East Coast Pro Notebook: Day 4 — College Baseball, MLB Draft, Prospects

SEE ALSO: Ethan Hankins Sets The Bar

SEE ALSO: East Coast Pro Notebook—Day 1

TAMPA—East Coast Pro concluded Friday with three full games, and a partial fourth to finalize an earlier game delayed by weather. The bats carried the day more than any other point of the showcase, while several 2019 prospects got more playing time and offered an interesting early look at the class a year down the road.

Here are some of the players who stood out on the final day.

Nick Northcut | 3B | Mason (Ohio) Montgomery High

Northcut, a 2018 third baseman committed to Vanderbilt, showed off the hit tool in the first and second game Friday morning, first hitting a hard single to left field against lefthander Dillon Marsh, and then hammering a double to left center on an 87 mph fastball from righthander Daniel Lloyd in game two.

A thick-bodied 6-foot-1, 200-pound corner infielder, Northcut showed some athleticism and range at the hot corner as well, diving for a ball to his left, popping up and making a solid throw to first base to rob Owen White of a single.

You can see one of Northcut’s hits in the video below:

The Royals were spoiled with two offensive third basemen this week. Here’s a single from Ohio 3B Nick Northcut: pic.twitter.com/AfobwUdkeL

— Carlos Collazo (@CarlosACollazo) August 4, 2017

Hunter Barco | LHP | The Bolles School, Jacksonville, Fla.

Barco is a 6-foot-4 lefthander committed to Virginia, and while he did get on the mound Friday, he also showed some bat speed out of the lefthanded batter’s box at the plate.

Leading off against lefthander Nate Lamb in the bottom of the fifth against the Indians, Barco jumped on a first-pitch curveball at 76 mph and rocketed the ball right back up the middle into Lamb. The line drive could have done some damage, but fortunately Lamb managed to get his glove up and deflect the ball, no harm done.

Barco also got the start on the mound in this game, throwing two solid innings including a 1-2-3 second that featured two flyouts and a groundout.

Brennan Malone | RHP | Porter Ridge High, Indian Trail, N.C.

A 2019 North Carolina commit, Malone had arguably the best pitching performance of the final day, throwing two innings for the Indians in the penultimate game of the showcase. Malone opened up with a 92 mph fastball to Parker Meadows and hung in the 92-93 range throughout his time on the rubber, touching 94 on his last pitch to Justin Wrobleski (Sequoyah High, Canton, Ga.) to finish a swinging strikeout.

In addition to his fastball, Malone also showed good feel to spin a mid-70s curveball. He has a fast arm, with clean actions in the back, and did a nice job finishing over the ball with his upper half.

Malone threw two innings, striking out four batters and getting one groundout and a flyout. He ended his outing with a 91 mph fastball up in the zone to high-profile catcher Will Banfield (Brookwood High, Lawrenceville, Ga.), who swung through the pitch.

Malone is definitely an arm to keep an eye on in the 2019 class.

Anthony Seigler | C/RHP/LHP | Cartersville (Ga.) High

Seigler, an Auburn commit and switch-hitter, is a versatile player who catches and pitched both righthanded and lefthanded Friday afternoon. He showed that his ambidextrous arm work is more than some gimmick .

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound Swiss army knife took the mound as a southpaw and proceeded to cut through Indians hitters in the top of the seventh inning. Seigler catches as a righthanded thrower, but got his fastball up to 87 from the left side, using several different arm slots and a low-to-mid 70s curveball to keep Adam Hackenburg, Austin Elliot and Cade Hungate off-balance.

Each batter struck out—Hackenberg swinging through a curve, Elliot looking at a curve and Hungate swinging through a 74 mph breaker.

While Seigler is certainly more of a pro prospect as a catcher—and a legit one at that—his pitching ability with both arms could be a huge benefit to the Tigers if he makes it to Auburn’s campus.

P.J. Hilson | OF | Nettleton High, Jonesboro, Ark.

Hilson proved to be a terror for opposing pitchers on the basepaths Friday, with blazing speed down the line to first and great instincts while on base.

He led off for the Marlins in the final game of the day, hitting a high-chopping groundball up the middle. Blue Jays shortstop Blaze Alexander—who has arguably the best arm strength in the class—ranged to his left to glove the ball but even he didn’t have time to make a throw to first base.

Hilson got down the line in 4.03 seconds on Baseball America’s stopwatch, which is a 70-grade run time. Shortly after, Hilson stole second in 3.17 seconds, which is also an above-average time.

An uncommitted outfielder, Hilson also stepped on the mound in the game’s final inning, with surprising arm strength out of his 5-foot-10, 165-pound frame. Hilson opened up with an 89 mph fastball and sat 87-90 to six batters, touching 91.

While he’s small, Hilson’s running ability, quick hands and arm strength offer an exciting package of tools that is easy to dream on.

Rece Hinds | INF | Niceville (Fla.) High

Hinds will be—if he isn’t already—one of the most well-known players in the 2019 class thanks to his huge raw power from the right side. He got to that power in-game in the top of the first inning of Friday’s final game, hitting a double off of righthander David Luethje that burned the left fielder.

Hinds’ ball hopped once right on the warning track and got over the fence for a ground-rule double, and the ball carried well in the air.

Projected to be a corner infielder at the next level, Hinds got a defensive chance at shortstop in this game, moving in well on a softly hit ground ball and making a strong, accurate throw to first.

Angel Tiburcio | RHP/1B | Trinity Christian Academy, Lake Worth, Fla.

Tiburcio hit one of the farthest balls of the tournament against lefthander Garrett Wade, barreling an 89 mph fastball that wound up hitting the bottom of the fence in deep left-center field.

• Grant Lavigne and Kyle Hess both joined Ryder Green as the only players to homer during this event, both players going yard against Luke Albright during the first game on Friday morning.

• Full rosters for ECP can be viewed here.