Seven Below 7.0, Six Reach 85 mph in Glen Allen, VA
The Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout Tour rolled through the Richmond, VA area on Sunday May, 3 with a stop at Deep Run High School in Glen Allen.
Though I spend a lot of time writing about measurables to recap our UA Tryout events, I think it’s important to point out that we’d miss guys if all we did was look at the stopwatch and radar gun.
For example, one of the most talented players at the ballpark today does not appear in any of the top measurable tables below. 2017 SS Will Wagner (The Miller School of Albemarle – Crozet, VA) isn’t a great runner (at least in the 60 yard dash), and he didn’t light up the radar gun.
2017 SS Will Wagner
He did, however, show functional arm strength at shortstop — which means he got his throws across the infield quickly — which requires a connection between the feet, hands and arm. Question: what does a hitter do after he makes contact? That’s right, he runs to first base. At higher levels, we can’t assume it will take much more than 4.5 seconds to get there (even less in the big leagues). So, the guys that can get to it, catch it, and get it to first base quickly are the ones we like.
Wagner also showed a nice left-handed stroke with a good path to contact, quick hands and a knack for sweet-spot contact.
His bloodline is strong as well. His father, and high school coach, Billy Wagner pitched for 16 seasons in the Major Leagues after signing with the Houston Astros in the first round of the 1993 draft. He was a seven-time All-Star, and won the NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year in 1999.
Top performers by measurable category appear below:
60 Yard Dash
| sec | 60 Yard Dash Leaders |
| 6.84 | John Roberson (2018 – OF – Massaponax HS – Fredericksburg, VA) |
| 6.91 | Jackson Barrett (2017 – OF – Miller School of Albemarle – Charlottesville, VA) |
| 6.91 | Matthew Spagnolo (2016 – OF – Deep Run HS – Glen Allen, VA) |
| 6.93 | Jacob Gavin (2016 – OF – Miller School of Albemarle – Charlottesville, VA) |
| 6.94 | Jarrett Mayer (2018 – SS – Nansemond River HS – Suffolk, VA) |
| 6.99 | John Fuqua (2016 – OF – Indian River HS – Chesapeake, VA) |
| 6.99 | Jacob Grabeel (2017 – RHP/C – Fork Union Military Academy – Gordonsville, VA) |
| 7.00 | Brandon Gilbert (2018 – OF – Manchester HS – Richmond, VA) |
| 7.03 | Connor Thomas Alderman (2017 – OF – Brooke Pointe HS – Stafford, VA) |
| 7.06 | Carrson Atkins (2018 – 1B – Miller School of Albemarle – Charlottesville, VA) |
| 7.09 | Will Lopez (2018 – LHP/OF – Hanover HS – Richmond, VA) |
| 7.09 | Pedro Mendez (2018 – 3B/OF – Osbourne Park HS – Manassas, VA) |
| 7.10 | Matthew Whitely (2017 – OF/RHP – Hidden Valley HS – Salem, VA) |
In September 2012 — as a sixth grader — Will Lopez ran 8.87 in the 60 yard dash and topped at 68 mph with his fastball. A few months later in December at the Baseball Factory Christmas Camp & Tournament at Vero Beach, he knocked three-tenths of a second off his 60 yard dash.
The real progress began in May 2013 with a move down to 8.16, and progress continued through the next two Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout tour stops in the Richmond, VA area (May 2014 & May 2015). He got underneath eight seconds and over 70 mph in May 2014, with marks of 7.64 and 74 mph respectively. Now, in May 2015, he posted 7.09 and 77 mph — to pay off an amazing improvement of 1.78 seconds in the 60 yard dash, along with a nine mph improvement on his fastball.
2017 OF/RHP Matthew Whitley
We first saw Matthew Whitely at the November 2013 Roanoke, VA Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout. At that event, he ran 7.59 in the 60 yard dash and topped at 74 mph with his fastball. One year later, and back in Roanoke, his 60 yard dash dipped four-tenths of a second down to 7.19, while his fastball rose eleven ticks up to 85 mph.
About six months later, in May 2015, he posted 7.10 to shave almost another tenth of his 60 yard dash. He didn’t pitch for his high school team during the spring season, so it’s needless to say that he didn’t have the same fastball we saw in late 2014.
Brandon Gilbert and Pedro Mendez both posted 60 times in the 7.30 range in 2014, only to move down to the 7.0 range in 2015.
2018 OF Brandon Gilbert
In July 2014 — as a rising freshman — Brandon Gilbert ran 7.37 at Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout & Interactive Video Program in Louisburg, NC. A few months later, in November at the Baseball Factory Select Training & Competition at Pirate City, he ran 7.13 to shave over two-tenths of a second off his 60 yard dash. His move down to 7.00 in May 2015 marked an improvement of nearly four-tenths of a second in less than one year.
At the March 2014 Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout & Interactive Video Program in Ashburn, VA, Pedro Mendez ran 7.38 — as an eighth grader. A few months later, in July at the Baseball Factory National World Series at Pirate City, he trimmed nearly a tenth of a second off his time with a mark of 7.31. His 7.09 in May 2015 represented an improvement of nearly three-tenths of a second in a little more than one year.
Fastball Velocity
| mph | Fastball Velocity Leaders |
| 86 | Connor Gillispie (2016 – RHP – Miller School of Albemarle – Earlysville, VA) |
| 80 | JT Creed (2016 – SS/RHP – Manchester HS – Midlothian, VA) |
2016 SS/RHP JT Creed
When we first saw JT Creed at the November 2012 Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout & Premium Video Program in Glen Allen, he topped at 73 mph and ran 8.37 in the 60 yard dash. By May 2013, at another Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Glen Allen, his fastball was up to 80 mph and his 60 yard dash was down to 7.51 — improvements of 7 mph and .86 seconds respectively.
