By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

The Louisville Prospect ID Showcase, held on January 21 at Mockingbird Sports/Louisville Baseball Center, saw some high-level middle infield prospects.  Today we take a look at the top middle infielders from the event, as well as all of the middle infielders in attendance.  Stay tuned as we continue to analyze by position groups over the coming days.

Top Middle Infield Performances

Collin Harris, SS, Class of 2014, Frankfort HS
6-foot-1, 175-pound prospect with athletic frame, shows advanced infield actions and footwork, soft hands, plays through the ball, good lateral movement, clean exchange, strong/accurate arm at 82 mph.  Offensively, hits from balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, uses lower half to create barrel whip through the zone, solid hitting tools, consistently squares balls up, registered 86 mph tee exit velocity, ran 4.84 40 yard dash.  Harris is a high-level MIF prospect in the Class of 2014.

Trevor Putzig, MIF, Class of 2014, Ballard HS
5-foot-10, 170-pound prospect with athletic build, fluid footwork, advanced infield actions, plays through the ball, good lateral movement, clean exchange, strong/accurate arm at 84 mph, shows well in outfield as well, plays through the ball, 85 mph arm strength with carry.  At the plate, hits from slightly open stance, toe tap trigger, smooth load, good lower half torque in swing creates barrel whip through the zone, consistently squares ball up, solid hitting tools, registered 87 mph tee exit velocity, ran 5.06 40 yard dash.  Putzig is another high-level MIF prospect in the Class of 2014.

Roman Millem, SS/OF, Class of 2015, North Oldham HS
6-foot-1, 161-pound SS, good infield actions and footwork, plays through the ball, clean exchange, arm shows strength at 82 mph, shows well in outfield as well, plays through the ball, 83 mph arm strength from outfield.  At the plate, hits from open stance, short stride, good balance in swing, arm bars at times in load, registered 86 mph tee exit velocity, ran 4.90 40 yard dash.  Millem has all the tools to develop into a high-level MIF prospect in the Class of 2015.

Mason Forbes, SS/OF, Class of 2014, Ryle HS
6-foot, 168-pound, athletic prospect, good infield actions, fluid footwork, plays through the ball, hands can be softer, accurate arm at 80 mph, good lateral movement, also 82 mph arm strength from outfield.  Offensively, hits from open stance, big load, long stride, gets good lower half torque in swing, slight uphill path to ball, leg kick trigger, foot gets down late at times, registered 88 mph tee exit velocity, ran 5.03 40 yard dash.

Parker James, RHP/2B, Class of 2014, Kentucky Country Day HS
6-foot, 160-pound prospect with athletic frame, good actions, feet work, plays through the ball, good lateral movement, soft hands, 76 mph arm strength,.  At the plate, balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, shows good balance, good lower half torque in swing, registered 88 mph tee exit velocity, ran 5.13 40 yard dash.

Ryan Jones, SS/OF, Class of 2015, Charlestown HS (IN)
5-foot-8, 180-pound prospect with strong lower half, shows good infield actions, fluid footwork, soft hands, plays through the ball, accurate arm at 77 mph across the infield, also shows well in outfield, plays through the ball, 80 mph arm strength with carry.  At the plate, hits from balanced setup, arm bars, no stride, needs to get lower half more consistently involved in swing, registered 86 mph tee exit velocity, ran 5.09 40 yard dash.

Best of the Rest (Alphabetical Order)

Ryan Blevens, SS/2B, Class of 2014, Butler HS
6-foot, 170-pound prospect with athletic frame, good infield actions, fluid footwork, plays through the ball, clean exchange, soft hands, 73 mph arm strength.  At the plate, uses balanced setup, drops hands in load, short stride, chest level hand trigger, flat bat path, registered 82 mph tee exit velocity, ran 5.31 40 yard dash.

Will Boothe, 2B, Class of 2016, Muhlenberg County HS
5-foot-10, 135-pound, young MIF prospect with small build at present, shows soft hands, feet work, quick exchange, plays through the ball, 71 mph arm strength across the field.  At the plate, uses balanced setup, slight arm bar in load, no stride, shows good balance, flat bat path, hit tools will improve with increased strength and physical development ran 5.40 40 yard dash.

Caleb Bruner, RHP/SS, Class of 2015, Logan County HS
6-foot, 160-pound prospect, accurate arm, long exchange, glove gets down late, room to improve footwork.  Offensively, slightly open stance, slight arm bar and wrap in load, short stride, shows good balance, lower half works, consistently barreled up the baseball, shows ability to hit to all fields, ran 5.22 40 yard dash.

Chris Crotzer, C/2B, Class of 2015, Collins HS
5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect, average build, feet work, plays through the ball, 73 mph arm strength.  At the plate, uses tall setup and short stride, drops hands in load, gets some lower half involved in swing, registered 79 mph tee exit velocity, young prospect with potential.

Michael Harris, SS, Class of 2015, Bullitt Central HS
5-foot-9, 135-pound prospect with small frame, accurate throws at 70 mph, needs to continue improvement on footwork.  At the plate, uses closed stance, no load, short stride, needs to get lower half involved in swing, will continue to see improvement with added strength.

Jordan Hensley-Cole, 2B/SS, Class of 2014, Charlestown HS (IN)
5-foot-7, 140-pound 2B, shows soft hands, accurate arm at 69 mph, good infield actions, quick exchange.  Hits from balanced setup, arm bar in load, short stride, needs more lower half torque in swing, ran 4.88 40 yard dash.

Erin Hollenback, SS, Class of 2013, Iroquois HS
5-foot-9, 160-pound SS, 69 mph arm strength across field, needs work on feet and hands.  At the plate, drops hands, some stiffness in swing, ran 5.32 40 yard dash.

Kyle Moore, SS, Class of 2014, Muhlenberg County HS
5-foot-11, 150-pounds, shows good lateral movement, quick exchange, plays through the ball, 72 mph arm strength.  At the plate, uses wide base, smooth load, short stride, slight uphill path to ball, foot doesn’t get down on time consistently.

Justin Stinson, 2B/RHP, Class of 2014, North Bullitt HS
5-foot8, 135-pound prospect with small build, fluid footwork, athletic actions, quick exchange, accurate arm.  At the plate, hits from open stance, squares front side, long stride, shows balance, slight arm bar in load, long swing path, registered 76 mph tee exit velocity, high energy type player, solid defensive skills.