The Alabama Scout Blog provides insider information and scouting notes from the PBR Scouting Staff during the season. This running blog will feature information on underclass prospects, unsigned seniors, draft prospects, and anything else that is notable. We will provide a wide range of information, including player evaluations, velocities, pop times, home to first times, and more. 

Continue to check back over the course of the week, as the Alabama Scouting Staff will add scouting reports daily.

Week 5 Reports

 

 

7A No. 5 Vestavia Hills (9) vs. 5A No. 6 Madison Academy (0)

Saturday, March 20th @ Madison Academy

+ RHP Carter Tyus (2021, Birmingham Southern College) was in complete command as he did a nice job featuring of his fastball while complementing the pitch with a solid breaking ball. He showed nice tilt on the fastball and located it very well to the glove side. Quick arm action from a high ¾ slot creates late life on the pitch. Tyus was consistently 85-85 mph while also showing a breaking ball that was difficult to pick up out of the hand. The pitch was a definite late breaker showing nice depth at 76-77 mph. Tyus also messed with hitter’s timing as he changed the timing of his delivery out of the lineup. His final line: 7 IP, 4 hits, no runs, no BB, 6 K

RHP Carter Tyus (3/20/21)

+ C Hudson Walburn (2023) continues to trend upward as he presents an athletic backstop that is also equally adept handling the bat. The sophomore shows nice flexibility in the hips with athletic actions behind the plate. He is a quiet receiver and did a solid job of “stealing” some strikes for Tyus, especially pitches a bit off the outer half of the plate. The athleticism shows in the quick transfer and plenty of arm strength to the bag as he threw out the only attempted base stealer on the afternoon. Hitting in the 3 hole for the Rebels, Walburn has a very disciplined approach and strike zone awareness, rarely chasing out of the zone. Very simple approach with some present strength in the hands.

C Hudson Walburn (3/20/21) 

 

 

1A No. 1 Lindsay Lane Christan Academy (1) vs. 2A No. 1 Decatur Heritage Christian Academy (0) 9 Innings

Saturday, March 20th @ Toyota Field

+ LHP Ray Anderson (2023) is a sophomore southpaw that may not light up a radar gun but if you are wanting a guy that can get plenty of swing and misses with multiple pitches, Anderson is your type of guy. His ability to change speeds and locate to all quadrants allows him t miss barrels on a consistent basis. Has equal confidence in any pitch to throw at any time which keeps hitters from getting “comfortable” in the box. Very clean over the top arm path allows him to showcase a true “downer” breaking ball that he spins at a high level. The pitch tunnels well with his fastball at 65-66 mph as he gets a ton of swing and miss action on the breaking ball. The fastball stayed in the upper 70’s (76-79 mph) throughout as he could spot this pitch anywhere he wanted, while showing typical left handed arm side run. A young arm to keep an eye on. Struck out 11 and walked only 2 in 6.2 innings.

LHP Ray Anderson (3/20/21) 

+ RHP/OF Cole O’Brien (2022) excels as both an arm and an outfielder but Saturday saw him exploit his talents on the mounds. The junior shows an easy, athletic delivery while featuring ahigh ¾ slot which creates some arm action into RH hitters. There is some quickness in the arm from a shorter arm slot. We have seen his fastball up to 85 mph previously but Saturday he stayed 81-83 mph with late sink throughout his 5.1 innings on the bump. O’Brien consistently mixed in his quality breaking ball at 67-68 mph that looked more like a power breaking ball with late, sharp action. There is more velocity in the junior as he continues to mature physically. This makes him an intriguing guy to follow.

