Over the past year, I’ve had the opportunity to watch many of the top arms on Long Island between games, showcases or even just a bullpen session. Here is my best effort at a list of the best of the best. We will go through them in alphabetical order.
All pitchers will be assigned an “aXcess Grade” which is out of 10.0 and based upon a number of variations; i.e velocity, command, repertoire, age, projectability, body language.
Ryan Aloise (St. Joseph’s ’17)
aXcess Grade: 7.8
Aloise had a spectacular 2016 season, taking the role of ace for St. Joseph’s. He’s not a particularly hard thrower but he does generate lots of groundballs with his hard two seamer and gets swings and misses with his breaking ball. He was the winning pitcher against Johns Hopkins in St. Joseph’s College first regional win in program history. He will be their workhorse this year once again. He allowed only 59 hits in 71 innings and just one HR last year which shows how he has been able to limit damage.
Ron Bauer (Molloy ’17)
aXcess Grade: 7.9
Bauer had a tremendous 2016 following a rough 2015 season. He led the Lions in wins (7), ERA (2.26), IP (83.2) and AVG (.187). He did all of that despite walking 46 batters with 56 strikeouts. He almost threw a no-hitter early in the season as well. I watched him pitch twice–once at LIU Post and once at Dowling. Both times his command abandoned him at times but against Post he recovered and still didn’t allow the base runners to come around to score. At Dowling in the ECC Playoffs his command issues did lead to a grand slam by Bobby Morse. Overall, Bauer had a fantastic season and will enter the season as the ace of the Lions. The reason he is able to escape so many jams is because he is mentally tough and his high 80s fastball and 12-6 curveball leads to lots of weak contact which is generally turned into outs thanks to their terrific infield defense. Michael Rahn, Kevin Podell and Angelo Navetta helped him navigate through many jams.
Ben Brown (Ward Melville ’17, Siena ’21)
aXcess Grade: 8.4
Ben is a 6’5 pitcher that earned his way into the spotlight by winning seven games as a sophomore. He had incredible poise and pitchability for such a young pitcher. Last year, he suffered through a rib injury that forced him to miss much of the season, but Siena still saw enough of him to award him a scholarship. He will be the ace of the Patriots this year. The scary thing about Brown is that he has two uncles that are over 6’8″ and he has not stopped growing. He has a chance to be that tall and with him current mechanics, he could gain another few ticks and touch 90 MPH before he enters college. Pitching in League I of Suffolk means that he has already been exposed to top-notch baseball. He has what it takes to get drafted.
Brad Camarda (Hills West ’17, Hofstra ’21)
aXcess Grade: 8.5
I’ve watched Camarda pitch once–it was in the season-opener of his sophomore year. As you can see in the video, he has very clean mechanics and gets good drive from his back side. In 2016, he was the ace of Hills West and won eight of the team’s 13 games. He is a big-game pitcher and will be one of the early favorites to win the Paul Gibson Award this year.
Chris Cappas (Kellenberg ’17, University of Pittsburgh ’21)
aXcess Grade: 8.9
I’ve watched Cappas pitch once and it was in the Catholic League championship against St. Anthony’s in which he was lights-out. He is a southpaw that has the upper 80s velocity and great command. He is a potential two-way player in college, but he also has the chance to get drafted this year. A few teams are in on him already. The Catholic League always seems to have a couple of the best players on Long Island every year and Cappas is certainly one of them.
Harrison Cohen (Cold Spring Harbor ’17, George Washington ’21)
aXcess Grade: 8.6
Cohen is a hard thrower that hit 90 this summer. I have not watched him in person, but he has a great stride length that maximizes his velocity. Playing against the smaller schools means that Cohen can dominate with just his fastball. Still, it would certainly benefit him to work on his offspeed pitches as he prepares for Div-I baseball. His confidence in his fastball is a great trait as a power pitcher and should translate well to the next level.
