By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

WESTFIELD, IN – Team Kentucky’s second day at the Prep Baseball Report Future Games saw the first game action of the event with a 3:30 PM game against Wisconsin, followed by a 6:00 PM matchup with Kansas.  In front of a packed house of coaches from all over the country, Team Kentucky squeaked out a 1-1 tie in Game 1, but got the bats rolling against Kansas in a 10-5 victory that was the first for the squad from the Bluegrass State in its second year at the event.

Here are some notes from the action on Day Two.

Game 1 – Team Kentucky vs Team Wisconsin

+ RHP Easton McGee (2016, Hopkinsville HS) took the ball to work the first two innings of the game.  The 6-foot-6, highly projectable right-hander’s first pitch of the game registered at 89 mph, and he continued to sit 87-88 through his outing, mixing in a curveball and 75 mph slider that showed some sharpness and depth.  McGee retired the side in order in the first and got out of a two-runner on, one-out jam in the second by inducing a ground ball 5-3 double play.  He allowed one hit, one walk, and struck out two in his two-inning stint.

+ RHP Hunter Sullivan (2016, Elizabethtown HS) worked the third and fourth innings and had scouts buzzing with his performance in the third.  Sullivan struck out the side with a fastball that sat 88-90 that touched 91 once.  He mixed in a sharp 75-77 mph breaking ball that generated several swings-and-misses.  In the fourth, Sullivan allowed an infield single to start the inning and lost some velocity from the stretch but was able to work out of a bases loaded, one out jam allowing one run on a sacrifice fly.  He finished his two-inning stint allowing two hits and one walk while striking out four.

+ RHP Griffin McLarty (2016, Oldham County HS) retired the side in order in consecutive innings, pounding the strike zone with his 83-84 mph fastball, 70-73 mph curveball, and 74-75 mph changeup.  McLarty struck out two in his two innings of work.

+ LHP Luke Brown (2016, Murray HS) allowed a lead-off single to begin the seventh but picked that runner off second base and retired the next two hitters, one by strikeout.  His fastball sat 84-85 mph.

+ CJ Bush (2016, Lexington Catholic HS) collected the only hit of the game for Team Kentucky, stroking a solid single to left field in the fourth inning.

+ Cam Hill (2017, Scott County HS) manufactured a run by himself to tie the game in the sixth.  Hill led off the inning with getting hit by a pitch and promptly stole second and third base and came around to score when the throw to third went into left field.

+ Tucker Greer (2016, West Jessamine HS) made an outstanding throw to home plate from right field that would have easily cut down the only Wisconsin runner to score had the ball been held onto.

+ Ray Zuberer (2016, Owensboro Catholic HS) hit into some bad luck in the fourth.  With CJ Bush running on the pitch, Zuberer hit the hardest ball of the game, a smoked line drive to the first baseman that resulted in a double play.

Game 2 – Team Kentucky vs Team Kansas

+ RHP Cameron Planck took the mound in the second game of the day, and certainly impressed the packed house of scouts.  Planck’s fastball routinely sat 87-90 in his two innings of work and touched 91 in the first, and at 79-81 mph his slider is nothing but nasty.  He also showed good feel for an 80-82 mph changeup.  Planck allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three in his two-inning stint.

+ RHP Michael Hicks (2016, South Warren HS) stranded a runner at third in his inning of work.  Hicks recorded one strikeout and induced two ground outs.  His fastball sat 83-86 mph, and he showed good command of his 64-66 mph curveball that has good depth.

+ LHP Andrew Hayden (2016, Daviess County HS) struggled some with his command but seemed to find his way after walking the first two batters in his second inning of work, retiring the side in order after that.  Though he allowed three runs, Hayden didn’t get any help from the defense that made two errors during his outing.  He walked three and allowed just one hit with a fastball that sat 81-84 mph.  It should be noted that one of Hayden’s pitches registered 88 mph on the gun on a pitch that was taken by the hitter, but no other pitch was higher than 84 mph. 

+ RHP Tyler Horsley (2016, Ballard HS) allowed one run on two hits in his two innings of work.  While Horsley’s velocity was down a tick, he routinely pounded the strike zone with an 80-83 mph fastball, 61-64 mph curveball, and 72-74 mph changeup.

+ MIF Keegan Breese (2016, McCracken County HS) went 2-for-3, with a triple and scored two runs.

+ OF Luke Brown (2016, Murray HS) reached base and scored in all three of his trips to the plate.  Brown walked twice and smoked an RBI triple into the right field corner.

+ OF Cam Hill (2017, Scott County HS) went 2-for-3 and showed his speed in beating out an infield hit.

+ Of Tucker Greer (2016, West Jessamine HS) walked, singled, and scored twice in his three plate appearances.  He showed his speed on the base paths swiping third base in the fifth inning.

+ 3B Trevor Howard (2016, Southwestern HS), who registered one of the top exit velocities on Thursday at 97 mph, walked and singled sharply to center in his three plate appearances.

+ 1B CJ Bush (2016, Lexington Catholic HS) collected his second hit of the day with a single in the fifth inning.

+ C Vincent Boils (2016, Southwestern HS) put together an impressive offensive and defensive game.  The catcher threw out a runner at both second and third base, and went 1-for-2 with a sacrifice fly and three RBI’s.