PLYMOUTH MEETING – Baseball is a game ruled by the numbers.
Since the sport’s inception nearly 150 years ago, batting average, RBI, home runs, ERA and strikeouts have been at the forefront of every discussion surrounding the national pastime, the standard barometer for assessing individual seasons and playing careers.
In scouting, the numbers are preeminent, too, providing a quantifiable basis for evaluating a prospect’s potential. Bat speed, running speed, arm strength and defensive skills are easily measured by radar guns, stop watches and the naked eye.
The thirst for sabermetrics has led to even more statistical fodder for the seamheads – WAR, OPS, WHIP, DRS among the latest innovations in the advanced field of baseball analytics and data science.
Last week at All-Star Baseball Academy’s two-day Academic Prospect Camp at the Villanova Ballpark at Plymouth, there were other pertinent numbers entering the equation.
Sure, the 60-yard dash times, pitching velocities, catcher pop times and overall performance in the drills and games from an offensive and defensive standpoint meant something, but the 120-plus college hopefuls brought something else to the field along with their bats, gloves and spikes that was of great interest.
Things like GPAs and SAT scores.
The camp featured colleges with lofty academic reputations and rigid guidelines for admission. Included in that impressive group were coaches from the following schools: Bard, Brown, Bucknell, Catholic, College of New Jersey, Columbia, Davidson, Dickinson, Duke, Fordham, Franklin and Marshall, George Washington, Gettysburg, Hamilton, Harvard, Haverford, Holy Cross, Johns Hopkins, Lafayette, Lehigh, MIT, Muhlenberg, NJ Institute of Technology, NYU, Penn, Pomona-Pitzer, Princeton, Stevens Tech, Swarthmore, Trinity, Tufts, University of the Sciences, Ursinus, Villanova, Washington and Lee, Washington College, Wesleyan and Williams.
“All-Star does a very good job with these showcases – it’s well organized,” said Lee Saverio, an assistant coach at Villanova. “This event is good because of the academic (component), as most of the kids here will qualify. When I recruit a kid, the first thing I ask for is the transcript.”
By the numbers
Top pitching prospects
Thomas Primosch (2017) 6-3 RHP (Germantown Friends) Philadelphia – 88 mph
Joe Miller (2018) 5-11 LHP (La Salle College High School) Hatboro, PA – 87 mph
Alec Bales (2018) 6-1 RHP (WC Rustin) West Chester, PA – 85 mph
Luke Allain (2018) 6-1 RHP (The Hill School) Pottstown, PA – 85 mph
Nick Maiorano (2018) 6-2 RHP (WC Rustin) West Chester, PA - 84 mph
Colten Smith (2019) 6-1 RHP (Germantown Academy) Colmar, PA – 84 mph
Michael Audet (2017) 6-1 RHP (Lenape) Mount Laurel, NJ – 83 mph
Alex Marlow (2017) 5-11 LHP (Bel Air) Bel Air, MD – 82 mph
AJ Kawczynski (2018) 6-3 RHP (Haddonfield) Haddonfield, NJ – 82 mph
Nicholas DeFeo (2017) 6-4 RHP (Haverford High) Havertown, PA – 82 mph
Carter Ryback (2017) 6-0 RHP (McDowell) Erie, PA – 82 mph
Luke Riccardi (2017) 6-0 RHP (Marlborough) Morganville, NJ – 82 mph
Hitting Standouts
INF-Jon Moldoff 2018 (Westtown) West Chester, PA – 4-5, 3B
RF/P Evan Matthews 2018 (St. Joseph’s Prep) Philadelphia – 3-3, 2B on Day 2
INF Bo Anderson 2018 (Tower Hill School) Wilmington, DE – 3-4, .1000 OBP
CF/LF Daniel Cotler 2017 (Columbia) Maplewood, NJ– 3-4, 2B
OF/P Nicholas Argentieri 2017 (Archbishop Carroll) Philadelphia – 3-5, 2B
SS/C Elijah Taitel 2018 (Golda Och Academy) Short Hills, NJ – 3-5
OF/C Ryan Bealer 2018 (North Penn) Lansdale, PA – 3-6, 2 2Bs
INF-Mike Papaleo 2017 (Fordham Prep) Yonkers, NY – 2-2, 2B on Day 2
P Evan Bowman 2018 (Lower Dauphin) Harrisburg, PA – 2-2
2B/SS JJ Freeman 2017 (Downingtown West) Downingtown, PA – 2-3, 2B, 3 BBs
C/1B Andrew Todaro 2017 (Springfield, M) Springfield, PA – 2-4, 3B
C/3B Colin Conway 2017 (The Kincaid School) Katy, TX – 2-5, 2B
Catchers (Pop Times to 2B)
Will Hoffman 2017 (Harriton) Wynnewood, PA - 1.96
Colin Conway 2017 (The Kincaid School) Katy, TX – 1.97
Richard Carey 2017 (NA) 1.97
Matt Szczesny 2017 (Perkiomen Valley) Schwenksville, PA – 2.00
Devin Kaker 2018 (Westfield) Centreville, VA – 2.00
Tyler Shaffer 2017 (Kettle Run) Warrenton, VA – 2.00
60-yard dash
OF/P Nicholas Argentieri 2017 (Archbishop Carroll) Philadelphia - 6.69
CF/SS Jacob Weinberg 2018 (Pine Richland) Wexford, PA - 6.75
3B/P Alec Bales 2018 (WC Rustin) West Chester, PA - 6.79
CF Dan Schick 2018 (CB East) Furlong, PA - 6.80
SS/P Jake Topolski 2018 (Lenape) Mount Laurel, NJ - 6.80
OF Michael Ukrainskyj 2017 (Seton Hall Prep) Westfield, NJ – 6.86
OF/C Ryan Bealer 2018 (North Penn) Lansdale, PA – 6.90
CF/RF Michael Prisias 2017 (Archbishop Wood) Doylestown, PA - 6.98
OF Jimmy Harris 2017 (Southwestern) Hanover, PA - 6.99
C/OF Tyler Shaffer 2017 (Kettle Run) Warrenton, VA - 6.99
OF Sammy Siani 2019 (Penn Charter) Glenside, PA – 6.99
What they’re saying
Ryan Bealer (OF/C) 2018 (North Penn) Lansdale, PA
Evaluate the camp: “ASBA did a great job. They kept things moving and it was very organized. I liked seeing the written evaluation from the coaches.”
What will you take from this camp: “It was a decent level of competition and I thought I performed well. I was happy the way I hit and played in the field.”
Tom Jacobs (C/3B) 2017 (Avon Grove) LincolnUniversity, PA
Evaluate the camp: “I have been to ASBA Showcases before, and things are done right and in a timely manner.”
What will you take from this camp: “I am looking at Lehigh, Lafayette, Villanova and Franklin and Marshall
right now and those schools were all here. My
performance was OK – I could have done better. The competition was fairly decent and I was up against some guys I know and have played with.”
Zach Masalski (P/1B) 2017 (Phoenixville) Phoenixville, PA
Evaluate the camp: “There were a lot of good college programs here with the actual coaches. It’s great for college exposure. (ASBA) did a good job moving things along and I especially like the written evaluation from the (college) coaches.”
What will you take from this camp: “I thought I did well at the plate (two doubles) and a good job on the basepaths and in left and center field. I thought I could have done better pitching.”
- Log in to post comments
0