Jason Coules (Bellmore JFK ’18, Fordham ’22)
aXcess Grade: 8.8
I watched Coules face Wantagh’s vaunted lineup in the Nassau County championship. With his unique delivery, he sailed through six innings using a high 80s fastball that he located well up in the zone to induce weak popouts and swings-and-misses. He is just a junior, but will be the ace and will have some attention with his velocity creeping up towards 90 and a penchant for strikeouts. His delivery is a bit unique because he arches his back at his balance point before exploding forward. Not many pitchers employ this type of delivery but is certainly works for him. He will be an early favorite for the Diamond Award.
Jake DeCarli (LIU Post ’17)
aXcess Grade: 8.3
I’ve written about DeCarli a lot in the past. He was the ECC Pitcher of the Year and Baseball on the Island Cy Young in 2015 when nobody could figure out his two-seam/slider combination. He suddenly became more hittable in 2016. I watched him pitch both years and it really appeared the difference was his intent on pitching to the radar gun in ’16. He had never been a strikeout pitcher, he relied on his deceptive release point and pinpoint command of all quadrants of the strike zone. He was effective at 83-86 MPH. This year his velocity creeped up, but he was working in the middle of the plate more. Entering his senior year, it will be interesting which version of himself shows up but I do expect he will be much more closer to the 2015 version. It is possible the switch to aluminum bats effected him to an extent but that is just a theory. His knowledge of pitching in-and-out and mixing up speeds is very enjoyable to watch, and I do think he will return to being an ace.
Antonio Deodato (Wheatley ’17, LIU Post ’21)
aXcess Grade: 8.6
It is clear that if Deodato just threw a couple of MPH harder, he would be getting looks from every Div-I. He is in the range of many prep southpaws, 78-83 MPH, which pidgeon-holed him to a Div-II school. His mechanics are extremely clean which leads me to believe a jump in velocity will only come with physical maturation and not from any mechanical tweaks. What he does have is the ability to take the ball in big games and dominate any team. He was the ace of the Long Island Titans and was always the pitcher that got the ball in big games. He won the Class C Long Island Championship and LIU Post is fortunate to have a pitcher that has the intestinal fortitude of a Div-I pitcher.
Matt Diaz (NYIT ’17)
aXcess Grade: 8.7
Diaz is a senior at NYIT and he is a name to keep an eye out for on draft day thanks to his fastball which has peaked at 95 MPH. I watched him pitch at our Battle of the Border game last June and he was impressive. What stood out to me is how he utilizes his backside to generate the most power he can. He allowed less than a hit per inning while striking out more than a batter per inning last season as a junior. He will be their ace entering the year and if he shows that kind of velocity out of the gate there is no reason he shouldn’t get drafted. He could refine his command a bit more, as his 26 walks in 48 innings is a tad too much for a pitcher of his ilk and it would certainly lower his ERA.
Jason Diaz (Kellenberg ’19, University of Miami ’23)
aXcess Grade: 9.0
Diaz is an interesting case because he has not pitched in a varsity game yet but everybody knows who he is thanks to the big-time fastball and commitment to Miami. He clearly has nothing to gain by playing at the JV level with a 92 MPH heater. He will play varsity as a sophomore and will probably not even have to mix up his pitches much–but scouts will be taking notice of how he develops his in-game strategy because he will have to prove he can throw it for strikes in games.
Aaron Glickstein (Stony Brook ’19)
aXcess Grade: 9.4
Everybody that I’ve spoke to has absolutely raved about Glickstein. His 2014 season in which he went 10-0 and allowed virtually nothing was the kind of performance that leaves lasting impressions. It was unfortunate that he required Tommy John surgery right before his senior year at Hills West but he should be back at full strength now. Glickstein has an uncanny ability to throw everything in the bottom of the strike zone and make hitters expand out of the zone with uncomfortable hacks. He can touch 90 MPH and mixes in a premium changeup and curveball on top of that. He has a repeatable delivery that should allow him to pitch deep into games and he’s the type of workhorse that smells blood in the later innings and finishes what he starts.
