By Adam Akin
Director of Scouting

The 2017 PBR Tennessee Top Prospect Games took place on Tuesday, June 13 and Wednesday, June 14 at Hawkins Field on the campus of Vanderbilt University and included a position player workout, followed by three 9-inning games each day. Players were afforded the opportunity to showcase their abilities in front of the PBR Tennessee staff and many college coaches in attendance. The following is our evaluation of the top middle infielders to compete in this year’s event.

Middle Infielders

John Bolton, SS, Memphis University School, 2018
H-1B: 4.32, Position Velocity: 80, Exit Velocity: 84
5’8, 180-pound, RHH was quite possibly the most well-rounded and polished player at the Top Prospect Games.  Bolton works his way around an infield with confidence and fluidity, showing soft hands and good footwork all day long.  Bolton gets rid of the ball threw a short arm action that produces plenty of carry across the field.  Arm strength and footwork will allow him the ability to plat all three IF spots.  Offensively, he uses a wider base that keeps him strong and balanced throughout the swing.  Bat path is pretty flat through the zone and allows him to really drive some balls left up.  Bolton is a line drive hitter with gap power potential.  He showed a good approach and a mature feel for the game.  Bolton finished 1-3 with a double, a walk, and a stolen base in game play.

Shane Craig, SS, Ravenwood, 2020
H-1B: 4.58, Position Velocity: 84, Exit Velocity: 83
6’0, 170-pound, RHH has a ton of upside and is far more developed than most players in the 2020 class at this point.  Craig starts in a balanced stance with loose hands and some subtle movement to get himself going.  He uses an abbreviated leg kick and stride to get his lower half involved and gets the barrel to the ball very well.  Craig could add a lot of power and could more consistently drive the ball if he were to get some more extension through contact.  Currently, he tends to cut himself off at times.  Defensively, he showed good hands and active feet with some flare in the infield.  He plays confidently and gets a lot on his throws across the infield.  Look for Craig to continue developing into one of the top players in the 2020 class.  He finished with a hit and 2 walks during game play.

Mason Malone, SS, Waverly Central, 2020
H-1B: 4.64, Position Velocity: 80, Exit Velocity: 83
6’0, 155-pound, RHH is an athletic 2020 that continues to show improvements each and every time we see him play.  Malone still has plenty of room to add some strength to his wiry frame and will begin making even bigger jumps once that starts to commence.  He has a balanced approach at the plate and showed the ability to spray line drives to all parts of the field throughout his round of BP.  Malone gets through the ball well and could develop some decent power in the coming years.  Defensively, he showed sure hands and the ability to make a vast array of plays from the left side of the infield, although he could play through the ball a little more aggressively.  Malone’s arm slot helps create solid carry on his throws across the infield. 

Emery Peterson, SS, McMinn County, 2019
H-1B: 4.36, Position Velocity: 80, Exit Velocity: 78
6’2, 155-pound, LHH has a long and rangy frame with a high level of projection in his build.  Offensively, his hands are loose and athletic, uses a short path to the ball and stays inside it well with extension through contact. Likes to pull the ball, and showed a little pop potential with a HR foul in BP.  Showed better bat speed than his 78 mph exit velocity would suggest and could add more if he puts on some strength.  Defensively, Peterson moves with fluidity and only gets into trouble when his feet and hands get too quick and ahead of the rest of his actions.  He plays through the ball fairly well and gets rid of it without much wasted movement.  Peterson’s frame and athleticism leave a lot of room for growth and potential.   He walked twice and stole a base in game play.

Gavin-Briley Peterson, SS, McMinn County, 2021
H-1B: 4.53, Position Velocity: 72, Exit Velocity 74
5’10, 142-pound, RHH was the youngest player to compete at the Top Prospect Games, but did more than enough to hold his own.  Peterson is very athletic and stands relaxed and confident in the box with an abbreviated leg kick to get his lower half engaged.  He gets through the ball and consistently laced line drives from center to left-center throughout his round of BP.  Having not even reached high school yet, Peterson could develop into a big-time prospect with a combination of time and natural maturity, alone.  Defensively, he showed sure hands and good feet in playing through the ball and getting rid of it efficiently.  Peterson was forced to make some tough plays, but always made it happen and proved that he can cover the ground necessary at SS.

