Prior to the cancellation of the 2020 high school baseball season, I was able to make it out to a sizable amount of games and get my eyes on some of the top talents throughout the state. Here’s a collection of scouting notes, taken directly from my notebook along with videos of full outings from pitchers and more.
Shawn Guilliams – RHP, The Villages Charter School (2020)
Guilliams is a pop up arm that has emerged recently, impressing at some events over the fall and winter. In the first, Guilliams sat 88-90 with his heater. Although he didn’t locate, leaving some high, it was still effective due to the pitches riding life. Elevating the fastball could be a future strength of Guilliams. It is a pitch that is capable of being equally effective high in the zone as it is low. It can generate a lot of groundballs when thrown down and get a lot of swings and misses when elevated thanks to the riding action. Although he struggled at points commanding the fastball, he began locating better midway through the second inning.
Although the fastball did impress, the curveball was hands down his best offering. It is a true potential plus pitch. It served as an absolute hammer with hard 12-6 action. It was the curve that Guilliams also seemed to yield the best command over, often locating it low in the zone. However, he curiously abandoned the pitch after the second inning. This is probably because he realized he could just blow the fastball by the hitters. The righty also threw a change at 83-84 with a good amount of armside run, replicating fastball arm speed. I envision the changeup being an average offering in the future with a chance for above average.
Guilliams’ delivery is free, easy, and athletic, holding a nice, repeatable tempo. Where he now lacks in terms of command I expect to be picked up and improved due to the athleticism and delivery. The struggles with command could also very well be due to my viewing being the first game of the season. Guilliams generates torque by rotating his hips back at the peak of his knee to torso leg lift in an Edwin Diaz-esque fashion. As he begins to stride forward, he uncoils the hips, releasing the torque like a rubber band. Guilliams has a quick arm with an over the top release that slightly cuts into his extension. He also doesn’t have the longest stride toward home, leading me to believe he could largely benefit from increased extension.
A quick worker on the mound, Guilliams elicits solid mound presence and confidence in his abilities. He is fairly new to pitching, only previously pitching for two years prior to the season. With continued physical and mechanical development, it is inevitable for Guilliams to add a few notches of velocity. Guilliams is a raw, high upside arm. Although he could benefit from honoring his commitment to North Florida to continue his development, he might not make it that far if a team really likes what they see in the righty.
Camden Minacci – RHP, Jesuit High School (2020)
Minacci is a righty arm who made some noise at the Perfect Game WWBA tournament at Jupiter in October. But the righty was on the map long before last fall, with this being his third year being in the rotation at the powerhouse Jesuit. Minacci is lanky, with square shoulders and a high waist. He is probably the most exciting, fun to watch high school pitcher I have ever seen.
Minacci pitches with energy through the roof, frequently pacing around the mound, staring down batters, and sprinting off the field. A prime example is after getting an 0-2 count on the second batter of the game, he visibly signaled a fastball to let the batter know a heater was coming. He then proceeded to blow 91 mph past him. In the two viewings I had of Minacci, the fastball sat 89-90, touching 92 early on before dipping to 86-87 in later innings. Holding his velocity something he will need to work on and sometimes comes naturally with physical development. The pitch frequently has significant natural cut on it when thrown middle or glove side but he can also run it arm side. He is more control over command with his fastball and did miss sides of the plate at times, getting away with it due to the movement of the pitch. The ability to both run the ball in and cut it is a very impressive attribute to have as a prep pitcher. If he continues to harness his command, the fastball obviously will be a deadly pitch and very effective in sequencing.
Minacci throws his curveball in the mid-80’s with 11-5 action. In my first viewing, he threw the curve sparingly, flashing average. In my second viewing, he leaned on the curve more often, with it showing harder bite. The pitch can get slurvy at times and show inconsistent shape. He also threw a changeup in the low-80s with fade. The pitch flashed a couple 55’s. I noted in my second viewing that he used it to effectively run back in on the outside corner to strikeout Dante Girardi, another a highly-regarded 2020, looking.
Minacci throws from a fast-paced delivery that oozes athleticism. It is however very high effort and difficult to repeat. While initiating his knee to hip leg kick, Minacci creates a lot of power and momentum in his back leg that eventually explodes toward home. The lower half of his delivery along with energy is very similar to Trevor Bauer. Gets extra long stride but extension is slightly hindered by high 3/4 slot. Above-average extension. He does have some head whack and will end in some awkward positions post-delivery. There is tons to like about Minacci. He is a pure competitor with lots of projection left. I have also heard from several that he is an excellent teammate. He figures to be an excellent addition to the Wake Forest team in 2021.
Josh Mallitz – RHP, Jesuit High School (2020)
Mallitz has a classic pitcher’s frame at 6’4”/195. He’s already strong with longs limbs and even more room for projection. He has a compact leg lift and explodes towards home. Mallitz ends his delivery standing upright and could benefit from some more extension. He throws from a 3/4 slot with good arm speed.
