By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

The Class of 2017/2018 Fall Prospect Games took place at the University of Louisville on October 4 and included close to 60 players looking to establish themselves as some of the top young players in the state.  The following is a look at the position players from Team White.  This is position player analysis only.  Those players who also pitched for Team White will have their pitching analysis in a subsequent article.

middle infielders

Cameron Masterman, SS, R/R, North Oldham HS, 2017
6-foot-2, 182-pound prospect with strong/athletic frame, right-handed hitter hits from a slightly open stance, short stride, explodes with lower half while maintaining good balance, generates well above average bat speed, shows some pull-side power, posted a 4.64 home to first time, 88 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 0-for-3 in game play.  Defensively, shows good hands, arm plays well from the hole, shorter high-3/4 release, 79 mph arm strength across the infield with some carry, committed to Louisville following the event.

Trip Lockhart, SS/RHP, R/R, Lexington Catholic HS, 2017
6-foot, 145-pound prospect, lanky build, right-handed hitter hits from an open stance, uses a leg kick and short stride to square front side, has significant pre-pitch hand movement, level swing path, line drive type hitter with mid to pull-side approach, went 0-for-4 in game play reaching base once on an error, posted a 4.78 home to first base time, 79 mph exit velocity off the tee.  Defensively, shows soft infield hands, fluid footwork, quick exchange, long high-3/4 release with accuracy, 74 mph arm across the infield, solid 2017 prospect.

Brenden Bube, 2B/RHP, R/R, Lanesville (IN) HS, 2017
5-foot-8, 150-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a slightly open stance, front foot comes back in load with an aggressive stride, gets close to arm bar creating some length in swing, line drive type hitter, posted a 4.85 home to first time, 77 mph exit velocity off the tee, had one of the more impressive days at the plate in game play going 2-for-4 with a two-run single and RBI triple.  Defensively, shows solid infield actions, ability to throw on the move from multiple arm angles, good body control, 76 mph arm strength across the infield, mostly accurate throws, high energy type player.

corner infielders

Jacob Mulcahy, 3B/RHP, R/R, Owensboro Catholic HS, 2017
6-foot-1, 183-pound prospect with athletic frame, right-handed hitter uses a balanced stance, short stride, good lower half torque in swing, stays quiet with a solid approach, above average bat speed, 84 mph exit velocity off the tee, impressed in BP with line drives to the gaps and showed power potential, went 2-for-3 in game play with an infield single and double to right field, posted a 4.51 home to first time.  Defensively, showed above average corner actions, good body control, long high-3/4 release, 73 mph arm strength across the infield, high follow in 2017 class.

Luke Hayden, 3B, L/R, Owensboro Catholic HS, 2018
6-foot-1, 165-pound prospect with lanky frame, left-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance, short stride, short path to the baseball with extension through contact, good balance, uses lower half well, line drive type hitter should develop some power in the future, posted a 4.79 home to first time, 76 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 0-for-3 in game play.  Defensively, shows average corner actions, shorter high-3/4 release, inconsistent throws across the infield, should continue to see improvement in 69 mph arm strength, potential to develop into power left-handed bat makes him a high follow in 2018 class.

Aaron Blake, RHP/1B, R/R, St. Xavier HS, 2017
5-foot-10, 160-pound right-handed hitter, hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, displays good balance, line drive type hitter, gap to gap approach, took a good round of batting practice consistently squaring up the baseball, posted a 4.89 home to first time, 74 mph exit velocity off the tee, made contact in all of his trips to the plate going 0-for-4 and reaching base once on an error in CF.  Defensively, shows soft hands, good feet around the first base bag, 64 mph arm strength across the infield.

Sy Zickler, 1B, R/R, Brownstown HS (IN), 2017
6-foot-2, 205-pound right-handed hitter, hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, long swing path, tends to get to front side early, flashes some occasional pop, posted a 5.07 home to first time, 76 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 1-for-3 in game play with an RBI triple to left-center.  Defensively, shows average hands, 68 mph arm across the infield from ¾ slot.

catchers

Jackson Campbell, C/OF,R/R, Logan County HS, 2017
5-foot-7, 138-pound prospect shows good athleticism, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance, short stride, shorter path to the ball with good extension through contact, high hand finish, explodes with lower half, took one of the most impressive rounds of batting practice with consistent line drives to the gaps, showed good speed with 4.40 home to first time, 78 mph tee exit velocity, went 2-for-4 in game play with two singles to left field.  Defensively, very athletic behind the plate, quick feet, what he lacks in current arm strength (68 mph) he makes up for with very quick transfer and release, very accurate throws to second base, pop times 1.98-2.08, athletic outfield actions as well, 70 mph arm strength with short arm action, high follow in 2017 class.

