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US Nationals & Affiliates (St. Louis) Scout Day: Takeaways

March 4, 2024
By: Diego Solares
Central Region Media Director, Scouting

This winter, the Prep Baseball Missouri staff ran a three part scout day with the US Nationals & Affiliates travel program. The first leg took place in Ozark, MO, on January 21st, while the final two were on February 24th in Kansas City and St. Louis, respectively. More than 100 players from the US Nationals & Affiliate organizations participated in their respective events, gathering unrivaled measurables through our tech partners.

All of our events offer players the opportunity to update their recruiting resume and showcase their talents in front of our staff. We also use these events as identifiers for future invite-only events, like the Preseason All-State, our summer Top Prospect Games, and the prestigious Prep Baseball Future Games that takes place at the tail end of the summer.

For a full roster of those in attendance, click HERE.

We highlighted several of the day’s stat leaders from this event at a previous date, which you can find by clicking HERE.

Today, our staff has compiled our scout notes from the event within these traditional ‘Quick Hits’ and we’ve broken down a handful of the top prospects from the day below. Keep reading to learn more on which players from this year’s US Nationals & Affiliates Scout Day (St. Louis) stood out to our staff. 

QUICK HITS 

+ After an impressive showing at the Preseason All-State in early February, OF/RHP Ethan Milius (Fulton, 2025) was even better in all aspects of his workout at this event. A lean-limbed and plenty projectable athlete at 6-foot-1, 165-pounds, Milius consistently repeated line drive contact in batting practice from a loose, simple, and repeatable right-handed swing. He showed more impact at peak (94.6 mph max EV) than we’d seen from him before, averaging 86.4 mph per batted ball. Milius’ biggest asset may be his arm talent, however, and he showed significant arm strength from the outfield with a 96 mph high on his firmest throw. He took the mound afterwards and stayed in the zone with his fastball at 87-89 mph. With that, Milius also spun a 71-74 mph curveball and flashed natural feel to fade his changeup at 75-77 mph. Headed into his junior year with plenty of positive momentum following the winter, Milius is a name-to-know uncommitted two-way prospect in the state’s 2025 class. 


+ A member of Team Missouri at the PBR Future Games this past summer, INF Lucas Wietholder (Father Tolton, 2025; St. Louis commit) has tacked on strength and muscle mass to his frame this winter. Wietholder impacted the baseball at a consistently higher rate as a result, averaging 91.4 mph per batted ball and squaring his hardest ball up at 97.3 mph with a max batted distance of 364 feet. Wietholder’s arm played loose and accurate on the infield, topping at 85 mph on his hardest throw. 


+ CIF Ryker Benz (Vianney, 2025; Oklahoma commit) continues to swing one of the more physical right-handed bats in the state’s junior class. Benz found the barrel often and with authority throughout his round of BP, averaging 97.6 mph per batted ball with a max mark at 101.6 mph. He showed arm strength on the infield as well, tossing his firmest throw across the diamond at 87 mph. 

+ RHP Calen Jones (Helias Catholic, 2025) spun one of the better breaking balls of the entire event, ripping off a true sweeping slider with late lateral break and swing-and-miss upside at 73-75 mph. Jones also spun a 72-73 mph curveball that played with more vertical drop and depth than his slider, giving him two above-average breaking balls that have differing action. Jones’ fastball flashed carry at 86-88 mph and he threw a firm, straight changeup at 82-84 mph as well. 


+ A physical 6-foot-1, 195-pound uncommitted junior to know on the bump from this day was RHP Kyle Haynes (Hickman, 2025). From a long arm draw on the backside, Haynes threw his fastball at 85-87 mph, touching 88 mph on his firmest bullet. He consistently landed a 68-69 mph slider for strikes that averaged -14.8 inches of horizontal movement and showed hard arm-side run (16.2” HM) on a 78-81 mph changeup as well. 


+ C Ben Miller (Helias Catholic, 2025) swung a balanced, simple, and physical right-handed barrel that averaged 91.5 mph per batted ball in BP, peaking at 95.7 mph. Miller stood out in particular defensively, however, consistently chesting up the baseball on blocks when catching ‘pens. He’s a quiet receiver with soft hands as well and showed above-average arm strength from the chute (T78 mph) while popping in the 2.00-to-2.08 range. 


+ LHP Cameron Mosier (Rockwood Summit, 2025) threw four pitches around the zone that all showed advanced movement profiles. Mosier’s fastball played with late arm-side action at 83-84 mph that should continue to add velocity as he fills out his 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame. Mosier turned over a changeup that stayed on his fastball’s plane with late fade at 77-78 mph. He spun two different breaking balls; a tight 71-73 mph slider with minimal vertical break and lateral tilt, as well as a more gradual, bendy curveball at 71-72 mph. Far from what his future self will look like on the mound, Mosier is a follow uncommitted left-handed arm in the state’s 2025 class. 


+ RHP Zane Halford (Blair Oaks, 2025) ran his fastball up to 86 mph, pitching at 82-85 mph throughout his ‘pen. A lean, lanky 6-foot-2, 185-pound uncommitted junior, Halford spun a 66-69 mph curveball (T2386 RPM) with depth and lateral break at times. He flashed feel for the zone with a 78-79 mph changeup that he threw from the same arm window as his fastball, and he rounded out his arsenal with a 73-74 mph cutter that Halford consistently landed for strikes. 


+ 3B/RHP Eli Miller (Jefferson City, 2025) is a physical 6-foot-2, 220-pound that posted a 92.4 mph max exit velocity and touched 84 mph with his fastball while landing a 73-76 mph curveball for strikes. 

