NHSI: Day One Prospect Notebook

CARY, N.C.—Scouts from every Major League club converged at USA Baseball’s National Training Complex to evaluate the talent at this year’s National High School Invitational on Wednesday morning.

The biggest prospect showdown took place in the 3:15 p.m. game, which featured a marquee matchup between Cullman (Ala.) lefthander Jacob Heatherly and Dana Hills (Calif.) righthander Hans Crouse.

Crouse came out of the gate well, with his fastball working at 95-98 in the first inning before settling in at 92-95. His breaking ball showed above-average potential, with tight vertical break and late dive at 77-79. He also threw a secondary fastball that showed late sinking action and flashed arm-side run in on righties. Crouse threw his changeup sparingly, but it got the job done, using it to get Heatherly to fly out in the sixth inning.

Crouse has high-effort mechanics. His back elbow is high in the back of his arm swing, and he finishes across his body with recoil. Crouse is a short strider and throws from a slightly lower three-quarters arm slot. He still has physical projection, standing at 6-foot-5 with room for growth in his wide-shouldered frame.

Heatherly acknowledged after the game that he didn’t have his best stuff in this outing, though he did flash promising ingredients. In his first inning, Heatherly’s fastball ranged from 90-92 and touched 93. He eventually settled in at 87-90, with 90 being his modal velocity.

The lefthander manipulated his breaking ball well at times, sometimes showing tight 1-to-7 shape and upper 70s velocity. He would also slow down his stride and throw a slow curveball with similar break but less power and low 70s velocity.

Heatherly has an athletic lower half and was able to get his torso out over his front side early on in his outing. He has a bit of a plunge in the back of his arm action and sometimes cuts off his front side. As he tired, he would sometimes finish more upright and elevate his pitches, or he’d open up and yank his fastball.

Heatherly’s performance was reminiscent of Austin Riley’s performance on the opening day of the 2015 NHSI. Riley, who had entered the spring known as more of a pitching prospect, struggled on the mound at NHSI, but went 2-for-4 with a double and a home run on day one.

The lefthanded-hitting Heatherly went with an outside fastball from Crouse in the second inning, shooting a line drive through the left side of the infield for a single. In his second time up, Heatherly turned on a Crouse fastball and hit a hard line drive to right field with an exit velocity of 101 mph according to TrackMan Live.

The NHSI kicked off at 9 a.m., with a matchup between Trinity Christian Academy (Jacksonville, Fla.) and Hough High (Cornelius, N.C.).

On the mound for TCA was righthander A.J. Labas. Baseball America’s staff has seen a lot of Labas, dating back to last year’s NHSI. On Wednesday, Labas struck out 13 and walked none in seven innings. His fastball worked at 88-92 in his first inning, though he settled in and pitched at 88-90.

Labas busted out his potent changeup early and often on Wednesday. He was able to generate late fade on the pitch and spotted it down and away from lefthanded hitters effectively. His changeup has been his bread and butter for quite some time and was an out pitch for him on last summer’s showcase circuit. His breaking ball operated at 76-81, showing more bite when he finished with it out front and located it to his glove side. The pitch shows more 11-to-5 shape when thrown to the glove side (and away from righties), while showing a more vertical loop when thrown arm side. Labas throws from a slightly lower three-quarters arm slot and sometimes can struggle to stay on top of his curveball, but he flashed some natural ability to spin the ball.

Labas showed a tendency to collapse on his back side early and rush his hip swing out front. That, coupled with an arm action that has some length in the back, can lead Labas to show control while lacking pinpoint command. When his delivery is synced up, he can throw three pitches for strikes.

Facing Labas, Hough lefthander Nicholas Swiney showed a deceptive delivery and feel for locating his pitches in the strike zone. He pitched in the mid-80s and showed the ability to throw his 1-to-7 breaking ball for strikes. Swiney is committed to NC State.

At 10 a.m., No. 1-ranked Archbishop McCarthy (Southwest Ranches, Fla.) took on Arlington (Tenn.) High with righthander Joe Perez on the mound against southpaw Blake Dallas. Perez has improved his delivery since last summer’s showcase circuit. Previously, Perez would coil his hips and shoulders deeply during his windup, with his head whacking as his arm came through. Now, he’s simplified his lower half and he’s gathering himself over the rubber better and timing his delivery much better. While his head still isn’t exactly still throughout his delivery, it is much more stable and he looks much more composed.

On Wednesday, Perez’s whip-quick arm was on display early. His fastball sat in the low 90s and tickled 95. Scouts have reported seeing him reach as high as 98 mph in short bursts this spring. He flashed a tight spinning breaking ball with 11-to-5 shape in the upper 70s and low 80s. TrackMan Live recorded his breaking ball’s spin rate roughly in the 2500-2700 range.

McCarthy first baseman Alex Toral showed sound strike zone awareness, refusing to expand the zone while Arlington fed him junk. In his first plate appearance, the Miami recruit pulled a line drive to right field. Toral has a compact stroke and possesses a unique combination of quick hands and a strong, well-balanced lower half. He went 1-for-3 in the game and was hit by a pitch.

