By Ethan Silverman
Missouri Scouting Director

The Class of 2015 and 2016 Top Prospect Games had a number of players who turned in top level performances over two days. The following is an analysis of the skill and ability of members of Team Red.

Tyler Henfling, MIF, Greene County HS (AR), Class of 2015:
As he has before, Henfling looks to be one of the most sure handed fielders we have seen over the past few years. Henfling shows advanced footwork with range to both sides, to go along with extremely quick hands and a quick clean transfer and release. While not an overly strong arm (73-mph), his quickness makes up for it. Offensively, the undersized 5-foot-7, 130-pound Henfling has good rhythm at the plate with an athletic setup with a smooth load, taking a short path to the ball and finding the barrel (top exit velocity of 74-mph).  Helfling’s swing is the type that has the ability to consistently put the ball into play.

Adam Kohl, MIF, Kirkwood HS, Class of 2016:
In Infield/outfield drills the 5-foot-8, 150-pound Kohl showed consistent hands in the infield, fielding the ball out in front with good footwork and accurate throws across the diamond (73-mph). His exchange was clean with long arm action and a ¾ arm slot. At the plate, Kohl has a balanced stance with a smooth load and short stride. He showed good bat control, with a long path to the ball and ability to hit to all fields.

Branden Beeler, C/2B, Kirksville HS, Class of 2015:
Beeler is a solidly built 5-foot-7, 155-pound multi-positional player. Behind the plate, Beeler showed quick footwork and a clean exchange with a top pop time of 2.11. In game action, Beeler demonstrated ability to receive ball in all parts of the zone with a stiff wrist as well and showing good instincts and body control while blocking. In the infield, Beeler is a max effort player, going hard to every ball with range to his glove hand side. He has a clean exchange with short arm action and accurate throws to first. Offensively, Beeler has a level, line drive producing swing with some pop in his bat. He showed ability to hit the ball gap to gap with some pull side power.

Bryce Jefferson, OF, Lutheran St. Charles HS, Class of 2015:
Jefferson has a well-built 5-foot-10, 170-pound strong, athletic frame and showed to be strong for his size. At the plate, the left handed hitting Jefferson has little wasted movement with good rhythm, strong hands and looseness in his swing showing some pull side power with backspin carry. His top exit velocity off the bat was 83-mph. In the outfield, Jefferson moves fluidly to the ball with a loose arm and plays through the ball with accurate throws (top throw of 81-mph). Jefferson is a multi-sport athlete who has natural athletic ability.

Matt Winscher, RHP, Ft. Zumwalt West HS, Class of 2015:
Winsher is a lanky 5-foot-10, 145-pound right handed pitcher who comes from a high ¾ arm slot and showed ability to throw three pitches. Winscher does a good job on staying on top of the ball and getting extension on all his pitches. His fastball sat 74-76 mph and was heavy with arm side run and sink action. He also showed a sweeping breaking ball (57-60 mph) and a 64-mph change up with arm side run. His arm speed slowed down a bit of his offspeed pitches. With some mechanical adjustments and continued physical maturity, Winscher has the ability to be an effective pitcher.

Holden Hudson, LHP/OF, Class of 2015:
Hudson is a 5-foot-8, 160-pound two way player who performs a lot bigger than his size indicates. On the mound, Hudson comes from a ¾ arm slot with a quick, loose arm and has a long stride for his size; keeping momentum and down hill action on his pitches. He delivery is deceptive with repeatable mechanics. Hudson’s fastball sat 75-79 mph, topping at 81-mph with late arm side run and sink while continuously being thrown for a strike. His breaking ball (62-64 mph) was sharp and tight with late break, perhaps his best pitch. Hudson also threw a 66-68 mph change up with near fastball arm speed that had some cut action. In the outfield, Hudson shows good footwork to the ball, with a clean exchange and plays through, showing an accurate arm with a top throw of 78-mph. At the plate, the left handed hitter has a short, compact swing with a slightly uphill bat path and showed some pop for a player of his size. There was little wasted movement in his swing and his mechanics were repeatable.

