Prep Baseball Report

Day 3: Texas Spring Break @ Montgomery


Shooter Hunt
National Crosschecker



The best may have been saved for last, as On the Hunt made its way to Montgomery High School for the final day of the first weekend of Texas Spring Break Tournaments. 2018 RHP Adam Kloffenstein (Magnolia HS, TX), a Texas Christian recruit, delivered an outstanding performance both on the mound and at the plate. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder went the distance in a complete game, one-hit shutout, and blasted a solo home run.

Physical with proportional strength on a prototypical workhorse-type frame, Kloffenstein came of the gate running his fastball up to 94 mph. He would settle in at 89-92 for the majority of the game before dipping to 87-90 in the final frame. His velocity plays up harder as the ball appears to come right out of his ear after a short, quick arm stroke. Kloffenstein puts together a polished, simple delivery, and works linear down the mound with aggressive drive from his lower-half. At times, he showed the ability to sink the fastball some to his arm side, but demonstrated more control than command of his fastball, and threw 58 of 87 pitches for strikes. Early on in the game, his breaking ball featured more slider shape at 78-82, and showed tight spin and tilt when thrown at its best. It procured some swings and misses, and he showed the ability to throw it for a strike when needed. Later on in the outing, the breaking ball seemed to shift more towards an 11/5 curveball at 76-78, and had multi-tier break, freezing hitters, and aiding in his ten strikeout total. It showed average to above break when thrown at its best, which was about half of the time. Because he did not need to throw it much, Kloffenstein only threw two changeups (84 mph), which were strikes, and showed some fade in the zone with fastball arm speed.

What stood out most about Kloffenstein was his overall athleticism, and the potential that his frame will fill out considerably in the future. The ball explodes on the plate at times, and while his secondary offerings blended at times, the slider showed glimpses of becoming a swing and miss offering in the future. Combined with a changeup that currently looks to be at least an average pitch, the big right-hander looks to have the makings of a starter moving forward. There is likely more velocity on the way as he continues to fill out, and given the polish of his delivery, and the efficient, linear path that he works down the mound, Kloffenstein may have a chance to make quicker advancements moving forward.


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