High School

Player Name: Austin Mars School: Hicksville Position: RHP Austin is a 2017 graduate of Hicksville HS. He has a very efficient and compact delivery. He is very similar to Major Leaguer Jeremy Guthrie from a delivery aspect. He does a lot of things well. He has a very short step back prior to getting to his balance position. He keeps his eyes locked on the target through out his delivery. He has a high leg kick–about letter high. He has a firm back leg and keeps his front toe pointed down. To generate torque he begins his falling action at the apex of his leg kick as opposed to coming to a halt. For a shorter pitcher, that is a great way to compensate for what he lacks in height. He also gets very good pushoff on the mound from his back leg which allows his stride to be longer than his...

Player Name: Tyler Needleman Position: P School: Herricks Tyler is a 2017 graduate of Herricks HS. He is 6’2″ 205 lbs. In the summer of 2015, he went 9-3 on the mound for Next Level Baseball. He begins his windup with his hands held high around his face but brings them down as he steps back. At balance point, he has his leg pointing towards second base to generate torque, similar to AJ Burnett in the MLB. He keeps his back leg firm and has his eyes locked in on the target through out the delivery. He gets good drive from his back leg. The arm circle is very long, showing it to the hitters during his falling action towards the plate. He adds some deception to the batter by landing where he does–creating a cross-fire appearance like Jake Arrieta. His arm angle is high 3/4. ...

Name: Jon Faraci School: Hills West Position: 3b Jon is a ’15 graduate of Hills West and committed to play at St. John’s in the fall. He is a massive 6’4″ 230 lb slugger. He is an imposing presence at the plate. He stands tall prior to the pitcher entering the stretch position, but he crouches down more as the pitcher is preparing to throw. His feet are roughly shoulder width apart and his back elbow is up. The bat is close to upright. He has a very short stride and keeps his head on the ball well. The bat is very quick to get into the zone and he creates tremendous lift with the angle of his swing. He employs a strong power L and has quick wrists. He keeps both hands on the bat. Offensively: In the March 30 game, he had a very productive game with a home run and a ...

Name: Brad Camarda School: Hills West Position: RHP Brad is a RHP that has a very smooth and sound delivery. He begins with his hands shoulder height in the windup. He takes a small step back as he prepares for the balance point. He looks down at his feet as a timing mechanism as prior to the leg kick. He lifts his leg letter-high at the balance point. His back leg is stiff and his toe is parallel to the ground. He utilizes his back leg well to drive off the rubber. He lands on line with home plate, his front leg is slightly bent but he straighten it out at the point of release. His eyes are not on home plate at release point, but by that point he is already locked in. He gets good extension on his pitches and finishes balanced and facing home plate. In his March 30 start, he was virtually...

Player Name: Mike Demarest School: East Islip Position: 3b Mike is a 5’11” strong, middle-of-the-order hitter for East Islip. He is a two-way player.Mike is a 2015 graduate that is committed to playing at Adelphi University in the fall. Pitching: Mike had a phenomenal season for the Red Men. He went 9-1 and was named League IV MVP. In the All Star Game, he threw one shutout inning. He threw only 6 pitches. He worked mainly in the 84-86 MPH range with the fastball and 73-75 MPH with the curveball. He induced a weak infield fly on the first pitch, which was a 75 MPh curve that was over the middle of the plate, The following batter took two strikes (86 MPH, 74 MPH) before getting a ground out to second on 73 MPH curve. The following batter smacked a first-pitch fastball for a sing...

Player Name: Casey Krebs School: East Islip Position: RHP Casey is a RHP for the East Islip Red Men. He begins his windup with his hands held high but as he steps back, he brings them all the way down. He glances at his feet as a timing mechanism. His leg kick is rather high–it is around the letters. At balance point, his back leg is slightly and he refocuses on the target. His foot is parallel to the ground. During the falling action, he gets very good drive from his back leg and kicks out slightly with his front leg. He has a long arm circle, but he hides the ball well and it creates deception. His stride is long and he lands with a flat front foot and point home. The front leg is bent but recoils back upon release. His arm action is over-the-top.The extension is very good and he f...

