By Chris Fuller and PBR Kentucky Staff

The 2014 Kentucky Top Prospect Games featured more than 120 players over the two-day event.  Today we take a look at the pitchers from Team Royal.  These are pitcher write-ups only.  Position and two-way players will have their write-ups in a subsequent article.

CLICK HERE to view the top statistical performers and complete stats from the event.

Seth Murphy, RHP/IF/OF, Garrard County HS, 2015
6-foot-2, 180-pound prospect with athletic frame and quick arm, after a bout with some injuries late last summer and fall, Murphy showed his velocity is almost all the way back to where it was last summer.  His fastball sat 86-87 mph that showed occasional cutting action and he consistently located the fastball at the bottom of the strike zone, curveball ranged from 65-69 mph, he allowed 1 hit and struck out 1 of the 5 batters he faced in game action.  Murphy committed to Eastern Kentucky University following the event.

Griffin McLarty, RHP/3B, Oldham County HS, 2016
6-foot-2, 165-pound prospect with projectable frame, arm action is long and loose through a ¾ to high ¾ arm slot, pounds the strike zone consistently, fastball sat 83-84 mph touching 85, two-seam fastball shows some arm-side run and sink, showed a 74 mph breaking ball with short/late break, 72 mph changeup is thrown with good arm action with solid fade, has shown a slight increase in velocity and would expect more to come from the projectable right-hander.

Jacob Bowles, MIF/RHP, Bullitt East HS, 2015
5-foot-10, 170-pound prospect uses short to medium arm action through varying arm slots from low ¾ to high ¾, ability to throw strikes from all arm slots, fastball sat 82-84 touching 85 with some arm-side run when he drops down, breaking ball sat 73-74 with sharp/late break, likes to drop down on his 77-78 mph changeup which produces good sink and fade on the pitch.  Bowles is an interesting prospect on the mound with the varying arm slots with the potential for more velocity with his quick arm.

Johnthan Dukes, RHP/OF, Muhlenberg County HS, 2015
6-foot-1, 210-pound prospect with strong lower half, showed a jump in velocity from last summer as fastball sat 82-83 mph and is mainly straight, curveball showed tight spin and sharp action that varied between  11/5 and 12/6 at 70-71 mph, showed the ability to throw strikes, allowed no hits and struck out 1 of the 5 batters he faced in game action, given that he has shown a 3-4 mph jump in velocity in the last year, one to keep an eye on for additional velocity gains.

Zac Conner, RHP, Paul Laurence Dunbar HS, 2015
6-foot-5, 190-pound prospect with big upside had a rough outing at the event.  Conner, whose fastball routinely sat 85-86 mph in February also showed the makings of a swing-and-miss slider, but on this occasion his fastball sat 81-83 and he lacked command of all secondary pitches as well as his fastball.  It should be noted that Conner was diagnosed with inflammation and tendonitis after the event which he attributes to his performance.  He hasn’t thrown since the conclusion of the event in an effort to get his arm healthy.

Chandler Harnage, RHP, South Warren HS, 2016
5-foot-10, 160-pound prospect uses long arm action through a high ¾ to over the top arm slot, has a smooth delivery with online mechanics, showed a fastball that sat 75-77 mph that touched 78 once, fastball is mainly straight and tended to be up in the strike zone, curveball showed some 12/6 action at 68-69 mph, allowed three hits and struck out 3 of the 10 batters he faced , has developing arm strength with potential to add additional velocity.

Lou Bunning, LHP, Highlands HS, 2015
6-foot-3, 245-pound prospect uses long arm action through an over the top arm slot, shows good tempo in delivery, fastball is straight and sat 73-76 touching 77 (have seen up to 80), good command of 63-65 mph curveball that showed gradual 12/6 action, allowed 4 hits and struck out 2 of the 10 batters he faced in game action.
Dylan Ladd, RHP/2B, Madisonville North Hopkins HS, 2015
6-foot, 165-pound prospect uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, two-seam fastball showed some slight arm-side run and also throws a fastball with late cutting action, velocity sat 75-78 mph touching 79 once, tended to get around his 62-63 mph curveball leaving it up, struggled some with overall command, allowed 1 hit to the 5 batters he faced.

Tanner Smith, LHP, Graves County HS, 2015
6-foot-4, 170-pound prospect with long and lanky frame and significant room to fill in, uses long arm action and works through a high ¾ arm slot, easy effort in delivery, fastball sat 73-75 touching 76 with slight arm-side run, throws a 62-65 mph curveball with gradual 1/7 action, throws a lot of strikes, allowed 3 hits and struck out 1 of the 10 batters he faced in game action.

Ben Cole, LHP/OF, Greenwood HS, 2015
5-foot-8, 140 pound prospect with small build, works through a ¾ arm slot, fastball sat 68 70 mph with some cutting action, throws a 56-57 mph curveball with gradual 1/7 shape and a 57 mph changeup.  Cole didn’t allow a hit to the five batters he faced in game action.