By Matt Byrd
Tennessee Director of Scouting

The PBR Tennessee Underclass Games took place on June 23 at MTSU and afforded players from around the state the opportunity to showcase their abilities in a combination showcase/game play event while attempting to establish themselves as a top young player. The following is a look at the pitchers who took the mound at the event.

CLICK HERE to view the top statistical performers and stats for all players in attendance at the event.

Brock Myers, 2017, Davidson Academy, RHP
The 5 foot 11, 155-pound righty has a lanky athletic build and showed a up tempo delivery. Throwing from a ¾ to high-3/4 arm angle, Myers’ lively fastball sat at 84-85mph topping out at 87mph with good arm-side run. His curveball with 11/5 action sat from 70-73 mph with a very sharp late break. Did a great job spotting up curveball as it showed to be very effective against hitters. Slider sat at 71-75mph with lateral action. Changeup at 76mph with gradual sinking action as it approached the hitters zone. During game play , Myers gave up two hits and had three strikeouts in his two innings pitched.

Wes Duffield , 2017, Murfreesboro Central Magnet, RHP
The 6 foot 7, 215-pound righty shows a very tall athletic build, throwing from directly over the top with a powerful delivery. Shows a lively fastball sitting from 81-83mph. Fastball seems to get on hitters quick. Curveball sat from 68-69mph at a 12/6 trajectory with a sharp dropping break. Changeup sat from 68-69mph with good sinking action when it gets to the hitters zone. During game play , Duffield had a hard time finding the strike zone at times during the 1^st inning. In the second inning Duffield recorded one strikeout and had two groundouts. Duffield gave up two hits in two innings pitched. Duffield’s arm works well, and his highly projectable frame leads you to believe there is much more velocity to come.

Jared Shemper, 2017, Christian Brothers, LHP
The 6 foot 1, 185-pound lefty has a tall athletic build. Does a great job at hiding the baseball in delivery, makes it difficult for hitters to pick up. Throwing from a ¾ to high-3/4 slot, fastball sat at 79-80mph, four seam fastball showed some hard cut action at times, two seamer flashes good arm-side run, curveball sat from 64-66mph with 1/7 break, has good feel for the curveball and consistently throws it for strikes. During game paly, Shemper had three strikeouts and only gave up one hit in two innings pitched. Good pitchability with a solid idea of how to attack hitters.

Carson Simmons, 2017, Siegel, RHP
The 6 foot 3, 165-pound tall lanky righty does a great job at using his entire body throughout his delivery. Throwing from the high-¾ slot his fastball sat from 78-79mph topping out at 80mph with occasional run. Curveball sat from 67-68mph with a 10/4 tight break. Changeup sat at 71-73mph with running downward action as it approached the plate. During game play, Simmons gave up two hits, and had a strikeout in his two innings pitched. Should be watched closely for velocity gains moving forward.

Bryce Woody, 2017, Roane County, RHP
The 5 foot 10, 165-pound righty has an average athletic build, throwing from the high-¾ arm slot with a short, quick delivery to the plate. Did a great job spotting up with his fastball sitting at 80-81mph, topping out at 82mph with some cutting action. Curveball shows 11/5 trajectory with a very sharp break and some depth sitting from 65-67mph. Changeup at 74-75mph with occasional sinking action upon arrival to the hitters zone. Woody really competes on the mound.  During game play, Woody recorded two strikeouts and didn’t give up a hit in two innings pitched showing solid pitchability.

Luke Reno, 2017, Christian Brothers, RHP
The 6 foot 4, 174-pound righty has a tall lanky build. Throwing from a long high-¾ arm slot the righty’s fastball showed similar velocity as it has in previous events and sat 79-80mph topping out at 82mph. Curveball sat from 65-67mph and varied between 10/4 and 11/5 action. Changeup sat at 69-70mph with some sink and fade with a good velocity diefference off the fastball. During game play, Reno recorded two strikeouts, gave up one hit, and walked two batters. Though he hasn’t shown it yet, he should be watched closely for a jump in velocity.

Zach Sharber, 2017, Ravenwood, RHP
The 6 foot 2 195-pound righty has a tall athletic build, throwing from the high-¾ arm slot Sharber’s fastball sat from 76-77mph topping out at 77mph. Fastball had some consistent cutting action. Curveball sat from 64-65mph from the 11/5 trajectory with a slower, long bending break. Changeup sat from 70-71mph and also showed some cut action. During game play, Sharber gave up four hits, two walks, and had a strikeout.

Ryan Stocks, 2017, Siegel, LHP
The 6 foot 1, 160-pound lanky lefty uses long arm action through a ¾ slot. Displayed to be crafty on the mound showing good movement on all pitches thrown. Not very overpowering with fastball topping out at 74mph but did a great job on spotting up and keeping the hitters off balance at the plate. Fastball sat at 73-74mph with late arm-side run. Changeup sat at 63-64 and mirrored fastball with gradual sinking action. Slider sat at 60-61mph with a long sweeping gradual movement. During game play, Stocks pitched to contact only giving up one hit, and only walking one batter.

Gavin Pulliam,2018, Franklin HS, RHP
The 5 foot 11, 185-pound righty has average height with a stocky build. Does a fair job hiding the baseball in delivery, making it tough on hitters at times. Throwing from a high-¾ arm slot, fastball sat 75-77 mph. Curveball sat at 65-66 mph with a 10/4 break. Changeup sat a 69-71 mph with same arm speed as his fastball spotting it well in the zone. During game play, Pulliam gave up three hits, walked a batter, and had one strikeout.