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2024 Names to Know : Uncommitted Standouts from Indiana Open

June 19, 2023
Cooper Trinkle
Lead Scout

Tons of uncommitted talent was on display during the PBR Tournaments - Indiana Open that took place at Championship Park in Kokomo, IN from June 8 - 11. Today, I take a deeper look at ten uncommitted 2024s with no-doubt ability to play at the next level from this event, along with another group of honorable mentions that are worth a look this summer. 

Logan Crock, SS, Lawrence North HS

Crock is a throwback type player and one of my favorite uncommitted players in the class. A switch-hitting, 5-foot-8, 155 pounder - Crock can impact the game in all facets with his feet, putting pressure on the defense with advanced foot speed out of the box, showing exceptional footwork in the infield, and using his instincts and foot speed to wreck havoc on the basepaths. Crock has a short, compact swing from both sides of the dish and bounces around the field with a high motor, along with enough arm strength to stick at SS at the next level. The more I watched him play, the more I appreciated Crock’s makeup - he’s the first one on the field, sprinting to his position, never taking a play off, and showing obvious leadership tendencies when interacting with teammates, along with playing the game exceptionally hard. 

 

Michael Fliss, RHP, North Central HS

Fliss attracted a large crowd of coaches to his start in Kokomo due in large part to his projectable, 6-foot-5, 200 pound frame, and his fastball that was up to 89 mph. Fliss is an easy one to dream on - showing plenty of room to add size and strength along with quick arm speed. His breaking ball shows quality shape with clear upside, but is just an average pitch right now due to a lack of sharpness. As he continues to develop the breaking ball, his stock will continue to rise. Fliss has started to show a short, tight slider at 73-76 mph that is also an intriguing pitch. The North Central product has shown improvements in his pitchability over the past year, however there are still some directional issues with the lower half that lead to some sporadic spurts at times. Overall, Fliss is far from a finished product and I believe there is significant untapped potential in the 6-foot-5 right-hander along with plenty of velocity left in the tank. 

 

Bryce Brabender, MIF, Mooresville HS

Brabender may have been the biggest winner at the event, having a monster weekend at the plate. The 5-foot-11, 160 pounder was on the barrel all weekend, including two home runs - continuing to flash his power potential as he hit nearly double-digit home runs in the spring for Mooresville High School. A 6.69 runner, Brabender shows quick, twitchy hands from the right-side of the dish with a short, upward swing plane. After playing 2B all spring, Brabender showed the ability to handle the SS position this weekend with above-average arm strength. At the college level, I think Brabender best fits the mold of an offensive-oriented 2B/OF. 

Joshua Ferguson, INF/RHP, Evansville Central HS

Ferguson has legitimate two-way potential - a 6-foot-3, 200 pounder that hits from the left-side of the dish and was up to 89 mph on his fastball with a clean arm. The Evansville Central product had a rocky start on the mound, but I walked away seeing clear upside in the operation. Ferguson pitches with a relatively low-effort level and sat anywhere from 84-89 mph on a fastball with some ASR. He flashed a tight, 74-77 mph slider that was above-average in this look. Offensively, the left-handed hitter has an upward swing plane that pairs well with his long-levered frame to allow for power projection. The bat-to-ball skills are good, as well. Ferguson likely ends up as a 1B because of the two-way projection, but he has the ability to play 3B and also shows at least an average run tool.

Logan Marsell, OF/2B, McCutcheon HS

Marsell’s tool is his bat, and it was on full display at Championship Park. The physical, 5-foot-11, 190 pounder showed off his ability to create explosive bat speed in a tight window with multiple loud barrels throughout the weekend, including multiple barrels against a very solid left-handed arm. The bat is clearly the tool, but Marsell also offers the ability to play both corner outfield positions and second base with above-average arm strength, along with an at least average run tool.

Aidan Pearson, LHP, South Bend John Adams HS

Pearson was absolutely lights-out in his start, throwing a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts in 4 innings of work. The 6-foot, 180 pound southpaw sat 82-85 T 86 mph throughout the entirety of his start with the ability to command a three pitch mix in any count. In this look, his 1/7 shaped, 68-71 mph breaking ball showed some sharpness and he was able to land it early in counts and get chase S/M’s late. His 75-77 mph changeup was thrown with fastball arm speed and showed some fade to the arm side. Pearson has an athletic delivery with consistent tempo throughout to go along with quick, clean arm action from a H ¾ slot.  

Andrew Noblitt, RHP, Jasper HS

Noblitt is an interesting right-hander with tons of pitchability along with an athletic and projectable frame. The Jasper HS product pitches with very little effort at 83-86 T 87 mph on the fastball with life, along with the ability to flip over a 69-72 mph curveball at will. Noblitt will also flash a changeup at 72-74 mph with sinking action, mainly to LHHs. The 6-foot-4, 195 pounder fills the zone with ease due to a very balanced delivery and clean arm action from a H ¾ slot. Expect this right-hander to continue to trend in a positive direction. 

Landen Smith, SS, Greenwood HS

Smith continues to impress and cement himself amongst the top uncommitted shortstops available in the class. The lengthy and athletic, 6-foot-2, 175 pounder hit throughout multiple looks this spring and continued to do so this weekend showing his budding pull side power with a couple deep XBH to the LCF gap. The Greenwood product has plenty of twitch and athleticism within the frame which allows for very quick hands at the dish, and his upward swing plane and ability to stay behind the baseball allows him to spin the ball true to the pull side of the park. Defensively, the rangy SS uses his length and foot speed to cover ground laterally, and Smith possesses a quick and whippy arm with enough strength to stay on the left side. 

JJ Prendergast, LHP, Roncalli HS

A durably built 6-foot-2, 195 pounder - Prendergast showed improvements from an early-spring look with noticeable improvement to the life on his fastball. Prendergast sat 83-87 mph on his fastball, holding 85-87 through two innings and flashing the ability to work the heater to both sides of the dish. I was impressed with his 77-80 mph changeup in this look, a straight CH thrown with fastball intent late in counts to right-handed hitters. The slider showed some late bite at 75-77 mph and there is upside with that pitch to continue to improve. 

Deklan Thompson, SS, Mooresville HS

A versatile infielder that is full of twitch - Thompson was a standout at our Indiana Nitro Scout Day earlier this summer and built upon that performance with a strong weekend at Championship Park. The 6-foot-1, 170 pounder showed the ability to play both shortstop and third base at an above-average clip due to quick lateral movements and tons of arm strength (89 INF Velo) that allows him to carry the ball across the infield with authority. A 6.88 runner, Thompson has a very direct right-handed stroke that plays best to the middle-to-opposite side of the field. More of a line drive type hitter - Thompson's hands are very quick, allowing him to catch up to velocity with some barrel accuracy in a flatter swing plane. 

 

Honorable Mentions


Stryker Swenson, OF, North Central HS

James Charland, 1B, Carmel HS

Leo McEnulty, RHP, Center Grove HS

Carter Orner, RHP, Plainfield HS

Will Loftus, C, Brebeuf Jesuit HS

Levi Dorn, 1B, Mooresville HS

Nolan Decker, LHP, Noblesville HS

Paddy Keefer, RHP, Mishawaka Marian HS

Jasper Owens, OF, University HS

Carter Hall, OF/RHP, Park Tudor HS

Parker Dougherty, OF, Roncalli HS