By Adam Akin
Director of Scouting

The 2017 PBR Tennessee Top Prospect Games took place on Tuesday, June 13 and Wednesday, June 14 at Hawkins Field on the campus of Vanderbilt University and included a position player workout, followed by three 9-inning games each day. Players were afforded the opportunity to showcase their abilities in front of the PBR Tennessee staff and many college coaches in attendance. The following is our evaluation of the top outfielders to compete in this year’s event.

OUTFIELDERS

Luke Bradshaw, OF, Lebanon, 2020
H-1B: 4.48, Position Velocity:  OF-85, Exit Velocity: 94
6'2, 180-pound, LHH has an athletic build and used the Top Prospect Games to build upon his already impressive body of work.  Bradshaw put together a solid round of BP and has loosened up at the plate to add some quickness and strength through contact.  With power potential, he has the ability to hit the ball where it’s pitched and can drive the ball to both gaps.  Defensively, he moves confidently and athletically through the ball and is continuing to take better and better routes.  His arm strength continues to develop and adds yet another tool to his arsenal.  Bradshaw hit a few balls hard and came up with a single on a hard line drive to left-center.

Hunter Crawford, OF, Beech, 2018
H-1B: 4.30, Position Velocity: 82, Exit Velocity: 81
6’1, 185-pound, RHH has an athletic build and is even stronger than he looks.  Crawford is very relaxed at the plate and is able to generate a ton of bat speed with a bat path that travels slightly up through contact.  He uses very good rhythm and consistently barrels balls to all fields.  Crawford hits the ball much harder than the 81 mph exit velo he registered at the event and has hit 88 at previous PBR events.  Defensively, he moves through the ball well and can cover some ground with well above-average footspeed.  His arm strength can and should continue to improve to give him some more carry on his throws from the outfield.  Crawford turned heads by finishing 4-5 in game play and should be a huge asset for Beech’s offense again next season.

Brycen Johnson, OF, Roane County, 2018
H-1B: 4.57, Position Velocity: 78, Exit Velocity: 82
6’0, 185-pound, LHH was one of the most solid and well-rounded players at the event.  Johnson doesn’t necessarily have one area that sets him apart, but an ability to contribute efficiently in every facet of the game.  His swing is simple and consistent and repeatedly produces line drives.  He likes to pull the ball, but can go the other way when he needs to.  He has a good approach at the plate and produced 5 solid at-bats in game play.  Defensively, he is able to make all of the routine plays and isn’t scared to play through the ball aggressively.  Johnson plays faster than his 4.57 H-1B time would suggest, while his arm strength and carry on his throws could improve, but is already good enough to play LF at the next level.  During game play, he finished 2-5 with 2 singles and hard-hit ball to second baseman.

Hunter Lautzenheiser, OF, Davidson Academy, 2020
H-1B: 4.61, Position Velocity: 84, Exit Velocity: 93
6’0, 190-pound, LHH continues to impress at the plate as one of the top hitters in the 2020 class.  With his athletic frame and strong build, Lautzenheiser is able to hit balls with more pop than most his age.  His swing is simple with a no-stride approach, but is able to generate some torque with a wide base and strong lower half involvement.  His bat path is slightly up through contact, allowing him to really drive balls in the air with some power.  Defensively, Lautzenheiser gets a little anxious in the outfield, but is more than capable of making the routine plays.  With some more experience and a little more comfortability, he should see some improvements there, as well.  Arm strength is there and will only get better with time.  Lautzenheiser went 1-2 in game play with a broken jaw.

Grant Livesay, OF, Alcoa, 2020
H-1B: 4.48, Position Velocity: 84, Exit Velocity: 82
5’11, 165-pound, RHH came onto the scene last summer, but made a statement with his performance at this year’s Top Prospect Games.  Livesay moves very athletically and has a quickness that allows him to do a lot of things on the field.  At the plate, he uses a toe-tap and stride that can throw off his timing on occasion, but is able to recuperate and has no trouble getting the barrel to the ball.  Livesay has quick hands and is able to spray the ball to all fields.  Defensively, he moves aggressively in the outfield with confidence and can play through the ball quickly.  Livesay’s arm works very well and whips through with a quickness that suggests a potential jump in velocity in the years to come.  In game play, he went 2-3 with a double and a walk in game play.

Matt McCurry, OF, Siegel, 2018
H-1B: 4.38, Position Velocity: 83, Exit Velocity: 88
5’10, 175-pound, RHH is another solid prospect in the 2018 class that is going to end up being a steal for any collegiate program that is lucky enough to get him on board.  McCurry is a little raw in everything he does, but consistently produces on both sides of the ball.  Offensively, he finds the barrel on a regular basis and has enough pop to become a legitimate doubles threat down the road.  McCurry shows good confidence and takes a very mature approach to the plate.  Defensively, he covers more ground than you may think and isn’t afraid to lay out for a ball in a big situation.  His arm strength has continued to improve and now shows more carry than we have seen from him in the past.  McCurry went 2-2 with a double in the first game and unfortunately had to get on the road for a weekend tournament.