Mallitz is very confident in his secondaries. He began the first batter with a changeup on the first pitch and a curveball on the second pitch. Through the two-inning outing, the righty threw more than 50 percent offspeed. The curveball sits in the 74-76 range with a kind of slider action. He showed the ability to drop it in the zone for a strike at will. The changeup is in the 76-78 range and showed some fade at times. He does slow his arm speed down when throwing offspeed offerings. Although the secondaries still need development, Mallitz’ confidence in them shows maturity. Mallitz’ fastball is by far, his best pitch. It sat 88-90, touching 92 with heavy run on a downhill plane in the short stint. It is a pitch that is capable of generating a lot of ground balls.
Mallitz is a very raw arm with lots of potential and projection. He will have an ideal place carry on his development at Ole Miss.
Jackson Miller – C, Mitchell High School (2020)
Miller, a Wake Forest commit, is a catcher listed at 6’0”/195. He has an athletic, yet strong and durable build for a catcher. There is strength all throughout, especially in lower half; tree trunk thighs.
Miller bats from the left side. He starts from a moderate-wide base with his feet straight away. Miller starts with his bat vertically angled. He has a calm lower half weight transfer and a moderate leg lift. During his load, the back elbow raises, while his hands remain in the same position. Miller coils his hips to generate power in the lower half to create a rubber band effect when firing at the pitch. He utilizes his lower half very well. Miller generates excellent whip and possesses impressive barrel control. The bat speed is above-average with plenty of loft that is conducive to power. The positions at the point of contact and after contact are very similar to Bryce Harper. Miller is short to the ball with a two-handed finish while maintaining a steady head.
I’m a big fan of the swing. He looked very calm and comfortable at the plate. Miller did try to pull some pitches on the outer half but it just be a result of slower velocities combined with his bat speed. I clocked a 4.44 home-first base run time that wasn’t full effort (groundball to second base). Most likely a fringe average runner.
Behind the plate, Miller is agile and athletic. He made a very athletic adjustment to a high pitch and making a lightning quick transfer to gun down a runner at second. Although it was a difficult pitch to get to and wasn’t the strongest throw, the pop time was still a 2.10 thanks to the transfer. Despite the agility, Miller is still raw behind the plate. There is still a lot of work to come especially with low pitches. On pitches at or just below the knees, he will often drop from his original set up to one knee and his glove will end up in the dirt, giving a poor presentation.
I would keep Miller behind to the plate for the foreseeable future due to the obvious upside. Pitch presentation and receiving comes with time and experience. Always bet on the athlete. Regardless of where he plays, his bat should carry him. Miller is another promising Wake Forest recruit in what is an extremely strong 2020 class they have assembled in the Tampa Bay area. Although if I were to guess, he should be selected somewhere in the first five rounds.
Aidan Miller – RF/OF, Mitchell High School (2023)
I usually don’t keep such a keen eye on high school freshmen, but when I saw that Miller was ranked #2 in the nation for 2023 on Perfect Game, I decided to make an exception.
Miller, the younger brother of Jackson, is tall and physically impressive for a freshman, with already present strength and lots more to come as he fills out. Miller looks very hitterish at the dish. He begins at the plate with a moderate wide stance, hands by the ear, and a high back elbow. During his load, he has a moderate leg lift as the hands lower and move back about a foot, allowing Miller to get huge separation. The hand load and separation is similar to that of Mookie Betts. His hand load and bat wrap working as a timing device to harness his explosive bat speed. He does armbar his front arm and could use a little more flexibility there.
Miller’s swing has easy loft. During the game, he displayed power to all fields: single to rightcenter, a long moonshot to leftfield, long flyball to warning track in right, long flyball to left. Miller is a confident, patient hitter in the box, waiting for his pitch instead of swinging out of his shoes, which was impressive for a power hitting freshman. He will be a serious power threat and is just a special hitter for his age.
Miller could be the next phenom. It was unbelievable to see such talent at this age. I will be eagerly watching with emphasis and excitement over the next few years.
Mason Miller – LHP, Mitchell High School (2020)
Mason, although on the same team, is in no relation to the beforementioned Millers. The Florida Gulf Coast commit is tall with a medium build and some strength in his lower half. Miller showed the ability to command his fastball at 90-93 side to side through the first few innings and settled in at 88-90 in the fourth and fifth. The fastball was mostly straight but did have a few inches of run when thrown armside. Miller attacked with his heater, throwing offspeed sparingly.
Miller’s best offspeed pitch was his big curveball. It flashed plus with sharp 12-6 break at 75-77. The pitch has the looks of a future weapon and potential plus pitch. He also threw a few firm changeups at 83. They showed run identical to that of his fastball when thrown armside but at this point the change will need more development. Miller is confident in his fastball and will need to elicit the same confidence in his secondaries as he continues as a starter. This will in turn, help with sequencing. He’s got a good fastball especially for a lefty arm. I’m not sure if there’s much physical projection left but it is possible for him to gain a tick in future velocity naturally with maturity.
