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 who took the mound for Team Red. This is pitcher analysis only. Those pitchers who also played a position at the event will have that evaluation featured in a subsequent article.

TJ Graves, RHP, Nelson County HS, 2017
6-foot-4, 173-pounds, long and lanky frame with big upside, uses long arm action, high-3/4 slot, quick arm, fastball shows some arm-side run and sink, sat 86-88 and touched 89 in his first inning of work, velocity dropped off some in second inning at 83-86, tends to get under 71-73 mph curveball leaving it up and flat but did throw two good that were down in the zone, curveball has big potential with continued development, allowed one hit, walked one, and struck out two (one on a CB) in his two innings, has emerged as one of the top Class of 2017 arms in Kentucky.

Maddex Richardson, RHP, Owensboro Catholic HS, 2017
6-foot-2, 190-pounds, athletic frame, uses shorter arm action through a high-3/4 slot, quick arm, fastball sat 83-84 mph touching 86 on one occasion , shows a hard slider for age at 76-78 mph with tight spin and late/sharp action, slider produces swings-and-misses and has potential to be a very good pitch at the next level, allowed three hits and struck out one in two innings of work, developing into one of the top arms in the 2017 class.

Aidan Elias, OF/RHP, Sayre HS, 2016
6-foot-2, 170-pounds, lanky frame that projects well, uses long and loose arm action through a high-3/4 slot, minimal effort delivery, uses an over the head windup, pounds the strike zone with all pitches, fastball sat 79-83 mph with arm-side run and sink, curveball shows sharp 11/5 action at 68-70 mph, solid 74-77 mph changeup thrown with good arm action, got the ball up some in second inning and gave up four hits, struck out two (one swinging on a changeup) in his two innings of work.

Mason Vinyard, 3B/RHP, St. Mary HS, 2017
6-foot-2, 175-pounds, lanky frame with projection, arm action is loose and clean, high-3/4 slot, pounds the zone with a three-pitch mix, fastball sat 80-82 mph with occasional arm-side run, curveball ranged from 65-69 mph with 11/5 action and depth, 70-74 mph changeup is thrown with good arm action and displays late sink and fade, will be more effective working all pitches more consistently at the bottom of the zone, allowed four hits and struck out one in his two innings, expect development of additional velocity.

Sam Blane, RHP, Christian County HS, 2016
6-foot, 180-pounds, athletic frame, quick arm works through a ¾ slot, up tempo delivery and lands square to the plate, arm slot produces natural arm-side run and sink on fastball and locates it well at the bottom of the zone, fastball sat 81-83 mph touching 84, sharp 69 mph curveball with 11/5 action, flashed a 73 mph changeup, struck out one in his two innings of work, fastball movement produces ground ball outs, interesting mound prospect.

Sammy Mudd, OF/RHP, St. Xavier HS, 2017
5-foot-8, 155-pounds, quick arm works through a high-3/4 slot, lands square, has some effort in delivery, fastball sat 81-83 mph touching 84 once, fastball is mostly straight, 70-71 mph curveball shows 11/5 action and good depth, has good feel for the curveball, throws strikes with the two-pitch mix, allowed no hits and struck out two (both on fastballs) in his one inning of work.

Luke Price, RHP/1B, Christian Academy of Louisville, 2017
6-foot-3, 205-pounds, uses long arm action through a high-3/4 slot, fastball sat 76-79 mph touching 80 on one occasion, fastball is mostly straight, showed a curveball with 11/5 action and some depth in warm-ups but did not use in live game action, had some command issues early missing up in the zone with the fastball, allowed one hit, walked two, and struck out one in his one inning of work.

Drew Clark, LHP, Butler County HS, 2016
6-foot-2, 205-pounds, uses long arm action through an over the top arm slot, fastball shows occasional arm-side run and sat 77-80 mph touching 81, shows a 63-67 mph curveball with 12/6 action, threw one 74 mph changeup, had command issues early in his outing but settled down to throw strikes, allowed four hits and two walks while striking out two (both swinging on curveballs) in his two innings of work on the mound.