It’s time to take a little break from the college side of things this spring and turn our attention to one of the premier high school tournaments in the country.
The National High School Invitational always has high-profile prep players from throughout the country and there was no shortage of it this year. In an extra-inning thriller, Huntington Beach became the third school to win multiple titles at the event, beating fellow California powerhouse JSerra Catholic 8-1. With so much going on at this event, the NHSI notebook will be split into two parts, one for pitching and one for hitting. While the pitching tends to slow down as the tournament goes along, there were some great outings and arms that brought intrigue throughout the week.
RHP Aidan knaak, Bishop verot
Final Line: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 9 K (100 Pitches)
Bishop Verot is back for the second straight year, and in turn, so is Aidan Knaak. Knaak was an arm that I had mixed thoughts about over the past year, but he’s begun to prove me wrong. He has shoved all spring and that theme continued on Wednesday against Eric Bitonti and a tough Aquinas lineup.
A Clemson commit, Knaak has added a bit more velocity since our last look at him. He was more 88-91 MPH last summer and now, he’s bumped up into the low 90s, holding 90-93 MPH throughout his entire start. The pitch flashed very good life at times, especially with arm-side run to lefties and he was able to paint the inside corner at times. His change-up is a unicorn of sorts, a high-spin pitch that he tunnels well off the fastball in the 76-80 MPH range. It looks like it hits a brick wall halfway to the plate and then just tumbles to the dirt. It’s a potential plus pitch. He’ll show off two distinct breaking balls, too, a slower CB with big depth in the low-70s and a more horizontal slider in the high-70s. He can land both pitches for strikes with ease and has great command of his arsenal overall.
His operation has some funk to it, with the front-side matching his arm path and he hides the ball very well. Everything comes out of a normal three-quarters arm slot and he’s got good pitchability, as well as a gamer attitude on the bump. There’s some projection left to his 6’1, 190-pound frame and there’s already a strong lower half. Should he make it to campus, he could be a valuable asset for Erik Bakich and company. He’d be draft eligible again in 2026.
RHP Noble Meyer, Jesuit
Final Line: 7 IP, 2 H, 3 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 10 K (102 Pitches)
The National Training Complex is where Noble Meyer jumped into the upper echelon of prep arms in this year’s class. Back at the place that made it happen, he continued to prove his worth.
It wasn’t quite the same velocity that he showcased back in July, where he was up to 98 MPH during the PDP League. He came out firing 95-96 MPH on the fastball in the first and second inning, though he’d ultimately settle in at 92-95 MPH as the outing went on and was still touching 96 MPH in the sixth inning. It still has the classic two-seam run that it had last summer, boring in on righties when thrown inside. His slider is still plus, a pure sweeper in the mid-80s with big-time spin rates and he located it glove-side to righties very well early on. It became a bit tough to get chases with later on in the outing, but it still got empty swings.
He has made some changes to his arsenal. He’s added a new curveball in the high 70s, topping out at 80 MPH, showcasing more depth and an ability to land it for strikes. It’s got similar spin to the slider and gives him another solid weapon, as it could be a hammer down the line. His change-up has been refined, too, now sitting in the 83-84 MPH range with a ton of tumbling life late. He only threw three of them throughout the outing, but the new shape gives more potential once he begins to utilize it more.
It’s a low release from a three-quarters arm slot, and there’s still a lengthier arm stroke, but he’s done a better job of getting his arm up at foot plant. He has great athleticism and has great separation between his hips and shoulders, too. There’s plenty of projection and there’s a good likelihood that he’ll throw harder down the line with added muscle. Committed to Oregon, it’s likely that he ends up being the first prep arm off the board.
LHP Hunter Dietz, Calvary Christian
Final Line: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K (95 Pitches)
Much like Meyer last summer, Dietz took advantage of his opportunity at the PDP League and showcased velocity that got up to 95 MPH from the left side. He came back to Cary and battled throughout his outing, though he’d ultimately outduel Meyer in the premier matchup on Wednesday.
