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Class of 2016 and 2017 Future Prospect Analysis

August 30, 2013

By Ethan Silverman

The Class of 2016 and 2017 Future Prospect Showcase featured some of the top young talent around the state. Take a look at our analysis from the event and what players stood out.

Jackson Bartholomew, 1B/LHP, Lafayette HS, Class of 2017
At 6-foot, 200-pounds, Bartholomew is physically mature for his age, and as he continues to grow and get stronger, has the ability to become a top level player as his skills progress.  At the plate, the left handed hitter has balance throughout his swing with a smooth load and uses his strong lower half to create some bat speed through the zone. He has looseness in his swing, which stays level through the zone, finishes slightly uphill, and shows to have some gap to gap power. In the field, Bartholomew works well around first base, with good footwork and accuracy on his throws while turning double plays. On the mound, he comes from a high ¾ arm slot with a long, loose arm and good rhythm. His fastball was thrown in the 72-75 mph range, while his breaking ball (61-64 mph) had 2-to-8 shape, and changeup was thrown 68-70 mph.  With his size, we have to believe that there is more in the tank on the mound.

Harrison Burns, MIF, MICDS, Class of 2016
One of the most complete players of the event, the athletic 5-foot-7, 145-pound Burns impressed with his speed, posting an event best 6.80 60, as well as an 83-mph exit velocity. In the field, Burns shows a good approach to the ball, with soft hands, a quick, clean transfer, and all around good fielding actions. He recorded a top throw of 76 mph across the diamond. At the plate, Burns has good rhythm with little wasted movements and a repeatable swing. He takes a short path to the ball, consistently finding the barrel and driving the ball gap to gap.

Nick Cauley, RHP/OF, Alton HS (IL), Class of 2016
The athletic 5-foot-10, 150-pound Cauley showed the ability to stay behind the ball in the outfield, and field fly balls and ground balls with his momentum going toward his target. He has quick arm speed with some accuracy from the outfield, recording a top throw of 72 mph. At the plate, Cauley has balance throughout his swing, showing ability to attack the top half of the ball and extending through contact. On the mound, Cauley comes from a high ¾ arm slot and showed ability to command three pitches, all down in the zone. His heavy fastball was thrown in the 76-80 mph range, breaking ball in the 62-65 mph range with late 11-to-5 break, and change up in the 58-59 mph range with some sink action. Additionally, Cauley ran a 7.23 60.

Austin DesRoche, MIF, Eureka HS, Class of 2016
DesRoche showed some of the best fielding mechanics of the event. The 5-foot-9, 140-pound DesRoche displays a good approach to the ball and fielding with soft, sure hands. His transfer was quick and clean and he showed good range to the glove hand side.  At the plate, DesRoche lets the ball get deep and was able to hit the ball to the opposite field. His swing mechanics were repeatable and as he continues to progress, should continue to be an effective hitter. On the mound, DesRoche comes from a high 3/4 arm slot with long arm action and some rhythm in his delivery. His fastball was thrown in the 74-76 mph range with slight arm side run. He also maintained near fastball arm speed on both of his offspeed pitches, a 61-62 mph breaking ball with 11-to-5 shape and a 64-66 mph change up with some fade action.

RJ Drury, 3B, Marquette HS, Class of 2015
Drury has a projectable 6-foot, 180-pound frame, and showed well in all facets of his game. In the field, Drury displays fundamental fielding actions, with sure hands, quick arm action, and accurate throws across the diamond. At the plate, Drury has a quick, powerful swing that stays level through the zone and has good extension through contact. He showed ability to drive the ball with authority to all fields. Drury’s top exit velocity off the bat was 82 mph.

Nicholas Glanvill, 1B, Westminster Christian Academy, Class of 2016
Glanvill is a long and lanky 6-foot-3, 155-pound first baseman who showed fundamental footwork and fielding ability around first base. He displayed sure hands and accurate throws to both second and third base. Offensively, Glanville does a god job of keeping his hands inside the baseball. He swung a bit hard at times, getting out in front, but when he stayed back with better body control, he drove the ball hard with backspin carry.

Jack Linton, MIF/RHP, Westminster Christian Academy, Class of 2016
In the field, the 5-foot-8, 135-pound Linton showed good actions and instincts to the ball, fielding everything out in front with soft hands and a clean glove to hand exchange. His arm is a bit long, but accurate with a top throw of 71 mph across the field. At the plate, Linton has good balance with little wasted movement. His swing takes a level plane with the ability to hit the ball to all fields. As he continues to mature physically, he should be able to drive the ball with some authority. On the mound, Linton comes from a high ¾ arm slot with a loose arm and smooth rhythm. His fastball was thrown in the 66-69 mph range with slight arm side movement. He also threw a 55-59 mph breaking ball with early 11-to-5 break and a 62-64 mph change up, both thrown consistently for strikes.

Jacob Matheny, C, Westminster Christian Academy, Class of 2016
Matheny is a lanky 6-foot-1, 155-pound catcher who showed advanced ability behind the plate. Defensively, Matheny showed solid hands behind the plate, with the ability to receive in all parts of the zone and using quick, natural instincts while blocking. His arm action is short and over the top with accuracy to second base, recording pop times of 2.09-2.25. His footwork is quick out of the crouch and his exchange is quick and clean. At the plate, Matheny displays quick hands and a level, line drive producing swing, attacking the gaps. As Matheny continues to fill out his frame, there is some potential for power in his swing.

