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 Royal Team in Wednesday’s action.

OUTFIELDERS

Garrett Schultz, OF/RHP, Ensworth, 2019
60 Time: 7.05, Position Velocity:  OF-87, Exit Velocity: 81
5'10, 150-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and begins with his back elbow down, uses a long stride and a push back of his hands to get loaded, back elbow stays down and barrel lays back a little bit.  Lower half fires as soon as his stride foot hits and give him some good separation, can tend to come forward a little too much at times, back elbow positioning makes it hard to get the barrel down on the plane of the pitch and causes him to come at balls low in the zone at a pretty steep angle, did get through balls up in the zone and hit some hard line drives up the middle, stayed balanced on his better swings.  Defensively, showed some athleticism and some very good arm strength, sure hands and good footwork allowed him to play through the ball well, fielded the ball pretty far outside his body which made for a longer exchange, long and loose arm action through an over-the-top slot produced some very strong throws with accuracy and a lot of life.

Blake Osborne, OF/RHP, Davidson Academy, 2017
60 Time: 6.86, Position Velocity:  OF-86, Exit Velocity: 82
5'10, 150-pound, RHH hits from an athletic and open stance and begins with his hands in a very strong and comfortable position, uses a smooth and fairly long stride with a little extra tilt of the barrel to get himself loaded.  Lower half holds him back at times and keeps his hips from creating the separation he needs to add to his bat speed and allow his hands to bring the barrel down into a good slot, steepness in his bat path produces a lot of ground balls and some low line drives, stays balanced and usually does a good job staying behind the ball.  Defensively, showed good hands and footwork as he approached the ball under control and worked through it smoothly, would like to see him be more aggressive getting to it as he often took is time getting in position,  long exchange and arm action led to an over-the-top release point that provided him with very good accuracy and good carry.

Chase Piotrowski, OF, Ravenwood, 2019
60 Time: 6.73, Position Velocity:  OF-81, Exit Velocity: 84
5'11, 160-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance and uses a choppy and abbreviated leg kick and stride to get himself going, hands load with a subtle and controlled tilt.  Lower half struggles to get through when he rushes himself to get that front foot down and set and sometimes causes him to reach out and around the ball, does hit against his front side well and certainly tries to stay behind the ball, bat bath stays mostly flat through the zone with a little bit of lift at the end, seems to use his shoulders a lot in the swing, hit most of his balls to the left side in BP.  Defensively, attacked the ball but sometimes came a little too hard, played through the ball but fielded it with two hands at times that took away some of his athleticism, long arm action from a high ¾ release point produced very good accuracy on his throws with good carry. Piotrowski has a lot of potential and will develop.

 Joshua Perez, 2B/OF, Soddy Daisy, 2018
60 Time: 7.27, Position Velocity:  IF-81, Exit Velocity: 82
6'0, 160-pound, LHH hits from a fairly balanced and even stance and uses a very abbreviated leg kick and a slight load of his hands to get ready to go.  Lower half struggles to get all the way through and often fires at the same time his hands begin toward the ball, hips not being able to clear make it hard for his hands to drop down into a strong position and he ends up attacking the ball from a very steep angle, comes forward some and finishes his swing very tall and on top of his front leg at times, did his some low line drives up the middle.  Defensively, performed as an outfielder and showed his versatility, played through the ball well and showed good hands in his fielding of the ball, gathering and exchange took an extra hop and a step but led to a shorter arm action from an over-the-top slot, throws were fairly accurate and showed average carry.  Perez is an above average infielder, as well. 

Sage Warren, OF, Father Ryan, 2017
60 Time: 6.97, Position Velocity:  OF-78, Exit Velocity: 86
5'11, 170-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and showed some bat waggle in his stance, a short stride and a very subtle hand load get him ready to go.  Lower half fires very well but could benefit from a little longer stride to give him a wider and more stable base, hits against a stiff front leg and stays tall throughout his swing, high back elbow comes down in a good slot and allows his barrel to get in the zone and stay flat throughout, strong kid can get a little muscly but uses that strength to get through the ball well, recorded an RBI triple into the gap during game play.  Defensively, showed good hands and fluid footwork by almost always putting himself in the best position to field the ball,  played through the ball confidently and used a quick exchange and a short arm action to make throws from an over-the-top slot, okay accuracy and average arm strength can and should improve in the future.

