3 days.
50+ scouts and front office staff.
100+ dream chasers.
Tread exists to provide athletes a platform to help re-write their stories, and this weekend was the best evidence of that.
This Pro Weekend, our Free Agent Pitchers had the opportunity to show off the fruits of their labor alongside their Tread Coaches and in front of personnel from 26 of 30 MLB Organizations – and oh boy did they show up.
For the pitchers who threw, wide-ranging and unique paths brought each here: a number have hundreds of Big League innings, some many years in the Minors, and still others are looking for their first crack at the professional level.
In one way or another, each path led to Tread in the hopes of elevating their career to new heights.
For each athlete, a lifetime of hard work transpired before they ever toed the rubber this weekend. For most, fine-tuned adjustments to things like subtle movement patterns and pitch shapes occurred right down to the wire (and will continue, as each looks to constantly improve and hone their craft).
Eventually, however, it was time for each of them to let that work speak for itself as they fired away in front of 100s of eyes peeled to witness them execute their craft.
We saw velocity jumps shown off across the board, new weapons in the arsenal brandished, and the paint strokes of burgeoning Rembrandts in the form of perfectly executed pitches.
Summary: Guys threw gas, nasty breakers, and it was a hell of a time for all involved.
Day 1 (Friday)
Let's relive a few of the most electric bullpens on the first day here at Tread HQ.
🐝 BUZZING BULLPENS:
Bernardo Flores
To kick us off, we have LHP Bernardo Flores who turned scouts’ heads to say the least – including one audible “Who is this guy!?” from one of them.
Flores averaged 88.9 MPH on his fastball this past season in this pen he averaged 94.8 MPH and topped out at 96 MPH – good for a 6 MPH jump!
With this wild velocity jump, we shouldn’t be surprised if Flores is on a big league staff this upcoming season.
AJ Puckett
Next, we have one of the most impressive arsenal overhauls in AJ Puckett who put on an absolute show.
Puckett averaged 93.5 MPH on his fastball this past season and an almost +2 MPH jump in this bullpen to an average of 95.4 MPH.
Last season, Puckett’s 4-seam fastball averaged 13 inches of induced vertical break and in his work with PC Turner Givens he’s seen that jump dramatically. The righty has also developed a sinker and wipeout sweeper in his arsenal as well in the last 6 months.
Scott Firth
Tread’s very own Pitching Coordinator, Scott Firth, closed out Day 1 with fireworks.
Topping out at 98.1 MPH on the Stalker and nearly averaging 97 MPH on his fastball, Firth certainly impressed as well as held the record for the fastest pitch for the event.
Firth’s arsenal is the whole kitchen sink. It includes a fastball, sinker, cutter, slider, curveball, and changeup. Not only did Firth flash the hardest velocity of the event but also made Tread proud with the most diverse arsenal to make a beautiful spread on the movement chart.
🔥 95+ MPH THROWERS CLUB:
Day 1 was home to seven (7) pitchers who hit at least 95 MPH on the radar gun.
Members (in order as seen in video): Jake Faria, Bernardo Flores, Curtis Taylor, Tim Naughton, AJ Puckett, Daniel Procopio, Scott Firth
🔌 BEST wSTUFF+ GRADES:
🔥Top Fastball – AJ Puckett's 4-Seam Fastball (175 wStuff+)
The combination of above average MLB velocity and high ride on the fastball from AJ Puckett led to the best graded fastball on Day 1.
Metrics: 95.4 MPH, 19.5 in. IVB, 9.9 in. HB
🔨Top Breaking Ball – Tim Naughton Slider (180 wStuff+)
To no surprise the best graded breaking ball from the first day goes to a big sweeper thrown at 84 MPH out of the hand of Tim Naughton. With assistance from PC Matt Marsili, Naughton has added significant sweep to his slider that has been up 87.1 MPH in house during live ABs.
