Metro East Open: Corner Infield Analysis

July 30, 2014

By Ryan Quigley
Illinois Scouting Director

The Prep Baseball Report Metro East Open Showcase held on July 9^th at Blazier Field in O’Fallon, Illinois featured many top prospects in the Metro East Area of Southern Illinois outside of St. Louis. The open showcase included players from the 2015-2018 classes. Several corner infield prospects impressed, with Edwardsville HS third baseman Aaron Jackson taking home the top honors thanks to an advanced approach at the plate. Jackson recently committed to play college baseball at SIU-Edwardsville. O’Fallon’s Bradley Snyder also impressed with his lanky frame and future power potential.

Here’s a look at the top corner infield prospects at the Metro East.

Top Corner Infield Prospects

1. Aaron Jackson, 3B, Edwardsville, 2015
6-foot-1, 180-pound right-handed hitting third baseman currently ranked No. 124 in Illinois’ 2015 class. Committed to SIU-Edwardsville. Impressed during live batting practice with above average bat speed and pop. Hits from a tall, narrow, closed setup with a long stride at times producing 85 mph exit velocity and natural lift. Hit an opposite field home run to right center field and several line drives from gap-to-gap. Defensively, plays through the baseball with clean, fluid actions and average hands. Throws 81 mph across the infield from a short, high ¾ arm slot with accuracy and carry. Ran a 7.55 60.

2. Bradley Snyder, 1B, O’Fallon, 2016
6-foot-2, 180-pound lanky right-handed hitting first baseman currently ranked No. 74 in Illinois’ 2016 class, hits from an open setup with a leg kick trigger, and long, uphill bat path producing lift and several line drives from gap-to-gap. Exit velocity up to 82 mph. Moves well defensively at first base, throws 72 mph across the diamond from a short, over the top arm action. Ran a 7.13 60. On the mound, threw 75-77 mph from long, high ¾ plunging/stabbing arm action that effects his ability to be on time/get out front. Shoulders are closed at load, and lands slightly closed throwing across his body. 62-64 mph curveball showed 12/6 action but was erratic with location. 69-70 mph changeup showed cutting action.

3. Tyler Stamer, 3B/1B, Edwardsville, 2016
6-foot-1, 170-pound right-handed hitting corner infielder currently ranked No. 128 in Illinois’ 2016 class. Hits from a wide, balanced setup, with a short stride and hands loading smoothly impressing with power to his pull side. Swing produces lift and 84 mph exit velocity. Took one of the more impressive rounds of live batting practice at the event, with line drives from gap-to –gap. Defensively, throws 78 across the diamond from long, stiff, high ¾ arm slot with carry and accuracy. Ran a 7.21 60, and 4.74 from home to first.

4. Drake Hampton, 3B/SS, Alton, 2015
5-foot-11, 175-pound right-handed hitting 3B/SS hits from an athletic, open, crouch setup with hands loading smoothly, and a long stride, occasionally diving. Showed power to his pull side during live batting practice from long, level bat path producing 83 mph exit velocity. Defensively, showed average hands and quick, fluid footwork with clean exchanges from glove to hand. Throws from short, high ¾ arm slot with accuracy and carry at 78 mph across the infield. Ran a 7.19 60.

5. Bailey Zimmer, 1B, Edwardsville, 2015
6-foot-5, 200-pound lanky, athletic, and projectable right-handed hitting first baseman impressed with power potential at the plate and soft hands at first base. Hits from a tall, slightly close setup, with a short stride, smooth hand load, producing line drives and power to his pull side with 82 mph exit velocity. Barrel shows whip through the zone and creates some lift. Defensively, threw 72 mph across the infield from short, ¾ arm action. Ran a 7.78 60 and 5.26 from home to first.

Best of the Rest (Listed Alphabetically)

Christopher Berry, OF/1B, Kirkwood (MO), 2016
6-foot-1, 195-pound right-handed hitting, left-handed throwing OF/1B hit from an open setup with a leg kick trigger that made him late at times, but showed significant power to his pull side with uphill bat path producing 85 mph exit velocity. Defensively, graded out better at first base than in the outfield, threw 75 mph across the diamond at first, and 76 mph from the outfield, both from a long, slinging, ¾ arm action. Showcased soft hands at first, and turned the double play quickly. Ran a 7.46 60, and 4.68 from home to first.

Adam Biehn, 1B, O’Fallon, 2015
6-foot, 195-pound right-handed hitting first baseman hit from a wide, square, athletic setup collapsing on backside at times. Showed above average bat speed with slightly uphill bat path and power to his pull side producing 78 mph exit velocity. Showed average hands at first base, threw 69 mph across the infield. Ran a 7.54 60 yard dash.

