St. Louis CC Scout Day: Top Prospects

November 28, 2022
By: Diego Solares
Area Scout, Illinois & Missouri

On Thursday, September 29th, the PBR Missouri staff traveled to St. Louis, Missouri, to host the St. Louis CC Scout Day. More than 30 players from the Archers' program participated in a pro-style workout in front of our staff while collecting data with the help of our tech partners as well.

To see a full look of the prospects who attended, click HERE. For a look at all the statistics collected from this event, click HERE.

Shortly after the event, our staff put together leaderboards of which prospects put up numbers across our traditional stat categories within our ‘Stat Story’, and we also took a deeper dive into the numbers unseen by the naked eye within our ‘Data Dive’.

Today we’ll spend some time highlighting some of the top prospects on this Archers’ squad. Read below for nuggets and more information on which players popped to our scouts from the St. Louis Community College Scout Day.

POSITION PLAYERS

Tyler Prince SS / Mexico, MO / 2021

Sophomore. Physically built athlete with well-proportioned strength. Returns to the Archers as a top offensive performer from last year’s squad, slashing .293/.370/.456 across 147 at-bats as a freshman. Swings a quick right-handed barrel that works short and direct to the baseball. Averaged 23 mph of hand speed and 74.7 mph of bat speed in BP, per Blast Motion. Generates hard contact as a result - his furthest batted ball traveled 372 feet and peaked at 98.7 mph. Ran a 7.05 60-yard dash while reaching an 86 mph high across the infield. Figures to be a key cog offensively for the Archers this upcoming season.

Mitchell Bonczkowski C / Lindbergh , MO / 2021

Sophomore. Athletic, well-proportioned 6-foot, 185-pound frame that returns after a strong freshman season. Batted .296 with a .399 OBP over 135 at-bats this past spring. Has a simple approach at the plate and doesn’t try to do too much. Works on top of the baseball and also flashed hand speed. Barreled balls up at 93.5 mph in BP on average, one of the highest marks we saw all fall, and peaked at 98.2 mph. Quick to release behind the plate with on-the-bag accuracy at times, popped a 1.94 on his best bullet. Is another returning name on this club that’ll look to make a positive impact in his sophomore campaign.

Josh Herget C / Seckman, MO / 2021

Sophomore. 6-foot, 195-pounds. Paced the Archers’ offense last year as a freshman, slashing .344/.417/.573 over 131 at-bats. Simple right-handed swing, long barrel through the zone with a level path that’ll occasionally work uphill. Will hit at the next level. Appears to be an asset behind the plate with natural arm strength (80 mph), carry, and consistent accuracy on the bag. Popped in the 1.97-to-2.01 range during his workout. Should build on his freshman campaign and challenge for an all-region selection this upcoming season.

Jayden Jones 3B / Francis Howell Central, MO / 2022

Freshman. 5-foot-10, 190-pound strong, sturdy athlete. Was ranked inside the top-200 prospects in Missouri’s 2022 class. Wields a physical right-handed bat with clear hand and barrel strength. Repeated hard contact throughout batting practice, averaging 92.7 mph per batted ball with a 98.9 mph max number. Also elevated his furthest ball 365 feet. Has the strength to provide thump at the next level.

PITCHERS

Christian Harvey RHP / Mehlville , MO / 2020

Sophomore. Well-proportioned physically built athlete with lean strength that still has room to add more. Simple mover down the mound, doesn’t try to do too much and works direct to target. Fastball played at 87-88 mph in this look, spinning at 2500+ RPM at peak with a max induced vertical break (IVB) of 20.5 inches. Spun two different breaking balls in this look - a 2400+ RPM 73-74 mph curveball and 2300+ RPM 75-78 mph slider - with more present feel for the former than the latter. Worked a 79-81 mph changeup as well, dropping slot slightly in relation to fastball and showing natural arm-side run with 20+ inches of horizontal movement at peak. Threw 23 innings for the Archers last spring and will look to build off that this spring.

Derek Sotolongo RHP / Harmony, FL / 2021

Sophomore. Large, physical prospect with a thick lower half and wide broad shoulders. Showed an intriguing two-pitch mix at this event in late September. Fastball jumps from a tight hand path at 87-88 mph with advanced feel for the lower half of the zone. Slider has a chance to serve as his swing-and-miss pitch. Threw it with fastball intent and conviction at 73-75 mph, sweeping through the zone at 2500+ RPM with nearly 22 inches of horizontal movement, per TrackMan. Still developing feel for a low-spin (1800 RPM) changeup at 79-80 mph.

Zach Dantuono RHP / Westminster Christian, MO / 2021

Sophomore. Lean 6-foot-2, 180-pound frame with projectable levers. Works upright down the mound with tempo, arm draws back out the glove with a short path to a high ¾ release. Fastball sat at 88-89 mph for strikes with straight action and 20.6 inches of vertical break at peak. Landed his breaking ball around the zone at 75-77 mph with depth and downer spin at 2300+ max RPM. Spotted his changeup down in the zone in the low-80s, flashing arm-side action. Will look to make an impact for the Archers’ pitching staff in his second season with the program.

Ethan Smith LHP / Lindbergh, MO / 2022

Freshman. 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete with strength present strength and room to add more. Helped Lindbergh reach the 6A State Playoffs last spring and slotted inside the top-55 prospects in the Missouri 2022 class. Logged 44 innings for the Flyers with a 3.18 ERA and 73 strikeouts to 16 walks. Athletic mover that finishes with controlled aggression through release. Long arm circle that finishes from a high ¾ slot. Showed louder stuff in his brief ‘pen at this event than we had seen prior, pitching around the zone and downhill at 88-89 mph. Throws changeup with fastball arm speed and intent at 82-83 mph. Slider showed swing-and-miss upside in the upper-70s with tight spin, late break, and conviction. Is a high ceiling prospect that’s amongst the top left-handed arms in Missouri’s JUCO realm.