IA Preseason All-State: Middle Infield Evaluations

April 15, 2016

By Rob Allison
Prep Baseball Report Iowa

Prep Baseball Report's IA Preseason All-State event took place on Sunday, March 13, 2016. The event was held at the SportsPlex West Facility in Waukee, IA. The event featured prospects from the 2017 and 2018 classes from Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska who showcased their talents in front of our scouting staff. Thank you to the players, parents, my staff and SportsPlex West and the Iowa Sticks for such a great event.

There were a number of great individual performances this year at the IA Preseason All-State. Also of note is the fact that official high school practices don't start in Minnesota for another week; and Iowa players aren't near their peak performance with their season beginning in May. Look for many of these player's numbers to continue to improve as they get closer to actually playing.

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Below we have highlighted the top prospects at their respective positions with evaluations.

top middle infield Prospects

1. John Swanda, SS/RHP, Des Moines Roosevelt, 2017
6-foot-2, 185-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.34 runner. Projectable build. Good weight transfer through swing. Loses posture at contact sporadically causing inverted plane. Short to contact with above avg. pop. Uses whole field and flashes above avg. hitting ability. 89 mph exit velocity. Shows well above avg. actions in field. Hands are soft with quick clean exchanges. Above avg. body control and shows ability to throw from multiple angles. Clean arm action with strength and carry. Good accuracy to target. 86 mph arm strength across diamond.

2. Gregory Bennett, SS/OF, Western Dubuque, 2017
5-foot-11, 170-pound right-handed hitting middle infielder. 6.78 runner with good strength in compact frame. Simple swing. Repeats well. Even with high back elbow; bat path is clean and short to contact. Consistent hard contact with ability to drive baseball to opposite field. One of better BP’s at event. 92 mph exit velocity off tee. Versatile athlete with ability to play infield and outfield. Plays IF with energy. Shows good angles and routes to ball. Glove has improved. Strong arm with accuracy at 86 mph. Runs enough for OF with 89 mph arm strength. Throws are online and accurate to target and shows athletic routes and actions.

3. Brayden Frazier, SS, Cedar Rapids Jefferson, 2018
5-foot-11, 185-pound right-handed hitting shortstop. 7.32 runner. Good strength in build. Athletic set-up in box with short leg lift trigger. Clean bat path with good bat speed. Shows ability to drive baseball to all fields. Stride is long at times; but overall shows above avg. hitting tools. 90 mph exit velocity. Light on feet. Soft glove with good footwork and body control. Clean exchanges with quick release in the 6-hole. Accurate arm with clean action. 86 mph arm strength. Upper level 2018 IA Prospect.

4. Bennett Spry, SS, Oskaloosa, 2017
5-foot-10, 165-pound left-handed hitting shortstop. 6.9 runner. Simple swing with minimal rhythm. Short to contact and ball comes off barrel exceptionally well. Has quick hands with gap to gap approach and shows ability to drive ball to oppo gap. Very interesting bat with college instruction. 77 mph exit velocity. Has quickness and is athletic. Avg. hands in field. Clean arm action. Projects as college 2B or left fielder with ability to hit. 80 mph arm strength.

middle infield follow Prospects

Trevor Burkhart, SS/RHP, Davenport West, 2018
5-foot-10, 165-pound right-handed hitting shortstop. 6.72 runner at this event. Shows better swing from RH side of plate. Better body rhythm and weight shift through contact. Pre-set hands with slight shoulder load. Linear swing with flat path. Gap to gap approach with aggressive swings. Shows soft glove. Hands are quick and sure with baseball. Clean arm action with solid accuracy to bag. 82 mph arm strength across.

Tyrel Johnson, SS/RHP, Cedar Rapids Prairie, 2017
5-foot-6, 125-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.21 runner. Open stance. Gets to square with short stride. Line drive swing plane. Ball comes off barrel well. Shows ability to use whole field. 78 mph exit velocity. Shows avg/solid hands in field. Accelerates well after fielding creating direction and momentum towards target. Shows good arm with quick release across infield with accuracy to bag. 81 mph arm strength.

Mason Pitts, SS, Cherokee, 2017
5-foot-10, 155-pound right-handed hitting shortstop. 6.97 runner. Athletic build- good runner. Wide base with deep load. Flat swing plane. Pull approach with rotational upper half through contact. 81 mph exit velocity. Good athlete at shortstop. Has good feet and hands. Multi-sport guy. Above avg. actions defensively with limited reps and experience. 79 mph arm strength. Overall good athlete that projects well in college once he puts attention into one sport.

Evan Salmon, 2B, Johnston, 2017
5-foot-11, 150-pound switch-hitting infielder. 7.03 runner. LH- drops hands in swing. Flat simple plane. Stays on backside. Flashes solid line drive contact. RH- better rhythm and use of lower half. Uphill plane. Solid contact with gap to gap approach. 81 mph exit velocity. Active feet and works down to up. Shows good footwork and reads hops well. Plays through baseball with momentum and direction. 75 mph arm strength.

Tynan Shahidi, SS, Ames, 2018
5-foot-9, 160-pound right-handed hitting shortstop. 7.34 runner. Aggressive leg kick and stride. Attacks baseball. Some length to contact with arm bar. Mid/pull approach with ability to drive baseball to oppo gap. Shows decent hands to contact. 82 mph exit velocity. Solid actions in field. Hands and feet work well. Does good job of showing glove surface early. Accurate arm to bag. 82 mph arm strength across.