Zach Sanders, 2B, Donelson Christian Academy, 2018
H-1B: 4.39, Position Velocity: 71, Exit Velocity: 80
5’9, 150-pound, RHH was likely the toughest competitor we saw at the Top Prospect Games.  Sanders was everywhere and was seemingly making plays on both sides of the ball with consistency.  His swing is simple and quiet and a short stride leads the load of his hands into a solid slot that produces a slightly uphill swing plane through contact.  Sanders routinely found the barrel and peppered left-center throughout his round of BP.  Defensively, he works around and through the ball well with confidence and aggressiveness.  His hands are pretty smooth and his exchange is quick.  Arm strength may force him to stay at 2B, but it certainly doesn’t hold him back over there.  Sanders turned two double-plays in game action that got the attention of our entire staff.  The quickness in his turn is hard to teach and seemed to come easy.  He finished 1-3 with a double and a walk in game play.

Colton Thompson, SS, Dickson County, 2019
H-1B: 4.32, Position Velocity: 79, Exit Velocity: 81
6’0, 165-pound, RHH built on his performance at the West Tennessee Preseason Preview by showing some increased arm strength and a little more aggressiveness in the infield.  He isn’t afraid to play through the ball and sometimes can rush himself a tad, but has a good enough glove that when he’s relaxed, the plays come easily.  Throws across the infield are firm and still have some carry left to them when they hit the 1B glove.  Offensively, Thompson’s lower half was a little slower to get through the zone than we’ve seen in the past, but he was still able to get the barrel to the ball pretty well.  A simple approach, he tends to stay up the middle and the other way.  Thompson finished 1-4 with a walk in game play.

Jack Victory, SS, Brentwood Academy, 2019
H-1B: 4.31, Position Velocity: 84, Exit Velocity 84
6’0, 185-pound, LHH is very athletic with a strong build and a frame that could continue to fill out.  Victory is somewhat raw, but has the natural ability to do everything on the field with a solid amount of success.  He starts wide in his stance but uses an early toe-tap and stride with a movement down and back with his hands to get loaded.  His swing plane is pretty flat through the zone and can generate some lift on inside pitches.  He currently shows gap-to-gap power with a potential to produce some home runs down the road.  Victory consistently barrels balls and was a key offensive weapon for BA in their state championship run.  Defensively, he has confidence and isn’t afraid to attack the ball, but can get caught fielding it a little too deep in his stance at times.  His throws had a ton of carry across the infield from that over-the-top arm action.  Victory finished 2-4 in game play.

Solomon Washington, SS, Centennial, 2019
H-1B: 4.35, Position Velocity: 80, Exit Velocity: 87
5’11, 160-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance with looseness that tries to create a little rhythm at the start.  Washington uses a short and early stride to get loaded, but comes to a near pause just before starting the swing, causing him to get stuck on occasion.  Strength and quickness in his hands helps get through the ball and provide a little extra pop through his extension.  Washington likes to pepper the middle of the field, but could really generate some serious bat speed with power potential in the future.  Defensively, he stays very much under control and plays through the ball with consistency.  His hands and feet work well together and could turn some heads if he learns to get a little more aggressive while maintaining the control he currently holds.  Washington finished 1-3 with a walk in game play.

Ryan Wells, SS, Eagleville, 2020
H-1B: 4.40, Position Velocity: 81, Exit Velocity: 80
5’10, 155-pound, RHH has a thin and young frame with plenty of room for growth and the addition of some strength down the road.  His stance is wide with high hands, creating a strong position when his front foot hits and it’s time to attack the ball.  With one of the better rounds of BP, Wells showed a swing plane that came through the zone on a slight uphill path, consistently finding the barrel and driving balls into the outfield with authority.  He currently shows some gap power and much more bat speed than his 80 mph exit velocity would suggest.  Wells could develop some real power down the road.  Defensively, he moves around and through the ball, but can sometimes field the ball a little too deep and cause himself to take an extra step.  He moves athletically and can make every play around the infield.  His throws were accurate and had some solid carry for a 2020 grad.  Wells finished game play 2-4 with a walk.

Conner Woodlee, 2B/3B, Brentwood Academy, 2018
H-1B: 4.71, Position Velocity: 74, Exit Velocity: 82
5’11, 180-pound, RHH is a solid prospect with the ability to play both 2B and 3B.  His hands and feet put him in some good positions and allow him to make all of the routine plays with simplicity.  Woodlee plas through the ball but really loads up to get everything behind his throws across the infield through an over-the-top release.  Offensively, Woodlee uses his strong and stout frame to generate some bat speed and drive through the baseball.  He likes to work gap-to-gap and can hit the ball to all fields.  Woodlee stays balanced and takes a good approach to the plate in every at-bat.  He finished 1-3 with a walk in game play.