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PBR Louisiana 2023 Future Games Recap: Defensive Standouts

August 2, 2023
Alex Armand
Louisiana Scouting Director

The 2023 Future Games have come and passed again, and this year's event was as successful as ever.  Our famous tagline is #BeSeen and the prospects that were in attendance this year were definitely seen, as there was a total of 378 college coaches in attendance.  The week started on Wednesday July 26, 2023 with all prospects participating in a pro-style workout, followed by one game a day from Thursday July 27, 2023 through Saturday July 29, 2023.  This year's Louisiana group finished the Future Games with a 2-0-1 record, earning wins against Alabama and Mississippi, and a tie against Tennessee.  Below, we take a look at some of the top defensive performances from the event.  

 

TOP DEFENSIVE PERFORMANCES

 

+ 2025 C Connor Walker (Sam Houston HS)

If you read our articles leading up to the 2023 Future Games, then you know that we were very high on Walker behind the dish.  Simply put, he's a pitcher's "best friend".  The Sam Houston HS product is an excellent receiver, especially on borderline pitches down in the zone, as he understands how to get his thumb underneath pitches and stick them out front for the umpire to see.  In addition to his receiving, he's also excellent blocker.  Walker is able to smother pitches and gives pitchers confidence to throw their secondary offerings with two strikes with conviction down in the zone.  His catch and throw is really good as well, and he understands when to back pick during games, and that was on full display last week, as he was able to back pick a runner at second base, after seeing that he was getting too confident in his secondary lead the pitch before.  Lastly, one of the biggest reasons why we like Walker so much defensively is his calming demeanor and positive attitude with every pitcher that he caught.  He truly got to know each guy, their repertoire, and what they were trying to do to get hitters out, which is worth its weight in gold alone.

+ 2025 OF Noah Lewis (Catholic BR HS)

Catholic BR Head Coach Brad Bass will have a high school version of the "No Fly Zone" next spring with guys like Noah Lewis and Brooks Wright ('22 Future Gamer) roaming the outfield.  For starters, Lewis showed elite speed on the workout day, as he posted a Future Games best 6.35 laser-timed 60 yard dash and he was able to show that his speed plays in game, both on the offense and defense.  Lewis played all three outfield spots last week and made several nice plays with his legs and his arm.  In Game 1, he got an excellent jump in center field on a ball hit 95+ mph to the LCF gap and made a running one-handed catch with ease.  He saved his best defensive performance for Game 3, where he made two difficult plays look relatively easy.  The first was when we was playing left field and got an excellent jump on another ball hit to the LCF gap, and after catching the ball, he was able to plant his foot in the ground, spin around, and fire a strike to second base to turn an inning ending double play.  The second play was on a fly ball hit to him in right field.  Lewis got behind the fly ball and then crow-hopped and threw a bullet to get out a would be baserunner at third base.  The old saying goes, "Speed Kills", but sometimes a player's speed doesn't translate to the game, but with Lewis that speed definitely translates and he showed it last week.

+ 2026 OF/RHP J.D. Alexander (Barbe HS)

The Barbe HS product has been talked about a lot over the spring and summer, but primarily for his voracious left-handed swing and upside on the mound.  Last week, it was his defense that caught our attention, which only adds to his intrigue as a prospect.  Alexander spent time in both left field and right field, as well as first base, and played each position well.  During Game 2 vs. Tennessee, he got a great jump in right field on a line drive hit right at him and without hesitation, he opened his hips up to the right field line and caught the ball over his head with ease.  He made another nice play at first base during the same game on a high fly ball hit over his head, where he had to open up his hips again and get behind the ball, before catching it at its highest point.  Alexander posted a personal best 6.85 laser-timed 60 on the workout day and he also threw 88 mph from the OF and we've seen him up to 90 mph from the outfield in the past.  There's plenty of room to fill out his 6'3" frame and if he decides to take things to the next level in the weight room, then we could see him breaking that 6.70 mark next year, while also ticking his arm strength up as well, which would catapult him into another tier of prospect.