By Jerry Shank
Maryland Director of Scouting

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The 2015 Prep Baseball Report Maryland Preseason ID took place Saturday, February 22^nd at Diamond Pro’s baseball facility in Glen Arm, MD.  Close to 60 of the top 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 prospects came and put their ability on display in front of the PBR scouting staff.

CLICK HERE to view the Results article along with the top statistical performers for the event in multiple categories. 

Over the course of this week we will be releasing position-by-position analysis articles with scouting reports on each player and identifying the top prospects.  Two-way prospects will appear in a position analysis as well as pitching analysis.  We shall identify top prospects in each area, and will also identify a younger talent (2017 or 2018) as a Future Watch to follow if applicable. 

Today we look at the infielders that participated in the event.  It was a high amount of infielders at the event and the talent level was evident with plenty to be included into the MD state rankings that will come out in the early summer.

Top prospects

Michael Richardson – Cambridge South Dorchester (2016)
Richardson is a 6-foot 160-pound shortstop.  Displayed fluid footwork, good actions, and soft hands in the infield. He showed good athleticism and had a quick exchange with short arm action from a high ¾ arm angle at 82 mph from the infield. Offensively, Richardson is a gap-to-gap hitter with a short path to the ball with good balance.  Quick swing, good hands, and good rhythm.  Richardson impressed with his 6.88 60 yard dash and 84 mph exit velocity.

Zack Gelof – Cape Henlopen (2018)
Gelof is a 6-foot-1 175-pound athletic SS/RHP.  A legitimate two-way talent, Gelof showed athletic actions with soft hands, fluid footwork, and a quick exchange.  His infield velocity was 82 mph and his throws were accurate and consistent from his high ¾ arm slot.  Offensively, he hit from an athletic stance and showed a short swing with quick hands to the ball and a smooth load.  His exit velocity was 81 mph and he ran a 7.09 60 yard dash.    

Connor Shockley – Parkside (2017)
Shockley is a 5-foot-10 170-pound third basemen and right-handed pitcher. He has fluid footwork and plays through the baseball well.  His hands are soft and he has a quick, clean exchange.  His throws are accurate and had good carry on the with a short arm action from a high ¾ arm slot.  His infield velocity was consistently 78 mph.  Hitting from an athletic setup, Shockley gets a little long in his swing but makes up for that with a fast bat. He is a line drive type hitter with potential for power and has an exit velocity of 78 mph. He ran a 7.07 60 yard dash. 

John Palin – Riverdale Baptist (2016)
Palin is a 5-foot-11 205-pound third baseman.  He has a longer arm action and throws from a high ¾ arm angle.  He shows fluid footwork and a clean exchange with some carry on his throws at 82 mph across the infield.  He hits from an athletic setup and has rhythm in his swing.  He is a gap-to-gap type hitter with fast bat speed and has power potential.  His exit velocity was 88 mph and he ran a 7.44 60 yard dash. 

Jacob Paulishak – Middletown (2017)
Paulishak is a 6-foot-2 175-pound infielder and right-handed pitcher.  A long and athletic frame, Paulishak shows soft hands with fluid footwork and a clean exchange.  He has a short arm action from a high ¾ arm slot with some carry on his throws. His infield velocity was 74 mph and he ran a 7.30 60 yard dash.  Offensively, he hit from an athletic setup with a short stride.  He has a good lower half with some bat speed.  He is a line drive type hitter with a slightly up hill bat path and shows potential pop with an exit speed of 82 mph.

Future watch (Listed Alphabetically)

Tolan Harrison – Parkside (2017)
Harrison is a 5-foot-8 160-pound middle infielder.  He displayed solid actions on the defensive end with a short arm action from a high ¾ slot and quick feet with average hands and a clean exchange.  Across the diamond he threw 81 mph with carry on his throws.  Offensively he hit from a slightly crouched position with a short load.  He hits with a quiet lower half and is short to the ball.  His exit velocity was 74 mph and he ran a 7.12 60 yard dash.

