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Kansas Underclass Games: Corner Infield Analysis

July 14, 2014

By Sean McCann
Prep Baseball Report Kansas

On Wednesday, June 18th Prep Baseball Report Kansas hosted the first ever summer Underclass Prospect Games an invite-only event at Trusler Sports Complex in Emporia, Kansas.

Below are the scouting reports on the corner infielders that participated in the event.  We had several two-way players (pitcher + position player) at this event, but keep in mind that the evaluations below are based on the position player side only.

In the next few days we will be reporting on the pitchers in this event, a group that also includes the two-way players.  When we do our state player rankings we take the overall player into account. 

Click on the player's headline link to be directed to their profile with video from their performance

Top CORNER INFIELD PROSPECT

Charlie Peyla, 1B/3B, Junction City, 2017
Peyla is a 6-foor-2, 195-pound right-hand hitting first baseman.  In infield workouts he showed quick hands and feet and made strong accurate throws using short, quick high three-quarters arm action – he moves exceptionally well for such a physical player.  His top throwing velocity was 77 mph.  At the plate he has an athletic set-up and slightly open stance.  He has a fluid hand load and very short inline stride.  Peyla showed bat speed, balance throughout his swing and extension.  His swing is built to drive the ball gap-to-gap – the ball jumps off his bat.  His top exit velocity was clocked at 87 mph.  Peyla collected one hit in three at bats during the games.  He ran 4.62 home-to-1B from the right side.

Best of the rest (listed alphabetically)

Christian Chalabi, 1B, St. Thomas Aquinas, 2016
Chalabi is a 6-foot, 200-pound right-hand hitting/left-hand throwing first baseman.  During defensive evaluations he showed average footwork, made clean exchanges and had a top throwing velocity of 71 mph from a three-quarters arm slot.  At the plate he has a tall set-up and slightly closed stance, he showed a fluid hand load and strides slightly closed.  He has a short upper-half dominant swing with some bat speed.  Chalabi’s exit velocity was clocked as high as 84 mph.  In the games he went 1-for-2 showing some juice with a home run.  His home-to-1B time was 4.53 from the right side.

Garrett Clark, 3B, Blue Valley Southwest, 2017
Clark is 6-foot, 170-pound right-hand hitting third baseman.  During infield drills he showed athletic actions, clean exchanges and threw from with easy three-quarters arm action making most accurate throws with a top velocity of 77 mph.  At the plate, he has a tall set-up and open stance.  He has a fluid, minimal hand load and uses a reverse toe tap before striding inline.  He generates bat speed while maintaining balance throughout his swing and finishes with extension.  Clark’s hands work well and he has a simple, repeatable swing built to produce line drives in the middle of the field.  His exit velocity high was 86 mph.  He ran a 4.75 home-to-1B from the right side in workouts before the game then bested it with a 4.51 in the games.  Clark went 1-for-2 in the games and stole a base.  He is just entering his sophomore year and has solid across the board tools, athletic actions and a projectable frame with room to fill out.  His athleticism and infield actions easily translate to the middle infield as well.

Austin Henderson, 1B/3B Louisburg, 2016
Henderson is a 6-foot, 240-pound right-hand hitting first baseman.  During infield work he showed quick hands and feet, made clean exchanges and accurate throws to second from short, high-three quarters arm action – he moves well for such a physical first baseman.  His top throw to third base was clocked at 71 mph.  At the plate he has a tall set-up and slightly open stance.  He uses a quick leg kick stride and has a fluid, short hand load.  Henderson has a compact, upper-half dominant swing that generates some bat speed.  He showed a slight pull approach.  He reached base twice in three plate appearances, including a single.  He ran a 4.87 home-to-1B from the right side.

Shea Kelley, 1B, Bishop Carroll, 2016
Kelley is a 6-foot, 170-pound left-hand hitting first baseman.  At first base he showed sure hands, clean exchanges and made accurate throws with a short, easy, three-quarters motion.  His top throw was clocked 76 mph.  At the plate he has a balanced set-up with a slightly open stance.  He uses a slightly open preset stride and backward hand load.  Kelley has a simple swing and slight pull approach.  His top exit velocity mark was 81 mph.  He went 1-for-2 at the plate in the games.  He ran a 4.62 home-to-1B.

Nick Mehlin, 3B, Blue Valley Northwest, 2016
Mehlin is an athletic-framed 6-foot, 170-pound right-hand hitting third baseman.  During infield evaluations his hands and feet worked and he threw with quick, clean three-quarters arm action.  His top throw was clocked at 80 mph.  At the plate, he has a tall, athletic set-up and slightly open stance.  His hand load is short and he strides inline.  Mehlin has a simple swing, bat speed, maintains balance throughout and finishes with extension – his strong hands work well and he has a gap-to-gap approach.  His exit velocity high was 88 mph, one of the top marks in camp.  Mehlin reached base four times in the games, including three hits.  He ran a 4.38 home-to-1B from the right side.  Mehlin is more physical and has made across the board improvements since we saw him in the winter.

Tanner Olmstead, 3B, Derby, 2017
Olmstead is a 6-foot, 177-pound right-hand hitting third baseman.  During the defensive evaluation part of camp he fielded everything cleanly and threw with clean, high three-quarters arm action.  His top throw was clocked at 72 mph.  At the plate he has a balanced set-up and slightly open stance.  He has a fluid hand load and uses a short, inline stride.  His hands work well and he has a middle-of-the-field approach.  Olmstead’s top exit velocity registered at 82 mph.  He collected one hit during the games.  Just entering his sophomore year he’s on the path to developing into an offensive third baseman with some juice.  His home-to-1B time was 4.74.

Ryan Zeferjahn, 1B, Topeka Seaman, 2016
Zeferjahn is a physically impressive 6-foot-4, 180-pound right-hand hitting first baseman.  During defensive evaluations he fielded everything cleanly and showed a very strong arm.  His top throw was clocked at 85 mph – an exceptionally high mark for a first baseman.  At the plate he hits from a slight crouch and has a slightly open stance.  He has a fluid hand load and strides inline.  Zeferjahn has loose hands and generates some bat speed using an upper-half dominant swing.  He has a long swing with his power tool grading out higher than his hit tool – if he connects, the ball is going to travel.  His exit velocity was clocked at 88 mph, one of the top marks in camp.  He ran a 4.68 home-to-1B from the right side.  He also has a big arm on the mound and is one of the top pitching prospects in the area in the 2016 class - which is likely to overshadow his work as a position player.

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