By John Cackowski
State Director

The Prep Baseball Report’s Top Prospect Games took place on August 6th and 7th at the historical Cherry Creek High School Baseball Field.  70 prospects showed up and strutted their stuff in a pro-style workout. Over the next several days the PBR Scouting staff will roll out position-by-position rankings of the event, culminating with the Top Ten Overall Prospects from the showcase.

We posted the Statistical Breakdown from the Top Prospect Games, which you can view HERE.

We also broke down the Top Tools of the event.  Click Here to view the Top Tools based on various commonly used scouting criteria for analyzing prospects.

 

Top Catchers

Michael Felton, C/OF, Mountain View, (2018)
5-foot-11, 180-pound right hand hitting catcher/outfielder.  At the plate he hits from a slightly open stance with with a leg kick. Hands load down and back and is on time. Swing is level through the zone. Improved exit velocity off a tee from 89 to 91 mph. Has gap to gap power.  Behind the plate he has quick feet and a quick release with a strong arm coming in at 77 mph. Pop-times were 1.9-2.00. He blocks well and has quiet hands when receiving. Athletic catcher who ran a 7.1 laser timed 60.

Ryan Hutchinson, C/OF, Heritage, (2018)
5-foot-11, 155-pound right hand hitting catcher/outfielder. Defensively was the best receiver at the event. Soft hands and steals strikes. Accurate on all throw downs with a 1.9-2.0 pop-time off a coach. Arm velocity behind the plate was 76 mph.  Makes catching look effortless. At the plate stands slightly opened and has a simple balanced stance with a short stride for timing. Short to the ball with good extension through the hitting zone.   He had a 81 MPH exit velocity and had line drive power up the middle through the infield. Catches with a lot of confidence. Ran a 7.60 laser timed 60.

Brock Bernall, C/OF, Pomona, (2018)
5-foot-10, 155 pounds. Bats and throws right. Wide balanced stance, toe tap approach. Level swing through zone for line drives. Fast hips to inside pitch. Good looking athlete. Bat spreed produced an 85 mph exit velocity off the tee. Bernall is an athletic catcher. Might project as an outfielder, and threw 81 mph from right. Can run a little. We have had Bernall at 7.06 60, and he ran a 7.1 laser timed 60 at this event. Behind the plate was. 1.9 to 2.0 pop time off the coach.

Best of the Rest Listed Alphabetically

Austin Brady, C/OF, Rampart, (2018)
5-foot-11, 175 pound catcher. Bats and throws right. Has a "farm-strong" type style to him. At the plate hitting is mostly all upper body which produces a 90 mph exit velocity. Pull hitter. Balanced stance to start. Loads hands back and generated decent bat whip with a one-arm finish. Doesn't really use lower half. Has a strong arm as a catcher throwing 78 mph. Pop-times off coach were a solid 1.9 to 1.93. Has soft hands receiving. Feet move quick to blocking balls. Defensively like his skill set. Ran a 7.3 60 laser timed 60.

Wilson Helton, 3B/C, Mountain Vista, (2018)
6-foot, 180 pound. Bats and throws right. Stance is slightly wide, hands load straight back, slight leg kick as timing. Good lower half rotation. Armed with good bat speed through the zone that produces a 92 mph exit velocity off the tee. Timing type of hitter.   When framing exaggerates glove trigger at times, but frames well and gains good ground on throws that are accurate to bag. Quick arm release and gains good ground to 2nd. Pop time off pitcher came in at 1.95 throwing 77 mph. Ran a 7.40 laser timed 60. Solid 2018 prospect.

Maxton Hyson, C, Durango, 2018
6-foot-1, 185 pounds. Bats and throws right. Stands tall in his stance with a toe tap stride. Minimal load, and slight uphill swing that produces a 79 mph exit velocity. Pull tendencies, but some line-drive power potential. Behind the dish sticks the ball strong when he frames. Strong wrists. On throw downs could stay a little lower coming through, but showcased  a 2.0 pop-time off the coach. Frames well with little movement.  Arm velocity was 73 mph. Ran a 7.48 laser timed 60.

Jesse Martinez, C, Poudre, 2019
5-foot-8, 170 pounds. Bats and throws right. At the plate has an open stance, which he closes down with short stride, and when loads goes into slight crouch. Level swing through zone with one-handed finish. Gap to gap power producing a 83 mph exit velo off the tee. On throw downs registered a 2.10 pop-time off a coach. He gains ground going into right handed hitter, so could improve time gaining ground towards second. Arm velocity was 72 mph. Very soft hands receiving. No movement. Ran a 8.1 laser timed 60.

Denver Matlock, C/1B, Pine Creek, 2018
5-foot-11, 170 pounds. Bats and throws right. A has tall, narrow slightly opened stance. Keeps hands inside of the ball for a long time. Bottom hand dominant.  Line-drive power gap to gap produced 78 mph exit velocity. Behind the dish has an over the top arm slot. 2.1 pop-time off coach. Frames well. Works hard behind the plate. Ran a 8.20 laser time 60.

Andrew Naha, C/OF, Denver East, 2020
6-foot-1, 155 pounds. Bat and throws right. Has a balanced athletic stance. Line drive swing with very good extension through the hitting zone with gap to gap power. Exit velocity was 78 mph. In the outfield had one of the top arm velocities at 80 mph from right field. Showed good actions. Behind the dish is athletic. Could use some coaching on technique. Has slight pause in throws but still was able to get pop-time of 2.01 off coach. Arm velo behind dish was 72 mph. Ran a 7.6 laser timed 60. Prospect to follow.

Jaren Piepho, C/3B, Rocky Mountain, (2019)
6-foot-0, 165-pound right hand hitting catcher.  At the plate has a tall balanced stance. Slightly opened with a leg kick. Loads hands straight back and gets good extension through the zone with a high one arm finish. He had a 80 MPH exit velocity off the tee.  Big frame, and strong kid. In the outfield charges well and and has good fundamentals. Throws from a long over the top arm slot. Framing is his strength behind the plate. Has a strong enough arm, just has a slight pause in throwing motion that hurts pop-time.  He moves will to block balls and stays low through his throws to the bag.  He had a 2.23 pop-time and a 72 MPH arm was accurate to the bag. Ran a 7.48 laser timed 60.

Derek Schroeder, C/3B, Grandview, (2018)
6-foot-0, 175-pound right hand hitting catcher/third base who ran a 7.6 60 time.  At the plate he starts with an open stance. Quieted down leg kick from last time we saw him. Now strides out with soft stride for timing.  Good lower leg drive through the swing produced an 83 MPH exit velocity. Strong kid. Behind the plate he sets up low in the zone and has good hands while receiving. Improved his pop time to 2.0 off the coach and there is room to improve because arm action is a tad long for a catcher.  His arm was 75 MPH with some accuracy.

Bailey Seeger, C/3B, ThunderRidge (2018)
5-foot-8, 155-pound right-handed hitting catcher. Seeger has gotten a lot bigger over the last year and showed well in the Top Prospect Games. He hits from a narrow open stance with high leg kick, gains ground with his stride. Swings down to the ball with slight uphill swing with good extension. Generated an improved exit velo of 79 mph off the tee. Getting a little stronger. Defensively, Improved pop times ranged from 2.12 to 2.15, and jumped from 62 mph from the crouch to 73 mph with good accuracy. Ran a 7.7 laser timed 60. A late bloomer, you are starting to see the foundation of skills Seeger has now that he is getting stronger.

 

 

 

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