St. Louis - Underclass Showcase: Quick Hits

The PBR staff visited GCS Credit Union Ballpark to host the fall’s St. Louis - Underclass Showcase on Saturday, Oct. 13. The event featured over 40 prospects representing the 2020, 2021, and 2022 classes from the surrounding St. Louis area.

Today, we kick off the event analysis with a look at a few of the top performers from the event. Keep in mind, there are a number of prospects not mentioned below who will be noted in an upcoming stat story and future positional breakdowns.

Infielders

+ 2020 INF/RHP Phil Brennaman (Oak Park, MO) was one of the top two-way prospects in attendance. The Kansas City area product has a short, quick arm on the mound and was up to 86 mph with easy effort throughout. Brennaman also showed feel for an above-average three-pitch mix. At the plate, loose swing, bat stays flat through the zone and has the ability to backspin the baseball to both gaps. Defensively, steady defender with the tools to stick on the infield.

+ RHP/3B Zachary Kempfer (Nashville, IL) is a 2021 who intrigued with his right-handed bat and on the mound. At the plate he takes an aggressive hack, has loose, strong hands and made a lot of hard contact to the pull-side. On the mound, he works from a low-¾ slot and both offspeed offerings have above-average potential.

+ Colin Brueggemann (Freeburg, IL) has an imposing, 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame and swings a left-handed bat. His bat works level through the zone and flashed pull-side power in his round of BP, leaving the yard down the right field line.

+ INF Chase Beattie (Holt, MO) emerged as a high-follow 2022 prospect. The 5-foot-10, 190-pound, strong, physical right-handed hitter ran a 7.24 60, creates explosive bat speed for his age and the ball jumps off his bat. Uphill bat path and currently works gap-to-gap with power potential. Defensively, he may be best suited for third base. Steady sure hands, quick arm and throws clocked at 80 mph across the diamond. Looks to be one of the more advanced prospects in the Missouri’ 2022 class.

Outfielders

+ OF Isaac Dixon, a 2020 from Lafayette (MO) ran an event best, 6.87 60 and flashed a quick twitch swing with natural lift.

+ Another intriguing 2020 outfielder from Lafayette (MO) was 6-foot-1, 180-pound, left-handed hitting Cole Krieger. Krieger has a fast bat with fluid rhtyhm and made a lot of hard contact in his round of BP. Defensively, he has natural outfield actions and a short loose arm action.

+ Cooper Greenwood (Rock Bridge, MO) was yet another 2020 outfielder from Missouri who handled the bat well. The 5-foot-11, 201-pound, right-handed hitter showed loose hands, a quick bat, pull approach and registered an 89 mph exit velocity from a tee. Defensively, he throws a true ball from the outfield that was up to 81 mph.

+ OF/INF 2021 Hayden Moore (Edwardsville, IL) is a dynamic switch-hitter that handles the bat equally as well from both sides of the plate. Has a confident, relaxed demeanor in the box, loose hands, fast bat and sneaky pop, especially from the left-side. He ran a 7.13 60 (has run a 6.88 in the past), is a natural defender in the outfielder and throws were clocked at 84 mph.

+ Another 2021 from Illinois to follow moving forward is Logan Korte (Massac County). The 6-foot-1, 170-pound, athletically-built, right-handed hitter has advanced bat speed for his age, made consistent hard contact and works gap-to-gap. In the outfield he has quick feet, plays through the baseball and throws topped at 77 mph.

+ 2021 Josh Turner (St. Charles Lutheran, MO) had an impressive all-around day. The 6-foot-2, 192-pound, left-handed hitter, ran a 6.94 laser-timed 60, takes an aggressive swing at the plate, creates bat speed and looks to lift the baseball to the pull side. Registered an 88 mph exit velocity from a tee and was clocked at 83 mph from the outfield.

Catchers

+ One of the top catchers in attendance was 6-foot-1, 185-pound Reese Hutchins (Paducah Tilghman, KY). The 2020 left-handed hitter has an easy swing, stays on top of the baseball, works level through the zone and registered an 84 mph exit velocity from a tee. Defensively, he has a quick exchange, traditional, short, over-the-top catcher arm action and throws topped at 75 mph from the crouch.

+ 2021 Matthew Hunzinger (Dietrich, IL) is an athletically-built, 6-foot, 145-pound, left-handed hitting catcher to follow moving forward. At the plate, he has a simple, handsy swing with easy effort, level bat path and feel for the barrel. Defensively, he has clean actions and throws were true and clocked at 74 mph.

+ Timberland (MO) product, Donovan Horn, has a strong 6-foot, 205-pound frame and bring physicality from the right-handed batters box. The 2021 swings the bat with intent, creates bat speed and looks to lift the baseball to the pulls side. Defensively, his arm works short and over-the-top and topped at 76 mph from the crouch.

Left-Handed Arms

+ 6-foot, 185-pound, LHP Payton Heinley is a 2021 with upside from Kennett (MO). Heinley has a short, clean, quick arm and can spin two different breaking balls with distinct shapes and velocities. He worked around the zone with his four-pitch mix and ran his fastball up to 80 mph.

+ Another young left-handed pitcher to keep an eye on moving forward is 2022 Kade Biellier (Willard, MO). Biellier, ran his fastball up to 78 mph, threw a breaking ball with sharp action and had feel for his changeup down in the zone.

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