The site was Max Effort Baseball in Farmingdale, where we hosted our second annual MLK Day College Showcase.
The event drew 83 players and 23 college coaches. It featured a number of impressive individual performances. Here’s a quick rundown of some players that garnered attention from the college coaches and from myself.
William Polanco Jr (Bishop Loughlin 2021)
Polanco caught everyone’s attention with his play, just like the player beneath him on this list. He displayed soft hands and the ability to control his body moving laterally on defense. Big and physical, using wood he had an exit velocity of 91 MPH. His 84 MPH from the outfield was just narrowly second in attendance and ran 4.74 seconds to first. A no-doubt Division-I player, borderline pro prospect.
Henry Garcia (James Monroe 2021)
Garcia displayed excellent athleticism and a solid arm. His raw arm strength of 85 MPH was the fastest at the event. A physically impressive player, had an exit velocity of 94 MPH with wood bat which was the best in attendance. Additionally, he was one of the fastest players running 4.54 seconds to first. A no-doubt Division-I player, borderline pro prospect.
Andrew Alameda (Farmingdale 2021)
Alameda was just a notch below the aforementioned players in most measurables. He stands 6’1 215 lbs and is very athletic. He ran 4.79 seconds to first base, he threw 81 MPH from the outfield and recorded an exit velocity of 87 MPH. On the mound, he was in the low 80s with his fastball, 64 MPH with his curveball and 68 MPH with his change up. He is a high-end Division-II player, borderline Division-I player.
Sam Schneider (Southampton 2020)
Sam Schneider (Southampton 2020) at 78-81 with a sharp 12-6 breaking ball pic.twitter.com/2BYbJSfPbI
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 20, 2020
Sam is the prototypical crafty lefty, but he had a little extra gas in the tank on his last two pitches. He was mainly 79-80 MPH with his fastball, but touched 81 on his last two pitches. A couple things about him I like – he uses primarily a two-seam fastball. It has a lot of armside movement. Most pitchers will rely on their four-seamer to throw hard. This tells me he prefers to get the horizontal movement and induce soft contact then try and get swings-and-misses. In his high school league, that is plenty of velocity to get swings-and-misses. At the college level, he can be successful at the Division-III and probably Division-II level with command of the outer half with a two-seamer. Additionally, he showed a pretty devastating 12-6 curveball that can be a true weapon at the college level. He’s also rail thin, so there’s a very good chance being on a good workout program and new diet can see an uptick in velocity into the mid 80s. He also showed off some wheels. His 4.49 speed to first base was among the tops at the event.
Patrick Dalton (Bethpage 2021)
Dalton was on everyone’s radar during his bulpen session. He sat 79-82 MPH and touched 83 MPH. He’s 5’10 and has clean mechanics. He’s a durable pitcher that has routinely won big games in tournament settings. Pounded the zone, mixed in two offspeed pitches for strikes and even showed athleticism with his 4.67 speed to first. Ceiling of a Division-II pitcher.
Kyle Gaertner (MacArthur 2020)
Kyle Gaertner (MacArthur 2020) pounded the strike zone sat 80-82 MPH pic.twitter.com/Og8kyVFRPG
— Axcess Baseball LI (@axcessbaseball) January 20, 2020
Kyle is a college pitcher in my mind. I’ll preface this by saying I’ve seen him in-game, and he’s a competitor cut from the same cloth that many MacArthur pitchers have in the past. While he’s not an overpowering pitcher, he has enough to get the job done. He worked primarily in the 80-82 MPH range but touched 83. I think he has the ceiling of a Division-II reliever or Division-III starter. He pounded the strike zone, he also had command of three pitches; mixing in a 71 MPH curveball and a change up with the same arm action. Gaertner is a capable middle infielder as well, he showed great lateral agility to get to balls on either side of him and ran a 4.86 down the line. He’s a winning player that can play at the collegiate level.
Elvis Zavala (Queens HS of Teaching 2020)
Elvis is rail thin but generates some impressive bat speed for a player listed at 115 lbs on Perfect Game. He’s a left-handed hitting/throwing first baseman. He displayed some good foot work around the base but his real calling card is his bat. He produced exit velocities in the low 80s with a high of 85. He made solid contact consistently. There’s always a place in the lineup for a hitter that has elite bat-to-ball skills.
Dariel Nunez (Lindenhurst 2020)
Dariel was one of the more advanced hitters in attendance. He recorded exit velocities as high as 84 MPH and consistently found the barrel. He also recorded an arm strength of 77 across the infield, showing clean footwork and reliable hands. Ran 4.92 down the line.
James Goff (Connetquot 2021)
Goff was the starting second baseman on Connetquot’s County Championship winning team last season as a sophomore. He is one of those players that is hard-nosed and competitive in-game which is tough to dissect in a showcase setting. He ran 4.92 seconds to first base, played great defense and recorded 74 MPH exit velocity at the plate. Great complimentary piece on a winning ballclub.
Matt Gordon (West Islip 2021)
Gordon was one of the better all-around performers as he did well in all facets. He showed good speed with a 4.68 down to first base, he also recorded 83 MPH exit velocity at the plate and was 81-83 MPH on the mound with a 65 MPH curveball and 63 MPH change up.
Zach Rovner (Pat-Med 2021)
The younger brother of Adelphi RHP Josh Rovner, he has a thin frame but uses a clean arm action to generate good velocity for his size. He was 77-78 MPH, but there’s certainly more in the tank as he fills out and matures. He threw strikes consistently and had a good speed differential on his off-speed pitches. He was 63-65 MPH with his curve and 69-70 MPH with his change up. He has the makings of a big-time varsity pitcher with the potential to be an impact pitcher at the Division-II level.
Frank Whitenack (Plainedge 2020)
Frank’s older brother, Robert, was drafted out of SUNY Old Westbury in 2009. While Frank may not possess the high powered fastball of his older brother, he certainly knows how to pitch. He worked in the 78-80 MPH range with his fastball and worked low in the zone. He also had a 63-65 MPH fastball that he uses as a strikeout pitch, and his change up was 68-69 that keeps hitters off balance. He has the demeanor of a seasoned pitcher, having pitched in many big games between Plainedge and the LI Titans.
Matthew Serrata (Ozone Park 2020)
Serrata certainly looked the part, as he was silky smooth at SS. That’s the first thing that caught my eye as he not only had good footwork but also had the ability to make the play on-the-run and throw from multiple arm slots. He ran a 4.9 to first base and showed an 82 MPH raw arm strength across the diamond. Solid player, certainly worthy of a Division-III or II spot.
