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Who Were the Top Performers at Today’s BCP Long Island Showcase?

Each year, Blue Chip Prospects hosts a bevy of showcases on Long Island which features some of the top uncommitted players across this great region. They play in front of dozens of college coaches, hoping to garner interest from them and continue their baseball careers after high school.

Today, 63 players showed up at Mitchel Field with 20 colleges represented.

Some of these schools were St. John’s, Fordham, University at Albany, Monmouth, LIU, Stony Brook, Hofstra, Sacred Heart, Farleigh-Dickinson, Manhattan, Iona, NJIT, Farfield, Adelphi, NYIT, Molloy, Pace, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Joseph’s-Brooklyn and Stevenson.

From my perspective, these events are great because I have the opportunity to see such a high volume of elite players all in one location. Sometimes there’s high-level players that slip through the cracks and I haven’t seen. Sometimes they are young and this is their first showcase. Or sometimes I have seen them and this is more data for me to use for my evaluations. In any event, it’s a win-win.

Here’s a list of some of the top performers during the day. Apologies if I overlooked anyone, but this is my best attempt.

Bobby DiCapua (West Islip 2020)

Unless you’ve been under the rock the past two seasons, you probably have heard of DiCapua. He came up as a sophomore and led West Islip to the Long Island Championship in which he started in front of 1,200 fans at Old Westbury. He followed that up with a 0.94 ERA this season over 61 IP. Most of those runs came in the postseason, before that he was untouchable. He’s filled out and is now in the 82 MPH range with his fastball, but his bread & butter is definitely his command and his demeanor. Regardless of the circumstance, he’s cool as a cucumber. DiCapua appears as a great fit for a local Division-II school. I believe he would be a successful starting pitcher in the NE-10 or ECC tomorrow. He has many of the same characteristics as NYIT All-American pitcher D.J. Masuck this season.

Corey Phelan (Harborfields 2020)

We covered a game back in April when Phelan started and he was terrific that game, earning the win. He’s a legit two-way player that has a chance to do so in college at the Division-III and possibly low Division-II level. On the mound, he had arguably the best lefty fastball at 82-84 MPH and complements that with a nice hook. He actually has many of the same qualities as incoming Hofstra freshman Will Kennedy. At the plate, he showcased some pop, ripping a line drive to left that happened to be right at the fielder. He has no nerves on the mound which serves him well.

Cole Maucere (West Babylon 2021)

This was my first time watching him, but he was certainly impressive. He showcased some serious pop during BP and then backed that up with a well-struck triple in the game. He batted .322 this season as a sophomore. With his sweet-swinging lefty approach I am not surprised.

Mike Prisco (Newfield 2020)

Prisco has been on my radar for quite some time as he was called up as a freshman to catch on varsity. He has all the talent in the world and has garnered some local Division-I interest in the past but he just needs to avoid the injury bug at this point as he enters his senior year. He is well-built at 6’2″ 200 lbs and a beautiful swing. This season he batted .408 with 18 RBI over 76 at bats with Newfield. He’s long held the potential, we’ll see if schools value him as a catcher or first baseman.

Nick Sampogna (Wheatley 2020)

Sampogna just hits every time I see him. I first saw him taking BP at Common Sense Baseball before the season and I said this kid looks like a natural hitter. He backed that up by hitting .500 over 56 at bats this season with 27 steals. He was outstanding at Prospect Launch last month and continued to rake today with a triple to left center field in the game. With a swing like his to go along with top-level speed, I don’t care if he’s 5’9 or 4’9. That type of impact is useful at any level. Players like him fly under the radar because of the size, but then wind up going to a Division-III and hitting .400 with 70 hits per season and going All-Region.

Tyler Galletti (Plainview JFK 2020)

Galletti was the best defensive player in attendance. His 75 MPH arm strength was tops among all catchers. He just looks the part. His bat doesn’t have the pop yet but he has great bat control and that’s why he hit .405 on varsity this season with 17 RBI.

Nicholas Classie (Longwood 2020)

Classie might be slightly behind Galletti in terms of defensive capabilities but he was the best offensive catcher, in my opinion. He has a violent cut that he displayed at the Diamond Spikes showcase back in January. It’s hard to get production from the catchers’ spot so players like him are highly-valued. He batted .404 with 12 RBI this season for Longwood.

