WWBA World Championship (Part 1)

World Wood Bat Association World Championship: Part 1 of 3

November 3, 2009

By Nick James

The World Wood Bat Association World Championship brought to the Roger Dean Sports Complex in Jupiter, Florida, 85 teams made up of players from all over the United States, Latin America and Canada. One of the premier scouting events of the year, a horde of college coaches and professional scouts spread out across the thirteen-field facility monitoring one of the best collections of prep talent you’ll ever come across. Perfect Game USA hosted the event and provided coverage from Day 1 (Thursday, October 22) through the championship game and consolation match-ups on Day 5 (Monday, October 26) via blog, video and stat wraps (link here for the daily entries). You can also click the following for a schedule of future Perfect Game showcases and tournaments. To view other scouting write-ups and reports you can visit the scouting arm of Perfect Game -- Perfect Game Crosschecker.

Usually, with an event such as this, I’d run down a ranking of the players I saw and step through some of my likes and dislikes. The scope of the tournament was so large, however, that I don’t believe a rankings article would be particularly useful (or even that accurate, considering the number of players and games in action simultaneously). Instead, I thought it would be interesting to step through a hypothetical draft, using a pool of potential selections consisting solely of players I saw in action. I’ll run through a pick for each of the first ten rounds, as well as a pick for the “later rounds”. Because of the number of players I’m going to examine, the exercise will be broken down into three pieces -- Part 1 covers Rounds 1 - 4, Part 2 will cover Rounds 5 - 8, and Part 3 will cover Rounds 9 - 10 and the “later rounds” pick. For each pick I’ll look at one selection and one runner-up, giving us a total of twenty-two players examined.

I’ll try to stay true to approximately where I think the players would go were the Rule 4 MLB draft held today, but don’t get too caught-up in the rounds. The purpose of this series isn’t to project Articles/WWBAPicture2.jpg

where I think the players will be selected next June, it’s simply a mechanism for discussing the players and performances from the Jupiter event while making sure we touch on a good chunk of an incredibly wide spectrum of draft eligible talents.

Round 1

My Selection: Karsten Whitson, RHP, Chipley HS (FL) | Tournament Team: East Cobb Baseball. Whitson (pictured) is one of the more impressive power arms in the draft, combining low- to mid-90s velocity with a power slider and an improving change-up, all wrapped into a nice 6’4” / 190 lbs pitcher’s frame. In his Saturday start for East Cobb, Whitson had some of his best stuff working, effectively mixing all three offerings. I had his fastball 92 to 95 mph, touching 96 a handful of times over his five-inning outing. His slider showed the late bite and solid depth I’ve seen in the past, clocking-in at 80 to 84 mph. The change-up also sat in the low-80s and had some depth, though he can decelerate his arm at times. Whitson throws with an easy arm action and is fairly clean from step-in to follow-through, though he can land on a stiff front leg and his command could benefit from getting out on top of his plant leg more consistently. He provides an impressive combination of current stuff and projection in his frame. My video from Saturday’s start here.

Runner-up: Nick Castellanos, 3B, Archbiship McCarthy HS (FL) | Tournament Team: All American Prospects. Castellanos continues to impress at the plate, showing easy power from pole-to-pole and excellent extension through contact. He struggled some in the field, particularly in his routes to the glove side where he gave himself difficult hops on a handful of opportunities. Still, his hands and arm give him a legit chance to stick at third, and the bat is perhaps the best in the prep ranks, taking both hit and power tool into account. Over the course of the weekend he turned in a couple of multi-hit performances for his All American Prospects team, squaring-up regularly, while batting behind fellow first-round hopeful Yordy Cabrera, SS/2B, Lakeland HS (FL). My video of Castellanos at the plate here.

Round 2

My Selection: Josh Sale, OF, Bishop Blanchet HS (WA) | Tournament Team: Texas Scout Team Yankees. Sale’s game is power, utilizing a swing that generates excellent loft and good carry. He’s very strong in his wrists through contact, though his swing can get long and he may need to work on keeping his weight back as he tends to glide out of his load. I’m not yet sure how to project his hit tool, but even if he doesn’t hit for a high average, neither should he be problematically below average. Either way, Sale is a big, strong bat and shows a power tool that could be plus or better down the road. In the field, his footspeed will likely limit him to a corner spot. He has the arm strength for right field, but needs to set himself up a little better on his throws. He homered in the first at bat of his I was able to catch, Saturday morning against the Kentucky Baseball Club. My video of the homerun at bat here.