+ C Carter Moore (North Callaway, 2025) showed one of the strongest arms behind the plate, peaking at 79 mph from the chute with a top pop time of 2.03 seconds. The 6-foot, 175-pound backstop swung a level right-handed barrel that averaged 86.5 mph per batted ball, peaking at 92.5 mph. 

+ LHP Cale Schaumburg (Capital City, 2026) may have been the biggest winner on the day, coming away from this event as a must-follow sophomore in the state. A fluid mover downhill at 6-foot-4, 190-pounds, Schaumburg’s fastball touched 85 mph on his hardest bullet, sitting at 83-84 mph with plenty more in the tank. His slider played from the same arm window as his fastball at 74-76 mph with above-average raw spin (T2509 RPM, 2409 RPM avg). Schaumburg’s changeup also came out of the same slot as his fastball, throwing it at 76-78 mph with feel and fade on occasion. Far away from what his future self will look like on the mound, Schaumburg checks several boxes on the mound and looks to be a major riser in our upcoming rankings update. 


+ One of the top prospects in the Illinois’ 2026 class, 1B Brody Landgraf (Columbia, IL) steps into the batter’s box at a plenty physical 6-foot-5, 210-pounds. Landgraf helped lead the Eagles to the 2A state championship game last spring as a freshman, slashing .367/.446/.571 in 98 at-bats. Fresh off the finish to his basketball season, Landgraf showed the fast, physical left-handed swing we’ve grown accustomed to seeing from him in BP. He looked to elevate the baseball with a max exit velocity of 95.9 mph and an average mark at 86.8 mph. Also of note, Landgraf ran a 4.00 in the 30-yard dash, which was one of the event’s fastest times at his size, and he also had one of the highest grip strength averages of the day (160 lbs). 

+ LHP Jackson Smith (Festus, 2026) is a physical 6-foot-4, 210-pound sophomore that threw three pitches around the zone in this look. Smith’s fastball played at an easy 81-83 mph from a short, clean arm action. His curveball showed tight spin at 71-73 mph (T2321 RPM) and he rounded out his arsenal with a changeup at 76-77 mph that flashed subtle arm-side action. 

+ Another Illinois’ native in attendance that showed well was RHP Jackson Connoyer (Quincy Notre Dame, 2026). There’s plenty to project on with Connoyer, who stands at a long, lean-limbed 6-foot-3, 180-pounds and is far from done filling out his frame. He’s taken a jump in velocity since we last saw him in the summer of 2023, pitching at 84-85 mph with a straight four-seam fastball. Connoyer’s 68-69 mph curveball showed slight lateral tilt at times and he also threw a straight changeup at 73-74 mph. 

+ A wiry 6-foot, 160-pound athlete with upside to follow from this event is OF/LHP Kyler Fanning (Moberly, 2026). Fanning ran the fastest 30-yard dash of any player in attendance, gliding to a 3.91 on our lasers, and he topped at 84 mph from the outfield on his hardest throw while running his fastball up to 83 mph on the mound. At the plate, Fanning’s left-handed swing worked on top of the baseball and produced a peak exit velocity of 96.1 mph. 

+ A strong, sturdy 5-foot-11, 205-pound athlete, RHP Justin Nenninger Jr. (North Point, 2026) worked around the zone with a fastball at 82-85 mph that showed natural arm-side run (T19.5” HM, 17.6” avg). He spun a tight slider at 74-75 mph and flashed feel for the zone with a changeup that played similar to his fastball (T19.7” HM, 18.8” avg) at 75-78 mph. 


+ INF Chase Blue (Sullivan, 2026) is a physical 5-foot-11, 200-pound athlete that showed consistent bat strength in batting practice. The right-handed hitting sophomore squared his hardest ball up at 95 mph, averaging 90.1 mph throughout his round. 

+ INF Will Breitweiser (Father Tolton, 2026) lifted hard gap-to-gap contact from a connected, uphill right-handed swing. Breitweiser had one of the higher average batted distances (264 ft.) across this three-part event, drilling his furthest ball 345 feet, per TrackMan. Additionally, Breitweiser showed consistent quality contact with a knack for the barrel (86.5 mph avg EV) and a peak exit velocity of 92.7 mph. 

+ OF Drew Demint (Mexico, 2026) has strength at peak at the plate and from the outfield. A compact athlete with strength in his frame, Demint’s hardest ball came off his barrel at 97.4 mph at this event and he also peaked at 85 mph from the outfield. 

+ RHP John Langston (Capital City, 2026) pitched in the low-80s with his fastball, topping at 83.3 mph (T2361 RPM), while landing all of his 74-75 mph sliders (T2320 RPM) for strikes throughout his ‘pen. 

+ CIF Landen Deckard (Northwest, 2027) showed above-average bat strength for his age at this event. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound freshman stayed short to contact with a level plane through the zone and found the barrel for a 93.1 mph max exit velocity in BP. 

+ RHP/INF Sam Deibel (MICDS, 2028) looked the part on both sides of the ball at this event. At 6-foot, 150-pounds, Deibel swung a loose and athletic right-handed bat that produced consistent line drive contact to the middle of the field. He took a highly advanced round of infield defense for his age, bouncing around the turf with confidence, moxy, and clean glovework. Deibel took the mound and threw his fastball at 80-81 mph from a loose, fluid arm stroke, consistently landing a 65-67 mph breaking ball for strikes as well. 


+ 1B/RHP Barrett Padberg (Hickman, 2028) is a 6-foot-1, 178-pound athlete with advanced raw strength on both sides of the ball for his age. Padberg’s hardest ball came off his barrel at 93.2 mph and his fastball touched 82 mph in his ‘pen. 

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