In the 11 a.m. game, American Heritage (Plantation, Fla.) faced Rocky Mountain High (Fort Collins, Colo.) and picked up a decisive 10-0 victory. On the mound for Heritage, senior righthander Christian Santana threw seven shutout innings, striking out 11 while walking one and allowing four hits.

Santana has a full arm circle with length in the back of his arm action. He has a very athletic lower half and showed promising timing and repeatability despite his moving parts. He was able to spot his 88-91 mph fastball in the strike zone with a bit of late sink or arm side run. Santana threw a sharp top-to-bottom breaking ball in the mid- to upper-70s, a pitch he was able to land in the strike zone to both sides of the plate. He showed impressive control, especially for a pitcher with his arm speed and a body that still offers significant physical projection with sloped shoulders and a high waist.

Heritage’s top prospect for this year is shortstop Mark Vientos. The Miami commit’s potent righthanded bat was on display early and often on Wednesday morning. Vientos, who played for Flanagan High at last year’s NHSI, shot the first pitch of the game deep to right-center field, one-hopping the wall for a double. Vientos generates quick, explosive bat speed from a compact setup. He has been regarded as one of the best offensive prospects in the 2017 class for some time, and he continued to prove himself on Day One of NHSI, going 4-for-5.

Complementing Vientos, 2018 prospects Triston Casas and Cory Acton also showed offensively. Casas has easy lefthanded power and made hard contact as he went 2-for-5. Acton went 4-for-4, finishing a double shy of the cycle.

In the 12:15 p.m. game, Orange (Calif.) Lutheran took a 7-3 victory over Merritt Island (Fla.) High. The matchup featured two of Baseball America’s preseason first team All-Americans in OLu center fielder Garrett Mitchell and Merritt Island shortstop Brady McConnell.

The basic elements of Mitchell’s swing are the same as they were last summer, though he was standing more upright with his feet more narrowly apart in the lefthanded batter’s box on Wednesday. He has a deep load with an exaggerated barring of his lead arm, a mechanism that often gives batters trouble working the opposite field. In his first plate appearance, however, Mitchell watched the count to 3-0, then shot an outside fastball for a hard line drive foul down the left-field line. He took a called second strike, then swung over a back door breaking ball. In his next plate appearance, he rolled over the first pitch for a hard ground ball to the right side for an infield single. He took a four-pitch walk in his third plate appearance, then struck out looking in his fourth.

McConnell watched a count to 3-1 before flying out to center in his first plate appearance. He had another well-struck ball in the third inning, sending a high fastball to left for a second flyout. In his third time up, McConnell smoked a hard line drive right at the third baseman with an exit velocity of 100 mph, according to TrackMan Live. The fielder couldn’t make the catch, and McConnell was safe at first.

Defensively, McConnell made a strong, accurate throw on a routine ground ball in the third inning. He showed smooth hands fielding a ball up the middle and stepping on the second base bag to end the fourth.

Orange Lutheran shortstop Tristan Hanoian went 3-for-4 in the leadoff spot for the Lancers. He shot a line drive to left field for a single to lead off the bottom of the first. The senior is committed to Texas Christian.

At 1:15, righthander Sam Keating took the mound for the Canterbury School (Fort Myers, Fla.) in a 7-0 victory over Hamilton (Chandler, Ariz.). Keating has been one of the Sunshine State’s highest risers this spring as he’s filled in his 6-foot-3 frame. Several scouts have said that they’ve seen the Clemson commit reach 94 mph this spring, though he has not consistently pitched at that velocity. Keating topped out at 92 on Wednesday, and pitched at 88-90 as he settled in.

Keating throws two variations of his breaking ball; an upper 70s pitch with more depth and a more powerful pitch in the low 80s. He showed more of the power breaking ball on Wednesday, and he was able to get swings and misses with the pitch in the zone. Keating has a full arm action with length in the back. His timing wasn’t always there for him on Wednesday, but he was around the zone despite lacking pinpoint command.

The 2 p.m. matchup between South Hills and Brother Rice featured a strong matchup of two future Division I arms. South Hills sent out lefthander Karlos Morales (Long Beach State) and Brother Rice went with righthander Ryan Kutt (Illinois). Morales showed potential with his fastball, bumping 90 mph and sitting at 86-89 early on. Kutt hides the ball well and consistently finds his three-quarter arm slot; he showed an upper 80s fastball and a sharp-sweeping slider in the low 80s. For more on that game, see Carlos Collazo’s story.

Fitting March’s them of upsets, Winder-Barrow (Winder, Ga.) High took a 3-1 victory over defending NHSI champion Huntington Beach (Calif.) High. Of his 97 pitches, lefthander Nick Pratto threw a remarkable 72 strikes, filling the zone with his upper 80s fastball, plus changeup and sharp three-quarter breaking ball. Pratto is a gifted baseball athlete with exceptional body control, balance and graceful actions. At the plate, he went 1-for-4, and most scouts consider him a better prospect at the plate than on the mound.

Fellow two-way star Hagen Danner caught the entire game—which lasted 10 innings—and also went 1-for-4. For Winder-Barrow, catcher Beau Hanna went 2-for-3.

Due to impending weather this weekend, four games have been added to the schedule for Thursday. Information on the schedule, stats, and how to stream the games can be found here.