This week, Jared Perkins went out to George Mason University to get some live looks as they took on the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Rams. VCU ended up winning by a score of 9-3 even though the game was a bit of a pitcher's duel early on.
Tyler Locklear, 3B/1B, VCU
Tyler Locklear, who comes in at #93 on the Prospects Live 2022 MLB Draft Board, was the main player of interest. He started the game at third and is capable of handling the hot corner, but most likely ends up moving to first base where he might be a better defender. Locklear struggled with his timing a bit in his first at bat, but overall showed a sound hitting approach. He has good rhythm and timing and a well-balanced stance with a quick load and quiet stride. He has a strong, well-built frame which you can tell helps produce much of the plus-plus power from his right-handed swing. He showed a bit of it in his third at bat as he drove one nearly to the warning track even though the swing wasn’t his best. He was able to produce some easy natural loft power.
It wasn’t his best game (still ended up with two hits and three RBI), but you can see why many are still in love with his bat. In his six at-bats he didn’t strikeout and has only struck out nine times in 88 at-bats on the year. Even though much of this probably correlates with the lack of pitching in the Atlantic 10 conference, he shows that he knows the strike zone well and is able to battle while he is down in the count. His draft stock probably takes a hit since he showed a higher strikeout rate in the Cape Cod league where the pitching is much better, but he does offset some of those concerns with his ability to draw walks.
He is a fringe-average defender at third base. His throws from third base are on target and his arm is average, but most likely needs to improve on his footwork and agility if he wants to stick at third. On the base paths, he’s alert and knows how to run the bases. He is a big, strong guy that can produce average speed despite his size. He had a stolen base in the first after getting a great read off of a lefty. He’s not going to blow you away on the base paths, but with his good jumps and ability to go first to third, he won’t be a clogger. Despite some of the defensive concerns, Locklear’s bat is what will have teams making the call on draft day. His raw power and ability to be a complete hitter at the plate will have teams taking a shot on Locklear in the top 100 picks come draft day.
Brett Stallings, 2B, George Mason
He may not be getting a call on draft day, but junior infielder Brett Stallings impressed me in this game. Stallings was hitting out of the leadoff spot for the Patriots. Even though he only had one hit, he looked far from being overmatched by VCU’s Tyler Davis who was throwing well on the mound. In his first at-bat, Stallings worked the count and wound up shortening up to drive one into the outfield for a single. He shows a great ability to make consistent contact and above-average speed on the base paths. He is a contact-first-oriented hitter who definitely lacks power.
Tyler Davis, LHP, VCU
Not eligible for the draft until 2023, sophomore Tyler Davis looked pretty good on the mound in this one. George Mason’s lineup wasn’t much of a test as Davis was able to strike out five over six innings while giving up just three hits. He had a funky, short-arm delivery. His fastball was sitting in the 89 to 91 range but touched 92 multiple times. He had average command of it when he was on. There were times he lacked control with it as a few pitches got away from him. His changeup was in the 80 to 82 mph range and he was able to keep hitters off balance with it. He had a third pitch that looked to be a slider that sat in the 78 to 80 mph range and had some decent bite to it. He was really able to work his offspeed pitches to get himself out of a jam early on in the game.
Also on the road, Will Hoefer went out to a number of games to get live looks at Georgia, as well as some of the top prep prospects over the past few weeks.
RHP Jonathan Cannon, Georgia
Jonathan Cannon may have had the best start of his college career vs. Mississippi State, striking out nine in eight scoreless innings. The 6-5 right hander was able to pound the zone all night, coming at Bulldog hitters with a big windup and shortened arm action that hid the ball well before whipping out at a three quarters arm slot. Cannon creates a steep angle on his two seam fastball, which sat at 93-96 MPH with big tail all night and generated lots of ground ball contact. However, hitters started to see the pitch better third time through the order and were barrelling it often in the seventh and eighth innings. A newer pitch in his arsenal was his main out pitch this evening, a high 80s cutter that was located to the gloveside black all night and got whiffs and jam shot contact from lefties. Cannon’s sole vertically breaking pitch, a slurve at 79-83 MPH, featured above average vertical+horizontal break and also got its fair share of whiffs. Rounding off the arsenal was a low to mid 80s changeup that matched the two seamer’s shape well, though its location was scattershot.
