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Kansas Notebook: Top Prospects Transferring, SME's 2015 Class

July 9, 2014

By Sean McCann
Prep Baseball Report Kansas

2015 top prospects transfer schools 

Two of the top class of 2015 prospects in Kansas are transferring high schools.  Speedy left-hand hitting outfielder and football standout Curtis Whitten moves from Wichita Heights to Derby for the 2014-15 school year.  Power-armed right-hander Garrett Hutson will be transferring from Augusta to St. Thomas Aquinas. 

SM east's Under the Radar '15 Prospects

During Shawnee Mission East’s state tournament run this spring we reported about their physically-impressive 2-3-4 hitters in 6-foot-2, 210-pound Gunnar Troutwine (Class of 2014, Wichita State signee), 6-foot-4, 200-pound Trey Austin (Class of 2014, Iowa Western signee) and 6-foot-5, 190-pound Joey Wentz  (#2-ranked prospect in Kansas Class of 2016).  Clearly these three were a big factor in East’s strong campaign this spring but the Lancers also have a solid class of 2015 group of players we were able to watch play this spring and again in Manhattan this June: 

+ Max Sanborn is a thin, athletic 6-foot-2, 165-pound right-handed pitcher and left-hand hitting middle infielder.  On the mound he has a rhythmic, athletic delivery and clean arm action.  He has a mid-80’s mph fastball and command of a 67-70 12/6 breaking ball.  Sanborn has a high-energy, aggressive approach to pitching – pumping strikes and wasting no time in between pitches.  With his tall, thin frame and quick arm there is likely more in the tank velocity-wise as he matures physically.  This past spring he posted a 7-1 record with a 2.91 ERA for East’s 17-6 squad.  At shortstop he shows athletic actions and a strong, accurate arm.  At the plate, the left-hand hitting Sanborn has loose hands and a middle-of-the-field line drive approach.  We’ve timed Sanborn at 4.26 running home-to-1B from the left side. This spring he hit .354 with six doubles. 

+ We’ve had the opportunity to see East play a handful of times this spring/summer and it seems like every game we go to Charley White quietly collects two hits.  Not surprising to our staff, despite being surrounded by a strong senior class and talented 2016 prospect Wentz, the class of 2015 left-hand hitting White finished second on East in hitting this spring with a .382 batting average.  Everything the 6-foot, 160-pound middle infielder does on the baseball field is fluid and easy – fielding ground balls, running or hitting a line drive into left-center with his simple swing.  He plays the game with composure and is very consistent.  We’ve timed White as low as 4.22 running home-to-1B from the left side.  Like Sanborn, White has a ways to go before filling out his thin, athletic frame. 

+ Karl Harding is a 5-foot-11, 165-pound right-hand hitting class of 2015 catcher/third baseman and a candidate to replace Troutwine as East’s catcher next season.  At the plate he has a short swing and some bat speed.  In a game earlier this summer in Manhattan he drove a triple into right-center field and followed up with a double to left.  He has quick actions behind the plate and his throws to second base have carry to them – he showed sub-2.10 pop times in between innings.  We timed him 4.45 running home-to-1B from the right side.  Harding has some toughness to him and competes well.  He has some present strength but still has room to get stronger and fill out.

+  This summer is the first time we’ve seen class of 2015 right-hand hitting centerfielder Sam Williams, a very physical 6-foot-3, 215-pound football/baseball athlete for East.  He’s somewhat raw at the plate and chased  pitches out of the zone when we watched him but also caught our attention with his impressive speed and strength combination.  We timed him more than once running a sub-4.30 home-to-1B from the right side and, using a wood bat, launched a massive bomb over the left field fence at Tointon Family Stadium in Manhattan – damaging some trees in the process.  Clearly a kid that is as big and runs as well as Williams is going to be on the radar screen of college football recruiters but will also be an interesting player to follow on the diamond.

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