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 outfielders that participated in the event. Although small in numbers, there was a good pool of talent that came from this event, with many to be included into the MD state rankings that will come out the beginning of the summer. 

Top Prospects

Nathaniel Lowe – Cambridge South Dorchester (2016)
-Lowe is a 5-foot-10 150-pound outfielder. With an athletic body, Lowe has a short arm action from a high ¾ arm slot with carry on his throws at 82 mph.  He displays fluid footwork and does a good job working through the baseball from the outfield. He will be able to cover ground very well with his 6.73 60 yard dash time, the best at the Maryland Preseason ID. Offensively, Lowe has a nice short swing with quick bat speed. He gets slightly stacked on his backside, but already shows good pop in his bat with potential for more. Hitting from an athletic and balanced setup, his exit velocity was tied for the best at the MD Preseason ID at 88 mph. 

Ryan Brown – St. James (2016)
-Brown is a 5-foot-10 170-pound outfielder. A solid and athletic frame, Brown showed food footwork in the outfield with good hands and a clean exchange. He works thru the ball and throws from an over-the-top arm angle with a long arm action at a consistent 82 mph with some carry and accuracy. Offensively he hits from a slightly open stance with ok balance throughout his swing. He has quick hands and good bat speed and gets slightly long at times. He is line drive type hitter with an exit velocity of 86 mph. Brown capped his day running a 6.80 60 yard dash.

Adonte Rhodes – Riverdale Baptist (2016)
-Rhodes is a 5-foot-9 170-pound outfielder. He has a long armed, athletic frame to build more into.  He threw from a high ¾ arm slot at 77 mph. He does a good job of working thru the baseball with a clean exchange and fluid footwork. On the offensive end, Rhodes displays quick hands and very good bat speed and gets slightly long at times. He has good balance with a level swing and is a gap-to-gap type hitter. His exit velocity was 83 mph and he ran a 6.90 60 yard dash. 

Austin Elliot – Cape Henlopen (DE) (2018)
-As a position player, Elliot showed a clean and loose arm action from the outfield and carry on his throws at 78 mph. At the plate he had a balanced and athletic set up with a gap-to-gap swing. Power pull side pop from the right side. His exit velocity was 80 mph and he ran a 7.39 60 yard dash.

FUTURE WATCH

Justin Oakley – Riverdale Baptist (2017)
-Oakley is a 5-foot-11 185-pound outfielder. He throws from an over-the-top arm angle with average hands and a clean exchange. He plays thru the ball well and showed carry on his throws at 76 mph.  Oakley hits from an athletic and balanced setup.  He has simple load and good balance throughout his swing. He shows potential pull side power and is a gap-to-gap type hitter right now. His exit velocity was 76 mph and Oakley also put up a good 60 yard dash, running a 7.00. 

Nicholas Torroella – Mount St. Joseph (2017)
-Torroella is a 5-foot-10 160-pound OF/RHP. An athletic frame, Torroella threw from a high ¾ arm slot accurately and made accurate throws with some carry showing off the best outfield arm of the event at 83 mph. There is more in the tank once he gets momentum all moving forward. Offensively, he hit from an athletic and balanced set up. He has a level bat path and slightly up hill with an exit velocity of 71 mph. Capped the day running a nice 7.00 60 yard dash.

Best of the rest (listed alphabetically)

Grayson Lawrence – McDonogh (2018)
- Lawrence is a 5-foot-10 175-pound LHP/OF. From the OF he threw from a high ¾ arm slot at 74 mph with accurate and consistent throws. Offensively, he hit from a balanced setup and had an exit velocity of 63 mph. He ran a 7.50 60 yard dash.

Matthew LaPrade – Catonsville (2015)
-LaPrade is a 5-foot-3 145-pound OF. He showed good foot speed running a 7.20 60 yard dash.  He topped out at 77 mph from a high ¾ arm slot with short arm action and carry on his throws. He hit from a balanced set up with little load and a short stride. He was short to the baseball and had an exit velocity of 75 mph.

Andrew Zerbe – New Life Christian (2015)
-Zerbe is a 5-foot-11 200-pound OF/RHP. An athletic and strong frame, Zerbe ran a 7.50 60 yard dash. From the outfield he had a velocity of 68 mph and should get better as he more consistently works through the baseball. Offensively, Zerbe hit from a balance set up with some tilt in his swing.  His exit velocity was 83 mph. He rand a 7.50 60 yard dash. 

Sam Steinberg – Walt Whitman (2016)
-Steinberg is a 5-foot-10 180 pound 3B/OF. He shows average hands defensively with a quick, clean exchange and a short arm action from the high ¾ slot. His accurate and consistent throws were 74 mph from the outfield and 71 from the infield. Offensively, Steinberg hit with good balance and a smooth load. He had average bat speed with a gap-to-gap projected hitting ability. His exit velocity was 72 mph and he ran a 7.81 60 yard dash. 

James Moses – Loyola Blakefield (2017)
-Moses is a 5-foot-7 160-pound OF/LHP. Defensively throws from a high ¾ arm slot and his throws had slight carry and were accurate at 79 mph. He worked through the ball well with good footwork.  Offensively, Moses hits from an athletic setup with a short, simple load. He was short to the ball and showed average bat speed. His exit velocity was 73 mph. 

Franklin Parks – Good Counsel (2017)
-Parks is a 5-foot-9 160-pound OF. He threw from a high ¾ arm slot with an outfield velocity of 65 mph. At the plate, Parks hits from a balanced setup with a short stride. His swing is slightly long with a level bat path. His exit velocity was 52 mph and Parks ran an 8.91 60 yard dash.   

Langston Cross – Flowers (2017)
-Cross is a 6-foot-1 188-pound RHP/OF. With a solid and athletic frame to fill out, Cross throws from a high ¾ arm angle at 70 mph. He works thru the ball well but had a tendency to be on heels slightly. Offensively, Cross hit from an athletics set up, with a big sweeping load. He showed average bat speed with pull side power potential. His exit velocity was 70 mph. 

CJ Wiley – Southern (2015)
-Wiley is a 6-foot-4 180-pound LHP/OF. He has a very good frame and body to build upon.  From the outfield, Wiley throws from an over-the-top arm angle with a long arm action. He worked thru the ball and had a good exchange. His outfield velocity was 76 mph. At the plate, Wiley hit from a balanced setup and had average overall balance in his swing. His exit velocity was 79 mph showing some strength and he ran a 7.1 60 yard dash. 

Orlando Roberson Jr – Seneca Valley (2015)
-Roberson Jr is a 5-foot-11 165-pound RHP/OF. He has a short arm action and works through the ball well while throwing from a high ¾ arm angle. His outfield velocity was 78 mph. He hits from a balanced setup and quick load. He has a level path to the ball with an exit velocity of 63 mph.