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Pudge WC Scout Notes Part III
06/27/2022

We’re biased, but we think the 2022 Pudge Rodriguez World Classic, presented by Academy Sports + Outdoors, was a smashing success. The event, which began June 14th and featured 48 of the top 16U or younger teams you’ll find anywhere, provided the next crop of emerging stars a seemingly endless amount of opportunities to stand out in front of college coaches; it also featured two-straight days of 20 games at the Z-Plex Texas Sports Village in Melissa, Texas before the bracket’s contenders emerged and elimination games occurred.

That’s a lot of baseball and for Five Tool evaluators, like myself, bouncing around from game-to-game, field-to-field meant enough looks to make your head spin. Hey, it’s a good problem to have. So, we decided to break our Scout Notes into four parts, one for each bracket appropriately named for Pudge Rodriguez – Rangers, Marlins, Tigers and Yankees.

Again, our eyes can only be in one place at one time, but we’ve done our best to feature standout players and performances from the event with more focus on the teams that emerged as the best from their respective bracket. And part two features the Marlins bracket, which was won by Texas Twelve 2024 Maroon.

Texas Twelve 2024 Maroon

If people didn’t know much about two-way talent Isaiah Castaneda (Pearland) before the event, they learned a lot. I know I did. I saw Castaneda at Twelve Baseball’s Scout Day and noted his intriguing all-around skill set and promising projection. He turned that into some of the best production of any hitter and finished with a .474/.630/.579 slash line with five walks and two strikeouts.

The 6-2 outfielder quietly creates a pre-swing load and has a natural knack for using his hands to get the barrel to the baseball, which he did to pitches in various locations that resulted in hits to all parts of the field. Castaneda’s loose, 6-2 frame strongly suggests he has physical projection, and he made it to first base in 4.5 seconds on a double. Against some of the best velocity and stuff in the event, Castaneda made hard contact. Oh, he also showed his good athleticism on the mound by throwing 8.0 shutout innings despite limited experience there relative to his peers. Major talent.

Speaking of major talents, switch hitter JD Crisp (Second Baptist) showcased strong all-around tools, including some solid defense in the outfield. With present muscle packed onto an impressive, physical frame, it’s unsurprising to see Crisp already driving the ball over the wall occasionally with quick swings from both sides that seek to do damage but can come up empty on occasion.

Batting leadoff, despite being a sophomore this past season, for Sinton spoke loudly about the type of player Marcos Gonzales is and the middle infielder carried the state title momentum into this event with a .333/.524/.600 slash line. Gonzales has a thin chest and athletic frame that should fill out considerably more in the future and looks like one the state’s top infielder prospects. TCU commitment Nolan Traeger (Concordia Lutheran) had some bright moments defensively behind the dish and although he didn’t have a very successful event statistically, his left-handed bat speed always stands out.

Left-handed hitting first baseman Caden Miller covered the plate well, controlled the barrel, and hit .471/.600/.765 with a natural, all-fields approach. As Miller matures, some of his doubles could turn into more homers. Regardless, he looks like he’s a hitter worth better on. On the mound, Sinton two-way talent Aidan Moody, a noticeably physical right-hander, struck out 11 across 6.2 innings and gave up zero earned runs. He threw an 84-85 MPH fastball with control and some hint of command with a sharp, late-biting 69 MPH curveball and 80 MPH changeup with some late sink. For a guy who doesn’t have a ton of experience on the mound, he looked like he could be a major contributor for Sinton next season.

Texas Angels 2024 – Lisbon

Right-handed pitcher Brady Clark (Abilene Wylie) had one of the event’s top performances when he punched out 14 hitters during a 6.0-inning start and gave up just one run on three hits and three walks. Working with a quick, confident tempo, Brady stayed on the attack with a fastball up to 88 MPH and consistently stayed on top of that pitch to create a little bit of arm-side run.

Brady, who has yet to fill out physically, also snapped off 73-75 MPH curveballs for strikes and also buried them later in counts with the occasional late, two-plane break away from righties. He’s a definite arm to watch in 2024 and received some help from a catcher to watch, Caden Roy.

Roy, a right-handed hitter from Reagan, caught multiple runners stealing with pop times right around 1.97-2.05 seconds thanks to a quick transfer. He was a standout receiver behind the dish, supported his pitchers with good energy and confident body language and looked like he has a true chance to stick at the position long-term.

Braden Regala has (Wylie) a top-of-the-order profile and can cover a lot of ground defensively. He also hammered a solo homer from the right side, has some wheels and athletically bounces around the diamond. Each time I saw Smithson Valley, two-way talent Zach Gingrich caught my attention and this past week is no different. A very intriguing projection candidate, Gingrich hit .333/.636/.333 with just one strikeout.

On the mound, 2025 prospect and Arkansas commitment Tye Briscoe (Wylie) occasionally overpowered hitters with a hard, explosive heater and his curveball showed promise with an interesting changeup. Briscoe’s control wasn’t at its best, but the upside is immense.

LBC National 2024 – Villarreal

Aiden Cline, a two-way talent from Tivy, stood out with the bat and hit .400/.625/.500 with a quiet approach from the left side before an aggressive swing that didn’t result in a single strikeout. After seeing a very intriguing look on the mound the week prior at Sam Houston State, I was surprised he didn’t experience more success on the mound. That said, the thin right-hander, who has yet to fill out, can naturally spin a baseball very well – he threw the prettiest curveball I saw during our SHSU event – and projects to be a right-hander worth following.

