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Who Were The Top Performers At Saturday’s Unsigned Senior Showcase?

One of the beauties of attending a showcase is that it affords you the opportunity to display your skills in front of coaches that otherwise wouldn’t see you. When you combine an event like Saturday’s Blue Chip Prospect unsigned senior showcase with a platform like Axcess Baseball, I think it’s a winning combination.

Yesterday was a great event because there was about 40 seniors that are looking to play college baseball and about a dozen local schools that are looking for quality players. Considering the circumstances that these players have had to endure during their biggest year of high school baseball, it’s definitely worth being in attendance.

As is always the case, a number of kids really stood out and I’m really glad that I’m hopefully able to provide some exposure and be that conduit to them playing at the next level.

Here’s some players that really impressed me.

Colin Rhein, North Babylon

For our audience, you may remember Colin from his outing in May 2019 in which he took a no-hitter into the 7th inning against Walt Whitman. He was pitching for Lindenhurst at the time, but he has since transferred to North Babylon. He finished with a 1-hit shutout as the final out was recorded at the plate on a memorable play. At that time, he was pitching in the high 70s, low 80s. He completely took his game to the next level since that time, apparently. I saw some jaws drop when his first pitch was 88. Maybe it was an error? Nope, the next several pitches were all in that range with a few scattered 89s in there. Not to be outdone, he also added in a pretty vicious 12-6 curveball at 72 MPH. He was lights-out, he repeated his delivery and he got swings-and-misses. He stands 6’4 and has virtually no miles on his arm. This is a kid that will be off the market pretty soon if yesterday was any indication. His high school coach told me he’s a great kid with a great family, which is always a good thing.

Level: High-end Division-II, Borderline Division-I

Max Effort Baseball

Ryan Opak, Holy Cross

Opak has been very, very impressive at the last two showcases I’ve seen him at. The first thing you notice is the arm strength from the outfield. He was 83 and 84 in the outfield and throws the ball on a line to the plate. He ran a 6.83 60-yard dash which translates in the outfield and on the base paths. Offensively, he hit the ball all over during batting practice – including the home run in the above video. He also hit a third to right center field in the game.

Level: High-end Division-II

Frank Santeramo, Garden City

I really liked the clean arm action and the classic glove-over-the-head before the wind up. It was a little reminiscent of the late Roy Halladay’s delivery. He sat in the low 80s and touched 84 and complemented that with a nice 65-67 MPH curve and 75 MPH change up. He stands 6’1 165 lbs so he can add some more velocity as he puts on weight.

Level: Division-II

Jack Hughes, Kellenberg

I really liked his fastball command and repeatable mechanics. He was certainly one of the most effective pitchers today. He was 81-82 MPH with a 71 MPH curve, 77 MPH slider and 78 MPH change up. It’s a little unusual to only have a three mph difference between the fastball and change up but with vertical drop it can still be effective. It’s also a plus to have two breaking balls to give hitters another wrinkle to worry about. I haven’t seen him in-game action outside of the showcase, but he strikes me as the type of no-nonsense pitcher that wants the ball in a big game.

Level: Division-II

Tim Wozny, The Stony Brook School

Last time I saw Tim play he was an eighth grader on the Dominican Republic trip with Sal Agostinelli. He has since shot up to 6’3 and added plenty of velocity. In the outfield, he had the hardest throw home (87), but I think his impact is on the mound where he was 83-84 with a few 86s. He also showed a pretty nasty 77 MPH splitter which got some swings and misses. I would like to see the fastball command improve but  I think that could’ve just been a case of nerves. The delivery and arm action is clean enough where I think that can be improved.

Level: Division-II

A.J. Joya, Central Islip 

I don’t want to sound like a broken record because I just wrote about him last week. But he did everything well again this weekend. The outfield arm strength really jumps off the chart at 85 and he can curtail extra bases with that ability. He’s very athletic as well, his first step burst is more impressive than his 60-yard dash would indicate. His 60 was 7.18 but he’s a 1.76 in the 10-yard split. Offensively, he ripped a double off the fence. He was certainly one of the best couple hitters in attendance.

Level: High-End Division-II

Mike Freda, Hills West

I definitely feel guilty for not including him on the top uncommitted players list last week. I think he proved this weekend that he is deserving. He stands 5’10 230 lbs but he runs well for his size. What he does exceptionally well is handle a pitching staff, he recorded pop times of 2.08 and 2.09 – very accurately – and he can track down the bunts very well. Offensively, he is a middle-of-the-order hitter. He’s the type of player that has always handled the bat well, and played varsity as a freshman. He put on a good performance during both batting practice and the game.

Level: Division-II, High-End Division-III

Tristan Seijo, Baldwin

It’s really nice to see players from schools that are not baseball powerhouses show up to events like this. They are historically underscouted and it’s not fair to them. I was unaware of Tristan until today. He showed off his arm strength at SS with an 81 MPH throw across the diamond. The only downside is that he did not attack the ball and seemed a little too deliberate in his approach to the ball. But you can’t teach that kind of arm strength and he showcased it on the mound as he dialed it up to 83 MPH. He threw strikes and he threw quality strikes. I think he’s more of a pitcher, as he used the same long arm action in the field as he did on the mound.

Level: Division-II reliever

John Keane, Shoreham-Wading River

John kind of flew under-the-radar at Shoreham during his sophomore year but he was the No. 3 starter on an absolutely loaded team. He will likely play a big role on the team once again this year as both a pitcher and position player. He put on probably the best BP display with three HR in 12 swings which was impressive. He also was solid on the mound with 79-80 MPH fastballs that he was able to locate.

Level: High-end Division-III

Anthony Quatromani, Farmingdale

Anthony plays for Body Armor Titans and Farmingdale HS so right off the bat that tells you he is accustomed to playing in big games. He plays with a certain calmness that is important when playing in high stress environments. He plays SS/3B and is the type of infielder that will make the plays. He has a very quick first step which allows him to make the plays towards the line or charging in. He also turned a quick double play. The arm strength was in the low 70s. At the plate, he has a line drive approach and he got a hit through the left side in the game and immediately stole second base. He’s more of a line drive/base hit hitter. He can also help on the mound. The velocity was 75-76 MPH but he threw strikes and he could deliver some innings in relief when necessary.

Level: Division-III

Tucker Schiavoni, Pierson

When you play at a small school on the east end it’s very difficult to get the attention. But Tucker showed off a very strong arm behind the plate, he was 76-78 MPH to second base and as low as 2.04 pop time. I think that alone is worthy of a spot on a college team. He showed good receiving skills as well, so I’m confident that he could help a team at the college level.

Level: Division-III

Tyler Smith, The Stony Brook School

Tyler is a big bodied catcher at 6’2 225 that certainly looks the part a masher. He put on a nice display during BP and has recorded exit velocities in low 100s. His arm velocity behind the plate was 77 which is plenty strong enough. He can certainly be an impact player at the next level.

*UPDATE* Committed to St. Peter’s University

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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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