RHP Preston Johnson, Mississippi State
Preston Johnson turned in a solid start for Mississippi State in their loss to Georgia on March 18th, surrendering three runs but striking out ten in six innings of work. The 6-4 right hander is filled out at 250 lbs. and lacks projection, but uses present strength to sit low 90s with ease and consistency throughout outings. Fastball has good arm side run and was fairly effective at getting whiffs at the top of the zone. Slider was 79-83, tilty with above average depth. Change was 8-286 with big tail and mimicked fastball’s shape very well. Both of these secondaries got whiffs throughout outing, with the change being the more advanced offering of the two in terms of command. Mixed in sparingly was a mid 70s CB, glacial offering that served as little more than a get me over pitch. Pounded the zone all night, but did make some mistakes with fastball and slider and got punished for them (homer hit off each of them).
RHP Dylan Lesko, Buford (GA)
Dylan Lesko’s fastball sat in the usual velocity band of 91-96, but his ability to hit the edges was lacking throughout the outing. On top of that, his mistakes with the heater were barrelled quite often by Dacula (two solo home runs), something very uncommon for the Buford ace so far this season. With that said, he did find his changeup later in the outing, and racked up a dozen whiffs with it in his four innings of work. As an additional note, Lesko did sprinkle in three curveballs at 76-78 MPH, which featured good 1-7 shape and were snapped off well. The expectation of sterling performance and command for a prep arm on a nightly basis is folly, and Lesko showed evaluators his makeup and ability to battle in an outing where he didn’t have his usual standard of stuff.
SS Termarr Johnson, Mays (GA)
Termarr Johnson had a strong day at the plate vs. Paideia on the 22nd, taking advantage of a mistake fastball and driving it deep into the woods beyond right center field. There’s not much left for Johnson as a hitter, and there will be some days where he will be pitched with supreme caution--getting maybe one or two opportunities to take the bat off his shoulders. But eyes are always on him at in the field, where #42 is trying his damnedest to convince decision makers that he can be developed as a shortstop and stick there. He’s consistently able to handle routine opportunities and make a variety of throws, with soft hands and quick instinctual movements. The question is about how his body matures and how much his range at the position will decrease. As of now, he does everything well in the six hole, and plays with effort and energy.
C Logan Tanner, Mississippi State
Befitting of his lynchpin status, Logan Tanner put in some of the best at bats of the night vs. a very sharp Jonathan Cannon. Early on he struggled with the Georgia ace’s velocity, but came back in his 2nd plate appearance to shoot 94 down the line for a double--the only extra base hit Mississippi State had all night. Defensively, Tanner was solid behind the dish and received pitches well. A good game on a not so good night for one of college baseball’s top catchers.
RF/DH Gavin Cross, Virginia Tech
Cross wasn’t his usually prolific self from a performance stand point vs. Georgia Tech, but did a good job of fighting off pitches all game long and was making solid contact throughout the afternoon. Towards the end of game two, solid contact started turning into barrels, as he roped a single through the middle and smashed a hanging breaking ball pullside for a double. Cross expands his zone more than you’d like, but demonstrates all fields power in most games and runs well for a man of his larger stature--though he was slowed a bit by a leg issue in this look and had to DH game two.
SS Tanner Schobel, Virginia Tech
Schobel played better than his statline would seem to indicate, being felled by a lot of close strike threes and hard elevated contact that found gloves. He did take an elevated fastball from Georgia Tech fireballer Zach Maxwell and deposited it over the extended netting in left field for a home run. The Hokies’ shortstop makes plenty of contact and exhibits strong swing decisions, and handles the routine plays on the infield, while also flashing a bit of playmaking ability from time to time. Solid physical tools across the board with an advanced feel for hitting and the barrel.
C Cade Hunter, Virginia Tech
Cade Hunter was having struggles with velocity for most of the afternoon, either getting underneath fastballs and popping them up or missing them completely and whiffing. However, much like Gavin Cross he started timing up pitches late in Game 2--scalding a ball through the middle in the seventh inning and barrelling up a 94 MPH Cort Roedig fastball for a game tying home run in the ninth inning. Hunter has flown up our draft board in the last two months, showcasing hitterish traits and above average game power to produce big offensive performance. More attention will be paid to his catching bonafides in April and May, but early returns show a good pitch framer with athleticism behind the plate.
CF Elijah Green, IMG Academy (FL)
I got the opportunity to see IMG’s Elijah Green in a Saturday morning game against Bob Jones (AL) in the National High School Select tournament at LakePoint. Words and numbers can’t do him justice --you have to see him in person next to other 17 and 18 year olds to understand how insanely physical and athletic Green is. Against fairly standard high school pitching, the Highlanders’ center fielder reached base safely all four times and consistently drove the ball the other way. It was a good weekend for Green, but he will need to continue showing progress with his contact skills to work his way back into the top of this class.