By Adam Akin
Director of Scouting

The 2016 PBR Tennessee Top Prospect Games took place on Tuesday, June 14 and Wednesday, June 15 and included a position player workout, followed by three 9 inning games each day. Players were afforded the opportunity to showcase their abilities to the PBR Tennessee staff and many college coaches in attendance. The following is our evaluation of every position player that was assigned to the White Team in Tuesday’s action.

OUTFIELDERS

Charlie Brown, OF/2B, Sevier County, 2017
60 Time: 6.87, Position Velocity:  OF-91, IF-86, Exit Velocity: 80
5'11, 175-pound, RHH hits from a tall and barely open stance and uses a unique double stride and a subtle barrel tilt to establish his load.  Lower half fires but doesn’t quite get all the way through, causing him to come around some balls in BP, hands are good and allow him to get through balls on plane with the potential for some gap-to-gap power, ability to hit the balls to all areas of the field.  Defensively, was able to really show off his athleticism through his versatility.  In the outfield, used an aggressive approach to the ball and his ability to work through it to his advantage, used a long and loose arm action through an over-the-top arm slot to show off a very strong arm with a lot of life.  In the infield, showed the ability to play multiple positions and wide range of tools with his sure hands and quickness, footwork could be brushed up.  Brown is one of the top uncommitted 2017 graduates.

Cooper Cook, OF/RHP, Knox Halls, 2018
60 Time: 6.86, Position Velocity:  OF-88, Exit Velocity: 85
6'0, 170-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and uses a short, rhythmic stride and a good barrel tilt to get himself going at the plate.  Lower half works well and allows him to really get his back side through the zone, stays very balanced and uses good stability to at strength to his swing, bat path is short and stays flat through the zone the majority of the time, struggled with some lower pitches but was able to get through balls up in the zone. Defensively, showed good athleticism and feel for the position, worked through balls very aggressively while staying under control,  good hands and a smooth exchange help him get rid of the ball efficiently and with good arm strength through an over the top angle with some loose action.  Cook had 2 hits in game play and is an athletic player to keep an eye on in the 2018 class.

Chase Haley, OF/RHP, Creek Wood, 2017
60 Time: 7.02, Position Velocity:  86, Exit Velocity: 86
6'0, 170-pound, RHH hits from an athletic and open stance and uses a leg kick to get himself going.  Hands actually come up a bit to combine with his leg kick to form a load, lower half gets through and stays behind the ball, allowing his back side to help get his bat on plane and stay through the zone for a long time, showed ability to drive the ball deep and hit it all over the park in BP, good rhythm and ability to stay behind the ball really helps maintain his balance.  Defensively, worked through the ball well and showed good hands and a quick release from an over-the-top arm angle to get good carry on some strong and accurate throws to home plate.  Can get stiff from time to time, but has the ability to develop into a very good player at the next level, had 3 hits and a stolen base in game play.

Evan Porter, OF/RHP, Maryville, 2017
60 Time: 7.22, Position Velocity:  OF-90, Exit Velocity: 82
6'0, 190-pound, RHH hits from a balanced, open, and athletic stance with fairly high hands that he drops down into a good slot at the time of his leg kick and stride.  Lower half works but sometimes pushes him forward and prevents him from getting his backside through the ball.  When right, Porter showed gap-to-gap pop and the ability to drive the ball, swing plane allows him to stay in the zone a long time and get the ball in the air.  Defensively, begins approach to the ball a little flat-footed but picks up the pace and plays through the ball well, could be more aggressive, long exchange and a short arm action from a high ¾ arm slot produced some very good arm strength from the outfield.

Sam Donato, RHP/OF, Father Ryan, 2017
60 Time: 7.16, Position Velocity:  OF-84, Exit Velocity: 82
6'2, 165-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance with a fairly high hand position in his initial set up.  Uses slight movement of his body to build momentum as he showed very little movement of his hands and no real stride to speak of in his load, lower half works correctly but doesn’t explode like you’d want to see, back elbow drops into a slot very well and allows his barrel to get flat through the zone and the ball, could get better extension but stays behind the ball well.  Defensively, stays under control and puts himself in a good position to work through the ball, doesn’t approach it very aggressively, uses good hands, a clean exchange, athleticism and lanky figure to get some good arm strength behind his throws out of an over-the-top slot.

Blake Rauhuff, OF/LHP, Knox Halls, 2019
60 Time: 7.49, Position Velocity:  OF-79, Exit Velocity: 83
5'11, 175-pound, LHH hits from an athletic and open stance and uses a leg kick and a reasonably long stride to get his lower body in a position to hit, hands start high and load backwards as his leg kick begins.  Lower half participates, but sometimes causes him to lunge forward throw his balance off a bit, hands drag and pull the bat through the zone, swing is fairly flat and has the ability to produce some hard line drives when he stays behind the ball throughout.  Defensively, approached the ball under control and showed sure hands and a clean exchange, would like to see him be a little quicker in his actions, used a long and loose arm action from an over-the-top arm angle to get the ball in with some accuracy.

