By Brandon Hall
North Carolina Director of Scouting

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On Sunday August 27th, the CBA Copperhead organization held their PBR Scout Day at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, NC.  A gorgeous day, the Copperhead players ran through a full workout in front of PBR's staff and college coaches. 

Each position player ran through a full style workout, running a sixty, taking a live BP on the field, and going through an individual defensive workout.  Statistics were taken on exit velocity off the bat, arm speed from the defensive position, and pop times for catchers.  Pitchers threw a controlled bullpen for PBR staff and coaches, allowing them to feature their repertoire, showing stuff and command. Each player attending the scout day will have their PBR profile updated with their updated statistics, an evaluation, and video from the workout.

The primary corner infield group consisted of seven players, with several throwing bullpens as well.  Logan Mauldin (3B, Mt. Pleasant HS, 2018) took a solid round of BP and flashed athleticism on the infield.  He ran a group best 7.36 sixty.  Brett Laws, 1B, Mt. Pleasant HS, 2019) took a solid two rounds of BP, showing a feel for his swing and some strength off the barrel.  The complete analysis of the primary corner infielders can be seen below.

CLICK HERE for the full roster from the CBA Copperheads Scout Day

CLICK HERE for the complete statistical report from the Scout Day

CBA Copperheads Scout Day Quick Hitters
+ 42 players participated in the Scout Day
+ 28 pitchers threw bullpens
+ 36 position players completed the workout
+ 2020 OF Christian Thomas ran a PBR NC Event record 6.59 sixty (laser timed / hand started)
+ 15 hitters posted an exit velocity of 80 mph or better
+ 7 players ran better than 7.30 in their sixty
+ 9 pitchers touched 78 or better off the mound
+ Players ranged in graduate years from 2018 - 2021

Corner Infielder Analysis

 

David Brannen 1B / LHP / South Iredell, NC / 2020 Average build in the 6-foot, 170 pound frame.  Average barrel awareness from the left side working from a tall, balanced setup.  Uses a toe tap and short stride to get to a level swing.  Produced line drives, working gap to gap with a short, direct path.  Lacks some bat speed at times.  Lacks head discipline.  Exit velocity peaked at 79 mph.  Showed decent hands.  Caught the ball on his heels at times making for longer exchanges into a long arm action and over-the-top slot producing positional velocity of 65 mph.  Good accuracy.  Ran a 7.79 sixty. Left handed pitcher worked 69-71 with a feel for the strike zone.  Over-the-top slot has some looseness.  Average leg kick with a choppy rhythm.  Stable head at a tall balance point.  Breaking ball is slowed by the arm with gradual action at 54-57.  Change up is erratic, still gaining feel at 63-64.

 

Bryce Carroll 1B / RHP / Hickory Ridge , NC / 2020 Length in the levers at 5-foot-11, 150 pounds.  Plenty of maturity left in the frame.  Right handed hitter starts in a slight crouch and balanced, loading back with the hands and body weight.  Early with the front foot on a short stride, as he sinks into his base.  Level swing, works inside-out producing opposite field contact.  Average barrel ability at 75 mph with the exit velocity.  Clean footwork and exchanges as he works to play through balls.  Hips are high at the catch point as the feet tend to anchor down.  Short arm action to a high-3/4 slot, showing accuracy at 63 mph across the field.  Ran a 7.82 sixty. Righty works with a short arm swing, working to load the scapular, into a high-3/4 slot.  Head has some effort as he reaches the release point.  Glove point with the front side, seems to repeat the delivery.  Fastball sat 66-67, at times sinking on the arm side.  Change up works off of fastball hand speed at 62-64 with arm side run.  Around the breaking ball, it tends to sweep with gradual movement out of the hand, ranging 60-62.  All three pitches in the zone throughout the bullpen.

 

Grant Gais 3B / 1B / Hough , NC / 2021 5-foot-8, 150 pound right handed hitter.  Wide stance utilizing a weight shift back and toe tap to laod the body into a launch position.  Vertical bat with high hands, settles to a lower position as the front foot gets down.  Stays on the backside, rotating through the swing with some uphill leverage.  Works the middle of the field.  Some barrel awareness.  Exit velocity peaked at 78 mph.  Some stiffness on the infield he works to play through balls.  Ball can get deep in stance at the point of the catch.  Transitions to a high-3/4 slot.  Some accuracy on throws that peaked at 68 across the diamond.  Ran an 8.21 sixty.

