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17U SHSU Scout Notes
06/14/2022

Rising seniors were treated to a true college stadium environment this past weekend during the Five Tool Sam Houston State event, which featured games from morning to night at a picturesque stadium hidden in the heart of the Sam Houston State campus. While it was, true to form, extremely hot on the Don Sanders Stadium turf, the 17U bats provided their own heat as well. Let’s get to the 17U (all prospects are 2023 prospects unless otherwise noted) Scout Notes:

(Note: Our social media team, as usual, did a phenomenal job covering the event, highlighting standout plays, performances and more. My notes focus on in-person looks during the event. Obviously, I can’t be everywhere at all times, which means some performances or players are left off unintentionally. Make sure you’re following Five Tool on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok.)

Texas Twelve 2023 Gold

I didn’t know anything about 2023 catcher/utility player Brady Englett when he squatted down and started warming up his pitcher. Over the next two hours or so, I learned the uncommitted prospect from Katy can play. He’s not a traditional catcher from a physical sense. His listed height and weight – 5-9, 165 pounds – looked accurate, but don’t let it fool you. He can catch and he can throw thanks to a quick transfer and quick arm action.

Englett showed impressive agility and skill behind the dish, and brings a unique twitchy athleticism to the position. He also played with outstanding energy. When he caught strike three to end an inning, he popped out of his stance and was into the dugout before the opposing batter could even lead the batter’s box. That quickness showed on the bases, too. Englett ran 4.2 seconds from home to first and moves very well for a catcher. According to the Twelve Baseball program, Englett has one of the best vertical jumps on the team and ran a 6.64 60-yard dash.

After I saw him, Englett later homered in another game. College coaches looking for 2023 catchers need to put eyes on Englett and soon.

Texas Twelve 2023 Gold finished champions of the event and a perfect 5-0. So, they had plenty of other standouts, too, including William Johnson. A talented infielder who handled the hot corner well in the game I saw and played multiple positions, the Prestonwood Christian Academy product profiles as a future big, physical right-handed hitter whose swing reminded me of 2022 Rice commitment and Texas Twelve catcher Landon West. Johnson hit .643/.722/.857 during the event and showed gap-to-gap power to both alleys with room for more in the future.

After watching teammate Alec Fontenot, an uncommitted prospect from Montgomery, I felt they were pretty similar with one exception: Fontenot, a right-hander, later stepped on the mound and touched 84 MPH across 4.0 shutout innings. He’s an intriguing two-way talent who, like Johnson, projects to be a physical right-handed hitter who could play multiple spots on the diamond.

Switching gears back to guys who can really run, second baseman Logan Ellefson ran from home to first in 4.06 seconds in a game I saw and promptly stole second base and third base on the next two pitches. Clearly, speed is a part of his game and he understands how to use it on the diamond. A 5-9, 160-pound prospect from The Woodlands, Ellefson swung the bat well, showing some bat speed and athleticism in his swing. His arm action and defensive outlook looks like he’s bound to be a second baseman at the next level, but the speed and surprising explosiveness to his actions suggest he could develop into a top-of-the-order bat with the speed to profile fine at second base.

He didn’t post the type of statistics that reach out and grab viewers, but I remain extremely intrigued in Katy Taylor infielder/outfielder Joe Jefferson. A talented QB1, Jefferson has a tall, long, loose, athletic body that strongly suggests more physical projection is on the horizon. Jefferson’s tools are loud, which include a strong arm, hands that could help him potentially stay on the dirt at third (can play shortstop in high school) and intriguing power potential.

Marucci Elite Texas 2023 – Holle

From a low three-quarters arm slot, uncommitted 2023 right-handed Cord Copley ran his fastball up to 88 MPH and showed an intriguing three-pitch mix, which included a 71-73 MPH slider and 78 MPH changeup. An impressive athlete who showed his athleticism with an excellent, quick pickoff move and notable quickness getting off the mound to play defense, Copley struck out five across 4.0 innings and gave up just one run. Copley’s breaking ball did pop out of his hand occasionally, showing its shape early, but there was some feel for spin.

Although he walked three, he’s such a good athlete that some tweaks in the future should make him a strike-thrower. His compact frame doesn’t look like a typical starter’s build with projection, but it appeared like he could carry his stuff and repeat his delivery, which included a quiet head.

Big, physical right-hander Tyler Comeaux followed Copley and tossed the game’s final 3.0 innings. He touched 86 MPH with his fastball and showed a relief profile with a slider that flashed when it had shorter shape.