Stokes Needham, OF, Webb  of Knoxville, 2018
60 Time: 6.84, Position Velocity:  OF-77, Exit Velocity: 76
6'1, 170-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and uses a toe tap and stride, along with some bat waggle, to get into his loaded position.  Stays tall throughout his swing and doesn’t really allow his lower half to get as involved as he could, sometimes rushes to get front foot planted and causes a timing issue with his hands, handsy swing that produced some low line drives in BP.  Defensively, showed a good feel for outfield play and uses a long and sometimes stiff arm action through an over-the-top arm slot to get the ball in, some accuracy and average arm strength, good hands and a clean exchange help make up for some of the arm strength he may be lacking.

First basemen

Wes Duffield, 1B, Murfreesboro Central Magnet, 2017
60 Time: 7.24, Position Velocity:  IF-80, Exit Velocity: 77
6'7, 210-pound, LHH hits from an athletic, balanced, and slightly open stance and begins with the bat resting comfortably on his shoulder, uses a rhythmed stride/small leg kick and a lifting and tilting of his hands to get himself ready to go.  Lower half fires through the zone and give him a strong and balanced base to operate on, lower half’s aggressiveness allows his barrel to get in a good place and promotes a bat path that comes up through the zone and really allows him to drive the ball in the air.  Athletic and lanky build allow him to get good extension through the ball and produced a couple of balls to the warning track in BP and a deep triple in game play.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork around the bag, but displayed a very clean transfer and arm action from an over-the-top arm slot that probably comes from having been a pitcher, arm showed accuracy and good carry. Duffield has continued to show improvements to his game. 

Colby Bumgarner, 1B, Beech, 2018
60 Time: 7.91, Position Velocity:  IF-64, Exit Velocity: 82
6'3, 190-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance and really uses nothing more than a front heel lift and a slight push back of the hands to constitute his load.  Lower half holds him back as he rarely gets his back side through the zone and finishes on his heels from time to time, strong kid does get through the ball well but could do it with much more pop, swing path promotes some lift but finish gets cut off at times.  Defensively, showed good hands and average footwork around the bag, clearly knows the position well and has the ability to make plays, exchange and release took a while but can easily be brushed up, arm played below average through a high ¾ arm slot with some accuracy.

Middle infielders

Clark Poynter, SS, Bearden, 2017
60 Time: did not run, Position Velocity:  IF-84, Exit Velocity: 84
6'0, 172-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and uses a rhythmic leg kick and barrel tilt to really get himself going.  Lower half is engaged by his leg kick and fires through the zone at just the right time, back side does a great job of getting the barrel on plane and through the pitch as Poynter’s swing ends with some lift that really helps him drive the ball from gap-to-gap, stays balanced and uses entire body throughout his swing, produced 2 hits and a hard line-out to the 3B in game play.  Defensively, showed good footwork and soft hands as he played through the ball very well, is a glove flipper, used a clean transfer and a short arm action through a high ¾ arm slot to produce accurate throws with carry from the shortstop position.  Poynter showed very well and will be one unsigned senior to watch this fall.

Hayden Layne, RHP/SS, Hendersonville, 2019
60 Time: 7.36, Position Velocity:  IF-72, Exit Velocity: 73
6'1, 170-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and uses a small stride and some rhythmic barrel tilt to initiate his load.  Lower half works well and allows his hands to get in a good slot and get the barrel on plane, stays pretty flat through the zone and showed a little bit of lift that resulted in some solid line drives that he sprayed around the field, finished well and balanced and had 3 hits in game play. Defensively, showed average footwork and okay hands at the shortstop position, used a quick exchange and arm action through an over-the-top release point to get the ball across the infield, got average carry on his throws that could’ve been more accurate, athletic kid that simply needs to work on playing through the ball.  Will get stronger and develop in every area of his game.

Griffin Livesay, SS, Alcoa, 2018
60 Time: 7.1, Position Velocity:  IF-82, Exit Velocity: 78
6'0, 150-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and begins with a very low hand positioning in his set up.  Gets loaded by raising his hands a little bit and using a short stride with his lead foot, lower half works but holds him back at times and causes him to come around the ball and pull ground balls, showed ability to hit line drives up the middle with a slightly steep swing path at times, balance was off at times because of a tendency to lean forward on his finish.  Defensively, showed soft hands and fluid footwork in his approach to the shortstop position, worked through the ball well and used a consistently clean transfer that led to a somewhat long arm action through a high ¾ arm angle to produce some very accurate throws with some good carry across the infield.  Defensive actions and arm strength are certainly strengths of Livesay’s.

