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St. Louis Preseason ID: Quick Hits

February 26, 2024
By: Diego Solares
Central Region Media Director, Scouting

On Monday, February 19th, the PBR Missouri staff traveled to the Bud Dome in St. Louis, MO, to host the St. Louis Preseason ID. This event, in its second year, was open to all 2024-to-2027 with 50+ prospects in attendance.

All of our events offer players the opportunity to update their recruiting resume and showcase their talents in front of our staff. We also use these events as identifiers for future invite-only events, like the Preseason All-State, our summer Top Prospect Games, and the prestigious Prep Baseball Future Games that take place at the tail end of the summer.

For a full roster of those in attendance, click HERE. 

Shortly after the event, our staff posted several of the day's stat leaders within our traditional 'Stat Story', which you can find HERE. 

We’re wrapping up our coverage from the event today with these ‘Quick Hits’, where we’ve broken down a handful of the day’s standouts. Below you’ll learn more about the names that stood out at this year’s St. Louis Preseason ID

QUICK HITS

+ INF Anden Hyde (Lutheran St. Charles, 2026; Xavier commit) continues to show high level physicality and one of the strongest right-handed swings in the entire state, regardless of class. Packed with power and intent inside a 5-foot-10, 192-pound frame, Hyde repeatedly got off aggressive hacks with high-end bat speed to pair. With that, Hyde hammered baseballs throughout his round, producing seven 90+ mph batted balls with four at 98+ mph, including a max mark at 101.6 mph. His furthest batted ball traveled 395 feet, which is unquestionably one of the highest marks we saw throughout our entire winter circuit, and his second furthest ball traveled 382 feet off the bat into the right-center gap. Hyde also showed well in our athletic testing, jumping the day’s highest vertical (30.1”) and also ran a 3.98 in the 30-yard dash, which was the fastest time of any underclassmen in attendance. Headed into his sophomore year at Lutheran St. Charles, Hyde continues to look the part of a high-follow middle-of-the-order bat. 


+ RHP Michael Siebels (Eureka, 2025) toes the rubber at lanky, long-limbed 6-foot-3, 170-pounds with plenty of physical projection to dream on. His arm played long and loose to release, pumping his fastball at 84-86 mph with considerable spin (T2581 RPM, 2475 RPM avg). Siebels landed a slurvy-type breaking ball for strikes consistently at 68-70 mph and he also showed a firm changeup at 78-79 mph. 

+ INF Deon Harrington (Alton, IL, 2025) has added strength and physicality to a 5-foot-11, 167-pound frame over the last calendar year, seeing an uptick in his tools as a result. Harrington ran the fastest 30-yard dash of the day at 3.90 seconds and he also jumped 28.9 inches in the vertical, which was amongst the highest marks of the entire event. At the plate, Harrington generated high-end hand speed out of his high leg kick load, spraying elevated contact to the middle-away part of the field. He was on the barrel often, averaging 87.4 mph per batted ball, with a peak mark at 95.8 mph, and his furthest ball traveled 335 feet to center field. Harrington showed arm strength and carry across the infield in his defensive workout, peaking at 87 mph on his firmest throw. 


+ After a loud look at the Rawlings Tigers Scout Day earlier this month, CIF Joey Fentress (Westminster Christian Academy, 2025) continued to show noticeable raw power in BP at this event. All but one of the 5-foot-10, 205-pound uncommitted juniors batted balls came off his barrel at 90+ mph, with six at 95+ mph, and his hardest jumping off his barrel at 99.2 mph - all of them finding their way into the left-center gap as well as to the middle of the field. Fentress also ran a 3.98 30-yard dash and jumped 28.9” in the vertical. 


+ C Cal Leighton (Westminster Christian, 2025) took an impressive round of catcher defense at this event. The 6-foot, 175-pound uncommitted backstop showed true life and carry out of the chute (T79 mph), working on the bag consistently with a top pop time at 1.95 seconds. Leighton sprayed line drives to all fields in BP from a level and repeatable right-handed swing. 

+ OF Ethan Callison (Francis Howell Central, 2025) can really run, jolting to a 3.91 in the 30-yard dash with quick, athletic strides. Callison stays short and direct to contact with up-the-middle feel in BP and he was also up to 86 mph from the outfield on his firmest throw.

