SoCal ProCase: Preview

Johnny Bowes RHP / 1B / Mission Bay High, CA / 2027

From 4/7/26: "Bowes made a loud statement in his first start of the spring after the sit-out period, working 5 innings with 8 strikeouts, allowing just 2 hits and 1 earned run on 84 pitches. The right-hander came out firing, sitting 94-96 mph early before settling into the 91-93 range later in the outing. He paired it with a 72-75 mph curveball that served as his primary secondary — including his final two punchouts — and mixed in an 88-90 mph cutter early on. He also flashed a splitter in warmups, but never went to it during the start. Bowes showed the ability to attack all four quadrants and generate chase above the zone, though fastball command wavered slightly in his final frame. Still, he dug in and worked out of trouble, showing composure with runners on base. The strides Bowes has made over the last 12 months are significant. This time last spring he was sitting in the mid-80s, and now the velocity jump is paired with a much cleaner, more efficient delivery. The operation has smoothed out, helping unlock both velocity and overall pitchability. Physical gains are evident as well, with added strength throughout the frame. He also showed the ability to lean more on his secondaries as the outing progressed, demonstrating a strong feel for pitching and not just attempting to light up the radar gun. Still just 16 years old and set to be 17 at the time of the 2027 MLB Draft, Bowes has a very intriguing ceiling. Whether his path leads to pro ball or to USC, he’s a clear 2027 arm to follow, with more velocity and development likely still ahead."

Jonah Cohen RHP / Palos Verdes, CA / 2027

Nate Godbold SS / 3B / Mt. Carmel High, CA / 2028

Jake Kim 1B / OF / Harvard-Westlake, CA / 2027

From 4/7/26: "One of the more impressive offensive profiles that I’ve seen not just in the past 12 months, but in the entirety of my nearly 20 years now evaluating players across collegiate coaching and dedicated player evaluation roles. Kim shows a pure hit tool with natural power and, for good measure, the advanced type of approach/plate discipline to be not only the number three hitter at Harvard-Westlake, but for the long-term future of his baseball career. The third member of Team SoCal at the 2025 Prep Baseball Future Games to hail from Harvard-Westlake, Kim showed off his own personal development, like his two teammates on the mound. For me, the development came in the confidence he is showing playing 1B, where he has improved with better awareness of how his feet and hands work when fielding a groundball and impressive flexibility on his frame, doing the full splits on a stretch to help retire a potential INF single. The question with Kim will never come with what he does in the batter's box, and yet again, he put up a trio of impressive at-bats. Falling behind 1-2 in his first AB on a foul ball and taking a SLD for a strike, Kim proceeded to spit on several offerings outside the zone designed to induce chase from him and fouled off multiple borderline offerings before taking a 9-pitch BB, then in his second trip to the dish laid off all offerings across five pitches never looking out of rhythm on any pitch simply allowing the southpaw to walk him and take his base. In his final AB of the day, he jumped all over an elevated SLD on the inner portion of the plate to launch a deep drive to straightaway RF that came up just a few short of being another HR for the UCLA commit. Kim continues to trend up in his overall future profile, and with another year plus of development ahead of him in the Harvard-Westlake program, the future is extremely bright for him before he departs for the next level."

Roy Kim LHP / 1B / Great Oak High School, CA / 2027

From 3/24/26: "Kim turned in an extended look across 6 innings, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits while striking out 6 and walking 3, with the final line somewhat inflated by a strange sixth inning and questionable calls. The left-hander worked with a three-pitch mix, featuring an 87-89 mph fastball with arm-side run, a 78-81 mph slider with tight shape, and a 78-80 mph changeup that flashed as a true difference-maker. The fastball/changeup combination created consistent tunneling and led to plenty of late swing decisions, with the ability to generate whiffs within the zone. Kim showed a confident, competitive presence throughout the outing, attacking hitters and not backing down in key moments. When dialed in, the changeup played as a wipeout offering, and he consistently competed through traffic. He also flashed strong instincts defensively, making an impressive play on a squeeze attempt — initially charging for a flip home before quickly adjusting, resetting, and firing a strike to first for the out. The overall makeup stands out, with a competitive edge and poise that project well moving forward."