Right-handed pitcher Mason Law (Lake Belton) tossed 6.1 innings in his only start and gave up just three runs on six hits, two walks and struck out nine thanks in part to the deception created by his arm path and delivery.

You can’t have the nickname “Stone” and not be a ballplayer. Jesse “Stone” Gomez was the standout hitter for LBC National 2024 – Villarreal and used strong, quick hands to hit .467/.500/1.000 with two bombs and two doubles; he creates a different sounding crack off the bat than most hitters. James “Wyatt” Gatlin (Lake Travis) provided the thump from the left-side, which included blasting a homer over the Red Monster. Gatlin times pitches well with his leg kick and can pull pitches with authority.

Stix 2024 Scout

South Grand Prairie right-handed hitter and OU commitment Austin Phillips showed the type of hitting hands and two-way projection that a program like OU would jump on early for a commitment. And I wasn’t surprised to see right fielder and left-handed hitter Drew Devillier is a TCU commitment because his swing, and especially the way he tracks pitches, stood out positively along with a 6-5 frame that projects to be a physical power-hitter. Devillier is also a quarterback, too.

Argyle outfielder Brayden Rosckes really projects physically, showed his athleticism with a fantastic sliding catch in foul territory down the left field line, and was a consistent producer in the batter’s box with a quiet, simple approach from the right side.

Really liked what I saw from two-way talent Will Yeary (Covenant Christian), a switch-hitting two-way player who was especially intriguing on the mound. The right-hander worked quick, was constantly on the attack, and fired a fastball up to 86 MPH with a sharp, short slider that overwhelmed hitters. The ball came out of his quick arm and slender frame well and he carried himself with controlled competitiveness. As a hitter, I saw Yeary from the left side where he had a swing geared to go the opposite way. Defensively, his athleticism showed.

QUICK HITTERS…

– He utilizes a contact over impact hitting approach from the right side, but Round Rock’s Hudson Ellis put the bat on the ball and racked up hits over and over again for Dirtbags TX – 2024. Ellis didn’t strike out once and it didn’t look like his profile is going to include a lot of whiffs. Teammate Colby DeMars, who attends Liberty Hill, did some damage to his pull side and is a physical right-handed hitter.

– Brayden Bergman (Plano East) had one of the loudest pitching performances of the event. The tall right-hander struck out seven during 3.0 scoreless innings for Dallas Tigers Bergman and gave up just three hits. Despite having a little bit of a crossfire look, Bergman was able to get his lively heater with some angle to his glove side and touched 92 MPH with an intriguing three-pitch mix, featuring a slow, big-breaking hook to create nearly 30 MPH of difference between that and his fastball.

Bergman wasn’t the only Dallas Tigers – Bergman arm up to 90 MPH. Tall, very slender righty Jack Hickerson touched 90 MPH and struck out 11 across 5.0 innings with zero earned runs. The Denton Guyer prospect does use some effort to create the velocity, but he routinely threw strikes and is a definite physical projection candidate. We’ve covered Texas A&M commitment and all-around standout talent Sawyer Farr extensively this summer because he’s been outstanding and he again proved to be an elite performer with a .444/.583/.889 slash line.

– Offspeed Athletics Blue 2024 two-way talent Andrew Ramos made a name for himself. A standout two-way talent who was excellent with the bat and routinely created loud contact, Ramos, who attends Randall, had one of the most impressive pitching performances of the event.

Against Texas Twelve Maroon 2024, the physical, competitive right-hander struck out 10 and didn’t give up an earned run during his 5.0-inning start. At times, Ramos’ stuff was filthy and dominant, featuring a heater up to 89 MPH with some angle down in the zone; hard, sharp slider around 78 MPH that racked up swings and misses; and an 81 MPH changeup that froze a lefty for a strikeout. Although Ramos began to show signs of fatigue later, he has the type of power stuff that should only improve and could profile as a starter with more efficiency in the delivery or a standout backend reliever.

Teammate Hagen Shedd was one of the most athletic, talented two-way prospects in the event with outstanding bat speed, good actions on the dirt and a quick arm on the mound. The length in his arm action and slot led to spotty control, but you can’t teach his athleticism.

Amarillo left-handed hitter Max McLemore was very productive with good bat control and ripped liners to all parts of the field. He struck out just once thanks to his advanced ability to make contact, and finished with a .400/.538/.700 slash line.

– Texas Senators Scout Team, made up of 2025 prospects, held its own in a loaded bracket. Summer Creek outfielder Will Hill has grown since I saw him in the high school season and looks like a great bet to emerge as one of the tooliest, best outfielders in the state for his class. Texas commitment Ed Small (Anderson) showed some juice with the bat.

On the mound, 6-3, physical right-handed pitcher Cooper Rummel (Dripping Springs) racked up 12 strikeouts during his 5.0 innings on the mound with four walks, one hit and three earned runs. He touched 89 MPH with an explosive heater and generated whiffs with a 70-72 MPH hook with depth and spin.

Dustin McComas
Senior Editor
Five Tool Baseball

Aidan Moody, Aiden Cline, Andrew Ramos, Austin Phillips, Braden Regala, Brady Clark, Brayden Bergman, Brayden Rosckes, Caden Miller, Caden Roy, Cooper Rummel, Drew Devillier, Ed Small, Hagen Shedd, Hudson Ellis, Isaiah Castaneda, Jack Hickerson, James "Wyatt" Gatlin, JD Crisp, Jesse "Stone" Gomez, Marco Gonzales, Mason Law, Max McLemore, Nolan Traeger, Sawyer Farr, Tye Briscoe, Will Yeary, William Hill, Zachary Gingrich
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