By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

On July 22-23, a total of 100 players from the Classes of 2016, 2017, and 2018 convened at Bryan Station High School and the University of Kentucky for the 2nd Annual Kentucky Underclass Games Event.  The following is a look at the position players from Team Black.  This is position analysis only.  Those players who also pitched at the event had their pitching featured in a previous article.

middle infielders

Blake Benz, 2B, L/R, North Bullitt HS, 2017
Benz is a 5-foot-8, 150-pound prospect who shows good bat speed for a young prospect with 83 mph exit velocity off the tee.  He hits from an open stance with a long stride with good use of lower half, hands show some quickness, line drive type hitter with gap-to-gap approach.  Defensively, shows soft hands and fluid feet in playing through the baseball, good body control with the ability to throw accurately on the move, reached a top velocity of 71 mph across the infield, solid young prospect, went 1-for-4 with a single to center in game play showing the ability to make contact to all fields.

Chase McClure, SS, R/R, Rockcastle County HS, 2017
McClure is a 5-foot-9, 165-pound prospect who showcased good speed for his age running a 7.06 60 yard dash, registered a 75 mph tee exit velocity, hits from a balanced stance with minimal stride, good use of lower half, short path to the ball, line drive type hitter.  Defensively, he shows soft hands, room to improve footwork, accurate arm across the infield with a top velocity of 75 mph, went 0-for-4 in game play with a middle to pull approach.

Evan Slone, SS, L/R, Ludlow HS, 2016
Slone is a 5-foot-8, 150-pound prospect who ran a 7.50 60-yard dash and registered a 74 mph exit velocity off the tee (78 at previous event), hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, line drive type hitter who shows the ability to use all fields.  Defensively, he shows playable hands and gets rid of the baseball with short arm action, showed an increase in velocity across the infield at 72 mph (69 at previous event).  Slone went 1-for-4 in game action with a single to left-center.

Jacob Cochrum, RHP/2B, R/R, Jeffersonville HS (IN), 2017
6-foot, 170-pound prospect ran a 7.76 60 yard dash and showed some present bat speed for young prospect with 80 mph tee exit velocity, hits from an open stance with a medium length stride, short path to the ball with a pull approach, line drive type hitter.  Defensively, has soft hands and a quick exchange, gets rid of the ball with short arm action, shows developing arm at 68 mph across the infield, went 0-for-4 in game play hitting the ball hard on a few occasions.

Samuel Hamilton, 2B/RHP, R/R, Pikeville HS, 2017
5-foot-8, 165-pound prospect ran a 7.95 60 yard dash with a 74 mph tee exit velocity, hits from a balanced stance with a long stride, limited use of lower half, line drive type hitter.  Defensively, shows average hands and feet, accurate arm across the infield with developing arm strength, reached a top velocity of 68 mph, went 1-for-4 in game play with a bloop single to right field.

corner infielders

Trent Shelby, 3B, L/R, McCracken County HS, 2017
5-foot-10, 160-pound prospect ran a 7.62 60 yard dash and registered a 75 mph tee exit velocity, left-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance with a toe tap and no stride, quiet approach with a short path to the baseball, fluid line-drive producing swing with the ability to hit to all fields.  Defensively, shows soft hands and solid corner actions with good body control, reached a top velocity of 75 mph across the infield, solid young prospect, went 2-for-4 in game play with sharp singles to right and center.

Cam Dacci, 3B, R/R, Henry Clay HS, 2016
6-foot-1, 175-pound prospect ran a 7.38 60-yard dash and showcased 80 mph tee exit velocity, hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, line drive type hitter can use all fields, generates moderate bat speed.  Defensively, shows good athleticism on the corner, soft hands, good body control with the ability to throw on the move, accurate arm at 76 mph across the infield, made impressive diving play on the third base line in game play, went 1-for-3 with a single to left field.

Seth Hagan, 1B/RHP, R/R, North Oldham HS, 2016
6-foot-4, 185-pound prospect ran a 7.43 60 yard dash and showed his present bat speed with 86 mph tee exit velocity, hits from slightly open stance, hands load back, good use of lower half, loose hands, showed pull-side power with a home run to left in batting practice.  Defensively, Hagan shows good footwork around the bag with adequate hands and 71 mph arm across the infield, went 0-for-3 in game play, should continue to develop power as he progresses.

