AFLAC

Thanks! Just found it! The Little League game looked interesting. N. California vs S. California, some bigger kids with some pop in their bats. AFLAC should be interesting, I think this will be the first one I have seen.

We also just turned on the AFLAC game. They have mentioned Perfect Game several times so far, and showed a film clip from earlier this week of our own PGStaff (Jerry, who is at the game) presenting an award. I barely recognized him in a suit!

Julie

Very nice tribute for former AFLAC player Nick Andenhart before the game... the teams are also wearing his name on the sleeve of the uniforms.

Well done Jerry and Aflac.

I have a question? How can AFLAC/PG not invite Nick Castellanos to this event?

1. Verbally Committed to Miami
2. 2008 WWBA Underclass Championship - Player MVP
3. Predicted to 1st or 2nd round
4. 2009 WWBA East-Cobb put on a display.
5. 2009 Under-Armour All America MVP 4 Doubles BB & MVP of event.

I'm just a little confused about how Under-Armour picks him, Nick wins several MVP awards and still doesn't get invited.

Any thoughts???

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quote:

Originally posted by MN-Mom:
I barely recognized him in a suit!

You really have to get out more often Mom.



Nice touch with the flag in the background.




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quote:

Originally posted by Diamondpros28:
I have a question? How can AFLAC/PG not invite Nick Castellanos to this event?

1. Verbally Committed to Miami
2. 2008 WWBA Underclass Championship - Player MVP
3. Predicted to 1st or 2nd round
4. 2009 WWBA East-Cobb put on a display.
5. 2009 Under-Armour All America MVP 4 Doubles BB & MVP of event.

I'm just a little confused about how Under-Armour picks him, Nick wins several MVP awards and still doesn't get invited.

Any thoughts???

Only that invites have to be out some weeks prior to these events. Everyone deserving can't be invited to every event. That being said, I was at the UA game in chicago and Nick had an awesome game. He's one heck of a player.

The last 3 innings of this game were dynamite!!!

Yes, what an exciting game, and what tremendous young baseball players!

Tony Wolters was very deserving as the MVP - I really enjoyed watching the way he played (West / red team). And the final pitcher for the East / navy team, Yordy Cabrera, was so impressive to me.

Tons of talent on the two teams!

Julie

Jameson Taillon threw maybe the best breaking pitch I've seen in this game since Kyle Drabek.

Obviously I haven’t seen the game on TV. However I can say that there were at least half of the 16 pitchers in the game that topped out at 95 mph or better.

Regarding Nick Castellanos… It was a mistake not picking him. He was the next guy on our list even though he didn’t have his best performance at our PG National in June. The problem with picking these teams is you have to fill the positions and there is an East and West team.

We went with Conner Narron, Yordy Cabrera and Zach Alvord at those positions. The same position Nick plays. We have watched Nick play for a few years now and he truly is a first couple round prospect. Heck, I hope he ends up being a first round pick. He is an outstanding hitter.

We are averaging 11 first rounders each year of the Aflac Classic. Still we can’t get it exact.

Rather than talk about who didn’t get picked, how about those who did get picked?

What is everyone's opinion of Bryce Harper?

Had a rough day at the plate, but few didn't. I'm sure there are some who are tempted to say he's overrated based on that, but that would be kind of silly. Pujols has 0-4 days, too.

His arm was eye popping. I thought he defended the position well overall (blocking balls in the dirt, etc.). In contrast, I remember coming away from watching the 2006 game thinking that Robert Stock's defense needed a lot of work (at that time).

I don't think anyone can live up to the hype of Bryce Harper. He was not very impressive at the plate. Looked overpowered by the fastball and looked plain bad swinging at the breaking balls he struck out on. I have read a number of other posts on here about his 0 fer performances. I know he batted .600 something in HS, just makes me wonder about the competition.

The kid is just 16 years old and I'm sure he has all kinds of potential, but maybe he is jumping the gun on going pro already.

My thoughts exactly on jumping the gun. I believe he has tons of potential but could really benefit from 2 more years of high school and then college. Did anyone notice the flinch every time someone would make contact with the ball?

As a Brice Harper fan I was a little disipointed that he did not have a good/great game as his last prep outting. He just didn't look like the same guy I have seen in the past in HS and summer ball. I would guess his numbers in Juco would be outstanding going into next years draft though, there is no way he will see the pitching he saw At Aflac.

