Northeast Prep Pitcher Preview: Part 1

Sorting through the high school arms in the 2026 MLB Draft Class

We’ll get things started with sixteen high school pitchers that should be monitored to varying degrees as we approach the 2026 draft. Pitchers are separated into what I call priority tiers. There are three tiers in total. It’s not a straight ranking, but talent and skill level are the primary drivers for placement. There will be at least one more article in this prep pitcher series with around 40-50 pitchers highlighted in total.

Some notes:

• You can check out each player’s Perfect Game profile page by clicking on their first name. Most players will also have a link to their Prep Baseball Report profile that you can access by clicking on their last name.

• I’m unable to embed twitter video posts directly into this article. You will see twitter posts in the article that you can click on which should provide a link directly to that specific twitter post.

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TIER ONE

LHP Brody Bumila | Bishop Feehan | MA | Texas commit

-Bumila is one of two prep arms (Bryce Hill being the other pitcher) that I fully expected to be in the day one draft conversation. Unfortunately, Bumila has pitched sparingly the past year, and his status for the spring remains uncertain. The 6’9/250, Texas commit has captivating traits from the left side with upper 90s velocity, jarring movement/spin profiles, and release characteristics that should allow his stuff to play at the pro level. Bumila is currently playing the frontcourt for Bishop Feehan’s basketball team, where he regularly does crazy stuff like THIS. The hope is that we will gain more clarity about Bumila’s status after the hoop season concludes. Below are a couple of clips I pulled from Bumila’s twitter profile posted back in January of 2025.

RHP Bryce Hill | Greenwich Country Day | CT | Stanford

I saw Hill for the first and only time back in October of 2024 at the JR Subway Series. It was abundantly clear that Hill would be among the upper echelon of draft prospects for 2026. The Stanford commit made a strong impression during a handful of events early in the summer including an outing where his fastball topped out at 99 MPH. Hill has typically lived in the 92-96 range with his lively heater and will also show a power slider with sweep between 82-85 MPH and an OK changeup. At 6’5-220 with room to grow, Hill has a chance to be a physical beast on the mound with the arm strength to match. But after a handful of appearances, Hill was held out for the remainder of the showcase circuit.

Word is that Hill was shutdown for precautionary reasons and that he’ll be ready to go this spring. Sometimes in these cases that’s exactly what plays out, but other times those precautionary measures turn out to be significantly more serious than expected. That’s all to say that we won’t know until we actually see Hill competing in games. The expectation with Hill (and Bumila) has always been that he would be an extremely tough player to sign. There might not be a stronger commitment than Stanford as we’ve seen in the past up here with prep arms like Matt Scott. Any potential injury concerns would likely increase the difficulty of any deal getting done.

RHP David Hinojosa | Poly Prep Country Day | NY | Vanderbilt commit

-Hinojosa continues Poly Prep’s remarkable run of high end pitching prospects. The Vandy commit is one of the looser on mound athletes you’ll see in the class, making things look rather elementary at times. Hinojosa’s fastball velocity was inconsistent throughout the spring, though his ability to command and deploy spin remained a strength. My last two looks at Hinojosa (October and January) were my best to date. He lived in in the mid 90s while topping out at 97 and introduced a highly promising splitter during his bullpen at Ascent’s Pro Day (video below). Hinojosa is going to get dinged a bit because of less than stellar fastball data and below average extension. That may prevent some orgs. from matching his price tag, though I imagine he’ll have plenty of suitors if he keeps trending upwards. Hinojosa is one of the premier arms in this 2026 class, but there’s a decent shot he’ll end up at Vanderbilt. I wrote about Hinojosa previously which you can find HERE.

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TIER TWO

RHP Alex Boone | Hanover | VT| Northeastern commit

-Boone put together one of the better pitching performances at WWBA in Jupiter this past October. He put up zeroes for five innings against a Canes National 18U/NY Mets Scout Team that featured one of the most talented lineups at the tournament. Boone allowed just four baserunners and recorded a strike on 70% of his pitches. He accomplished this in front of a large group of scouts, living in the 88-92 range with a tight slider that was 83-85 MPH. Boone is hard for hitters to pick up since he tunnels his two-pitch combo so effectively. He’s a Northeastern commit with a 6’3-200 frame that can still fill out, so future velocity gains are very much on the table. He’s a bit older for the class at 19.00 years old, but that shouldn’t dissuade scouts too much given the overall profile. Boone could be a riser in this class if he continues to pitch like he did at Jupiter. I’ll hopefully get my first look at Boone this spring.