CJ Mund, OF/RHP, Homeschool, Class of 2016
Mund is an athletic 5-foot-10, 140-pound two way player who ran a 6.96 60 and impressed with his overall ability. On the mound, Mund comes from a ¾ arm slot with loose arm action. His fastball was thrown in the 75-78 mph range with slight arm side run. He also showed a 67-70 mph breaking ball with 10-to-4 shape thrown with near fastball arm speed and a 68-72 mph change up with arm side movement and sink. At the plate, Mund has a short, compact swing and showed ability to hit the ball where pitched.  The ball consistently found the barrel of the bat and he was able to drive the ball with some authority. His top exit velocity was 82-mph off the bat. In the outfield, Mund shows good instincts to the ball, while playing through the ball with some accuracy in his throws. His top throw was 66-mph.

Brendan Phillips, MIF/OF/RHP, Alton HS (IL), Class of 2015
Phillips is a 5-foot-8, 140-pound multi-positional player. In the infield, Phillips shows a good approach to the ball, with sure hands and a quick, clean exchange. He has quick arm action and accuracy in his throws across the field, recording a top throw of 72-mph. In the outfield, Phillips’ throws were all on a line and had some accuracy. Phillips looks to be more natural in the infield. At the plate, Phillips has a short, quick swing and showed ability to effectively hit the ball up the middle as well as to the opposite field. On the mound, Phillips has some rhythm and threw three pitches, all of which stayed down in the strike zone. His fastball was thrown 71-73 mph with slight sink action, while his breaking ball had 11-to-5 shape (60-61 mph) and his change up was thrown with near fastball arm speed (67-69 mph) with arm side run and some depth. Additionally, Phillips had a top exit velocity of 78-mph off the bat and ran a 7.18 60.

Kaleb Schmidt, MIF/RHP, Kickapoo HS, Class of 2016
Schmidt showed to be one of the more polished players at the event, with plenty of room to progress. The 5-foot-9, 140-pound Schmidt showed ability to command three pitches on the mound, a fastball that topped at 79-mph with cut action, a late breaking 11-to-5 breaking ball (66-69 mph), and a 71-72 mph change up thrown with near fastball arm speed showing arm side run and sink action. Schmidt comes from a ¾ arm slot with quick arm speed. In the field, Schmidt displays sure hands with rage to both his backhand and glove hand sides. His arm action is short and quick, delivering a top throw of 75-mph across the field. At the plate, Schmidt’s hands start high and he brings them down to the ball, creating a level swing plane with extension through contact while hitting the ball to all fields. His top exit velocity was 79-mph off the bat.

Evan Schmitz, 3B/RHP, CBC, Class of 2016
Schmitz is a strong-bodied 6-foot, 205-pound two-way player. In the field, Schmitz shows sure hands at third base with accurate throws across the diamond. At the plate, Schmitz has a long, uphill swing and shows the ability to make consistent contact while being able to hit the ball to the opposite field. If Schmitz incorporates more of his body into his swing, he has the potential to drive the ball hard on a consistent basis. On the mound, Schmitz comes from a high ¾ arm slot and threw three pitches, a 67-69 mph fastball, a 59-60 mph breaking ball with gradual 11-to-5 break, and a 61-62 mph change up with some sink action. With more use of his lower half on the mound, Schmitz could see an uptick in velocity.

Benjamin Sems, MIF, Westminster Christian Academy, Class of 2016
In the infield, the 5-foot-9, 125-pound Sems showed to be a confident fielder, with good footwork and smooth fielding mechanics. He displayed soft hands with a clean release and accurate throws across the diamond from a high ¾ arm slot. His top throw was 70-mph. At the plate, Sems has a smooth, easy swing and showed ability to barrel up the ball while showing good use of the middle part of the field. His top exit velocity off the bat was 77-mph.

Connor Urbeck, C/MIF/RHP, Parkway South HS, Class of 2016
The 5-foot-7, 165-pound Urbeck is a multi-positional player who showed well in all facets of his game. Behind the plate, Urbeck showed ability to handle pitches in all parts of the zone, receiving with a firm wrist. He also showed good instincts while blocking during bullpen sessions, with good body control. He fired a top pop time of 2.22 at 67-mph. In the field, Urbeck has sure hands with short arm action, delivering accurate throws across the diamond with a top throw of 69-mph. Offensively, Urbeck has a strong swing and does not get cheated. He produces some barrel whip through the zone and makes solid contact. His front side had the tendency to fly open at times, by keeping it closed he could find more consistency in his swing. On the mound, Urbeck has a long, loose arm with some rhythm in his delivery.  He threw a 67-71 mph fastball for a strike, a 59-62 mph breaking ball with 11-to-5 shape down in the zone and a 63-66 mph straight changeup with near fastball arm speed. Urbeck also had atop exit velocity of 75-mph off the bat and ran a 7.65 60.

Dennis Yingling, 1B/LHP, Lindbergh HS, Class of 2017
Yingling has a projectable frame for a player of his age, standing 5-foot-11, 165-pounds. At the plate, Yingling uses a strong lower half to produce a long swing with an uphill path to the ball. He displays quick bat speed and drove the ball hard with backspin and carry. As he continues to progress, Yingling has some power potential. His exit velocity off the bat was 88-mph, tops for the event. In the field at first base, Yingling shows good footwork and sure hands with accurate throws while turning double plays. On the mound, the left-handed thrower commands three pitches. His fastball was down in the zone, thrown 74-77 mph with cut action. He also threw a 71-72 mph breaking ball with near fastball arm speed and early 1-to-7 break and a 71-72 mph change up thrown with near fastball arm speed showing sink and fade action.

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