By Chris Fuller
PBR Tennessee

The second of our two Preseason Preview events took place at Turner Baseball Academy in Chattanooga on January 31, and there were several solid performances turned in. Complete stats and top statistical performers were previously posted shortly after the event.

CLICK HERE to view that information.

The following is a look at the group of middle infielders who attended the event. This is position player analysis only. Those middle infielders who also participated as a pitcher at the event had their pitching performance featured in a previous article.

Middle Infielders

Christian Dixon, RHP/SS, Ensworth, 2018
Home-1^st: 4.66, Position Velocity:  IF-79, Exit Velocity: 81
5-foot-11, 180-pound right-handed hitter with athletic frame, hits from an open stance and gets to square with a leg kick trigger and short stride, short swing path produces above average bat speed, creates some lift at contact and shows good power that should continue to develop. Moves athletically in the infield with sure hands, a long high-3/4 release produced mostly accurate throws, good arm strength that should continue to get better. Dixon has the potential to be a high-level 2018 prospect.

Clark Poynter, SS, Bearden, 2017
Home-1^st: 4.79, Position Velocity:  IF-81, Exit Velocity: 83
6-foot, 170-pound right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance, a leg kick trigger and mid-length stride initiate the swing, has developed into an aggressive hitter who looks to attack the baseball, showed good pull-side power while also showing the ability to use all fields, consistently squared the baseball in his round of BP. Shows soft hands and works through the ball well with good athleticism, showed his best arm strength to date from a high-3/4 release that produced accurate throws, good body control with ability to throw on the move. Poynter shows a good combination of offensive and defensive ability.

Taylor Lawson, 2B, Grace Christian, 2017
Home-1^st: 4.60, Position Velocity:  IF-81, Exit Velocity: 87
5-foot-9, 172-pound right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance, short stride, good use of lower half torque in swing generates above average bat speed, short swing path with extension through contact, showed a mid to pull approach with several line drives in his round. Showed soft hands and an ability to work through the baseball, big jump in arm strength with accurate throws across the diamond. Lawson has continued to improve his game and has the potential to be a solid all-around player at the next level.

Hudson Chastain, SS, Christian Academy of Knoxville, 2017
Home-1^st: 4.84, Position Velocity:  IF-76, Exit Velocity: 81
5-foot-11, 165-pound left-handed hitter took an impressive round of BP. Hits from a balanced setup, a slight leg kick and aggressive stride initiate the swing, attacks the ball aggressively, showed a very noticeable increase in bat speed from previous event, swing path produced consistent line drives with a gap to gap approach. Hands are soft and works fluidly through the baseball with good footwork, high-3/4 release produced much better arm strength from previous event and very accurate throws, good body control and ability to throw on the move. Chastain has made very good strides in his game.

Cruz Bautista, 2B/RHP, McCallie, 2017
Home-1^st: 4.78, Position Velocity:  IF-79, Exit Velocity: 74
6-foot-1, 155-pound right handed hitter hits from a balanced stance, short stride, loose hands generate better bat speed than exit velocity would indicate, relatively flat bat path that produced hard line drive contact to all fields in a solid round of BP, has potential to develop some gap to gap pop as he fills out frame. Moves athletically in the infield with active feet and soft hands, high-3/4 release produced mostly accurate throws with average arm strength, displays good body control.

Joshua Perez, SS, Soddy Daisy, 2018
Home-1^st: 4.86 (left side), Position Velocity:  IF-80, Exit Velocity: R-75, L-79
6-foot, 155-pound switch-hitter, hits from a balanced stance from both sides of the plate, a slight leg kick and short stride initiate the swing, has some length in swing while maintaining good balance, showed more of an opposite field approach from the left side, uses all fields from the right side, offensive game will continue to develop with added strength. Showed good lateral movement and solid hands defensively, a long high-3/4 release produced accurate throws across the diamond, good arm strength plays well on the left side of the infield, definitely a player to follow in the 2018 class.

Logan Henry, 2B, Lenoir City, 2016
Home-1^st: 4.89, Position Velocity:  IF-76, Exit Velocity: 82
5-foot-11, 165-pound right-handed hitter hits from a balanced stance, uses a leg kick trigger and short stride to initiate swing, shows bat speed through the zone, short path produced good gap to gap power as the ball jumped off his barrel in a good round of BP, showed much improved use of lower half from previous event and a significant jump in exit velocity. Defensively, Henry showed good hands and above average lateral movement, long ¾ release produced accurate throws with a slight increase in arm strength from his previous event.

Garrett Breeden, 2B, Christian Academy of Knoxville, 2018
Home-1^st: 4.65, Position Velocity:  IF-69, Exit Velocity: 74
5-foot-10, 165-pound left-handed hitter showed an increase in measurables across the board from his previous event. Hits from a balanced stance, short stride, has a hand-hitch that he uses as a timing mechanism, took a solid round of BP that produced line drives to all fields, has gotten physically stronger and it showed. Showed good defensive hands, can be more aggressive and fluid in playing through the ball, short ¾ release with average arm strength that has shown some improvement.

Skylar Stalcup, RHP/SS, Powell, 2018
Home-1^st: 5.27, Position Velocity:  IF-75, Exit Velocity: 78
6-foot-1, 168-pound right-handed hitter showed a more athletic stance than previously, loads back with a slight leg kick and short stride to get him going, showed his best exit velocity to date, bat path is relatively flat, line drive type hitter with gap to gap approach. Defensively, showed adequate hands and some ability to work through the baseball, a long high-3/4 release produced accurate throws and similar velocity to his last event. Stalcup’s current best tool is his bat. He will need to continue to improve foot speed and arm strength for the SS position.