Single game tonight for this scout as I dropped in on Region II-AAAA action between the Byrnes Rebels and Gaffney Indians. Spring is here and the weather in the upstate reflects it.

-Game Recap-

Byrnes’ Hunter Hernandez went head-to-head with Gaffney’s Zach Wood. Hernandez helped his own cause in the bottom half to put the Rebels up 1-0 with his RBI single. Alex Vazquez extended Byrnes’ lead with a sacrifice fly in the second but the Indians cut it back to a one run game in the top half of the third with Luke Lancaster’s single.

 

Both pitchers put things on cruise control the rest of the game until Gaffney threatened in the seventh. Hernandez walked the leadoff hitter then got an out before a well-executed hit-and-run put runners on the corners. The Rebels skipper went with his ace Alex Eubanks to shut the door and that he did, giving Byrnes a 2-1 victory.

Final: Byrnes 2 Gaffney 1 WP: Hunter Hernandez LP: Zach Wood SV: Alex Eubanks

-Prospects-

Byrnes HS – Senior RHP Alex Eubanks (UNC Asheville) put his name on the top steal list tonight with his closing performance. Not only did he sit 88 MPH but he showed command on both side of the plate (especially in) and down in the zone with hard sink; Not to mention snapped off a filthy slider at 77 MPH. Eubanks came in from his first base position and went 86, 87, then nothing but 88’s from that point on. Eubanks has improved every time I have seen him and I have seen him a lot. This time last year he was 81-83 MPH with a looping CB at 71. Now the body is better, mechanics are cleaner, and arm is quick with electricity. Honestly, with what I witnessed tonight is the same thing I am seeing out of mid-major D1 level guys right now. Say what you want, but I have seen my fair share of baseball. UNC Asheville has a good one coming their way and if any sort of jump is made that comes close to the jump he just made, look for Eubanks to step right in and compete for a starting weekend role. Freshman SS Mason Streater (Uncommitted) looks like a seasoned vet out on the field. Starting last year as an eighth-grader has developed him in ways that words can’t describe. Even though the kid has a lot of work still to do, he passes the eye test with ease. There is no doubt high D1 potential here. What he does from this point on will determine where he lands at the next level. Can’t get a big head. Has to stay modest, humble, and continue to get after it every day.  

Gaffney HS – Junior SS Jackson Propst (uncommitted) hit the ball on the screws his first two AB’s and made some plays out in the field that showcased awareness and instincts. Propst is very undeveloped and needs to locate the weight room at Gaffney HS if he is wanting to take his game past HS. Tools are present and the ability to play the game exists as well.

-Notables-

Byrnes HS – Junior RHP Hunter Hernandez (uncommitted) battled tonight for the Rebels. He started to labor in the fourth inning and got out of some jams with the help of solid defense behind him. He took his team into the seventh before handing things over to Eubanks to finish a job well done. Eighth-grader Dallas Callahan isn’t overmatched at all while in the box versus low-80’s and on a varsity level. If he realizes that there is still a lot of natural development left and starts taking things in stride, he will turn out to be a very good baseball player. I just saw a little bit of bad body language of defeat like he is expecting too much out of himself right now. Left-handed stick with a put together swing.  

Gaffney HS –Junior Zach Wood (uncommitted) also had a solid outing. He went six innings and kept his team in position to win the entire night. Fastball was up to 83 MPH but he sat 81-82. Athletic kid that competes on the bump. He is going to need to make huge jump if pitching is the route he is pursuing from what I saw tonight.

–Overview of Teams–

Byrnes will have a chance to compete on the mound for both of their region games in a given week. Eubanks should win all of his games as long as defense does their part and offense can produce 1-to-2 runs. Having said that, the Rebels will struggle up against a legit arm offensively. Gaffney on the other hand have a couple of guys that can run into the baseball and knowing that Region II-AAAA isn’t loaded down with plus arms, they will have a chance to change a game with one swing against some team’s #2. Propst and Wood will anchor down the rotation and keep their team in games but they better hope guys are on base when some of their big bats are at the plate.

-Web Gems-

Two guys need to be noted for their plays in the field. Nathan Hall for Byrnes executed a play off the fence how you teach it to be executed. A ball was destroyed to left field that surprisingly didn’t go through the fence but Hall knew how the ball was going to play of the fence, stayed calm, got his body in position, and hosed the guy out at second trying to stretch it into a double. Gaffney’s Jackson Propst booted a routine ball right at him but earlier in the game showed great range to his left on two other balls. First was a lined shot that he read off the bat extremely well and the other was a slow roller on the second base side of the bag that he got to.

-Food For Thought-

Every year there are a couple of guys that figure out they have that “IT’ factor when competing. Byrnes’ Alex Eubanks falls in that category this year. He has always been a competitor but never really had the stuff to go along with it. Well… now he does. His 88 MPH fastball tonight wasn’t a flat 88; it had hard sink to it. And his slider isn’t easy to pick up; it is hard with late break. And how he pitches (not throws) inside to hitters is next level quality. There are only two other arms that I know of (or have seen so far this year) in the upstate that competes like Eubanks does and those are BHP’s Jake Crawford and Wren’s LT Tolbert. When these three guys get on the mound, they believe they are going to beat anyone who steps in their box. As a former pitcher, who wasn’t as talented as everyone else in Pro ball, that was one of my strengths. I had it preset in my mind I was going to beat you. Beating you isn’t always striking out guys. I knew when I needed a double play, so I beat guys by getting them to roll one for me. I knew when I wanted a guy to pop up, so I got him to pop up. If you mentally believe you can beat someone, you are half way there. Being competitive isn’t something you just pick up on. My dad implemented it into my brain when I was growing up and I wanted to be the best and the bigger the stage the better I wanted to be. I believe these three guys I mentioned have the baseball IQ and mentality to make it far in the game barring injuries.  

–Related Quote of the Night-

If you want to play your very best under pressure you must train yourself to keep your focus of concentration in the “NOW” of the performance. Mental “time traveling” always gets athletes into hot water, causing choking and performance slumps. Discipline yourself to leave the past in the past. Also, stay out of the future during the performance. Don’t let yourself get ahead of yourself. Take your performances one game at a time, one play at a time, one at-bat at a time, one pitch at a time. The “now” is where you have access to all your skills and great training. If you want to win and have a great performance you can only do that in the “NOW.” Whenever you find yourself mentally leaving the “NOW” quickly and gently bring yourself back.

 

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“Over the past five years I have been trying to figure out a way to see every high school team in my area during the spring season. Unfortunately, I have been unsuccessful. Every year I seem to leave out a handful of schools which in essence, I am missing out on a large amount of players. I feel my job is to identify next level talent and relay it over to college/professional scouts so they can do their jobs. A collection of us have brainstormed and have come up with a way for me to try and lay eyes on as many players as possible, hence the introduction of “Barry’s Bytes”. This will be a blog that I will update daily/bi-daily for our subscribers. I will be bouncing around various high schools and instead of covering games; I will be on a talent search. The goal is to hit multiple spots on a given night. In this blog you will find everything from prospect info to my personal thoughts on an array of topics ranging from standout concession stands and peak performers to the most polite gate attendants and umpire gaffes, also any random thought that crosses through my brain will be fair game! Have an open mind and hope you guys enjoy my two cents. See you at the park!”