Joe Greco (Bellport ’17, Sacred Heart ’21)
aXcess Grade: 8.6
Greco is another one of the Bellport players that Coach Batewell called up as an underclassmen due to his advanced ability. The experience paid off as he is now among the top players on Long Island and is a two-way player. He performed extremely well this summer on the mound and was rewarded with a Div-I scholarship. He has an upper 80s fastball, fluid mechanics and is aggressive in coming after hitters.
Anthony Jacabacci (Bellport ’18)
aXcess Grade: 9.0
I watched Jacabacci pitch against East Islip and he was very impressive. He was in the 80-84 MPH range as a sophomore and figures to be in the high 80s before he graduates high school. With Neal Heaton as his pitching coach, it is no surprise he has an advance feel for pitching and a plus change up. He only allowed two hard-hit balls and really showed a plus ability to nail both sides of the plate against both lefties and righties. His pickoff move is also a weapon and not many people will be running on him.
Dan Jagiello (LIU Post ’17)
aXcess Grade: 9.1
The West Islip grad was all the buzz when the season started last year thanks to his performance in the Cape Cod league. He scared some scouts away in his second outing of the season at St. Edwards when he allowed 10 hits in three innings and was in the upper 80s with his heater and not the 96 that they saw the previous summer. He did, however, recover after that. He allowed only 1 ER over his final three starts (spanning 21 IP). He is still a pro prospect considering his 6’2″ frame and easy mechanics. He will need to come out of the gate strong and maintain his dominance through out the year. The Astros have been high on him in the past and he is definitely a name to keep in mind come June.
Jimmy Joyce (Wantagh ’17, Hofstra ’21)
aXcess Grade: 9.2
He was lights out for Wantagh during their New York State Class A championship run. When I watched him in the Nassau County championship, you can see he was overpowering the hitters on Bellmore from the beginning of the game. He cruised through six innings, but lost his command in the seventh inning when he walked four batters. Coach Sachs stuck with him and it paid off as he struck out the final batter to end the game. Despite the loss of command, it was impressive that he was able to regain his form and not let the game get away from him. He was named NYS Class A Player of the Year. He has the chance to be a two-way player in college, but at this point he is more advanced as a pitcher.
Kris Killackey (Stony Brook ’18)
aXcess Grade: 8.5
Our 2016 Cy Young award winner put himself on a map with a 9-0 season. I actually haven’t watched him pitch in-game but from analyzing the tape, he profiles as a classic power pitcher with a quality overhand 12-6 curve and the ability to pound the lower third of the strike zone. Not a big guy, he generates power in the way that Roy Oswalt did, with an aggressive falling action towards the plate which gets his momentum going towards the plate and no wasted motion. He will have much more of a challenge in the caliber of opponents he will be facing. He had the benefit of facing many mediocre teams last year at Suffolk but the America East will obviously be a challenge.
Bobby Lewis (MacArthur ’17, Quinnipiac University ’21)
aXcess Grade: N/A
I have not seen Lewis pitch, but he is a hard-thrower with big-game acumen. MacArthur has been a factory when it comes to developing college players over the past several years and Lewis fits the mold of another in a long list of hard throwing Generals that play at the next level.
Cody McPartland (Franklin Pierce ’17)
aXcess Grade: 8.9
McPartland had two different seasons for Dowling in 2016. He started 0-4 and the league was hitting .300 against him. He turned his season completely around and was not only a workhorse but also dominated. He works in the high 80s and has a wipeout slider. Now at Franklin Pierce, he will be getting heavily scouted. He has pro-pitcher written all over him. The one thing I’ll be curious to see is how his velocity evolves as the game goes on. In the ECC playoffs, he was 88-89 in the early innings and was 84-86 in the latter innings. He has enough pitchability that he can get by with location and mixing up his pitches, but that is a red-flag for scouts if that is an ongoing trend. I would like to see that velocity hold being that he is a senior and has experience pitching deep into games.
