In a late March Friday matchup, Socal powerhouse Harvard Westlake hosted Mission League foe Chaminade in a battle that featured several big names, Including Will Gasparino, who ranked #110 overall in the most recent Prospects Live 2023 MLB Draft Top 400 prospects list. However, it was a pair of Gasparino’s teammates who stuck out the most.
SS/3B Bryce Rainer - Harvard Westlake, 2024
Bryce Rainer is very physical for his age, being 6’3 with plenty of present strength, and while he isn’t fully filled out by any means, still only being a junior with his size says a lot about where he could go from here. That being said, it was a monster performance for him, the final line being 3-3 with 2 doubles, a walk and a grand slam. The swing is effortless power, he starts with a wide base before a single toe tap and leg extension load, which allows him to get his hips and legs involved to generate power, which makes the mechanics of his upper body look effortless.
The key to his upper half is a great bat path, that doesn’t dip or try to loft the ball, but rather has a good attack angle and catches the ball out in front of the plate. He also showed incredible prowess. In his first two at bats, he attacked fastballs early, and hammered them the other way, one of them one-hopping the fence in LCF, the next one hitting off the top of the fence just missing a grand slam. T
hey wanted no part of him his next plate appearance but in his fouth appearance the bases were loaded and they had nowhere to put him. They pitched him very carefully, and he was patient to lay off until the 3-0 count, where he took a big hack at a changeup just a bit below the zone and whiffing. He took a second and hunted the next pitch pulling his hands inside and crushing a grand slam barely fair down the right field line, and that ball landed on the roof of the batting cages beyond right field.
Rainer likely ends up in the hot corner due to his size, but he has a hose for an arm, hitting as high as 92 off the mound, giving him plenty of arm for either left side of the infield position. He’s a confident and knowledgeable player who knows how teams want to pitch him and understands his game well. He looks like a potential 1st round talent come 2024, and is currently ranked #37 overall in the Prospects Live 2024 MLB draft board.
RHP Tommy Bridges - Harvard Westlake, 2024
Bridges came out firing, striking out the first 4 batters of the game in the effort, showing off a three-pitch mix, with a fastball that sat 86-88 and he commanded very well east and west as well as dominating the upper quadrant of the zone. He flashed a curveball and changeup as well, and while the curveball lacked up for consistent shape, he was able to command it for strikes and keep it down in the zone, rarely making mistakes with it. Arguably his best pitch though, was the changeup, which played beautifully off the fastball, and had good late fade that kept batters off balance and allowed his fastball to play up.
The biggest knock currently would be his frame and mechanics. He stands just 5’11 and it’s a slender frame as well, and while there is nothing fundamentally wrong with the mechanics, they are stiff and a bit overly mechanical, and lack full usage of his legs. That being said, there is reason to think that there is room to grow if he honors his commitment to TCU and they can mold him more, there is room to grow and he’s still just barely 17. If he can work through the mechanics and become more fluid, and get more use of his total body, there is a chance of him being a weapon, as prep arms are often stuff over command but he has solid command, and shows flashes of the stuff currently.
