By Matt Byrd
TN Director of Scouting

The PBR Tennessee Top Prospect Games took place last week with a position player showcase at Maryville College and game play at the University of Tennessee.  Today we begin our team-by-team analysis of each player that participated in the event.  The following is an in depth look at the position players from Team Black.  This is position player analysis only.  Those players who pitched for Team Black will have their pitching performance featured in a subsequent article.

middle infielders

Sam Beeler, 2B, R/R, Knoxville Halls HS, 2017
The 5 foot 8, 152-pound prospect posted a 7.21 60 time and had a position velocity of 75 mph across the infield. Defensively Beeler has soft hands with a long exchange from a high ¾ arm slot. Beeler showed accuracy on his throws with average arm strength. Showed fluid footwork and played through the ball. Offensively Beeler had 84 mph exit velocity off of the tee from the right side. Hits from a balanced setup with a short stride and a level path. Beeler showed an opposite field approach. Offensive game will continue to develop as he works to get physically stronger.

Chandler Schultz, RHP/SS, R/R, Ensworth HS, 2017
The 5 foot 11, 160 pound prospect posted a 7.47 60 time and had position velocity of 80 mph across the infield. Defensively Schultz has playable hands and arm strength with accuracy on his throws from a high ¾ arm slot. Schultz showed fluid footwork. Offensively Schultz has average bat speed and had a 80 mph exit velocity off the tee from the right side. Hits from a slightly open setup with a short stride and a level path, line drive type hitter. Schultz had a single in game two for the black team.

Austin Dunston, SS, L/R, Spring Hill HS, 2017
The 5 foot 11, 180-pound prospect posted a 7.21 60 time and had a position velocity of 75 mph across the infield. Defensively Dunston has soft hands with fluid footwork and accuracy on his throws. Has average arm strength and played through the ball. Current arm strength projects better as a second baseman. Offensively Dunston showed good bat speed from the left side with an 84 mph exit velocity off the tee. Hits from a balanced setup with a short stride. Has a good approach at the plate and is a line drive type hitter with the ability to use all fields.

Lyndon Wilson, SS/OF, R/R, Knoxville Central HS, 2016
The 6 foot 2, 180-pound prospect posted a 7.22 60 time and had a position velocity from the infield of 76 mph and 78 mph from the outfield. Defensively Wilson has average hands and arm strength with some accuracy. Showed natural instincts and plays through the ball. Wilson relies on his overall athletic ability defensively. Offensively Wilson hits from a balanced setup from the right side of the plate with average bat speed and had a 77 mph exit velocity off of the tee. Wilson uses a short stride with good overall balance. Needs to improve on getting more extension on his swing and being more aggressive.

Corner Infielders

Matt Young, 1B, L/L, Maryville HS, 2017
The 6 foot 2, 215-pound prospect posted a 7.13 60 time and a 4.69 home to first time. Defensively Young had a position velocity across the infield of 76 mph with average arm strength. Had soft hands and fluid footwork around the first base bag with good athletic ability for his size. Offensively Young shows some bat speed with an 83 mph exit velocity off the tee from the left side. Hits from a balanced setup with a short stride and explodes from his lower half. Young is a very disciplined hitter with a good approach that is a line drive type hitter with power potential. Young had two hits in game play for the black team.

Noah Absher, 3B/RHP, R/R, Sullivan Central HS, 2016
The 6 foot, 170-pound prospect posted a 6.90 60 time and had a positon velocity of 80 mph across the infield. Defensively, Absher shows good athletic ability and soft hands with good arm strength, showed fluid footwork and is a solid defender at the 3B position. Offensively Absher has above average bat speed from the right side with an 86 mph exit velocity off of the tee. He hits from balanced setup with a leg kick involved and is a line drive type hitter that has gap to gap power potential. Can be more aggressive at times in attacking the baseball.

Catchers

Ross McKenry, C, R/R, Bearden HS, 2018
The 5 foot 10, 175- pound, young prospect posted an 8.16 60 time and had a position velocity of 65 mph from behind the plate. Defensively McKenry had a pop time range of 2.21-2.34 with average arm strength. McKenry receives the ball well from behind the plate with soft hands but has room to improve overall lateral quickness. Offensively McKenry has average bat speed and had a 71 mph exit velocity off of the tee from the right side. Hits from a balanced setup with a short stride and is a line drive type hitter, has a good approach at the plate and offensive game will continue to evolve with added physical strength.

Outfielders

Matt Faulkner, OF, L/L, Father Ryan HS, 2017
The 6 foot, 165-pound prospect posted a 6.94 60 time and had a 4.42 home to first time. Defensively Faulkner had a positon velocity of 78 mph with long arm action and some carry to his throws. He shows fluid footwork and plays through the ball aggressively with accurate throws. Offensively Faulkner showed some bat speed with an 80 mph exit velocity off of the tee from the left side. Hits from a balanced setup with a short stride with a level path, wraps bat in load but gets through the zone with some hand quickness. Faulkner is a line drive type hitter with gap to gap type potential. Has some projectability with his lanky frame and is a left-handed hitting outfielder to keep an eye on.

Joe Faulkner, OF/RHP, R/R, Cumberland Gap HS, 2016
The 6 foot 1, 190-pound prospect posted a 7.32 60 time and had a 4.70 home to first time. Defensively Faulkner had a position velocity of 78 mph with accurate throws. Has fluid footwork in playing through the baseball, high ¾ arm slot with long arm action. Offensively Faulkner showed some bat speed with an 84 mph exit velocity off of the tee from the right side. Faulkner hits from a balanced setup with a short stride and average balance. Has a tendency to have a long path and his a power type hitter. Faulkner has an aggressive approach at the plate and the ball jumps off his bat when he squares it up with his overall strength. He had a hit in game two for the black team.

EJ Matthews, OF, L/L, Boyd Buchanan, 2016
The 5 foot 11, 205-pound prospect posted a 7.00 60 time and had a 4.32 home to 1^st time. Defensively Matthews had a position velocity of 63 mph from the outfield. Had soft hands with quick footwork and played through the ball. Showed short arm action. Offensively Matthews showed average bat speed and had a 74 mph exit velocity off the tee from the left side. Matthews hits from a balanced setup with some stiffness in lower half that he can get more involvement from. Has a short swing path with opposite field tendencies. Matthews is a line drive type hitter.