On a side note, I think we have reached the point where you are doing yourself a disservice by not heavily investigating every single Northeastern commit. The program has been on a recruiting heater for several years now and they seem to find a couple diamonds in the rough with each class.

RHP Bryce Cureo | St. Joseph's Collegiate | NY | USF commit

-I wasn’t entirely sure if Cureo would be pitching up here since he spent some time at TNXL Academy down in Florida. He made a strong impression during a bullpen at a PBR EVENT in September and then backed it up a couple of weeks later down in Jupiter during a brief outing where he recorded four outs all by the way of the K. Cureo is long, lean righty at 6’3-190 who looks pretty loose on the mound, at least on video. Cureo has a four pitch mix with a low 90s fastball flashing late running action, two distinct breaking balls that include an upper 70s slider and low-to-mid 70s curveball, and a changeup with a lot of movement in the low 80s but could use some more deception. There may be some rawness to the mechanics with the arm slot and delivery fluctuating at times. However, the body and pitch mix are enticing qualities. I haven’t seen Cureo, but he’s earned himself a look this spring. Cureo is committed to USF.

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TIER THREE

LHP Quincy Bright | Poly Prep County Day | NY

-It’s been a tumultuous ride for Quincy Bright the past year or two. The former Mississippi State commit was one of the most promising young lefties in the region before a series of injuries and setbacks prevented him from getting on the mound. Despite the extended absence, Bright is still a pitcher that scouts would like to see. He may not be a guy that scouts seek out, but there should be plenty of opportunities to pitch in front of evaluators this spring as a member of Poly Prep’s talented roster. Below is a video from December that I pulled from Bright’s twitter profile.

RHP Christopher Marano | DePaul Catholic | NJ | Stetson commit

-Undersized righty who knows how to pitch and work hitters from a really difficult arm slot/angle. Like some other pitchers on this list, Marano will certainly get seen by scouts this spring because he’ll be part of a loaded high school squad at DePaul Catholic. He sits around 90-92 MPH with a sinking fastball that he can spot to both sides of the plate. Marano’s slider has teeth with sweeping movement and good depth. At 5’10-180, Marano’s profile is held back by a lack of prototypical size. I do look forward to seeing Marano because his feel for pitching is advanced and refreshing to watch, but his path to the draft will likely include a stop at Stetson.

RHP Quinn Miller | Clarkstown North | NY | Army commit

-Super physical kid and West Point commit from Rockland County, New York. Miller has some of the better arm strength in the class and the raw ingredients for a potent three pitch mix. He’s been up to 95 indoors this winter (LINK) with his riding 4-seam fastball, he can generate solid spin (2600+ RPM) on his curveball, and he can make hitters look silly against his low 80s splitter. Putting all of these together consistently will be the question this spring. Miller throws with effort and can occasionally get wild when things are out of whack. He’s also committed to play at Army, which raises some signability uncertainty. Should Miller make it to Army, he would immediately become one of the top pitching prospects in the Patriot League.

LHP Anaiscio “Pepe” Ortiz | Richmond Hill | NY | Rutgers commit

-Ortiz is a twitchy athlete with a riding fastball that can eclipse 20 inches of IVB and a sharp curveball that has been his go-to out pitch for several years now. Ortiz has largely remained an 87-90 MPH pitcher the past year or so and his strike throwing can be erratic. It’s a fun profile and there are plenty of flashes from Ortiz, but scouts may be inclined to wait and see how the young lefty progresses at Rutgers.

LHP Daniel Pardini | Christian Brothers Academy | NJ | Penn State commit

Pardini is a prime example of someone that shouldn’t be judged solely on present velocity. It would be easy (and lazy) for me to look at where Pardini is now and say “college guy”. But when you start assessing his. strengths, you begin to realize that this is a lefty with considerable upside. He’s a smooth moving lefty with an average sized frame, and a simple delivery that features a 3/4 arm slot. Pardini will show a three pitch mix that includes a 4seam fastball, a slider with sweeping action, and a low 80s changeup. The fastball and slider are his go-to offerings at this stage, utilizing both pitches with confidence. The heater only tops out around 90 MPH right now, but he’ll flash above average carry on the pitch with occasional cutting action. His best pitch is a high spin slider in the upper 70s with sweeper shape that plays up thanks to his advanced feel for spinning the baseball. Pardini’s slider could end up being one of the better breaking balls from this 2026 prep group when all is said done. Pardini remained uncommitted as recently as November, but Penn State did a great job adding him late to their 2026 recruiting class. Pardini may not draw the vast scouting crowds as some of his CBA teammates this spring, but he’s worth checking on for any evaluators hanging around the South Jersey area.

