MN Preseason Underclass: Outfield Analysis

March 25, 2015

By Rob Allison
Prep Baseball Report Minnesota

On Sunday, February 22nd Prep Baseball Report Minnesota hosted the MN Preseason Underclass, an event that included players from the 2017 and 2018 grad classes. The event was held in the Sports Expo Center on the campus of the National Sports Center.

Over the next several days we will breakdown the top prospects from the event by position, culminating in the Top Overall Prospects. Today, we’ll take a look at the outfielders, highlighted by Foley sophomore Noah Winkelman. Winkelman posted 88 mph exit velocity along with an 88 mph arm from the outfield, and impresses with his projection, arm strength, and power in his swing.

Right-handed hitting 2017 graduate Nick Kamnikar from Park Senior impresses with his overall athleticism and energy. He might lack physicality right now; his tool set is solid and continues to get better.

Lakeville North's Landon Mahowald is another underclass outfielder that stood out. Mahowald isn't flashy but runs above average, shows good actions in the outfield, and has strength in a compact simple swing.

Let’s take a look at the top overall outfield prospects from the MN Preseason Underclass.

Top Overall outfield Prospects

1. Noah Winkelman, C/OF, Foley, 2017
5-foot-11, 175-pound catcher/outfielder. Long legs- wide shoulders. 88 mph exit velocity off tee. Will really fill out and with added strength and maturity. Ran a 7.35 60. Left-handed hitter with upright open stance. Strides in-line with pitcher. Athletic set-up with quick hands to contact. Mid-pull approach with bat speed. Short finish after contact. Would improve with more length through zone after contact creating greater separation. Uses hands well in swing. Proto right fielder in outfield. High ¾ arm slot with carry. Fields balls cleanly and is solid defensively. 88 mph arm strength from outfield. Flexible and strong behind plate. Receives and blocks well. A ton of carry on throws even with low elbow ¾ release. Slot effects accuracy at times. 2.00-2.03 pop times with 73 mph arm strength. Overall High Follow for 2017 class. Has minor things to improve on but his highly projectable and has good tools.

2. Nick Kamnikar, OF, Park Senior, 2017
5-foot-9, 135-pound outfielder. Continues to grow as player. Shows good rhythm in box. Good pop for his size. Makes consistent solid contact gap to gap. Lower half is stiff at times but can easily fixed. Moves with athleticism and looks very comfortable in outfield. Fast arm and has increased his arm strength to 83 mph. Projects to throw high 80’s or better from outfield as he continues to mature. Overall a high follow for 2017 class based on present ability/ future projection. Adding strength will be key to development.

3. Landon Mahowald, LHP/OF, Lakeville North, 2017
6-foot, 160-pound 2-way player. Thin build. Above average runner. Ran a 7.06 60. Square stance and uses double tap trigger to swing. Swing is short and controlled. Has good strength in swing with 86 mph exit velocity off tee. Lower half is stiff at times. Swing plane is flat and geared towards line-drives. Looks to be an ok athlete in outfield. Shows soft hands and appropriate footwork. Body is loose and shows actions. Arm is stiff with one-piece arm action from ¾ slot. Accurate throws at 76 mph. Overall has good position player tools; arm action and velocity need to improve for him to stand-out at position.

4. Luke Wallner, RHP/OF, Forest Lake, 2017
5-foot-11, 180-pound 2-way player. Ran a 7.53 60. Increased in every stat category since August 2014 event. Creates bat speed and shows pop to the gaps. No stride approach but still gets lower half incorporated into swing. High back elbow creates some length to contact but stays on ball well and shows ability to drive through. 81 mph exit velocity off tee. Moves well in outfield. Will field at times with two hands effecting balance and momentum. Arm works well and produced 83 mph velocity from outfield. Once he uses lower half more in throws; arm strength will increase.

5. Tyler Fietek, SS/OF/RHP, Lakeville North, 2017
6-foot-1, 175-pound 2-way player. Projectable body with current strength in frame. 7.47 60 time. Slightly open stance with bowed out elbows to start. Unorthodox but loads and get himself into quality launch position. Power in swing evidenced by 89 mph exit velocity off tee. Hard contact to mid-pull side of field. Stays balanced through swing with good separation after contact. Aggressive fielder in outfield and infield. Attacks baseball with confidence. Feet are average and glove is more sure at shortstop. Throws from over-the-slot at 80 mph with above average accuracy and carry.

6. Danny Deis, IF/OF/RHP, Wayzata, 2017
5-foot-9, 155-pound 2-way player. Live body with energy. Ran a 7.4 60. Simple load and stride approach. Would benefit by creating some rhythm and looseness to swing. Inverted C load; slight uphill swing. 70 mph exit velocity off tee. Moves well in outfield. Arm is true and accurate. Has carry. 78 mph. Shows good energy and ok actions at shortstop. Explodes through ball and works towards target. Glove can be stiff at times but shows ingredients to be above average defender in future.

Best of The Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Samuel Carman, OF, Burnsville, 2017
5-foot-10, 150-pound outfielder. Long legs high waist. Ran a 7.34 60. Simple swing with short stride and pre-set hand load. Short direct path to ball. Efficient with solid contact from line drive swing plane. Stays in middle of field with 78 mph exit velocity off tee. Shows an ok arm from outfield. Has good hands and feet reading and fielding balls. Two piece arm action with average carry at 78 mph.

