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Upperclass Top Prospect Games: Quick Hits

June 25, 2021
Brett Harrison
Nevada Scouting Director

The annual Upperclass Top Prospect Games is an Invite Only event that featured a group of 60+ standouts from the Scout Day Season earlier this year, giving us an up close look to evaluate the progress made over the past few months as they begin their Summer seasons. This event provided an opportunity players an opportunity to showcases themselves next to similar high caliber players, many uncommitted, with the help of the leading technology in the game with Blast Motion and TrackMan as we also rolling out two new features that will be a fixture at future Prep Baseball Report events in Vizual Edge and Driveline.

Along with the tech, players also received updated metrics during the Pro-Style Workout portion of the event beginning with the Laser Time 60 Yard Dash, Batting Practice, Catcher Evaluations including Pop Times, Velocity, Receiving and Blocking, Outfield Evaluations and Infield Evaluations. 

Today, we will be highlighting some of our first impressions from the event in our Quick Hits with Statistical and Positional Analysis reports to follow in the coming days. 

To view the full event stats click here.

Quick Hits

+ Michael Brown – 2023 MIF / Shadow Ridge / Uncommitted – Small frame with some twitch, physical development still to come. Plays the game with bounce and confidence, earning him a spot on Team Nevada at the 2021 Future Games. Switch-hitter, top of the order type with similar flowy swings from both sides, starting open with an early, slow load, efficient to the ball, sprays line drives all fields, understands his game, and stays within his approach. Showed excellent instincts on the base paths with a pair of stolen bases during the Simulated Game. Defensively, has smooth, easy actions, fluid through the fielding process with some lateral range and an ability to change arm slots. Feet work to get him in the right position. Going to be an exciting player to follow as he continues to add strength and size.

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 + Brett Matson – 2022 OF/IF / Liberty / Uncommitted – An Under the Radar prospect coming into the Upperclass Top Prospect Games, Matson has put himself near the top of the best remaining Nevada 2022 prospects still on the board. Athletic build with twitch, some present, proportionate physical strength. Switch hitter. RH – Athletic, slightly opened set up with a high hanging leg kick that gets down on time, level bat path through the zone. Stays on the ball well, using the big part of the yard. LH – Same opened set up at RH, more flow on the left side with similar leg kick, flashed power potential to pull side with high two-handed finish. Defensively, has some bounce with the ability to play any position with 6.75 speed and an 88 mph OF velocity / 90 mph IF velocity. 

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+ Eddie Tierney – 2022 MIF/RHP / Damonte Ranch / Uncommitted – Long, lean MIF, huge growth spurt over the past year, now 6-foot-3. Squared set up at the plate with his weight mostly in his back side, uses a high leg kick that works to get down on time, compact and efficient ball with an inside-out type swing, lived mostly middle-other way, flashing his ability to drive the ball to LCF. High IQ type with a quality understanding of the strike zone. Defensively, should be able to stay up the middle, but could transition to 3B if he continues to add physicality. Feet work well through the ball, showed comfort ranging laterally, throwing primarily from a ¾ slot. Plays with grit, will be an intriguing follow over the next year.

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+ Marcus Matias – 2022 OF/LHP / Bishop Gorman / Uncommitted – Medium, barrel chested frame. Proportionate, stocky build. Posted a 4-for-4 day at the plate during the Simulated Games after posting one of the top batting practice rounds of the day, leaving the yard multiple times, earning a 98.67 mph Exit Velocity via TrackMan.  He also stood out on the mound, living effectively in the zone with his ¾ slot from the left side. Matias may not be a guy who will jump off the stat sheet at you, but his ability to play the game shined during the Simulated Game.

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+ Kody Bialas – 2023 IF/RHP / Palo Verde / Uncommitted – Athleticism shines throughout his game, present physical strength throughout his 6-foot frame. Offensively, sets up tall with an extended stride, level through the zone with some lift through extension. Posted two hits during the Simulated Game, a double and single, with loud contact after posting his 96.39 mph Exit Velocity the day before during BP. Some raw features defensively as he comes through the ball with an elevated back side, but made the adjustment in game as he made each of his plays in the IF. He also stood out on the mound, running it up to 86.13 mph with an average spin rate of 2357 RPM which he complimented with a curveball that had quality shape that was located well through his outing. This is a player who has continued to improve each time out and is expected to continue that progression over the next few years.