Chandler English, 1B, L/R, George Rogers Clark HS, 2016
6-foot-2, 220-pound prospect ran a 7.65 60 yard dash and registered 83 mph tee exit velocity, hits from a tall stance with a short stride, uses strong frame to generate some power to the pull side.  Defensively, shows soft hands with good movement around the bag, showed 76 mph arm strength across the infield, went 1-for-3 in game play with an infield single and stolen base.

Tanner Maple, RHP/1B, Greenwood HS, 2016
5-foot-11, 175-pound prospect ran a 7.71 60-yard dash and recorded a 79 mph exit velocity off the tee. Hits from a balanced setup with medium stride, hands show some quickness, long and level swing path, line drive type hitter.  Defensively, shows average hands and feet around the first base bag, accurate arm at 70 mph across the infield, went 1-for-4 with an infield single in game action.

catchers

Willie Dempsey, C, R/R, Jeffersonville HS, 2017
5-foot-6, 165-pound prospect with strong legs, ran a 8.00 60 yard dash and showcased 83 mph tee exit velocity, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, shows some bat speed, line drive type hitter with occasional power to the pull side.  Defensively, shows athleticism behind the plate with good blocking skills, 73 mph arm strength from the crouch with pop times ranging from 2.10-2.25, showed a more accurate arm during game play, went 0-for-4 with middle to pull approach, will be interesting watch his continued development.

Garryn Wood, C, S/R, Anderson County HS, 2017
6-foot, 165-pound switch hitter ran a 7.88 60 yard dash and registered tee exit velocities of 71 mph from the right side and 75 mph from the left side.  From the left side, hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, shows some hand quickness from both sides of the plate, line drive type hitter.  Defensively, showed 69 mph arm strength from the crouch from a ¾ release, pop times ranged from 2.20-2.32 with mostly accurate throws, pop times will improve with quicker release and additional arm strength, went 1-for-4 in game play with a sharp single to center field.

Hunter Evans, C, R/R, South Warren HS, 2018
5-foot-11, 145-pound prospect ran a 7.84 60-yard dash and showed 73 mph exit velocity off the tee, hits from a narrow stance with a long stride, long swing path, offensive game should see improvement with refinement in lower half and added strength.  Defensively, shows a quick glove to hand transfer, developing arm strength 66 mph from the crouch, 2.22-2.35 pop times with accurate throws on the bag, went 0-for-3 in game play lining out in one at bat.

outfielders

Thomas Larson, OF/RHP, R/R, Joliet Central HS (IL), 2017
6-foot, 175-pound prospect ran a 7.32 60-yard dash and flashed his present bat speed with 87 mph tee exit velocity. Hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, hands are loose, line drive type hitter generates some bat speed through the zone.  Defensively, moves well in the outfield with athletic actions, showed a very accurate arm with a top velocity of 80 mph, went 1-for-3 in game play with a double down the left field line, solid young prospect.

Jaren Lovely, OF/LHP, L/L, Magoffin County HS, 2017
5-foot-10, 155-pound prospect continues to improve at each event.  He showed a significant improvement in his 60-yard time running a 7.33 while also showing the best OF velocity we have seen from him at 80 mph.  Lovely hits from a balanced stance with minimal stride, hands show quickness, line drive type hitter, went 2-for-4 in game play with a single to center and double to the right-field wall.  Defensively, shows athletic actions and plays throu gh the baseball well, solid young prospect.

Kameron Davis, OF, L/R, DuPont Manual HS, 2016
5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect hits from a balanced stance with a short stride, maintains good balance through swing, line drive type hitter registered 74 mph tee exit velocity.  Defensively, plays through the baseball, showed some accurate throws with a ¾ arm slot, 76 mph arm strength, ran 8.26 60-yard dash, will need to improve speed, showed solid offensive approach in game play going 4-for-4 with two singles to center and two to left.

Drew Borman, OF/RHP, R/R, Conner HS, 2016
5-foot-10, 165-pound prospect ran a 7.53 60-yard dash and registered 81 mph tee exit velocity, hits from a balanced stance with a short stride with a long/uphill swing path.  Defensively, plays through the baseball in the outfield with a clean exchange and showed 79 mph arm strength using short arm action, went 1-for-4 in game play with a single to left field.

William Sams, OF/LHP, L/L, Eastern HS, 2017
6-foot-1, 150-pound prospect showcased his speed running a 6.81 60-yard dash and registered 70 mph exit velocity off the tee, hits from a balanced setup with a short stride, long and level swing path, hands show some quickness, line drive type hitter.  Defensively, showed developing arm strength from the outfield at 66 mph, went 0-for-4 in game play with two strikeouts.

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