Campanelli Stadium was the latest site for one of the highly anticipated New Balance Baseball Future Stars Series powered by Program 15 regional combines, with the home of the Brockton Rox serving as a fine host for the Boston event, which went off without a hitch despite taking place on an unusually brisk spring day.
Jackson Linn (pictured), is considered by many to be a potential selection in the upcoming MLB Draft, and the Tulane commit only helped his rising stock with a strong showing both at the plate and on the mound. Linn almost surely will earn an invite to the inaugural NBBFSS Pre-Draft event that’ll be held later this summer in Lake Charles, Louisiana, and was one of several 2021 grads that stood out on the day.
However, all but 11 of the nearly 90 attendees were from the 2022-2025 classes, and it seems safe to say that quite a few of them will find their way to the Underclass and National Combines. Several players who’d attended previous regional combines this season did well to stand out in a loaded field, with Angel Martinez and Gavin Strump coming to mind.
And it would be difficult to forget about Olivia Pichardo (pictured), who once again turned in a strong showing at the plate and on the mound after opening a lot of eyes at the Philadelphia event. Pichardo, a 2022 grad who goes to the Garden School in Queens, has impressed as a dual threat, and was looking to take what she learned from the Philly combine into Boston to show the improvements she’d made in just a short amount of time.
“When I was in Philly, when I was doing my BP, I was trying to lift the ball too much and impress by trying to hit it as hard as I could,” she said. “This time, I had more of a line drive approach, and wasn’t trying to lift too much and drop my shoulders to try and hit it. From pitching, in Philly, they told me to have better tempo because I used I start slow and then speed up in the middle. So, I worked on making it consistent throughout my windup.”
The instruction, of course, continued in Boston, where she worked with Bill Bliss to help her be a little more closed in her delivery, which should gain a few ticks of velocity.
Pichardo said she gains valuable exposure within the baseball community at these events, but what got her to come back to Boston was the feedback she’s been receiving, and how important it is to her to get better from one event to the next. Better yet, nobody even bats an eye — nor should they — when they see a girl on the baseball field, and that’s something that she’s come to appreciate at these events as well.
“Honestly, I don’t think (I’m treated) different than anyone else,” she said. “Nobody’s giving me awkward stares or anything like that. No one ever says anything directly to me saying I’m not good enough. I get to come here, focus on me, and do what I do. I really like these events a lot.”
That seemed to be the consensus in Brockton on Sunday, especially from those who “made their name” at the event.
While hardly a complete list, among the many standouts were: AJ Colarusso, LHP, 2022, Anderson De Los Santos, SS, 2022, Michael Russo, C, 2022, Zack Scott, SS, 2022, Nic Frink, C, 2022, Clyde Boutier, RHP, 2022, Cole Carbone, C, 2023, Davis Johnson, C, 2023, Collin Harty, SS, 2023, Alex Marot, 3B, 2023, Daven Allard, 1B, 2025, Timothy Curley, CF/LHP, 2023, Aidan Driscoll, C, 2024, John LaRose, SS, 2024, Christian Oliviera, SS/RHP, 2024, Will Perkowski, 1B, 2023, Mason Alves, CF, 2024, David Ballenilla, SS, 2023, Jean Santos, SS, 2023, Nick Villano, 1B, 2024 and Justin Longmore, C, 2024.
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