Alex Roy, 3B/MIF, Bowling Green HS, Class of 2015:
Roy is a solidly built, 6-foot, 170-pound middle infielder who has shown progression since his last event. Roy has very sound and fundamental fielding mechanics, with the ability to be a top-level fielder in the Class of 2015. Roy has a sure glove with quick footwork and soft, sure hands. He shows good range to both sides with good body control and a quick transfer and release with accurate throws. Offensively, Roy has solid fundamentals.  He displayed a balanced stance with fluid rhythm, smooth load, and short stride. He showed quick hand speed and a level swing, working the middle of the field well. Roy had an exit velocity of 85-mph off the bat

Grant Geppert, RHP/OF, Highland HS (IL), Class of 2015:
Geppert is a lanky 6-foot-1, 160 two-way player who showed some ability both on the mound and at the plate. On the mound, Geppert showed that while he will not beat hitters with an overpowering fastball, he is very effective in changing speeds and throwing all of his pitches for strikes on both sides of the plate to create a lot of ground ball outs. His heavy fastball was kept down in the zone and topped at 77-mph with late run and sink action. He creates a good down hill angle on his fastball. Geppert’s breaking ball had 11-to-5 shape with late break and was thrown with near fastball arm speed and his change up showed arm side run and some depth. Geppert has very good mound presence and knows how to pitch. In the outfield, Geppert moves well to the ball and showed some arm speed on his throws, with a top throw of 84 mph. At the plate, the left handed hitting Geppert displays a level, controlled swing with good use of his hands. His swing was a bit long at times but still managed to barrel up the ball and hit it to the gaps.

Jacob Schlesenser, LHP/OF, Logan-Rogersville HS, Class of 2015:
On the mound, the lanky 6-foot-2, 170-pound Schlesener displayed a loose, quick arm with all three pitches around the strike zone. His fastball was thrown in the 81-83 mph range, we have seen him throw it harder and have no doubt that he should be and will be consistently in the mid-80s. Schlesener showed command of his fastball throwing it on both sides of the plate and keeping it down in the zone. His breaking ball had good, tight spin and late movement, creating quite a few swings and misses. His change up was thrown in the 74-75 mph range with some depth and arm side run.

Matthew McCauley, OF/RHP, Vianney, Class of 2015:
McCauley is an athletic 6-foot, 170-pound two way player. In the outfield, he shows athletic movements to the ball with good footwork and a clean exchange. McCauley has long arm action with some accuracy and a top throw of 75-mph. At the plate, McCauley has some rhythm with a level swing and extension through contact and ability to hit the ball gap-to-gap. Due some discomfort in his back McCauley’s pitching was cut short, but left us wanting us to see more when he is completely healthy.

Ben Nobs, C/OF, CBC, Class of 2015:
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Nobs has an athletic frame and strong lower half. Behind the plate Nobs has a solid base and displayed above average blocking skills, especially in game play. He showed ability to handle pitches in all parts of the zone, with soft hands and a firm wrist.  Offensively, Nobs has a slightly crouched stance and a short stride. His bat takes a slight uphill path to the ball and shows consistent ability to hit line drives. In game play, Nobs was one of only a few hitters with multiple hits, showing some pull power and driving the ball over the left fielders’ head on a few occasions, and impressed with aggressive base running. Nobs is a max effort player in everything he does on the field.

Joe Brawner, 1B/LHP, Kirksville HS, Class of 2015:
Brawner is a strong-bodied 6-foot-4, 225-pound two-way player. On the mound, Brawner works quickly with good temp and rhythm. He comes from a ¾ arm slot and delivers his pitches with regular effort and displays command of the strike zone. Brawner’s fastball was thrown in the 74-76 mph range with slight arm side movement. His breaking ball has 10-to-4 shape thrown consistently for a strike with near fastball arm speed and sharp, late break. He also showed a 66-68 mph change up. At first base, Brawner moves well around the bag with sure hands and accurate throws when turning double plays. Offensively, the big lefty has strong hands and creates barrel whip through the zone. His swing is long and level with extension through contact and pull side power.

Blake Clynes, LHP, Eureka HS, Class of 2015:
Clynes has a very projectable 6-foot-3, 190-pound pitchers frame, and as he continues to mature physically, we expect to see steady increases in his velocity on the mound. The left-handed thrower comes from a high ¾ arm slot and shows quick arm speed and long, loose arm action. His fastball sat 81-83 with slight run, and we think there are a few more miles per hour in the tank with this pitch. He also showed a sharp 1-to-7 breaking ball (63-65 mph) with near fastball arm speed that stayed down in the zone and a 68-70 mph change up with late arm side movement that also stayed down in the zone.  Clynes also threw a late moving cut fastball in the 71-74 mph range.

Tanner Cantrell, 1B, Houston HS, Class of 2015:
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Cantrell impressed with his ability at the plate and at first base. Offensively, Cantrell uses an explosive lower half and strong hands to generate quick bat speed through the zone and drive it with pull side power.  At first base, the strong-bodied Cantrell has good footwork around the base and sure hands. He also showed some skill at third base during games, with quick reaction to the ball, and keeping everything in front of him.