Toby Bicknell
Texas Scouting Director

Twitter: @PBR_Texas
IG: pbr_texas

FT. WORTH, TX - Some of the top talent in Texas converged on TCU’s campus to compete in the North Texas Underclass Games on July 22, here is the infield analysis from that event.

Infield Analysis

+ Wyatt Rohmer, SS/RHP, Byron Nelson HS, 2019
Rohmer is an all-around athletic two-way player that shows great promise. Athletic, muscular frame at 5-foot-11, 180-pounds. Plays with confidence both in the field and at the plate. The junior began the day by running a 6.93-second 60-yard dash. A right-handed hitter, Rohmer starts from an open, pigeon-toed stance, rocks back smooth and slow to load, big leg kick with a medium stride. Explosive lower half transfer as he rotates to contact with a short path, using a strong upper body to deliver the barrel as he extends through contact with a high finish. Aggressive swings during batting practice and game play, barrel is in the zone a long time with gap power (89 mph) and more to come. At shortstop, Rohmer has athletic actions, fluid footwork, quick first step and the ability to change directions. Showed good range and made several plays with high-end athleticism. Soft hands, longer exchange at times into a ¾ slot, threw 81 mph across the infield.

+ Tyler Wade, SS, Midland HS, 2019
Wade is a confident, quick-twitch athlete, standing 5-foot-11, 160-pounds, with plenty of room to add strength. He started the day by running a 6.85-second 60-yard dash, then posted an exit velocity of 91 mph off the tee. The right-handed hitter took a great round of batting practice, was on time with easy, repeatable rhythm. Has a smooth leg kick, quick hands, plus bat speed, strong contact with short, flat path to the ball, ball jumps off his bat. At shortstop, Wade has quick feet, average hands and good arm strength from a low-¾ slot (87 mph). Overall, he is a projectable, confident athlete that plays with moxie.

+ Cole Posey, SS, Georgetown HS, 2019
Posey is a fundamentally sound, athletic infielder with a high motor. He stands 5-foot-10, 165-pounds, with a lean, muscular frame. At shortstop, Posey has smooth, quick footwork, creates good angles and plays with momentum through the ball. Presents soft hands out in front with solid glove action, quick transfer into a short arm stroke with carry and accuracy across the diamond as he stays in line and follows his throws. Arm works well out front with a velocity of 82 mph to first base. Offensively, the right-handed hitter has open setup, then uses early, easy rhythm to load with a short stride as his hands slide back, landing balanced. Short, quick, inside-out stroke with high finish. Line drive power during batting practice, hard contact through the middle of the field, exit velocity of 82 mph off the tee. Took good swings during game play, using the whole field.

+ Hunter Cramer, SS/RHP, Oak Ridge HS, 2020
6-foot-1, 160-pound, wiry, athletic, fast-twitch frame. Cramer is a confident, aggressive player with good presence, and is one of the those players that college coaches will want to see in the coming year. Moves with easy, long strides on defense and flashes fluid actions. At shortstop, Cramer is an athletic defender with quick footwork, soft hands with smooth rhythm and timing as he plays through the ball. Short arm swing from a high-¾ slot, he threw 71 mph across the diamond. Made a nice play in the game on a hard charging ground ball, then showed good body control to get the runner at first base. The rising sophomore ran a 7.15-second 60-yard dash and posted an exit velocity 88 mph off the tee. Cramer, a right-handed hitter, has a lot of moving parts in his swing, but produces solid bat speed with rhythm and strength at contact. He starts from a crouched stance, big load back, aggressive leg-kick as triggers his hands down and back, quick hips into a powerful weight transfer. Quick hands through the zone, hard contact during batting practice, loose-high finish creates lift and carry. During the game he had a single up the middle and squared up a ground ball right at the second baseman.

+ Cal Martin, 1B/3B, Reagan HS, 2019
At 6-foot-3, 180-pounds, Martin has a very projectable, long-limbed frame that projects into a corner-bat, middle of the order hitter at the collegiate level. A right-handed hitter, Martin starts from an open stance, loading easy with a high leg-kick as he triggers his hands down and back, staying tall as he lands with balance. Explosive lower half, he fires hips toward the mound, creating leverage and torque. Front arm bar early, hands work well through the zone, strong, loud contact.  Creates lift and carry with power to the pull side, loose, high finish as the barrel is on time and on plane. Handles the ball middle-away extremely well as he can get extended, but also pulls his hands to hit inside pitches on the barrel. Look for Martin to continue to produce power as he adds strength to his frame. At first base, Martin is an athletic defender with smooth, quick footwork and good feel. He has soft hands that play well out front, quick, mid-line exchange into a short, clean, ¾ arm stroke. With his actions at first base, Martin could end up playing both third and first base in the future. Look for big things from him in the future.

