By Matt Byrd
TN Director of Scouting

The PBR Tennessee Top Prospect Games took place June 9-10 with a position player showcase at Maryville College and game play at the University of Tennessee. The following is an in-depth look at the position players from Team Navy.  This is position player analysis only.  Those players who pitched for Team Navy had their pitching evaluations featured in a previous article.

middle infielders

Charlie Brown, 2017, Sevier County HS, 2B/OF
The 5 foot 11, 160-pound prospect posted a 7.10 60 time. Defensively Brown had a position velocity of 86 mph from the outfield and 87 mph across the infield.  Brown showed good arm strength from a high ¾ arm slot with accuracy on his throws with a quick exchange. Has quick footwork and plays through the ball. Offensively Brown shows average to fast bat speed with an 82 mph exit velocity off of the tee from the right side. Hits from a balanced setup with a short stride. Brown has a short path to the ball and is a line drive type hitter with an aggressive approach, shows good projectability. Brown went 1-for-4 in game play with a single.

Kevin Escalona, 2016, Seymour HS, 2B
The 5 foot 11, 180- pound prospect posted a 7.34 60 time. Defensively Escalona had a 77 mph position velocity across the infield with inconsistent accuracy. Escalona showed average arm strength coming off a shoulder injury. Had soft hands and fluid footwork with natural instincts. Offensively Escalona had an 87 mph exit velocity off the tee with fast bat speed, Escalona hits from both sides of the plate. Hits from an open setup from both sides of the plate with good balance and an aggressive approach. He shows a lot of confidence at the plate and the ball jumps off his bat well from both sides. Escalona went 2-for-5 in game play with a single and a double.

Josh McDonald, 2017, Morristown West HS, SS
The 6 foot 2, 185-pound prospect posted a 7.40 60 time and had a position velocity of 77 mph across the infield.  Defensively McDonald had soft hands and natural instincts. Has a slower exchange with short arm action and accuracy on his throws. Showed average arm strength on his throws. Offensively McDonald hits from both sides of the plate and posted an 83 mph exit velocity off of the tee. McDonald hits from a balanced setup from both sides and is more natural from the right side. He is more of an oppo/line drive type hitter from the left side and gap to gap from the right. McDonald went 1-for-4 in game play.

Darius Simple, 2016, Blackman HS, SS
The 6 foot 2, 190-pound prospect posted a 6.84 60 time. Defensively Simple had a position velocity across the infield of 78 mph and showed average arm strength with inconsistent accuracy from a high ¾ arm slot. Simple had average hands and a slower exchange. Offensively from the right side, Simple had an 88 mph exit velocity off of the tee with fast bat speed. Simple hits from an open setup and is a gap to gap type hitter with some hand quickness. Simple went 0-for-4 in game play.

Austin Graves, 2016, Portland HS, 2B
The 5 foot 3, 125-pound prospect posted a 7.62 60 time. Defensively Graves had a position velocity of 70 mph across the infield with average arm strength and some accuracy. Had average hands and fluid footwork with a clean exchange. Offensively Graves had a 70 mph exit velocity off of the tee from the right side with a tendency to drag his bat. Hits from a balanced setup with minimal stride. Showed average balance and a long path. Overall strength gains will aid in development of offensive game. Graves went 0-for-4 in game play.

Corner Infielders

Aaron Brown, 2017, Mt. Juliet, 3B
The 6 foot 4, 200-pound prospect posted a 7.06 60 time. Defensively Brown had a 79 mph position velocity across the infield with good arm strength. Had soft hands and fluid footwork while playing through the ball with solid corner actions. Offensively Brown hits from the right side of the plate with an open setup and a short stride. Has a long path to the ball and needs to get on top of the ball more. Is a line drive type hitter with gap to gap type potential. Brown went 1-for-4 in game play with a single.

Austin Cullen, 2016, Loudon, 3B
The 6 foot 2, 195-pound prospect showed soft hands defensively with good arm strength. Cullen has fluid footwork and natural instincts. Offensively Cullen hit from and open setup and has good balance. Cullen shows some bat speed and is a gap to gap type hitter. Cullen went 0-for-4 in game play. He missed the position player workout portion of the event.

Connor Pinkard, 2018, Knoxville Catholic, 1B
The 5 foot 10, 163-pound prospect posted a 64 mph position velocity across the infield. Defensively Pinkard had adequate hands and developing arm strength with a high ¾ arm slot. Offensively, Pinkard hits from shows average bat speed. He is an oppo type hitter and should improve his offensive game as he continues to get stronger and grow.  Pinkard went 0-for-4 in game play.

Outfielders

Hunter Judd, 2016, Knoxville Catholic, OF
The 6 foot 3, 170-pound prospect posted a 7.14 60 time. Defensively Judd had a position velocity of 82 mph from the outfield with accuracy and good arm strength. Had soft hands, clean exchange, and played through the ball well. Offensively Judd hits from the left side with fast bat speed and had exit velocity off the tee of 84 mph. Judd hits from a balanced setup with a short stride and explodes with his lower half. Judd shows good projectability with his frame. He went 1-for-5 in game play with a single.

Gavan Rupe 2017, Sullivan HS, OF
The 5 foot 10, 135-pound prospect posted a 7.22 60 time. Defensively Rupe had a position velocity of 69 mph with below average arm strength. Had soft hands with fluid footwork and played through the ball well. Offensively Rupe showed average bat speed with a tendency to drag it at times and had a 68 mph exit velocity off the tee. Rupe is an oppo/slap type hitter and improved strength will benefit his offensive game. Rupe went 1-for-3 in game play with a single.

Catchers

Alex Carignan, 2016, Siegel, C
The 6 foot 2, 185-pound prospect posted a 7.65 60 time and showed good arm strength with a position velocity of 80 mph. Carignan posted 1.90-1.96 pop times. He shows quick footwork and receives the ball well with a quick ¾ release. Offensively Carignan hits from a balanced setup with a short stride and explodes from his lower half.  Had an 86 mph exit velocity off of the tee from the right side and showed good bat speed. Is a line drive/ gap to gap type hitter. Carignan went 1-for-3 in game play with a single.

Stephen Trewhitt, 2016, Knoxville Central, C
The 5 foot 10, 210-pound prospect posted a 7.75 60 time. Defensively Trewhitt had a 74 mph position velocity from behind the plate and a 2.15-2.18 pop times. Trewhitt shows average arm strength and needs to improve on overall quickness from behind the plate. Offensively Trewhitt hits from the right side with some bat speed and had an 83 mph exit velocity off of the tee. Hits from a balanced setup with a long stride. Is a gap to gap type hitter. Trewhitt went 1-for-3 in game play with a single.