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40 Players For 2024 Who Stood Out At PG Junior National

Image credit: Erik Parker

The Perfect Game Junior National Showcase is one of the biggest events of the summer for many of the top 2024 players in the country.

With the 2022 high school season over, PG Junior National is the first major showcase of the summer for 2024s, with many of Baseball America’s top-ranked 2024 players in attendance and several who will be moving on to that list after what they showed during the event.

These were 40 players who stood out at PG Junior National.

Derek Curiel, OF, California

As the No. 4 player in the 2024 class, Curiel was the top-ranked player who participated in the showcase and he showed why he’s so highly regarded. Curiel makes everything look easy, with a short, sweet lefthanded swing and a mature approach that leads to a high contact rate. Curiel went 2-for-5, including a single in a 1-2 count off a slider from Jackson Sanders, one of the top lefties in the class. Curiel being a talented hitter with great bat control is nothing new. More encouraging is that everything about his game is at least a tick louder compared to last year. An LSU commit, Curiel has more bat speed, is making harder contact and running faster, with plus speed now to go with his easy actions in center field.

 

Andre Modugno, 3B, New Jersey

Other than maybe Konnor Griffin, there’s nobody else in the 2024 class who can match Modugno’s combination of physicality, athleticism and raw tools. At 6-foot-5, 200 pounds, Modugno has a long, sleek build and righthanded power that stacks up among the best in the class. He showed that power in the game too, blasting a fastball for a towering home run into the trees over the left field fence. It’s elite bat speed with the physical projection to get to plus, if not 70, raw power on the 20-80 scale. Modugno’s loud tools extend beyond just his massive power. Even at 6-foot-5, he’s a plus runner, and while he’s normally a third baseman, he took groundballs at shortstop during the workout and had one of the more athletic infields of any player there. He has a cannon to finish plays with one of the strongest arms in the class, another tool that could end up a 70 on the 20-80 scale. The No. 14 player in the class, Modugno’s power does come with swing and miss, but his upside is huge if he can keep that in check. Modugno, who is from New Jersey but attends IMG Academy in Florida, is a Duke commit.

 

Landon Victorian, RHP, Louisiana

Already one of the top pitchers in the class and No. 29 overall, Victorian boosted his stock at PG Junior National. At 6-foot-3, 185 pounds, Victorian has a highly projectable frame, sound mechanics and a starter look. One of the hardest throwers at the event, Victorian ran his fastball up to 93 mph and should be in the mid-to-upper 90s in the coming years. He also showed improved offspeed stuff compared to last year with his four-pitch mix. Victorian flashed feel for a curveball and slider, which can blend close together but have sharp bite to miss bats in the mid-to-upper 70s. Victorian also threw a promising changeup in the upper 70s with a ton of separation off his fastball that should become a bigger weapon for him against more advanced hitters. He’s uncommitted for college.

 

Tegan Kuhns, RHP, Pennsylvania

Kuhns ranks third among pitchers in the 2024 class and No. 16 overall. At 6-foot-3, 165 pounds, Kuhns has room to add another 40-plus pounds and improve a fastball that was up to 92 mph here. While Kuhns should be throwing in the mid 90s or better by the time the draft is here, the separator for him is his innate ability to spin the ball, which shows up on his fastball and especially on his power curveball, a hammer pitch at 78-81 mph with spin rates consistently above 2,800 rpm. He sprinkled in a splitter and a few changeups, and while some of those changeups slipped out of his hand early, when it was on he showed feel for that pitch in the low 80s. It’s a starter look with lots of projection arrows pointing in the right direction for the North Carolina State commit.

Erik Parker, SS, Georgia

With his long, lean, athletic frame (6-foot-3, 185 pounds), Parker is young for the class with outstanding physical upside. He’s a plus runner with a strong arm that should be at least a plus tool once he packs more strength on to his long-limbed, extremely projectable frame. The No. 15 player in the class, Parker has the tools to stick at shortstop and significant offensive upside. He showed that in the one game he played at PG Junior National, launching a double off the big wall in left field. In a year, balls that Parker hits like that will start landing over the fence as he gets stronger, giving him a chance to develop into a power-hitting shortstop. Parker is a South Carolina commit.

