Day three came and went at Globe Life Field in Dallas, Texas marking the end of the 2024 Future Stars Main Event. Sunday saw arms like Isaac Robles, Wade Cooper and Mark Brissey shine. Following the final out, right-handed pitcher Sebastian Dimitroff was named Pitcher of the Week while shortstop Landon Schaefer took home Player of the Week honors.
Sunday saw a few arms come out and pump some of the best stuff they’ve ever shown on the field. Robles was the big surprise of the day. A late addition to the roster, Robles wasn’t listed on published rosters for the event but showed up for the final day with a purpose. A high school junior not draft-eligible until 2026, Robles came in dominated in his first inning of work. He touched 92 and didn’t throw a fastball south of 90 mph in that inning. None of his heaters registered induced vertical break less than 20 inches — a building block component when building a ‘plus’ fastball for the future.
Robles parlayed his heater with the best breaking ball the event saw all weekend. He was consistently 76-80 mph on a hammer curve with spin rates registering north of 3000 rpm. In that first inning of work Robles was spiking that pitch right behind home plate, tunneling its shape beautifully off the fastball he was showing hitters. He was consistently posting massive shapes generating handfuls of whiffs. It was as dominant an inning as the event saw all weekend.
Robles projects going forward. He’s an exceptional athlete who generates well-above average extension and possesses one of the looser arms showcased this weekend. There’s plenty of layback and he possesses rubber band whip-like arm strength in his delivery. There’s plenty of arm speed to go alongside his longer levers to project more velocity on the horizon.
Robles does have some effort through release with notably present head-whack, something he’ll need to iron out if he hopes to nail down a starter role down the line. Still, the floor of a potential leverage reliever was clear. He is committed to Rice.
Cooper was also impressive in his own right. He battled over three innings and flashed a fastball touching 93 mph matching his personal-best from earlier this summer. More importantly, Cooper held 90-91 mph for most of three innings. He also generated well-above average extension and fooled hitters with his secondaries thanks to a higher arm slot and unique angles he creates coming down the mound.
Cooper spins the ball particularly well and flashed a couple big breaking balls that really project. He also threw a handful of changeups and showed feel for conviction and arm-speed on that pitch despite it presently lacking bat-missing shape.
Cooper has the ingredients of a starting pitcher at the collegiate level and should have every opportunity to carve out that role at Texas State.
Not to be outdone, Brissey touched 95 for the first time in his career. He was consistently 90-91 over three innings — pretty impressive for a kid who has seen his velocity bands steadily climb all summer. While it wasn’t Brissey’s best day from a control and command perspective, the stuff was obvious. Brissey threw several changeups and sliders, each of which flashed above-average potential at one point or another. The slider was at times late with solid vertical tilt. He was able to create heavy fading action on a couple changeups as well.
While he didn’t show it much, Brissey did flash a 91 mph two-seam fastball that generated north of 20 inches of horizontal tailing action. It’s a complete arsenal and Brissey possesses some unique release traits that should add more value as he continues his pitching development journey. He is committed to play ball at Arkansas.
NOTES
Infielder Ivan Tatis had a nice day with the bat and the glove. He put a couple balls in play with impact into the gaps. He also made a great play from second base sprinting into foul territory at full speed to record a big out. IF Kenyon Hughes also had a nice day with two stung shots into the gaps allowing his speed to go on full-display. Hughes was a steady presence on the dirt all weekend too. Catcher Myles Mayse threw out baserunners at will. From this chair, it’s one of the better catch-and-throw weekend performances in recent memory. The kid will control traffic wherever he ends up committing.
Dimitroff took home Pitcher of the Week honors after taking the ball twice, closing out Game 5 for the Royal squad. He pounded the strike zone and handled the last few innings for the Royal squad on Saturday as well.
Schaefer took home Plate of the Week honors after seemingly hitting .800 on the weekend. While final box scores will not be available until later this week, from this chair, he was next to impossible to get out. Schaefer also accounted for a few RBI and played solid, technically sound defense at shortstop, left field, centerfield and right field across three days of work.
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