+ Dylan Johnson, SS, Johnson HS, 2019
Johnson appears slightly bigger than his listed 5-foot-9, 155-pound frame. The junior was impressive during the workout portion of the North Texas Underclass Games with his presence the plate and his feel on the infield. At shortstop, Johnson moves methodically, appearing under control at all times with quickish feet, soft hands, and clean exchange into a fast release. His velocity was average at 81 mph across the infield, but the ball comes out clean and has excellent carry with accuracy. He makes the play on the run and can throw from different slots with ease. A right-handed hitter, Johnson has big-time potential with the bat. He starts from a tall, slightly open stance, easy load back with quiet rhythm to land square with balance. Loose hands, quick, explosive hips as he transfers his weight through contact. Short path with strength at contact, ball sounds different off his bat. Johnson produced gap power during batting practice with a loose, easy, high finish of the barrel with more power to come.

+ Kade Sanchez, SS/2B, Caldwell HS, 2019
Sanchez may have a smaller frame at 5-foot-4, 127-pounds, but he plays the game in fast forward with high energy and active body language. He took the field during the second game of the day and completely energized both teams by just being active, vocal, and locked-in. Top step of the dugout player, first guy on and off the field. Defensive skills set is solid, with quick feet, good rhythm to his glove side and clean exchanges. Sanchez has outstanding glove action, he made virtually every pick with ease at second base during the catchers workout. Although his arm strength is average right now with a velocity of 82 mph, he is an accurate thrower with a very good sense of “timing” in game. Arm works from different slots and he can play on the run. Offensively, the right-handed hitter has a simple swing, starting from a wide stance with his weight pushed slightly toward his front leg. He loads smooth and easy, loose hands with good rhythm. Short strider, simple weight transfer with balance, contact approach through the middle, short path with good barrel awareness. To put it simple, Sanchez is a gritty, confident, grinder type player that makes his team better.

+ Josh Bartolacci, SS/RHP, Coppell HS, 2019
5-foot-11, 163-pound, lean, athletic frame. Bartolacci is an athletic, quick-twitch player with a bounce in his step on the infield. A right-handed hitter, he has a balanced setup, simple load, loose hands, short stride, level path, line-drive approach with fluid rhythm and an exit velocity of 88 mph. At shortstop, Bartolacci moves with quick footwork and a bounce in his step. Soft hands with good glove action, especially to his backhand. Quick exchange into a ¾ slot with a short, loose arm stroke at 83 mph across the infield with a quick release and accuracy. Athletic player on the run, projects to stay in the middle of the field. Ran a 7.01 60-yard dash.

+ Tyler Justice, 1B/RHP, Lexington HS, 2020
6-foot-1, 215-pound, strong, thick frame. A two-way player and right-handed hitter, Justice is an advanced hitter for his class, and registered the highest exit velocity of the event at 101 mph off the tee. Tall setup with a slightly open stance, relaxed load with a short stride. Simple strength, explosive bat speed, quick hands, gap approach, easy weight transfer, loose finish. Quality round of batting practice with a middle of the field approach and barrel awareness. Put together quality at-bats during the game, was on time with the fastball and showed the ability to keep his hands back on off-speed pitches. He lined out sharply to right field, and put together a long at-bat (fouling off multiple pitches with two strikes) that ended in a hard ground ball to shortstop.  At first base, Justice has deliberate footwork, average hands, an easy transfer and threw 78 mph across the infield.

+ Dylan Russo, 1B/RHP, Keller HS, 2020
6-foot-3, 220-pounds, thick frame. Russo has a seasoned approach with projectable power from the right side of the plate. Relaxed setup with smooth rhythm, easy load with a leg kick, lands balanced, explosive weight transfer, short path, good barrel awareness with high finish and lift. He registered an exit velocity of 89 mph with wood. During the game he had a crisp single up the middle on a fastball, and a single down the left field line as he kept his hands back on a curveball, even though he was out on his front foot. At first base, Russo has deliberate footwork with average hands. Good footwork around the bag, throws from short arm stroke at 77 mph across the infield.

+ Luke Ely, C/1B, Franklin HS, 2019
At 5-foot-10, 195-pounds, Ely has a sturdy, still developing frame with a strong lower half, that should be able to add much more strength in the coming years. The young, left-handed hitting catcher starts slightly open at the plate in a minor crouch. Loads his weight back with a reverse leg hang before striding out long, and utilizing his strong bottom hand to get through the zone on a level plane. Line drive hitter with future gap-to-gap power potential. Behind the plate, Ely has quick footwork and soft hands to go with a quick, clean transfer. Accurate throws on the bag with average arm strength and a clean release out front with good extension and 72 mph velocity from the crouch. Pop times ranged from 2.0-2.1 at this event. Solid receiving skills during the game, did a nice job on the low pitch. At first base, he has smooth footwork with soft hands and rhythm as he plays through the ball. Accurate throws across the diamond at 78 mph.