Jacob Melendez 1B / LHP / Norco High, CA / 2027

Carson Richter OF / RHP / Newbury Park High, CA / 2027

From 3/24/26: "This was my second live look at Richter this spring, and with the first one being a strong forward step for the 2025 Team Southern California Future Games alum, I was looking forward to seeing what the consistency side of his game was showing. Richter took four trips to the plate with two of them being strong plate appearances and the other two being quality ones, which is in line with the forward steps he is showing offensively (haven’t seen any bad at-bats across my last eight in-game ABs). Carson is a toolshed athlete who possesses a frame that you can dream on, and the length of his limbs is a huge advantage for power/force production, but can inevitably lead to some swing/miss issues which have shown up at times in high school career, but he is making very positive strides in this department (took nine swings on the day with one whiff) and when he squared up one in his second at bat he launched an easy stand up double to RCF that hit up on the fence about 15 feet to the deepest part of the park. His take all game long were outstanding, controlling the strike zone with all of his swing decisions and not expanding while facing mid to upper 80’s velocity all day long, which is a positive step again for Richter in polishing the portions of his game that still need improving."

Ryan Sheffer SS / 3B / Oaks Christian, CA / 2028

From 3/24/26: "The younger of the two Sheffer brothers continues to make his name for himself (considering he is a top-10 ranked 2028 in California, it’s a pretty darn good name). At this point, I’ve come to expect high-quality showings from Ryan after multiple years of live looks to the point that I might get a little nitpicky when it’s not some explosive showing, so the four-plus-month gap between live looks was good for my eyes to appreciate just how talented Ryan is. His actions at SS are so good with bouncy footwork, smooth hands, athletic body control, and plenty of arm for the spot now and will continue to add as he matures. He handled five plays during the game of varying difficulty and made each one look essentially routine with the polish he has defensively. The offensive ability for Ryan might be a step ahead of his brother Carson at the same stage, as he shows a strong hit tool, which can be used to cover the whole field (L-9 and then two singles to LF). But what I really like about Ryan at the plate is the adjustability he shows in the swing operation and the ability to, for lack of a better term, “hit ugly” in that it doesn’t have to be a perfect pitch, perfect timing, or the perfect swing to collect a hit. Sheffer can adjust his body, hands, and swing path to get to pitches when everything isn’t perfect and still find the barrel or a quality part of the bat to pick up a hit or hit a ball hard. With projection still ahead in his frame and plenty of development time for his already strong foundation, the ceiling for Sheffer continues to tick up with each live look."

Theo Swafford SS / Sierra Canyon School, CA / 2028

From 4/29/26: "Swafford sits in the number two spot in the 2028 class in deference to a 100+ MPH sophomore arm, but would easily be the number one player without that presence. Swafford missed some time earlier in the spring with a moderate injury to his shoulder, but has quickly acclimated himself to the lineup upon his return. Playing in the DH role for this live look, Swafford took three trips to the plate and posted three productive and quality at-bats. Facing a LHP with quality present stuff in his first two at-bats, his ability to stay on spin moving away from him with a FB running in on his hands while making consistent contact with his balls in play, each coming solidly off the barrel, was a testament to Swafford’s advanced offensive ability as a pure hitter. The highlight of those two ABs was a nine-pitch battle with a runner at 3rd base and less than two outs, where Swafford fouled off an early FB before falling behind 1-2 then battling back to a 3-2 count, spoiling 2K offerings to each side of the field before drilling a hard two-hopper ground ball up the middle for an RBI groundout. Swafford capped the day by ambushing an early count FB from a righthander and drilling another two-hopper up the middle to reach base on a fielder's choice. Even on a day where Swafford didn’t collect a hit, the pureness of what he does at the plate stands out with the adjustability in his swing, pitch recognition, simplicity in the load, and consistency for timing to launch. With his upper body beginning to fill out and the athleticism to his overall profile, the talented LHH sophomore continues to solidify himself as not only the top tier of talent in California but across the nation."

Gavin Williams C / 1B / Liberty High, CA / 2027