Metrics: 83.8 MPH, 1.7 in. IVB, -17 in. HB
🔁 Top Offspeed – Tommy Eveld Changeup (140 wStuff+)
Best graded changeup is awarded to Tommy Eveld who is a former quarterback at USF. Eveld really “changed up” his path (sorry, bad pun) by trying his hand at this whole pitching thing in college after not playing baseball in high school.
Eveld really kills the vertical break on his changeup while producing 6 extra inches of armside movement as compared to his fastball.
Metrics: 88.1 MPH, 1.4 in. IVB, 12.4 in. HB
Day 2 (Saturday)
The second day of the event kicked off Saturday morning at 10 AM energized by Dunkin’ coffee and fuzz balls.
🐝 BUZZING BULLPENS:
Jake Stevenson
Jake Stevenson arguably had the most electric bullpen of Day 2.
He lit up the radar gun to the tune of a 95.9 MPH average heater while showing off his flashy four pitch mix which includes a cut-ride fastball, a legit changeup, a firm sweeper at 85 MPH, and a 90 MPH slutter.
Zach Mort
Zach Mort was an absolute artist on Saturday.
Not only did Mort display a four pitch mix with a carry fastball at 95 MPH, hard cutter at 89 MPH, power curve at 83 MPH, and splitter at 88 MPH – he also dotted up around the zone.
Very Bob Ross-esque. 🎨
Al Pesto
Even before stepping on the mound, Al Pesto's name alone caught people's attention.
And when he stepped on the mound, his demeanor and fuel gave reason for it.
Pesto closed out the Day 2 with incredible energy at he pumped 96+ MPH along with a solid hard gyro slider up to 89 MPH.
🔥 95+ MPH THROWERS CLUB:
Day 2 hosted another eight (8) pitchers who hit at least 95 MPH.
Members (in order as seen in video): Adrian De Horta, Nathan Alexander, Patrick Baker, Brac Warren, Jake Stevenson, Cory Wilder, Zach Mort, Al Pesto
🔌 BEST wSTUFF+ GRADES:
🔥Top Fastball – Zach Mort's 4-Seam Fastball (174 wStuff+)
Zach Mort averaged nearly 95 MPH on his fastball with elite carry which led him to have the highest graded fastball on Day 2.
Metrics: 94.8 MPH, 19.7 in. IVB, 9.2 in. HB
🔨Top Breaking Ball – Cory Wilder's Slider (157 wStuff+)
Another sweeper takes home the prize for the best graded breaking ball of the day in Cory Wilder’s big slider up 83 MPH.
Metrics: 82.5 MPH, 2.9 in. IVB, -20 in. HB
🔁 Top Offspeed – Dan Goggin Changeup (159 wStuff+)
Dan Goggin, previously up to AA, showed off his newly altered slot for MLB organizations on Day 2 which helped him in producing the best graded changeup of the day hovering around the horizontal line with crazy arm side movement.
Metrics: 81.4 MPH, -1.3 in. IVB, 16.9 in. HB
Day 2 and Day 3 have a couple extra fun sections to add to this Pro Weekend recap…
🌅 EARLY MORNING BULLETS:
While many of us were still drinking our Saturday morning coffee around 10 AM, Adrian De Horta ended his bullpen with an easy, casual 95 MPH bullet to really wake everyone up.
🦄 UNICORN PITCHES:
Nathan Alexander – Knuckleball
If throwing 96 MPH did not catch the eyes of scouts enough, Nathan Alexander really cemented himself in the minds of spectators when he broke out his knuckleball that danced through the air.
Cory Wilder – Cutter
Not many “wilder” (sorry, last bad pun – I think) things happened on Day 2 than Cory Wilder’s cutter. In touching 90 MPH with 11 inches of induced vertical break and -7 inches of horizontal break, Wilder was essentially throwing a left handed fastball.
Day 3 (Sunday)
We had double barrel action on Day 3 and some of the best pure stuff was flashed on the final day of this event.