Tommy Deters, OF, Orono, 2018
5-foot-11, 150-pound outfielder. Ran a 7.5 60. Long levers. Lacks strength but will improve as he continues to mature. Square stance with inline stride. Makes solid contact and stays on ball through swing. Good direction with lower half and shifts weight well. 75 mph exit velocity. Shows playable actions in outfield. Limited use of front side and throws from ¾ slot with slingy one-piece arm action. Above average accuracy with limited carry on throws at 76 mph.

Daniel Heinsch, OF/RHP, Watertown-Mayer, 2017
5-foot-11, 150-pound utility player. Ran a 7.53 60. Simple no load no stride approach. Flat short swing through zone. 79 mph exit velocity. Has good hands in field. Is aggressive to balls and works through them with positive actions. Funky one piece arm action with limited carry and accuracy. 71 mph arm strength.

Sean King, OF/RHP, Minneapolis Washburn, 2017
6-foot-1, 160-pound 2-way player. Tall lean body. Ran a 7.94 60. Square stance and strides slightly closed to swing. Set-up is good. Hands tend to drift down creating length in swing. Gap to gap approach with average bat speed. 77 mph exit velocity off tee. Shows good feet and hands on ground balls. Long arm action with life on throws along with plus accuracy. 75 mph arm strength from outfield.

Leo Lerner, LHP/OF, Cretin-Derham Hall, 2017
5-foot-10, 152-pound 2-way player. Lean build. Ran a 7.37 60. Open stance to start. Strides across body to contact. Short to ball with pull approach and average bat speed. 73 mph exit velocity off tee. Moves in the outfield with athletic actions. Some stiffness in fielding using two hands. Arm works well from high ¾ slot with arm speed. Average accuracy at 81 mph.

Jeffrey Moore, RHP/OF, Deer River, 2017
5-foot-8, 170-pound 2-way player. Medium build. Ran a 7.5 60. Square stance with short stride into ball. Swings against stiff front leg effecting balance and weight shift through ball at contact. Hand drift down adding length to swing with slight uphill swing plane. 77 mph exit velocity off tee. Shows average actions in outfield. Fields with two hands at times. Shows some arm speed on throws. Ball has cutting action to target. 76 mph arm strength from outfield.

Michael O’Malley, OF/IF/RHP, Armstrong, 2017
5-foot-9, 167-pound 2-way player. Average build. Ran a 7.75 60. Swing is mechanical. Strides slightly closed with front heel up in air. Hands drift down creating length and uphill swing plane. Makes solid contact and stays in middle of field. 69 mph exit velocity. Good footwork in outfield. Reads bounces well. Short arm action with average carry and ok accuracy at 74 mph. Similar arm strength from infield. Makes routine plays. Plays flat-footed at times. Winds up to throw. Average actions.

Bryan Pierson, OF, Centennial, 2017
5-foot-8, 145-pound outfielder. Ran a 7.5 60. Shows an aggressive swing from a square stance and inline stride to pitcher. One of better B.P. session of event. Consistent hard contact gap to gap with line drives. Stride is slightly long but does good job of keeping weight and hands back. Head is level and stays on ball through contact. 80 mph exit velocity off tee. Actions are stiff at times in outfield. Fields routine and throws from ¾ slot with one-piece arm action. 81 mph arm strength. Needs to continue to develop physically and improve arm action from outfield. Solid follow with ability with bat.

Vaughn Pouncy, OF/LHP, North St. Paul, 2017
5-foot-11, 195-pound 2-way player. Ran a 7.75 60. Closed stance. Hands drift down to swing. Short to contact with slashy line drive swing plane. Pull approach with average power. 77 mph exit velocity off tee. Average actions in outfield. Fields with two hands effecting balance and momentum. Short arm action with average carry and accuracy. 73 mph arm strength from outfield.

Mason Schwerzler, RHP/OF, Stillwater, 2018
6-foot-1, 180-pound 2-way player. Ran a 7.78 60. Good build that will continue to add strength. Slightly open stance and strides across body. Quality set-up and load into launch position. Swing is uphill and needs to work on translating weight through at contact. Makes solid contact and has some strength in swing. 83 mph exit velocity off tee. Is aggressive in outfield and fields balls cleanly. Shows good actions and arm works from high ¾ slot. Showed average accuracy with 79 mph arm strength.

Derek Thellin, OF/C, Burnsville, 2017
5-foot-10, 175-pound outfielder. Medium build. Ran a 7.32 60. Short stride across body. Low hand-set in load. Has some looseness and bat speed. Some disconnect in swing; slight arm bar. Shows some pop gap to gap. Good weight transfer with lower half. 79 mph exit velocity off tee. Ok actions in outfield. Tends to field with two hands. Arm works from over the top slot. Plus accuracy. 76 mph arm strength from outfield. Behind the plate shows average ability to receive. Flashes of soft hands. Footwork is good and exchange is clean on catch and throw. Stands straight up. Loses lower half and momentum on throws. 2.06-2.2 pop times with average accuracy to second base.

MN Preseason Underclass: Outfield Analysis

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