RHP Cole O'Brien (3/20/21) 

 

 

7A No. 3 Hewitt-Trussville (11) vs. 6A Clay Chalkville (0)

Thursday, March 18th @ Hewitt-Trussville HS

+ RHP Riley Quick (2022) got the start on the mound for 7A No. 3 Hewitt-Trussville on Thursday night and went the distance while dominating & overpowering hitters with his fastball. Standing at an imposing 6-5, 255 pounds, Quick is regarded as the top uncommitted player in the 2022 AL Player Rankings, but is also a prized four-star offensive lineman recruit on the gridiron. On the bump last night, Quick opened up pounding the zone, especially the outer-half, with an 88-90 mph fastball that featured some occasional cut at times. Hitters simply had trouble catching up to the pitch the whole game, as Quick created excellent extension with his stride foot and released the ball further out in front than most pitchers, allowing the fastball to play up a bit more. He settled into 86-88 mph in the later innings while pitching with a big lead, but showed the ability to reach back for more and grab a 90 mph when he needed to with two strikes. The putaway pitch with two strikes was definitely his slider that ranged 79-82 mph (up to 2411 rpm). The pitch acted like a cutter in the first two innings, but changed shape later & showed true slider action with late, darting movement. Both pitches worked extremely well off of each other, with the slider maintaining the same plane as the fastball before dropping off at the end with tunneling action. Quick logged 5 IP (CG), 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB (2 HBP), & 12 K’s

RHP Riley Quick (3/18/21

+ C Matt Miller (2022) led the way for the Husky offense in a five-inning mercy rule victory. Standing at 6-3, 225 pounds, Miller recorded three hits with two of those being doubles out of the 4-hole in a talented lineup. In his first at-bat, the physical backstop worked the count and caught an elevated 83 mph fastball up in the zone and lined it down the LF line for a RBI double to get his team on the board. It’s a simple, crouched setup at the plate & gets into his lower-half well to hit for power to all fields. He also added two more hits throughout the game, with one being another double. He’s got the feel to hit for power to power alleys, especially to the LCF gap. Defensively, Miller is also one of the top defensive catchers that our staff has seen so far this year. He’s got efficient flexibility and strong forearms to receive well, especially the ball down in the zone. He didn’t show his arm off in-game, but throws to 2nd base in-between innings showed carry and accuracy.

C Matt Miller (3/18/21)

 

6A Mountain Brook (8) vs. 6A Gardendale (2)

Thursday, March 18th @ Mountain Brook HS

 + SS Walker Allen (2023) has stepped into a big role in his sophomore campaign by starting at shortstop and hitting at the top of the order for a talented 6A Spartans squad. With a wiry, athletic 6-0, 160 pounds, Allen was everywhere on the field in a contest against Gardendale. The sophomore recorded two hits, two RBI’s, and scored once. He hits from an upright stance with a quick leg kick & gets down quickly to be on time. With his team trailing to start the bottom of the 3rd, Allen led off the inning with a sharply-hit single through the left side to get a big inning started. He recorded another single in the same inning, bringing home two runs to cap off the big inning that he previously started. He’s a rangy defender with solid lateral movement and made all of the routine plays up the middle. Showed above average arm strength across on throws to 1st base. An up & coming sophomore that is starting to make a name for himself. 

SS Walker Allen (3/18/21)

+ SS Presley Walker (2021, Wallace State-Hanceville CC) has steadily been a solid performer at the plate over the past couple of years. We’ve seen him hit for Vipers Baseball Academy during the summers at our tournaments & he continues to make hard contact consistently for his high school team here. Slotted in the 3-hole, Walker wasted no time getting his team on the board in the 1st inning after the previous hitter reached on a walk. Walker stepped up to the plate with one out and handled an offspeed pitch down in the zone and flicked it over the center fielder’s head for a RBI triple. Came back up and singled in his second at-bat in the 3rd as well. He’s added some strength and really bulked up with muscle since the last look which has benefitted him with some power. Balanced, polished approach that is a reliable defender as well.