Brian Morrell (Shoreham-Wading River ’17, University of Notre Dame ’21)
aXcess Grade: 9.6
Morrell is the hardest throwing high schooler on the list. He continues to develop his velocity despite being only 6’0″. He hit 94 MPH this summer at a Perfect Game tournament. He has great command and also has a 11-5 curveball that generates a lot of swings and misses. I watched him pitch twice last year and he was lights out both times. In the first game, he struck out 19 against an overmatched East Hampton team. In his playoff start against Rocky Point, he pitched well but he did show a propensity to fall in love with the curveball too much. They attacked early in the count in the early part of the game and he sailed through four innings, but then he ran into trouble when he ran out of gas in the later innings and his velocity dropped into the high 80s and he compensated by throwing more than 50% breaking balls. That could’ve been a case that he felt his fastball wasn’t enough to get it done, but in high school that will still overpower most hitters. He enters 2017 as the reigning Carl Yastrzemski Award winner and hitters will definitely have a hard time squaring him up.
Brian Morrissey (Commack ’17, Stony Brook ’21)
aXcess Grade: 9.1
Morrissey flew under the radar last year but after committing to Stony Brook, he is now on the map. At 6’4″ and lanky, he has the protoypical projectable build. He is a true prospect and has a chance to get drafted this year if he dominates League II. He touches 90 and has great command. He is the type of pitcher you have confidence in giving the ball to in a big game and knowing that he will deliver.
Andrew Mundy (Hofstra ’19)
aXcess Grade: 9.0
The first thing that comes to mind when watching Mundy is his striking similarities to Masahiro Tanaka. He has great run on his two-seam fastball and no difference in his delivery on his breaking ball. I did hear that he recently began favoring his slider over his curve–which was always an outpitch for him. I’ve watched him pitch twice. The first time was in the above All-Star game, where he dominated all three batters. I also watched him pitch at Army, where he was squeezed by the umpire and it resulted in a scewed stat line of three runs over two innings. He is only a sophomore and his pitching coach was his Head Coach in high school–which is huge for his development. I think he will have a much better season and will become a top-of-the-rotation starter.
Max Nielsen (Ward Melville ’19, UCONN ’23)
aXcess Grade: 8.7
Nielsen put himself on the map by firing consecutive one-hitters on varsity as a freshman. He did struggle the rest of the year, but UCONN saw enough in him to lock him up during his sophomore year. I watched him pitch in a fall league game. He has clean, repeatable mechanics and sits in the 79-82 MPH range with his fastball. He has command of his breaking ball as well. They are clearly seeing something in his delivery that would indicate a big velocity jump because they typically look for more velocity in their pitchers. He is young enough and a student of the game that would suggest the jump will come. Of course having played two years of League I varsity baseball is a great sign that his best days are still ahead of him.
Matt O’Connor (Adelphi ’17)
aXcess Grade: 8.0
O’Connor is a crafty lefty that relies on command of all his pitches. That command was stellar all last year and allowed him to post a 2.62 ERA with only 16 walks. He only struck out 35, but with his ability to expand the strike zone, he does not need strikeouts to succeed. The quality of their infield defense will be very important to his success, and those weak ground balls must be converted to limit base runners.
Liam Pulsipher (Center Moriches ’18, Stony Brook ’22)
aXcess Grade: 8.7
It is easy to see he is the son of a Major Leaguer with his advanced feel for pitching. Pulsipher has very clean mechanics and he has vicious run on his two-seam fastball. Playing against the small schools, his low 80s fastball will get swings and misses, but he will rely more on the development of his change up in college. He is very thin, which means he could add some weight in the next year and probably gain 3-5 MPH on his fastball and suddenly become a strikeout pitcher in college.
