On Monday, 67 players and 24 coaches braved the cold and made the trek to Massapequa for the Diamond Spikes Showcase. Plenty of talented players were in attendance and I wanted to do a recap of the event with the top 10 players, but I couldn’t limit it to 10 so here it goes…
Robbie Manetta, Farmingdale (2020)
Manetta put himself on the map as a freshman hitting a three-run home run at Port Washington. He’s continued to develop and he is one of the best players in the 2020 class when you consider the full package; he’s a catcher, he has a smooth left-handed swing, he can run a 4.1 down the line and he can still grow. He displayed his ability during BP and his athleticism in the infield. Additionally, his brother is the SS for SUNY Old Westbury, so he comes from an athletic family. In my opinion, he’s a scholarship player at a top Division-II or mid Division-I right now.
Pavlos Papoutsakis (Clarke 2020)
He had the highest exit velocity in the showcase at 91 MPH. He has some serious pop and can have a big impact this season for Clarke. He can generate even more power by utilizing his lower half more. Runs well for his size, 4.3 down the line. Also showed great hands at 1st base.
Brian O’Boyle, Bethpage (2020)
O’Boyle was definitely one of the players that generated the most buzz. He had many of the 24 coaches talking about him. He ran the fastest of the entire group of players. His 3.78 was by the far (relatively speaking) the quickest. He also displayed his athleticism on ground balls at SS. He moved very well to his right and had soft hands when using his backhand. At the plate, he had a great round of BP. His 85 exit velocity was among the best in attendance. Great athlete, well-rounded player.
Grant Goodlad, Southside (2019)
Grant Goodlad (Southside 2019) 82-83 with good arm action pic.twitter.com/fkNhtB2hl4
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 21, 2019
I was pleasantly surprised by the showing of Grant. His summer coach told me he shot up in terms of height recently which has only now put him on the radar of colleges. That height and his great arm action translated into 83 MPH off the mound and 85 MPH on his outfield throws. He used a three-pitch mix, which included a 70 MPH curveball and 74 MPH change up. Additionally, he was one of the best athletes in attendance, as he ran 4.07 down the line. While he is more advanced on the mound, he also can handle the bat. His exit velocity of 77 MPH is not elite but he made consistent contact and is still a contributor at the plate.
Andrew Smith, Southampton (2020)
Smith has one of the lefty swings that are beautiful to watch. He has recorded an exit velocity of 89 MPH off a tee and has a very strong arm from the outfield. I think right now he is a Division-II scholarship player because of his current skillset. Coming back from a lower body injury but is back to 100 percent now.
Joe Brasky, Kellenberg (2019)
He was another of the players that had the coaches talking. He had the best pop time (2.01), which is already college-caliber. He had an exit velocity of 80 MPH. He touched 80 MPH off the mound and he also had two good offspeed pitches.
Joe Reda, Massapequa (2020)
Joe Reda (Massapequa 2020) pic.twitter.com/AWuGja3B59
— Axcess Sports (@AxcessSports) January 22, 2019
Reda was among the best defensive players in attendance, displaying his athleticism during groundballs. He makes the routine plays and occasionally can flash the leather and make the spectacular play. Very good footwork, quick transfer and accurate throws. Ran a 4.1 down the line. At the plate, possesses good hand-eye coordination, made contact consistency.
Ryan Umano, Massapequa (2020)
Ryan Umano (Massapequa 2020) pic.twitter.com/UT8WpJjLk0
— Axcess Sports (@AxcessSports) January 22, 2019
Umano has great hand-eye coordination at the plate. He can generate more power by extending more after making contact. He had one of the stronger arms from the outfield throws.
Tucker Genovesi, East Hampton (2021)
Genovesi is only a sophomore and already has two years of experience at the varsity level. He recorded an exit velocity of 84 MPH, which just narrowly missed out on being the best in the showcase. He is very advanced for his age and is comfortable with going the other way. He ran a 4.13 down the line. Also, he had one of the strongest arms among the infielders.
David Safirstein, Syosset (2020)
One of the best pitchers in attendance. He was 78-81 MPH consistently with great arm speed and a sharp breaking ball down in the zone at 67-69 MPH. He is a good athlete that ran 4.12 down the line as well. He just needs to work on developing a third pitch to disrupt the hitter’s timing.
Chris Gentile, Plainedge (2020)
Gentile was probably the best defensive player in attendance. He is a gifted athlete that’s also been a contributor on Plainedge’s Nassau County winning football team this season. He can handle the bat, showed very good bat-to-ball skills.
Nicholas Classie, Longwood (2020)
His violent cut was what stood out to me. That’s the type of swing that generates power and does damage. A catcher with power is among the rarest of commodities. If he improves his foot speed, he could really improve his stock.
James Merlino, Ward Melville (2020)
One of the more polished pitchers in attendance. He was 76-80 MPH with a good feel for pitching. He threw three pitches for strikes and has the advantage of playing at Ward Melville, which is notorious for developing pitchers.
Kyle Sharkey, Kellenberg (2020)
Sharkey was very impressive. He had one of the smoothest swings, and he had an exit velocity of 84 MPH. I think he is a college-caliber bat.
Michael Mkrtichian, Bethpage (2019)
One of the better pitchers in attendance. He was consistently in the 79-80 MPH range with command of a 65-67 MPH curveball. Great arm action as well, definitely a college pitcher at some level. Just needs to develop change up.
Danny Deutsch, Northport (2020)
Uncommitted Danny Deutsch (Northport 2020) pic.twitter.com/9XtxcVL4Jp
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 20, 2019
A left-handed pitcher with command will never be not useful. Deutsch is the prototypical crafty lefty, topped at 77 MPH with a nice breaking ball. Also had a 82 MPH exit velocity, and it’s possible that he’s more advanced as a 1st baseman than pitcher at the moment. Showed a very nice left-handed swing that produced line drives all over.
John Gillespie, Massapequa (2019)
Anytime you have a 6’7″ left-handed pitcher, you have to pay attention. Due to a health situation in the past, his velocity had been severely diminished, but he is back to full health and working on re-gaining his velocity. He topped at 76 MPH, but he has loads of untapped potential considering he can simply add 10 MPH by gaining weight. He is extremely thin and putting on any type of muscle and working on smoothing out his arm action could make him an impact pitcher in college. Additionally, he has a very unique delivery which would make him worth it simply as a situational lefty. His 59 MPH bugs-bunny curveball probably feels like it takes an eternity to reach home plate and would drive hitters nuts in college.
