Adam Akin
Director of Scouting


The 2016 PBR Tennessee Underclass Games took place on Tuesday, July 26 and Wednesday, July 27 and included a position player workout, followed by two 7 or 8 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 Black Team in Wednesday’s action.

 

Outfielders

Benjamin Pickman, OF, Page, 2018
Home-1^st: 4.63, Position Velocity:  83, Exit Velocity: 85
5-foot-8, 140-pound, LHH hits from a tall and open stance and uses quite a big leg kick and some rhythmic movement with his hands to get loaded, stride lands back in line and gets gives him a good base, lower half is very active and gets through the zone well,  bat path gets steep on lower pitches because of his high hand positioning but drives through balls left up.  Defensively, is very aggressive and attacks the ball in the outfield, good hands and footwork, plays through the ball with confidence and uses a clean and quick exchange, long arm action through a high ¾ release point produced some very accurate throws with good carry.  Pickman will add a lot to his game once he gains some more strength

Brycen Johnson, OF, Roane County, 2018
Home-1^st: 4.51, Position Velocity:  79, Exit Velocity: 79
6-foot-0, 185-pound, LHH hits from a wider and very slightly open stance, uses a smooth stride with very little hand movement to get loaded, lower half fires very well and provides him with a little extra pop, backside gets behind the ball well and promotes a bat path that is flat through the zone with some good lift at the end, can start steep on occasion, recorded a 2B and a 1B in game play.  Defensively, attacks the ball and plays through it with good footwork and confidence, exchange can get somewhat long and leads to a long arm action through a high ¾ slot that produced very accurate throws with decent carry across the field.   

Gaylen Rutledge, OF, Hendersonville, 2019
Home-1^st: 4.91, Position Velocity:  79, Exit Velocity: 79
6-foot-1, 175-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance, begins with the bat laying just over his back shoulder and a little bit of a lean back into his back leg, short stride and hardly any hand movement at all constitute his load, lower half fires initially but doesn’t always get all the way through and create the separation he’s capable of, sometimes sits on his backside, bat path starts somewhat steep but typically flattens out through the zone, strong kid recorded 2 singles in game play. Defensively, does a good job of getting behind the ball and playing through it smoothly, long arm action through a ¾ slot produced some average arm strength and carry.

First Basemen

Jacob Tate, LHP/1B, Christian Academy of Knoxville, 2019
Home-1^st: 5.41, Position Velocity:  74, Exit Velocity: 85
6-foot-6, 190-pound, LHH hits from a wide and even stance and begins with his hands in a fairly high position, uses a smooth and abbreviated leg lift along with a fluid drop and push back of his hands to get loaded, lower half usually gets through but stays tall and pushes him forward a little bit, bat path was a little steep because of that movement forward, handsy swing.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork around the bag and certainly knows the position, long and loose arm action through a ¾ slot produced throws with decent accuracy and good carry.  Athletic for a big guy, his combination of lankiness and athleticism are intriguing.

Matthew Johnston, 1B/RHP, Mt. Juliet, 2019
Home-1^st: 5.14, Position Velocity:  73, Exit Velocity: 78
6-foot-1, 175-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance, does nothing more than lift his front heal to get loaded and sits it back down before beginning his swing, hands hardly move at all, lower half fires but doesn’t always get fully cleared and slightly holds him back, swing is extremely short as his bat path comes straight down into the zone from its place right above his shoulder, some rhythm would help.  Defensively, showed solid hands and average footwork around the bag, fielded the ball a little deep, long arm action through a high ¾ to over-the-top arm slot delivered accurate throws across the infield with pretty good carry.

Third Basemen

Jordan Idell, 3B, Greeneville, 2018
Home-1^st: 4.72, Position Velocity:  74, Exit Velocity: 86
5-foot-11, 175-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance and likes to begin with the bat rested on his shoulder, uses a short stride along with a raising of the hands and a slight barrel tilt to get loaded, Idell showed some pop but actually has a lot more in the tank as his lower half left his back hip behind when it fired, drove some balls to LCF with a typically flat bat path and some slight lift at the end, will occasionally let the bat head get in front of his hands before contact.  Defensively, showed good hands and footwork in the infield, obviously knows his way around 3B well, kept moving through the ball and played the position with confidence, shorter arm action comes from a ¾ angle and can look a little stiff but is very accurate with average carry across the infield.

