Jabari Morris Outlaws #5

Proviso East freshman Jabari Morris, looks over the St. Lawrence defense as he steps in the box in a state playoff baseball game in River Forest, Illinois.

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Jabari is one of those players who has the ability to make something exciting happen at any minute.  He is one of the most athletic players on the Outlaws and can carry a team on his back when he is hot. An average day for him is a great day for most players. In most cases, the way to beat the Outlaws is to shut down Jabari by keeping him off the bases.  When he is on the bases, everything changes because he is a threat to steal any base as well as home.  He takes an intimidating lead off and has a way of getting into the pitcher’s mind.

Jabari stands 5’8” and 130 pounds. He runs a 7.1 60 yards.  He has a lanky frame with surprising wiry strength.  Like most travel ball players, he was a full time shortstop, but his best defensive position will be in center field.  He has average arm strength that would be better if he was fundamentally sound in his throwing motion as he often fails to use his whole body and get proper elbow lift when he throws.  In center field, he gets nice jumps on the ball and is stronger moving to his right when the balls are hit in the gaps. He runs well while looking upwards in much the same way as a wide-receiver would do. He has good balance and changes directions well when he makes adjustments to balls that play tricks in the wind.  If he will be a great college baseball center fielder, he will have to become consistent on getting behind the ball and communicating with his right and left fielder. 

Jabari starts his batting with his hands at the top of the strike zone and close to his body.  His load is somewhat inconsistent as sometimes he will twist and he over-loads.  He has quick twitch muscles that fire his hands forward and causes him to get out early on even the faster pitchers.  This makes him a dead pull hitter.  He is very good at moving the knob of the bat to the ball which makes him a very difficult person to strike out.  He does not finish high as he often seems to have more concentration on getting out of the box quickly than driving the ball with his entire body.  This takes away a lot of his explosive power and ball exit speed.  When he is set on hitting it hard, and finishing his swing high, he can put a charge into the ball and one hop a 340 foot fence which can surprise a defense.  When this happens, he is a dangerous treat for a three-base hit or even an in the park homerun.  What he will need to do in order to become a serious threat at the plate is develop more driving power or use his power more.  He can do this on a more consistent base if he starts with his hips under so that he will have a stronger use of his legs and core strength. Then if he allows the ball to get deeper in the zone he will be able to make contact while his bat accelerates instead of the deceleration point of his swing.

Another noteworthy aspect to Jabari’s game is that he understands the important of the little things.  When he’s on deck, he retrieves the foul balls behind the plate, he moves the bat out of the way after his teammate hits, he communicates with the base runner coming home with hand signals.  These small things may seem normal and no big deal to the seasoned baseball player, but when there is only one kid on a team or in a tournament who incorporates this in his game, it stands out as very few 14 year old players do these little things. 

Jabari has a huge upside.  If he can get proper training and development of his fundamentals, he will have a better than average chance to play on the higher college levels and become a five tool player with a little more arm strength and power.  As of now, he is a four tool player he hits for average, has speed, fields his position, and has average arm strength.   

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Brad Huth #1

Brad Huth is the guy you might easily look over until he makes a big play.  He is the blue collar player – no flash, no big talk, just business.  Somehow whenever there is a big game, Brad seems to be the difference maker.  He is one of the most athletic players on the team and because of this, he is very versatile. He has the speed to play the outfield and the arm strength to keep runners honest on the tags.  He is an above average defensive catcher, plays a respectable third and second base.  He bats 8^th in the order but could easily be a leadoff or two hole batter as he does not strike out much and he frequently  hits the ball to the right side.

On occasion Brad will put a charge in the ball and drive it between 300 and 315 feet.  He starts with his hands above the strike zone and loads well keeping his shoulders on a level plane.  He does a good job keeping his hands close to his body as he rotates through and he levels the bat in the zone keeping it flat.  Like many flat bat batters, he keeps the bat in the zone for a long time and does well at hitting the inside of the ball causing him to get a large percentage of his hits to the opposite field.  He rotates well with his hips but due to his above average knee lift on his stride, he places his plant slightly to the third base side and leaves him open for the outside pitch.  Often, he takes this pitch as his plant moves him away causing him to assume that the outside corner is too far away.  As a high school player, Brad will need to get more outside plate coverage in order to protect when he has two strikes as many pitchers like to go outside and away with off speed pitches.   His shoulder follows his hip well but he loses posture at the point of contact as he tilts in the mid-section which may indicate a need for lower back strength or a need to adjust his stride away from third base. 

On the bases, Brad is a serious threat.  Sometimes he cheats himself on the leadoff by getting a late leadoff.  As he becomes more accepting and aware of his speed he will become more aggressive and less doubtful of his ability.  Brad’s major weaknesses are no different from any other 14 year old player.  He has to develop a stronger mental game and avoid the mental mistakes that can turn a game around.  All in all, Brad is a three tool player for speed, arm strength and power.

