By Jeff Markle
Assistant State Director

The Prep Baseball Report’s Preseason All-State Invitational took place on February 28th at Highlands Ranch High School. 93 prospects showed up and strutted their stuff in a pro-style workout. Over the next several days the PBR Scouting staff will roll out position-by-position rankings of the event. We continue our look with the middle infield positions.

Best of the Best:

Liam Eddy, Brighton High School (2017)
A 6-foot-4, 175-pound right hand pitcher who has a simple windup and delivery.  He gets slightly past balanced and drives hard to the plate.  Lower half stays in-line through the pitch and falls off slightly on the finish.  Arm slot is high ¾ with good speed on all three pitches.  He showcased an 89 MPH fastball with a smooth delivery. Hand can sometimes get underneath ball.  Curveball was 77 MPH with sharp 11/5 break and he finished with a 79 MPH change with good downward action.  Nice combination of three pitches, all were thrown for strikes. Identified as the most projectable arm 2017 for this event.

Caleb Sloan, Regis Jesuit High School (2017)
A 6-foot-3, 210-pound right hand pitcher who stands tall and stays tall through his delivery.  He gets good lower leg drive and extension out front on his pitches.  Body stays in-line and stays square on his follow through.  Arm is over the top with good speed on all pitches. Motion is pretty effortless. Looks like he is lulling you to sleep. His session consisted of a 91 MPH fastball that is thrown on both sides of the plate, a 73 MPH curve with 11/5 break and a 76 MPH change that works away from the right hand hitter.  He finished with a 77 MPH slider that has good backdoor break to a right hand hitter. Identified with the best power fastball for this event.

Grant Schroeder, Grandview High School (2016)
A 6-foot-2, 185-pound right hand pitcher who gets good balance and coils slightly on his motion.  Delivery lands in-line with the plate and he does a nice job of staying square through the pitch.  Arm slot is a high ¾ and arm speed stays up on all three pitches.  Fastball was 87 MPH with good command away in the zone.  He also showcased a 67 MPH curve with sharp 11/5 break and a 73 MPH change.  He finished his showcase with a 74 MPH split that moves down and away as it crosses the plate. Identified with the best three pitch mix 2016 for this event.

Taylor Dye, Columbine High School (2016)
A 6-foot-5, 210-pound right hand pitcher who stands tall on the mound and uses his height to close the distance to the plate.  Arm slot is high ¾ and remains constant on all pitches.  Good leg drive and extension out front and finish stays in-line with the plate.  Fastball touched 88 with slight run.  He also showcased a 76 MPH curve with sharp 11/5 break and a 74 MPH change that works well down in the zone. Identified with the most projectable arm 2016 for this event.

Drake Davis, Ralston Valley High School (2017)
A 6-foot-0, 175 pound right hand pitcher who works quickly and is max effort on each pitch.  A quick motion and balance are followed by good lower leg drive to the plate.  He releases from a high ¾ arm slot and does a nice job of keeping his arm speed up on all three pitches.  Delivery lands in-line with the plate and follow through carries him across his body.  Fastball touched 88 with good movement.  He also added a 79 MPH slider with sharp break and an 84 MPH cutter that ran in on the hands. Identified with the best three pitch mix 2017 for this event.

Best of the Rest: (Listed Alphabetically)

Jerome Bohannon, Cherokee Trail High School (2016)
A 6-foot-0, 170-pound left hand hitting LHP/OF who ran a 6.96 60.  On the mound he stands tall and gets good balance.  Falls to the plate and lands in-line, finish takes him to the third base side.  Delivery is over the top with good arm speed on all three pitches.  Fastball touched 87 with good command away.  He also showcased a 70 MPH curve with sharp break and a 67 MPH change.  At the plate he is balanced with a high leg kick and long stride.  Good weight transfer and extension out front produced an 84 MPH exit velocity.  In the field he moves well and uses quick feet and transfer to get rid of the ball.  He displayed an 85 MPH arm with accuracy.

