The annual Louisiana Underclass Trials took place on Sunday, May 20th, at St. Thomas Aquinas high school, in Hammond, LA. The open event saw eighty-four underclass prospects from across the state of Louisiana perform in front of several college coaches, and the Prep Baseball Report Louisiana scouting staff.

Sunday’s Underclass Trials was perhaps the most talent-rich in the four-year history of the event, as numerous prospects emerged onto the recruiting scene with noteworthy performances.

Yesterday we broke down the event from a statistical standpoint in the Stats Breakdown story, which you can view HERE.

For a complete list of statistics in PDF format, click HERE.

Today, the Prep Baseball Report Louisiana scouting staff takes a look at a few quick hits, observations and revelations from Sunday’s Underclass Trials.

+ 2021 SS/RHP Nicholas Wall (University Lab HS, LA) is a lean, athletic 5-foot-9, 145-pounds with room to add strength and size to his frame. An advanced defender, Wall showed quality actions with soft hands, fluid footwork, and played through balls athletically with clean exchanges. Short arm action into high-3/4 release, he showed quality arm strength with carry and accuracy on throws across the diamond.

+ 2020 SS Luke Acosta (St. Thomas More HS, LA) showed off quality athleticism and quick twitch actions to his game Sunday, as the 5-foot-9, 135-pounder posted a 6.72 60 yard dash. Defensively, he showed average hands with solid actions, fluid footwork, and played through balls athletically with clean, quick exchanges. A right-handed hitter, Acosta showed a simple, balanced setup with smooth load and short stride. He showed off quality bat speed with a short, direct path to the baseball with quality bat speed, and posted an exit velocity of 86 mph.

+ 2020 RHP Tanner Hall (Zachary HS, LA) is an athletic 5-foot-11, 155-pound right-hander with lean build and room to add strength. Hall shows polish, and athleticism to his delivery with advanced feel for the position. Medium arm stroke into high-3/4 release with quick arm speed and little effort, he pitched 81-84 mph with his fastball, showing ability to command the pitch to both sides of the plate with occasional life to the arm side. Breaking ball showed 11/5 shape with quality spin, depth, and deception at 71-72 mph. Also showed quality feel for a changeup with fastball arm speed, deception and fade action at 74-75 mph.

+ 2020 OF/RHP Preston Ratliff (Northshore HS, LA) is an athletic 6-foot-2, 178-pounds with lean, wiry build and room to add strength. A right-handed pitcher, Ratliff shows a long, clean arm action into high-3/4 release with quick arm speed and regular effort. Delivery is athletic with solid direction and fluid rhythm. Pitched 81-84 mph with fastball showing solid feel for the zone and occasional late life. Breaking ball showed 11/5 shape with solid spin and depth at 64-66 mph. Ratliff also showed solid athleticism as a position player by posting a 7.21 60-yard dash, and showed off quality arm strength with carry on throws from the outfield, posting a positional velocity of 85 mph.

+ 2020 RHP Noah Weston (Zachary HS, LA) has an athletic 6-foot-1, 180-pound frame with lean build and room to add strength. Long, clean arm action into high-3/4 release with quick arm speed and regular effort. Delivery shows athleticism with quality direction and fluid rhythm. Pitched 81-84 mph. touching 85 mph with his fastball, showing solid control and ability to pitch to both sides of the plate with the pitch. Curveball showed 11/5 shape with solid spin and depth at 69-72 mph, while also showing a slider with 10/4 shape and sharper break at 73-75 mph. Also showed solid feel for changeup with fastball arm speed and fade action at 74-76 mph.

+ 2020 C Matthew Lee (Catholic(BR) HS, LA) is an athletic 5-foot-11, 170-pounds with lean, wiry build, and room to add strength. Lee showed off high-level catch and throw skills all day with soft hands, fluid hips, and quick footwork. Posting a pop time of 1.88-seconds, he showed quick, clean exchanges, consistently getting the ball out of his glove quickly with accuracy and carry on throws to 2^nd, posting a positional velocity of 74 mph.

+ 2020 RHP/SS Will Kinzeler (Fontainebleau HS, LA) is an imposing, projectable 6-foot-4, 158-pound right-hander pitcher with long limbs, and lean, athletic build. Kinzeler showed a short, clean arm action into ¾ release with quick arm speed and regular effort. Delivery shows advanced athleticism with solid direction and fluid rhythm. Pitched 81-84 mph with his fastball showing quality life in the zone. Showed feel for a solid 4-pitch mix, using a curveball with 11/5 shape, solid spin, and depth at 68-69 mph. Slider showed better with 10/4 shape, sharp break, tight spin, and solid depth at 70-73 mph. Also showed feel for a changeup with fade action and fastball arm speed at 70-71 mph.

+ 2020 RHP/SS Taegan Bourque (New Iberia HS, LA) has an extremely projectable 6-foot-3, 170-pound frame with long, wiry build, athleticism, and room to add strength. Long, loose arm action into high-3/4 release with quick arm speed and regular effort. Overall delivery is still raw, as his direction can get away from him at times, but he showed advanced athleticism that compensates for some of the flaws. Pitched 82-84 mph with fastball, showing life in the zone. Also showed breaking ball with 11/5 shape and solid spin at 66-70 mph.

+ 2020 SS/OF Ben Broussard (Notre Dame HS, LA) is a medium 5-foot-8, 165-pounder with a strong, developed build. He showed quality athleticism by posting a 6.82 60 yard dash on Sunday, and had one of the better rounds of batting practice on the day. A right-handed hitter, Broussard hits from a balanced, athletic setup with smooth load, and short stride. Using a line-drive, gap-to-gap approach he shows fluid rhythm with a simple, direct approach to the baseball and level path.

+ 2020 C Derek Lathon Jr. (University Lab HS, LA) has a medium 5-foot-7, 180-pound frame with strong, developed build. Lathon showed off quality athleticism posting a 7.21 60 yard dash, as well as showing off quality catch and throw skills, posting a pop time of 1.94-seconds. A right-handed hitter, he showed a strong, compact stroke with quality bat speed, taking a quality round of batting practice.

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