Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

Prospect I.D. Showcase: Corner Infield Analysis

July 7, 2014

By Ryan Quigley
Illinois Scouting Director

The Prep Baseball Report Prospect Identification Showcase held on Tuesday, June 17th at the Max in McCook featured several top corner infield prospects led by Plainfield South’s Marco Melgoza, who impressed with the event’s top exit velocity at 92 mph.  Lake Forest’s Tyler Esplin was the top 2017 prospect in attendance, and impressed both defensively and with his smooth left-handed swing.  Warrensburg-Latham’s Garret Shea was the top defensive first baseman in attendance, and also impressed on the mound.  Minooka’s John Vesper showcased power potential and good feet around the bag.

Here’s a look at the top corner infield prospects at the Prospect Identification Showcase.

Top Corner Infield Prospects

1. Marco Melgoza, 3B, Plainfield South, 2015
5-foot-11, 203-pound stocky 3B impressed with the events top exit velocity at 92 mph.  Hits from an open setup, coiling front foot to load lower half.  Moves hands back smoothly creating some loft in his swing.  Impressed at third base with arm across the diamond at 79 mph.  Fields through the baseball with soft hands getting rid of it quick from short arm action with good carry.  Ran 7.12 seconds in the 60.

2. Tyler Esplin, 3B/RHP, Lake Forest, 2017
6-foot, 170-pound left-handed hitting 3B/RHP impressed with two-way ability at the plate and on the mound throwing three pitches for strikes.  Threw 79-81 mph from loose, high ¾ arm action with arm side run.  Stride direction stays online towards home plate with smooth rhythm in repeatable delivery.  11/5 curveball ranged from 62-66 mph with gradual break.  68-69 mph changeup was thrown near fastball arm speed for strikes with occasional fade.  At the plate, hits from a tall, narrow, slightly open setup with good rhythm in hands loading down and back slightly.  Showed power to his pull side, producing up to 81 mph exit velocity, well above average for his age.  Showed solid actions at third base and threw 74 mph across the infield.  Ran 7.65 in the 60.

3. Garret Shea, LHP/1B, Warrensburg-Latham, 2016
6-foot-1, 185-pound athletically built LHP/1B impressed both in the field and on the mound with legitimate two-way ability.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with quiet hands loading back smoothly with level bat path and gap-to-gap tendencies that produced 86 mph exit velocity.  Line drives had back spin, and also showed the ability to handle pitches up in the zone.  Defensively, threw 80 mph across the infield from long, high ¾ arm action with soft hands and fluid foot work around the bag.  On the mound, threw strikes with all three pitches from quick high ¾ arm action, with a crouched setup and short leg lift with foot staying underneath his knee at load from drop and drive delivery.  Repeats simple delivery well, with level shoulders and lower half stride direction staying in line with home plate.  Threw 79-81 mph fastball, 68-71 mph curveball with 1/7 erratic shape, and 72-74 mph firm changeup with some fade when down in the zone.

Best of the Rest (Alphabetical Order)

Riley Alvarado, 3B, Dundee-Crown, 2015
5-foot-11, 195-pound left-handed hitting third baseman hits from a slightly open, balanced setup with hands held high, dropping down and back to load.  Gets on front foot early at times with balance forward, produced exit velocity up to 79 mph.  Defensively, threw 78 mph across the infield from ¾ arm action.  Ran a 7.87 60.

Hank Michalski, 1B, Neuqua Valley, 2015
6-foot-2, 240-pound muscularly built 1B hit from an initially square setup, but steps front foot backwards, taps and then goes forward again.  Disrupts rhythm at times getting front foot down late.  When synced up shows some power potential and bat speed with 82 mph exit velocity.  Defensively at first base showed soft hands and threw 64 mph across the infield from long, low ¾ arm angle.  Ran 7.98 in the 60.

Todd Motton, 1B, Kennedy, 2015
6-foot-1, 195-pound athletically built 1B hit from a narrow open setup getting back to square with very little load with hands.  Rotational level swing produced 76 mph exit velocity.  Defensively, threw from a ¾ arm action 61 mph across the infield, fielding the ball deep in his stance.  Ran 7.79 in the 60.

Lucas Robbins, RHP/3B, Manteno, 2015
6-foot, 200-pound physically mature two-way player threw 79-83 mph off the mound from short, loos, high ¾ arm action with considerable hand bump/bounce.  Command was better from the windup, struggled to locate out of the stretch as arm failed to catch up with body when speeding up lower half.  Threw 65-66 mph curveball with 12/6 action for occasional strikes.  66-69 mph slider showed similar action to curveball.  At the plate hit from a balanced set up with hands held high and a long stride.  Produced 66 mph exit velocity from uphill swing plane showing gap-to-gap tendencies.  Showed long, loose arm defensively at third base; throwing 81 mph across the infield with average hands.  Ran 7.4 in the 60.

Diaz Saunderson, LHP/1B, Lincoln Park, 2016
6-foot-1, 177-pound lanky left-handed hitting LHP/1B who impressed with a solid live batting practice round.  Hits from a balanced setup with a short stride and long finish after contact with a level bat path producing 82 mph exit velocity.  Defensively, threw 71 mph across the infield at first base from a long, high ¾ arm action.  Ran 7.68 in the 60.

Nathaniel Segura, C/3B, St. Patrick, 2016
5-foot-9, 200-pound C/3B with thick lower half impressed with power potential at the plate.  Hits from a balanced setup with short stride and smooth load.  Gets good extension in slightly uphill swing with long finish producing 85 mph exit velocity.  Behind the plate threw from 2.15-2.26 down to second, 71 mph from the crouch.  At third base showed average hands throwing 77 mph across the infield from high ¾ arm action.  Ran 7.66 seconds in the 60.

Jonathan Vesper, 1B, Minooka, 2015
6-foot-2, 220-pound first basemen impressed with physical size and all-around play.  At the plate, hit from a slightly open stance with short stride and above average bat speed with 83 mph exit velocity.  Shows natural lift in swing with power to his pull side.  Vesper is a big, strong kid who moves surprisingly well around the bag with fluid actions at first base.  He threw 76 mph across the infield, and impressed with footwork and quick release turning the double play.

More Event News

7.9.14 IL Metro East Open slide