Jacob Shafer (UNC Wilmington – PC: Matt Marsili) fires a pitch at Tread Amateur Pro Weekend '23
At the Tread Amateur Pro Weekend 2023, more than 60 athletes displayed their talents ahead of the upcoming 2023 MLB Draft.
Every corner of college baseball was showcased at Tread HQ, with pitchers from NAIA to Division 1 and every level in between throwing over the course of the two-day-long event. Considering each of the Power Five Conferences was represented, there were plenty of impressive bullpens to go around.
Years of preparation with their Tread Performance Coaches led each of the aforementioned athletes to the bullpen mound for another step in their baseball journeys. Long hours spent designing pitches, adding velocity, and building arsenals culminated in 48 special hours in Charlotte, NC.
Day 1 (Friday)
🐝 BUZZING BULLPENS:
Mario Zabala – PC: Hunter Townsend
Within the first hour on the first day of the weekend, we witnessed our fastest bolt. 21-year-old RHP Mario Zabala, who was an outfielder (!!) during his time at FIU, lit up the radar gun.
Topping out at 98.5 MPH on the TrackMan unit (98.4 MPH Stalker), he quickly turned heads and helped set the tone for the rest of the weekend.
With a fastball averaging 97.7 MPH and a wStuff+ grade of 143, the sky's the limit for Mario (who has yet to conclude his first year as a full-time pitcher).
Mario Zabala’s (FIU – PC: Hunter Townsend) Pitch Movement Chart
Hale Sims – PC: Lucas Still
Hale Sims is an athlete who looks like he could be wearing a helmet and shoulder pads playing on Sundays, but he belongs on the mound.
His best offering is his sweeper – averaging 81 MPH with an impressive -13.4 inches of horizontal break. Hale delivered one of the best breaking pitches of the weekend with a 133 wStuff+ grade.
The senior out of UNC Charlotte also carries a fastball that comfortably sits at 92.5 MPH, topping out at 93.4 MPH (TrackMan).
Hale Sims’s (UNC Charlotte – PC: Lucas Still) Pitch Movement Chart
Alex Galvan – PC: Matt Marsili
Out of University of Louisville, Alex Galvan brought arguably the best cut-fastball seen all weekend.
With the help of his Tread PC Matt Marsili, Galvan has crafted a dangerous carry cutter. It averages 92.4 MPH, 8.8 inches of Induced Vertical Break (IVB), and -5.5 inches of Horizontal Break from the right side. The pitch grades out at a 141 on the Tread wStuff+ Model.
Galvan’s other offerings include a 95.1 (T96.1) MPH fastball, an 82 MPH curveball averaging -8.8 / -16.7 inches of break, and a change-up.
Alex Galvan’s (Louisville – PC: Matt Marsili) Pitch Movement Chart
🔌 BEST wSTUFF+ GRADES:
🔥Top Fastball & 🔨Top Breaking Ball – Austin Amaral – PC: Chase Cunningham
(165 / 133 wStuff+)
Stetson’s own Austin Amaral flourished during his bullpen on Friday. With arguably the best fastball and breaking ball, he certainly has a case for the most impressive showing from Day 1.
Let’s begin with the fastball. For starters, a consistently mid-90s Fastball averaging 95.0 MPH is eye-popping enough. Factoring in the 21 inches of induced vertical break (IVB), Amaral’s fastball clocks in at a 165 wStuff+ rating. Additionally, his fastball topped out at 95.9 MPH.
Amaral finds himself at the top of the wStuff+ leaderboards again, this time for his big sweeper. With a healthy 83.6 MPH, 0.7 inches of IVB, and -11.8 inches of Horizontal Break, it is not surprising that the pitch grades out very highly. The 133 wStuff+ grade was again good for the best of the breaking balls thrown on the first day of the weekend.
His other offerings include a -9.7 / -9.3 in, 79.2 MPH curveball and a low 90s change-up.
Coming off of an impressive junior season in which he was named All-ASUN Second Team, Amaral is a player to keep an eye on in the upcoming weeks (and years).
Austin Amaral’s (Stetson – PC: Chase Cunningham) Pitch Movement Chart
🔁 Top Off-speed – Magdiel Cotto – PC: Craig Stem
(132 wStuff+)
Magdiel Cotto lived up to the SEC hype this past weekend. The Kentucky arm showcased his plus change-up in front of the captive Tread audience.
The first LHP featured so far, Cotto’s change-up clocks in at exactly 86 MPH (down to the thousandths place) on average. Furthermore, 1.8 inches of IVB and 17.7 inches of arm side run amount to an impressive wStuff+ score of 132.
Adding to his change-up are a fastball that tops at 96.2 MPH, a sinker that averages 94.1 MPH with 14.5 inches of arm side movement, as well as a low-mid 80s gyro slider.
Cotto had an impressive summer in 2022, being named a Cape Cod League All Star. He is currently the #68 2023 MLB Draft college baseball prospect according to D1 Baseball, and the 102nd overall prospect according to Baseball America. Look for his name to be called early in a few weeks.