SS Presley Walker (3/18/21)

+ C Juan Morales (2022) was a pleasant surprise with the bat in this look for Gardendale. Hitting in the 4-hole, Morales was another source of offensive production for the Rockets in Thursday’s contest. After recently moving in from Venezuela two years ago, Morales is a quality power bat hitting in the middle of the lineup. The 5-10, 190 pounder stepped up to the plate in the 1st and lined a pitch over the plate into RF for a RBI single. A switch-hitter, Morales swung it from the left side in this contest versus a right-handed pitcher. He’s got an explosive lower-half and really gets his hips through upon contact with the baseball. Hits for power from both sides of the plate. An interesting look at this uncommitted junior who not many people may know about.

C Juan Morales (3/18/21)

 

 

7A Sparkman (10) vs. 5A Ardmore (0)

Tuesday, March 16th @ Ardmore HS

+ LHP Cole Cheatham (2021, Mississippi State) Although the outcome may not have been what the southpaw wanted on Tuesday night, there is no denying the stuff on the mound. The senior came out in the first inning and commanded the fastball at 88-91 mph and maintained that velocity through his 4 1/3 inning stint. He did lose command of the fastball a bit and went more to the breaking ball, which is another major weapon in his arsenal. He struck out eight hitters, but walked nine. Cheatham was able to throw the breaking ball in fastball counts and did an efficient job keeping hitters off balance. Hitters seemed to swing over the top of the offering as he continued spin the pitch down in the zone, showing late depth. There is a ton of projection in the senior southpaw as he shows low effort in the delivery and will continue to progress with added strength and development.

LHP Cole Cheatham (3/16/21)

+ RHP Patrick Moody (2022) was obviously the star of the night as he twirled a complete game shutout in only 88 pitches. The junior was in complete control all night as he continued to pound both halves of the plate with both of his pitches. He continued to get ahead of hitters and was able to stay out of the middle of the plate. Throwing from a very low slot, both pitches looked identical out of the hand and both created excellent action. The fastball stayed 78-81 mph throughout the outing and showed serious arm side action and sink down in the zone. The breaking ball was more slider type (from that low arm slide) and tunneled well with the fastball and showed late, sharp bit at 73-74 mph. Loved the competitive nature and how he simply attacked hitters. His final line: 7 IP, 4 hits, 9 K, 2 BB. 

RHP Patrick Moody (3/16/21)

+ C/UTL Jack Buening (2023) enjoyed another multi-hit game with two knocks on the night. One of those hits was a double to the pull side that barely missed leaving the yard. The recent move in from Nevada continues to be a key cog in the Senator lineup and does a nice job staying though contact. Buening shows a mostly middle of the field approach but hammered an elevated fastball on the inner half of the plate for his double. There is some present strength in the hands as he creates plenty of juice with a slightly tilted bat path. 

C/UTL Jack Buening (3/16/21)

+ 3B Ryan Strachan (2023) Strachan has really elevated his game as his sophomore season has gotten off to a fantastic start. The sophomore has shown that he can generate juice to all fields and can do so versus high end arms. In his first at bat of the night, Strachan did a nice job of staying short with the barrel and sent a solid single back up the middle against a 90 mph fastball. The approach is simple and the bat path is direct to contact. What is also impressive with Strachan is that he has consistently shown to be a very discipled hitter and very rarely chases out of the zone. On Tuesday night he drew 2 walks in addition to lining out to shortstop in his other at bat as he put together 4 quality at-bats. 

3B Ryan Strachan (3/16/21)

+ C Jacob Haley (2023) Sparkman has a strong collection of sophomores and Haley is definitely one of those impressive underclassmen. Haley can do so many things at a high level on the field that he projects in a number of ways. He shows advanced skills behind the dish with quiet receiving skills, solid blocking skills and plenty of arm strength on throws to the 2B bag (threw out the only runner attempting to steal Tuesday night).  Haley also hops on the mound and shows a clean arm action and a fastball in the upper 80’s that shows late life. Offensively, he begins in a very balanced stance and shows some loose hands and bat spin, as evidenced by his double to the pull side on an 89 mph on the inner half. This was one of two hits on the night for Haley. He has made huge strides over the last 8 months. 

C Jacob Haley (3/16/21)

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