Harper swung and missed at a few very good pitches. These guys sat in the low-90's with good off speed stuff. When you are the best prospect in the nation playing against the other best prospects in the nation, you won't hit .600. What impressed me about Harper was how he handled the pitchers. I noticed many times that he talked to the pitchers and was was very elaborate. If the pitcher opened up early, he'd point at his front shoulder to tell them to keep it closed. If he liked a pitch a pitcher threw, he'd let the guy know it. His blocking mechanics were outstanding and his arm was as good as advertised throwing out that runner in the first inning. I'd chalk the plate appearances up to a bad day. I don't think scouts expect him to be hitting .600 in the pros, but I'm sure they base it off potential. And regardless of the fact that it was BP with a metal bat, the ball he hit over the catwalk at Tropicana was some shot.

The 3 guys I was most impressed with were:

Jameson Taillon- He was flat out nasty. A fastball that lived in the mid-90's and an absolutely gross hammer curveball. At 6'7", he's got everything basically.

Tony Wolters- I enjoyed watching a smaller guy play the game the right way. He was outstanding defensively and showed great hustle on the basepaths. His MVP was deserving.

Robbie Aviles- I live about 20 minutes from where he does and I've seen him throw a few times, but in high school he is fairly overpowering. In the Aflac game, he was the first pitcher to really utilize a changeup effectively. He pitched "backwards" in his inning. He "only" threw 90, 91, but the hitters had virtually no shot because of the solid offspeed offerings he delivered.

One question for everyone...the scouting report says Stetson Allie throws 100. The gun readings on TV (which half the time weren't present and a quarter of the time said 55 mph) had him around 89-92, hitting 96 once. You think the gun was wrong or do you think he just wasn't throwing overly hard?

I saw the first 2 innings and the last inning and a half. I wanted to see Marcus Littlewood bat there at the end but they put him on intentionally.

I'd like to know how Littlewood's performance was being that he's from my state.

I also noticed his flinching on every swing. He also turned his head on a few balls in the dirt. He has some work too do behind the plate...for sure.

I saw Harper flinch a few times as well, but he was pretty solid overall behind the plate.

JH, I don't get why the readings didn't show all the time either. There were a few first pitch fastball strikes that I would like to have know how fast they were. Looked smoking, but no reading. I think the 55 or 60 readings were the gun reading the catcher throwing back to the pitcher.

I have to say I was not impressed with Harper.

I do think the JC move was a good one for him. Batting .600 he very obviously needed more competition.

I was however really impressed with Bedrosian. He did not get the best results overall but if you were looking at individual pitches he showed fantastic stuff.

Harper looked a little anxious hitting and helped the pitchers out a bit. Really never got a pitch to drive...pitchers did a good job. The kid is hitter and you could see his confidence even though the results last night weren't what he hoped for.

Harper behind the plate is still raw; not any better than many HS catchers but Harper has a ton of upside potential that few possess. Showed good attitude and worked pretty well with his pitchers but mechanics need work...flinched quite often on swings at inside pitches; not totally uncommon as some catchers don't like going up under the bat. He will learn and improve as he gets older. Carried himself well despite not performing as well as hyped. Overall, I liked what I saw and based on his age, I can't wait to see where he is at in a couple years.

People are entitled to their opinions and I can understand wanting to criticize after all the hype. Please note we have a long-standing tradition here at the hsbbweb of not throwing darts at amateur ballplayers - no matter how much they may have been hyped in the press.

I started this. I was not trying to critize Bryce. I was questioning the hype and wondering how many thought that the extra 2 years of high school could really help.It was obvious he has strength and size beyound his age. The mental aspects of higher level baseball will be very demanding. I think he is going to need high school and college to learn to deal with the pressure. It also appeared he has not been exposed to higher level pitching. This will be a huge adjustment. I wish Bryce the best and hope that his advisers aren't trying to make a quik buck at his expense.

I was impressed with his arm. That was a great throw out in the first inning. Correct me if I'm wrong, but he really doesn't catch that much does he? Doesn't he Pitch, play SS and CF alot? I thought he looked good behind the plate given that. I was also impressed with the way he handled adversity...no losing his cool, throwing his bat, no arguing with the umpire. As with all hype, it may be a little excessive. But, I see a bright future for that young man. If you didn't know him, you wouldn't be able to call him out as being 2 years younger than almost every kid out there. Physically and mentally mature.

Baring injury, I think Mr. Harper is going to be just fine.

