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Prospect I.D. Showcase: Outfield Analysis

July 3, 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 outfield prospects, two of which were previously unknown to us and have now entered the Illinois class of 2015 overall rankings.  Mattoon’s Payton Hartbank was the top overall outfielder impressing with his speed, explosive left-handed swing, and overall athleticism.  Bolingbrook’s DeMarco Mong ran the event’s second fastest 60 behind Hartbank, and impressed attacking the baseball during outfield drills, while showing above average bat speed at the plate.

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

Top Outfield Prospects

1. Payton Hartbank, OF, Mattoon, 2015
6-foot-2, 190-pound physically built, left-handed hitting outfielder ranked No. 130 in Illinois’ 2015 class impressed at the plate with explosive bat speed and the event’s best round of live batting practice.  Broad shoulders, defined lower half, with plus athleticism.  Hit from a wide set up with no stride, twisting on front foot to load hips.  Very little movement in hands pre pitch driving the ball from gap-to-gap with line drive swing plane and power to his pull side.  Defensively, showed average hands and a long, high ¾ arm action with a wrist wrap in back effecting arm speed.  Threw 77 mph form the outfield and impressed running the Prospect I.D.’s top 60 yard dash time at 6.76.

2. DeMarco Mong, OF, Bolingbrook, 2015
5-foot-10, 170-pound athletic outfielder currently ranked No. 228 in Illinois’ 2015 class impressed running a 6.79 60, the second best time at the Prospect I.D. Showcase.  Hits from an open stance with good balance producing level bat path with 76 mph exit velocity.  Possesses good feet in the outfield, with natural instincts attacking the baseball.  Threw 82 mph from the outfield from short high ¾ arm action.   

Best of the Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Joseph Bagger, OF, Champaign Central, 2017
6-foot-2, 165-pound right-handed hitting outfielder impressed with aggressive swing at the plate producing 79 mph exit velocity.  Hits from an open stance with a leg kick landing hard on front foot hurting balance.  Gets extension out of slightly uphill swing plane.  Threw 80 mph from the outfield and ran 7.5 in the 60.

Tyler Bordner, C/OF, Morris, 2015
6-foot-3, 180-pound lanky and athletic right-handed hitting catcher hit from a tall open setup with hands starting low, moving back considerably to load.  Showed fluid rhythm and short stride driving the ball from gap-to-gap and producing 85 mph exit velocity.  Threw 78 mph from the outfield and 70 mph from the crouch with pop times ranging between 2.18-2.22.  Arm action is long and high ¾ both form the outfield and behind the plate.  Ran 7.23 in the 60.

Parker Coleman, OF/RHP, Homewood-Flossmoor, 2015
5-foot-11, 172-pound OF/RHP impressed at the plate producing the Prospect I.D. showcase’s top exit velocity at 89 mph.  Hits from a wide balanced setup raising hands and back elbow to load with level bat path producing line drives with an up the middle approach.  Threw 83 mph from the outfield from long over the top arm action with some effort and accuracy aggressively attacking the baseball.  Ran 7.17 in the 60.  On the mound, threw 77-79 mph from drop and drive delivery, crouching slightly at balance point.  60-65 mph curveball showed gradual sweeping action, and slowed arm on 63-67 mph changeup with cutting action.

Gregory Gauger, OF/LHP, Grayslake Central, 2015
5-foot-11, 160-pound right-handed hitting outfielder hit from a balanced setup with short stride producing slightly uphill bat path and 76 mph exit velocity.  Threw 72 mph from the outfield and impressed more on the mound throwing 74-75 mph from low ¾ arm action.  Operates from a simple, repeatable, tall-and-fall delivery, consistently throwing strikes with all three pitches.  Curveball had sweeping action at 68-69 mph, and 67-69 mph changeup showed some cut.

Devin Immke, RHP/OF, St. Joseph-Ogden, 2015
5-foot-10, 145-pound RHP/OF hit right-handed from a wide balanced setup with a smooth load and level bat path producing 72 mph exit velocity.  Defensively, threw 75 mph from the outfield from long, over-the-top arm action.  Ran 7.33 in the 60.

