and fooled hitters. He also threw a few sliders, generating whiffs from left-handed hitters. While the fastball doesn’t pop, Davenport’s secondaries should get him D1 looks, and maybe some professional looks.
Juan Villareal, LHP, Odessa
Villareal was only 89-91 MPH with his running fastball, but at 6’7”, showed impressive body control, with feel for a nice changeup and a slurvy breaking ball. There’s certainly more velocity in the tank here and looks like a guy who could be throwing mid-90s in the near future.
Tyler DeJune, INF, NWFS, Troy commit
DeJune played with his hair on fire, being ultra-aggressive, and even tried to steal home once. At the plate, DeJune has a smooth, calm swing and shot balls up the middle and the other way. DeJune is a steady player and a key cog to this NWFS lineup.
DJ Layton, INF, Future Stars
An athletic middle infielder, Layton showed an aggressive all-field approach at the plate. Hunting fastballs early, Layton got his hands to the ball quickly and shot the ball all over the field with a level swing from both sides of the plate. Defensively, he had solid actions and above-average arm strength. He even got an inning on the mound, sitting 90-91 MPH with a nice changeup. The Southern Miss commit will be a great addition to an always-loaded Golden Eagles roster.
Jackson Evers, RHP, NWFS
Evers was 89-91 MPH with a deceptive three-quarters delivery. He commanded his upshooting fastball well, allowing him to miss bats above the belt with it. He flashed a mid-80s slider with good sweep at its best, though its shape and feel were inconsistent. With an improved slider feel, Evers has the looks of a D1 bullpen arm.
Cade Clime, INF, Blinn
Clime has impressive bat speed and power from the right side of the plate. With a rotational swing, Clime had multiple hard contacts to the pull side. The physical third basemen showed solid range and arm strength, making some throws on the run, as well. Clime will be a staple in this Blinn lineup this spring and should get some D1 looks.
Coy DeFury, INF, NWFS, Texas State Commit
Another nice bat from the Blinn lineup, Defury has a sweet stroke from the left side. The Texas State commit showed a steady approach and feel for the strike zone. Defury timed up fastballs and had an XBH on Sunday, shooting a ball into the right-centerfield gap. Defury is a big part of this Blinn lineup and should be a nice addition for Texas State in 2024.