Adam Akin
Director of Scouting

The 2016 CrossHit Baseball PBR Day took place on Saturday, December 10 at their new and impressive indoor facility in Gallatin, TN and included a position player workout and pitcher bullpens. Players were afforded the opportunity to showcase their abilities in front of the PBR Tennessee staff. The following is our evaluation of every position player from their 16U Black team that was in attendance.

 

Outfielders

Hunter Crawford, OF, Beech, 2018
60 Time: 6.82, Position Velocity:  OF-78, Exit Velocity: 88
6-foot-1, 185-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance, uses an abbreviated leg kick and closed stride with a slight lowering and movement back with his hands to get loaded, lower half fires to get him going but is held back a little bit by his closed alignment, bat path can get steep at times but is mostly flat through the zone, uses his strength to really get through the ball, tightens up at times, gap-to-gap pop with the ability to hit it just about anywhere on the field.  Defensively, showed good hands and footwork in the outfield, played through the ball aggressively and with confidence, smooth exchange led to a long arm action through a low ¾, can improve carry on throws. 

Braden Yeargin, OF, Oakland, 2018
60 Time: 6.92, Position Velocity:  OF-84, Exit Velocity: 84
6-foot-1, 155-pound, RHH hits from a more narrow and open stance, hands begin very loose and relaxed, uses a longer and smooth stride with a subtle push back of his bottom hand to get loaded, lower half fires through and creates some very good separation, stays strong and well-balanced, swing plane is flat through the ball with some slight light, really gets behind the ball well and drives through it, solid with gap-to-gap potential, seems to be able to hit it anywhere.  Defensively, showed good hands and average footwork in the outfield, didn’t continue playing through the ball consistently well, throws were nearly all arm although from a loose action through a ¾ slot.

Trenton Milliken, OF/RHP, SCHS, 2018
60 Time: 6.96, Position Velocity:  OF-83, IF-80, Exit Velocity: 81
5-foot-10, 160-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance with some initially high hand placement, uses a toe-tap and stride with a lowering and movement back with his hands to get loaded, lower half works well to get through although he can over-rotate at times, bat path is slightly upward through the zone and on plane with the pitch as his hands come from a strong position, rolled over a few times but is at his best when staying up the middle.  Defensively, showed good hands and above-average footwork in the outfield, played through the ball aggressively, transfer is quick and leads to a long arm action through a ¾ slot, showed versatility by participating in the infield.

Austin Loftis, OF, Oakland, 2018
60 Time: 6.69, Position Velocity:  OF-75, Exit Velocity: 82
5-foot-7, 150-pound, LHH hits from a narrow and open stance with some upright posture to begin, uses a short stride to get back to even with a very slight and subtle bat wrap to get loaded, lower half works to get in all of the right positions but doesn’t explode like it seems he’s capable of, bat path can be a little steep into the zone but seems to flatten out with some lift at the end, singles approach but can spray the ball all over. Defensively, showed good hands and footwork in the outfield while playing through the ball with confidence, seemed to slow down throughout his exchange which could have affected his velo, arm action is a little shorter for an outfielder and comes from a high ¾ angle.

Nathan Rhodes, LHP/OF, Merrol Hyde Magnet, 2019
60 Time: 7.73, Position Velocity:  , Exit Velocity: 84
6-foot-3, 168-pound, LHH hits from a balanced and closed stance with more upright posture, uses a leg kick and stride with a lowering of his hands to get loaded, lower half is powerful and does a good job getting through, considering how closed he is, swing plane is flat through the zone and gets good extension through the ball with his long arms, lift at the very end of his swing allows him to really drive the ball when he squares it up.

First Basemen

Jayden McMurray, 3B, Station Camp, 2019
60 Time: 8.09, Position Velocity:  IF-74, Exit Velocity: 86
6-foot-0, 220-pound, RHH hits from a more narrow and open stance with some taller posture, uses a toe-tap and stride with a push back of his hands to get loaded, lower half works very well and creates some good separation and balance, bat path is a little steep through the zone but is able to get through the ball most of the time, some potential power in the tank.  Defensively, showed very good hands and good footwork around the bag, could be a + defensive 1B, exchange is clean and leads to a short arm action through a high ¾ slot, has the ability to play 3B as well.

Cooper Jackson, RHP/1B, Station Camp, 2019
60 Time: 7.28, Position Velocity:  IF-77, Exit Velocity: 84
6-foot-2, 175-pound, RHH hits from a narrower and closed stance with some upright posture, uses a pretty generic stride and a substantial movement back with his hands to get loaded, lower half struggles to create much separation because of his closed alignment, swing plane is usually flat through the zone but can get steep on balls that are down, at his best when staying toward right-center.  Defensively, showed good hands and above-average footwork around the bag, fielded the ball cleanly, exchange included a glove pat and led to a long arm action through a nearly over-the-top slot.