Magdiel Cotto’s (Kentucky – PC: Craig Stem) Pitch Movement Chart
🔥 95+ MPH THROWERS CLUB:
Day 1 saw ten (10!!) arms hit 95 MPH or higher at least once on Trackman.
Those 10 pitchers (and their dedicated Performance Coaches) were:
- Davis Burgin (Turner Givens)
- Corbin Foy (Alex Kachler)
- Mario Zabala (Hunter Townsend)
- Magdiel Cotto (Craig Stem)
- Matt Bollenbacher (Hunter Townsend)
- Sam Conte (Paul Hall)
- Alex Galvan (Matt Marsili)
- Beau Blanchard (Alex Kachler)
- Austin Amaral (Chase Cunningham)
- Jacob Shafer (Matt Marsili)
Here is a compilation of each of the pitchers listed above:
Day 2 (Saturday)
🐝 BUZZING BULLPENS:
Harrison Durow – PC: Craig Stem
Harrison Durow fastball touched 94.1 MPH with good ride and moved explosively down the mound paired with 2 solid breaking offerings.
Durow is coming off a strong campaign at Trinity University compiling a 3.35 ERA in 48.1 innings with 64 strikeouts for the Tigers.
Harrison Durow’s (Trinity University – PC: Craig Stem) Pitch Movement Chart
JD Ogden – PC: Devin Hayes
JD Ogden, for sure, has some deception in his delivery. Basically ducking before landing upright at foot-strike, Ogden hides the ball extremely well from the left side. His sinker and change-up have some good arm side action to pair with his gyro cutter. Oh, and he was up to 94.9 MPH.
JD Ogden's (Columbia University – PC: Devin Hayes) Pitch Movement Chart
Ryan Mitschele – PC: Scott Firth
The right-handed product of Cullowhee from Western Carolina, Ryan Mitschele, showed a solid four pitch mix. His best offering in his arsenal is the change-up that he throws with nearly all sidespin.
Ryan Mitschele's (Western Carolina University – PC: Scott Firth) Pitch Movement Chart
Tyler Jones – PC: Matt Marsili
Tyler Jones threw bullets from a side arm slot, touching 96 MPH on the day. The majority of heaters were located at the top of the zone, and his two breaking balls (a tighter shape slider and a bigger sweeper) as well as his arm-side running change-up profile well off of his fastball.
Tyler Jones's (The Citadel – PC: Matt Marsili) Pitch Movement Chart
Andrew Hazell – PC: Justin Liserio
Andrew Hazell brought the fireworks to conclude our final bullpen of Pro Day 2023. Hazell, a current Performance Intern at Tread, sat 93.3 MPH and featured a cutter averaging 88.9 MPH, a 12-6 curveball, and a change-up with good arm-side run. With the whole facility rooting for him and music blasting, Hazell ripped his last few fastballs, topping at 93.9 MPH.
Andrew Hazell (PC: Justin Liserio) Pitch Movement Chart
🔌 BEST wSTUFF+ GRADES:
🔥Top Fastball (191 wStuff+) – Nick Long – PC: Justin Liserio
Nick Long had the highest-graded Fastball of the whole event. The high grade stems his fastball's average velocity of 95.9 MPH and above average IVB. He reached back to register 96.9 MPH according to Trackman. It's no surprise that he posted 10 K/9 in his last year with the University of Tampa.
Nick Long's (University of Tampa – PC: Justin Liserio) Pitch Movement Chart
🔨Top Breaking Ball (162 wStuff+) – Sam Kessler – PC: Jason Foster
Averaging 18 inches of sweep, Sam Kessler‘s big slider was up to 83 MPH and took home the award for the highest-graded breaking ball of the day.
Metrics: 80.1 MPH, 1.6 in. IVB, -18.3 in. HB
Sam Kessler's (PC: Jason Foster) Pitch Movement Chart
🔁 Top Offspeed (157 wStuff+) – Matt Gaither – PC: Chase Cunningham
Matt Gaither of UNC Wilmington showcased a nasty Splitter that averaged 18 inches of arm side run.
Matt Gaither's (UNC Wilmington – PC: Chase Cunningham) Pitch Movement Chart
🔥 95+ MPH THROWERS:
On Day 2, five more athletes joined the 95+ MPH Club.
Those 5 pitchers (and their Performance Coaches) were:
- Nick Long (Justin Liserio)
- Nate Campbell (Hunter Townsend)
- Choyce Diffey (Lucas Still)
- Tyler Jones (Matt Marsili)
- Matt Brown (Hunter Townsend)
Here is a video compilation of each of the pitchers listed above:
Closing Thoughts
A massive thank you to the summer data interns, Justin Roberts and Jackson Handler, for putting together this blog to recap the '23 Amateur Pro Day event. Please email rylan@treadathletics.com for full pitch data on any pitcher from this event.