🐝 BUZZING BULLPENS:
Allan Saathoff
With Saathoff’s bullpen starting at 9:10 AM, watching a dude top 97.5 MPH on the TrackMan and average over 95 MPH was probably not on most spectators’ bingo cards. Allan did just that.
Saathoff showed off a carry fastball with a sweeper that averaged 86 MPH and has good feel for it as well as a changeup that he flashed.
Did we mention he kicked off the week by dragging a 250+ pound dead buck 50-yards from his backyard to the street for pick-up? Kid is just built different.
Nic Luc
Nic Luc displayed his diverse arsenal to impress many throughout the facility. The glove popped and heads turned as he averaged nearly 95 MPH on his heater, showing off his cutter, slider, curveball, changeup too all the while executing those weapons well.
Honestly, just take a look for yourself.
Daniel Blair
Six straight 95+ MPH pitches in/around the zone will certainly grab the attention of anyone and Daniel Blair did exactly that. A 95 MPH heater paired with a 85 MPH sweeper, a cutter, and a changeup with 14 more inches of arm side run to it as compared to the fastball? Yeah, that’ll get the job done.
Alan Carter
Maybe saving some of the best for last?
Alan Carter’s bullpen created BUZZ around Tread HQ.
With his fastball that crossed the horizontal line pretty consistently both in movement AND release, the cut-ride combo at 95+ MPH was incredible to witness. This paired with his splitter that drops and moves like nobody’s business and the curveball that he flashed, there will be plenty of teams lining up for Carter’s services.
🔥 95+ MPH THROWERS CLUB:
Double digit (10) arms hit 95+ MPH on the TrackMan to close out the event on Sunday.
Members (in order as seen in video): Karl Blum, Nic Luc, Allan Saathoff, DJ Wilkinson, Alan Carter, Jan Figueroa, Anthony Boix, Daniel Blair, JC Coronado, John Murphy
🔌 BEST wSTUFF+ GRADES:
🔥Top Fastball – Alan Carter's 4-Seam Fastball (192 wStuff+)
Alan Carter averaged nearly 96 MPH on his fastball with getting up to 20 inches of induced vertical break and up to nearly -4 inches of horizontal break. Carter's fastball on Day 3 was the highest graded fastball across the entire event.
Metrics: 95.7 MPH, 18.7 in. IVB, -1.5 in. HB
🔨Top Breaking Ball – DJ Wilkinson's Slider (139 wStuff+)
Surprise surprise – yet another sweeper. DJ Wilkinson averaged nearly 84 MPH and 14 inches of sweep on his slider and he found himself atop the breaking ball leaderboard on the final day of the weekend.
Metrics: 83.9 MPH, 1.6 in. IVB, -14 in. HB
🔁 Top Offspeed – Daniel Blair Changeup (210 wStuff+)
Daniel Blair's changeup had 6 inches less vertical break, 14 inches more horizontal break off of his cut-ride fastball, and 11 MPH of differential from the fastball. Guess that'll play. Oh, and it's super satisfying to watch.
Metrics: 84.2 MPH, 14.6 in. IVB, 19.8 in. HB
🌅 EARLY MORNING BULLETS:
First bullpen. 9 AM. 2 pitches in. 95 MPH. That's all it took for Karl Blum to toe the rubber and throw ⛽️.
🦄 UNICORN PITCHES:
Michael Spinozzi – Cut Changeup
Michael Spinozzi throws quite the outlier pitch here. The cut-changeup? Movement profile of a slider (kinda?) with the grip of a changeup? Whatever it is, it's a unicorn pitch and it's fun.
Alan Carter – Fastball
We already covered Alan Carter‘s outlier cut-ride fastball earlier, but at a 192 wStuff+ and a movement profile similar to that of Pete Fairbanks – it was too hard to leave out here.
Conclusion
This year's event was outstanding and the best to date here at Tread HQ.
The overwhelming gratitude for being part of a such a momentous occasion in each of these athletes' experiences echoed through the weekend and has spilled over to the week that follows.
But if Tread's history has shown us anything, the best is certainly yet to come for all involved.
