By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

A total of 25 outfielders participated in the Preseason All-State Showcase at Champions Baseball Academy in Lexington.  In part two of our evaluations, we take a look at the remaining half of the group of outfield prospects.  Players are listed in alphabetical order.

Zac Conner, R/R, RHP/OF, Paul Laurence Dunbar HS, 2015
6-foot-5, 190-pound prospect with long/lanky frame, plays through the ball, clean exchange, long arm action through high ¾ slot, shows very good arm strength, top velocity reached 89 mph with good carry.  At the plate, lifts heel and replaces with no stride, shows good balance, line drive type hitter with occasional gap-to-gap power, showed bat speed with 89 mph tee exit velocity, ran 7.14 60 yard dash.

Britton Elmore, R/R, OF, Central Hardin HS, 2015
6-foot-1, 195-pound prospect, strong/physical build, plays through the ball, gets rid of the ball with a clean exchange, uses short arm action, high ¾ to over the top slot, reached a top velocity of 77 mph.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, uses strong lower half, gap-to gap approach, ran improved 60 yard dash at 7.32 (7.47 previous event), showed increase in bat speed with 83 mph tee exit velocity, has participated at multiple positions at previous events.

Henry Kerns, L/R, OF, Dixie Heights HS, 2015
6-foot-3, 180-pound prospect with lanky build and room to fill on frame, showed tentative approach to the ball, slow exchange, uses long arm action and reached a top velocity of 78 mph.  At the plate, the left-handed hitter hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, has slight arm bar but gets through the zone with quick hands, good balance in swing, line drive type hitter with middle to opposite field tendencies, ran 7.08 60 yard dash, showed above average bat speed with 87 mph tee exit velocity.

Jaren Lovely, L/L, OF/LHP, Magoffin County HS, 2017
5-foot-10, 140-pound prospect with lanky build, continues to add strength to frame, plays through the baseball well with athletic actions, clean exchange with long arm action, loose arm through high ¾ arm slot, showed the most arm strength we have seen from him to date at 79 mph with some carry.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with minimal stride, fluid swing with quick hands, line drive type hitter uses all fields well, good use of lower half, showed improved 81 mph tee exit velocity, improved 7.64 60 yard dash.  Lovely is developing into a solid outfield prospect, definite player to follow in the 2017 class.

Nolan Simpkins, L/L, OF, Butler HS, 2015
5-foot-11, 174-pound prospect with athletic build, displays athletic feet in the outfield and plays through the ball well, longer arm action through over the top slot, top velocity of 74 mph.  At the plate, the left-handed hitter hits from a tall set up with short stride, shows some hand quickness, good balance, has made big improvements in use of lower half and finish through the ball, line drive type hitter that uses his speed well from the left-side of the plate, ran 6.98 60 but have seen 6.75 on a fast track at previous event, present arm strength best suited for left field at the next level, showed big increase in tee exit velocity to 91 mph (80 at previous event).

Brett Slusher, R/R, OF, Beechwood HS, 2016
6-foot-2, 185-pound prospect with athletic frame, showed somewhat tentative, two-handed approach to the ball, online throws through over the top arm slot, reached a top velocity of 76 mph (3 mph increase from previous event).  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, good use of lower half, flat bat path, line drive production at the plate, good speed with the 3^rd best 60 time of the event at 6.84, showed increase in bat speed with 88 mph tee exit velocity (82 at previous event), should continue to develop more arm strength, definite player to follow in 2016 class.

Adam Smith, R/R, OF, Washington County HS, 2014
6-foot-4, 210-pound prospect, shows tentative, two-handed approach to the baseball, arm shows some stiffness, reached a top velocity of 72 mph.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with short stride, short path to the ball, mid-field approach, lacks complete use of lower half, shows raw strength in swing, ran 7.74 60 yard dash, above average bat speed with 90 mph tee exit velocity.

Tyler Spalding, L/L, LHP/OF, Nelson County HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 200-pound prospect, strong/physical build, plays through the baseball well with good actions, clean exchange, uses long arm action, reached a top velocity of 82 mph with carry.  At the plate, hits from an open setup with a long stride, long swing path, ran 7.31 60 yard dash, registered 85 mph tee exit velocity.

Isaac Stidham, R/R, OF/RHP, Ryle HS, 2014
5-foot-10, 150-pound prospect with slender build, as outfielder plays through the ball on the ground with a two-handed approach, shows athletic feet, reached a top velocity of 76 mph.  As infielder, shows average hands with long exchange, arm plays at 77 mph across the infield with accuracy.  At the plate, hits from a slightly open setup, big load with leg kick trigger, good use of lower half, line drive type hitter with middle to opposite field approach, ran 7.19 60 yard dash, 81 mph tee exit velocity.

John Stratton, R/R, OF, Daviess County HS, 2016
6-foot-4, 180-pound prospect with lanky build and room to fill in, plays through the baseball, showed a slight increase in OF velocity from previous events with top velocity of 79 mph through over the top slot.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup with minimal stride, slight uphill path, line drive type hitter, projectable athlete, ran 7.09 60 yard dash, 79 mph tee exit velocity (81 at previous event).

Tanner Thompson, R/R, RHP/OF, Pikeville HS, 2017
6-foot, 170-pound prospect with athletic frame, has a slower exchange , long arm action through a high ¾ to over the top arm slot, shows some present arm strength with a top velocity of 80 mph.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, short stride, arm bar is present creating some length to swing, swing path is level, shows good bat speed for young prospect with 87 mph tee exit velocity, showed good speed for young prospect with 7.23 60 yard dash.

Timothy Tungate, R/R, OF, Fern Creek HS, 2015
5-foot-7, 160-pound prospect , shows a tentative, two-handed approach to the ball, reached a top velocity of 72 mph through over the top arm slot.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, uses a leg kick trigger, tends to land open, longer swing path, line drive type hitter creates some bat speed, ran well with a 7.04 60 yard dash, showed above average bat speed with 88 mph tee exit velocity.

Bobbie Williams, R/R, OF, Russell County HS, 2016
6-foot-3, 185-pound prospect with athletic frame, can attack and play through the ball better, reached a top velocity from the outfield of 78 mph.  At the plate, hits from a tall setup with no stride, would benefit from more lower half torque in swing, has a short path to the ball with some quickness in hands, projectable athlete, ran 7.11 60 yard dash, 82 mph exit velocity off the tee.