Name: Brandon O’Brien School: Division Ave. Position: RHP Brandon is a 6’2″ 160 lb RHP for Division. He is a 2017 graduate and is currently uncommitted. He has pretty clean and fluid mechanics. He begins with a slight step back along the rubber as he lowers his hands, as he gets prepared for his leg kick, he raises his hands to about head height and has his leg just above the belt. His back leg is firm and his front foot is parallel to the ground. He gets terrific drive from his back leg during his falling action and has good linear direction towards the plate. He has a very long arm circle. He could have a little longer stride for his 6’2″ height, and he also lands with his front foot pointed off-center. While this could help cause more deception, it could al...

Player Name: Dave Brehm School: Connetquot ’15, LIU Post ’19 Position: CF Dave is a 2015 graduate of Connetquot HS. He has had a terrific senior year in which he led the Thunderbirds to the Suffolk County AA title for the second time in four seasons. Offensively: He is a real threat at the plate. He bats with a very crouched stance, with his legs about shoulder width apart. He keeps his bat almost parallel to the ground, he employs a bat wag and he keeps his back elbow way up. He has a very short stride, he simply lifts his up and puts it down. He has very quick wrists, he stays closed well and gets into a strong Power L position. He finishes with both hands on the bat and stays on top of the ball. Brehm has showed the ability to hit the elite fastballs. In game two of this ser...

Player Name: Travis Bruinsma School: Connetquot Position: RHP Travis is a senior pitcher for Connetquot that is headed to Dowling in the fall. He has a unique delivery, but it is part of the reason he is difficult to hit. He begins his windup with his glove around the ball and looks down at his feet as a timing mechanism. He regains focus on the target as he is approaching the balance point. He has a very high leg kick–above the letters. His back leg is slightly bent and his front foot is parallel to the ground. Here is where his delivery gets funky. If you pause the video at 00:15 you can see. His posture is nearly straight up due to an extremely short stride. This is something that sacrifices velocity and, generally speaking, makes it difficult to locate down in the strike zone. He...

Player Name: Thomas Murphy Position: P School: Chaminade Thomas Murphy is a 2016 graduate of Chaminade HS. He plays travel ball for the Next Level Titans and is a very gifted student. The 6’3″ RHP begins his delivery with his hands held covering his eyes and steps back slightly. He has a good balance position with a high leg kick, a firm back leg and his eyes locked in on his target. He is a class drop and drive pitcher that utilizes his strength from his pushoff leg. He has a deceptive arm circle because he cups his wrist making it difficult for the batter to pick up. He lands with his front foot open slightly which can turn into some control problems but that can be fixed with some reps in the bullpen. He throws directly over-the-top and really gets good extension on his pitc...

Player Name: Sal Fradella Position: RHP School: Chaminade ’15, Villanova ’19 Sal is the ace pitcher at Chaminade HS. He is coming off an 8-win season. He will be headed to Villanova in the Fall. From the wind up he pitches with good pace. He steps back pretty far as he prepares for his delivery. He keeps his hands down around the belt and stays locked in on his target. At his balance point, his hands are head-high and his leg kick is shoulder height and his back leg is firm. He us a drop-and-drop pitcher that gets significant push off from his back leg. He has a pretty long arm circle and he points the ball deep behind him. The arm angle is directly over the top, he has a long stride for his height. He lands flat on his foot and gets decent, but not great follow through. In his...

Player Name: Steven Hansen School: Chaminade Position: RHP Steven is a 2017 graduate of Chaminade HS. He has a good pitcher’s build and has plenty of room for physical maturation. He begins with his hands low and a slight step along the rubber to enter his wind up. At his balance point, he has his back leg firm and a high and tight leg kick with his front foot pointing up. He keeps his eyes locked in on the target. He is already moving forward at this point, ready to generate power moving towards the plate. During the falling action, he drops his back leg significantly, which is conducive for power. He kicks his leg out, as opposed to straight forward. I would prefer to see the latter, but at this stage of his development it is probably not something he will alter. He has an extremel...