November 10 North Alabama Open Scout Analysis: Outfielders

Alex Wade (2022, OF/RHP, Madison Academy) Tall, lanky RHP that works from a low ¾ slot and shows some whip in the arm action. The FB showed nice arm side action and had spin rates in the low 1900’s to low 2000’s that was up to 83 MPH. The pitch showed sink and seemed “heavy”. The breaking ball was mid 70’s (low 2100 spin rates)  with slider action and the change up showed deception with tumble at 74-75 mph. Did a nice job of locating pitches his arm side. In the OF there are no questions on defense as he can cover a ton of ground in the OF and the arm strength is there as he had the highest OF velocity (87 mph) at the event. At the plate, he continues to impress with his gap to gap power. Shows a tall, slightly open stance and has nice rhythm in the load. The hands have some quickness and he does a nice job of getting his back side through with the barrel. The swing path shows some tilt and he has carry off the barrel all over the field (97 mph exit velocity). 

Christian Sutphin (2022, OF/RHP, Grissom) Big, stocky RHP that uses his core strength very well on the mound. The arm works well and he shows a FB with sink and late life that he was able to spot to both sides of the plate up to 86 mph. The breaking ball shows 12/6 action with nice depth at 63-64 mph. The change up is a nice pitch and plays well off the FB at 74-76 mph with the same arm action. Big time potential in this power RHP. Showed some big time juice to the pull side during BP, creating a ton of back spin off the bat. Slightly open stance and looseness in the hands, creating some whip with the barrel. Does a nice job of getting extension through the swing as well. Does a nice job using his lower half throughout the swing as well In the OF, he showed nice arm strength (86 mph) and throws stayed on line to the plate. A ‘22 that really jumped out at the event. 

John August Busch (2021, OF/RHP, James Clemens) Working from a high ¾ slot, Busch looked very athletic on the mound with an easy delivery as the ball really jumps out of the hand. The FB was up to 82 mph with nice nice 2 seam action and the breaking ball showed nice depth at 68-71 mph which he commanded well to his glove side. The change up showed nice downward action in the low 70’s. Intriguing arm on the mound. Showed some natural athletic actions in the OF and worked through the throw very well with nice arm strength (82 mph). At the plate he showed some quick twitch actions in the hands from a leg kick approach. Showed nice bat speed and really kept the barrel through the hitting zone a long time. Like the athleticism in this ‘21 grad.

Owen Beaverstock (2022, OF, St Paul’s Episcopal) Young player that turned some heads on the day with his performance. Ran a blazing 6.77 60 yard dash and was 81 mph from the OF and looked very natural getting to balls off the bat with accurate throws to the plate. Had the highest exit velocity at the event (98 mph) from a slightly open stance with the feet. Small leg kick approach allows him to be on time with the barrel and he has some strength in the hands. Showed a mostly line drive approach during BP with multiple line drives to the pull side. A ‘22 that will be interesting to follow in the coming years. 

Owen Swindall (2022, OF/1B, Lincoln County TN) Physical looking young player that did a lot of very nice things at the event. In the OF, he moved very well and showed natural actions getting to balls off the bat. Runs well and has some nice arm strength and the ball seemed to really carry out of the hand. At the plate, he was 85 mph exit velocity off a tee from an even stance with the feet. The bat path was fairly level and he showed a very mature middle of the field BP round showing major juice off the barrel. Really liked the fast twitch in the hands and the bat speed he showed. Another impressive ‘22 from the event to keep an eye on. 

Ryan Crawford (2020, OF, Bob Jones) Very narrow, open stance at the plate as he really does a nice job of using his back side in the swing. There is some tilt in the swing path and he showed the ability to drive the ball to the backside gap as well. Has definite strength in the hands and the bat speed is there with nice extension. He does not get cheated at the plate. In the OF, he showed some nice arm strength out of the hand and did a nice job of giving catchers and easy, big hop to handle.   