Nicholas Boone, 1B/RHP, O’Fallon, 2018
5-foot-11, 155-pound right-handed hitting first baseman/right-handed pitcher hit from a slight crouch with a no stride/heel lift. Showed average bat speed and a slightly uphill bat path producing 75 mph exit velocity. Threw 66 mph across the diamond from a short, high ¾ slot. Ran a 7.34 60. On the mound, threw fastball between 69-71 mph with erratic command. Had more success throwing 63-65 mph curveball for strikes. Works with regular effort, throwing slightly across his body from short, high ¾ arm action. Also threw a 63-67 mph splitter with tumble that was consistently down and out of the zone.

Mitchell Campbell, 1B, Highland, 2016
6-foot-1, 150-pound lanky right-handed hitting first basemen hit from a balanced, open setup moving hands backwards to load and utilizing a leg kick trigger to produce 76 mph exit velocity. Threw 62 mph across the diamond at first base. Ran a 7.78 60.

Zachary Chapman, 1B/LHP, Highland, 2014
5-foot-11, 195-pound left-handed hitting 1B/LHP hit from a balanced setup with a short stride and a long, aggressive swing with power to his pull side producing 87 mph exit velocity. Over swings at times, getting out front selling out for power. Defensively, showcased average hands at first base with a long, loose, ¾ arm slot at 73 mph across the infield. On the mound, fastball sat 75-76 mph from long, clean arm action. Showed some rhythm in tall and fall type delivery with regular effort. Threw a 62-63 mph curveball with gradual, 1/7 break, and a 71 mph straight changeup with an aggressive fastball arm action.

Ty Dill, MIF/3B, Freeburg, 2016
5-foot-8, 165-pound right-handed hitting middle infielder/third basemen hit from an open stance with a short stride producing a fast, uphill bat path, with opposite field tendencies and 75 mph exit velocity. Defensively, throws from a short, over the top arm action with accuracy 74 mph across the diamond. Showcased average hands fielding and also ran a 7.55 60.

Jacob Dreyer, 3B, O’Fallon, 2018
5-foot-10, 153-pound right-handed hitting third baseman hits from a balanced open setup with a short stride. Short, level bat path produced line drives up the middle and 72 mph exit velocity. Defensively, threw from a short, over the top arm action 65 mph across the diamond with average carry. Ran an 8.22 60.

Jacob Kanallakan, 3B, Alton, 2016
6-foot-1, 190-pound right-handed hitting third baseman hits from a tall open setup, with a short, leg kick stride producing a slightly uphill bat path with 84 mph exit velocity. Defensively, threw 74 mph across the diamond from short, loose, ¾ arm action with some accuracy and average carry. Showed average hands fielding the baseball cleanly. Ran a 7.50 60 yard dash and 5.07 from home to first.

Nicholas Martin, 1B, Belleville East, 2015
5-foot-11, 205-pound right-handed hitting first-baseman with a strong lower half, hit from an open setup with a long, uphill bat path producing several line drives up the middle off the L-screen with 78 mph exit velocity. Threw 72 mph across the infield from a short, high ¾ arm action with average hands and good footwork around the bag. Ran a 7.61 60, and 5.44 seconds from home to first.

Mark Melville, 1B, Lutheran South, 2016
6-foot-1, 185-pound strong and athletic 1B impressed with balanced left-handed swing. Hits from a square setup with a short stride, hands load smoothly producing short, level bat path and above average 88 mph exit velocity. Threw 69 mph across the infield, showcasing average hands at first base. Ran a 7.07 60 yard dash and 4.79 from home to first.

Andrew Militello, 1B, MICDS (MO), 2015
6-foot-2, 235-pound right-handed hitting first baseman hits from a wide setup utilizing a leg kick mostly looking to pull. Produced 79 mph exit velocity. Defensively, threw 72 mph across the diamond from a short, over the top arm slot. Ran a 7.78 60 and 5.01 from home to first.

Michael Richey, C/1B, Sacred Heart-Griffin, 2015
6-foot-2, 243-pound right-handed hitting catcher/first baseman hits from a balanced setup with a leg kick producing an uphill swing with some lift and 74 mph exit velocity. Defensively, pop times ranged between 2.11-2.22 from short, over the top arm slot. Threw 73 mph from the crouch. At first base, threw 74 mph across the diamond. Ran a 8.36 60 and 5.26 seconds from home to first.

Holden Schaefer, 3B/RHP, O’Fallon, 2015
5-foot-11, 175-pound right-handed hitting third baseman/right-handed pitcher hit from a balanced, crouch setup, with uppercut bat path producing exit velocity up to 80 mph. On the mound, works from a long, high ¾ arm slot, toe pointed down during leg lift, landing slightly across his body. Threw more strikes from the stretch with and harder with 71-75 mph fastball. 62-65 mph curveball showed inconsistent shape, and missed with 66-67 mph changeup to his arm side and in the dirt.

Tanner Riggan, 1B, O’Fallon, 2018
5-foot-10, 175-pound left-handed hitting first basemen hits from tall, balanced setup with a leg kick trigger and uphill bat path producing 58 mph exit velocity. Threw 55 mph across the infield from first base, and ran the 60 in 9.77 seconds.