Runner-up: Kris Bryant, 3B/1B, Bonanza HS (NV) | Tournament Team: Ohio Warhawks. Bryant is one of the best power prospects in the draft class, utilizing a long frame and superior leverage to produce tape measure shots. While much of his value is in his raw power, he has enough bat control to hit for a decent average, sacrificing some of his in-game homerun-pop to make more consistent contact. As he progresses at the plate, if he can better distinguish pitches he can drive he could develop into a complete hitter, and even more dangerous than he already is. In the field, Bryant will likely be limited to first base as a pro if his range diminishes at all as he fills in his frame. He struggled some offensively this weekend but his potential is unmistakable. Bryant at the plate here.

Round 3

My Selection: Marcus Littlewood, SS, Pine View HS (UT) | Tournament Team: Ohio Warhawks. The Ohio Warhawks’s switch-hitting shortstop was impressive in the field throughout the weekend, showing good range to both sides and an accurate arm, strong enough to make all the necessary throws (video in the field here). At the plate, Littlewood (pictured) shows a solid approach from both sides, though he can hit with a bit of an arm bar, which limits the pitches he can drive (and potentially the pitches he’ll be able to get to as he moves on to more advanced competition). He generates better torque and more lift from the left side, but he shows an ability to center the ball on the barrel from left and right, equally. He needs to do a better job of commanding the strikezone, but all the tools are there for him to develop into an above-average defender at a premium position with a solid hit tool and gap-to-gap pop (perhaps more as he matures). Video of Littlewood at the plate here.

Runner-up: Chevez Clarke, OF, Marietta HS (GA) | Tournament Team: East Cobb Baseball. When I saw Clarke earlier this summer it was quickly clear he had the raw tools to be a center-fielder at the pro level. He covers a ton of ground, gets solid jumps and has plenty of arm. The big question was whether he would develop better reads and routes, or if he’d need to rely on his tracking to make up the difference. After seeing a fair amount of him this past weekend, it looks like he’s already progressing nicely in those departments (though still a ways off, as are most prep players), and the speed and arm is still there (6.55 60-yard dash, 3.17 seconds stealing second and 94 mph out of right field to home during the Bo Jackson 5-Tool Championship on Saturday night). He’s a switch-hitter at the plate that doesn’t project to much power, but plays well to the gaps and fully utilizes his speed through aggressive base-running. He doesn’t have a big frame, though he’s athletic and shows decent strength. Chevy could develop along the lines of a Shane Victorino, with a similar game if everything clicks. Video of Clarke in the field here, and at the plate here.

Round 4

My Selection: Kevin Ziomek, LHP/OF, Amherst Regional HS (MA) | Tournament Team: Mid-Atlantic Rookies. Ziomek is already sitting in the upper-80s with his fastball, touching 90/91 mph in the start I saw, with room to add more velocity and strength. The 6’3” / 180 lbs lefty drew dozens of scouts behind home plate and wrapping up each side of the field, and showcased a four-pitch mix including his fastball, a soft upper-60s to low-70s curve, a sharp upper-70s slider with good bite and tilt, and an occasional mid-70s change-up. Logging six strikeouts over four innings pitched, Ziomek turned in a solid performance on Saturday, maintaining his velocity pretty well and locating his fastball and slider effectively. He may end up having to scrap his curve if he can’t tighten it up, but his slider looks like a potential plus pitch down the line as he gains consistency, and may be a better fit with his low-3/4 arm slot. His short, quick arm action, coupled with his ability to shield the ball from the batter, helps his offerings to jump on the hitter. His flexibility and athleticism should help him to repeat his mechanics and aid in his hip-shoulder separation, though his arm action could be cleaned-up some (he has a tendency to both wrap his arm and lift with his elbow on the back side). Video of Ziomek in Saturday’s start here.

Runner-up: Zach Alvord, SS/2B, South Forsyth HS (FL) | Tournament Team: East Cobb Baseball. Alvord is a strong, athletic middle-infielder with good footwork around the bag and enough arm for shortstop. He moves well side-to-side, but may ultimately be a better fit at second base if he loses any range as he continues to mature. At the plate, Alvord shows very strong wrists and good bat speed, projecting above-average power for a middle-infielder. He drives the ball well, though he still comes around the ball some and could be a little more direct to-and-through. He reminds me some of a pre-breakout Gordon Beckham, and could have similar offensive upside if he continues to develop. He can get a little too loose in his actions in the field, but overall should be a fine defender up the middle, with potential to provide good production at the plate. Video of Alvord in the field here; video of Alvord at the plate here.

If you have been following the 2010 draft class closely, you are probably familiar with the eight players we stepped through in Part 1. In Part 2 I’ll take a look at eight more players, some of whom will hopefully give you some new targets to follow as we progress towards the Rule 4 MLB Draft in June.