Offensively, outfielder Kyle Chambers (Cy Fair) caught my eye. It was fun to see him because the very athletic player stood out during a February scrimmage. An outstanding student who is also a standout football player, the right-handed hitter ran 4.08 seconds on a drag bunt and his speed translates on both sides of the ball. With a simple approach in the box geared towards making contact, Chambers sprayed the ball around the yard and finished the event with a .643/.643/.786 slash line and zero strikeouts. https://fivetool.org/news/dustins-deep-drives-scrimmage-notes-academic-standouts/

5 Star Performance DFW – Woytek

I was shocked to look back and see uncommitted John Paul II outfielder Justin Blancaflor hit just .182/.308/.182 during the event because he swung the bat much better than that and had some bad luck in the batter’s box. With plus speed and notable athleticism, the right-handed hitter uses bat speed and active hands to spray liners around the field and use his wheels.

With some strength packed onto a compact, football-like frame, Blancaflor stands out physically, especially when he’s running down the line or chasing down flies in center field, which he did well. He plays the game at full speed all the time and his under control competitiveness showed.

I really liked the way Jacob Newland (New Diana) played the game. A competitive, high-energy catcher who showed a lot of leadership intangibles, Newland worked hard for his pitchers, and helped guide lefty Luke Davidson to 6.2 shutout innings with his receiving skill. Newland also had some standout moments with the bat from the right side and his right-handed swing has promise.

Keep an eye on right-handed pitcher Peyton Huff (Plano West), who was up to 86 MPH during his 1.1 innings on the mound. Listed at 6-0, 160 pounds, Huff is going to fill out and should still keep his loose, quick arm action on the mound with more velocity to come.

Quick Hitters…

– Arlington A’s Rockies left-handed hitter Leighton Jones got the barrel to 85 MPH up in the zone and tattooed a rocket that burned the right fielder, and later in the event, he covered the fastball down in the zone well, too. He should fill out and could develop gap-to-gap power with the ability to pull mistakes over the fence.

– We covered the Houston Athletics 17U Gold extensively in our scout notes from the Five Tool Houston Regional. After writing about his ability to hit last week, I was pleased – maybe slightly relieved because who wants to be wrong when you evaluate players? – to see Milby 2023 left-handed hitter and pitcher Art Perez continue to hit. After a very productive Houston Regional, Perez hit .500/.583/.800 and continued to show natural feel for putting the bat on the ball consistently. Second Baptist catcher and physical right-handed hitter Tommy Willis also had another strong weekend.

– Granted it was a limited look from the right side, but you don’t see many high school players who can legitimately switch hit and Dallas Tigers 17U Ahearne’s Ayden Terry looked like a legitimate switch-hitter. After ripping a hard liner through the right side of the infield, I watched Terry, in the same game, hit a ball hard from the left side, too.

Terry has a shorter swing from the left side than right side and his powerful, short arms help control his barrel well. He’s not going to win footraces, but the uncommitted prospect from Community High School looked like he’s a natural ballplayer with gap-to-gap power presently. He also pitches, but I think his future is with the bat.

Teammates Luke Metcalf (Grand Saline) and Cannon Davis (Amarillo) had standout moments with the bat, too.

– When The Woodlands’ Aidan Graham makes contact, he does so with a heavy barrel. The right-handed hitter does a good job of creating some room for his hands to operate a swing geared to pull and lift the baseball, and that’s what he did when he smashed a homer over the left field fence for HP Baseball 2023 Endsley. There is some swing and miss in his hitting profile, but there’s also some impact, too.

– For PBA Stars 17U Navy, uncommitted infielder Taft Hunter (Pearland) put a charge into a few balls and created some surprising loud contact for a player his size. Teammate and shortstop Seth Williams (Galveston Ball) showed a left-handed swing I liked, some soft hands at shortstop, and a very intriguing physical outlook (skinny 6-3 loose, athletic frame). With increased reps and more time to mature, I could see his skill improving and his tools showing more.

– I left Sam Houston State a big fan of Houston Heat 2023 – Bay left-handed hitter Ryan Lewis (Columbus). He kept his hands inside of a heater and pulled a rocket to the wall in right field in one at-bat, showed some wheels in another, and also ranged deep in the hole at shortstop to make a tough backhand play.

Lewis’ high school and travel teammate Conner Geisler was on fire the entire event and finished with a .600/.700/1.000 slash line. Unlike Lewis, Geisler is a big right-handed hitter in the mold of a power-hitting, bat-first corner infielder. With some active hand movement in his load to create some separation, Geisler unleashed some attention-grabbing bat speed.

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor
Five Tool Baseball

Aidan Graham, Alec Fontenot, Arthur Perez, Ayden Terry, Brady Englett, Cannon Davis, Conner Geisler, Cord Copley, Jacob Newland, Joe Jefferson, Justin Blancaflor, Kyle Chambers, Leighton Jones, Logan Ellefson, Luke Davidson, Luke Metcalf, Ryan Lewis, Seth Williams, Taft Hunter, Tommy Willis, Tyler Comeaux, William Johnson
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