Miller throws from a medium effort, repeatable delivery. It really has no glaring flaws. I was really impressed while watching open-face mechanics. He gets plus extension before releasing from a 3/4 slot. It is a really clean delivery with a clean arm action. At this point, it’s a toss-up whether or not Miller goes within the first five rounds. Regardless, the future looks bright for the lefty.
Irving Carter – RHP, Calvary Christian Academy (2021)
Carter is an arm that jumps off the page at you. He stands at 6’4”/200 with a strong, durable frame. The athleticism screams from his moderately high effort, unconventional delivery. He has a quick, knee to chest leg kick in which his hands follow lead and raise above his head in a less exaggerated Luis Patino-like fashion. After generating some serious power in his lower half with the kick, he decelerates his momentum when initiating toward home and sort of drifts. This may give some deception, but also causes him to lose some power and momentum. Carter often changed his timings, slide stepping and throwing in some double kicks to throw the batter off. He was able to throw strikes with the modified deliveries, but I would like to see more consistency with command before it is used so often. The arm speed is elite, releasing from a high 3/4 slot that he repeated on all pitches. Carter strides long but the high 3/4 slot eats at the extension a little. Still above-average extension.
Carter is an extremely high energy pitcher and a big-time competitor. He has great mound presence and believes in his stuff. Carter’s fastball held its velocity throughout the outing at 90-92, touching 93 with natural cut. He tended to overthrow at times and his misses were mostly lateral, a result of his glove arm getting lazy. Carter’s best pitch is perhaps his slider. It often showed plus, with hard lateral movement the width of the plate at 82-84. Carter favors the slider and threw it just as much as his fastball. He was also able to command it. It is a truly deadly pitch especially effective when backfooting lefties. It has the potential to be a future double-plus offering. Carter also showed good feel for a firm changeup in the 84-86 range with sink and run. He elicited the ability and confidence to throw his slider and changeup in any count.
Carter is a supreme athlete and an advanced pitcher for his age. Calvary Christian should have one of the strongest rotations in the nation next year with his teammate, Andrew Painter, being perhaps the #1 prep arm next year’s class. Committed to Miami, Carter is an extremely high follow and a potential first round talent for 2021.
Brock Wilken – C, Bloomingdale High School (2020)
Wilken is yet another Wake Forest commit in what seems to be a pipeline they have going in the Tampa Bay area. The catcher has a strong, imposing build, listed at 6’4”/217. Wilken is a real strong kid. With his kind of build I would expect him to be a corner infielder, so I was excited to see what he can do behind the plate.
Wilken really impressed me, showing flexibility and agility despite his large frame for a catcher. He caught from a one-knee on the ground set up when there were no runners on. This allows Wilken to get low and receive and present pitches down in the zone well. He received pitches with a soft glove, especially on pitches down. The pop times were in the 1.90’s during warmups. Wilken popped a 2.00 to gun down a runner in the first inning. The transfer and release looked good. He stood a little tall during the throw. Wilken’s arm strength was easily above-average. The throw down to second was all arm, not utilizing his lower half in the throw much at all. This is something that he will get better at with time and polish. I see little reason why Wilken shouldn’t be able to stick behind the plate at the next level.
At the plate, Wilken stands upright with his feet straight away and bat sitting flat. Due to the upright set up, he takes an extra long stride to initiate the swing, leading to some drifting. When making his stride, he stepped in the bucket slightly, but it did not seem to affect his plate coverage. Wilken used the entire field and picked up on spin well. The bat speed is above-average. He could benefit from keeping his center of force back a smidge. There is some loft, but it is more of a line drive swing plane. I would like to see a round of batting practice to get a better measure on his power.
Wilken is an exciting profile at catcher, offering a strong bat and power. If both he and Jackson Miller make it on campus at Wake Forest, Wilken will likely be moved to a corner. His profile, size, and arm all point to a good fit at third base.
Jack Owens – RHP, Bloomingdale High School (2022)
Owens is sophomore who really impressed me. With a thin frame, there is still room to grow. Owens’ delivery is silky smooth and easy. The righty has a knee to hip leg lift and a high 3/4 slot. It is an extremely repeatable and low effort delivery. Owens located his fastball side to side well, sitting 84-87, touching 89 through the first few innings. The fastball was mostly straight. The velocity dipped later in the game which is completely expected for such a young pitcher. Owens showed the makings of a 12-6 curveball with good shape and depth in the 70-75 range. He also threw a changeup at 78-82 that showed run and sink at times. The righty repeated the same arm speed on all pitches.
Owens is a Stetson commit and impressively polished for his age. With his delivery and feel, the command should end up plus. There is also an inevitable velocity jump coming. He could end up being a Kevin Abel type arm. Owens will be a dude in a few years.