 

Jeff Lougee, SS, Pennsylvania

Lougee has one of the sweetest lefthanded swings in the 2024 class. A Duke commit ranked No. 27 in the class, Lougee is an offensive-minded infielder with a hit-over-power profile. He takes consistent quality at-bats with a good sense of the strike zone and the ability to hit to all fields. Lougee’s swing is quick, compact, gets on plane early and his barrel stays through the hitting zone a long time, something he showed when he drilled a 90 mph fastball off Landon Victorian (one of the best pitchers in the class) for a triple. Lougee showed a tick above-average speed underway too, an improvement from what he was running last year.

 

Ethan Puig, 3B, Florida

In a showcase environment, Puig might not immediately jump out at you. He’s a below-average runner and won’t blow you away with his arm strength or power, but watch him over time and it’s evident that his pure hitting ability is among the best in the 2024 class. Puig delivered three hits in four at-bats here, using a compact, adjustable swing with good rhythm, balance and sequence to consistently be on time with an accurate barrel. Puig is a Miami commit.

 

Coleman Mayfield, LHP, Oklahoma

Mayfield had little trouble in his two innings, facing seven batters and striking out four with no walks and one hit. An Oklahoma State commit ranked No. 35 in the class, Mayfield is 6-foot-4, 185 pounds and throws across his body in an otherwise smooth, fluid delivery without much effort. He repeats his mechanics, showed good control of three pitches and has a starter look between his repertoire, delivery and pitchability. He isn’t a flamethrower, having turned 17 in February with a fastball that touched 90 mph once and was mostly 87-89 mph here, but there’s ample physical projection for him to be sitting at least in the low 90s one day. He’s a strike-thrower who mixed in a big-breaking curveball that has good depth and shape at 71-74 mph, with the ability to land it for strikes or get empty swings. Mayfield only threw a couple of changeups, but one of them was a 75-mph swinging strikeout in a 2-2 count that looked like a fastball out of his hand before the bottom fell out of it at the plate.

 

Drew Graham, LHP, Ohio

The top uncommitted lefty in the country and No. 21 overall, Graham worked a quick, 12-pitch inning but still managed to showcase three quality pitches. He’s 6 feet, 185 pounds with a fast arm that has been up to 91 mph, working more in the mid-to-upper 80s here and reaching 90. Once he layers on more strength, he should eventually be pitching in the low-to-mid 90s with a starter mix, including a 78-79 mph changeup with fade that he sells well off his fastball and a sharp slider that gives him the stuff to miss bats against lefties and righties.

 

 

Cade Townsend, RHP, California

Townsend had one of the best three-pitch mixes at the showcase, which he used to strike out four hitters in two innings. He’s a lean 6-foot-1, 180 pounds with the strength projection to add to a fastball that sat 88-91 mph and touched 92 with lots of wiggle and riding life up in the zone. Townsend showed impressive ability to manipulate his secondary pitches, the most exciting of which is a mid-70s curveball that stacks up among the best in the 2024 class. It has sharp snap, 12-to-6 shape and excellent depth, with spin rates in the 2,800-2,900 rpm range. It’s a pitch that should miss a lot of bats and play well off his fastball that hitters have to be ready for at the top of the zone. Townsend had trouble landing his curveball for strikes in this look, so he threw his changeup more than his curveball. That was another effective pitch for him at 80-83 mph, getting a couple of swinging strikes (including a strikeout in a right-on-right matchup), then in a 1-0 count against a righty he doubled up on it for consecutive called strikes. A Mississippi commit, Townsend will need to improve his control, but his delivery works well and his stuff should help him pile up strikeouts.

