Top Prospect Games North Texas Quick Hits: Pitchers
July 19, 2023
On July 17, the PBR Texas team hosted the Top Prospect Games: North Texas at TCU. The event was invite-only and featured quality prospects from all HS classes. The day consisted of a showcase portion, followed by gameplay. Today, we take a look at some of the pitchers that stood out on the day.
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Jacob Gilbert RHP / OF / McKinney Boyd, TX / 2025Wesloski’s teammate at Mckinney Boyd, Jacob Gilbert, also had a nice day on the mound at TCU. The 6’3 190 lb. righty has a lot of arm talent and showed better command. Gilbert works with an upper 80’s fastball that can get into the low 90’s. It has a slight cut action to it, but he also shows the ability to run it into a righty. He showed improved command with the pitch, and his misses were marginal. He flashed a hard slider that showed good shape and power. He threw it in the upper 70’s and topped out at 80. Gilbert has the frame and arm talent to really make some noise going into this next school year. |
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Nick Wesloski RHP / OF / McKinney Boyd, TX / 2025The 6’3 Wesloski was sharp in his outing on Monday at TCU. The righty from Mckinney sat in the upper 80’s and bumped 90 a couple times with much more to come. Wesloski has a starter's build, with a stronger lower half that should allow him to handle the workload. His fastball has some hop at the top of the zone, and he can sink it when it is down. His changeup is the better of the two secondary pitches right now. He threw it with good arm speed and got up to 26 in. of Horizontal movement on one of them for a swing and miss. His slider is tighter, and he is throwing it firmer. It has late, short break, that he threw off the plate to righties and under the hands to lefties. Overall, it was a great day for Wesloski and we are looking forward to seeing him pitch for Team Texas next week at the Future Games. |
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Trent Collier LHP / 1B / Walnut Grove, TX / 2024Collier continues to impress this summer, as we got our first look at him against live hitters. The Grayson County commit has a physical presence on the mound. He is 6’3 220 and comes at you aggressively with his fastball. It was mostly in the upper 80’s in this viewing but has been up to 91 this summer. He compliments that with a quality slider that he can get LHH’s to chase, and he can drop it on the back foot of a RHH as well. He throws a changeup as well that shows good ASR. Collier has really taken a big jump this summer, and with another good offseason of getting stronger and tightening up his repertoire, Collier could be poised for a monster senior season. |
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Austin Smith 3B / RHP / Prestonwood Christian, TX / 2026Smith was another two way that had a good day on both sides of the ball. The athletic sophomore from Prestonwood Christian hopped on the mound and showed nicely. He has an easy delivery with good pace. It has some tempo, but never feels rushed. He has a really quick arm that he uses to produce a fastball that topped out at 87. He gets a lot of Horizontal movement on the pitch and showed the ability to sink it as well, making it tough to square up. I He also throws a mid to upper 70’s breaking ball. It is more of a slurve, but he throws it with some power and has some feel for it. He can kill the spin on the changeup, as he got it under 1300 rpm’s. Smith looks ready to be a big contributor for Prestonwood heading into his sophomore season. |
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Elijah Webber RHP / 1B / Boyd, TX / 2026It was my 1st time getting to see the talented ‘26, and Webber didn’t disappoint. We will talk about him in the field and at the plate later on, but he also flashed on the mound as well. The 6’3 170 RHP has a frame to dream on as he is all knees and elbows right now. He has a loose arm out of the glove and throws from a ¾ slot. His fastball topped out at 86.7 but there is so much more to come. He also threw a quality low to mid 70’s breaking ball that has the shape you are looking for in a put away pitch. He showed quality spin on it maxing out over 2500 + rpm’s. He threw a mid 70’s change as well. Webber has all the tools and ingredients to be a high end two way player. As he continues to get stronger, he is going to really explode over the next year. |
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Aiden Reed RHP / 3B / Klein Oak, TX / 2026Rankings StateRank: 89 / POS: 18
Reed, who was a 2022 JFG member, showed up to TCU on Monday much more physical and the stuff has really ticked up. The rising Soph. from Klein Oak HS showed good command of a mid 80’s fastball that topped out at 87. He has clean mechanics, with a repeatable and efficient arm path. He also threw a true curveball that generated some swing and miss plus froze some hitters. He also threw a changeup that he was able to kill the spin on and threw it with the same arm speed as his fastball. Reed had a very mature outing, and if he continues at this rate and puts in the work, he will be on everyone’s radar come next summer when it's 2026’s turn.