Middle INFIELDERS

Travis Odom, SS/RHP, Blackman, 2019
Home-1^st: 4.37, Position Velocity:  88, Exit Velocity: 86
6-foot-1, 156-pound, RHH hits from a wider but balanced and slightly open stance, uses a short stride and a smooth push back of the hands to get loaded, lower half explodes and creates a ton of separation in his swing that adds a lot of torque, bat path is pretty flat through the zone with some lift at the end that sent quite a few balls to deep LF in BP, can get a little long but usually has good enough bat speed to catch up.  Defensively, showed soft hands and smooth footwork as he played through the ball well from every angle, clean exchange led to a quick and loose arm action through a high ¾ slot with accuracy and a lot of life across the infield.  Odom will be one of the highest regarded 2019 graduates in the state and earned himself a spot on Tennessee’s Future Games team with his performance. 

Joey Parliment, SS, Gordonsville, 2019
Home-1^st: 4.59, Position Velocity:  67, Exit Velocity: 78
5-foot-6, 145-pound, RHH this from a balanced and slightly more open stance than we saw from him at the Top Prospect Games, uses a short stride and a lowering and push back of his hands to get loaded, lower half fires and did a much better job of getting through the zone, still sat back a little too much at times, slightly uphill bat path stays through the plane of the pitch and produced some hard line drives around the field.  Defensively, showed good hands and average footwork, can get a little smoother playing through the ball but makes the plays, exchange can be length at times, still showed the ability to use different arm angles to give good accurate throws across the infield.

Patrick Norman, SS, Murfreesboro Central Magnet, 2019
Home-1^st: 4.82, Position Velocity:  75, Exit Velocity: 84
6-foot-2, 180-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and very open stance, uses a fairly smooth and timed stride with some subtle hand movement backwards to get loaded, lower half gets involved and fires well but doesn’t always get cleared all the way through, bat path starts steep but flattens out quickly and stays through the zone for a while, long kid that uses extension to his advantage, squared some balls up in BP and recorded a 2B and a 1B in game play.  Defensively, showed solid hands and above average footwork as he played through the ball consistently, body control will improve with age, exchange at the chest led to a shorter arm action through a ¾ slot to produce pretty good throws across the infield with decent carry. 

Ronnie Caricofe, 2B, Fred J. Page, 2019
Home-1^st: 4.92, Position Velocity:  71, Exit Velocity: 70
5-foot-6, 130-pound, RHH hits from a taller, athletic, and slightly open stance with some fairly high hand positioning, uses a smooth stride and a simple push back of his hands to get loaded, lower half explodes and fires through very well with an occasional over rotation, bat path stays in the zone a pretty long time on his best swings and showed a little bit of lift and drive at the end, hit some solid line drives in BP with a 2B in game action.  Defensively, showed soft hands and really good footwork as he was able to play around and through the ball to make every play in the middle infield, transfer can be a little long but is clean and consistent, loose arm comes through a high ¾ to ¾ slot and was very accurate across the infield with average strength.  Caricofe is certainly a potential late bloomer to follow in the 2019 class.

Austin Wells, RHP/SS, Eagleville, 2018
Home-1^st: 4.78, Position Velocity:  73, Exit Velocity: 79
5-foot-10, 165-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and even stance and showed some very subtle pre-pitch movement with his hands to stay loose, uses a short stride and slight little tilt of the barrel to get loaded, lower half fires well early but doesn’t get all the way through and leaves his back hip behind, bat path is very flat through the zone and squares balls up when he gets the barrel on it, Wells had 2 singles and a double in game play.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork as he struggled to play through the balls that were hit right at him, short exchange and arm action through a high ¾ slot produced decent throws across the infield with average arm strength.

Catchers

Gavin Pulliam, C/RHP, Franklin, 2018
Home-1^st: 4.81, Pop Time: 2.01-2.14, Position Velocity:  74, Exit Velocity: L-81, R-89
6-foot-0, 185-pound, SHH hits from pretty much the same balanced and slightly open stance from both sides of the plate, hands lower and drop the barrel along with an abbreviated leg kick and stride to get loaded, lower half fires better from the right side than the left as it seems a bit more natural, pretty flat bat path adds some lift at the end and produced some hard line drives in BP.  Defensively, showed good hands and footwork, quick exchange and good alignment with 2B produced a short arm action from an over-the-top slot and led to some very accurate throws with good carry down to 2B, works hard behind the plate.

William Hudson, C, Wilson Central, 2017
Home-1^st: 5.26, Pop Time: 2.08-2.12, Position Velocity:  70, Exit Velocity: 86
5-foot-8, 180-pound, RHH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance, uses a short stride and a little hand waggle to get loaded, lower half is key to his success as he was able to hit some hard line drives when he got it through but rolled over ground balls when he did not, bat path was mostly flat and in the zone for a long time but has a common tendency to get steep on lower pitches. Defensively, showed solid hands and average footwork behind the plate, received it pretty well but came way out toward the RHH box to make his throws to 2B, exchange happens low and produces a long arm action through a high ¾ to over-the-top slot, throws to 2B struggled with accuracy but had pretty good carry.