RHP James Rabuse | Wahconah Regional | MA | Northeastern commit

-Another Northeastern commit to know, Rabuse put it all together at Jupiter while pitching for the Red Sox Scout Team. The lean and wiry 6’2 righty pounded the zone during four scoreless innings and allowed just one hit, zero walks, while striking out four. Rabuse has sat around 90 MPH from a deceptive high 3/4 slot with impressive arm speed and a longer arm action. There’s both a slider and changeup in the upper 70s that flash solid movement, though there’s some rawness in tunneling and selling both secondaries. Like several other arms in this third tier, Rabuse’s immense physical projection and arm speed mean a potential breakout could happen suddenly at any point this spring. Northeastern is turning into a tougher commitment to break, so we’ll probably get a few more years of Rabuse before the draft comes calling.

RHP Garrett Shapiro | Millville | NJ | Rutgers commit

-I saw Shapiro throw a pen last February and was struck by how much room he had to grow. Listed at 6’1-160, Shapiro was up a couple ticks this summer/fall which may portend some further spring gains. Shapiro has shown both a slider and curveball in the past and an upper 70s/low 80s changeup that might end up being his best secondary weapon. Shapiro is still filling in his lanky frame and he probably needs to show improved strength/body control to receive serious draft consideration. There’s long term upside for the Rutgers commit, though the bulk of it may not manifest until he’s a Scarlet Knight.

RHP Colin Sullivan | Mount Desert Island | ME | Georgetown commit

-I don’t have all that much on Sullivan besides some video and social media clips from the summer. But the sliver of information I have is enough for me to believe he’s a name that, at the very least, should be tracked to some degree. Sullivan committed to Georgetown shortly after pitching at Prospect Select’s Boston Classic this past July (I’ll definitely be attending this event next year) where he topped out at 93 MPH and flashed a promising slider with sweeping movement. He followed that up with another encouraging July outing at a Perfect Game tournament, striking out 11 batters in 4.1 innings, and introducing a low 80s changeup that he used against both righties and lefties. Sullivan is on the smaller side but he’s an accomplished two-sport athlete, earning First Team All-Conference honors playing soccer. He gets low in his delivery with some crossfire to his finish which may be difficult repeating. I don’t know if I’ll be getting up to Maine this spring, but area scouts who are out that way might want to pop in and see Sullivan on the bump.

RHP Andrew Valay | Gloucester County Tech | NJ | Rhode Island commit

-Valay was a really impressive pickup for a Rhode Island baseball program that secured some major talent (see Brady Juliano + Ray Kim) this fall. The Gloucester County Tech product flashed some desirable aspects during two scoreless appearances down in Jupiter with his 6’5-215 frame and three pitch mix. Valay has typically sat in the 90-92 range with his fastball which features big riding action up in the zone from a high 3/4 arm slot. He mixes in a hard, downer curveball in the low 80s that gives him some nice north/south playability, and will also break out a low-to-mid 80s bridge cutter and a slider. There’s quite a bit to like here, though the walk rate from last spring was a bit elevated. Valay will have plenty of opportunities to move up the ranks, especially if he’s handed the ball and pitches well during Tech’s two matchups against rival Gloucester Catholic this spring.

RHP Andrew Wong | Fairfield College Prep | CT | Northwestern commit

-Wong is almost guaranteed scouting looks this spring since he plays for Fairfield College Prep, a school that features multiple draft prospects for the 2026 class. But Wong is compelling on his own. He has good size at 6’7-220 and attacks hitters from a difficult, low slot. Wong has been up to 95 MPH with his heavy sinker and has the potential to develop his changeup into a solid weapon. Wong’s delivery can get clunky which impacts his ability to throw strikes consistently. There are also long terms questions regarding his ability to find a dependable breaking ball. I think the expectation among scouts is that Wong will make it to campus at Northwestern, though he should have plenty of opportunities to perform in front of scouts this spring.

RHP Dylan Zammit | Holmdel | NJ | NJIT commit

-Local kid who has been up to 93 MPH and can flash a sharp slider in the low 80s. Zammit has a large frame at around 6’4 or 6’5 and it looks like he added considerable strength over the past year based on video I’ve seen. He’s probably more of a college follow, but the NJIT commit possesses some interesting qualities for someone without a ton of fanfare. Zammit could be worth checking up on this spring for any scouts spending time in the Central Jersey area.

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