Conrad Cason, SS/RHP, Georgia: Cason’s future could be at shortstop or on the mound. He’s one of the youngest players in the class, turning 16 in August. He’s also one of the hardest throwers in the class, with a fastball that reached 94 mph here. At 6-foot-2, 185 pounds with his arm speed, Cason could end up throwing 100 mph, though he’s still learning to corral his stuff in the strike zone. Cason’s athleticism plays well on the mound and as a position player, as he’s an above-average runner with a chance to stick at shortstop and plenty of arm strength for the position, along with a fluid righthanded swing. He’s the No. 25 player for 2024 and committed to Mississippi State.

P.J. Morlando, OF/1B, South Carolina: Some hitters are so good that you can watch them go a series of games without much in terms of results and still walk away thinking they’re one of the best hitters on the field. That’s the case with Morlando, who has an excellent lefthanded swing, makes frequent contact, has elite bat speed and arguably the best lefthanded power of any player in the class. As a corner outfielder and first baseman, Morlando will have to mash, but his track record of hitting stacks up with anyone in the class, which is why the Mississippi State commit ranks as the No. 13 player for 2024.

Bryce Clavon, SS/OF, Georgia: The No. 8 player in the 2024 class, Clavon didn’t hit in games but did participate in the workout, where he showcased his elite athleticism. A high-level quarterback recruit as well, Clavon’s explosiveness is evident in everything he does. He has electric hand speed at the plate, at least plus speed and a plus arm.

Fabio Peralta, OF, Florida: A Miami commit, Peralta is 6-foot-2, 170 pounds with a lean, lively frame and excellent strength projection remaining in his high-waist build. He’s an athletic center fielder and a plus runner who glides around in the outfield with a good arm that should get stronger. The the results weren’t there at the plate for Peralta in this look, but he does have a good track record of hitting in games.

Jaxon Walker, OF, Tennessee: The No. 40 player in the class, Walker showed plus-plus speed running the 60-yard dash in 6.40 seconds. He has a quick first step with the wheels for center field and a good track record at the plate, driving balls deep to the gap during BP from the left side. Walker is a Georgia commit.

Garrett Shull, SS, Oklahoma: A switch-hitter, Shull drew a pair of walks and collected two hits. Those hits were a pair of doubles he smashed to his pull side batting lefthanded, with one flying off the bat at a 100 mph exit velocity. The No. 37 player in the class, Shull is an offensive-oriented infielder with a strong frame (6-foot-1, 190 pounds) and a direct swing from both sides of the plate. He’s an Oklahoma State commit.

Manny Marin, SS, Florida: Marin is one of the best defensive shortstops in the class, an instinctual fielder with good body control and a strong arm. His actions are smooth and graceful, with quick reads off the bat, clean footwork, soft hands and a nose for the ball. At the plate, Marin (No. 19 in the class) lined a single over the shortstop’s head into left field, showing a simple, fluid swing with gap power. He’s a Tennessee commit.

Adonys Velez, SS, Florida: Velez is right up there with Marin among the most talented defensive shortstops for 2024. Even just receiving throws at second base from catchers, Velez sticks out for his quick hands. Velez has nimble footwork, takes good angles to the ball and gets rid of the ball with a quick, efficient transfer. Extra strength compared to a year ago has helped Velez’s tools tick up, as he’s developed into an average runner and was making harder contact in BP. He’s a Florida State commit.

Jackson Sanders, LHP, Alabama: An Auburn commit ranked No. 18 in the class, Sanders is an athletic lefty with a good fastball for his age, sitting at 89-91 mph here and touching 92. He has a long, deep arm swing in the back into a three-quarters slot, with the physical projection left in his 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame to be throwing in the mid 90s soon. Sanders’ fastball is his best pitch, with an upper-70s slider mixed in here as well.

Henry Allen, 3B/OF, Alabama: At 6-foot-2, 210 pounds, Allen has high-level bat speed and strength that puts him with Andre Modugno for the best righthanded raw power in the class. It’s a power-over-hit profile for the No. 24 player in the class, an average runner who could fit at third base or an outfield corner. Allen is a Mississippi State commit.