+ LHP Andrew Anderson (Vianney, 2025) pitched at 81-83, touching 84 mph with his fastball at this event. At 6-foot-3, 200-pounds, Anderson showed feel for the zone with a 72-73 mph slider and 75-78 mph changeup. 

+ C Braden Fournie (Belleville West, IL, 2026) had a strong showing at the GBA Scout Day earlier this month and he was arguably better in our latest look at this event. Fournie flashed more bat strength and raw power, juicing his deepest batted ball 367 feet, while averaging 317 feet per batted ball - both of which are considerable jumps from what we’d seen previously. Fournie averaged 88.3 mph per batted ball, which was higher than his previous max mark, and he squared his firmest ball up at 93.2 mph as well. Ultimately, Fournie’s biggest asset may be his glove, as he has advanced actions in all aspects behind the plate. He’s a soft receiver that’s also a willing blocker with a short, accurate arm that was on the bag consistently from a catch-and-throw perspective. 


+ RHP Michael Strong (SLUH, 2026) had the loudest raw stuff on the mound at this year’s St. Louis Preseason ID. The 6-foot-1, 197-pound sophomore pitched at 86-87 mph with a straight four-seam fastball that peaked at 2624 RPM, averaging 2552 RPM. His slider flashed late sweep (-13.4”) at 76-77 mph with considerable spin metrics (T2819 RPM, 2737 RPM avg) to pair. Though still fully harnessing his potent arsenal, Strong’s loud stuff and ability to spin the baseball left a positive impression on our staff following his PBR event debut. 


+ INF Craig Ringe (Eureka, 2026) is a physically built 6-foot-1, 208-pound athlete with above-average bat strength for his age. Ringe has strong quick hands and keeps a flat barrel through the zone that creates leverage out front at the point of contact. He worked mostly to the pull-side in his round with seven 90+ mph batted balls, including a peak mark at 95.4 mph. 


+ A name that showed well on both sides of the ball last Monday was C/RHP Landon Montgomery (West Plains, 2026), who made the trip to St. Louis from the southwestern part of the state. A wiry 5-foot-10, 150-pound athlete with lean strength, Montgomery kept a flat barrel through the hitting zone and repeated line drive contact back up the middle of the field during BP. Defensively, he was quick to release from behind the plate and on the bag consistently, peaking at 75 mph with pop times in the 2.06-to-2.08 range. Montgomery jumped on the mound later in the event and ran his fastball up to 81 mph with heavy horizontal action (T18.9”, 16” average). He was able to land his slider in the zone consistently at 68-70 mph with late lateral break. Montgomery is a sophomore to follow whose tools should only continue to tick up as he gets older and stronger. 


+ C Colten Knoedler (Glenwood, IL, 2026) saw playing time behind the dish as a freshman last year for a Glenwood squad that is consistently one of the top 3A teams in Illinois. A well-proportioned 6-foot-1, 180-pound athlete that's capable of adding more strength to his frame, Knoedler’s hands stay short and direct to contact with middle-of-the-field feel throughout his round. His glove is a strength with a quick transfer to release and an accurate arm that plays around the bag with pop times in the 2.06-to-2.09 range. 

+ OF Grady Mueller (Glenwood, IL, 2026) flashed upside tools in various different parts of his workout. The 5-foot-11, 178-pound sophomore ran a 4.06 in the 30-yard dash and jumped 29.4 inches in our vertical jump test, both of which are above-average athletic testing benchmarks for his age. He also posted a peak exit velocity of 94.4 mph, averaging 88.3 mph per batted ball, and reached an 88 mph high from the outfield, which was the highest mark of this event. 

+ RHP Carter Martin (Warrenton, 2027) used Monday to only solidify his status as one of the top pitching prospects in Missouri’s current freshman class. A simple, athletic in-line mover down the mound, Martin’s athleticism and ease of operation are polished past his age. He pitched at 82-84 mph with his fastball from a loose, quick arm that played out of a ¾ slot. Martin’s breaking ball showed sharp late break off a lateral plane, spinning at nearly 2700 RPM on average in the 71-74 mph velocity band. To round out his arsenal, Martin also threw a 74-75 mph changeup that played with natural run from a lower arm slot than his fastball on average. 


+ 1B Trenton Kossmann (Union, 2025), INF/RHP Patrick O’Donnell (Waterloo, IL, 2025), and RHP/1B Grayson Yank (Triad, IL, 2026) are all physical right-handed hitters that flashed bat strength at this event. 

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