Arkansas Insider: 2019

December 7, 2015

By: Zac Bottoms
Arkansas Scouting Director

As last summer ended and the throughout the fall, I worked to see as many 2019 players as possible. I feel that I am getting a grasp of that class and will be releasing rankings at the end of January. Below is write ups for five players who have stood out thus far.

2019 OF/RHP Blake Adams, Har-Ber HS
Adams is a 6-foot-1 180-pound two way player, with a large frame and an athletic build. Offensively he starts from an athletic stance he uses a slight load and attacks the baseball with fast bat speed. He maintains rhythm and balance through extension. He would benefit from staying in his lower half longer and driving through the baseball with his hips. He produced exit velocities up to 85 mph. Defensively he plays through the baseball with a clean exchange and an accurate arm throwing the ball 80 mph from the outfield. On the mound Adams is impressive showing advanced power stuff. He works from H ¾ arm slot with a quick loose arm. He commanded the strike zone with a fastball of 83-86 mph touching 87 mph. He compliments the fastball with a curveball thrown 74-77 mph and a change up 68-70 mph. Both pitches he throws with near fastball arm speed. Overall Adams is a physical player with an abundance of tools.

2019 RHP TJ Bale, Parkers Chapel HS
Bale is a 5-foot-7 150-pound right-hander with an athletic frame and build. He works from a H ¾ arm slot with a quick clean arm. He repeats his mechanics allowing him to throw strikes on a consistent basis. He would benefit from staying closed on his front side and driving to the plate. He commands the strike zone with a fastball of 77-80 mph with slight sink. He compliments the fastball with a curveball thrown 70-72 mph with late 11/5 action. He shows a change up at 71-73 mph with slight arm side run. Overall Bale has a quick arm that projects to throw harder if he can clean up some mechanical issues.

2019 OF/RHP Alex Cauley, North Little Rock HS
Cauley is a 5-foot-9 155-pound athlete with an athletic frame and build. He showed the ability to do it all over the 5 week league. He played a solid short stop, playing through the baseball with fluid footwork a clean exchange and an accurate arm. He showed above average range in the outfield covering balls in the gap, with an accurate arm. Offensively he starts from an athletic stance, he has a smooth load and short stride. He shows fast bat speed with line drive swing that keeps the barrel in the hit zone for an extended period of time. This allowed him to hit in games consistently each week. On the mound he was effective as well pounding the strike zone with a fastball of 75-78 mph with some run. He complimented the fastball with a breaking thrown with near fastball arm speed at 62-65 mph. Overall Cauley is an above athlete that understands how to play the game. He will be a player to watch over the next four years as he gets stronger.

2019 MIF Kirby Jenkins, Har-Ber HS
Jenkins is a 5-foot-11 170-pound middle infielder with a large frame and an athletic build. He is an advanced offensive player with the ability to drive the baseball to the opposite field. He starts from a tall stance, with a minimum load, he attacks the baseball with a slight uphill swing. He produces exit velocities up to 78 mph. Defensively he plays through the baseball with fluid footwork and soft hands. He throws with a short arm action with accuracy. Overall Jenkins is an advanced hitter with solid defensive actions, he is a definite follow over the next three four years.

2019 Jackson Huskey, Bentonville HS
Huskey is a 5-foot-8 160-pound infielder with an athletic frame and build. He is an advanced left-handed hitter. He uses a compact line drive swing to produce exit velocities up to 84 mph. He starts from an athletic stance, with a slight hand load, he attacks the baseball with a line drive swing with rhythm and balance. Defensively he plays through the baseball with fluid footwork and average hands. He has a smooth exchange with an accurate arm. He needs to clean up his arm action to become a complete infielder. Overall Jackson is an advanced left-handed hitter that is athletic enough to find a defensive position.