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Tournaments  | Story  | 12/13/2023

Scout Stories: Part 6

Tyler Kotila      Blaine Peterson      Cameron McElwaney     
Best Game I Saw: 2023 PG Kernels Semi-final match-up

In the 2023 PG Kernels Foundation Tournament, there was a lot on the line. Plenty of teams showed up looking to compete for a Jupiter bid, but the Cangelosi Sparks were looking to make a championship run. They squared off with Iowa Select 2024 in what was an incredible match-up, going into the bottom of the seventh before the Cangelosi squad was able to walk things off. It was two teams trading blows back and forth. As mentioned, Cangelosi was able to walk it off, picking up the 11-10 victory to advance to the championship, where they competed for the Jupiter bid. Both sides were trading blows, getting it done at the plate. It was Kelvin Jones Jr. and Tayvon Homolar, who each had 2 hits a piece, helping the Iowa Select Scout 2024 squad muster up some runs. This included a big double from Jones Jr. that helped plate a couple of runs. On top of that, several others had hits and were churning out huge at-bats to produce offense. On the flip side, the Cangelosi Sparks were led by their “fearless leader,” who swung a red-hot bat the entire weekend. Louisville commit Collin Mowry had two hits, including a double that nearly left the yard and a home run, helping him drive in 4 runs. Mowry was seeing beach balls and was able to come up clutch. They got hits from several of their big bats. In the bottom of the seventh specifically, Cooper Malamazian led things off with a single. After that, Landon Mensik and Cash Campbell drew walks to keep things alive. Mowry delivered his near-walk-off home run, settling for the RBI double. Then Dominic Catalano delivered the final nail in the coffin, lining one back up the middle for a single to center field, scoring the game-winning run. It was really just one of those games that was impossible to look away from. Both teams were churning out good at-bats, and the high-scoring match-up may not have been great for the pitchers, but it was constant in terms of the offense being churned out.

Best Tournament Performance I Saw: Collin Mowry & Enzo Infelise

It’s hard just to pick one when Collin Mowry and Enzo Infelise were both absolutely insane with their performances at the 2023 PG Kernels event. Mowry, a Louisville commit, used the PG Kernels event as a springboard for a massive fall performance that saw him garner a ton of attention with how well he was swinging it at the plate. It felt like Mowry found a barrel every time he swung the bat. At PG Kernels, Mowry hit .385 with a .556 OBP, belting 2 home runs, adding 2 doubles, and driving in 8 runs overall on the weekend. He showed off the juice and ability to lift with a fluid right-handed stroke that did a ton of damage. Mowry parlayed his PG Kernels performance into a .500 average and .500 OBP, with 2 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs in Jupiter for the 2023 WWBA World Championship. On top of that, Enzo Infelise was able to perform even better than that at 202 PG Kernels. Infelise is a 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame who was a workhorse behind the dish, who showed those tools off as well, throwing out a couple of runners with his power arm. But at the dish, he showed off the strength in a physical build, hammering pitches left and right. He hit .778 with a .867 OBP while he had a couple of extra-base hits, driving in five runs. The Sooners commit performed quite loudly at Prospect Meadows, and it was quite the performance to remember. 



Favorite Single Game Moment: Tyler Guerin’s masterful outing on the mound

If there is one of those outings or moments that stands out, it's Tyler Guerin coming out and absolutely shoving for MN Blizzard 2024 Blue at the PG Kernels Event. Guerin has a massively projectable 6-foot-7, 205-pound frame. He’s got length to his levers, and he showed off a three-pitch mix, primarily using his fastball and slider to get the job done. Guerin was just simply toying with hitters. The fastball was running up into the low-90s. I believe I had him up to 92 mph on my stalker gun, with good spin. The pitch works from a three-quarters arm slot, creating a tough angle for right-handed hitters. On top of that, the slider was great. He commanded well, just pulling the string on the pitch and making for some really uncomfortable at-bats from opposing hitters. Guerin threw 5.0 innings, allowing 2 hits, walking zero, and striking out 11 hitters along the way. It was a truly dominant outing and one that really stood out amongst the stuff I saw this fall. 

