By Toby Bicknell
Texas Scouting Director

Follow us on Twitter: @PBR_Texas

On Monday, January 16, Prep Baseball Report and its staff converged on Lamar University in Beaumont to evaluate players from all over the states of Texas and Louisiana in the first annual I-10 Border Battle. The day began with each player going through a full pro-style workout, then continued with a game between Team Texas and Team Louisiana. The PBR staff was able to record stats and video on each player in attendance. PBR will continue to work to be the #1 news source for all of high school baseball across Texas. Continue to check back for updated reports, video, and events.

Below is a complete breakdown of all infielders. Each player has an updated profile with stats, a player write-up, and video from the event. Listed below are the top performing infielders from the event.

top performers

+ Jackson Loftin, SS, Klein Collins HS, 2018
6-foot, 175-pound, strong, athletic frame. At shortstop, Loftin showed advanced actions all around with fluid footwork, clean exchanges in the mid-line of his body, and good arm-action with clean release, carry and accuracy at 82 mph. Loftin had excellent range during both the workout and game portion of the event and showed the ability to throw form different arm slots and play on the run. Offensively, the right-handed hitter starts from a neutral stance and pushes back into a smooth leg kick while moving his hands with rhythm. Lands athletically at foot-strike and has good weight transfer in his lower half. He took a solid batting practice and barrelled up balls to the pull side with some power. With his awareness, savvy, projectable frame and ability to handle the baseball, Loftin is a player that college recruiters will want to watch this spring.

 

+ Cole Payne, SS/RHP, Cuero HS, 2018
6-foot, 175-pound, long, lean, athletic frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a tall, slightly open, athletic stance with relaxed rhythm in his hands. He loads with an easy rock back with his hands that is followed by a knee-to-knee, low leg-kick, landing square with athleticism. Payne creates good leverage with an aggressive lower-half transfer and a short, whip-like bat path that drives the baseball from the middle-to-pull side. His barrell stays in the zone a long time and shows the ability to finish through contact. On the infield he has fluid footwork, soft hands and a clean exchange. He threw 86 mph across the diamond with a high-¾ release and shows the ability to play on the run. He registered an exit velocity of 81 mph and ran a 7.36 60-yard dash. With Payne’s projectable frame and athletic two-way ability, he is sure to gain the attention of college recruiters.

 

+ Kyle Reece, SS/OF, Cy-Fair HS, 2019
6-foot, 160-pound, long limbed, projectable frame. Offensively, the right-handed hitter starts from a tall, slightly open set-up. He rocks back to load with rhythm, cocking the barrel back and upward, then makes an aggressive move after foot-strike to engage his lower half. Flashes a short, flat path with strength in the barrel as he transfers his weight. Registered an exit velocity of 82 mph.  At shortstop, Reece shows quick footwork and the ability to play low with soft hands, good glove action and a clean exchange. Gathers with rhythm and quick feet create momentum into his throwing motion. Shows the ability to play through the ball and throws with accuracy and carry at 80 mph. In the outfield, Reece has good rhythm through the with clean exchanges and carry on his throws with accuracy at 85 mph. Ran a 7.44 60-yard dash.

 

+ Zachary Lee, 2B/C, El Campo HS, 2018
5-foot-8, 185-pound frame with a strong lower half. The right-handed hitter starts from a tall, athletic stance with slight bend in his knees. He gets started with an easy load with fluid rhythm, pushing back into an advanced leg-kick with his hands behind his back shoulder and a slight bat wrap. Lands in-line producing leverage with good weight transfer in his lower half. His bat path is on-plane and produces gap-to-gap line drives with back-spin. His exit velocity was 84 mph. During the game, Lee hit two balls right on the button to the outfield. On the infield, the second baseman has solid footwork and quick, clean exchanges with good glove action from the mid-line of his body. Throws with accuracy at 77 mph across the diamond. Ran a 7.82 60-yard dash.

Best Of The Rest (Alphabetical)

+ Noah Adames, 3B/OF, Spring HS, 2019
6-foot, 155-pound frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a tall, neutral stance, loads slow and early to land in-line with his hands back. Slight arm bar as his front side pulls his hands through the hitting zone to produce ground balls mixed with line drives during batting practice. Registered an exit velocity of 77 mph. At shortstop, Adames has choppy footwork with average glove action, clean exchange with a slight pause to set his feet into a short, high-¾ arm action that produced accurate throws at 69 mph across the diamond. The uncommitted junior showed the ability to throw on the run during both the workout and the game. Ran a 7.69 60-yard dash.

