Day 5 Jupiter: Brown, Leach, Naylor, Skirrow
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
Before heading to the airport, the DBacks Langley Blaze had another exhibition game on the St. Louis Cardinals complex Monday at Jupiter, Fla.
Clayton Keyes (Calgary, Alta.) tripled, singled and knocked in two runs as the DBacks Blaze fell 11-8 to the East Cobb Astros.
Rhys Cratty (Surrey, BC) tripled in a run, while Hit-A-Day Danny Berg (Saskatoon, Sask.) singled to keep his streak alive.
Jake English (London, Ont.) started and allowed six runs on six hits in 1 2/3 innings. English was clocked at 88.6 mph. He threw 56 pitches (34 strikes). Michael Stovman (Maple Ridge, BC) took over and allowed five runs on four hits and four walks. He fanned five in 4 1/3 innings.
Inside the Roger Dean Stadium, the 88-team Perfect Game WWBA World championship tournament came to an end. The No. 12-seeded North Carolina-based Dirtbags Baseball (7-0-1) knocked off the No. 18 Team Elite Prime (7-1-0) 4-2.
Some Canucks found their way into the daily Perfect Game scouting blogs: RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) who used to pitch for the Ontario Blue Jays and is now with the Tri-State Arsenal; C Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays, RHHP Landon Leach (Pickering, Ont.) of the Toronto Mets and Jaden Brown (2019, Mississauga, Ont.) of the Ontario Blue Jays.
SS Adam Hall (London, Ont.) of the Great Lake Canadians was a late scratch the week before the toruney after tweaking a muscle in his leg.
By Vincent Cervino, Kevin Schuver, Matt Czechanski
Perfect Game
RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) Tri-State Arsenal Prime, NJ
Tri-State Arsenal Prime kicked off the first time slot of pool play and sent up two 90-plus righthanders in Noah Skirrow (2017, Stoney Creek, Ontario) and Sam Fuller (2017, Smyrna, Ga.). Skirrow has a larger frame with some height at 6-foot-3, 210-pounds. The Liberty commit has a longer arm circle that was pretty rigid throughout the delivery. From the three-quarters slot he has a slight crossfire element to his landing and flashed some command on the arm side of the pate. Skirrow attacked with his fastball that sat in the upper-80s, topped out at 91 mph, early on. He missed with the pitch at times when he would overthrow and pull it off to the glove side, but used the pitch to get ahead and to get out of jams. Skirrow showed a curveball in the mid-70s with some depth and showed a feel to spin it. The curveball had a traditional 12-to-6 shape but he was able to spin it tighter at times for a more slider-like break with two strikes.
C Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont,) Ontario Blue Jays
One of the top ranked players of the 2018 class is catcher Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ontario) and he continued to impress in the opening games at Jupiter. Naylor is a very physical player, listed at 6-foot and 180-pounds, and his athleticism helps his style of play. The recent Texas A&M commit has strong defensive traits behind the plate. Naylor is a very good receiver and is able to receive the ball cleanly without an overt shift in position. He was clocked at an impressive 2.15 pop time in-game where he threw out a runner at second base by a couple of feet. Naylor’s strong arm was on display throughout the afternoon as he became a neutralizing force to the running game. He blocked extremely well and was able to react to breaking pitches in the dirt well. Naylor stands with a slightly open stance with a high hand set and high back elbow. He has a strong power profile thanks to his raw strength and hip drive in his swing. Naylor’s bat speed completes the package and Naylor continued to show off a strong skill-set at Perfect Game events.
RHP Landon Leach (Pickering, Ont.), Toronto Mets, Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team.
It’s very rare to find a low-90s arm that is not already committed while at the WWBA World Championship, but that’s exactly what Toronto Blue Jays Scout Team righthanded pitcher Landon Leach (2017, Pickering, Ontario) is. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound righty has extremely smooth mechanics with an easy, repeatable three-quarters arm slot. Leach easily sat at 90-93 mph throughout his 3 2/3 innings of work while flashing good running action to the arm side. He has an advanced feel for his fastball that allows him to reach each edge of the plate with bat-breaking life. The uncommitted pitcher did not need his off-speed too often, but he did show a curveball and a slider that flashed very tight rotation with late-breaking action down in the strike zone. Wherever Leach may land after his Jupiter performance he is sure to be a power righthanded arm that can change the depth of any pitching staff.
C Noah Naylor (Mississauga, Ont,) Ontario Blue Jays
For the Ontario Blue Jays, recent Texas A&M commit Noah Naylor (2018, Mississauga, Ontario) – the younger brother of current Padres minor leaguer Josh Naylor – showed tremendous hand-eye coordination with consistent loud barrel at the point of contact. He swung with a line drive swing plane with good bat speed and leverage through the point of contact. He also looked good behind the plate with a very strong arm with good carry. His longer arm action could be a bit of a problem, but he was accurate to the bag with a clean release.
SS Jaden Brown (Mississauga, Ont.) Ontario Blue Jays
For Canada PG Gold, Jaden Brown (2019, Mississauga, Ontario) showed some highly athletic actions ranging to both sides. He got in a tremendous position to field the ball with quick footwork and soft hands through fielding it. His release was quick and efficient when he was rushed and he used a slight gather when he had time. His arm played on the left side with average arm strength for his age. The athleticism he has on the move stood out with good balance and very sound baseball instincts and internal clock.
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Leaders in Day 5 ,,,
OPS
Rk Player SLG PA AVG 1B 2B 3B HR R Grad Hometown
1 Zachary Pettway 1.500 3 1.000 1 1 0 0 0 2017 Long Beach, CA
1 Rhys Cratty 1.500 3 0.500 0 0 1 0 1 2017 Surrey, BC
3 Clayton Keyes 1.333 4 0.667 1 0 1 0 3 2017 Calgary, AB
Fastball Velocity
Rk Player FB High Grad Hometown
1 Ethan Hankins 93 2018 Cumming, GA
14 Jacob English 88 2017 London, ON
Strikeouts
Rk Player SO BF Grad Hometown
1 Mason Cooper 6 13 2018 Robinson, TX
4 Michael Stovman 5 23 2017 Maple Ridge, BC
8 Jacob English 4 14 2017 London, ON