Prep Baseball Report

Become a Member

More +

BTL Scout Day: Quick Hits

February 6, 2024
By: Eliott Wilk
Midwest Operations Director

On Saturday, February 13th, the PBR Kansas staff traveled to the BTL Indoor Facility in Shawnee, KS, to host the BTL Scout Day. This event, which is in its third year, was open to all BTL 2024-to-2028 prospects with 25+ names in attendance.

All of our events offer players the opportunity to update their recruiting resume and showcase their talents in front of our staff. We also use these events as identifiers for future invite-only events, like the Preseason All-State, our summer Top Prospect Games, and the prestigious Prep Baseball Future Games that takes place at the tail end of the summer.

Today, after combing through our notes from the day, we’ve compiled some of the event’s standouts within these ‘Quick Hits’. Read below to learn about 8 names that popped to our staff from Saturday's trip to Shawnee.

QUICK HITS

+ C Clayton Anderson (Gardner Edgerton, 2025) put together a loud round of BP, with a quick inside out swing that drove balls into the right-center gap consistently. The 6-foot-1, 177-pound junior produced a top exit velocity of 98.9 mph while averaging 94 mph. From behind the plate, Anderson showed athleticism and a quick transfer, posting a 1.93-1.99 second pop time and a velocity of 76 mph - both top two at the event.

+ One of the biggest winners from this event came from one of the top uncommitted juniors in the state of Kansas in C Holden Groebl (Blue Valley North, 2025). The physical, 6-foot-1, 225-pound athlete continues to add more juice, bat speed, and explosion at the plate. In this look, Groebl was on the barrel throughout his round of BP with a 100% hard hit percentage, posting a max exit velocity of 102.1 mph while averaging 98 mph with a powerful right handed swing. Behind the dish, Groebl posted pop times consistently between 1.85 and 1.93 seconds and a top velocity of 81 - both top among all catchers at the event. Groebl also posted a 3.99 30 yard time to boot.

+ A top-10 prospect in Kansas’ 2025 class and 2022 Futures Games participant Brad Janes (DeSoto, 2025; Nebraska commit) continues to show advanced stuff on the mound. The righty was up to 88-89 mph with natural run with his fastball from multiple arm slots; dropping down on occasion. Off that, the 6-foot-1, 180-pound junior spun a slider that was 74-75 mph with -12+ inches of horizontal movement and a curveball at 76-78 mph with -10+ inches of vertical break. Additionally, Janes flashed feel for the zone with a low spin change up as well.

+ RHP/CIF Jackson Barker (Shawnee Mission South, 2027) is an athletic build with room to add strength that impressed on all sides of the ball in this look. In BP, Barker sprayed line drives to all fields with a quick, inside-out swing, producing a max exit velocity of 89.3 mph. Defensively, the freshman showed feel with his footwork around the bag and a top velocity of 88 mph across the diamond. He also pitched in the low to mid-80’s with his fastball topping out at 85.9 mph, with a curveball/changeup mix. 

+ Another freshman that caught our eye was INF/RHP Connor McCool (Shawnee Mission South, 2027). At 6-foot, 165-pound, McCool offers plenty of projection on a lean frame. He showed a short repeatable swing that stayed through the middle of the field, producing exit velos up to 93 mph with bat speeds upwards of 70+ mph. He showed smooth, athletic actions on the infield with an arm posting one of the top infield velocities at 87 mph to go alongside an event-leading mark of 3.91 in the 30. On the mound, the righty was up to 85 mph with a changeup at 74-75 mph and a curveball at 69-70 mph.

+ LHP Evan Fleet (DeSoto, 2025) is a projectable 6-foot-3, 175 pound uncommitted junior to key an eye on from Sunday’s event. Fleet was consistently 83-85 mph from the bump with his fastball, with 14+ average inches of natural run. Additionally, the lefty spun a breaking ball at 69-70 mph and turned over a low spin changeup in the mid-70s. 

+ Another uncommitted junior of note is INF Lance Alexander (Olathe Northwest, 2025). The 5-foot-11, 185-pound righty was consistently on the barrel throughout his BP round, producing a max exit velocity of 92.2 mph with a simple, athletic right handed swing. Alexander’s strength showed in his arm with an event leading mark of 93 mph across the infield while also being up to 87 mph off the mound with a changeup/slider mix to pair.

+ OF/RHP Parker Smith (Olathe South, 2026) is a 6-foot-3, 175-pound athlete with upside on both sides of the ball. Smith showed a quick swing that stayed through the zone and drove balls through the middle of the field in BP, producing exit velocities up to 93 mph. On the mound, Smith used his long-levers to command a three pitch mix for strikes. 

RELATED CONTENT