College

Player Name: Frankie Moscatiello School: St. Thomas Aquinas Position: RHP Frankie is a 5’8″ freshman RHP for St. Thomas Aquinas, that is a 2014 graduate of Rocky Point HS. He pitched exclusively from the stretch in his relief appearance on April 2. When he gets set his hands are relax, waist high and his feet are very close together. His motion is extremely similar to another 5’8″ RHP from Long Island–Marcus Stroman. As he lifts his leg, he looks down at his feet as a timing mechanism, and his hands are head-high. His back leg is virtually locked and his foot is parallel to the ground. He has a violent, yet controlled delivery. He explodes towards home plate, has a very long stride and lands with his foot lined up with home plate. His front foot is extremely b...

Player Name: Jesse Berardi School: St. John’s University Position: SS Jesse is a 2014 graduate of Commack HS. He was the recipient of the prestigious Carl Yastrzemski Award. He batted .423 with 13 XBH and 25 runs scored. Offensively: He is a prototypical top-of-the-order hitter. He does all the little things right. He will work a count, wait for a pitch he can do damage with and utilize his speed to get on the bases. He bats with his back elbow up and a slightly crouched stance. He uses a rhythmic approach to hitting–with a decently high leg kick which allows him to utilize every bit of his strength to drive the ball. He stays inside the baseball well and uses his hands to get to the ball rather than yanking his front side open. At the point of contact, he employs a strong Powe...

Player Name: Josh Outsen School: St. Joseph’s Position: RHP Josh is a 2017 graduate of St. Joseph’s College and 2013 graduate of Copiague HS. He is a 6’1″ RHP. He was named to Baseball on the Island’s 2015 All-Long Island team after compiling a 1.32 ERA. From the windup he takes a small step back with his glove at belt height as he enters his delivery. At his balance point, he has a firm back leg, a high leg kick with his front foot parallel to the ground and his eyes on the ground as a timing mechanism. He doesn’t get much drive from his back side. He hunches his back to generate his low 3/4 arm angle, which creates a lot of deception on right handed batters. He has a good stride and lands with his front foot pointing towards home plate. He gets good ex...

Player Name: Anthony Bonilla School: St. Joseph’s Position: OF Anthony is a 5’9″ CF that is a 2013 graduate of Farmingdale HS. Offensively: He stands crouched at the plate, with his feet about shoulder width apart, his back elbow up and a bat wag as the pitcher prepares in the stretch. As the pitcher gets set, he cocks the bat back and get into his hitting position. He has a small toe tap and not much of a leg kick. He has quick hands and he follows through with both hands. It was somewhat reminiscent of Nelson Cruz’s swing. In the April 1 game, he had three hits in five plate appearances. We’ll break down each at bat. 1st At Bat: Fouled off first pitch, swung-and-missed at fastball at the knees, took fastball outside, smacked a single to CF on a fastball. 2nd...

Player Name: Ryan Aloise School: St. Joseph’s Position: RHP Ryan is a 6’1″ pitcher that is a 2013 graduate of Sayville HS. He begins his windup by stepping back to the side as he begins his delivery. At balance point, he has a straight back leg, a very high leg kick–above the legs–with his toe pointed directly down and his glove over his head. As he begins his falling action, he brings his front leg directly towards home plate, not wasting any motion. He keeps his eyes locked on the target throughout the delivery. He generates good drive with his backside and stays closed until the very last second before he lands, which enables him to generate a lot of torque. The arm circle is long, as he points the ball towards right field. The stride is good and he lands w...

Player Name: Bobby Honeyman School: Stony Brook Position: Infielder Bobby is a 6’0″ 180 lb infielder for Stony Brook University. He is a 2014 graduate of Massapequa HS, where he was named All-State. Offensively: He has a smooth. picture-esque left-handed swing. He bats with a slightly open stance, legs about shoulder width apart, and his back elbow high. He has a slight bat wag as he prepares to get into his swing. He has a small toe-tap as a timing mechanism. He has quick hands and has a balanced swing, which enables him to hit any pitch. The pitch in the video above is above the top-half of the strike zone, but as you can see, he has his bat on a level-plane and was able to extend his hands. He doesn’t really finish his swing completely, not quite as extreme as Chase Ut...

