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Louisiana Top Prospect Games: Quick Hits (2025 Class)

June 14, 2024
Alex Armand
Louisiana Scouting Director

Lafayette, LA - The 2024 Louisiana Top Prospect Games were held on June 11, 2024, at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette.  Over 100 of the state's best and brightest prospects were in attendance and went through a pro-style workout that included running a laser-timed 60 yard dash using Swift Performance, batting practice using Trackman, defensive evalutaions, and more.  Pitchers finished off the event by throwing live to hitters, and they were able to receive their numbers and metrics off of Trackman, such as pitch velocity, spin rate, horizontal & vertical movement and much more.

We continue our post-event coverage with a look at some of the prospects in the 2025 class that caught our eye.  Please continue to check back over the coming days, as we'll release additional post-event coverage of the 2024 Louisiana Top Prospect Games. 

View all event stats HERE. 

POPE JOHN PAUL II PROSPECTS SHINE

+ 2025 RHP/C Kade LaCoste (Pope John Paul II HS)

6'1" 190 lbs. durable frame.  We last saw LaCoste at our State Games event, back in October, and it was evident on Tuesday that he's made some nice strides over the last 8 months.  A smooth mover down the mound with a clean arm stroke; LaCoste went right after hitters with a 88-91 mph FB that had life through the zone with spin rates up to 2409 RPM's.  He tunneled a 77-78 mph SL with sweep off of his FB that made for a difficult at-bat, and also showed feel for a 77-80 mph CH.  There's potential starter updside for the uncommitted right-hander, which is why we expect for him to be a high-follow the rest of this summer.

+ 2025 SS Blaze Rodriguez (Pope John Paul II HS)

Rodriguez performed each time that we saw him during the spring and Tuesday was his "coming out party".  He's a really good athlete and runner, as he posted a 6.73 laser-timed 60, which indicates that he's got a good shot to stick at shortstop.  His infield actions were clean and he showed advanced footwork and understanding of how to cut angles, while also showcasing a quick release and accurate arm on all throws across the diamond up to 83 mph.  Smaller in stature with a 5'9" 160 lbs. frame, Rodriguez plays much bigger on the field, especially in the box, as he gets off aggressive hacks with intent, yet keeps his body under control.  He showed present bat speed with the ability to drive the ball from gap to gap that resulted in a 93.6 mph max exit velocity.  Rodriguez also showed the ability to control his barrel in gameplay, as he collected a really nice opposite-field single on a CH down & away.  Maybe it's because the event was at the University of Louisana-Lafayette, but Rodriguez reminded me of the Ragin Cajuns own Kyle Debarge, who just capped off one of the better careers in program history.  

2025 ARMS STEAL THE SHOW

+ 2025 RHP Adam Brodnax (Buckeye HS)

6'2" 180 lbs. long and lean frame with room to continue to add strength.  The Buckeye product came into Tuesday's event relatively unkown, but left as a must-follow prospect for the college recruiters in attendance.  A former "QB1" on the gridiron, Brodnax starts in the middle of the rubber, before shifting to the 1B side throughout a controlled and repeatable delivery, and he uses a long & loose arm stroke to release the ball from a 3/4 slot.  He attacked hitters with a 88-90 mph FB that flashed ride & run through the zone and showed confidence in landing a late-fading 75-76 mph CH for strikes, as he struck out two hitters on the pitch.  His 73-75 mph SL is a developing third pitch that has the potential to be another above average offering.  There is no denying the present arm talent for Brodnax and he's also a low-mileage arm, which only helps his appeal at the next level.

+ 2025 RHP Cole Navarro (Brother Martin HS)

A steady, reliable, and consistent performer for the Crusaders over the course of his career; Navarro showed well again on Tuesday.  The Brother Martin product works at a quick pace on the mound and can land all three of his pitches for strikes in any count.  His FB sat 84-87 mph and he showed the ability to command it glove-side and arm-side, and isn't afraid to drive the pitch in to RHH's.  Navarro has true starter upside and at 6'1" 165 lbs. there's still room for him to pack on more physicality, which will help his "stuff" tick up even more.  

+ 2025 RHP Owen Stempel (Archbishop Hannan HS)

6'3" 180. lbs. frame with some present physicality; Stempel is another guy that we've been able to track over the last 12-18 months and on Tuesday, he showed that his work in the weight room is starting to pay dividends.  The Archbishop Hannan product ran his FB up to a personal-best at our events, at 89 mph, and sat 85-88 mph throughout the entirety of his outing.  His heater played best to his glove-side and he paired that with a shorter breaking mid-70's SL that he landed for strikes and swing & miss.  

+ 2025 RHP Braden Mouton (Central Catholic HS)

Mouton had arguably the top pitching performance at this year's Top Prospect Games, and that's saying something, because this year's event was the most loaded that it's ever been on the mound.  The Central Catholic product works through a controlled delivery off the 1B side of the rubber, before using a quick & compact arm stroke to release the ball from a 3/4 slot.  Mouton was a "strike machine" on Tuesday, as he aggressively went after hitters with his 88-90 mph FB and was able to locate it to all quadrants.  His 75-78 mph SL tunneled well off of his heater and was used as a swing & miss offering with late bite down in the zone.  Mouton finished his one inning stint in impressive fashion by punching out the side in order.

