North Texas Underclass Games: Outfield Analysis

Elijah Nunez, OF, Arlington Martin HS, 2020
Athletic 5-foot-8, 170-pound frame with quick twitch ability and wiry strength.  Ran an impressive 6.75 laser-timed 60 to start the day. The left-hander had an impressive round of BP where he consistently barreled line drives to the gaps and through the middle of the field with carry, posted 91 mph exit velo off the tee.  He has an athletic stance with a smooth load back with his body, utilizes a toe tap where he brings his front foot back to his midline and then takes a low gliding stride forward, slightly drops his hands in his load, works on a slightly uphill plane through the zone, is in the zone a long time with plenty of extension, keeps his head down through contact, has strong barrel awareness, and has a high finish. He closed ground on balls with efficiency in the outfield, worked through the ball with fluidity, has a quick arm action, made low accurate throws through the cut-off man,and topped out at 83 mph to the dish.  Nunez ran the bases with aggression in the game. Nunez has fluidity in his actions with quick twitch ability, handles the bat well with some power, and is athletic in the outfield. His tools will continue to improve as he continues to add more strength into his frame.

Tyler Collins, OF/SS, McKinney Boyd HS, 2021
Very athletic 5-foot-10, 165-pound frame with wiry strength and plenty of quick-twitch ability.  Ran an impressive 6.68 laser-timed 60 to start the day, and ran a 4.11 home to first time during the game. The left-handed hitter has long levers in the box, has a slightly closed stance with his feet, his shoulders are pointed to the shortstop, has a simple load with plenty of looseness in his hands and wrists, takes a short stride, has a flat barrel action getting into the hitting zone and is in on-plane in the zone for a very long time with great extension, has tight turns in his body with lightning quick hands and wrists that allow him to get the barrel to the ball in any part of the zone with ease, and a smooth finish.  Collins has line drive power in BP, but the ball jumps off his barrel even more in games with relative easy effort in the swing. Posted 85 mph exit velo off the tee. From the outfield, he made low accurate throws, has athletic actions as he works through the ball with fluidity and a clean exchange, and has 83 mph arm strength. Collins has a very high ceiling, and it is rare for a player his age to make the game look easy a lot of the time.

Jacob Stephens, OF, Plano West HS, 2021
Strong, projectable, very athletic frame at 6-foot, 185-pounds.  Stephens impressed in his BP round by hammering balls off his barrel with carry to the gaps, and he pounded a 91 mph exit velo off the tee.  The right-handed hitter is slightly open in his stance with his hands slightly above shoulder height, he has a high leg kick with his knee turned in to generate torque in his core, loads his weight into the inside of his back leg during his stride, has strong hip turn, a level path with extension through the zone, and a loose finish.  Stephens has strength at the point of contact, and his body works in sync during his swing to provide easy pop. Ran a 7.06 60-yard dash to start his day. In the outfield he has fluid athletic actions. He has quiet feet in his approach, fields the ball out front, plays through the ball with fluidity, has a clean exchange into a crow hop, and topped out at 83 mph making accurate throws to the dish.  In the game he got deep into an at bat, worked a count, and smoked a single off the barrel. Stephens has a very high ceiling, and was one of the youngest players in the event. It will be exciting to watch him develop his tools over the next few years.

Robert Antonetti, C/OF, Grapevine HS, 2020
5-foot-10, 185-pound frame with wide shoulders and strength throughout.  The left-handed hitter made loud contact to his pullside in BP, and pounded a 94 mph exit velo off the tee.  Antonetti has some swagger in the box with rhythm in his hands and wrists, works from a crouched stance with his hands below shoulder-height and his back elbow up, he has a strong load into his back leg, loads his hands back and cocks his wrists in his load where the knob of the bat is pointed to down to his back foot, has loose hands and wrists in a compact swing, swings with intent to do damage, takes a long stride with some drift forward in his hips, is very strong at the point of contact, and has a two-handed high finish.  In the outfield he showed arm strength, topping out at 89 mph from a long over-the-top release. He made some accurate throws to the plate with carry. Antonetti hunted fastballs in the game portion of the event, and hammered a triple into the right-center field gap. Ran a 7.41 60-yard dash.

Peyton Lewis, OF/RHP, Parkway HS (LA), 2020
Lewis has a strong, projectable, athletic frame at 6-foot-2, 185-pounds. Lewis made several plays in the outfield with relative ease, including one down the left field line on top of the wall.The right-handed hitter starts from a tall stance with his hands set low and relaxed, before he triggers back then strides forward, walking away from his hands, creating leverage and separation. Quick hands with strength through the zone with a natural feel for the barrel and gap power with an exit velocity of 87 mph. Lewis has a knack for hitting the ball on the barrel as we have seen him multiple times this summer. During the game, he singled up the middle and flew out on the barrel to right field. In the outfield, he plays through the ball with natural athleticism, long strides, quick footwork and rhythm, before exchanging the ball into a long, loose arm stroke with a top velocity to the dish of 86 mph. A two-way player and right-handed pitcher, Lewis works from a high-¾ slot with a medium arm swing, and tall-and-fall delivery, landing square. His fastball had tilt at the bottom of the zone to both sides of the plate at 81-83 mph, while his curveball has 11/5 shape at 68-70 mph. A two-sport athlete in high school, Lewis plays slot receiver for Parkway in the fall.