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+ Ty Silva – 2023 OF / Shadow Ridge / Uncommitted – Silva has continued to prove himself as one of the top bats in the 2023 class, especially after his performance at the Upperclass Top Prospect Games as he posted 102.12 mph TrackMan Exit Velocity during the Offensive Evaluation portion of the event, while earning an average Exit Velocity of 95.27 mph. His ability to find the barrel continued into the Simulated Game, racking up a multi-hit game including a double off the left field wall on a hanging breaking ball. Defensively, he projects as a corner OF, especially as he projects to add more size. Clean routes through the ball, feet work to get him online to his target. He will be representing Nevada at the 2021 Future Games.

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+ Nicolo Guevara – 2022 RHP / Faith Lutheran / Uncommitted – The 6-foot-3 right hander caught the attention of the PBR Staff with his length and looseness in his arm that mixed up his release point from a ¾ to high ¾ slot, varying the looks on each of his mostly fastball / breaking ball mix. Depending on his release, you got either more downhill or more arm side action with his breaking ball coming mostly out of the ¾ slot with some tight breaking balls and some having more sweeping action. The rawness in his delivery paired with his ability to throw strikes makes him an intriguing follow that should be on a number of radars by the end of the summer. 

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+ Gunnar Myro – 2023 IF/RHP/C / Bishop Gorman / Uncommitted – After a huge Spring season, Myro carried it into the Upperclass Top Prospect Games, posting a multi-hit game. The barrel chested, thick build prospect showed quickness for his size with some lateral range defensively. His frame and build project him to stay at 3B, but his athleticism allows him to hold down the shortstop position as well. He mixed in behind the plate as well, throwing out a runner and showing off his ability to do some from his knees. Offensively, he is just as impressive with present power, especially to the pull side with an aggressive approach. A spread, squared set up with a simple stride, using his 23.78 mph Avg. Hand Speed to consistently find the barrel. Myro will be representing Nevada the 2021 Future Games and is expected to be off the board shortly after the conclusion of that event. 

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+ Tai Nguyen – 2022 1B / Bishop Gorman / Yale – A physical specimen with present strength throughout his 6-foot-1, 195-pound frame. Uses his size well, especially on the offensive side of the ball with a slightly downhill swing path that produced consistent, loud line drives back through the middle earning the event’s Top Exit Velocity at 102.30 mph. He carried that into the Simulated Game portion where he hit a sharp single back up the middle, then stealing second and third on consecutive pitches shortly after using his PBR Verified Laser Timed 6.72 speed. His ability on the offensive side of the ball have been well documented, but his improvements around the bag at 1B were noticeable with his progressing footwork getting him into a better position both fielding the ball as well as receiving it at the bag. 

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+ Derek Bain – 2024 C/IF / The Meadows / Uncommitted – The lone 2024 prospect to attend the Upperclass Top Prospect Games has a small, thick build and held his own and then some among some of the top Upperclassmen in the state. The incoming sophomore posted arguably the best batting practice session of the day, leaving the yard multiple times to right field using his present strength in his lower half well at the plate. His hanging leg kick paired with a coiled load works into an uphill swing that helped him elevate the ball. He then showed off his advanced receiving behind the plate with flexibility allowing him to set up low with strength in his hands and forearms helping him stick the pitch at the bottom of the zone. He flashed some quickness in his footwork, posting a 1.96 Pop Time with some carry on each his throws at 72 mph. Bain is a small school prospect with present tools and projects to have much more to come in the coming years.

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Nevada Underclass Top Prospect Games (Invite-Only) NV 07/01 UNLV
Nevada Upperclass Top Prospect Games - Session 2 (Invite Only) NV 07/01 UNLV

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