Nick Hopkins – St. Mary’s (2018)
Hopkins is a 5-foot-8 150-pound middle infielder.  Hopkins shows a lot of athleticism in the field and raw ability.  He has soft hands in the field with fluid footwork and a clean exchange.  He throws from a 3/4 arm angle with a short and quick arm action.  Across the diamond, his velocity was 73 mph.  Offensively, the switch hitting Hopkins currently shows a bit more developed from the right side.  Both ways he hits from an athletic setup with good balance in his swing.  He has a short bat path to the ball with average bat speed.  Right handed his swing is longer with above average bat speed. Left handed he is shorter to the baseball with average bat speed.  His exit velocity from the right side was 79 and from the left side he topped out at 78.

Best of the rest (Listed alphabetically)

Brendan Benito – Southern (2018)
Benito is a 5-foot-8 135-pound right-handed pitcher and middle infielder.  Defensively, he had an infield velocity of 69 mph from an over-the-top arm slot with accurate and consistent throws.  He has an athletic set up at the plate with good balance and an exit velocity of 72 mph off the tee. Benito ran a 7.4 60.

Jaret Bennett – Col. Richardson (2016)
Bennett is a 6-foot-1 185-pound left-handed pitcher and first baseman.  As a position player, Bennett showed fluid footwork with average feet and a quick exchange.  He made accurate and consistent throws from his high ¾ arm slot at a velocity of 76 mph.  At the plate he a slightly long swing with good balance and smooth back load.  He showed a level swing with an exit velocity of 77 mph. 

Griffin DelGaudio – James M Bennett (2017)
DelGaudio is a 6-foot 155-pound rhight-handed pitcher and middle infielder.  A long and lanky body with a good frame to grow into.  DelGaudio had a short arm action from a high ¾ arm slot with accurate throws at 69 mph. Offensively, DelGaudio hit from a balanced set up.  He had average bat speed while dropping his hands slightly.  His exit velocity was 69 mph and he ran a 7.69 60 yard dash. 

Casey Drechsler – Dulaney (2017)
Drechsler is a 5-foot-11 155-pound third basemen and middle infielder.  He has a short arm action and throws from an over-the-top arm angle.  He makes consistent throws across the diamond at 71 mph.  At the plate, Drechsler hits from a balanced setup and has decent overall balance throughout his swing.  Has a tendency to get slightly long in swing.  His exit velocity was 75 mph and he ran a 7.41 60 yard dash. Shows a foundation to build upon.

Kieran Garner – River Hill (2017)
Garner is a 6-foot-2 195-pound right-handed pitcher and third baseman.  Defensively, Garner throws from a low ¾ arm slot and had the best infield velocity at the event at 84 mph.  He showed average actions and a quick exchange.  Offensviely, Garner hits from a balanced setup and has average balance throughout his swing.  Has quick hands with a level bat path. 

Ian Heffley – Avalon (2016)
Heffley is a 6-foot 150-pound middle infielder.  He showed raw ability with a clean exchange and played through the ball defensively.  He threw 68 mph across the infield from a ¾ arm slot.  He ran a 7.50 60 yard dash.  Offensively, Heffley showed live hands from a balanced set up.  He displayed gap-to-gap ability with a short swing and an exit velocity of 78 mph. 

Chase Hilliard – St. Mary’s (2018)
Hilliard is a 5-foot-9 160-pound second baseman and third baseman.  Has good actions with average hands. Shows fluid footwork with a slight stiffness.  Makes accurate and consistent throws from a high ¾ arm slot. His infield velocity was 72 mph. Offensively, Hilliard hits from a balance set up with a smooth longer load.  Short to the baseball being a gap-to-gap type hitter.  Has fluid rhythm in swing and an exit velocity of 74 mph.  Hilliard ran a 7.70 60 yard dash.

Kolten Koon – Winters Mill (2016)
Koon is a 6-foot-5 180-pound right-handed pitcher and third baseman.  The long and lanky Koon has a long arm action from the high ¾ arm slot.  He made accurate throws at 72 mph across the infield.  Offensively, he had a smooth load with good balance and average bat speed.  His exit velocity was 79 mph. 