Nick Roselli (Division 2021)

Roselli looks like a ballplayer. He oozes confidence and has the sweet lefty swing. He is a plus-defender in the middle of the infield with a 77 MPH velocity across the diamond. He did get caught looking by Ventimiglia, but plenty of players have been victims of his curve in the past and he won’t be the last.

Kenny Franquiz (Mepham 2020)

This was my first time watching Franquiz but he caught my attention for sure. He showed off a cannon across the infield. He was second among all infielders with 82 MPH velocity from SS. He also stepped to the plate and smoked a triple to left center field. The Mepham rising senior batted .410 with 29 RBI for Coach Passman this season.

Francesco Geraci (Bayport-Blue Point 2020)

Geraci comes from an athletic baseball family, as his brother Sal played at LIU Post. He was on varsity as a 9th grader and has shown his ability to hit the top pitchers in Suffolk Class A. He has a muscular build at 5’9 185 lbs, which benefits him at a plate. He has a lot of pop for his height, and is a solid infielder that can play second, third or SS.

Michael Ciminiello (Smithtown East 2020)

Mike was right there with Phelan in terms of fastball velocity for a lefty. He was 82-83 MPH but has touched 85 in the past. He had some issues missing up in the zone but I’ve seen him in enough game action to know that he knows what he’s doing out there. This season, he was 3-0 with a 0.38 ERA and 26 Ks for Smithtown East. Had they not been so stacked with arms he would’ve pitched a lot more. Next year, he should anchor the rotation. In the field, he showed his steady hands and quick feet. He also smoked a line drive to left field that was caught. At 6’0 190 lbs, he’s got good size for a pitcher, I think he’s a borderline Division-I pitcher but definitely a high-end Division-II pitcher.

Anthony Albertsen (West Babylon 2021)

He almost reminded me of a mini-Jacob DeGrom (minus the velocity). He’s got the hair, the ultra-slender build and the delivery. At 5’11 132 lbs, it’s amazing he’s even able to touch 80 MPH. He could live in a buffet for the next couple week’s and still be thin. Nevertheless, I’ve seen him pitch this summer and he’s impressive. He stays down in the zone and gets ground balls.

Lucas Prokosch (Newburgh Academy 2020)

Lucas is from upstate NY so this was his first time appearing on Axcess Baseball. He was the hardest thrower in attendance, sitting in the upper 80s. It was a pretty sight to watch as his fastball exploded out of his hand and generated plenty of swings and misses. It’s hard for me to speculate why he’s still uncommitted with that electricity in his arm, but just based on today’s outing he’s a Division-I reliever.

Tommy Ventimiglia (Longwood 2021)

If you paid any attention to our playoff coverage this season, you are familiar with the ‘sophomore sensation’. Ventimiglia has nerves of steel and he’s probably going to be the ace of Longwood for the next two seasons along with one of the top pitchers in Suffolk County. He was 4-0 with a 0.28 ERA as a sophomore in League I. Much of that came in the postseason once it became clear he was the alpha. He’s low-to-mid 80s with a devastating hammer and he throws strikes at will. Division-I pitcher.

Gavin McAlonie (Miller Place 2020)

McAlonie has had a tremendous summer and is one of the leading hitters on the vaunted BodyArmor 2020 team. With 6.85 speed, it’s no wonder why he’s able to reach base so routinely. Additionally, he showed power to all fields during BP. He’s not simply a 5 o’clock hitter either, as I’ve seen it in the games as well. He went 3-for-3 against Shoreham-Wading River back in late-April against a Boston College-commit on the mound. He’s the real deal.

Alessandra Gullo (Chaminade 2020)

After graduating some critical seniors on their Championship-winning team (Logan Koester, Aidan Larkin, Paul Orbon, Bobby Dahl), Chaminade will be looking for some youngsters to step up. Could he be the guy? Gullo retired all six batters he faced. Not a hard-thrower, but you know I love my crafty lefties and he certainly fits the mold. Command to all quadrants of the plate, and especially on the top of the strike zone (the toughest for young pitchers). Very impressive southpaw.

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Vinny is the President of Axcess Baseball. He is a 2013 graduate of Adelphi University and he is currently the Long Island area scout for the San Diego Padres

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