Adam Akin
Director of Scouting

The 2016 PBR Tennessee Unsigned Senior Games took place on Sunday, September 18 at Woody Hunt Stadium on the campus of Cumberland University and included a position player workout, followed by pitcher bullpens.  The original schedule was adjusted, due to heavy rain on Saturday evening. Players were afforded the opportunity to showcase their abilities to the PBR Tennessee staff and college coaches in attendance. The following is our evaluation of every pitcher that was assigned to the Gray Team in Sunday’s action.

 

Jake Holloway, RHP/OF, Battle Ground Academy, 2017
Max FB: 86, FB: 83-86, CB: 69-72, SP: 70-73
5-foot-11, 190-pound, RHP showed even better than he did as a top arm at our Top Prospect Games in June, used the same slow and smooth motion to get gathered and to stay under control throughout, a higher leg lift and a firm hip load at the top get him ready to attack the plate, long arm action remains the same and actually seemed to be a little looser than we’ve seen in the past, explodes toward the plate with great use of his lower half and stays balanced throughout his follow through.  Fastball was heavy through the zone with some slight run, curveball showed sharp and late break with 12/6 shape, changeup is thrown as a splitfinger and had sharp sink with a little bit of cut at the end.  Certainly a top pitcher at this event. 

DJ Wright, 3B/RHP, Blackman, 2017
Max FB: 84, FB: 81-84, CB: 65-68, CH: 72-73,
6-foot-3, 175-pound, RHP uses a very unique motion that is rare and hard to replicate, rocker step is nothing more than a turn of the foot that leads directly into his leg lift and load, hands start and remain high throughout his leg lift as he seems to be fully loaded at the top, leads with a closed from side, seems to be coming home when he pauses as his lead leg first comes down, creates some big shoulder tilt and brings his long arm through an over-the-top slot, lands slightly closed but maintains balance.  Fastball was mostly straight but hit the corners, curveball showed 12/6 shape with some sharp movement through the zone, changeup showed the ability to fade or cut. 

Tyler Proctor, RHP, La Vergne, 2017
Max FB: 82, FB: 80-82, CB: 70-72, CH: 72-73,
6-foot-2, 170-pound, RHP looks big on the mound and seems very confident in his approach, showed good rhythm and tempo throughout his motion that led to a smooth delivery, got tall and gathered well at the top of his leg lift with some slight shoulder tilt and a good load of his front hip, attacked the plate with a slightly closed stride but stayed balanced throughout, long and loose arm action comes through a high ¾ slot and really reaches toward the plate, Proctor gets down the mound.  Fastball seemed heavy through the zone and showed some hard run, curveball showed mostly 12/6 shape and the potential to be very sharp, changeup actually had some late cut on it.

Daniel Freeman, 1B/LHP, Stewarts Creek, 2017
Max FB: 82, FB: 79-82, CB: 68-70, CH: 73-75,
6-foot-5, 200-pound, LHP has a tall and lanky figure with seemingly high projectability, smooth and athletic motion help him to stay connected throughout his delivery, uses good rhythm as his hands start to drop and then come up in sync with his leg lift, gets loaded high with a closed front hip and creates some shoulder tilt before heading toward the plate, leads closed and lands closed with a long and loose arm action through a high ¾ slot.  Fastball was mostly straight but was kept down in the zone and came through the zone on a downward plane, curveball showed some power and 1/7 shape, changeup was a change of pace. 

Blake Osborne, OF/RHP, Davidson Academy, 2017
Max FB: 81, FB: 78-81, CB: 68-69, CH: 74-75,
5-foot-10, 150-pound, RHP utilized the same motion and finish that we have seen from him in recent events, slower build up and a quick finish, front side stays closed before exploding toward the plate, only some slight fall toward 1B on his finish, arm action still pretty loose through a high ¾ to over-the-top slot.  Fastball didn’t show the velo we have seen in the past but had occasional run, breaking ball was good with some a little more 12/6 in it than we have seen, changeup showed potential with occasional run.