Connor Edwards (2021, LHP/OF, Madison County) The lefty showed a very nice delivery and the FB showed some sink and big time arm side action. The FB was 77-78 mph during his bullpen with spin rates in the mid 1900’s- mid 2000’s. The breaking ball showed nice tight spin with real late depth and the change up may be his best pitch as he commanded the pitch at 69-72 mph. The pitch just disappears and and will be a nice swing and miss pitch for him. Pounded the zone with all 3 pitches.  Liked the actions in the OF as he showed a very quick transfer from glove to throw and worked through his throws very well. From the left side at the plate, he started with the feet slightly open and showed a middle to opposite field approach with some power to the backside gap. Handles the barrel well to all fields.

Patch Lyman (2022, OF/LHP, Mountain Brook) Tall, lanky LHP that showed nice easy arm action from a ¾ arm slot. The FB showed very nice ASR away from RH hitters that was up to 75 mph. The breaking ball was sharp with slider type action and he was able to flip this pitch in for a strike at 66-67 mph. The change up showed signs of being a real weapon as it disappeared late. There will be more velocity in future years which makes him an interesting arm to follow. The lefty showed some nice arm strength from the OF with accurate throws to the plate and a quick transfer before the throw. Swinging from the left side at the plate, he showed some definite tilt in the swing and a solid middle of the field approach. The feet started even from his crouched stance and he really did a nice job of keeping his hands and barrel inside the baseball. Nice fundamentals all over the field for this ‘22 grad. 

Chris Walker (2023, OF/3B, Sparkman) Versatile player that went through the workout as both an infielder and an outfielder. On the dirt, he showed nice lateral range and did a nice job presenting the glove out in front. The feet worked well in both the IF and OF and he was 72 mph across the infield and 73 mph from the OF. In the OF, he showed a clean arm path as his throws stayed on line to the plate. A good bit of athleticism exhibited defensively at both spots. At the plate, he showed some quick twitch actions in the hands from a slightly open stance. There was slight tilt in the bat path and he showed a mostly pull side approach with some pop off the barrel.   

Luke Samples (2023, OF/3B, Huntsville) Another young player (‘23 grad) at the event that did a nice job of showing his ability. At the plate, he started with an open stance with the feet and the hands set high in the setup. There is some definite projection in the swing as he showed a level swing path and drove balls to the middle of the field. He did show the ability to drive balls on the outer half of the plate to the backside. In the OF, the defensive actions are clean and he has solid fundamentals and really worked through balls well to make the throw. The arm action was clean and throws stayed on plane to the plate. Nice looking ‘23 player. 

James Slaughter (2021, OF, Madison Academy) Showed well in the OF as the actions were very athletic and he did a nice job working to his glove side on ground balls for a quick transfer to make the throw. The arm action was clean and throws stayed on plane to the plate. At the plate, he showed a level swing path and the hands were set high in the setup of the swing. He showed a definite pull side approach and was 87 mph exit velocity off a tee. The barrel has some “whip” through the zone and the hands work well inside the ball. 

Joseph Thallas (2022, OF/RHP, East Limestone) Has shown some improvement since we last saw him. The arm strength has improved (72 mph) and the throws were very accurate to the plate. Moved well attacking balls off the bat and did a nice job keeping his momentum moving through his throws. At the plate he started with an open stance and was slightly crouched in his stance. He showed some tilt in his swing path and did a nice job creating backspin off the barrel. Really liked his round of BP as he showed a solid middle of the field approach. Exit velocity has also increased as he was 85 mph off the tee. 

Ryan Harness (2021, OF/LHP, Madison Academy) The LHP showed confidence in throwing all 3 pitches during his bullpen session. The FB was up to 71 mph with spin rates in the mid to upper 1500’s. The pitch showed nice arm side life and the breaking ball was commanded well with tight spin at 61-63 mph. The breaking ball also took nice shape. The change up really tumbled away from RH hitters and showed deception out of the hand at 63-65 mph. Good runner that turned in a 7.09 60 yard dash and that speed transferred well to the OF as he moved well to balls off the bat. Showed a nice transfer and throws were consistently easy for catchers to handle. At the plate, he started with an open stance from the left side and continually barreled balls to the middle of the field. Showed a strong lower half in the swing and had an impressive round of BP.