Only the Outlaws can beat the Outlaws

Michael Sebby broke a 0 - 0 tie in the 5th inning with a 335 foot blast to the wall to score Isiah Paul-Emile on the Cinco de Mayo double header featuring the Oakbrook Outlaws and Top Tier. The Outlaws traveled to the beautiful field at Providence Catholic High School in New Lenox, Illinois. The wonderful sound system, the great weather, and the excited parents added to the already exciting moment. The Outlaws had their whole team for the first time this season as Jabari Morris returned to them at the end of his high school season. Lucas Gould was back from his trip to Israel, and Nathanial Segura returned from a dislocated finger to play against his former team.

In game one, the pitching of Justin Vivar was superb.  He pitched five scoreless innings and left the game with a one run lead.  Unfortunately for Vivar, the Outlaws did not support him with runs.  Isiah Paul-Emile could have scored the first run early but failed to tag at third base on Matthew Pizur’s fly ball to center. Last year the offensive success of the Outlaws was virtually determined by Jabari Morris’ ability to get on base at the top of the order.  In the first at bat of his return, Morris went down on three pitches.  Sub sequentially, the next three at bats were with runners on base and although Morris reached successfully each time after the strike out, he was unable to run the bases as someone was in front of him.  In all, the Outlaws left eight men on base – five in scoring position and they failed to get a timely hit with the bases juiced and one out. 

When disaster hit in the seventh inning, the Outlaws lead 2 – 1; the sun came from behind the cloud cover and Morris could not see the fly ball in center field.  Brad Huth was there to help on the second fly ball as he made the catch on an angle coming from right field. A two out single to right field off Sebby tied the game and a ground ball to Scott Cappis at short gave the appearance that the game would go to the eighth, but Cappis, after a clean catch, a shuffle once then twice, throws the ball in the dirt that the first baseman was unable to field and the winning run scores for Top Tier. 

Game two was much different.  Nathaniel Segura pitched five scoreless innings against his former team and Matthew Pizur finished them off with another two scoreless innings, including sixth inning masterful display when he struck out the side after Top Tier placed runners at third and second with no outs.  In game two, the Outlaws scored in nearly every inning and left very few men on base. When this happens, it is very tough to beat them as their pitching staff is better than it was last year.  In game two, the Outlaws won 6 – 0 giving up one earned run in 14 innings of play against a team that will do very well in tournament play this summer. 

The Outlaws will have their first major challege during the Mother Day tournament where they join the Illinois Sparks, Illinois Flames, and other powerhouse teams. 

The Top Tier Challenge

During the May 5^th weekend, the Oakbrook Outlaws will face Top Tier in an interesting match.  The Outlaws, a team with very lofty goals, finds themselves limping into this game with poor hitting and major defensive holes.  When it comes to travel teams there is often a common element that makes setting up defense difficult.  This common element becomes evident during the try-outs when the kids selected were in large part primary short stops on other teams.  Once selected, a coach needs to teach new positions to these players.  What we then find is the flaw of lower level coaching that places major emphasis on infield play leaving the young players with an inability to play the outfield.  When the players reach an older age and the outfield play becomes extremely important, the skill level does not match the skill need.    For this reason, Larry Gould and the Outlaws will be excited for the return of their primary center-fielder, Jabari Morris. 

Top Tier is one of the most reputable travel teams in the state of Illinois.  It figures that there will be many balls hit to the outfield.  With Brad Huth and Morris in the outfield, the Outlaws will have the speed to cut off the balls in the gaps. This will give the pitching staff more confidence in using the upper part of the strike zone.  Lucas Gould is back from Israel and will solidify a good defense in the middle as Scot Cappis moves to second base.  It remains questionable if Nathanial Segura will return from his dislocated thumb but if he does, the story line for this game becomes increasingly interesting. 

In the International World Series, held at Crystal Lake, Illinois, Nathanial Segura pitched a masterful game for Top Tier against the Outlaws.  In the 3 – 1 victory, Top Tier took the bragging rights.  During the off season, Nathanial Segura’s family was unhappy with the development plan that Top Tier apparently used and though to move to the Outlaws.  Coincidentally, Justin Blake, a friend of Morris tried out for the Outlaws and despite the invite shunned Coach Gould and joined Top Tier.  Blake, a 14 year old 8^th grader in Broadview, Illinois left the Outlaws in the dark when he did not join them over the fall league games without notice. Instead, he took on quarterback responsibilities for a Pop Warner team in Melrose Park, Illinois.  Coach Gould had no idea that Blake was shopping around for teams and not even Morris was aware that Blake had selected Top Tier due to the alleged rumor that Top Tier had the better web site.

It is yet to be seen if Blake will play against the Outlaws as Top Tier has two teams (an A and B teams not labeled as such but we all know what the colors mean).  If Blake plays against the Outlaws and if Segura plays against Top Tier, the emotion level of this early season game will be high.