Trevor Martin – Broadneck (2016)
Martin is a 5-foot-11 200-pound first baseman and catcher.  He has a long arm action throwing from over-the-top.  He showed a good exchange and average hands with fluid footwork.  His velocity from first base was 67 mph.  Martin hits from a balanced setup with a smooth and quick load.  His swing is short and his exit velocity was 74 mph.  Martin ran a 8.55 60 yard dash.

Chrystian Mervilus – Riverdale Baptist (2018)
Mervilus is a 5-foot-4 125-pound middle infielder.  He showed smooth and quick actions from the infield with soft hands.  He threw from a ¾ arm slot at 70 mph with accurate throws with some carry. He had a short and compact swing from an athletic set up with excellent balance.  He had an exit velocity of 70 mph and ran a 7.72 60. 

Kody Milton – Severna Park (2018)
Milton is a 6-foot-2 190-pound corner infielder.  Defensively he has fluid footwork and a quick clean exchange.  He throws from a high ¾ arm slot with a long arm action.  His velocity at 1B was 67 mph. At the plate, Milton showed fast bat speed while being short to the ball and hitting from a balanced, slightly upright setup.  He had good balance throughout his swing with a level bat path and fluid rhythm.  He shows gap-to-gap hitting ability with power potential. His exit velocity was 82 mph and he ran a 7.80 60 yard dash. 

Stephen Pelli – St. Mary’s (2018)
Pelli is a 5-foot-10 180-pound right-handed pitcher and third baseman.  He has a solid frame that will get stronger.  He has average hands and a clean exchange, throwing from a high ¾ arm slot with short arm action.  His infield velocity was 78 mph. He hits from a balanced setup with a sweeping swing and average balance throughout the swing.  His exit velocity was 80 mph showing some strength.

Scott Prutting – Landon (2017)
Prutting is a 6-foot-1 185-pound third baseman and second baseman. He is shows very good fundamentals in his actions and he makes accurate throws from a high 3/4 arm slot.  He has average arm strength topping out at 70 mph across the diamond.  Offensively, Prutting hits from a slightly open stance with a good approach.  He shows average bat speed with slight drag of the bat head.  He is a line drive hitter type and with better balance at the plate could develop some power potential. His exit velocity was 77 and he ran a 7.90 60 yard dash.

Zach Putman – Mount St. Joseph (2017)
Putman is a 6-foot-0 160-pound middle infielder. Defensively he had average hands with a long arm action from a ¾ arm angle.  His throws were consistently on target at 72 mph.  Offensively he has a solid foundation at the plate.  He has a short, compact swing that is direct to the baseball.  His exit velocity was at 76 mph. 

Joshua Roberson – Seneca Valley (2015)
Roberson is a 6-foot-1 185-pound first baseman and outfielder.  He displays soft hands and fluid footwork at first base.  He has some carry on his throws from a high ¾ arm angle with a velocity of 72 mph.  He hits from a balanced and athletic setup with a level swing path.  He shows some pull side pop in his swing.  His exit velocity was 83 mph and he ran a 7.00 60 yard dash. 

Devin Stevenson – Fredrick Douglas (2016)
Stevenson is a 5-foot-9 165-pound second baseman and outfielder.  He hits from a good balanced setup with an exit velocity of 60 mph.  Defensively he throws from a high ¾ arm slot and gets rid of the ball quickly with an infield velocity of 55 mph.  He ran a 7.75 60 yard dash. 

Travis Thibeault – St. Mary’s (2018)
Thibeault is a 5-foot-10 135 pound middle infielder.  He displays fluid footwork with average hands and short arm action from a high ¾ arm slot.  His infield velocity was 73 mph.  He hits from a balanced stance with a level bat path.  His exit velocity was 75 mph and he ran a 7.51 60 yard dash. He has a solid foundation for a young player and should grow.