Daniel Willie, RHP/OF, Ooltewah, 2017
60 Time: 6.98, Position Velocity:  OF-83, Exit Velocity: 82
6'2, 175-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance, although he was slightly closed during game play.  Willie starts with his front foot pointed inward and uses a short stride and minimal hand movement to get himself loaded.  Lower half gets through but stays pretty tall throughout his swing while getting a little lower could add some leverage, staying so tall also causes his bat path to be steep through the hitting zone, he was able to flatten out and drive some pitches that were up in the zone during his round of BP, stayed balanced and could use his long arms for some more extension.  Defensively, had some of the best footwork from the outfield of anyone at the event, used quick and choppy steps to attack the ball and pace its arrival, played through the ball fluidly with good hands and used a slower exchange with a glove pat and a short arm action to get rid of the ball, used a high ¾ release point to delivery throws with some accuracy and above average arm strength.

FIRST BASEMEN

Roland Ryan, 1B, West, 2018
60 Time: 7.49, Position Velocity:  IF-77, Exit Velocity: 87
6'4, 215-pound, RHH hits from an athletic and slightly open stance and uses an abbreviated leg kick and a smooth stride to get his lower half moving, smooth hand movement back and a little up completes his load.  Lower half drives through the zone and helps provide him with good leverage and a strong base, actually over-rotates at times, hands stay loose and although he comes into the zone a little steeply he is able to flatted out his bath and drive through the ball with some lift, bat speed is very good and uses his size and strength to his advantage, stays mostly balanced.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork as he didn’t always put himself in the best possible fielding position, didn’t work through the ball great and took a little extra to gather himself for the throw, clean exchange and a long and loose arm action delivered some very accurate throws with good carry across the infield. 

Ryley Jenkins, 1B/LHP, Adamsville, 2017
60 Time: 7.54, Position Velocity:  IF-74, Exit Velocity: 79
6'1, 185-pound, LHH hits from a tall and slightly open stance and begins with quite a bit of hand movement in front of his body, uses a high leg kick and a rhythmic load with his hands to get himself going. Lower half seems to be fighting itself as he strides in and closes himself off, back him is unable to clear and causes him to come around the ball at times, hands and barrel fall into a slot and usually stay flat through the zone with a little bit of lift at the end, stays pretty tall and only loses a little bit of balance at the end of his swing, Jenkins recorded 2 singles in game play.  Defensively, showed sure hands and seemed to know the 1B position well, fielded some a little flat-footed but made every play, longer exchange leads to a long arm action through a high ¾ slot, showed some accuracy in his throws but his arm strength can certainly be improved.

MIDDLE INFIELDERS

Parker Stinnett, 2B/RHP, Powell, 2018
60 Time: 7.29, Position Velocity:  IF-79, Exit Velocity: 78
6'2, 175-pound, LHH hits from a wide and balanced stance and begins with his hands in a fairly high position, uses a smooth toe-tap and stride along with a lowering and push back of his hands to get himself loaded.  Lower half does a lot of work for him as its consistency puts him in a power position directly before and at contact, hands lower into a strong position and allow him to drive his back elbow in to get his barrel on plane, drives through the zone flatly with a little bit of lift at the end, stays balanced and behind the ball throughout his swing, Stinnett tallied a double and a triple with his gap-to-gap power in game play. Defensively, showed good hands and above average feet as he puts himself in good positions to field the ball but could improve the quickness  of his footwork, long exchange with a glove pat leads to a fairly short arm action from a high ¾ release point, accurate throws with good carry are the norm for Stinnett.

Joey Parliment, SS, Gordonsville, 2019
60 Time: 6.98, Position Velocity:  IF-68, Exit Velocity: 78
5'6, 145-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and uses a short but smooth and well timed stride and a lowering and push back of his hands to really get loaded.  Lower half provides him a good base but struggles to get all the way through at times, can wait a little too long to fire his hips and causes his bat speed to lag behind, arm bars right before his swing but he is still able to drive his back elbow in and stay inside and behind the ball, sprayed line drives to RCF and up the middle in BP and put some good at bats together in game play with 2 singles.  Defensively, showed good hands and average footwork as he didn’t play through the ball as smoothly as one would like, made all of the plays and showed the ability to use multiple arm angles in order to get rid of the ball as quickly as possible, athletic kid with a lot of ability will get much better as he gets older and stronger.

Emery Peterson, SS, McMinn County, 2019
60 Time: 7.42, Position Velocity:  IF-73, Exit Velocity: 65
6'1, 142-pound, LHH hits from a wide, balanced, and even stance and begins with the bat resting on his shoulder, uses a short stride and some rhythmic hand motion  backwards to get himself loaded.  Lower half is stable and gets through the zone to give him a very good base to operate on, will lean forward a little bit at times and cause his bat to drag, generally gets good separation and is able to drive his back elbow in and get on a good plane through the hitting zone, squared almost every ball up in BP with line drives all over the field and hit the ball much harder than his recorded 65 mph exit velo would suggest.  Defensively, showed average footwork and hands as he fielded a few balls on his heels and a little too deep to be able to really work through it, gather and exchange take a little bit and lead to a short arm action from an over-the-top release, struggled some with his accuracy and will improve on his arm strength.