Player Name: Toby Handley School: Stony Brook Position: CF Toby is a 6’1″ 170 lb outfielder for Stony Brook University. He is from Whitby, Ontario. Offensively: He has a very relaxed batting stance, with his feet spread very wide and his bat resting on his back shoulder. As the pitcher gets ready to release the ball he takes a very slight step as he gets prepared to swing. He is very quick to the ball and gets into a good hitting position and generates power from his back side. In the March 11 game, he went 1-for-4 with a walk. He led off the game with a terrific at bat. He fell behind 0-2 on the count, but it appeared he became very comfortable in that position. You can almost say the at bat started after he fell behind 0-2. He fouled off a good curve low in the zone, took a c...

Player Name: Bret Clarke School: Stony Brook Position: RHP Bret is 6’3″ 170 lb pitcher from Royerford, PA. He is a 2019 graduate of Stony Brook. He begins his delivery with a long step back as he drops his glove and prepares for his delivery. He takes an aggressive leg kick to generate force. At his apex, his leg his high and tight, with his momentum already moving forward towards home plate. His back leg is firm and his foot is pointed down, with his eyes locked on the target. He swings his leg out as opposed to towards home plate. This is used by MLB pitchers such as Scott Kazmir and A.J. Burnett. It is not ideal but as long as the arm swing is in synergy with the body, it will not affect command. He generates great drive from his back side, which leads to a very healthy stri...

Player Name: Andruw Gazzola  Photo Credit: Jesse Borek School: Stony Brook Position: 1b Written by Jesse Borek Andruw is a 6’0″ 190 lb graduate of Longwood HS. After spurning the University of Louisville and the prestigious Atlantic Coast Conference, Gazzola decided to stay home and join Stony Brook.   Offensively: While the Cardinals wanted him as a pitcher only, Stony Brook saw a middle of the order bat—an honor for a true freshman.  A left-handed hitter but right-handed fielder, Gazzola possesses a sweet, compact stroke that allows him to use all fields.  He keeps his back elbow bent prior to the pitch. In Stony Brook’s America East Conference opener against Binghamton on March 15-16, Gazzola caught fire, going 7-for-13, in addition to two walks.  Playing his fourth game in ...

Player Name: Nick DiEva School: Stony Brook Position: RHP Nick is a 6’0″ 180 lb freshman pitcher from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He has a very quick and aggressive delivery. He steps back very briefly and begins his leg kick. His hands are held low but he raises them head-high at the next phase of the delivery.His balance position is very sound. He has a straight backleg and has a tight leg kick that is about letter height. He keeps his eye on the target throughout the delivery. He does not drive with his backleg very much. His front leg lands bent but raoidly straightens out. He throws directly over the top and finishes square to home plate with a slight fall off to the first base side. In his March 16 outing, he threw 3.1 innings, allowing seven hits and five runs ( 0 ER). He s...

Player Name: Tim Knesnik School: Stony Brook Position: RHP Tim is a 6’2″ 190 lb junior pitcher for Stony Brook from Milford, PA. In his windup, he steps back very slightly. He has a smooth, sound delivery. His legkick is pretty high–it’s above the letters. He keeps his backleg bent at the balance point and keeps his front foot parallel to the ground. His eyes are locked on the target throughout the delivery. His arm circle is pretty long and he brings it as far down as possible which eliminates deception. He gets a lot of push off the backside, which is crucial for a thin-framed pitcher. The front led is bent at the landing point but he is able to straighten it out. The arm angle is low 3/4, similar to Roy Halladay. He finishes square to home plate. With men on base...