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quote:

Originally posted by ClevelandDad:
Please note we have a long-standing tradition here at the hsbbweb of not throwing darts at amateur ballplayers -

I remember JARTS. Loved having JART wars with my brothers and friends growing up. Probably could put more than an eye out with them.

Are there NO lefthanded pichers worthy of playing in the game. I might of missed a few but all I saw was Right-handers

quote:

Originally posted by Travisgh:
Are there NO lefthanded pichers worthy of playing in the game.

I am a believer in Bryce Harper but all of your "he has a great attitude" posts contradict what BA says "Bryce Harper (Las Vegas HS), the 16-year-old catching phenom, was the marquee attraction at the Aflac game, and while he showed his premium defensive tools, his offensive performance was underwhelming. He grounded out twice and struck out three times, rifling his batting helmet into the dugout after his third whiff." From: BA on AFLAC

I think Bryce is extremely talented and under an incredible microscope. Throwing helmets won't help, though.

quote:

I think Bryce is extremely talented and under an incredible microscope. Throwing helmets won't help, though.

Agreed. Wonder what "Golf America" would say to me pounding my club in the ground after my 3 wicked slice of the round? And I have not be on the cover of SI as the next Tiger Woods. Interesting they caught this. If it was on camera, I missed it.

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quote:

Originally posted by bballman:
I remember JARTS. Loved having JART wars with my brothers and friends growing up. Probably could put more than an eye out with them.

Ain't that the truth bballman. And because of their ability to "change the course of a backyard war" the CIA was smitten by lawn darts. The lawn dart was able to be precisely aimed (sort of) and capable of inflicting severe damage on it's intended or unintended target.

Ferocious is a word often whispered in the CIA laboratories at Langley when the hush-hush lawn dart is being put through its paces.

Here's a sneak peak of just what the CIA has been able to accomplish with the lawn dart. A tweak here and a hammer blow there, along with some generous funding has resulted in a splendorous flying weapon.




So splendorous that when its menacing drone is heard overhead no one ever fails to look up to see what the buzz is all about.




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Here is the problem with seeing a kid one time in a situation like this. If he has an average game or a bad game then "He is over rated , he is just not that good." If he has a good game or a great game then "He is everything I heard he was , he is outstanding."

A player is rarely as good as they appear when they have an outstanding game and they are rarely as bad when they have a poor game. The fact is you have to see a player play several times over a period of time to get a good feel for their actual ability to play the game. The tools are obvious. Arm strength , bat speed , athletic ability etc etc.

We are talking about a 16 year old kid going up against the absolute very best in the country. The reason the pitchers dominate these events is because they are first of all ridiculously talented. They are only going to throw one or two innings and can just let it go. The hitters never get to settle in against one guy so they are constantly facing another stud with another set of stuff to throw at them. The hitters do not see this type of stuff on a routine basis. In other words the pitchers have a huge advantage.

Harper is 16 years old. He is going to be a tremendous player. He is very very talented to say the least. One game will not determine anything. I saw a 10 inning game at the PG national a few years ago and 50 of the outs were K's by the pitchers. Let the hitters see this type of pitcher over a period of time , let them face the same guy 2 or 3 times in a game and then you would see some different results. Top arms are ahead of top bats at this age. In fact the top ML arms are ahead of the top ML bats.

What I saw in this game were some extremely talented players. The pitchers had lights out stuff. They will always stand out in these type of events.

= Edited by moderator =

Re-opened thread.

"Please note we have a long-standing tradition here at the hsbbweb of not throwing darts at amateur ballplayers."

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"Get in line guys! The locks are open!"






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Coach May,

I agree with you thoughts. I worked at the National Showcase this year and the pitchers were ahead of the hitters early. The more at bats each player got the more they squared up balls.

sgvbaseball.com

I missed this game due to Comcast's unreliable schedule. It was listed in my newspaper wrong as well. I wanted to see the future millionaire Harper kid. I agree with Coach May on why Bryce did not fare well. His ticket is punched no matter how he did at the AFLAC game.

One of the Northwest's top prospects last year did not hit so well, but he did get one hit, more than he did at Area Code. Noted for having a weak bat, but we can work that out, after all you can't teach speed. The scouts never make mistakes do they?

The AFLAC game was very exciting this year. I have a question though. How old is Yordy C? I heard that Baseball America reports that he will soon be 20. The average age of most AFLAC participants this year was 17-18 (B Harper 16) Anyone know for sure?