By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

In August, the inaugural Team Kentucky participated in the PBR/Under Armour Midwest Future Games at Indiana University.  The team was filled with a number of highly-ranked Class of 2015 and 2016 prospects who had the opportunity to showcase their abilities to the nearly 100 Division I coaches in attendance.

Four players from Team Kentucky 2013 have issued verbal commitments to date, and others have received offers and will be committing in the very near future.

The 2014 PBR/Under Armour Midwest Future Games will not take place for another 7 months, but today we take a look at some prospects that could potentially fill the roster.  The team will consist mostly of players from the Class of 2016 with a few selections from the Class of 2017 as well.

While it is still early and we have many players in the 2016 and 2017 classes we will see over the next several months, the following is a look at some of the players by position who have shown well at PBR events, and in doing so have put themselves on the radar of being selected for Team Kentucky 2014.

pitchers

- Easton McGee (’16 Hopkinsville HS) –  6-foot-5, 180-pound RHP impressed at the Underclass Games in August with a fastball that touched 88 mph and a good slider. 

- Cameron Planck (’16 Rowan County HS) –  6-foot-3, 185-pound RHP was impressive during the Fall Prospect Program with a fastball that topped at 85 mph and good feel for his hard breaking ball. 

- Stewart Currie (’16 Daviess County HS) - 6-foot-6, 175-pound RHP showed a fastball up to 84 mph at the Underclass Games in August.  He has big upside on the mound.

- Hunter Sullivan (’16 Elizabethtown HS) – 5-foot-10, 165-pound RHP showed a fastball up to 84 mph with a very good changeup at the Underclass Showcase in July. 

two-way players

- Ethan Stringer (’16 Beechwood HS) – 6-foot-1, 185-pound OF/RHP was one of two Class of 2016 prospects selected to Team Kentucky in 2013.  Stringer showed well at the Top Prospect Games in June as both an outfielder and pitcher with a fastball that touched 85 mph, a 7.00 60 time, and 88 mph arm from the outfield. 

- Griffin McLarty (’16 Oldham County HS) – 6-foot-2, 160-pound RHP/3B impressed at the Underclass Games in August with a fastball that touched 84 mph and a sharp breaking ball.  The left-handed hitter showed quick hands at the plate and ran a 7.09 60.

- Jack Schneider (’17 Daviess County HS) – 6-foot-2, 165-pound RHP/3B impressed at the Western KY Prospect ID Showcase in June when he ran a 6.95 60, showed an 83 mph arm across the infield, and took an impressive round of batting practice.  Schneider also featured a fastball up to 83 mph.

position players

- Jakob Shuler (’16 Apollo HS) – 6-foot, 195-pound left-handed hitting catcher was one of two Class of 2016 prospects selected to Team Kentucky in 2013.  Shuler showed well at the Top Prospect Games in June and is one of the top left-handed hitters in the state.

- Brayden Combs (’16 Beechwood HS) – 6-foot-4, 225-pound 1B is the premier left-handed power bat in the 2016 class.  He showed big power potential at the Top Prospect Games Event in June.

- Carson Coleman (’16 Lexington Catholic HS) – 6-foot-1, 155-pound SS impressed at the Underclass Games Event with an 80 mph arm across the infield, 86 mph exit velocity, and 7.19 60.

- Logan Wyatt (’16 North Bullitt HS) – 6-foot-3, 200-pound, left-handed hitting 3B, showed big power potential at the Underclass Games in August, 91 mph exit velocity off the tee.

- Austin Madry (’16 Lexington Catholic HS) – 6-foot, 150-pound SS showed well at the Underclass Games in August and again during the Fall Prospect Program at UK in October, 7.25 runner with 78 mph arm across the infield and 86 mph exit velocity off the tee.

- Cam Hill (’17 Scott County HS) – 5-foot-8, 150-pound, left-handed hitting SS impressed at the Underclass Games Event where he showed 80 mph arm strength across the infield, ran a 7.20 60, and showed the ability to make hard contact to all fields.

summary

There is no question that some of the players listed will certainly find themselves on the Team Kentucky roster in August, however there are many players in the 2016 and 2017 classes we have yet to see and undoubtedly there will be additional players that show they are worthy of consideration.  

In addition, I expect several players we have seen who are on the verge of this list to show gains and challenge for spots on the roster.  It’s the nature of things for young prospects who are continuing to develop their game as they mature physically.

We look forward to continuing to evaluate players in these classes and ultimately selecting the best players to represent Kentucky again in August 2014.