By Drew Locascio and Rob Allison
Illinois and Iowa Scouting Directors

The inaugural Quad Cities Open took place on Sunday, September 25^th at Black Hawk Junior College in Moline, IL.  The event was open to all high school classes in the state of Illinois and Iowa. Following the event the PBR scouting staff compiled all of the notes from the workout and over the next week we will break down the event position by position.

Yesterday we began the analysis from the event taking a look at the catcher’s in attendance. Today we breakdown the outfielders. Uncommitted 2017 Jacob Van De Wiele (Bettendorf, IA) is a 6-foot-5, 190-pound right-handed hitter who ran a 7.08 60 and has present bat strength; 94 mph exit velocity.  

Another outfielder to follow is 2018 left-handed hitter Nicholas Drobushevich (Moline, IL). Drobushevich is a left-handed hitter with pull pop and also ran an event best, 6.70 60.

OUTFIELDERS (Listed Alphabetically)

Luke Anderson, 1B/LHP, Central Dewitt, 2020
6-foot-2, 170-pound left-handed hitting 2-way player. 7.45 runner. Muscular lean athletic frame. Deep crouched stance, double tap trigger to stride, aggressive swinger, steep uphill swing plane, mid-pull approach, 82 mph exit velocity. Appropriate routes and angles in outfield with avg. accuracy and carry to target, long 1-piece arm action from ¾ slot producing 72 mph arm strength from outfield. Tends to sit back on ground balls with late glove presentation, fields deep into body, 73 mph arm strength across infield. On mound, controlled delivery, slight back arm at balance point, high front side, up and over delivery to plate, longer arm action, solid extension to plate. Fastball was 73-75 mph, touching 77 mph, with varying action on a downhill plane. Sideways spin on breaking ball with small shape and break. Flat action on changeup; tends to fall off mound on release.

Carson Behrens, C, Davenport North, 2017
6-foot, 170-pound right-handed hitting catcher. 7.4 runner. Upright stance with easy load, long stride into contact, tends to fall over plate at contact, consistently barreled baseball, works middle of field with line drive contact, 79 mph exit velocity. 70 mph arm strength from outfield. Taller setup, stabs at baseball receiving, avg. mobility behind dish. Solid exchange with direction to target, inconsistent arm action and arm slot effects accuracy to bag, 70 mph arm strength from behind plate with 2.1-2.28 pop times.

Nicholas Drobushevich, OF/RHP, Moline (IL), 2018
5-foot-11, 175-pound, lean, wiry, live bodied two-way prospect. Above-average athlete and high follow left-handed hitter; ran an event best 6.70 60. At the plate, left-handed hitter, looks to pull and drive the ball with authority. Present pop in bat with looseness through the hitting zone and natural lift in swing; 91 mph exit velocity. Wide, solid, slightly crouched setup, deep load and big leg-lift timing trigger. Defensively, in the outfield, flashed long, athletic actions and an accurate arm; clocked at 74 mph from the outfield. On the mound, right-handed pitcher, arm slot and mechanics vary. Exaggerated windup, coil action, front side stays closed and some effort throughout. Fastball slight downhill tilt, cut and run action at times and ranged between 77-79 mph, touching 80. Curveball, 11/5 shape, 59-63 mph. Changeup mostly flat, cut action, 66-68 mph.

Brady Ellison, OF, Dewitt Central, 2018
5-foot-11, 170-pound left-handed hitting outfielder. 6.81 runner. Wider stance, short leg kick trigger, rotational lower half, minimal rhythm and load with hands, uses whole field, line drive and ground ball contact, 86 mph exit velocity. Avg. actions and glove in field, elevated throws to plate, accurate, lower arm slot with stiff shoulder, 71 mph arm strength.

Noah Hoepfner, OF, United Township (IL), 2017
6-foot-2, 185-pound, strong, well proportioned, right-handed hitting outfielder. Started the day off running a 7.07 60. Offensively, hits from a firm base with good balance through contact. Open setup, stride gets back to even and short stride. Consistently barreled line-drives to all fields and flashed the ability to turn on the ball; 85 mph exit velocity from a tee. Defensively, plays through the baseball in the outfield. Short arm action from a high ¾ slot. Throws clocked at 71 mph.

Ben Monroe, OF/RHP, Moline (IL), 2018
6-foot-3, 180-pound two-way prospect with a long, physical build. Ran a 7.01 60. At the plate, right-handed hitter with an aggressive swing and gap-to-gap approach; 85 mph exit velocity from a tee. Balanced, wide setup, some pre-pitch hand rhythm and short stride. Defensively, attacks and plays through the baseball in the outfield. Long arm action and throws clocked at 73 mph. On the mound, right-handed pitcher with a slow methodical delivery and upright finish. Long arm action from an over-the-top slot. Fastball works straight with downhill tilt, sat 74-75 mph, touching 76. Curveball works 12/6 and sat 59-60 mph. Changeup clocked at 68-72 mph.

Tanner Slauson, OF, Iowa City, 2018
5-foot-8, 180-pound right-handed hitting outfielder. 7.78 runner. Square stance, easy actions, quick hands to contact, pull approach, hard contact with lift in swing plane, 78 mph exit velocity. Tends to field on side of ball, long release on throws, elevated to target, 64 mph arm strength from outfield.

Chase VanDerGinst, C/OF, Rock Island Alleman (IL), 2019
6-foot-1, 170-pound, athletically built, projectable, multi-positional prospect. Frame can carry added strength. Ran a 7.07 60. Offensively, left-handed hitter, balanced, stationary setup, easy load and leg-kick timing trigger. Middle/away approach and short path to the ball; 88 mph exit velocity from a tee. Defensively, worked out behind the plate and in the outfield. In the outfield, athletic actions, aggressive routes to the ball, fields out front; short arm action, and accurate throws clocked at 74 mph. Behind the plate, arm carries with some accuracy; clocked at 72 mph from the crouch and pop times ranged between 2.20-2.34.

Jacob VanDeWiele, OF, Bettendorf, 2017
6-foot-5, 190-pound right-handed hitting outfielder. 7.08 runner. Open stance, leg kick trigger, active hand load to create energy, level bat plane with rotation lower half, hard top spin line drive contact to pull side of field, 94 mph exit velocity. Shows angles to ball and fields cleanly, throws flat footed, long clean arm action, accurate to target, 74 mph arm strength from outfield.

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