Best of the rest (alphabetical)

+ Jacob Amador, 3B/OF, Burleson HS, 2019
5-foot-11, 170-pound frame. A right-handed hitter, Amador starts from a tall stance and has a short load back into a small stride with balance. He has a fair, contact approach at the plate with an exit velocity of 79 mph, level path as he rotates his shoulders to contact with a flat finish. On the infield, Amador has average footwork, still developing hands, and throws from a ¾ slot across the diamond at 62 mph. Amador ran a 7.57-second 60-yard dash.

+ Roger Baeza, SS, Horizon HS, 2020
5-foot-7, 135-pound frame. A right-handed hitter, Baeza has a balanced setup with some rhythm as he loads back, then lands with a quicker, slight toe-tap. Hands are set early with barrel pointing upward, short, inside-out, level path to contact. Hands hitter with a line drive, contact approach, uses the whole field. At shortstop, Baeza has aggressive footwork as he attacks ground balls, average hands, midline exchange, quick release from a high-¾ slot with a short arm stroke. Throws accurately with effort across the diamond at 73 mph.

+ Wyatt Bell, 2B/3B, Denton Ryan HS, 2018
5-foot-8, 150-pound, lean-muscular frame. Bell started the day by running a 7-second 60-yard dash. The right-handed hitter has a balanced, slightly crouched stance with good flex in his lower half. Early load back into a short stride, partial weight transfer in lower half. Mostly level path, front arm arm bar that occasionally works uphill creating some lift. Line drive approach with average bat speed produced solid contact during batting practice. On the infield, Bell has average hands and active footwork to go with a clean exchange into his short, ¾ arm stroke that plays nicely at second base.

+ Ryan Davenport, 2B/RHP, Dripping Springs HS, 2019
5-foot-10, 145-pound, lean, high-waisted, frame. A two-way player and left-handed hitter, Davenport has a smooth load, short stride, front arm bar as his hands slide back into an athletic, balanced launch position. Hands work well through the zone, strong top hand with line drive power and barrel awareness. Crisp contact and hard contact during batting practice. At shortstop, Davenport has a clean exchange with average hands and staggered footwork in his fielding position. Accurate arm during infield workout from a ¾ slot at 75 mph.

+ Connor Gill, 1B/RHP, Byron Nelson HS, 2020
5-foot-11, 150-pound, still developing frame with long limbs. The right-handed hitter has an open stance, triggers his hands down and back, front arm bar, inside-out path, lift in barrel with high finish and choppy rhythm. Partial weight transfer, contact approach with an exit velocity of 74 mph. At first base, Gill has average hands, still-developing footwork, long exchange into a long arm stroke across the infield at 66 mph with some accuracy.

+ Jack Hattrup, LHP/1B, Plano West HS, 2019
Hattrup is a two-way player and left-handed hitter with a long-limbed, projectable frame at 6-foot-4, 180-pounds. Hattrup has a knack for hitting the ball on the barrel. Neutral, slightly open stance,  with choppy rhythm and short finish. Does a nice job of staying in his legs and delivering the barrel with his top hand. Made hard contact in two at-bats during the game, including squaring up a curveball. At first base, Hattrup has average feet and soft hands with an average exchange into his long, high-3/4 arm stroke at 74 mph across the infield. Although his future is most likely on the mound, Hattrup still has a chance to be a productive two-way player because of his frame and left-handed bat.

+ Matthew Jow, 1B/OF, Nolan Catholic HS, 2020
5-foot-8, 160-pound frame. The left-handed hitter has a tall stance with his weight already pre-set on his back leg. Slight front knee turn with a short, quick leg kick to load his hands back. Aggressive swing, short path with upper body rotation, good barrel awareness, loose finish, with average balance. Line drive approach with good extension through contact, average power for his class. At first base, Jow has developing footwork with average hands, clean exchange into a long, over the top arm stroke with good accuracy to both third and second base.

+ Tyler Kelly, 3B/RHP, Hutto HS, 2020
5-foot-10, 170-pounds, sturdy frame with broad shoulders and strong lower half. A two-way player and right-handed hitter, Kelly has a crouched setup with good flex in his lower half. Quick rhythm, balanced load, short stride, good energy in his lower half. Inside-out path with an opposite field, line-drive approach during batting practice. Exit velocity of 78 mph off the tee. On the infield, Kelly has average feet and hands, a longer exchange into a ¾ arm slot at 75 mph across the diamond.