Trey Snyder, SS, Missouri: Snyder, No. 26 in the class, is one of the most athletic 2024 players. At 6-foot-2, 190 pounds, Snyder is a plus runner with explosive first-step quickness, with bouncy athleticism that’s evident at shortstop, where he has the tools to stick along with a strong arm. Snyder has quick hands from the right side of the plate and performed well in games, going 2-for-5 with a single on a 91 mph fastball and he lined a fastball on the outer third into the right field corner for a double. Snyder is committed to Tennessee.

Burke Mabeus, C, Nevada: Mabeus is the son of Chris Mabeus, who made one appearance in the big leagues for the Brewers as a reliever in 2006. Burke has one of the strongest arms in the class among 2024 catchers, a plus arm with on-target throws during the workout. He’s a physical catcher at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds and a switch-hitter who drew a pair of walks, singled up the middle and pulled a triple into the right-center field gap from the left side. Mabeus is a TCU commit.

 

Ford Thompson, LHP, Georgia: At 6 feet, 175 pounds, Thompson showed a pair of promising pitches with a fastball at 88-90 mph that has been up to 91 mph in other outings. He struck out two of the four batters he faced, with tight rotation on a low-70s curveball that should be a bat-missing pitch for him. Thompson is committed to Georgia.

Matt Conte, C, Massachusetts: Conte has advanced catch-and-throw skills for his age, with several aspects of his game looking improved from strength gains over the past year. He blocks and receives well for his age and throws efficiently with at least an average arm, erasing a runner at second base with a pop time of 1.96 seconds. He’s showing more power and better bat speed now too, snapping the barrel through the zone with high-end hand speed. Conte didn’t pick up any hits, but he never swung and missed, took quality at-bats and drove the ball well to the middle of the field for hard outs in games. He’s a Wake Forest commit.

Aukai (Jaydon) Kea, C, Hawaii: At 6 feet, 215 pounds, Kea showed off his advanced strength for his age during batting practice, driving the ball with impact and some of the best raw power at the event. Catchers often throw better in workouts than they do in the games, but Kea unleashed his best throws in games, erasing a runner at third and another at second base with a 1.88-second pop time, relying more on a quick release than raw arm strength. He’s uncommitted for college.

Matthew Priest, OF, California: It’s going to be hard to find a faster player in the class than Priest. He’s a track star in high school, running the 100-meter dash in 10.56 seconds, good for 12th in California as a sophomore. He’s an 80 runner, which should translate into plus range in center field, and while there are some things to iron out with his swing, he showed home run power during batting practice and came through with a homer during game action as well. Priest is uncommitted for college.

Schuyler Sandford, RHP, Florida: At 6-foot-4, 200 pounds, Sanford has a long-limbed, projectable frame that should lead to more velocity coming. He pitched at 87-91 mph in this look with good carry up in the zone. He had trouble controlling his breaking ball at times, but he shows feel to spin that pitch as well. Sandford is a Florida State commit.

David Hogg II, SS, Texas: Hogg made the most of his limited look, playing in one game and going 1-for-2 with a ground-rule double off a 90 mph fastball. Hogg has always been a steady, high baseball IQ player, but he showed his tools have ticked up from last year too, running plus and stinging the ball with more authority. Hogg sets up at the plate with a wide base and took a mature round of BP, working the opposite way before driving the ball well to the middle of the field and his pull side. He’s an LSU commit.

Jason Bello, 3B, Florida: A South Florida commit, Bello added to an already impressive track record of game performance. He went 2-for-4 with two doubles, showing a mature offensive approach and controlling the zone well for his age.

Gavin Braland, C, Georgia: Braland was one of the top in-game performers at PG Junior National. The South Carolina commit went 2-for-4 with a walk, hitting a high fastball for a double and pulling a slider for a home run over the wall in left field. Braland is 6-foot-2, 175 pounds and already makes hard contact with more power to come given his hand speed and strength projection remaining. He showed a strong arm behind the plate as well.

