Prep Baseball Report

Tucson Summer Review: Quick Hits


Paul Panaccione
Arizona State Director

On Aug. 29, Prep Baseball Report Arizona held the Tucson Summer Review at Kino Sports Complex. The Tucson Summer Review is an annual open showcase accessible to the high school players in the Tucson area, granting players the opportunity to be evaluated by the PBR Arizona staff while their tools were analyzed by state-of-the-art technologies on-site. 

Today, we’ll begin to publish our findings from this event in the form of this Quick Hits post. In no order, we will state some of our initial takeaways and highlights from last Sunday’s showcase. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more post-event coverage.

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Quick Hits

Milo Rushford OF / LHP / Walden Grove, AZ / 2022 / New Mexico St.

Positional Profile: OF/LHP. Raw athleticism, will continue to follow development. Physique and skillset could play well at NMSU.

Body: 6-foot-1, 175-pounds. Physical and athletic build. Proportionate strength in upper/lower body. Twitchy actions.

Defense: Takes a direct path to the ball with clean and controlled footwork. Timing to release is consistent.

Arm: LH. OF - 86.00 mph. Throws from a high 3/4 slot. Good arm strength. Gets through the ball well and keeps it low through the cut with good accuracy. Slight arm side run from the outfield.

Hit: LH. Medium width in setup, base just outside of shoulder width. Sets up square to pitcher with hands just off the back shoulder. Bat laying horizontal. Has some rhythm in the box with a small direct stride. Slight uphill path, looks to drive the ball in the air. Holds his ground well and stays balanced.

Power: 97 mph exit velocity. Works to the pullside in the air. Impacts the ball well driving balls with some flight to the pullside.

Run: 6.60 runner in the 60. Short and quick strides. Moves well.

Delivery: Throws from the stretch. Good balance and direction down the mound.

Arm Action: LH. Breaks his hands lower with consistent timing. Delivers from a high 3/4 slot. Quick arm and gets out front well.

FB: T 85 mph, 81-84 mph. Slight arm side run, commands it well down in the zone.

CB: 68-69 mph. Downward 11/5 break.Starts high out of his hand.

CH: 70-72 mph. Has some depth to it. Keeps it down in the zone. Played as most consistent offspeed pitch on this day.

Sal Valenzuela OF / LHP / Nogales, AZ / 2024

Positional Profile: OF/LHP, High upside on the mound. Arm is clean with a projectable body and room to grow.

Body: 6-foot, 175-pounds. Athletic build, room for physical development. Projectable body.

Defense: Approaches the ball smooth and is direct with the glove. Slower shuffle with footwork to release.

Arm: LH. OF - 81.00 mph. Throws from a high 3/4 slot. Clean arm with 4 seam carry. Throws were on target.

Hit: LH. Wider setup with a slightly open stance. Weight is noticeably on his back side. Sets up with front shoulder slightly higher than the back. Bat lays flat on shoulder. Loads onto his back side with moderate leg kick. Gains some ground towards pitcher and creates some length with hands. Path is slightly rotational.

Power: 88 mph exit velocity.

Run: 7.28 runner in the 60. Long strides. Lacks consistency with strides.

Delivery: Good tempo from the windup. Has a high leg kick and sinks back down into his back leg. Gets down the mound well.

Arm Action: LH. Delivers from a high 3/4 slot. Timing with separation is consistent and gets out front and through his pitches. Delivery is clean.

FB: T 82 mph, 80-81 mph. Slight arm side run with some tilt.

SL: 70-72 mph. Inconsistent with release point. Needs to improve SL command.

CH: 68-71 mph. Showed to be his best secondary pitch on this day. Thrown with FB intent, has some depth to it.
 

Aleksander Krupa 3B / 1B / Cienega, AZ / 2023

Positional Profile: 3B/1B Will be following his development throughout the year. The bat showed to be his best tool on this day, taking one of the more standout rounds on batting practice.

Body: 6-foot-4, 190-pounds. Long and lean build. Room to add some physicality.

Defense: Slower first step. Some inconsistencies with the glove while moving laterally. Profiles more as a 1B.

Arm: RH. INF - 76.00 mph. Throws from a high 3/4 slot. Slight hitch/loop after separating.

Hit: RH. Quiet setup. Slightly open stance with base just outside of shoulder width. Bat rests on his shoulder. Creates some separation with hands during stride. Gets back to a square position after stride. Direct bath path with good extension through the zone. Attacks the inner half of the baseball. Ball comes off the bat with backspin flight.

Power: 95 mph exit velocity. Consistent with the barrel. Swing plane plays to all fields, hard backspun line drives.

Run: 7.14 runner in the 60. Consistent with strides, medium length. Moves well for his size.

Blake Lehmbeck 3B / RHP / Canyon Del Oro, AZ / 2022

Positional Profile: 3B/RHP Interesting uncommitted 22 prospect. His arm showed to be his best tool on this day, recording the workouts best FB velocity. Strength and size is there. With some minor swing tweaks Lehmbeck could be a two way prospect somewhere. Definite follow on the mound.

Body: 6-foot-1, 195-pounds. Strong build, thick lower half.

Defense: Feet are active. First step is good and fields the ball in rhythm to first base. Showed the ability to throw on the run and use different slots.

Arm: RH. INF - 86.00 mph. Throws from a high 3/4 slot. Good carry across the diamond. Ability to make throws from deep in the hole.

Hit: RH. Wide base, sets up square to the pitcher. Some rhyme with the hands, bat sits just above the shoulder. Small knee-to-knee stride. Path is uphill. Creates some top spin to the pull side. Back foot comes off the ground before contact transferring weight to the front side.

Power: 95 mph exit velocity.

Run: 7.90 runner in the 60.

Delivery: Big body with good mound presence. High leg and sinks into back knee before delivering.

Arm Action: RH. Longer arm action. After separation, hides the ball behind his body. Throws from a high 3/4 slot.

FB: T 88 mph, 86-88 mph. Gets through his FB well. Stays true, 4 seam spin. Ability to work both sides of the plate.

CB: 69-71 mph. Bigger breaking ball. Has some downward action, break is from 2/8. Gets out and around it at times.

CH: 71-75 mph. Straight change. Not much depth to it but plays 13-15 mph off his FB. Commanded down in the zone.

Shea Prahl LHP / OF / Marana, AZ / 2022

Positional Profile: LHP/OF Left handed arm that commands three pitches for strikes. Good uncommitted 22 follow throughout the fall.

Body: 6-foot-2, 215-pounds. Big body, twitchy for his size.

Delivery: Throws from the stretch. Has a jerky delivery, creates some deception.

Arm Action: LH. Delivers from a high 3/4 slot. Fast arm, throws all pitches with intent.

FB: T 85 mph, 84-85 mph. Slight arm side run, commanded down in the zone. Seems to be more comfortable working arm side.

CB: 73-75 mph. Not a ton of depth, but has late downward action. Stays on a fastball plane and dips out of the zone.

CH: 76-77 mph. Thrown with aggression and intent. Comes out of his hand like a fastball. Commanded down in the zone for a strike.

 

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UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
Arizona Fall Underclass Showcase AZ 10/03 Grand Canyon University
Arizona Fall Upperclass Showcase AZ 10/17 Grand Canyon University