 

Brett Laws 1B / RHP / Mt. Pleasant , NC / 2019 Strength exists in a 6-foot-1, 180 pound frame.  Projection left as the body continues to fill out.  Left handed hitter has a feel for the barrel with an exit velocity at 82 mph.  Balanced, uses a weight shift back to load, with a leg kick.  Bat head works to a lagged position at launch.  Better than average bat speed works for extension with some uphill leverage.  Good rhythm throughout.  Pull emphasis in the BP rounds.  Good hands around the bag, showed quick, clean exchanges, maintaining athleticism through the catch.  Short arm action works to a high-3/4 slot with accuracy and carry at 61 across the diamond.  Ran an 8.31 sixty. Right handed pitcher has a quick arm working from an over-the-top slot with looseness.  Fastball sast 70-71.  Tall through balance, there is some rhythm as he works level with the shoulders, landing on-line.  The breaking ball has gradual, downer action at 62-63, lacking some command.  Change-up shows deception out of the hand with good hand speed at 65-68.  Feel for the zone with the fastball is apparent.  Secondary stuff is still developing.

 

 

Ryan Lyda 1B / LHP / Bandys, NC / 2019 Narrow stance, remaining tall from the left side of the box.  Average build form the 6-foot, 170 pounder who has some waggle in the bat head.  Bat head quiets to a consistent flat position at launch.  Average to above barrel awareness working level through the zone, staying gap-to-gap.  Fluid rhythm, produced an exit velocity of 80 mph.  Good footwork, paired with rhythm in the hands, transitions to a long arm action and high-3/4 slot.  Catches the ball with ease, working to play through the ball with balance.  Exchanges can be a little long.  Shows some accuracy with good carry.  Positional velocity peaked at 70 from first base.  Ran a 7.56 sixty. Average tempo in the delivery with an average leg kick.  Stays tall through balance with the head tilting slightly after balance to the glove side.  Fastball has some run from the left side of the mound, sitting 71-74.  Quick, loose arm works to an over-the-top slot.  Change-up has some deception with decent hand speed.  Change has some arm side fade with feel of the zone at 66-69.  Breaking ball works with gradual downer action.  Good hard tilt, with a slight hump out of the hand.  Ranged 61-62 out of the hand.

 

 

Logan Mauldin 3B / SS / Mount Pleasant , NC / 2018 Good projection left in the 5-foot-11, 145 pound corner infielder.  Right handed hitter works from an athletic base using a leg kick to get to an aggressive stride.  Lacks a load or weight shift, but stayed on time in BP.  Good head discipline.  Looseness and rhythm in the swing.  Good bat speed with barrel ability.  Works to stay level, wanting extension, staying gap-to-gap.  Simple and repeats.  Exit velocity peaked at 82 off the barrel.  Ran a 7.36 sixty.  As strength is added to the frame, the swing is ready to play at higher levels.  On the infield, soft hands with good rhythm in the feet.  Active and plays low, showing quickness.  Easy catch, funnel, and transition to a high-3/4 slot that can float based on the play.  Shows accuracy from multiple slots.  Ball has easy carry with a positional velocity of 72 across the diamond.  Arm works with looseness.

 

Tyler Sheesley 3B / SS / Pine Lake Prep, NC / 2021 Young frame at 5-foot-8, 125 pounds.  Lots of maturity ahead.  Right handed hitter is balanced, loading back, using a short stride.  Waggle in the bat head through the launch position leading to just average barrel ability.  Average bat speed.  Occasionally cuts across the ball as the back side is stagnant.  Level through the zone with some pull emphasis to the swing.  Exit velocity peaked at 72 off the barrel.  Works to an over-the-top slot with some accuracy.  Direct path to the ball, sitting on his heels at times.  Exchanges work from in front of the body to a long arm action.  Positional velocity of 68 across the infield.  On the mound, righty has some looseness with easy effort.  Controlled tempo through the delivery with an average leg kick.  Arm has some length as it gets to a high-3/4 slot.  Works on line and level as the fastball ranges 66-68.  Throws the straight change-up for a strike at 63-64.  Breaking ball was inconsistent with break and location, sitting 59-61.  Gradual 10/4 arc turned to a sweeping action at times.