Matthew Crittenden, RHP/1B, Franklin Simpson (KY), 2018
60 Time: 7.71, Position Velocity:   Exit Velocity: 78
6-foot-2, 195-pound, RHH hits from a wide and even stance with a good amount of initial hand movement, uses a simple opening of his front foot and a pause of his hand movement to get loaded, lower half doesn’t quite work like it could and keeps him very tall throughout his swing, bat path is short and steep through the ball, produced some pop ups and hard ground balls.

Middle Infielders

Zachary Sliger, RHP/2B, Franklin-Simpson (KY), 2019
60 Time: 7.70, Position Velocity:  IF-78, Exit Velocity: 78
5-foot-11, 180-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and open stance with quite a bit of initial bat movement to start, usually uses a short stride but mixed in a couple of leg kicks with a lowering of his hands to get loaded, lower half works early but holds back a little bit at times, at his best when he stays balanced, bat path was a little steep and produced a lot of spin or ground balls.  Defensively, showed pretty good hands and above-average footwork in the infield, stayed back too much on occasion, arm action is short and release comes through a low ¾ slot.

Cole Heinze, SS/RHP, Franklin-Simpson (KY), 2019
60 Time: 7.51, Position Velocity:  IF-78, Exit Velocity: 79
6-foot-1, 160-pound, RHH hits from a more narrow and open stance, uses a smooth and longer stride with nothing more than a slight tilt of the barrel to get loaded, lower half gets in some good positions but doesn’t have much power yet, bat path is a little steep with a stronger top hand, tends to roll over on ground balls when he strays from a middle approach.  Defensively, showed above-average hands and footwork in the infield, usually made an attempt to play through the ball, arm action was short and somewhat stiff through a ¾ slot.

Third Basemen

Zach Boze, 3B/C, Station Camp, 2019
60 Time: 7.48, Pop Time: 2.06-2.14, Position Velocity:  IF-76, C-72, Exit Velocity: 83
6-foot-2, 160-pound, RHH hits from the same taller and balanced stance we have seen from him before, hands stay loose, uses a smooth and longer stride with some rhythmic hand movement back to get loaded, lower half fires well and puts him in a very strong position, swing plane is very flat through the zone with some lift at the end, continuously shows gap-to-gap pop with an ability to hit the ball anywhere on the field.  Defensively, showed good hands and footwork at the corner, plays through the ball with confidence, transfer leads to a short arm action through an over-the-top slot, very accurate throws across the infield, showed versatility by participating as a catcher with good hands. 

Jordan Jones, 3B, Franklin-Simpson (KY), 2018
60 Time: 7.15, Position Velocity:  IF-78, Exit Velocity: 91
5-foot-11, 185-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance with some very high initial hand positioning, uses a short stride and a drastic lowering and push back of his hands to get loaded, lower half fires with some real aggression but does pull him up and forward a little bit, bat path comes slightly up through the zone and on plane with the pitch, really drives through the ball with some pop, consistently drove balls toward the left-center gap.  Defensively, showed above-average hands and footwork at the corner, could’ve played through the ball more aggressively, exchange includes a glove pat and leads to a short arm action through a ¾ slot.

Dylan Erwin, 3B, Hendersonville, 2019
60 Time: 7.50, Position Velocity:  IF-66, Exit Velocity: 68
5-foot-5, 125-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance with his barrel laid back in his stance, uses a generic stride and a push back of his hands to get loaded, lower half works early but isn’t able to get his hips cleared until well after contract and holds him back, swing plane is generally pretty flat but doesn’t stay in the zone very long, singles approach with a lot of ground balls.  Defensively, showed above-average hands and footwork at the corner, could’ve played through the ball more smoothly, arm action is short through a high ¾ slot, velocities should improve with some physical maturity.

Catchers

Quentin Kitchens, OF/C, Franklin Simpson (KY), 2018
60 Time: 7.00, Pop Time: 1.97-2.09, Position Velocity:  OF-81, C-74, Exit Velocity: 87
6-foot-0, 190-pound, RHH hits from a wider and slightly open stance with a hiked up back elbow, uses an abbreviated leg kick and a short and closed stride with a lowering of his hands to get loaded, lower half tries to get going but is cut off a little bit by his closed alignment, bat path was pretty flat but sat back a little too much and didn’t get all the way through the ball at times, could produce some power down the road.  Defensively, showed above-average hands and good footwork behind the plate, exchange comes lower but leads to a short arm action through an over-the-top slot, also showed athleticism by participating as an outfielder. 

Logan Smith, C/IF, Station Camp, 2019
60 Time: 7.62, Pop Time: 2.14-2.28, Position Velocity:  C-71, IF-72, Exit Velocity: 78
6-foot-0, 155-pound, RHH hits from a more narrow and slightly open stance with his hands rested just above his back shoulder, uses a longer stride and a smooth pushback of his bottom hand to get loaded, lower half struggled early in his round but worked well and certainly cleared his hips toward the end of his round, swing plane is mostly flat through the zone but can get a little steep on balls down, seemed to stay middle a lot.  Defensively, showed above-average hands and footwork behind the plate, transfer was high and clean but led to throws through a low ¾ slot, could develop some more carry on throws to 2B, showed versatility by competing in the infield.