Biggest Showcase Breakout Performer: Parker Schwake @Midwest Top Prospect Games

Parker Schwake came to the Midwest Top Prospect Games, where he was able to show off some serious strength. He is a 6-foot-4, 200-pound frame with a ton of strength throughout. He’s also athletic, running a 6.95 60-yard dash at the showcase. He was physically in the batters’ box, and that’s where he showed the traits to like. He was able to stay short to the ball with quick hands and a ton of strength off the barrel. The ball was jumping off the barrel, and he produced a 100 mph exit velocity during PG Tech Testing. After seeing his BP and swings in-game, it makes sense. Schwake has tons of hand strength and speed to work through contact and impact balls hard. He earned a PG-9 at the Midwest Top Prospect Games, showing off the stuff with the bat. He showed off his tools, and it was a performance to remember.

Pick To Click: Kelvin Jones Jr. & Hudson Dinger

Kelvin Jones Jr., 2025, 1B/OF, Chicago, Ill.
One of the most impressive players this fall was Kelvin Jones Jr. He played up in Iowa with the Iowa Select Scout 2024 team and was downright impressive. The athletic 5-foot-10, 170-pound frame moves well with a medium frame. He has a nice balance of athletic and physical that allows him to find success. He stood out with the bat in his hands this fall, finding barrel after barrel, getting it done. Jones Jr. moves well. He patrols the outfield and has a quick first step; he can cover ground and get good reads. But the tools in the batters’ box showed this fall. Many times this fall, Jones Jr. found barrels and got on base. He’s got a quick left-handed stroke with tons of bat speed. He was able to use the whole field for success and find ways to get the job done. If someone is going to come out and make a statement in 2024,  Jones Jr. is one of the prospects who will get it done.

Hudson Dinger, 2026, CIF/RHP, West Fargo, N.D.
This fall, another impressive prospect that comes to mind was North Dakota’s own Hudson Dinger. The third baseman came to Prospect Meadows for a showcase and tournament with the Dakota Selects roster. Dinger’s new to the PG circuit, but after a really impressive performance this fall, I believe there’s even more in the tank with Dinger. He’s a 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-handed hitter with strength in a sturdy build. He swings it well, working with a short and quick stroke from the right side being able to work quickly through the zone. There was bat speed showing this fall with some strength to impact. But that is not all. Dinger has also gotten up on the mound, working up into the mid-80s on his fastball. He showed an 11/5 breaking ball in the mix with tons of projectable traits on both sides of the ball. Dinger has a chance to come out in 2024 and really show some further strides in his development.

- Tyler Kotila

Best Game I Saw

There’s several to pick from here with a talent perspective in mind, but the ones that always stand out to me are the games with a different feel of intensity. The bracket game at the Kernels Tournament this past fall between the Colorado Braves and Hitters 2024’s had just that. It was a low scoring and well pitched game. Starters Carter Wilcox and Tannis Lange both went 5+ innings and dominated missing bats on the mound. Hard throwing Nolan Buss struck out 6 in two relief innings. Catcher Shane Crough had the only multi hit game and Shane Togher closed it out for a 2-1 victory for the Braves. It was well played, competitive, meant something to both teams and really captured the attention of the quad that night. Those are the games that always stand out for me.

Best Tournament Performance

Cale Sudderth at the Midwest Shocker Classic tournament. Had multiple dominant performances on the mound at tournaments in 2023. Only faced two batters at the Shocker Classic and struck both out. The notable performance here was at the plate. Went 0-for-3 in the first game and then proceeded to not make another out the rest of the tournament over five more games. Finished the tournament going 12-for-15 with four extra base hits on his way to becoming tournament MVP. Hands down the best tournament performance I saw in 2023. 