Tyler Grigalis, C, L/R, Lexington Catholic HS, 2018
5-foot-8, 160-pound left-handed hitting catcher, hits from a slightly open stance, short stride, maintains good balance, good, quiet approach, direct path to the baseball with good extension through contact, line drive type hitter with gap to gap approach, consistently barreled the baseball in BP, solid young left-handed hitter, posted 4.81 home to first time, 71 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 1-for-3 in game play with a single to center.  Defensively is mechanically sound behind the plate, solid footwork, quick transfer, short high-3/4 release, 69 mph arm strength, 2.06-2.15 pop times, mostly accurate throws to the bag, pop times should continue to improve with development of arm strength, high follow in 2018 class.

Ethan Doty, RHP/C, R/R, Highlands HS, 2017
5-foot-10, 170-pound right-handed hitter, hits from a balanced setup with a leg kick, level swing plane with some length, opposite field tendencies, posted a 4.94 home to first time, 78 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 1-for-3 with a single to right-center.  Defensively, sets up well behind the plate, quick transfer, short high-3/4 release, very consistent throws to the bag, 2.06-2.09 pop times, 75 mph arm strength from the crouch, solid defensive catcher.

Jacob Sheeley, C, R/R, Spencer County HS, 2017
5-foot-10, 173-pound right-handed hitter, hits from an open stance, utilizes a leg kick with a long stride, wraps bat in load, cuts off lower half at times, longer swing path, posted a 4.85 home to first time, 77 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 2-for-3 in game play with a single down the third base line and bloop single to right-center.  Defensively, showed 63 mph arm strength from the crouch, 2.39-2.52 pop times, some accurate throws to the bag, will see better pop times with quicker footwork and additional arm strength.

outfielders

Jaren Lovely, OF/LHP, L/L, Magoffin County HS, 2017
5-foot-11, 155-pound prospect, left-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, maintains good balance, generates bat speed with some hand quickness, stays inside the ball well on the inner half, line drive type hitter, shows ability to make solid contact to all fields, posted a 4.96 home to first time, 80 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 1-for-4 in game play with a single to left field.  Defensively, showed a two-handed approach to the ball on the ground, good set up on fly balls, 78 mph arm strength, throws stay online through over-the-top arm slot.

John Sizemore, OF, L/R, Clay County HS, 2017
6-foot-1, 170-pound left-handed hitter, hits from a balanced stance, short stride, hands start low and load back, cuts off lower half at times, level swing path, line drive type hitter, posted a 4.57 home to first time, 77 mph exit velocity off the tee, hit well in game play going 2-for-3 with singles to left and right field.  Defensivley shows the ability to play through the baseball, good set up on fly balls getting behind the baseball, long over-the-top release, 78 mph arm strength with some carry, made some accurate throws to the third base bag, interesting 2017 prospect.

Trey Eden, OF, R/R, Madison Central HS, 2018
5-foot-9, 140-pound prospect shows good athleticism, right-handed hitter hits from a spread, open stance, gets to square with a short stride, hands start high with significant pre-pitch movement, has some length in swing, line drive type hitter, posted a 4.63 home to first time, 76 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 1-for-4 in game play with an infield single.  Defensively, approaches the ball on the ground with some hesitancy, clean exchanges, long high-3/4 release, 75 mph arm strength, very accurate throws to the third base bag, young player has tools that should continue to develop as he gets stronger.

Ryan Siemer, OF, R/R, Ryle HS, 2017
5-foot-10, 205-pound right-handed hitter, hits from a balanced stance, minimal stride, short path to the baseball, shows some gap power, posted a 5.08 home to first time, 74 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 0-for-3 in game play.  Defensively, works through the ball on the ground, 73 mph arm strength, high-3/4 release, clean exchanges, mostly accurate throws to third base.

Dalton Hoskins, OF, R/R, Daviess County HS, 2018
5-foot-7, 120-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, can get more involvement from lower half, longer swing path, maintains some balance, offensive game will continue to develop with physical maturity, showed decent speed for age with 4.73 home to first time, 68 mph exit velocity off the tee, went 1-for-4 in game play with a single to center field.  Defensively, needs to continue working on playing through the ball aggressively, long exchange, developing arm strength at 63 mph.