It’s Mattingly Week! 

(It’s also fine to refer to this week as Christmas in July.) 

The field has been cut in half and championship contenders are beginning to emerge. The third day of action was filled with drama, which makes Thursday's elimination games especially interesting. Let’s take a look at some day three takeaways:

(These are comprised almost entirely of in-person looks and other major standouts from our coverage. Obviously, not every team or every player who did something well is going to make this story, but we invite everyone to tune into the coverage at FiveTool.org to see the endless number of videos.)

1) A large group of college coaches and a few professional scouts waited in anticipation for Marc Barnhard’s start during the final round of games Wednesday night. Currently one of the top uncommitted pitchers in Texas, Barnhard toed the rubber and proceeded to immediately do what he has all summer – fire fastballs up to 93 MPH with spin rates as high as 2400 RPM. But the Grand Oak prospect’s outing ended up being just 2.0 impressive innings. 

That’s because his offense erupted for eight runs in the first inning and proceeded to lead the team to an 18-0 rout in five innings. So, after Barnhard gave onlookers a look at his full arsenal during 2.0 solid innings, 2024 Texas Twelve Red Sox did the smart thing – it saved him for later in the tournament. As for the offense, you could go down the entire lineup and list something noteworthy from the game. Uncommitted right-handed hitters Brock DeYoung (Cinco Ranch) and Isaiah Castaneda (Pearland) continued collecting hits. But Houston Christian commitment Caden Miller (Madisonville) stood out the most with six RBI in his first two at-bats.

Miller has a unique pre-pitch look: he has a very open stance from the left side with a high back elbow, but that doesn’t prevent him from timing pitches very well and getting the barrel to the baseball with some plate coverage. He mashed a ball over the center fielder’s head for a double has been a hitting machine each game I’ve seen him this summer, which is at least seven. 

2) Ballin’ is a habit, and right now TBT Baller 17U National is sitting at 3-0 in its pool after a dramatic 2-1 victory over red-hot DFW Twins 17U Black. It’s been impressive to watch how well this team competes in all areas of the game. It doesn’t give at-bats away. It is locked in for every pitch on defense. It has great energy and is truly playing as a team. Caleb Railey continues to stand out. Esteban Toscano ran down the line in 4.0 seconds. And Collin Poindexter used a big, 64-67 MPH curveball to frustrate a really talented lineup all night. He ended up throwing a complete game with 10 strikeouts. 

For the DFW Twins 17U Black, Brady Coe showed why he’s one of the best two-way prospects in the state with an excellent performance on the mound. Coe, an ACU commitment from Allen High School, touched 91 MPH with his fastball, spun a curveball with spin up to 2800 RPM around 71 MPH, mixed in a low-spin changeup at 75 MPH (1500 RPM) and has feel for manipulating his breaking ball to add some tilt. Connor Mohan then entered and fired fastballs up to 92 MPH with a quick, loose arm and threw what looked like a power curveball at 79 MPH, although at other times it looked more like a true slider without horizontal break. The Texas Tech commitment looks like he’s a good candidate to continue adding velocity and could throw extremely hard in the future. 

3) Often, this event can deliver the unexpected and when Dulins Dodgers Prime – Godwin matched up with Stix 2025 Scout, we expected a low scoring game that featured Oklahoma commitment Michael Catalano on the mound for the former and star 2025 right-hander and Hebron prospect Marcos Paz on the mound for the latter. But Dulins capitalized on some shaky control early and set the tone with some loud contact repeatedly of Paz, who touched 95 MPH in the first inning before settling in at 88-93 MPH. 

Wyatt Sanford continued to make a strong case as the best prospect and player in the tournament by burning the center fielder for an early triple. He’s now hitting .700/.750/1.950 through his first 12 plate appearances while also playing outstanding defense. Center fielder Kendyl Johnson, a Texas Tech commitment from Little Elm, put his team ahead 7-1 when he pulled a three-run bomb. The left-handed hitter has repeatedly made surprisingly loud contact given his small stature and shouldn’t be known just for his speed and defense because the ball comes off the barrel well.

