Through out the season, our Exclusive aXcess members will be able to read our Insider Notes–observations from a scout’s perspective from the high school and college baseball games.
Today I was at Hauppauge vs Hills West as well as Commack vs Connetquot. Here are my takeaways from some of the top performers in the game:
Brian Morrisey:
Final: Commack 7, Connetquot 0
WP: Brian Morrisey (7 IP, 2 H, 14 K) pic.twitter.com/yIZE1mZy2w— aXcess Baseball (@axcessbaseball) April 10, 2017
The Stony Brook-commit was lights out. He struck out 14 in a two-hit shutout with two walks against one of the best offensive attacks in Suffolk County. Here’s what he did well:
- Morrisey has very smooth and repeatable mechanics for a 6’4″ prep pitcher. Typically, young pitchers with these types of slender frames will take much longer to find a consistent release point and have trouble having synchronized movements. He has none of these issues, he only lost the strike zone on one occasion, and quickly bounced back after the 5-pitch walk
- He worked backwards often. High School hitters like to find a pattern against pitchers. Usually it is fastballs early in the count and their go-to breaking ball when they are ahead. Morrisey routinely threw breaking balls and change ups early in the counts. Since he was able to throw a get-me-over breaking ball, it got hitters into a quick 0-1 count and were very uncomfortable for the rest of the at bat. When you can do that and back it up with an 87-89 MPH heater, you generate terrific strike out numbers as he did. He showed a strikeout breaking ball as well, with more 11-5 movement that he kept down in the zone. His change up was a real weapon. In the fourth inning, when he ran into trouble with a lead off double, a walk and a HBP, he showed some real intestinal fortitude going to his change up against Jared Yalon and he spotted it beautifully just above the ankles for an inning-ending strikeout. That sequence really impressed me, because a lot of pitcher’s would’ve reverted to their primal instinct and overthrow in that spot.
- He fielded his position well. With great stuff like he has, he’s going to generate a lot of ground balls towards the mound. He showed great mobility and hands to make all of these plays look easy.
- He wore his heart on his sleeve. This was their first test of the year and he knew that it wouldn’t be a cake walk. After every big strikeout, he showed his emotions and it really fired up his team.
Peter Theodorellis
Everyone continues to underestimate the reigning League I MVP, but they always come away impressed after watching a full game. He does nothing but hit. In this game, he led off with an infield single in which he advanced to second on an error, to third on a ground out and scored on a sacrifice fly. He then hit a long RBI triple over the center fielder’s head, singled through the 5.5 hole before finally being retired on a deep fly out to the warning track in center.
He has a very unorthodox swing, he often gets out on his front foot and his foul balls almost resemble a tennis backhand swing, but he just gets the job done. Since he has such exceptional bat control and hand-eye coordination, he’s able to get hits on pitches that he is fooled on. He’s a front foot hitter, and with his speed he is able to beat out ground balls. Coach Ambrosini wanted his pitchers to bust him in to tie him up, but he was able to lay off the inside pitches until he got the one he could handle.
He also stole second base, and played a very smooth center field. He’s an electric player and I agree with Coach Bonin batting him leadoff to get him the extra at bat and let him use his speed.
Tim McHugh
He committed to TCU before he stepped a foot in a varsity box. He’s gotten off to a very good start, though, and today he went 1-for-2 with an RBI single, infield pop out, walk and HBP. He has a swing that resembles a classic softball player, but he has such tremendous strength in his hands that he will be able to compensate for it.
He hit the RBI single up the middle on a fastball that was located middle-in, he showed his bat speed to drive it up the middle and generate enough spin to get it past the shortstop.
Ryan Levenberg
What a performance for the freshman! He showed some real grittiness on the hill. He touched 77 MPH with his heater, but Head Coach Josh Gutes said in one inning spurts he can touch 81 MPH. That is impressive for a young left-handed pitcher. He should already be on the radar of the local Div-I schools. Hills West is a well-coached team, they are disciplined enough not to expand the strike zone, but he still struck out six. He hides the ball very well, almost like Madison Bumgarner. He had no issues with command, he showed a very nice breaking ball that was more of a slurve and he located it to both sides of the plate. He really only got in trouble in one inning and he was able to bear down, and not let the inning get out of control. He allowed two runs but it was really just mishandled by the catcher on a botched suicide squeeze that easily could’ve been an out. Very good ability of working all quadrants of the strike zone. It should not be overlooked that he faced a Div-I pitcher that easily could’ve unnerved him but he kept his head on straight and got the job done. He also helped himself with a single against Camarda.
Connor Cutino
Before the season, Coach Gutes spotlighted him as a kid that could surprise. He was stuck behind the League 5 MVP in the depth chart last year but he was patient and remained a good teammate. Now he has his chance and he’s really capitalized on his opportunity. He really stood out in this game. He smoked singles in his first two at bats. These were not cheap hits, he showed great balance, bat speed and extension. In the field, he made a very nice running catch with his back to home plate. For a kid that had never been a varsity starter, he really asserted himself and looked like he belonged on this afternoon. He also drew a walk and then was robbed of a hit in his fourth at bat on a well-struck ball down the third base line.
Brad Camarda
This was not the best outing to evaluate him on. Do not let it overshadow the pitcher he has been in the past. He led Long Island in wins and outpitched James Kory as a sophomore in his varsity debut. First, let’s go over his strengths and what he did well today:
- He throws strikes. Having fastball command is still the most important aspect of pitching. He commands his fastball to both sides of the plate.
- His breaking ball is a weapon. It is a true out-pitch, with a devastating 12-6 drop. He can throw it for strikes or locate it out of the strike zone which is a skill itself.
- His pickoff move is very advanced. At this level, it completely curtails the running game, it’s enough to make even the best base stealers stay at bay.
He did make a number of mistakes over the middle of the plate, though, which the Hauppauge hitters made him pay for. At the next level, those are extra-base hits but the varsity hitters will typically line it for a single.
Again, this wasn’t his best performance but he has proven to be an established pitcher and he can shut down almost any line up. I expect him to bounce back in his next outing.