Cody Spurgeon, RHP, Clarksville, 2017
Max FB: 81, FB: 77-81, CB: 67-69, CH: 71-73, SL: 72-73
6-foot-2, 215-pound, RHP performed similarly to his appearance at our Top Prospect Games in June although his velo didn’t quite reach its peak, showed the same good rhythm we have seen in the past with a high leg lift and good flexibility to gather with a good amount of torque at the top, front hip gets loaded very well and shoulder tilt is created with ease, strides in line with typically good balance, long arm action looks easy and comes through an over-the-top slot.  Fastball had very slight run but was kept down in the zone well, curveball had some gradual 12/6 shape, changeup showed slight fade at the plate. 

Wiley Barton, LHP/OF, Trousdale County, 2017
Max FB: 79, FB: 77-79, CB: 66-68, CH: 72-74,
5-foot-7, 165-pound, LHP uses a compact delivery that is easy to repeat and doesn’t contain much wasted movement at all, athletic and connected movements but him in some strong positions, hands stay high and keeps his upper body quiet throughout his delivery, shorter arm action comes through a high ¾ slot and only falls slightly toward 3B on his follow through.  Fastball was mostly straight with occasional run, curveball was sharp with 1/7 to 2/8 action for strikes, changeup had fairly consistent sink through the zone.

Anthony Norman, SS/RHP, LaVergne, 2017
Max FB: 80, FB: 77-80, CB: 66-69, CH: 70-72, SL: 67-69
6-foot-0, 150-pound, RHP begins his motion very slowly with his right hand to his side and his glove out in front of his body, uses a slow rocker step back and finally grabs the ball out of his glove as he begins to pull his left leg up, gathers at the top and moves toward the plate with a much more aggressive stride, stays mostly in line but lands slightly closed, can fall toward 1B a little, long and fairly loose arm action comes through a high ¾ slot with some quickness.  Fastball was mostly straight with occasional cut, curveball showed 12/6 to 11/5 shape, slider can be sharp, changeup was just a change of speed through the zone.

Jon Lynn, OF/RHP, Creekwood, 2017
Max FB: 80, FB: 78-80, KN: 62-66
5-foot-10, 145-pound, RHP begins with his hands together just above his belt and leaves them there throughout his entire wind up, separates hands from this position when it’s time to head toward the plate, uses a quicker motion with a fairly consistent pace throughout his movements, even shoulders and straight stride keep him in line with the plate, very long arm action slings through a high ¾ slot.  Fastball was typically straight, only off speed pitch is a knuckle ball that is a good change of pace and can be good at times.

Taylor Wheat, LHP, Oakland, 2017
Max FB: 76, FB: 73-76, CH: 68-70, SL: 67-68
5-foot-10, 160-pound, LHP seems to be a crafty lefty that works with good tempo and attacks the strike zone, begins his motion with a quick rocker step and smoothens out from there, hands start lower and come up with a higher leg lift, stride stays in line and showed some slight shoulder tilt while initializing his long arm action through a ¾ slot, finishes under control with good balance.  Fastball showed some good run on balls thrown away to righties, breaking ball seemed to be a slider with some 2/8 movement through the zone, changeup had solid sink and fade at the plate.

Nathan Johnson, RHP/OF, Hardin Valley Academy, 2017
Max FB: 76, FB: 74-76, CB: 64-65, CH: 68-69,
5-foot-11, 160-pound, RHP uses some swaying movement with his rocker step that gains quite a bit of ground toward 1B and leads into an average leg lift and turn, keeps his back very straight until the very end of his delivery and follow through, keeps shoulders pretty level and doesn’t  exude too much effort in his delivery, long arm action comes through a high ¾ slot, doesn’t have the loosest release or follow through.  Fastball was mostly straight with some slight run at times, curveball showed 12/6 action for strikes, changeup had some fade and was a slight change of pace.