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2016 Top Prospect Games Preview: Position Players

June 12, 2014

Shon Plack
Missouri Scouting Director

On Tuesday, Jun 17 some of the top players in the class of 2016 will play in the Top Prospect Games in Warrensburg, Missouri.  Over the past several days we have highlighted the players attending the event on twitter.  The Top Prospect Games will showcase players from all around the state with hitting and defensive skills in the morning, games in the afternoon. You can see a live stream of the games on STL Productions. 

Today we will look at the position players headed to Warrensburg on June 17.

Catchers

Sean Cooley and Caleb Lauvetz will represent the Kansas City area.  Cooley attends Staley High school and showed well in the Underclass Showcase in Overland Park, Kansas on January 20.  The 5-foot-9 175-pound lefty hitter had an exit velo of 84 MPH and pop-times between 2.16-2.25.  Lauvetz, from Rockhurst, is a physical 6-foot-2 190-pounder that moves well behind the plate.  He has a recorded 2.10-2.17 pop and 4.34 home-to-first time.  

Drew Harlow, from Park Hills Central, is another physical catcher with mobility and a good bat.  At the St. Louis Metro Underclass Showcase he rattled off pop times between 1.99 and 2.21.  At the plate he had an 83 MPH exit velo and ran a 7.28 60.  The 6-foot-2 180-pound, Peter Zimmermann from Chaminade, batted .314 with four doubles, a home run and 14 RBI this spring on the varsity level.  Luke Kahle looks to take over behind the dish at state runner-up Francis Howell.  At last year's Top Prospect Games, Kahle had pop times between 1.97 and 2.12. 

Corner Infielders

Third base will definitely be a place to watch on June 17.  Justin Perkins, Francis Howell, hit at a .347 clip this spring in leading his team to the state championship game.  He hit seven doubles, one home run and drove in 15 runs for Howell, playing mostly first base.  Look for Howell teammate Braydon Cook to get some time at the hot corner.  Although, Cook's primary position is as a pitcher, he went 3-for-10 for the Vikings in 2014.  Kaleb Schmidt, Isaac Olson and Hunter Dame will also split time on the mound and at 3B.  Lefty Kyle Giefer, KIckapoo, will be working in at 1B.  Geifer played in the Jr. Sunbelt Games in Oklahoma last week and will also be seen on the mound.  6-foot-7 Alex Moore from Mountain Grove will be a nice target for infielders at 1B.  Moore joins the list of corner infielders that will also get time on the mound.  

Middle Infielders

The 2016 Top Prospect Games is not short on talent in the middle infield.  Vianney's Chris Cornelius was one of the top hitters in the state. Cornelius led the Griffons to a Final Four finish batting .462 with 17 doubles, three triples and 36 RBI.  He can also flash the glove at SS, and had an 80 MPH throw across the diamond at the St. Louis Metro Underclass Showcase in January.  JD Murders, Bolivar, is another SS attracting attention from schools around the region. Murders is a lefty hitter with an 83 MPH exit velo an 81 positional velo and runs a 4.24 home-to-first.  Joe Kinder won the SS position at Liberty midway through the season and led the Blue Jays to a district championship.  Avery Jennings did it all for the state champion Rock Bridge Bruins.  Jennings batted .322 hitting and swiped 11 bases hitting in the two-hole for most of the season.  Tristian Stevens, Kickapoo, is another player that showed well at the Underclass Showcase in Overland Park, Kansas in January.  He is a slick fielder with a positional velo of 78 MPH and an exit velo of 78 MPH.  A pair of Lee's Summit West players, Harrison Schnurbusch and Dusty Stroup will round out the infield.

Outfielders

Jacob Gonzales willl lead the list of names in the outfield.  Gonzales hit .403 with five doubles and 15 RBI this spring for the Wolves, and at the St. Louis Underclass Showcase, he ran a 7.29 60 and had an 81 MPH exit velo.  Ryan Perkins, another member of Francis Howell, hit .361 with a slugging percentage of .647 for the Vikings.  Perkins hit eight doubles, seven triples, four home runs and drove in 38 runs.  Hunter Swift, Staley, put up good numbers at the Underclass Showcase in January.  The lefty impressed with an 85 MPH positional velo and a 84 exit velo.  Staley teammate, Mitchell McCallister will be in attendance as well.  McCallister runs a 7.15 60 with a 79 MPH positional velo and 79 MPH exit velo.  David Shepherd,Fort Zumwalt South, showed well at last year's Top Prospect Games.  David Shepherd run a 7.30 with a 77 MPH positional velo and a 78 MPH exit velo.  Jared Gillen, a 6-foot-1 190-pounder from Barstow, will see action in the outfield as well.  In January, Gillen ran a 4.57 home-to-first with an 85 MPH exit velo.  Lee's Summit West's Tyler James showed a good bat speed with an 86 MPH exit velo and a strong arm with an 80 MPH positional velo.  Liberty's Criag Straws, Raytown's Montel Jones and Kickapoo's Riley Herron all have varsity time for their schools and look to show well in this years Top Prospect Games.

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