+ Max Bernstein, 1B/RHP, Klein HS, 2019
6-foot-1, 190-pound, lanky frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a wide, neutral, balanced stance. He starts his load with a simple push-back into a short stride with his hands working back before foot-strike. Bernstein has a fair approach with a slightly up-hill hand path. Shows the ability to hit the ball from gap-to-gap, flashing good extension through contact with an 82 mph exit velocity. Defensively, Bernstein flashes smooth footwork and average hands with a clean exchange into a short, high-¾ arm slot. He threw with accuracy at 65 mph across the infield. Ran a 7.62 60-yard dash.

+ Mario Castillo, C/2B, South Houston HS, 2018
5-foot-7, 170-pound, strong frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a tall, narrow stance with quiet rhythm. Rocks back slightly to start his load with his hands moving down and back. Castillo creates good leverage with a leg-kick, lands balanced with his hands back, firing his lower half with good energy. Hand path is on-plane with slight lift to produce a gap-to-gap line drives during batting practice and an exit velocity of 81 mph off a tee. On the infield, the second baseman shows average footwork with good glove action and clean exchanges. Throws from a high-¾ slot across the diamond at 76 mph. Behind the plate, Castillo shows smooth footwork clean exchanges and rhythm on his throws to second base. His pop times ranged from 2.01-2.1 with accuracy at 72 mph. Ran a 7.97 60-yard dash.

+ Jared Harris, C/SS, Klein HS, 2019
5-foot-8, 140-pound, athletic, still-developing frame. At shortstop, Harris has solid footwork and rhythm through the ball. He shows good hip mobility and the ability to play low with good glove action out in front, transitioning with clean exchanges and footwork into his throwing motion at 70 mph. Behind the plate, Harris received with advanced feel during the game showing the ability to handle velocity in the strike zone. Harris has solid fundamental footwork and clean exchanges throwing to second base with a clean, elbow dominated arm action. His pop times ranged from 2.15-2.2 with a velocity of 68 mph. Offensively, the right-handed hitter starts from an athletic, neutral stance with rhythm and continues into a simple load, shifting his weight and hands back, then a short stride to land with good energy. Makes a natural transition into his launch position, firing his back leg to slot a flat hand path that releases the barrel through contact with a loose finish. Registered an exit velocity of 69 mph. Ran an 8.16 60-yard dash. Although a young sophomore, with added strength, look for Harris to make jumps as his fundamentals are solid.

+ Tony Limon, 2B/RHP, Klein HS, 2019
5-foot-7, 130-pound, lanky, still developing frame. Defensively, the shortstop shows fluid rhythm with good footwork on the front end with long strides. Limon has solid glove action and exchange into a clean arm action throwing the ball with accuracy at 72 mph across the diamond. Offensively, the right-handed hitter starts from a tall, athletic, neutral stance. He loads with balance into a short stride. Limon has a level hand path with slight lift to drive the ball in the middle of the field with a 72 mph exit velocity. Ran a 7.58 60-yard dash.

+ Hunter Pachal, 1B/3B/RHP, Oak Ridge HS, 2019
6-foot, 210-pound, strong frame. Defensively, the first baseman shows fluid footwork, clean exchange and the ability to play low with good feel around the bag. He made accurate throws to bases from a high-¾ slot at 66 mph. Offensively, the right-handed hitter starts from a tall, neutral stance with low hands and a slight bat wrap. He gets started with a slight load and a short stride to land square. Has good balance with a slightly uphill bat path and average bat speed. Registered an exit velocity of 84 mph. Ran an 8.01 60-yard dash.

+ Justin Smith, C/3B, Hardin-Jefferson HS, 2019
5-foot-10, 170-pound frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a balanced, neutral set-up and relaxed hands. Starts his swing with a simple load and short stride with smooth rhythm. Level hand path produced line drives during batting practice with an exit velo of 81 mph. On the infield, Smith has soft hands with and good glove skills with average footwork. Clean exchanges on both routine plays and plays on the run to throw 72 mph across the infield. Behind the plate, Smith exhibits soft hands, fluid footwork and clean exchange on his throws to second base. His pop times ranged from 2.1-2.15 seconds at 65 mph. Ran an 8.02 60-yard dash.

+ Alan Underwood, 1B/RHP, Nederland HS, 2018
6-foot-1, 175-pound frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a tall, neutral stance with relaxed rhythm in his hands. He loads with a smooth push-back into a high leg-kick, landing balanced. Shows a gap-to-gap approach, level hand path and the ability to hit the ball in the middle of the field with some leverage. Registered an exit velocity of 83 mph. On the infield, Underwood throws from a high-¾ slot with a long arm action. He made accurate throws across the diamond at 75 mph. Flashed decent footwork and glove action, ranging well to both his glove side and back hand side.  Ran an 8.38 60-yard dash.

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>>CLICK HERE for the complete ROSTER

Stay tuned for more news from the I-10 Border Battle.

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