Houston Summer Open: Quick HIts
June 20, 2023
On June 7, the PBR Texas team hosted the Houston Summer Open at Rice University’s Reckling Park in Houston. The event featured players from all HS classes and provided our staff with an in-depth look at some of the area's top prospects. Toda, we take a look at some of the standouts from the day
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Griffin Lewis RHP / SS / Flower Mound Marcus, TX / 2024Lewis really opened some eyes when he took the mound for his bullpen at Rice. The 6’ righty featured a fastball that he ran up to 91.3 He had the ability to spin it at the top of the zone and throw a fastball with some hop, and then he could sink it at the bottom of the zone with some ASR. His favorite secondary is his change. He threw it in the upper 70’s and showed the ability to really kill the spin on it. He is confident enough in the pitch to throw it right on right. He also threw a slider that showed late life when he landed it. It had big horizontal movement, and should be a real put away pitch against righties. Lewis has an athletic frame with a quick arm, and I think he has another bump in his velocity coming. Lewis really set the tone for the rest of his summer. |
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Jacob Gilbert RHP / OF / McKinney Boyd, TX / 2025Another DFW arm that made his way down to Rice was Gilbert. The McKinney Boyd rising senior is 6’2 190 with a long high ¾ arm action. He is long out of the glove and still working on consistently syncing up his mechanics, but the ball comes out clean and he was up to 90.2 on the day. There is plenty more coming as he continues to gain strength and gets more innings. He threw a hard slider that was up to 80 and showed late life that should generate plenty of swing and miss. He also threw a changeup in the upper 70’s that he showed good feel for at the bottom of the zone. He killed the spin on it and was able to bury it down. Gilbert is an intriguing arm that could really pop this summer and fall if he consistently gets in the zone. |
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Logan Sariga OF / RHP / Clear Brook, TX / 2025Sariga was one of the stars of the Houston Open. He showed well in everything he did, and with a projectable frame, Sariga will be one to follow moving forward. The 6’4 RHP/OF ran a 6.95 60 showing good athleticism for his size. He then threw an event best 93 from the OF with good carry and was accurate with all of his throws. The swing is still a little raw, but he had an exit velo of 91 mph and showed the ability to find the barrel consistently. As he keeps growing into his body, there is more power to come. On the mound, Sariga was up to 85, but I believe there is plenty more in there. Wouldn’t surprise me to see him in the upper 80’s fresh this summer. He threw two distinct breaking balls as well that both showed potential. The slider was in the mid 70’s and is the swing and miss pitch, and then the curveball was in the mid 60’s and more of a show pitch. Overall, it was a really good day for Sariga |
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Caden Barber 3B / OF / Clear Falls, TX / 2024Barber had a solid day overall. He ran a 7.02 60, and then showed off a good arm during the defensive workouts. He was 88 from the OF and 84 from the INF with good actions giving him positional flexibility. At the plate, Barber showed a short, compact swing that allowed him to find the barrel often, tying for the highest barrel % in the event. Barber is another one that has a lot of strength to gain still, and should make some big jumps if he does. Overall a really good day for Barber, who showed a lot of versatility and athleticism. |
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Nicholas Ellis RHP / 1B / Midland Christian, TX / 2024One of the big winners from the event was Ellis. The rising senior from Midland Christian opened some eyes with his BP. He had the top max exit velo of the day with 96.1. There is a lot of present strength and bat speed and he showed the ability to go backside with authority as well. The power has another jump to take as he learns to lift the ball more consistently. Ellis also hopped on the mound and threw a bullpen. He topped out at 86 from a drop and drive delivery. He has a long arm swing out of the glove and throws from a high ¾ slot. Ellis is a physical presence with a lot of tools that could have a loud summer. |
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Conner Helms 3B / SS / Dripping Springs, TX / 2025Rankings StateRank: 52 / POS: 3
Helms continues to make big jumps when I see him. The CenTex infielder showed off his arm during the defensive workouts. He had an event best 90 mph infield velo, and showed good accuracy with the arm as well. He can make all the plays on the left side of the infield and his glove work impresses each time I see him. At the plate, Helms shows off elite bat speed with a max of 84.0. He is able to produce upper 90’s exit velocities and shows some real power potential with the projection left in his frame. Helms always gets after it, and he continues to get better, he has turned himself into one of the top uncommitted bats in the state for the ‘25 class. |
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Jake Barron SS / 3B / Tomball Memorial, TX / 2025One of my favorite players on the day was Barron. He took the best infield on the day showing good actions and range, and was able to throw from different angles. At the plate, he had a standard set up and was short to the ball. He had a max exit velocity of 92.6, but there is more to come. Barron has a projectable frame and has a lot of good weight to put on still. Barron will be able to stay on the left side of the infield, and as the strength comes he will really start to blow up. |
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Nathan Eveler C / 2B / Kingwood Park, TX / 2026Eveler is a rising sophomore from Kingwood Park, and he had a good day at Rice. But where Eveler really stood out was during the defensive portion behind the plate. The athletic backstop had consistent pop times sub 2, ranging from 1.96-1.99. He showed quick feet with a quick transition and was accurate as well. He shows good arm strength for his grade, maxing out at 76 mph. Eveler is a LHH that shows some bat speed. He stayed in the big part of the field and as he continues to get stronger, Eveler will be a force at the plate. Overall, Eveler really impressed defensively and I am excited for my next look at him.
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UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| Central Texas Summer Open | TX | 06/21 | Salado High School - Salado, TX |
| Top Prospect Games: South Texas (Invite-Only) | TX | 06/27 | Texas A&M University |
| West Texas Summer Open | TX | 07/11 | Abilene Christian University - Crutcher Scott Field |
| Top Prospect Games: North Texas (Invite-Only) | TX | 07/17 | Texas Christian University |
| PBR Junior Future Games | NATIONAL | 07/25 | LakePoint |
| Uncommitted Senior Games - Tyler JC | TX | 08/01 | Tyler Junior College (Mike Carter Field) - Tyler, TX |
| Dallas Summer Open | TX | 08/02 | Lake Dallas High School - Corinth, TX |