Gabriel Tirado, C, Connecticut: At 5-foot-9, 205 pounds, Tirado produces vicious bat speed from the left side of the plate. He loads his swing with a big leg lift, generates torque in his swing and uses his fast hands to whip the barrel through the zone. That bat speed and strength leads to some of the better raw power for a lefthanded hitter in the 2024 class, with Tirado also showing feel for hitting in games by driving a fastball down in the zone for a line-drive single to left field. Tirado is a Connecticut commit.

Slade Caldwell, OF, Arkansas: At 5-foot-8, 165 pounds, Caldwell won’t immediately jump out, but he has one of the better combinations of hitting ability, speed and all-around instincts for the game among 2024 players. A Mississippi commit ranked No. 38 for 2024 and young for the class, Caldwell is a lefty with a high-contact bat geared for line drives and good strike-zone discipline in a hit-over-power profile. Those attributes, along with his plus speed, make him a high on-base threat who can play up the middle in center field.

Anthony Tralongo, 3B/2B, Florida: Tralongo has some of the best bat-to-ball skills in the 2024 class. At 6 feet, 185 pounds and No. 47 in the class, Tralongo doesn’t have one big tool that jumps out, but he consistently performs well in games. He has a short, contact-oriented swing with minimal hand movement, taking a direct cut to the ball with no swing and miss at this event and a good eye for the strike zone. He’s committed to Auburn.

Samuel Richardson, 3B, Mississippi: Richardson showed some of the best raw power at the event. At 6 feet, 190 pounds, Richardson drove the ball with impact both in BP and in the game, blasting an opposite-field home run that’s rare to see at this age from a hitter swinging a wood bat. Richardson takes a big, aggressive swing with a bat waggle and deep load to generate a lot of torque in his swing and excellent bat speed. That can create some timing issues, but when everything is in sync he has true all-fields power. The Missouri commit also showed good speed running the 60-yard dash in 6.53 seconds and a strong arm for the left side of the diamond.

Ashton Alston, RHP, Tennessee: At 6-foot-6, 195 pounds, Alston sticks out immediately for his size and physical projection, though he’s one of the younger players in the 2024 class. Alston worked two innings and struck out four of the first five hitters he faced, mixing in a few sliders but mostly relying on a fastball that sat 87-90 mph and touched 92. Given his youth and size, Alston is still learning to sync up his long levers to repeat his delivery more consistently, but the Alabama commit has the look of a potential mid-90s arm.

Tyler Acevedo, SS, New York: A 5-foot-11, 185-pound infielder, Acevedo has a short, efficient swing from the right side and added to his strong resume of hitting in games. He went 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, with one coming on a 2-2 breaking ball that he sent off the wall in left field. Acevedo is committed to Mississippi.

Hunter Carns, C/OF, Florida: Carns is 6 feet, 180 pounds with good rhythm and timing in the box, unleashing a fluid swing with fast hands to accelerate the barrel through the hitting zone with good bat speed. A Florida State commit, Carns has unusual athleticism for a catcher, running the 60-yard dash in 6.49 seconds, with plus speed that would play well in the outfield.

Matt Hoag, LHP, Florida: A Duke commit, Hoag has a projectable 6-foot-3, 185-pound frame with more space to fill out and grow a fastball that was 86-89 mph here and has cracked the low 90s in other outings. Hoag should be comfortably sitting in the low 90s within the next few years and already has shown good pitchability for his age. He’s a good strike-thrower who struck out three in two innings, with an effective, fading changeup at 78-82 mph.

Ariston Veasey, C, Georgia: Veasey has one of the best arms among 2024 catchers. He has an athletic build for a catcher and a plus arm. Veasey showed strong catch-and-throw skills, but he also hopped on the mound and ran his fastball up to 91 mph. He’s committed to Georgia.

Perry Hargett, SS, North Carolina: Hargett flew through the 60-yard dash with a quick first step and plus-plus speed in 6.36 seconds. He’s 6 feet, 180 pounds and a good athlete with the arm strength for shortstop. The North Carolina commit performed well in games as well, using a quick righthanded swing to go 2-for-5 with a line-drive double to left field.

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