THIRD BASEMEN

Jacob Pennington, 3B/RHP, Oakland, 2018
60 Time: 6.85, Position Velocity:  IF-84, Exit Velocity: 86
6'2, 175-pound, LHH hits from an athletic and slightly open stance and uses a toe tap and stride back to his original width to get his body in motion, hands start just below shoulder height and hardly move throughout his load.  Lower half fires quickly although his front foot lands closed and prohibits his ability to clear his hips at times, could use lower half for more strength and leverage, pat path is a little steep coming into the zone but flattens out with a little bit of lift at the end, showed some real power potential by driving some balls deep into the gaps in BP and by recording a single and 2 triples in game play.  Defensively, showed good hands and footwork as he was able to make every play and played through the ball every chance he had, gathers the ball into his chest before using a longer exchange and arm action through a ¾ angle to get the ball across the infield, had decent accuracy and good carry on his throws.  Pennington committed to the University of Tennessee shortly after the TP Games.

Ethan Tressler, RHP/3B, Davidson Academy, 2017
60 Time: 6.94, Position Velocity:  IF-83, Exit Velocity: 84
5'11, 175-pound, RHH hits from a tall and open stance with some reasonably high hand positioning, uses a huge let kick with a long stride and a subtle and movement backwards to get himself loaded.  Lower half really gets going with that high leg kick but sometimes has to rush to get down when he doesn’t start the process soon enough, downward momentum from front leg coming down so hard influences his swing path and encourages a downward bat path, barreled almost everything and produced some solid low line drives.  Defensively, showed sure hands and average footwork at the hot corner, able to make all the plays required but sometimes fielded the ball a little flat-footed and needed an extra step to get his momentum headed toward 1B, longer exchange led to a long arm action through a ¾ slot that produced very accurate throws with good carry across the infield.

CATCHERS

Patrick Vandenbergh, C, Ensworth, 2019
60 Time: 7.15, Pop Time: 1.91-2.07, Position Velocity:  C-77, Exit Velocity: 82
5'10, 165-pound, LHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance and begins with his hands in a slightly lower position, uses a short stride that puts him in a closed position right before his swing, hands use a subtle and small movement backwards to get loaded.  Lower half gets through very well and clears his hips to get some separation and allow his hands to get down into a good slot, bat path stays pretty flat through the zone as he does a good job of driving his back elbow in, can get a little stiff in his swing at times, recorded two singles in game play that were very hard hit.  Defensively, showed sure hands and worked very hard for the pitchers during game play, footwork was efficient, sad pretty high when recording pop times but does do a good job of getting rid of the ball as soon as possible, short arm action through an over-the-top slot produced some good throws to second. Showed versatility by taking some ground balls with the infielders.

Wyatt Humphries, C, Gibbs, 2018
60 Time: 7.04, Pop Time: 1.99-2.16, Position Velocity:  C-72, Exit Velocity: 81
5'10, 180-pound, RHH hits from a wide and slightly open stance and uses a short stride and a controlled and rhythmic movement down and back with his hands to really get loaded.  Lower half works great as he clears his hips quickly and gets very good separation from his hands, uses his backside very well for a 2018 graduate and is able to get his barrel on plane early and keep it there for a long time, stayed balanced and very stable throughout his swing, slightly upward swing path generated a ton of line drives to all parts of the field, recorded a single and a double that nearly got out in game play.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork as he can work on staying loose his receiving, did show a quick exchange and release through a short arm action and an over-the-top slot, throws had decent carry and were always around the bag, sat very high when recording pop times.

Gavin Pulliam, C/RHP, Franklin, 2018
60 Time: 7.47, Pop Time: 1.97-2.21, Position Velocity:  C-73, Exit Velocity: 82
6'0, 185-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and uses an abbreviated leg kick and some drastic hand movement down to get loaded, hands add a tip of the barrel at the last second as well.  Lower half gets through the zone but he falls a little off balance toward the plate at the end of almost every swing, hands are pretty quick and can handle the movement he uses, drops his barrel into a very good slot and is able to bring the bat through the zone on plane with a little lift at the end, pulled some balls very hard in BP and recorded a single and a double in game play.  Defensively, stayed quite behind the plate and played very confidently, received fine and uses a lower exchange and a short arm action to get rid of the ball from an over-the-top angle, throws were around the bag but had a little trouble getting there with any real life.