NHSI is back and better than ever.
It's been three years since the last NHSI tournament and the wait is finally over. Wednesday was the start of the dour day tournament, which features 16 of the top high school teams in the country. It's a single elimination style tournament, divided up into four different pods, which include consolation games. It all concludes with the championship game on Saturday evening, weather permitting.
Wednesday was an action packed day that featured plenty of high quality pitching matchups and great games. In the first piece of the weekend, here's six players who stood out on Day 1 of the tournament.
LHP Levi Huesman, Hanover HS
The first matchup of the day was slated to be a good one, with Hanover's Levi Huesman facing the team that has dominated the event in recent years, Orange Lutheran. Orange Lutheran ultimately hit Huesman early and moved on to the quarterfinals, but this was the first time I've seen Huesman since the velocity uptick and it was refreshing to see.
Huesman works from the stretch only and moves down the mound well. His delivery is relatively easy and on time, with the arm being up at foot plant. It's a low three-quarters arm slot with quite a bit of athleticism to boot. He started 90-93 MPH and topped out at 94 MPH with good life and carry, though command was spotty early. He settled in nicely in the third and showcased good velocity throughout, holding low-90's late into his outing. His primary off-speed pitch was the signature sweepy slider he possessed in the mid-upper 70's that he can backfoot. It's got high spin, hovering around the 2,500-2,600 RPM range. The change-up was sparsely utilized, but has some potential in the low-80's with some sinking action and good separation off the fastball. It's a fun profile to look at in this draft class and despite the results, there's a good chance he gets picked somewhere in the second round.
RHP Dylan Lesko, Buford HS
Lesko is the best pitching prospect in this draft class and it's easy to see why.
Lesko toed the rubber against New Jersey powerhouse Don Bosco Prep and looked absolutely electric out of the gate. It's an easy, repeatable delivery with a high three-quarters arm slot with overpowering stuff. There was nothing below 93 MPH with the fastball, holding 93-96 MPH throughout the outing and topping out at 97 MPH with carry and arm-side life. The dynamic, low-80's change-up was his primary weapon of choice, a devastating pitch with a lot of tumbling action that garnered the most whiffs on the night out of his arsenal. It's one of the most advanced cambios we've seen in recent history and it's pretty unprecedented to see one this advanced with a prep arm. He had no issue throwing it to both lefties and righties and the command was very solid in the first half of the outing, unraveling slightly near the end. He broke out the curveball only a couple of times, but it projects nicely. It's a 12/6 bender with excellent shape, good bite, and spin rates near 3,000 RPM's. He'll build confidence in throwing it more often in due time, but it's a nice third pitch to finish out his arsenal. The command and control were very solid, throwing 35 of his 51 pitches for strikes and only running into some command mishaps in the third inning.
LHP Bradley Hodges, St. John’s Country Day School
Hodges felt like a pick to click at NHSI and got an opening round matchup against Servite's flame-throwing righty, Xavier Cardenas. While Cardenas struggled, Hodges shoved.
Hodges has seen some velocity uptick since last summer. He was in the high-80's when I saw him at PG National, but Wednesday, Hodges sat 88-91 T92 and held that velocity throughout the outing. It's a low effort delivery with an overhand arm slot that he repeats well. The fastball was commanded well to his gloveside and while he was a bit shaky to start, he settled in very nicely and looked dominant throughout the rest of the outing. He worked with a curveball and slider combination with his off-speed pitches. The curveball is a big bender in the low-70's with solid bite that kept hitters off-balance. The slider had more horizontal movement and was thrown harder in the mid-upper 70's. Both pitches have similar spin rates in the 2,400's. Hodges nearly had a complete game, falling one out short due to pitch count rules, but struck out nine and walked just one in his outing. He's committed to Virginia.
RHP Caden Dana, Don Bosco Prep
The second half of the marquee pitching matchup to end the day included Caden Dana, an arm I loved after watching a dominant PG National performance last summer. While he struggled and got hit hard early by a daunting Buford lineup, Dana showed resilience and really settled in nicely after his first trip through the order.
Dana is a big, physical pitcher with an easy delivery, short arm action, and a three-quarters arm slot. He started off 92-95 MPH with the heater, though his control was off to start. As the outing went on, he settled into the 91-93 MPH range and began commanding the baseball better. The pitch has good carry and life and had solid spin rates hovering around the 2,400 RPM range. The curveball was a menace at times, a high spin offering with big late bite in the high-70's that is his signature off-speed pitch. He's added a new slider to his arsenal this year, a mid-80's pitch with horizontal movement that has good potential in the future as he begins to use it more. There were some firm change-ups in the 86-88 MPH range, as well, but it was mainly utilized to left-handed hitters. A Kentucky commit, Dana has a good chance to be an early Day 2 pick.
OF Derek Curiel, Orange Lutheran HS
Believe it or not, the best hitter of the day was an underclassman. Derek Curiel is the top prep prospect in the 2024 class and it's easy to see why.
He's obviously a couple years away from his draft, but he looked very comfortable against older competition. Facing a tough lefty in Levi Huesman was an easy task for Curiel, lacing a double in the first at-bat of the event and adding on another single later on. He's got excellent barrel control for a kid his age and has some bat speed, as well. It's a smooth swing for Orange Lutheran's leadoff man. He's got good athleticism and covers ground well with good speed, though in the outfield, he didn't get much action. A recent LSU commit, he's going to be one to watch for the rest of the event and for years to come in Southern California.
OF Jordan Taylor, St. John’s Country Day School
The last player to be highlighted is a speedy and athletic center fielder in Jordan Taylor, a Florida State commit.
At the plate, there's some twitch in his profile, but it's easy to tell the athleticism that he possesses. He's known for his speed, which is in the upper echelon for this year's class. It's a projectable frame with solid bat-to-ball skills, quick hands and stays short to the ball. There's some thump in the bat and he covers the zone well. The speed plays in center field, where he covers a lot of ground and shows some good defense, as well. He's also got a big arm out there, too. The one thing that hurts Taylor is his age, he's one of the oldest players in this prep class, but it's a tantalizing toolset that is fun to watch.