Dietz’s velocity wasn’t quite the same as it was last summer, mainly sitting in the high-80s and touching 90-91 MPH a couple of times, but the pitch played up a bit thanks to the carry and late life it possesses. With that said, it did get lit up a bit early, giving up a single and a double on the first two batters of the game before he began to settle in. The slider was the primary breaking ball used in the start, a high-70’s pitch that he can sequence with the heater and pitch backwards off of it. When kept low in the zone, he got some ugly swings, though as he got deeper into his outing, he began to lose some feel for the pitch. He flashed a change-up, but it was mainly the fastball/slider combo all night. His command began to waver as his outing came to a close, walking three of his last four batters, and his velocity began to dip into the mid-80s at times. Nevertheless, he battled throughout the outing and began being switched out for Landen Maroudis.
He’s very tall and lanky, showcasing good projection, and utilizes his over-the-top arm slot to his advantage. His delivery is very easy and has nearly zero effort with slight crossfire action. He’s switched his commitment from South Florida to Arkansas recently, where he’d be a great weapon in Dave Van Horn’s stable.
RHP Andrew Dunford, Houston County
Final Line: 5 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 5 K (97 Pitches)
There wasn’t a ton of velocity throughout the week, so it was a pleasant surprise to see Andrew Dunford throwing fuel early on in a solid matchup against Hagerty southpaw Talan Bell (more on him in a bit).
He came out firing bullets in the first inning, sitting 92-95 MPH with exceptional life up in the zone. He’d dial it back to 91-94 MPH throughout the rest of the outing, occasionally touching 95 MPH again in the second, though he was not as sharp as he was in the first inning. It’s a nice velocity uptick, as he’s primarily been 88-92 MPH throughout the spring. He has a slider in the low-80s that did get a couple of whiffs, but it lacks significant bite and feels soft when thrown. There was also a firm change-up in the 88-90 MPH range that had little separation from the fastball. He’s going to need to refine his secondaries moving forward, as well as his command.
He’s incredibly tall and lanky, coming in at 6’7” and has noticeable projection remaining with great athleticism on the bump. He’ll need to improve his body control and repeat his delivery better, as there are some issues with syncing up his body, but there’s a bit to work with here. If he manages to improve his delivery, it’s likely that his command will improve as a result. Dunford is currently committed to Mercer and would be eligible in 2026 as a junior.
LHP Talan Bell, Hagerty
Final Line: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K (106 Pitches)
Bell is one of the more well-known prep southpaws in the 2024 class. While he’s got a legitimate chance to be a two-way guy in next year’s class, what he has on the mound is quite impressive.
He has solid pitchability and athleticism on the mound, even if there’s not much velocity presently. He primarily sat in the low-80s throughout the outing, touching 90 MPH at times with more running life low in the zone, while showcasing some carry and cut up in the zone. He can kill spin on a solid change-up hovering around the 80 MPH range with fading life to righties and his primary weapon against lefties was a slider in the high-70s with solid bite. To keep hitters honest, he’d toss in a big bending curveball in the low-70’s to steal strikes. His command would come and go, walking three across six innings, but much like Dietz, he battled throughout his outing. He also made a highlight reel play early, running behind the mound for a high tapper and made a great catch and throw to get the runner at first base.
He’s obviously a year and a half away from his draft day, but there’s enough there to project him throwing harder heading into the summer and into 2024. Everything is on time with his delivery and he utilizes his lower half well, throwing from a high three-quarters arm slot with very easy motions. It’s hard not to envision him sitting more in the low-90’s this time next year. He’s currently committed to Florida State, which has a very solid recruiting class in 2024.
Honorable Mentions: LHP Ty Starke, St. Xavier; RHP Jake Gregor, St. Xavier; RHP Garrett Baumann, Hagerty; RHP Landen Maroudis, Calvary Christian; RHP Liam Peterson, Calvary Christian; RHP Kaden Soder, Bishop Gorman