John Rooney (Hofstra ’19)
aXcess Grade: 9.7
Rooney has the highest ceiling on this list, in my opinion. I watched him pitch multiple times last year, first as a reliever than as a starter. It is clear his future is as the ace. He touched 95 MPH as a freshman in the Hamptons League. I expect him to put up huge strikeout numbers as a sophomore, he fanned 77 over 71.2 IP as a freshman. He definitely has room to improve his command, he walked 32 last year. Rooney went 36-0 during his HS career and did not throw a change up or attempt a pickoff move due to his velocity. He had to figure that out on the fly as a freshman. With a year under his belt now, I expect him to improve drastically in terms of limiting base runners and especially in limiting extra base hits. He did allow 19 extra base hits–too much for an elite pitcher. There is no doubt in my mind that he will be drafted in 2018.
Josh Rovner (Pat-Med ’17, Adelphi ’21)
aXcess Grade: 8.3
Rovner has clean mechanics and shows poise on the mound. We covered one of his starts in which he went eight innings against a tough Floyd lineup at Ducks Stadium. Adelphi got a steal with him. Like Ben Brown, he has been facing top competition for two years and is not fazed by the big moment. He pounds the strike zone and has command of a 12-6 curveball. It takes a lot to impress pitching coach Neal Heaton, but he speaks glowingly of Rovner. He will be the ace of the Raiders this year and has a chance to be in the conversation with the elite prep pitchers in the northeast.
Matt Seelinger (Farmingdale State ’17)
aXcess Grade: 8.8
Seelinger put himself on the map by winning the Nassau County Class A championship at Clarke in 2013. He followed that up by winning the Skyline Conference championship game as a freshman. After a disappointing sophomore year in which he lost his command, he responded in a big way in 2016 and was named the Pitcher of the Year. He is a workhorse, with the ability to go seven innings in every outing. Farmingdale has had a few aces over the past decade (Tom Heeman, Chris Phelan, Mike Dolce) and I expect him to be the one that gets drafted. Seelinger is consistently in the high 80s and can touch 90 MPH with a hammer 12-6 curve. If his command is as good as it was last year and he can excel against the top-tier teams, he will get lots of attention as draft day nears.
T.J. Santiago (Adelphi ’17)
aXcess Grade: 8.9
Like Seelinger, Santiago had a rough sophomore year but bounced back in a big way in 2016. He also has a chance to get drafted. His low 3/4 arm slot makes him death on righties when his command is on. The New Jersey native has a real chance to get drafted as well and his performance in March will go a long way in determining his value.
Chris Stefl (Floral Park ’17, St. John’s ’21)
aXcess Grade: N/A
Stefl is extremely underrated. It bothers me that I have not been able to watch him pitch yet, but a 6’3″ southpaw with an 86 MPH heater and a scholarship to one of the best programs in the northeast warrants a spot on this list.
Peter Theodorellis (Commack ’17, Farleigh-Dickinson ’21)
aXcess Grade: 8.6
He is the classic example of not judging a book by its cover. He is only 5’7″, but has the tenacity and repertoire of an ace. I watched him pitch at Sachem East and he barely broke a sweat in the victory. He works quick, throws strikes and mixes it up. Theodorellis is an intense competitor, also a middle-of-the-order hitter that recorded a hit in every game last year. He will compete with Morrissey for the title of staff ace.
Bobby Vath (Newfield ’18, University of Rhode Island ’22)
aXcess Grade: 8.0
Vath has a herky-jerky motion with a crossfire delivery that makes him very tough to square up and gives him tight spin on his breaking ball–which is really a slurve. I watched him pitch last year against Riverhead and he was very impressive. He is very competitive as well, not wanting to come out of the game. He is very thin, which makes him a candidate to have a big velocity jump before he graduates in 2018.I would like to see him get a little more extension on his delivery which would add to the velocity as well. The combination of Vath and Kyle Johnson gives Newfield hope that they could break their playoff-less drought.