Zach Berg, Chaparral High School (2017)
A 5-foot-10, 150-pound right hand pitcher who is smooth and fluid in his delivery to the plate.  From balance he lands in-line with the plate and finishes slightly closed off.  Arm slot is over the top and at times he drops to a high ¾ angle.  Fastball was 80 MPH with good command away and showed well on the inside 1/3^rd.  He added a 69 MPH curve with 11/5 break and finished with a 71 MPH change down and away.

Alex Clouthier, Mountain Vista High School (2017)
A 6-foot-1, 210-pound left hand pitcher who delivers from a smooth quick motion.  He gets good balance and stays in-line with the plate through the pitch.  Arm comes over the top and arm speed remains constant on all three pitches.  Fastball works away in the zone and was consistently 78 MPH.  His out pitch is an over the top 12/6 curve at 79 MPH with sharp break.  He finished the day with a 71 MPH change that lives down and away. Identified with the best breaking ball for this event.

Keven Mackintosh, Cherokee Trail High School (2106)
A 6-foot-0, 205-pound left hand pitcher who stands tall on the mound and falls forward after balance.  He lands in-line with the plate and come across his body slightly on the follow through.  Arm slot is high ¾ and arm speed is good on all three pitches.  Fastball was 81 MPH with good run away.  He showed good command of the zone with a 70 MPH curve with sweeping break and a 74 MPH change that lived away from the hitter.

Christian Manmano, Legend High School (2016)
A 5-foot-11, 160-pound right hand pitcher who starts slightly closed and uses a high leg kick on the delivery.  Arm is over the top and he maintains good speed on all pitches.  Delivery lands in-line with the plate and finish takes him across his body to the first base side.  Fastball was 85 MPH with good command down and in.  He also showcased a 74 MPH curve with 11/5 break and a 75 MPH change down in the zone. 

Nick Morris, Grandview High School (2016)
A 6-foot-6, 180-pound right hand pitcher who stands tall on the mound and uses his height to get good extension to the plate.  Motion lands in-line with the plate and arm delivers from an over the top slot.  He shows good leg drive to the plate and stays square on his delivery.  Fastball touches 87 MPH and has movement away from the right hand hitter.  He also showcased a 73 MPH curve with 11/5 break and a 75 MPH change with downward movement and in to the right hand hitter.

Javy Rodriguez, Douglas County High School (2017)
A 5-foot-9, 183-pound left hand pitcher who delivers from a windup slightly past balanced.  He lands in-line with the plate and releases from an over the top slot.  He did drop down to a high ¾ on a few pitches.  He shows good command of the zone in and out on all three pitches.  Strong lower leg drive carries him to the third base side on his finish.  He showcased an 84 MPH fastball with slight tail, a 70 MPH curve with sweeping break and finished with a 77 MPH change that lived away from the right hand hitter. Identified as the best LHP only 2017 for this event.

Zach Sundine, Grandview High School (2016)
A 5-foot-10, 150-pound left hand pitcher who is smooth to the plate with his delivery.  He gets to good balance and has good extension on his release out front.  Arm speed stays consistent on each pitch and he works both sides of the plate well.  Fastball touched 84 MPH and has slight run away from the right hand hitter.  He finished his showcase with a 74 MPH curve with sweeping break and a 75 MPH change that works away. Identified as the best 2016 LHP only for this event.

James Verlinde, Air Academy High School (2017)
A 6-foot-6, 220-pound right had pitcher who is an athletic presence on the mound.  He does a nice job of staying tall and using his height to close the distance on the plate.  Good extension out front makes the ball get on you in a hurry.  He delivers from a high ¾ arm slot and falls off to the first base side on his finish.  Fastball was 83 MPH but looks quicker with his extension.  Curveball was 63 MPH with sweeping 11/5 break and he added a 67 MPH change.   

Padraic Walsh, Smoky Hill High School (2017)
A 6-foot-6, 170-pound right hand pitcher who has tremendous upside as he fills out.  He uses his tall frame well and gets out front on his pitches.  He delivers from a high ¾ arm slot and does a nice job of keeping his arm speed up on all three pitches.  He showed good command of the zone with an 82 MPH fastball.  He also worked in a 67 MPH curve with 11/5 break out of the zone to the right hand hitter and a 72 MPH change with good down movement late in the zone. Identified with the best change-up for this event.

 

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