Prep Baseball Report

SC 2021 Most Viewed Player Profiles: #1 Roman Kimball


Sammy Esposito
PBR SC Director of Scouting

With 2021 coming to a close we begin to take a look at the most viewed player profiles in South Carolina over the last year. PBR continues to be a go-to source of information for college coaches and pro-scouts. All Major League Organizations and over 800 colleges are subscribed to PBR services. Coaches and scouts can go to a players profile page and see player video as well as advanced analytics. With all the information provided it allows coaches and scouts to get an idea of who the player is as well as track their progress throughout their careers. 

 

PBR will see profile hits go over 12 million in 2021 with an average of over 1 million hits per month. Some of the most popular ways to a player profile page are event pages, tournament pages, player search, news articles and rankings. Over the next few weeks we will highlight the 15 most viewed profiles of 2021 in South Carolina. 

Most Viewed Player Profiles in SC

No. 1: Roman Kimball

This freshman at Notre Dame has a athletic frame with a very quick arm that has allowed him to show high end velocity with is fastball.  Kimball uses a lower slot to drive the ball through the zone from a tough angle with swing-and-miss stuff.  This right hander has the stuff and athleticism to be able to compete for innings right away for the Fighting Irish.   



Scouting Report

2/23/20

 

Notre Dame commit. 5-foot-11, 160-pound right-hander was one of the most intriguing prospects at the event. The underclassman has an athetic frame that still has room to add some strength. Sat 89-91 from a high 3/4 arm slot with hip coil to his delivery. Arm is loose and clean and velocity is generated with significant lower half drive. Fastball showed late arm-side run and life through the zone. Curveball is a quality second offering at 75-77 with 1/5 rotation and solid depth. Changeup at 83-85 is thown with premium arm speed and showed heavy arm-side run. Also showcased a sinker at 88-89 with late glove-side movement. 

 

2/18/20

 

Physical: 5-foot-11, 160-pounds. Long limbs, lean, athletic build. 
Pitching Delivery: Builds momentum with high leg lift and slight turn before striding in line, generates advanced torque with lower half while keeping front shoulder in line before accelerating through a repeatable release and follow through.
Arm Action: Long, electric arm action to a 3/4 release.
FB: T91, 88-91 MPH. Arm side run with life through the zone.
CB: 74-76 MPH. Commands with 11-5 sharp break.
CH: 80-83 MPH. Good arm speed with arm side run.

 

7/24/19

 

Kimball stands a lean, wiry 5-foot-11, 165-pounds with size and strength gains expected. Fluid tempo within the delivery, balanced, has a clean quick arm-swing with a high 3/4 release point. He generates a ton of front-side hand-speed, evidenced by his 88-91 mph FB and upper 70's power slider. FB has late action with natural arm-side run. The Notre Dame commitment is the No. 9 ranked player in NY's deep 2021 class, and 313 in the country respectively.  All signs point north for the greater Utica, NY righty. 

 

10/17/18

 

Currently stands at 5-foot-10, 155 pounds on a lean, athletic frame. Really quick arm and works up-tempo, looking to make opposing batters uncomfortable in the box by jumping on them with first pitch strikes. Fastball mostly sat in the 81-83 mph range with run, but looked harder and showed a good command of the zone. Kept a strong Orlando Scorpions lineup off balance and pitched with confidence by throwing a high percentage of first pitch strikes. Look for Kimball to see a couple more jumps in velocity as he continues to mature.

 

9/23/18

 

Lean, athletic build with projection. 5-foot-9, 135-pounds. Ran a 7.65 60 yard dash. Offensively – Narrow, upright stance, slightly open to the pitcher. Gets squared up after making a controlled, forward move on the ball. Hands consistently work inside of the ball and produce line drive contact. Flashed some lift to his pull-side. Remains balanced thru his finish. Low effort, fluid hitting actions. Exit velocity was 72 MPH. Defensively – Light on his feet with athletic fielding actions. Stays balanced while moving laterally. Fields with a soft glove hand. Quickly funnels ball into throwing motion. Showed the ability to manipulate throwing slot with clean arm action. Arm strength was 82 MPH. Pitching – Simple, repeatable delivery. Adjusted tempo in game to disrupt timing. Stays balanced with consistent body control. Smooth, compact arm action. High ¾ release point. Aggressive finish with extension over his front leg. Generates exceptional hip/shoulder separation. FB topped at 82 MPH and sat 77-81 MPH with riding life thru the zone. Also flashed a CB at 61-64 MPH. CH sat 73 MPH. SL was consistently 75 MPH with late, horizontal bite. Overall, highly projectable arm with an advanced repertoire.

 

7/15/18

 

Hit rope line drives on multiple occasions, got unlucky hitting them right to outfielders. Consistent barrel on compact, strong swing at plate. Impressive arm at third, especially going to backhand side. Came on in relief, throwing 76-77 with late life. Appeared to be high spin rate, lots of swings and misses. Incorporated a hesitation leg kick at times, where he’d pause an extra half second, didn’t disrupt his excellent control.