Prospect Breakdown
Diamond Prospects at USC Showcase Top 20 Breakdown By: Austin Alexander-July 26, 2006 1-Demetrius Washington: 2007, Silver Bluff, OF/RHP, R/R, 6-0/186 Special athlete with speed and arm strength as pro tools; Ran a 6.53/60 and sported a well-above average college arm from the outfield; Swing works fine but swings and misses more than scouts would like to see; Great body resembles a shorter Eric Davis and reports are that his make-up is very good; Mid-upper 80’s on the mound with quality curveball as his second pitch, he is not as raw as you may think as a secondary pitcher. Definite prospect for professional scouts. 2-Scott Wingo: 2007, Mauldin, SS, L/R, 5-10/160 Plus defensive player with plus actions and steady hands in the middle remind some of a young Adam Everett; Arm strength is adequate to play shortstop in college, projects as a pro 2B if his bat proves solid enough; Runs well enough to be a legit high-level college infielder; Bat from the left-side has occasional pop but is a top of the order hitter in most line-ups; Plays with energy, his feet never stop moving and he makes the routine play look good with consistency. 3-Thomas Brittle: 2008, Berkeley, OF, L/L, 5-9/160 Two-sport player whose 60 time (6.97) was effected from football practice; Lenny Dykstra-type player and sparkplug; Approach at plate is like Ichiro Suzuki but still swings and misses too often, have gotten him 4.11 on a turn in the past. His running times are normally sub-4.0; Patient hitter who draws walks and has a knack for getting hit by pitches; Good base-runner with base-stealer’s mentality; Arm strength is solid enough to be considered a centerfield arm in pro ball; Has some pull-side juice in his bat when he gets the head out; Should be attract pro interest as a senior and will be a quality baseball player when he hangs up the shoulder pads and gets the needed reps between the lines. 4-Larry Perry: 2007, Fairfield Central, SS, R/R, 5-9/165 Came out of nowhere and quickly became the talk of the showcase; After running a 6.7, his performance in the defensive workout was note-worthy as well; Very good actions and solid arm project as a shortstop past high school; Pokey Reese body-type; Offensively he has some work to do with his choppy swing and is raw with the bat but showed he can make consistent contact; Perry should receive pro attention this spring. 5-Rob Harding: 2008, Spring Valley, 3B/RHP, R/R, 6-1/185 Harding has all the goods to be a quality college player; A high school shortstop, Harding’s solid build and speed will push him to the corner where he shows every indication he could be a plus third baseman; He has pop in his bat and shoots line drives to all three fields; Harding seldom swings and misses, once he begins lifting more balls he should settle into someone’s middle-of-the-order early in his college career; Also mid-upper 80’s from a low ¾ right-handed slot with lots of arm-side life; Two-pitch guy with hard slurve as second pitch and a closers mentality; Great make-up and big game player; Can be a two-way guy at the right school, projects more an everyday player though. 6-Daniel Walker: 2007, West Ashley, SS/RHP, R/R, 6-1/165 Walker improved his stock vastly at the showcase by running a 6.72/60 and by flashing very good actions/arm strength during the defensive workout; Walker looks the part in the uniform too, maybe like a Nomar Garciaparra? His round of BP didn’t hurt him either shooting the gaps with regularity and squaring every ball; On the mound Walker was 81-83 with a breaking ball that ranged from 68-71 occasionally showing some bite; A very good athlete with some background on the mound but there are not a ton of 6.7 runners out there, expect to see Walker make his impact in the infield. 7-Alex Burrell: 2007, Landrum, LHP, R/L, 6-0/190 Burrell has already committed to USC and looked real comfortable already on his future mound rolling through his four hitters with a fastball at the 82-84 mark and the showcase’s best breaking ball; The reigning two-time 1A Player of the Year could see innings in a number of roles if he makes a velocity jump, if not he could be a quality left-handed arm in critical late-inning situations for the Gamecocks. Burrell has plus make-up and stands to be the valedictorian at Landrum next spring. 8-Anthony Markham: 2007, Summerville, RHP, R/R, 6-3/170 Markham is my choice as the best guy out there nobody knows about; He regularly sits at 85-88 with a filthy change-up that he throws in fastball counts; He hits the mitt with his fastball and change as his best two pitches; Third pitch is solid but needs more consistency to be labeled an out-pitch, at the showcase, however, he showed one with good spin and depth; Delivery is clean and his arm action works; He has a feel for controlling the running game too; Markham has made great strides in the past couple of months, if he makes another jump, he’ll end up demanding pro attention. This kid has very good make-up and projects on the mound. 9-Cornelius Wadsworth: 2007, Mid-Carolina, OF, L/L, 5-9/170 Good runner (6.82) with arm strength and energy; Have gotten him at 6.7 at a previous showcase; Has already committed to Spartanburg Methodist which won’t hurt his chances of driving attention his way as a draft-and-follow; Raw athlete with work to do in the left-handed batter’s box but does have occasional pop. 10-Marty Gantt: 2008, North Augusta, LHP/OF, S/L, 5-10/155 Baseball rat as a position player but long-range future will probably push him to the bump; Mid-80’s fastball from the left-side with an out-pitch slider (74-77) that he throws consistently in the zone; Delivery, stuff and competitive nature remind me of Jason Dawsey; Hard-nosed between the lines as a switch-hitting outfielder; Make-up and instincts on the baseball field are very good; …