Dakota Johnson, OF, United Township, 2015
6-foot, 150-pound lanky right-handed hitting outfielder hit from an open setup diving with lower half and spinning off front foot creating above average bat speed and 80 mph exit velocity.  Defensively, attacked the baseball aggressively throwing 77 mph from the outfield from long over the top arm action.  Ran 7.02 seconds in the 60.

Marty Krizka, OF, Joliet Catholic, 2015
5-foot-11, 160-pound right-handed hitting outfielder hit from an open stance getting back to square with short level bat path producing line drives up the middle and to right-center with 84 mph exit velocity.  Re-dislocated finger during outfield throwing, but threw up to 77 mph from the outfield beforehand from short, over the top arm action.  Ran a 7.57 60.

Thomas Larson, OF/RHP, Joliet Central, 2017
6-foot, 170-pound lanky and athletic right-handed hitting OF/RHP impressed during live batting practice and with 82 mph exit velocity.  Hit from a balanced setup with high back elbow dropping hands down and back to load, with slightly uphill bat path.  Threw 78 mph in the outfield from long, high ¾ arm action with throws online.  Ran a 7.3 60 yard dash.  On the mound threw 75-77 mph from high ¾ arm action with some effort from a drop and drive delivery.  Shoulders point downward at foot strike, could get more out of front glove hand side.  59-62 mph curveball showed gradual 11/5 break, and 68-73 mph changeup was thrown at fastball arm speed.

Jack Morgan, LHP/OF, Manteno, 2015
6-foot-2, 165-pound athletic and lanky LHP/OF impressed more on the mound than at the plate.  Threw 79-81 mph from short, over the top arm action with some effort from drop and drive delivery.  Rhythm can get choppy, but lands in line with home plate on front foot heel.  Struggled to command 65-67 mph curveball  and 72-73 mph changeup with good late action.  Both pitches were consistently down.  Hit from a balanced stance dropping hands down and back producing 77 mph exit velocity.  Threw 79 mph from the outfield and ran 7.09 in the 60.

Keith Sanders, OF, Simeon, 2015
5-foot-9, 150-pound left-handed hitting OF ran a 7.34 60-yard dash.  Impressed with long, loose, high ¾ arm action throwing 79 mph from the outfield with accuracy.  Hit from a balanced, athletic stance with a long stride and compact swing producing 71 mph exit velocity.

Aaron Saper, LHP/OF, Stevenson, 2015  
6-foot, 175-pound LHP/OF impressed more on the mound with 76-79 mph fastball from high ¾ arm action.  Overhead windup with short leg lift and easy effort landing slightly closed.  61-63 mph curveball showed gradual 2/8 break, and 64-65 mph slider showed similar action.  69-71 mph changeup was thrown near fastball arm speed.  Hits from a balanced setup with very little stride or load producing short level swing with inside-out tendencies and 82 mph exit velocity.  Threw 78 mph from the outfield and ran a 7.04 60 yard dash.

Sean Studer, OF, Lincoln-Way Central, 2015
5-foot-10, 180-pound right-handed hitting outfielder hits from an open setup with short leg kick and level swing with gap-to-gap tendencies producing 82 mph exit velocity.  Defensively, showed average hands cleanly fielding the baseball.  Throws had some carry from long over the top arm action up to 81 mph from the outfield.  Ran 7.07 in the 60.

Ryan Tishka, OF/LHP, Lincoln-Way Central, 2015
6-foot-1, 175-pound lanky right-handed hitting OF/LHP threw 73-76 mph off the mound from short, high ¾ arm angle.  Threw strikes consistently with two pitches: fastball and curveball.  57-60 mph curveball showed 2/8 sweeping action and arm action was even shorter on this pitch.  Hit from an open stance and stayed open with a slightly uphill bat path producing 71 mph exit velocity.  Threw 79 mph from the outfield  with a clean exchange after fielding.  Ran 7.37 in the 60.

Jack Whitsitt, OF, United Township, 2015
5-foot-5, 135-pound switch-hitting outfielder who impressed more from the left side of the plate.  Right-handed swing is still a work in progress.  Hit from a balanced, opposite-field approach that produced 66 mph exit velocity.  Ran a 7.57 60-yard dash and threw 73 mph from the outfield from a short over-the-top accurate arm.  Impressed with fluid outfield actions attacking the baseball and fluidly transferring through crow hop.

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