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Cole Koeninger SS / RHP / Keller, TX / 2026Koeninger continues the trend of high end two way 26’s that were at TCU on Monday. The first thing you notice about Cole is the frame and athleticism. He is 6’2 180, and started his day by running a 6.85. On the mound, Koeninger has a pretty simple operation, and generates easy velocity. He sat 86-88 with minimal effort. He has a shorter arm stroke, probably from being a MIF, but he repeats it well and shows good command of his fastball. He backed that up with a quality breaking ball that showed some snap. He threw it in the 72-75 range and it showed quality depth. Koeninger has the tools to do it all on the field, and as he gets in the weight room and gets stronger, it will be fun to watch the progression. |
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Traelyn James 3B / RHP / Mesquite Poteet, TX / 2024This was my first time seeing James in Person, and the rising Sr. from Mesquite Poteet definitely impressed. James two wayed it at TCU, but today we will focus on his pitching. The 6’3 righty showed us a fastball that topped out at 88. He had good carry on his fastball and plays well up in the zone. He is long out of the glove, but generates good arm speed and the ball jumps out of his hand. He complimented his fastball with a quality curveball. It showed quality depth, and showed swing and miss characteristics. James has a big, strong frame and with another good offseason, he could be sitting in the low 90’s come his senior season. |
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Gabriel Winans RHP / SS / Birdville, TX / 2025Rankings StateRank: 79 / POS: 20
Winans was impressive in his outing at TCU. The RHP from Birdville is a good athlete, as he locked down SS for his HS team during a deep playoff run. But Winans can really pitch and has some metrics to back it up. His fastball is 85-87 right now, but shows some really good characteristics. He averaged 15.7’’ of IVB, maxing out at 19’’, giving him the opportunity to really pitch at the top of the zone. He also filled the zone up with the pitch. He had the best strike % out of any pitcher there with the fastball. He complimented his fastball with his curveball. It was more up and down and showed late bite to it. Winans has a projectable frame and plenty of strength to gain. As he continues to learn to get in his legs more as well, I think we could see some big velo jumps this fall and spring. |
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Baron Mannis LHP / OF / Argyle , TX / 2025Mannis may have had the most dominant outing on the day. The LHP from Argyle showed high end present stuff, and a frame to dream on as well. The 6’2 rising Jr. showed a fastball that sat in the mid 80’s topping out at 87. He threw from a high slot, averaging 6’7 on his release height, which paired great with his OTT curveball. He can start both at the top of the zone, and drop the breaking ball in for a strike or bury it at the plate to put the hitter away. Mannis really showed the ability to pitch to both sides of the plate, and used one pitch to set up the next. It was an impressive outing for Mannis, and he looks like another quality piece for the loaded Argyle program. |
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Kade Johnson RHP / OF / The Woodlands Christian Academy, TX / 2025Rankings StateRank: 72 / POS: 19
Johnson had a solid day at TCU. The RHP from The Woodlands is a good athlete on the mound and shows a quick arm. His fastball sat 85-86 and topped out at 87.7. He is long out of the glove when he separates and sometimes can get out of sync, but when it is timed up his fastball shows late life and really can get on hitters. He also threw a low 70’s breaking ball that is more horizontal and generates swings off the plate. Johnson also flashes a split change and shows the ability to bury it in the dirt. Overall, Johnson has some real arm talent, as he keeps harnessing his control and command, Johnson is going to garner a lot of attention from coaches. |
UPCOMING EVENTS
| SHOWCASE | STATE | DATE | LOCATION |
| North Texas Senior Games | TX | 08/01 | Tyler Junior College (Mike Carter Field) - Tyler, TX |
| Dallas Summer Open | TX | 08/02 | Lake Dallas High School - Corinth, TX |
| South Texas Senior Games | TX | 08/09 | Blinn College - Brenham, TX |
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