But Stix came roaring back thanks in large part to my pick as the best prospect in the entire Pudge Rodriguez World Classic – 2026 infielder Eli Willits. He came up in the clutch twice, including in the final inning with two outs, and finished 2-for-3 with two runs, two RBI and a walk. Braxton Van Cleave also swung the bat really well and his physicality continues to stand out. The Stix forced the Dodgers to call on talented 2025 right-hander Brody Walls to close out the game and once Walls, a Texas commit, started ramping it up on the mound, he touched 91 MPH with a lively heater and was able to field a comebacker to preserve the 10-8 win. 

4) A few Central Texas area standouts have enjoyed some standout moments. For the Dirtbags Tx, Liberty Hill’s Colby Demars, an uncommitted outfielder, blasted two bombs yesterday. Demars is an interesting prospect who looks the part physically with some projection and can create some loud contact when he finds the barrel. Teammate and Round Rock High School center fielder Nick Dunch also blasted a homer. He had some bright flashes during the spring and can do a little bit of everything. 

For Austin Wings Baseball National, Rayner Heinrich had a huge day offensively Tuesday, but what he did Wednesday stood out a little more. After a poor throw from shortstop in the sixth inning allowed a run to score, Heinrich led off the bottom of the seventh by beating out an infield single with a 4.2 run time. He then stole second base and would score on a sacrifice run to give his team the lead in the top of the seventh. He plays with excellent energy and makeup and instead of letting a throw the previous half inning impact the rest of the game, he immediately figured out a way to help his team, which speaks to the way he carries himself. 

5) While we’re on the subject of guys who can fly, Brandies’ Drew Saucedo, who can play in the middle of the infield or in the outfield, smoked a home run to left field for 2024 Texas Twelve South Texas Navy and is now hitting .600/.636/1.000 in 11 plate appearances. It’s obvious the strength added to his frame is paying dividends in the batter’s box and he’s not a skinny guy who can run plus-plus down the line anymore; the uncommitted prospect can impact the baseball with some extra-base thump. 

6) Easily one of the top games of the tournament so far, Slammers Zavaras won in dramatic fashion over Waco Storm – Angles when catcher Sloan Steimel (Thomas Jefferson; Colorado) stepped to the plate and drilled a walk-off homer the opposite way and over the Red Monster in right field. Bryce Robinette (Poderosa; Colorado) has been a relentless force offensively for Slammers and he’s consistently put together some of the best at-bats in the tournament. Right-handed pitcher Tyler Weston (Cherry Creek) entered the game late and held a good lineup in check thanks to a fastball up to 90 MPH with some angle and one of the best right-handed sliders I’ve seen thus far during the tournament, which he routinely executed to his glove side. 

It's a treat to watch Waco Storm. It plays very, very hard. Easton Paxton flew down the line in 4.16 seconds, has an explosive twitch to his movements and creates some surprising pop despite his small stature. Jackson Generals, an early favorite for best name in the tournament, busted it down the line on a routine grounder to second base and nearly beat it out with a 4.28 run time. Hunter Lowry, a right-handed hitter from Coolidge, has a .900 on-base percentage through 10 plate appearances after mashing an opposite-field homer the first day. 

7) PNT 2024 stayed alive thanks in large part to an impressive swing and showing of power by Rafael Furcal, Jr. It advanced to meet Stix Scout 2024, who was tested by Marucci Elite Texas 2024 Wallace right-handed pitcher Stephen Lewis. Lewis, a very skinny and long right-handed pitcher from Manvel, was up to 87 MPH early and something about his delivery and arm action makes it really hard for hitters to have success the first couple times through the order. I can’t quite put my finger on it. What I do know is Lewis has a few very obvious signs of a guy who should throw much harder in the future thanks to his shoulder rotation. 

He ended up losing his control deeper in the outing, a sign of a young pitcher who is still understanding how to repeat his arm action. Anthony Llera (Southlake Carroll) was able to reach base, stole second and then took third when the infielders slowly reacted to the ball that got away. His heads-up, instinctive baserunning helped blow the game open. Zane Becker, an Arkansas commitment from Flower Mound, had the game-deciding swing when he smoked a three-run homer. Becker continues to look like one of the state’s top catching prospects who can impact the game offensively and defensively. 

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor