By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

The Fall Prospect Games event took place on October 11 at St. Catharine College and afforded players from around the state the opportunity to showcase their abilities in a combination showcase/game play event. The event saw some returning performers looking to build on previous events but also included many young players being seen for the first time who left good impressions with our staff.

The following is a look at the pitchers from Team Black from the event. This is pitcher analysis only. Those pitchers who also participated as a position player at the event had their position player performance featured in a previous article.

Seth Johnson, OF/RHP, Franklin-Simpson HS, 2016
6-foot-1,160 pound RHP made a significant jump in velocity from his previous event. He uses long arm action and works through a ¾ to high-3/4 slot, has regular effort with good tempo in delivery, quick arm, fastball sat 84-86 touching 88 on one occasion, mostly straight, gets under his 69-71 mph curveball at times but it has good spin and shows solid 11/5 action when he stays on top, curveball can be an effective pitch at the next level, allowed no hits walked one, and struck out five in a dominant outing in his two innings of work.

Aaron Miley, RHP, Lexington Christian Academy, 2016
6-foot-1, 190 pound RHP showed similar velocity as he did at August event, uses long arm action through a ¾ to high-3/4 slot, works quickly and pounds the strike zone, good tempo in delivery, fastball sat 80-83 mph with arm-side run and sink, 65-68 mph curveball shows solid 11/5 action, shows very good feel for 73 mph changeup that mimics fastball action with good deception, works both sides of the plate well, allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out four in his two innings of work.

Brennan LaBarbera, RHP/1B, South Oldham HS, 2018
6-foot-3, 165 pound RHP with highly projectable frame, uses long arm action through a high-3/4 slot, deliberate delivery with minimal effort, arm is loose and projects for more velocity, stays tall and uses leverage well to create downward angle on fastball, fastball sat 78-82 mph, throws 70-71 mph with good arm speed and shows good feel for the pitch that displays 11/5 action, good arm action on 74-75 mph changeup that is mostly straight, struck out two in first inning of work, lost some command in second inning, has potential to be a high-level 2018 prospect.

Sam Sutton, OF/LHP, Scott County HS, 2018
5-foot-9, 165 pound LHP has potential to be a top lefty in the 2018 class. Uses medium back side arm action and works through a high-3/4 slot, over-the-head windup with regular effort in delivery, arm is quick, 79-80 mph fastball topped at 81 with occasional arm-side run, showed limited feel for 65-66 mph curveball with 12/6 action, was in the middle of football season and struggled with overall command allowing no hits but walking three in his one inning of work. Sutton is definitely a 2018 lefty to watch closely.

AJ Hacker, 1B/RHP, Rowan County HS, 2019
6-foot, 155 pound RHP uses shorter arm action and woks through a high-3/4 slot, smooth delivery with good tempo, minimal effort in delivery, fastball shows occasional sink at 74-76 mph topping at 77, curveball varied between 61-65 mph with 11/5 action, tended to bury it but did record a strikeout swinging on the curveball, struggled some with overall command walking three and allowing one hit in one inning of work. Hacker is a young pitcher who has potential to add significant velocity as he continues to develop on the mound.

Justin Doyle, 3B/RHP, North Oldham HS, 2019
6-foot-1,175 pound RHP with athletic frame, uses shorter/quick arm action through a high-3/4 arm slot, deliberate delivery with regular effort, clean arm action, shows good velocity for age, fastball sat 74-76 mph with occasional arm-side run and sink, did not show any secondary pitches in his outing, pounded the strike zone with the fastball in an efficient inning of work allowing a leadoff single and then recording a 4-6-3 double play and another groundout.

Benton McGill, RHP, Nelson County HS, 2018
6-foot-3, 170 pound RHP with highly projectable frame, uses long arm action through a high-3/4 slot to over the top arm slot, good tempo with regular effort in delivery, fastball sat 70-73 mph touching 75 on one occasion and showed occasional significant cutting action that produced some swings and misses, showed an improved curveball with better feel from previous event at 63 mph with gradual 11/5 action, struggled early with command but settled in to allow one hit with three walks and two strikeouts in his two innings of work, expect more velocity to come for the projectable right-hander.

Trevor Allen, 3B/RHP, Mercer County HS, 2017
6-foot-2, 175 pound RHP uses long arm action through a ¾ arm slot, regular effort in delivery, fastball sat 71-74 mph with occasional arm-side run, showed a 61 mph curveball with short, lateral action and a 67 mph changeup, throws strikes consistently, allowed two hits with no walks and struck out one (swinging on curveball) in his one inning of work.

Austin Spada, SS/RHP, Gallatin County HS, 2018
5-foot-8, 135 pound RHP uses short arm action and works through a high-3/4 slot with regular effort, stays online with lower half, clean arm action, fastball sat 68-70 mph with slight arm-side run, curveball shows gradual 11/5 action at 58-61 mph, struggled some with overall command, allowed two hits and walked four in his two innings of work.