AJ Shaw, SS/RHP, Waukee, 2017
6-foot, 155-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.38 runner. Good bat speed. Choppy rhythm in load but consistently squares baseball up with gap to gap approach. Short to contact with above avg. pop in bat. 80 mph exit velocity. Wiry athletic frame. Works through the baseball when fielding with solid/avg. actions. Shows glove early with sure hands. Clean quick arm action. 83 mph arm strength.

Sam Stonskas, SS, North Scott, 2017
5-foot-8, 155-pound right-handed hitting shortstop. 7.12 runner at this event. Stays connected. Short swing to contact. Uses whole field. 78 mph exit velocity. Active feet with good quickness. Shows glove late occasionally. Shows sure hands with clean transfer. Short arm action with solid accuracy to bag. 81 mph arm strength.

Jayden Zurita, SS, Burlington, 2017
5-foot-11, 155-pound right-handed hitting shortstop. 7.00 runner. Lean projectable build with long levers. Short leg kick trigger into stride. Inconsistent lower half. Shows good hands at plate- fights high back elbow occasionally. Flashes above avg. pop in bat with gap to gap approach. 77 mph exit velocity. Shows athleticism in field with some raw tendencies that should improve as he matures and develops. Tends to field on heels and funnel baseball in. Shows better hands and feet when on the run using athleticism. Accurate arm to bag with 75 mph arm strength.

middle infield Prospects

Kaleb Aschenbrenner, 2B, Cardinal, 2017
5-foot-11, 165-pound right-handed hitting infielder. 8.72 runner. Double tap trigger and stride. Deep load to swing. Gap to gap approach with aggressive swings. 78 mph exit velocity. Avg. glove and range. Tends to move flat-footed in field. Avg. actions defensively. Arm is accurate with low ¾ slot and 71 mph arm strength.

Addison Coram, 2B, Ottumwa, 2018
6-foot, 145-pound right-handed hitting infielder. 7.56 runner. Choppy rhythm. Strides open. Gap to gap approach. Solid contact. 73 mph exit velocity. Tends to sit back on groundballs. Late glove position with minimal momentum on throws. 67 mph arm strength.

Gabe Eckstaine, SS/RHP, Lemars, 2018
6-foot-1, 170-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.16 runner. Solid set-up. Leg kick trigger. Hands drop in swing. Length to contact. Lift in swing plane. Spray contact across field. 79 mph exit velocity. Works down to up in field. Late glove position occasionally. Feet are avg. Shows clean exchange with accurate throws. 76 mph arm strength.

Brendan Gogulich, 2B, Davenport Central, 2018
5-foot-7, 145-pound right-handed hitting infielder. 7.37 runner. Pre-set hands. Deeper load with slight arm bar. Aggressive swings on flat plane. Stays in middle of field with solid contact. 80 mph exit velocity off tee. Moves with quickness and has solid range. Avg. ok glove. Low ¾ slot. Sinking action on throws. 67 mph arm strength.

Nathan Groom, 2B/RHP, Des Moines East, 2017
5-foot-5, 165-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.77 runner. High hand position. Drops hands in swing. Pull approach. Out and around at contact. 77 mph exit velocity. Stiff actions in field. Avg. glove. Needs improvements with footwork. Short arm action. 69 mph arm strength.

Drew Hill, SS, Ankeny, 2018
5-foot-7, 156-pound right-handed hitting infielder. 7.03 runner. Short leg kick trigger. Short to contact. Simple swing mechanics. Sneaky pop in bat. Gap to gap approach. 79 mph exit velocity. Avg. actions in field. Sure hands. Makes routine plays. Throws with stiff wrist effecting carry. 62 mph arm strength.

Zach Hollingsworth, SS, Des Moines Lincoln, 2018
5-foot-10, 140-pound right-handed hitting shortstop. 7.05 runner. Upright stance with deep load. Longer stride to contact. Flat swing plane with solid contact and uses whole field to hit. 75 mph exit velocity. Active feet to field. Needs to re-accelerate working through ball and throwing. Long release from ¾ slot. 76 mph arm strength.

Noah McCreary, 2B/RHP, Davenport West, 2018
5-foot-11, 160-pound left-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.38 runner. Open stance with leg kick trigger. Strides across body locking lower half occasionally. Clean path to contact; some length. Shows some strength in bat and should improve with minor mechanical adjustments. 89 mph exit velocity. Active feet to field. Glove is solid/avg. Accurate throws to bag. 81 mph arm strength.

Benjamin Sterler, 2B/RHP, Burlington, 2017
5-foot-7, 140-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.53 runner. Low hand slot. Flat swing plane. Lands open occasionally in stride. Mid/pull approach with solid contact. 74 mph exit velocity. Shows solid/avg feet and hands in field. Will benefit from playing through and following throws to target. Avg. /ok actions overall. 75 mph arm strength.

Ryan Wohlers, 2B/RHP, Davenport Assumption, 2018
6-foot-2, 175-pound right-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.41 runner. Leg kick trigger effected timing. Late to launch position. When on time showed solid pop in bat to gaps. 81 mph exit velocity. Shows avg./ok hands in field. Works through baseball. Heavier feet. ¾ arm slot with 75 mph arm strength.

IA Preseason All-State: Middle Infield Evaluations

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