Favorite Single Game Moment


Hagen Wright home run at the Kernels Foundation tournament in Iowa. There are home runs you see hit where your initial reaction is “that ball was hit well, it has a chance”. And then there are home runs hit where everyone at the field just knows right away. There’s a different sound, an instant reaction and this one had all those traits. Definitely the furthest hit home run I saw in any wood bat tournament in 2023 and the fact that it happened on a cold fall night made it even more impressive. It’s cool to see prep players with big raw power get to that power in games, so that’s the single moment that stood out most in 2023.

Biggest Showcase Breakout Performer
Tyler Guerin. I remember walking into the Minnesota Indoor Showcase in a blizzard sometime in March and so did a 6-foot-7 pitcher throwing in the low 90’s with a sharp breaking ball. Fast forward a few months and he’s on the mound in front of several area scouts and striking out 11 over 5 scoreless innings at the Kernels tournament in Iowa. There was a trip to the 2023 National Showcase mixed in there as well. Easily the most notable player that I learned about while at a showcase and a few months later is without a doubt a pro prospect.

Pick to Click
JD Dohrmann. A 2025 RHP from Missouri that certainly isn’t an unknown prospect but maybe not known nationally like I think he should be. I think this next spring and summer that’s really going to change. He’s gotten taller, he’s always been athletic, the delivery is clean, the stuff is already pretty good and I think there’s a chance he makes the jump and becomes one of the better pitching prospects in the 2025 class. He definitely has all the traits that elite pitching prospects have.

-Blaine Peterson

Best Game I Saw: 

Canes National 17u/NY Mets Scout Team vs. Power Baseball 2024 Marucci | July 23, 2023


In a game that featured eight PG All Americans, it was easily one of the more loaded games talent wise that I saw this year. It didn’t take long for the bats to get going as there were two home runs in the opening frame and five overall in the game. This game also featured six arms at or above 90 mph including two up to 94 mph for Canes National. As we look back at big games throughout the year, this one tops my list. 

Best Tournament Performance I Saw: 
 

Levi Clark | Southeast Memorial Day Classic | May 10, 2023
Coming off of a great showing in the high school season for the Walton Raiders, Clark came into the summer with a good amount of steam. He couldn’t have kicked it off in a better way, hitting .667 over a five game stretch with three home runs and two doubles. This really set the stage for what would be a standout summer for Clark which would eventually land him a spot in the PG All American Classic and cause his name to fly up draft boards. 

Favorite Single Game Moment: 
 

Lucas Ramirez | 17u WWBA National Championship | July 23, 2023
It can’t be understated how big of a swing that Ramirez came up with in the semifinals of the 17u WWBA National Championship. He came up in the bottom of the 7th down a run and smashed a ball over the scoreboard to send the eXposure 17u National team to the championship. From a summer with so many big moments, all take a back seat to this swing from Ramirez. 

Biggest Showcase Breakout Performance: 
 

Aiden Ruiz | Sophomore National Showcase | June 16, 2023
There were a bunch of standouts from the Sophomore National showcase earlier this year with a loaded 2026 class but Ruiz takes the cake for a breakout performer. He’s a great runner and can play multiple spots on the defensive side of things. The fluidity to the actions at shortstop really stood out. He’s a switch hitter with bat speed from both sides and some juice to the gaps. There isn’t much to not love about Ruiz and he broke out around some of the best players in the country. 

Pick to Click: 
  

Clinton Harris and Bo Walker are the two names in the state that put on quite the performances in Jupiter and I’m expecting them to build onto those this spring. Harris showed some really loud stuff, running the fastball up to 95 mph and he just turned 17 years old. Walker is easily one of the most athletic players in the state and shined at the plate in Jupiter hitting .450 with two bombs. I expect both to make a lot of noise in the high school season. 


-Cam McElwaney
 
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