By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

 The Future Prospects Showcase and Educational Camp took place on the campus of Bellarmine University on October 20.  Today we take a look at the group of middle infielders who showcased their abilities at the event.

While there is obviously still much development that will take place with all of the prospects in attandance, a couple of Class of 2017 prospects stood out defensively as Austin Eisert and William Davis showcased soft hands, good lateral movement, and quick exchanges.  Both prospects showed well offensively, as well.

Class of 2018 prospect Aaron Sary also displayed very good defensive actions and a solid stroke from the left side.

Following is a look at all of the middle infield prospects from the event.

class of 2017 prospects

1. Austin Eisert, OF/SS, St. Xavier HS, 2017
5-foot-9, 145-pound freshman, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, shows some gap to gap pop, makes hard contact, solid bat speed, ran 7.34 60 yard dash, 77 mph tee exit velocity.  As an infielder, shows good lateral movement and soft hands, can play through the ball better on the slow roller, quick exchange and short arm action at 66 mph across the infield.  As an outfielder, can play through the ball better on the ground, 69 mph arm strength from the outfield.

2. William Davis, SS/RHP, Ohio County HS, 2017
5-foot, 120-pound freshman, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced/tall setup with a short stride, bars arm in load at times but is able to get through the ball with good hand quickness, swing shows some looseness, ran 7.77 60 yard dash, 65 mph exit velocity.  As an infielder, shows athletic actions and good lateral movement, hands work, quick exchange with an accurate arm at 62 mph across the infield.  On the mound, uses long arm action through a ¾ arm slot, loose and athletic arm, fastball sat 56-66 mph with some arm-side run, has a tendency to get under and around curveball leaving it up in the zone, curveball sat 54-55 mph, showed a very good changeup thrown for strikes with some run at 57-59 mph.

3. Michael McIntyre, RHP/IF, Male HS, 2017
5-foot-10, 130-pound freshman, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a toe tap trigger, flat bat path, cuts off lower half at times with incomplete backside turn, ran 8.84 60 yard dash, 69 mph tee exit velocity.  As an infielder, glove gets down late at times, fields ball deep, quick exchange, accurate arm at 60 mph across the infield.  On the mound, uses long arm action through a ¾ arm slot, fastball is straight at 59-61 mph, curveball sat 55-58 mph with some slight 11/5 action, changeup straight at 49-50 mph, can get better use of lower half and better extension in delivery.

class of 2018 prospects

1. Aaron Sary, SS/C, Noe MS, 2018
5-foot-5, 130-pound 8^th grader, left-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, good balance throughout swing, barreled up the ball consistently in his round and displayed the ability to make hard contact to all fields, solid young left-handed hitter, ran 8.77 60 yard dash, 67 mph tee exit velocity.  As an infielder, shows soft hands and plays through the ball well, has a quick exchange with short arm action across the infield at 65 mph.  As a catcher, shows good receiving skills, gains ground on throws, 64 mph arm from the crouch with pop times of 2.40-2.53, room to improve pop times with added arm strength and quicker glove to hand exchange. 

2. Collin Kenworthy, 2B/OF, Crosby MS, 2018
5-foot-4, 110-pound 8^th grader, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a big leg kick trigger, big hand drop in load, shows some hand quickness, hard contact in his round, line-drive type hitter, ran 8.63 60 yard dash, 67 mph tee exit velocity.  As an infielder, shows a loose arm and good arm strength for age across the infield at 65 mph, tendency to field ball on heels, continue working on playing through the ball.  As an outfielder, shows athletic actions and footwork, plays through the ball well, sets up well on fly balls, accurate arm with throws on the bag at 69 mph.

3. Austin Rayno, 2B/RHP, Adairville MS, 2018
5-foot-4, 120-pound 8^th grader, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup, uses a toe tap trigger, good use of lower half, good balance throughout swing, should continue to develop into solid hitter, ran 8.94 60 yard dash, 65 mph tee exit velocity.  As an infielder, shows average hands, decent lateral movement, accurate arm at 59 mph across the infield.  On the mound, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball sat 61-63 mph, two-seamer shows some arm-side run, threw one of the better curveballs of the day at 57-58 mph with 11/5 action, very good changeup at 53-54 mph with good run and sink, good command of all three pitches.

class of 2019 prospects

1. Shamel Mooney, 2B/OF, Shelby Co East MS, 2019
5-foot, 90-pound 7^th grader, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, has very good hand quickness, generates some bat speed for size, needs to continue working on complete use of lower half and finishing through the baseball, tools are present and will continue to develop as a hitter, ran 9.03 60 yard dash, 56 mph tee exit velocity.  As an infielder, shows good lateral movement, hands work, continue working on playing through the ball, 56 mph arm strength across the infield.  As an outfielder, plays through the ball at times, takes good angles, athletic arm at 58 mph, game will continue to develop with added strength and physical maturity.

2. Collier Higgs, SS/RHP, Burns Middle School, 2019
5-foot-3, 125-pound prospect currently in the 7^th grade, left-handed hitter hits from an open stance, shows some hand quickness, will benefit from front foot getting down consistently on time and better extension in swing, potential to be a solid left-handed hitter, ran 9.64 60 yard dash, registered 60 mph tee exit velocity.  Defensively, hands work, has a long exchange, arm is accurate across the infield at 56 mph, arm strength and foot speed should continue to improve with physical maturity.  On the mound, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball is straight at 55-57 mph, throws changeup with good arm action at 47 mph, needs to continue working on throwing the changeup for strikes.

3. Koby Wall, 2B/OF/RHP, Logan Co MS, 2019
5-foot, 100-pound 7^th grader, left-handed hitter hits from a wide and balanced setup, no load, short stride, gets some lower half involved in swing, line drive type hitter, ran 9.26 60 yard dash.  As an infielder, young prospect shows good movement, needs to continue working on hands, 56 mph arm strength across the infield.  As an outfielder, showed 58 mph arm strength, needs to work on playing through the ball, will continue to develop game with physical maturity.  On the mound, uses shorter arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, good command of all pitches, fastball sat 57-58 mph, curveball shows gradual 12/6 action at 50-52 mph, changeup thrown with good arm action at 50-51 mph, good rhythm in delivery with solid mechanics.

class of 2021 prospects

1. Nicholas Thompson, SS/RHP, Crestwood, 2021
5-foot-4, 100-pound prospect, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, uses very good lower half torque to generate good bat speed for his age, shows good extension in his swing with good pop, with continued development will be a hitter to watch in the coming years, ran 9.81 60 yard dash, 62 mph tee exit velocity.  As an infielder, fields ball deep and on heels, needs to continue working on plating through the ball, hands work, shows good arm strength for age at 56 mph across the infield.  On the mound, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, good extension, fastball sat 57-58 mph, changeup 50-51 mph and can be a good pitch for him with continued development.

2. Bryce Reed, 2B, MWES, 2021
4-foot-10, 75-pound prospect in 5^th grade, right-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a medium stride, has a level swing path, uses lower half well for age with good bat speed for size, will continue to develop as a hitter with physical maturity, ran 8.84 60 yard dash, 55 mph tee exit velocity.  Defensively, shows athletic actions and plays through the ball well for age, arm strength at 47 mph across the infield which will continue to improve, solid fundamentally.