Bootheel Preseason ID: Quick Hits & Stat Story
January 31, 2023
On Saturday, January 28th, the PBR Missouri staff traveled to Kennett, MO, to host the annual Bootheel Preseason ID. A staple on our showcase calendar, a handful of players from the surrounding areas performed in a pro-style workout in front of our staff, capturing unrivaled measurables in the process with the help of our tech partners.
For all the statistics collected at this event, click HERE. To see a full list of the players that attended Saturday's event, click HERE.
We'll be rolling out several post-event content pieces, starting with this 'Quick Hits' and 'Stat Story' article. Below you'll find which names impressed our staff in this look, as well as the prospects who paced their peers across our statistical categories.
QUICK HITS
+ Perhaps the day's biggest standout, RHP/1B Jathan Spain (Cape Central, 2026) solidified himself as a premium prospect in the state's freshman class after this event. Built at a projectable 6-foot-4, 190-pounds with present strength, Spain's physicality showed early on in BP, as he reached an event-high exit velocity of 94.8 mph and elevated his furthest batted ball 335 feet, per TrackMan. His Blast Motion swing metrics are also highly advanced for someone his age, generating 78.3 mph of bat speed on average. The most advanced aspect of his game, however, comes on the mound. Spain pitched at 86-88 mph with his fastball, averaging 18+ inches of vertical carry on it with plenty more velocity to come down the road. He spun two breaking balls - a low-70s curveball that averaged 15+ inches of horizontal break at 2600+ RPM and a tighter 73-76 mph slider with less horizontal action on average, yet also spun at 2600+ RPM. Spain's fourth pitch is a 74-77 mph changeup that he limited spin on and generated arm-side run at a lower release point on average than his fastball. Spain provided our staff the most impressive look we've seen on our winter cycle to date and he's firmly one of the top 2026 prospects in the state.
+ Last year, RHP/OF Ashton Williams (Kennett, 2024) earned an invitation to the PBR Future Games after a standout showing at this event. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound junior looked the part on Saturday, putting his usual loud tools on display to our staff once again. Williams' hardest hit ball left his barrel at 94.6 mph and his furthest traveled 336 ft., both of which finished towards the top of this event's hitting leaderboard. He paced all outfielders in throwing velocity (88 mph) and ran his fastball up to 87 mph on the mound as well, showing a quality slider and changeup in his pen. Williams is one of the top uncommitted prospects in the state's 2024 class, currently slotted at No. 22 overall.
+ OF/INF Trey Gardner (Kennett, 2023; Arkansas-Little Rock) provided our staff a strong up-to-date look prior to the start of his senior season. A 6-foot-2, 195-pound left-handed hitter, Gardner repeated hard line drive contact off the barrel in BP, peaking at 93.6 mph with an 86.8 mph average. He found the sweet-spot 74% of the time and almost exclusively elevated the baseball. Gardner was up to 83 mph fro the outfield on his firmest throw and ran his fastball up to 84 mph on the mound, spinning his slider at 2500+ RPM on average.
STAT LEADERS
TOP 30-YARD DASH
| Rank | Name | State | School | Class | Pos | 30-Yard Dash |
| 1 |
Ashton Williams | MO | Kennett | 2024 | RHP | 3.82 |
| 2 | Nolan Alford | MO | Dexter R-XI | 2025 | OF | 3.93 |
| 3 | Trey Gardner | MO | Kennett | 2023 | OF | 3.98 |