Reid Nelson, OF, Hendersonville, 2018
H-1B: 4.51, Position Velocity: 91, Exit Velocity: 77
5’11, 160-pound, RHH showed some of the most pure athleticism in the entire event through his work in the outfield.  Nelson has good footwork and moves around the field much quicker than even his 4.51 H-1B time would suggest.  He plays an aggressive outfield and uses good routes and an efficient first step to track down balls that others simply cannot.  His arm strength was the best we saw and produced some throws on a line that consistently found their target.  Offensively, Nelson cuts himself off a little bit, but still produces more bat speed than his 77 mph exit velo suggests.  He seemed to like to pull the ball, but has no trouble shooting a ball out over the plate back up the middle.  Nelson is a high ceiling athlete that could really develop with the right coaching staff.  He finished 1-4 at the plate in game play.

Connor Patton, OF, Ravenwood, 2018
H-1B: 4.51, Position Velocity: 81, Exit Velocity: 95
6’3, 185-pound, RHH is another high ceiling prospect with some size and natural athleticism that is hard to teach.  Patton produced the highest exit velo of the event, generating some serious leverage through the use of his lower half and long arms.  When he’s able to get extended and through the ball, he shows some real power potential and the ability to drives balls deep.  Patton moves well in the outfield and continuously stays under control throughout the play.  His arm action is long and loose and he should be able to add some more strength to his frame in the next couple of years.  He likes to pull the ball and put together a few solid at-bats in gameplay, walking once.

Garrett Schultz, OF, Ensworth, 2019
H-1B: 4.32, Position Velocity: 89, Exit Velocity: 91
5’11, 165-pound, RHH retained his position as one of the top outfielders in Tennessee’s 2019 class.  Schultz is very athletic and utilizes quick-twitch muscles through everything he does.  At the plate, he stays very loose and uses a leg kick to free up his lower half at the beginning of the swing.  Schultz’s swing plane flattens out through contact and produces a line drive approach.  He has the ability to hit the ball to all fields, but really seems to pepper the left-center gap in BP.  Schultz is one of the best defensive outfielders around and plays through the ball with a ton of confidence and athleticism.  His arm strength is a separator, as his throws have a ton of carry and get to their target in a hurry.  In game play, Schultz finished 2-5 and reached by an error on a hard-hit ball to shortstop.

Ethan Smith, OF, Warren County, 2018
H-1B: 4.29, Position Velocity: 75, Exit Velocity 78
5’10, 160-pound, LHH plays extremely hard and caught the eyes of PBR staff just as much, or more, than anyone else that attended the Top Prospect Games.  On a number of occasions, we caught ourselves saying “who was that?”  Whether it was busting it down the line on a routine ground ball, stealing a base, or chasing down a ball in the outfield, Smith just seemed to be everywhere.  At the plate, he showed a swing with decent rhythm and a flat bat path that generated some line drives.  He could use a little more lower half involvement to generate more bat speed.  Defensively, he stayed very much under control and showed the ability to make a number of different plays.  Smith’s arm strength does have room for improvement, but can surely be developed.

Garrett Smith, OF, Brentwood Academy, 2018
H-1B: 4.28, Position Velocity: 76, Exit Velocity: 82
6’1, 175-pound, RHH showed some athleticism and natural strength that gives him an edge in a few areas of the game.  When he got the barrel to the ball, Smith showed some of the most impressive pop in the entire event and the ability to drive the ball through the left-center gap.  His bat speed and strength through contact suggest a much higher exit velo than the 82 he produced, but he has recorded an 88 at a previous PBR event.  His swing plane is slightly up through contact and helps to drive through the pitch.  Defensively, he stays under control and seems to have pretty good footwork.  Smith uses a very low-effort arm action and release, as his position velocity would likely see a jump with the use of his lower body.  He finished game play 2-3 with a double and 2 walks on the day.

Garrett Spain, OF, Clarksville, 2018
H-1B: 4.40, Position Velocity: 88, Exit Velocity 84
5’10, 165-pound, LHH is one of the most well-balanced players to compete in the Top Prospect Games.  Spain uses a balanced and simple approach at the plate to produce solid line drives with some carry through a flat swing plane.  A doubles threat, he has the ability to hit the ball where it’s pitched in any count and can turn on one in a heartbeat.  Defensively, Spain covers a lot of ground and takes some of the best routes you’ll see from a player of his age.  His arm strength was impressive and produced accurate throws with some very good carry from the outfield.  In game play, he finished 2-4 with a double and a sac fly.