Located to the Northeast of Washington, DC and only about 25 miles from Factory Athletics headquarters in Columbia, Prince Georges Stadium is the home of the Bowie Baysox, double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles.

With events scheduled all over the country, it’s always nice to have a home game — as we did on Sunday, March 22. We have crews stationed in six main areas around the country to make it easier and more efficient to cover the Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryouts, but the vast majority of our staff are located in the Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD area.

2016 OF Zech McPhearson (Riverdale Baptist HS – Columbia, MD) was the top runner of the day, with a 6.90 in the 60 yard dash. A highly-recruited cornerback in football, McPhearson has among the most impressive football bloodlines I’ve come across. A June 2013 Baltimore Sun column written about Zech’s brother Matt — a 2012 Under Armour All-America Baseball Game participant — tells the story quite well:

McPhearson’s father, Gerrick Sr., played football at Boston College and older brothers Gerrick Jr. (Maryland), Derrick (Illinois), Emmanuel (New Mexico) and Jeremiah (Indiana University of Pennsylvania) also played football in college. His brother Josh was an All-Metro running back at Annapolis Area Christian School as a senior in the fall of 2011 and also received Division-I interest.

Matt McPhearson went on to be selected in the 4th round (120th overall) by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 2013 draft. Zech (6-0/185) is much more physical than his older brother Matt (5-8/165), though Matt is a significantly better runner. Zech featured a well-rounded set of tools, with enough defensive ability for a realistic chance to stay in CF. He showed rhythm to hit along with left-handed bat speed and the ability to make hard contact to all fields in batting practice. Baseball needs athletes like Zech, so selfishly I hope he chooses the diamond over the gridiron.

2017 SS/RHP Michael Tylicki (Catoctin HS – Thurmont, MD) was the only other sub-seven runner at 6.94, while 2017 OF Chase Moore (Churchland HS – Portsmouth, VA) came in right on the number at 7.00.

James Madison High School teammates Pete Nielsen and Matthew Favero were among the top players at Prince Georges Stadium in Bowie.

Pete Nielsen is a switch-hitting shortstop with a well-rounded set of tools. A 2016 graduate listed at 6-foot-2 and 190 pounds, he is well built with athletic proportions. He led all players with a raw velocity of 88 mph, and showed the ability to make throws from different arm slots during the defensive workout.

A capable switch-hitter, Nielsen consistently found the barrel from both sides of the plate during batting practice. He showed the hand speed to get the barrel quickly into the contact area, along with the bat speed and strength through contact to drive the ball with authority — especially from the right side of the plate.

Matthew Favero, a 2016 LHP, stands at 6-foot-3 and 192 pounds. In his bullpen session he threw a high volume of strikes with his three-pitch mix. His fastball had some arm side life between 83 and 85 mph, while his breaking ball had tight spin and medium depth in the upper 60s. A mid-70s change rounded out his offerings. He repeated his delivery and did a good job of using his lower half to generate arm speed out front.

Right behind Nielsen in raw velocity was 2016 OF Bowen Plagge (Leonardtown HS – Great Mills, MD) at 87 mph. Another player with a physical look, Plagge was listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds. A right-handed hitter, he showed good hands to hit along with strength to drive the ball. He was solid defensively as well, such that he could fit either corner outfield profile.

2016 SS Taylor Cook (La Plata HS – Newburg, MD) and 2016 C Rafael Reyes (Magruder HS – Derwood, MD) were also solid. Cook showed a well-rounded set of tools, highlighted by a quick hands to hit along with the ability to spray line drives to all fields. Reyes was the best overall defender behind the plate, and he also added right-handed bat speed and glimpses of raw power.

Damond and Paul Nixon (both attend Archbishop Curley HS in Baltimore, MD) proved to be real life “bash brothers.” Damond Nixon is a 2016 switch-hitting OF/IF listed at 6-foot-2 215 pounds, while Paul Nixon is a 2018 R/R first baseman listed at 6-foot-2 and 221 pounds. Both are significantly better offensively than they are defensively, with raw power as the obvious common ground. Damond showed the ability to drive the ball from both sides of the plate, while Paul only hit right-handed but showed about a half-grade better raw power than his older brother.

Top bat exit velocities were turned in by 2016 C/3B Lahmad Holland (Woodrow Wilson HS – Washington, DC) at 88 mph, and 2017 RHP/1B Gunnar Barnard (Marriotts Ridge HS – Sykesville, MD) at 86 mph.

The Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout Tour is rolling through all 50 states. Tryouts are held for players ages 12-14 and 14-18. Don’t miss your opportunity to Be Discovered.

Find an Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout near you and register online or call (800) 641-4487.