Henry Cooper Huspen, OF, Allen HS, 2020
Lean and athletic frame with wiry strength, 6-foot-1, 154-pound frame.  Ran a 6.73 laser-timed 60. Starts out of an athletic open stance with tall posture at the plate, starts with his hands high above his ear, takes a long load back over his backside, pushes his hands back to create separation with a slight bar in his left arm, takes a low controlled stride forward with his left knee turned in to create some torque, flashed quick hands in his swing with a very level swing path through the hitting zone, has quick hip turn, keeps a tall upper body posture through the swing, and he barreled some balls to left field in BP; pounded 87 mph exit velo off the tee.  During the game, he singled sharply to right field with two-strikes. Huspen showed off his arm strength (89 mph) as he made low accurate throws from the outfield with plenty of carry and accuracy to the plate.

Jeff Clarke, OF/RHP, Ranchview HS, 2020
6-foot, 165-pound athletic frame.  The left-handed hitter posted 84 mph exit velocity off the tee, barreled some balls up to CF and RF in BP (87 mph exit velo in BP), and barreled a base hit to the opposite field during the game.  Clarke has a tall stance, starts the barrel flat above his back shoulder, loads his hands back and takes his knob to the catcher which creates a strong barrel turn in his load with some separation, has a low hanging leg kick with some internal rotation in the front knee to create some torque, has quick hands with a level path through the hitting zone, and has some recoil in his follow through.  In the outfield he showed arm strength (85 mph) and a quick release with carry and accuracy to the plate. Ran a 7.12 laser-timed 60.

Jaxon Osterberg, OF/2B, Southlake Carroll HS, 2020
Lean 5-foot-10, 150-pound frame with wiry strength.  Ran a 6.88 laser-timed 60 to start his day. Osterberg showed line drive power in BP by hitting line drives off the barrel to the gaps, and posted 82 mph exit velo off the tee.  The right-handed hitter has rhythm in his hands and barrel in his athletic open stance, has a quick low leg kick, has a loose barrel action with plenty of whip from his quick wrists, and he showed the ability to handle the bat and find barrels.  From the outfield he flashed some accuracy and arm strength by topping out at 85 mph and making low throws through the cut-off man to the dish. He moves with fluidity and quickness in his footwork with a clean exchange into a long loose arm stroke.

Owen Archer, OF/RHP, Liberty HS, 2021
Archer has a strong, projectable frame for a sophomore at 6-foot-1, 170-pounds. The right-handed hitter starts from a crouched stance with a wide base and relaxed rhythm in his hands, then loads back smooth as he replaces his front foot with a short stride. Does a nice job of maintaining his spine angle while he slots the barrel early, working on an upward plane through contact with an exit velocity of 83 mph. In the outfield, Archer plays through the ball with quickish footwork before hopping on his back leg as he makes a clean exchange, then throws from a loose, over-the-top slot with a top velocity to the plate of 80 mph.

Lawson Knight, OF/RHP, Round Rock HS, 2021
Lean 5-foot-9, 140-pound frame with wiry strength. Ran a 7.20 laser-timed 60 with long smooth strides.  Posted 81 mph exit velocity off the tee, and flashed line drive power in BP. The right-hander has a lot of quick-twitch and looseness in his swing.  Works from an open stance with his hands up high, is in his legs with most of his weight already loaded into the inside of his back leg, has a short simple load and stride back to parallel, stays behind the ball with his body, and has a loose finish to his swing.  Knight consistently hit the ball to the middle of the field and to the right side of the field in BP. Has quiet feet in the outfield with a quick and clean exchange where he stays low to the ground, and made low throws through the cut off man (81 mph) to the dish.  

Will Maynard, OF/1B, Amarillo HS, 2021
Maynard has a strong frame at 6-foot-2, 160-pounds. The right-handed hitter starts from a wide, balanced stance before shifting his weight back with a smooth, low-hanging leg kick as he triggers hands back and down into a front arm bar. Lands square as he replaces his front foot, easy weight transfer, flat path with loose-quick wrists and a high finish. Line drive power with good barrel awareness during batting practice and an exit velocity of 84 mph. In the outfield, Maynard moves with long strides that allow him to cover a lot of ground. Does a nice job of cutting distance on ground balls as he plays through the ball with soft hands and threw with a top velocity of 80 mph.