+ Kendal Knox, 2B/SS, Buna HS, 2019
5-foot-9, 160-pounds. A right-handed hitter, Knox has a tall, slightly open stance, loads back into a leg kick as he triggers his hands, landing squarely with balance. Good approach during batting practice, short path with strong hands at contact produced lots of line drives through middle with average bat speed. Line drive power currently with gap power potential. On the infield, Knox has average hands and feet that play well at second base. Throws from a ¾ slot with an average exchange and accurate arm across the diamond.

+ Trennor O’Donnell, RHP/1B, Southlake Carroll HS, 2019
A right-handed hitter, O’Donnell starts from a tall stance, loads back as he crouches into leg kick while his hands trigger back. Aggressive swing, level path, quick-strong hands, above average bat speed (90 mph) for his class, rotational finish. At first base, O’Donnell has quick footwork with a bounce in his step, plays through the ball with average hands. Threw 75 mph across the infield and ran a 7.25 60-yard dash.

+ Caden Queck, OF/RHP, The Woodlands Christian Academy, 2020
5-foot-11, 160-pounds, high-waisted, athletic frame. The right-handed hitter has a balanced setup, smooth toe-tap load with rhythm into a short stride. Loose hands, athletic lower half as he rotates to contact, inside-out path, line-drive approach with average bat speed (81 mph exit velocity off the tee), loose finish. Top spin contact to the pull side during batting practice mixed with line drives through the middle. At shortstop, he has a quick first step, soft hands, and quick exchange to his midline. Throws from a more natural ¾ slot on the infield compared to his higher slot in the outfield, with a 78 mph velocity across the diamond.

+ Zach Reynolds, 3B/RHP, Houston Memorial, 2019
6-foot-1, 185-pound, sturdy frame. The right-hander works from a high-¾ slot with a tilt-and-topple, in-line delivery with level shoulders and limited leg drive. He threw his fastball for strikes at 77-80 mph with mostly straight action, topping out at 81 mph. Curveball has good 11/5 shape with downward action at 67-68 mph. Changeup came in at 68-72 mph. A two-way player and right-handed hitter, Reynolds has a tall setup, simple load with a smooth leg kick. Short hand trigger, short path with good balance, gap-to-gap strength at contact, line drive approach, hard contact, and an exit velocity of 92 mph. On the infield, he has a good sense of timing with his footwork, soft hands with good glove action, quick exchange into his throwing motion. Accurate thrower across the diamond at 80 mph.

+ C.W. Schrader, SS, Red Oak HS, 2019
Schrader is an all around fundamental player that should continue to make jumps as he adds strength to his 5-foot-10, 146-pound frame. At shortstop, he has fluid, fundamental footwork with a quickish first step and does a nice job of getting set into his fielding position by breaking down and setting his hands out front. Soft hands with an average exchange, clean arm stroke works well out front with a clean release. Average accuracy across the infield at 78 mph. A right-handed hitter, Schrader has a balanced, neutral, crouched setup with a flat bat over his back shoulder. Linear load with a simple weight shift back. Toe tap timing into a short stride as he maintains posture and balance. Quick hips as he rotates to contact with a short, flat path. Pull approach during batting practice with line-drive power and an exit velocity of 87 mph.

+ Patrick Shearer, RHP/3B, Highland Park HS, 2019
6-foot, 175-pound, athletic frame. A two-way player and right-handed hitter, Shearer has a crouched stance, relaxed load, short stride, barrel works down on plane with average bat speed and a high finish. Rotational weight transfer on balls on the inner half. Flashed strength to the pull side. On the infield, Shearer has average footwork and hands with a longer exchange. Threw 82 mph across the infield from a high-¾ slot to his backhand side. Throws from a more natural ¾ slot when he plays to his glove side and makes the play on the run.

+ Jack Walton, 2B/SS, Prestonwood Christian Academy HS, 2020
5-foot-9, 135-pounds, still developing frame with plenty of room to add strength as he continues to develop. A left-handed hitter, Walton has a balanced, neutral stance with a tall upper body. Triggers his hands back and down to start his load, short strider, quick rhythm, lands with athleticism creating torque and leverage as his hips rotate quickly to contact. Hands are quick and work well through the zone giving him a lot of room for error. Good barrel awareness and loose, high finish. Walton’s best offensive days are certainly ahead of him. On the infield, Walton has a short, clean arm stroke from a high-¾ slot. Softish hands with still developing footwork, look for his actions to improve as he continues to develop and play lower.

 

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