Composite All-State:First Team Selections(Louisiana)

May 5, 2015

Trey Sofio
Louisiana Scouting Director

Follow us on Twitter: @PBR_Louisiana

As the 2015 spring regular season has come to end, Prep Baseball Report Louisiana is glad to share its Composite All-State First-Team.

Catcher

+C, Evan Pace, Zachary HS, 2015
A 6-foot-1, 170-pound catcher from Zachary HS, Pace is extremely defensive. Shows good mobility, athleticism, feel and instincts for the game, and also plus arm strength (1.9 pop time). Developing as a hitter, not much pop in the bat, contact guy, handles the bat very well, finds a way to be productive offensively, a “team at-bat” type of offensive player. Helped lead Zachary HS to the number 3 seed in the 5A playoffs.

First Base

+INF, Kolton Kendrick, Oak Forest HS, 2015
A 6-foot-2, 205-pound Southeastern Louisiana signee. Big strong physical left handed hitter with rotational power. Has shown big time pull power, creates some good leverage and lift. Hits towering homers with backspin, will need to shorten the path up as he advances, but the ball explodes off his barrel. Hit .414 with 13 homers and 63 RBI as a junior. Put up similar numbers this season and has created a significant buzz heading into this June’s draft.

Infield

+INF, Jake Slaughter, Ouachita Christian HS, 2016
A 6-foot-1, 195-pound Louisiana State commit and No. 1 in the 2016 class with a long, strong and athletic frame. Battled through a minor wrist injury over this season. Slaughter shows outstanding actions at shortstop catching balls with ease. Right-handed hitter that has been pitched around much of the spring, but still showed solid power potential hitting 6 Home Runs. Helped lead Ouachita Christian HS to the number 1 seed in 1A playoffs.

+INF, Josh Smith, Catholic(BR) HS, 2016
A 5-foot-9, 170-pound middle infielder and Louisiana State commit. Small, athletic frame with surprising strength. Solid defender with smooth actions, soft hands, near college average arm strength, and an understanding of angles and hops. Left-handed hitter with simple, repeatable stroke, gap to gap approach, quick hands, quality path and solid average bat speed. Helped lead Catholic(BR) to the number 2 overall seed in the 5A playoffs.

+INF, O’Neal Lochridge, St. Thomas More HS, 2015
The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Louisiana State commit and No. 5 ranked player in Louisiana's 2015 class was impressive in his senior campaign helping lead St. Thomas More to the number 2 seed in the 4A playoffs. The right-handed hitter showed a short, compact swing with bat speed, quality bat path, and creates natural leverage in the swing. Although he may project to third base at the next level, Lochridge shows quality actions, arm strength and overall athletic ability playing shortstop.

Outfield

+OF, Jacob Stracner, Sam Houston HS, 2015
Right-handed hitter with bat speed and strength that consistently makes hard contact. Fast twitch type athlete that runs well and shows college average arm strength. Plays extremely hard and has a strong, physical frame. Currently ranked No. 23 in 2015 class. Helped lead Sam Houston HS to the number 6 seed in the 5A playoffs.

+OF, Josh Magee, Franklinton HS, 2015
A 5-foot-10, 180-pound outfielder with an athletic, strong frame. Fast-twitch, advanced athlete that is a plus runner. Consistent 4.1 home to first from right side, 4.2 on turn, and 6.6 60 yard dash. Displays above average defensive ability with tracking speed, catches the baseball easy, quality first step, and average to slightly above average arm strength. Right-handed hitter with short, simple stroke, outstanding balance, makes consistent contact and hits to all fields. The number 9 ranked player in Louisiana’s ’15 class and Southern Miss commit finished the season with .470 batting average.

+OF, Jacob Pearson, West Monroe HS, 2017
A 5-foot-10, 185-pound 2017 outfielder from West Monroe, LA. Strong, compact build with fast twitch actions. Quality overall athlete that ran a 6.6 60 yard dash. Legitimate center-field type defensive player with good tracking instincts, plays fast, but lacks in arm strength. Left-handed hitter with some stiffness in upper body, but has above average bat speed, strength at contact, flat path through zone, advanced feel for hitting, and current pull power potential. Finished the season with .409 batting average, 32 RBI, and 2 HR.

Pitcher

+RHP, Nick Lee, South Beauregard HS, 2015
A 6-foot-4, 190-pound right-hander committed to Louisiana Lafayette and number 1 ranked player in Louisiana’s 2015 class and number 25 overall in PBR’s rankings. Athletic, lanky frame with wide shoulders and room to add strength. Long arm action with slight stiffness and wrap on backend, but lightning quick arm speed into a high-3/4 release. In-line delivery with smooth rhythm landing square and athletic with some effort. Pitched a nearly flawless 4 innings of work in one of the more dominant outings you could see. Fastball sat 91-93 mph touching 94 with slight, late run and sink. Pounded the strike zone all night, but is more of a control, than command guy. Breaking ball is inconsistent but flashed a solid average slider with spin and depth at 76-78 mph. Did not throw a change up in game, but flashed an average one in between innings at 77-78 mph with fastball arm speed and fade action. Secondary stuff should project to get better as he has rarely had to use those pitches to this point in his career. An above average athlete that also plays shortstop at a high-level, displays outstanding body language with confidence, intensity, and attacking mentality, as well as showing good teammate qualities

+LHP, Kale Breaux, Sulphur HS, 2015
A 5-foot-11, 170-pound left-hander and Mississippi State signee with a small, athletic frame and No. 3 in the ’15 class, No. 61 in the overall rankings. Clean, repeatable, athletic delivery with loose, fast arm out of high-3/4 release. Outstanding mound presence, works with great tempo, attacks the strike zone with three pitches from several different arm slots. Fastball sits 83-91 mph and will pitch at 87-88 for the duration of game. Will add and subtract off the fastball, sinking and cutting some. Shows outstanding feel for a breaking ball at 74-76 mph with tight spin, plus depth and command. Will throw this pitch out of different arm slots with different velocities. Also showcases an outstanding changeup with fastball arm speed, deception and late fade action. Will throw any pitch in any count to any location. Understands how to setup hitters, becomes calmer when the situation gets tight, and it is clear he loves to compete. Helped lead Sulphur HS to the number 1 overall seed in the 5A playoffs.

+RHP, Andrew Lowe, Airline HS, 2015
A 6-foot-4, 220-pound right-hander with a large, strong frame. Clean, fast arm into a high-3/4 release and a clean, in-line delivery. Fastball sits 89-91 mph touching 93 with quality angle and control. Breaking ball is still developing, but flashes a tight spinning slider with 10/4 shape, and depth. Currently ranked No. 17 in Louisiana’s 2015 class. Finished regular season with 8-1 record, 0.53 ERA and 74 to 4 strikeout to walk ratio.

Utility

+OF/LHP, Daniel Cabrera, John Curtis HS, 2015
A 6-foot, 170-pound Louisiana State commit with an athletic, strong frame and ranked No. 1 in the ’17 class. Left-handed hitter with advanced hit tool, bat speed, quality leverage in swing, and advanced hand-eye coordination. Hits to all fields with backspin, smooth runner with tracking instincts in the outfield. Left-handed pitcher with clean, smooth delivery, strong front-side and repeats extremely well. Fastball sits 86-88 mph with life and command. Shows a tight spinning breaking ball with 2/8 shape, depth, deception and late, hard break at 74-76 mph. Shows an above average changeup with fastball arm speed, deception, and plus late, hard fade action with depth.