+ 2025 LHP Hayden Pearson (Ascension Episcopal HS)

We last saw Pearson at a Team Louisiana tryout, back in December of last year, and he's another guy that showed he's definitely made a jump over the last several months.  The Louisiana-Lafayette recruit closed out Game 1 on Tuesday in impressive fashion collecting 2 K's.  Working exclusively from the stretch, Pearson overpowered hitters with a 89-92 mph FB that had late-life through the zone with an IVB up to 20.3".  His 75-76 mph SL flashed "2-8" shape and is still a work in progress, as is his 81-82 mph CH.  He's got a durable 6'0" 190 lbs. frame with some of the best raw arm talent that we've seen in the state's 2025 class.  Once he arrives on ULL's campus next August, we could see Pearson really blossoming, especially under the tutelage of pitching coach Gunner Leger, who is one of the best young pitching coaches in all of college baseball.

2025 POSITION PLAYERS TO FOLLOW

+ 2025 INF/RHP Jackson Beddoe (Sulphur HS)

The former Future Gamer displayed arguably the best collection of tools at Tuesday's Top Prospect Games.  He started his day off by posting a 6.62 laser-timed 60, which was tied for second-best at the event.  His BP round was filled with loud barrel after loud barrel, as he used a compact stroke to drive balls from gap to gap, that resulted in a max exit velocity of 97.6 mph.  Beddoe also offered some intrigue and upside on the mound, as he ran his heater up to 89 mph and showed a much improved SL.  

+ 2025 OF Chase Harris (Catholic BR HS)

6'1" 155 lbs. athletic, lean, and wiry frame with a ton of room to add strength as he matures.  Harris was a platoon guy for the Bears this past spring, which is nothing to be ashamed of, as Catholic was arguably the best team in the entire country this season, and he'll undoubtedly be a big part of the team's success next season.  He's a really good runner who can cover a lot of ground in the outfield, as evidenced by his 6.62 laser-timed 60 on Tuesday.  At the plate, Harris keeps it really simple with a balanced and athletic set-up before delivering a direct path to contact with level extension.  He worked mostly up the middle and to the pull-side on a line during his BP round with a personal-best 92.7 mph max exit velocity, and he also took quality at-bats in game.  During Game 1, Harris did a really nice job of sinking into his lower-half to get his barrel on-plane with a two-strike CH to hit a line drive single to RCF, showing that his adjustibility in the box is continuing to trend in the right direction.  

+ 2025 UTIL/RHP Brayden Clement (South Terrebonne HS)

Clement was one of the more intriguing two-way guys on Tuesday, as he showcased tools on both sides of the ball.  The South Terrebonne product showed off a big arm across the diamond (86 mph) and from the outfield (92 mph).  His swing looked improved from our last look, as he got off aggressive hacks showing present bat speed and pull-side strength with a max exit velocity of 94.3 mph.  Clement also provided an interesting look on the mound with a 88-89 mph FB coupled with a short & tight 77-79 mph SL.  There's still projection left and strength that he can add to his 5'11" 165 lbs. frame, which is why he'll likely be a close-follow the rest of the summer.

+ 2025 C Andrew Clapinski (Catholic BR HS)

Clapinski showed more of the same on Tuesday, which is he is a relaible, steady, and consummate in-game performer.  His BP round was as professional as it gets at the high school level, as he used a controlled, repeatable, and compact stroke to drive balls to all fields.  The Catholic product was on the barrel with seemingly every swing, and collected one of the hardest hit balls in game on Tuesday, as he drilled a two-strike FB on the inner-half of the plate for a single to LF.  As we've mentioned plenty of times before, Clapinski is a guy who is "more than the sum of his parts" and plays above his overall tool-set, as he handled the best pitching staff in the state this past spring, while also slashing .396 with 6 HR and 45 RBI, against the toughest schedule in the state.

+ 2025 SS Kelan Guidry (Parkview Baptist HS)

The award for best infield round of the day went to Guidry, as he displayed crisp and smooth actions with soft hands, a clean glove-to-hand transfer, quick release, and accurate arm across the diamond.  The Parkview Baptist product looked like a guy that can stick at shortstop and he'd be as solid as they come defensively if he had to move to second base.  The tools and strength continued to trend in the right direction for Guidry as well, as he posted a personal-best 6.90 in the 60 and a 87.2 mph max exit velocity.  Guidry used his short & quick swing to collect a nice opposite-field single during gameplay.  

— Prep Baseball Louisiana (@PrepBaseballLA) June 13, 2024

+ 2025 OF Davis Emonet (Catholic BR HS)

Emonet is another Catholic BR product who continues to get better and better each time that we see him.  The 6'1" 170 lbs. outfielder is a really good defender in the outfield with the speed to stick in centerfield, as evidenced by his event-best 6.56 laser-timed 60.  At the plate, he had one of his best BP rounds at our events, as he drove balls from the middle of the field and to the pull-side, which resulted in a personal-best 91.3 mph max exit velocity.  His speed showed up in-game as well, as he hit a hard groundball in the six-hole for an infield single, and clocked in at a 4.15 down the line.  

 

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