By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

The PBR Kentucky Top Prospect Games took place June 16-17 at Western Kentucky University and afforded close to 120 players from around the state the opportunity to showcase their abilities to the PBR Kentucky staff and many college coaches in attendance. The following is a look at the pitchers players from Team Navy. This is pitcher analysis only. Those pitchers who also played a position at the event will have that evaluation featured in a subsequent article.

Jake Ziegelmeyer, RHP/1B, Ryle HS, 2016
6-foot-3, 210-pound RHP with strong frame, quick arm that works through a ¾ to high-3/4 slot, fastball sat 86-88 mph with hard arm-side run and sink, throws a hard slider with late biting action at 78-80 mph, showed confidence in his 81 mph changeup, allowed an infield single, walked none and struck out two (one on a FB and one swinging on SL) in his one inning of work, continues to prove to be one of the top uncommitted arms in Kentucky’s 2016 class.

Michael Hicks, RHP, South Warren HS, 2016
6-foot-5, 190-pound RHP had an impressive outing, uses long arm action through a high-3/4 slot, minimal effort delivery, showed an increase in velocity, fastball sat 84-87 mph with occasional arm-side run, curveball has shown good development since last summer with solid 11/5 action at 70-73 mph, threw one 79 mph changeup with good arm action and deception off the fastball, pounded the zone with all pitches, allowed one hit, no walks, and struck out two swinging (both on curveballs) in his two innings of work, size and projectability along with current velocity makes Hicks a potential Division I prospect.

Jeffrey Purnell, RHP/SS, Boone County HS, 2016
6-foot-3, 190-pound RHP with good pitcher’s frame, uses shorter arm action through a high-3/4 to over the top arm slot, quick arm, has some effort in delivery, fastball sat 83-85 mph topping at 86, curveball varied between 66-71 mph with sharp 11/5 action and good depth, good feel for curveball throwing it consistently for strikes, pounds the strike zone, allowed one hit, no walks, and stuck out one (swinging on FB) in his inning of work, have seen slightly more velocity from Purnell at past events.

Andrew Parker, RHP, Eastern HS ,2017
6-foot-3, 203-pound RHP with strong frame, uses long arm action through an over-the-top arm slot, regular effort in delivery, showed an increase in velocity since last summer, fastball sat 78-81 mph topping at 82 with some downward tilt, showed a 63-65 mph curveball with 11/5 action that he showed more feel for as his outing progressed, 71-74 mph slider shows late action and has potential to be a solid pitch, also threw one 73 mph changeup with good arm action, allowed no hits and no walks with two strikeouts (both on sliders) in his two innings of work.

Kent Phelps, LHP/OF, Paintsville HS, 2017
6-foot, 180-pound LHP with athletic frame, uses long arm action and works through a high-3/4 arm slot, minimal effort delivery with good rhythm, repeats delivery well, fastball sat 77-78 mph and is mostly straight, spots up the fastball well on both sides of the plate, has good feel for 65-66 mph curveball with 1/7 action and some depth, 70-71 mph changeup is thrown with good arm action and keeps it down well, allowed three hits, walked one, and struck out one (fastball looking) in his two innings of work.

Alexander Goodridge, RHP/1B, Ryle HS, 2016
6-foot-1, 195-pound RHP uses long arm action and works through a ¾ to high-3/4 slot, delivery requires some effort, falls off hard at times to first base side, fastball sat 78-79 mph topping at 80 and is mostly straight, showed a 62-64 mph curveball that tended to be flat due to him getting around it, walked the lead off batter (caught stealing) and then retired the next two hitters with one strikeout swinging in his one inning of work.

Matthew Thompson, RHP, Marion County HS, 2016
5-foot-10, 165-pound RHP uses long arm action and works through a ¾ slot, minimal effort in delivery and lands square to the plate, fastball sat 76-78 mph topping at 79, throws a 62-63 mph curveball for strikes with gradual 11/5 action, changeup is straight at 68 mph, throws strikes with all pitches, allowed three hits with no walks and one strikeout (looking on curveball) in his two innings of work.

Carson Compton, LHP, Madison Consolidated HS (IN), 2016
5-foot-11, 185-pound LHP pounds the strike zone with all pitches, works through a ¾ arm slot with regular effort, fastball shows occasional cutting action at 72-74 mph topping at 75, spots the fastball well on the outer part of the plate, throws a 65-67 mph curveball with solid 1/7 action, stuck with the two-pitch mix, allowed three hits, no walks, and struck out two (both looking on fastballs) in his two innings of work.

Andrew Louden, OF/LHP, Ryle HS, 2016
6-foot, 145-pound LHP with lanky build, uses long arm action though a high-3/4 slot, regular effort in delivery, fastball sat 69-71 mph with some arm-side run, tended to get around 59 mph curveball leaving it flat, had some command issues but settled down to throw a scoreless inning, walked two and allowed no hits in his inning of work.