By Toby Bicknell
Texas Scouting Director

Follow us on Twitter: @PBR_Texas

On Saturday, January 21, Prep Baseball Report and its staff converged on Prestonwood Christian Academy in Plano, to evaluate players from all over the state at The North Texas Prospect Games. The day began with each player going through a full pro-style workout, then continued with a game between two teams. 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 seven outfielders, some of which are two-way players. Each player has an updated profile with stats, a player write-up, and video from the event.

outfielders

+ River Ridings, OF/LHP, Prestonwood Christian Academy, 2020
6-foot-2, 170-pound, projectable, long-limbed frame with broad shoulders. The switch hitter has good bat speed and strong hands from both sides of the plate. On the right side, he starts from a tall, relaxed stance with his hands set back and away from his body. Easy load and a short stride to create good separation between his upper and lower body. Short hand path through the zone with strength at contact and good extension. From the left side, Ridings has more of a knee-to-knee, low-level leg kick and gets the barrel on plane sooner. He gets good extension through contact with a loose finish. His exit velocity off the tee was 78 mph from the left side. From the right side, his exit velocity was 81 mph. Defensively, Ridings has fluid footwork into his exchanges that allows his body and his arm to work in sequence with good timing. He threw 78 mph from a high ¾, short arm slot with accuracy and carry. Ridings ran an 8.27 60-yard dash.

 

+ Nate Santiago, OF/LHP, Carroll Senior HS, 2018
6-foot, 170-pound, strong frame. The left-handed hitter starts from a tall, slightly open stance with a high hand position. Loads with quick rhythm and a knee-to-knee leg kick that creates good energy. Although he only generated an exit velocity of 76 mph off the tee, the ball jumped off his bat during batting practice, driving balls to both gaps with authority. In the outfield, Santiago throws from a high-¾ slot with loose arm action and carry at 81 mph. Ran a 7.39 60-yard dash.

 

+ Michael DiFiore, 1B/OF, Lovejoy HS, 2019
6-foot-3, 215-pound frame. The left-handed hitter starts from a wide, athletic stance with relaxed rhythm. Loads with a quick toe-tap as his hands slide back with good separation. DiFiore has good energy in his swing, creating leverage and strength at contact. He drove the ball from gap-to-gap during batting practice and took good swings during the game. His exit velocity off the tee was 85 mph. In the outfield, DiFiore has fluid footwork through the ball, throwing 76 mph. At first base, he shows the ability to play low with good footwork around the bag. Plays thru the ball with some rhythm and threw 78 mph across the diamond. He ran a 7.76 60-yard dash.

+ Joshua Dyer, SS/OF, Albany HS, 2019
5-foot-11, 170-pound, strong frame. The switch hitter has good hands and advanced feel for the barrel from both sides of the plate. From the right side, he starts from a slightly crouched stance with a flat bat. Easy rhythm to get started with a short stride. Slight hip-slide as he transfers his weight to his front side. Dyer has a short hand path to attack the inside part of the ball, good extension and loose finish through contact. From the left side, Dyer has a slightly different hand position with a more open stance. He still has a similar crouch set-up with good flex in his knees and fluid rhythm. Repeatable swing with a short path and the barrel stays in the zone a long time. Line-drive approach during batting practice from both sides. Exit velocity off the tee from the left side was 86 mph. From the right side, his exit velocity was 82 mph. Although his primary position is middle infield, from the outfield Dyer shows fluid footwork and rhythm through the ball throwing 76 mph with accuracy. Ran a 7.56 60-yard dash.

 

+ Jabari Aiken, OF/3B, SA Johnson HS, 2018
5-foot-9, 165-pound, lean-muscular, strong, athletic frame. The uncommitted junior began his day running the fastest 60-yard (6.75) dash time. He was only able to participate in the workout portion of the event as he was headed to a football camp the same afternoon. The right-handed hitter starts from a balanced, slightly open stance, and showed good barrel awareness on the outer half of the plate, making his best contact to the opposite field. He posted an exit velocity off the tee of 76 mph. Defensively, Aiken threw 76 mph from the outfield with a long-¾ arm action.

 

+ Christian Poullard, LHP/OF, North Side HS, 2018
5-foot-7, 155-pound, wiry-strong frame. The left-handed hitter starts from a wide, neutral stance with his weight slightly shifted back. Simple load to get started with a short stride and good energy in his lower half. Hit with an opposite gap approach during batting practice. Exit velocity off the tee was 75 mph. Although he was there for the morning defensive showcase, he did play the outfield during the afternoon game. Poullard plays faster than his 7.55 60-yard dash time, moving with fast twitch tendencies and athleticism as he tracks down balls and plays with good energy.

 

+ Ryan Patterson, OF/1B, Prestonwood Christian Academy, 2020
6-foot-2, 170-pound, projectable, long-limbed frame. The right-handed hitter starts from a tall, neutral stance his hands away from his body. Triggers his hands back and down with a slight arm bar. Short stride to land in his launch position, flat path through contact. Showed good barrell awareness and an opposite gap approach during batting practice. Registered an exit velocity of 83 mph off the tee. In the outfield, Patterson threw 76 mph, flashed fluid footwork, clean exchange and played through the ball well.

 

>>CLICK HERE to view the complete STAT SHEET

>>CLICK HERE to view the complete roster from this event.

Stay tuned for more news from The North Texas Prospect Games

 

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