Fri Baseball Scrimmage 1st Look

I got there a little early, I think the 2nd group was taking batting practice. Here are a few thoughts & observations I put together:

-As mentioned in the PBP thread, there were 10 recruits there. They let them watch BP then hang in the dugout during the scrimmage., then let them gather with the team in the post-scrimmage meeting out in centerfield. Jay & Josh Jordan interacted with them the most, when I was paying attention.

- Brayden Simpson was taking BP when I walked up. He isn't a huge guy, but has a ton of juice in his bat. He probably had the 2nd most impressive BP session of the players I saw. He looks to have really toned down that slow pitch softball hitch that he had in his swing in the old highlights I've watched.

Few other notes on Simpson, he crowds up on the plate and wears a huge elbow guard. Will get hit a lot, I bet. Also, can really run. In the scrimmage portion, had him playing LF. I watched him take flyballs from the pitching machine, he did not look all that natural out there. They are looking to see which of the crowded INF'ers can do something else, I reckon.


-Omar Serna was also hitting in that first group I saw. He is a huge, 1st-guy-off-the-bus type of guy. He had the most impressive BP session I saw. In about 15 swings, hit 3 towering HR's out ot LCF, and another off of the wall. When the scrimmage went live, he was the full time catcher for the gold. First impression: really strong arm, average receiver, but looked like he belonged. Was ahead of where Arrambide was last year when I saw him in the fall. Had a sharp single through the 6 hole vs Casan Evans in the 1st.


-Mason Braun was also in that group. He will remind people of Josh Pearson. Small, stocky unassuming guy. But has a sweet swing. Scattered a bunch of liners to all fields. In BP hit a very impressive HR to LCF over the Tony's Chachere sign. Played RF in the scrimmage.


-They seem deadset on pushing John Pearson as a utility infielder. Playing 2B and 3B. Made a nice play on Stanfield at 3B. He is athletic and has obviously played baseball all of his life, but I just don't love some of his fielding actions.


-Jack Ruckert nice, well put together freshmen. They started him at 1B and then moved to 2B. Defensively, looked more natural than his INF counterparts today, Reeves / Pearson / Dardar. All that to say, it seems like Simpson is the guy they want to see if he can play OF out of this group of players.


-Daniel Harden really impressed me with his ABs. He looks like a Jared Mitchell clone, muscular, tapered build. He fouled off a lot of pitches and hit two balls really hard, one to the backside. He was the CF on the purple team.

-Ethan Clauss, right now, would be your SS2 if anything happened to Milam I think. Good actions and a really strong arm. Needs to fill out a bit, but overall Just seemed steady and comfortable there.


-Not sure what Cooper Moore's role will be. He got up to 93.9 mph but mostly pitched around 91-92. His stuff looks a bit like Cowan's, without the movement.


-Zach Yorke will be a fan favorite. He flashed some power, and just seems "hitterish" overall. Went first to 3rd on a single to RF. Also had one of the hardest hit balls of the scimmage, a line drive into RF off of Casan Evans.

-Trent Caraway looks like he could play LB on the football team. Just a real physical looking kid. Want to see more. I see the allure, but just seems a bit robotic. Made 2 errors at 3B, almost seemed nervous maybe. I could see him hitting 6th or 7th in the order. I think they likely made some promises to him. Will note that he saw an inning or two at SS.


-Marcos Paz saw him get up to 97mph (i think someone else saw 99?). Big, physical kid that looks like a JR. He looked a little rusty, spiked a few balls. I think he could factor in the bullpen this season.


-Casan Evans just kind of coasted, and did not show his usual game competitiveness. topped at 95.4mph. Looked fine.


Cooper Williams pitched around 89mph. Topped at 92 a few times. He was up to 94 last fall when I saw him. He could just be onboarding.

Mavrick Rizy got up to 96.0mph. He had good control today, looked really good.

-Jaden Noot threw, but had to take a work call during his inning.

-Derek Curiel had the hit of the game, a line drive into the LCF gap for a triple (vs Cowan?). He has added weight, but was flying around the bases. Did not look to lose any speed.

-Milam remains a wizard at SS, head and shoulders the best defensive INF on the team, obviously.

-Jake Brown almost took the pitchers head off with a line drive back up the middle.


Yamin caught for purple, and did not really stand out, good or bad. Same with Dardar, who they had played 3rd and 2b.

Arrambide played 1B, and had some nice contact. One line drive into RF stood out.