Bryce Ellen, 2B, Christ Presbyterian Academy, 2018
60 Time: 7.47, Position Velocity:  IF-69, Exit Velocity: 76
5'7, 145-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and uses a high leg kick and some pretty substantial bat waggle to get himself going at the plate.  Has a tendency to jump at the ball as a result of the long stride he gets from his leg kick, lower half does fire and helps get the barrel through the zone but sometimes seems to drag because of his jumping and gliding at the ball, swing plane promotes a line drive approach and one that is a good fit for Ellen, best results came when keeping his body behind his front leg and letting his hands get extended through the ball.  Defensively, showed good hands and the ability to play the hop, footwork was good but sat back on the ball at times which is typical of second basemen, short arm action from over-the-top resulted in some accurate throws.  

third basemen

Jay Lawrence, 3B/RHP, South Warren, 2017
60 Time: 7.25, Position Velocity:  IF-75, Exit Velocity: 86
6'0, 188-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance and uses a short stride and rhythmic hand load/slight barrel tilt to get himself ready to go.  Lower half fires through the zone but pulls him up a little bit, causing him to lose balance on some swings, does a good job of staying behind the ball and trying to drive through it, good hand load and positioning led to a relatively flat swing path and allowed him to drive some balls into the outfield, hit some balls hard in game play.  Defensively, showed good footwork and hands at the third base position and used a short arm action from a ¾ arm angle to produce average arm strength across the infield with below average accuracy, remaining smooth and refusing to rush himself would certainly help.  Solid player will be one to watch in the Kentucky class of 2017.

Hunter Davis, RHP/3B, Gordonsville, 2018
60 Time: 8.02, Position Velocity:  IF-77, Exit Velocity: 73
5'9, 155-pound, LHH hits from a balanced and fairly wide stance and uses a short and rhythmic stride and hand movement to initialize his load, lower half does a good job of getting through the zone and stays fairly balanced throughout his swing, but seems to fall off during his finish. Hit some solid line drives up the middle and showed an ability to hit it to all fields.  Defensively, showed average footwork and hands at the third base position and sometimes fields the ball a little deep, uses a little crow during his exchange and showed a long arm action from a high ¾ release point to muster average arm strength getting the ball across the infield with accuracy. 

catchers

Cooper Mays, C, Hickman County, 2017
60 Time: 7.47, Pop Time: 1.90-2.03, Position Velocity:  C-72, Exit Velocity: 78
5'10, 185-pound, LHH hits from a tall and even stance with some relatively high hand positioning in his initial set up.  Uses a conventional stride and a solid hand load to get himself ready to go, lower half gets used well but still stays fairly tall throughout the swing, showed an ability to hit line drives all over the field and to get extended through the ball, can get jammed when upper body leans too far forward in the swing. Defensively, showed above average hands and good footwork at the catching position, used a clean but low exchange to get the ball up and out through a high ¾ release point which produced some good throws to second base.  Mays sat high behind the plate when recording pop times.

Ross McKenry, C, Bearden, 2018
60 Time: 8.12, Pop Time: 2.09-2.28, Position Velocity:  C-70, Exit Velocity: 73
5'10, 190-pound, RHH hits from a tall and slightly open stance and begins with his hands in a very high position above his head, uses a high leg kick and drops and loads his hands to get himself ready to go at the plate.  Lower half works well and helps him get his barrel on plane and stay through the zone for a long time, bat speed could improve and didn’t hit many balls as hard as he is probably capable, does show potential to get through the ball better in the future. Defensively, showed good hands and receiving ability, footwork was smooth but a little slow, put himself in a good position to deliver the ball to second base with accurate throws, has a little double-clutch in his over-the-top arm slot. Stood up a little soon on some of his throws to second.

Shayne Miller, C, Farragut, 2018
60 Time: 8.38, Pop Time: 2.09-2.29, Position Velocity:  C-67, Exit Velocity: 77
5'9, 205-pound, RHH hits from a balanced, wide, and open stance and uses a leg kick and a subtle bat waggle to initiate his load.  Lower half fires through the zone and allows him to really drive balls that are up in the zone, bat path gets a little steep on pitches kept down, strength is definitely key for Miller as it helps him get through balls even when his timing is a little off, upper body has a tendency to lean a little bit, causing him to jam himself on balls he would otherwise barrel up.  Defensively, sits rather high and showed average hands and footwork while delivering throws to second base from a ¾ arm slot, had trouble getting carry on throws, stood up soon a few times when clocking his pop time.