Since then, his fastball has held firm around 79-80 mph over the course of three Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryouts, while his 60 yard dash has hovered right around 7.5 — with a low time of 7.06 in May 2014.
2019 LHP/OF Logan Ransom
Last May, at the Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout & Interactive Video Program in Ashland, VA, 2019 LHP/OF Logan Ransom (The Steward School – Mechanicsville, VA) topped at 75 mph. He topped at 75 mph again a couple of months later at the Baseball Factory National World Series at Pirate City, and then ran it up to 79 mph at the January 2015 Baseball Factory All-America Pre-Season Rookie Tournament.
There are a couple of indicators of future fastball velocity at work here. First, he has improved his 60 yard dash by a half-second in just one year. He still isn’t a burner, but he has shown the ability to generate much improved speed with his body. Second, and much more important, his breaking ball velocity has increased by four mph. He started off spinning a low 60s breaking ball, and now has it in the mid-to-upper 60s with improved spin and depth. Neither of these are guarantees for fastball velocity, but as indicators go they are fairly strong.
Catcher Release Time
| sec | Pop Time Leaders |
| 1.97 | Andrew Kasiski (2016 – C – Indian River HS – Chesapeake, VA) |
| 2.00 | Jacob Grabeel (2017 – RHP/C – Fork Union Military Academy – Gordonsville, VA) |
| 2.01 | Corey Mays (2016 – C – Nelson County HS – Lovingston, VA) |
| 2.03 | Joshua Nellis (2016 – C – Jamestown HS – Williamsburg, VA) |
| 2.05 | Jonathan Everidge (2017 – C/OF – Oscar Frommel Smith HS – Chesapeake, VA) |
| 2.08 | Austin Elledge (2017 – 2B/C – Smithfield HS – Smithfield, VA) |
| 2.08 | Conner Hanes (2016 – C – Woodrow Wilson HS – Portsmouth, VA) |
| 2.09 | Michael Johnson (2017 – C – ? – Moseley, VA) |
As a sixth-grader in September 2012, 2018 C/OF Peyton Ryder (Phoebus HS – Newport News, VA) posted pop times between 2.86 and 3.09 and recorded 70 mph raw velocity at the Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Glen Allen, VA. He was very slightly better in January 2013 at the Baseball Factory Spring Training at the Yankees Training Complex, with a low time of 2.82.
2018 C/OF Peyton Ryder
By March 2013 at the Bowie, MD Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout he was down to 2.57 on the low end, while his raw velocity was up to 74 mph. That summer at another UA Tryout in the Raleigh, NC area, he got his raw velocity up to 81 mph and his low end pop time down to 2.50. We didn’t see him again the rest of 2013, but he’d already lowered his pop times by nearly four-tenths of a second and raised his raw velocity by over ten mph in less than one year.
As we learned in January 2014 at the Baseball Factory All-America Pre-Season Rookie Tournament, he still had plans of getting better. He posted a low end pop time of 2.40 there, and would move down almost another two-tenths to 2.22 a few months later in May 2014.
2017 C/IF Matthew Hartzell
His raw velocity gained ground in November 2014 (up to 82), and then jumped up to 85 in January 2015 at the Baseball Factory All-America Pre-Season Rookie Tournament — his second time to compete in the pre-season event in consecutive years. Now, in May 2015, he got his low end pop time all the way down to 2.13 — marking an improvement of nearly three-quarters of a second (along with an a raw velocity gain of 15 mph) in less than three years.
Just a couple of months after moving behind the plate from the infield, 2017 C/IF Matthew Hartzell (Skyline HS – Front Royal, VA) worked out for the first time at the May 2014 Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout & Premium Video Program in Ashland, VA. At that event, he posted release times between 2.49 and 2.72. One year later, his workout pop times were already down as low as 2.2 — marking a gain of nearly three-tenths of a second.
Raw Velocity
| mph | Raw Velocity Leaders |
| 87 | Jack Chenault (2018 – OF – Hanover HS – Mechanicsville, VA) |
| 85 | Jacob Gavin (2016 – OF – Miller School of Albemarle – Charlottesville, VA) |
| 85 | Corey Mays (2016 – C – Nelson County HS – Lovingston, VA) |
| 84 | Cory Childress (2016 – OF – Windsor HS – Zuni, VA) |
| 84 | John Fuqua (2016 – OF – Indian River HS – Chesapeake, VA) |
| 84 | Andrew Kasiski (2016 – C – Indian River HS – Chesapeake, VA) |
| 82 | Joshua Nellis (2016 – C – Jamestown HS – Williamsburg, VA) |
| 82 | Matthew Spagnolo (2016 – OF – Deep Run HS – Glen Allen, VA) |
One year ago, in May 2014, Jack Chenault posted 80 mph raw velocity and ran 7.72 in the 60 yard dash at the Under Armour Baseball Factory National Tryout in Ashland, VA. Later that year, in October at the Arizona Freshman/Sophomore Fall Classic, he nudged his raw velocity up a few ticks to 83 mph. Now, in May 2015 he bumped it up another four mph to 87 mph, and also cut his 60 yard dash down to 7.17 — an improvement of more than a half-second.
Bat Exit Velocity
| mph | Bat Exit Velocity Leaders |
| 86 | Beau Lejeune (2016 – LHP/OF – Walsingham Academy – Williamsburg, VA) |
| 85 | Corey Mays (2016 – C – Nelson County HS – Lovingston, VA) |
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.
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