Prep Baseball Report

Player Analysis: Team Navy from the Top Prospect Games



By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

Previously we released the complete statistical analysis from the 2013 Top Prospect Games.

Team Navy featured some impressive performances from several players over the two-day event.  To start with, six players ran a sub 7.0 60 yard dash led by Kaleb Duckworth with a blazing 6.56.  Others included Connor McHugh at 6.74, Jeremy Downs at 6.81, Mason Forbes at 6.85, Hayden Ford at 6.87, and Jason Suchanek at 6.88.

The team had plenty of arm strength as well as McHugh led all participants with an 89 mph infield arm and followed that up with a 91 mph arm from the outfield.  Ethan Stringer wasn't far behind with throws that registered 88 mph from the outfield.  Suchanek again showed good arm strength at 84 mph from the infield and 87 mph from the outfield, and Jeremy Downs and Mason Forbes got in on the act with 85 mph and 84 mph from the outfield respectively.

Addison Coffey recorded a 1.97 pop time.

Chase Boling recorded an event best 94 mph tee exit velocity, followed by Brayden Combs at 90 mph.

The team also featured some solid pitching performances as Stringer, McHugh, Nick Eggemeyer, and Chance Madden all showed mid-80's velocity, and Keith Carter showed good pitchability with a swing and miss curveball.

The following is a complete analysis of Team Navy.

Ethan Stringer, OF/RHP, Beechwood HS, 2016
6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect with athletic build, good outfield actions, moves well and plays through the ball, showed one of the most accurate arms of the event at 88 mph with online carry.  At the plate, hits from a balanced, crouch setup, short stride, explosive lower half creates barrel whip through the zone, had a solid round of BP consistently barreling up the baseball, consistent hard contact in game play including a triple to center field, ran 7.00 60 yard dash, 87 mph tee exit velocity.  As a pitcher, shows long and loose arm action through high ¾ arm slot, repeatable mechanics, good balance in delivery, quick arm, fastball had slight arm side run and sat 82-84 mph touching 85, good command of curveball at 70-71 mph with sharp 11/5 action, changeup showed some sinking action at 70 mph.  Keep an eye on Stringer; very high-level 2016 prospect with two-way ability.

Andrew Hayden, LHP, Daviess County HS, 2016
6-foot-2, 150-pound prospect with lanky build, shows long arm action and looseness in his arm, easy effort in delivery and good rhythm, fastball sat 74-75 mph touching 76 and showed some cutting action, showed very good command of 62-65 mph curveball with 1/7 action, solid repeatable mechanics, very good upside for this 2016 prospect.

Jeremy Downs, OF, Ryle HS, 2014
5-foot-9, 150-pound prospect shows athletic actions in the outfield, plays through the ball very well, shows good arm strength at 85 mph.  At the plate, hits from open setup, squares frontside with a long stride, smooth load, gets lower half involvement in swing, long swing path at times, line drive type hitter, ran 6.81 60 yard dash which was significant improvement over previous event, registered 76 mph tee exit velocity (has been up to 80 mph).  Athletic 2014 prospect.

Zach Pangallo, SS, Newport Central Catholic HS, 2015
5-foot-10, 162-pound prospect shows good infield actions, fluid footwork, plays through the ball, good lateral movement,  72 mph throws across the infield, able to throw from different arm angles.  At the plate, the left-handed hitter hits from an open setup, squares frontside, smooth load and fluid rhythm to swing, gets some lower half involvement, shows the ability to go the other way, ran 7.12 60 yard dash, good athleticism.

Mason Forbes, OF, Ryle HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 168-pound prospect, moves well in outfield, shows athletic actions, plays through the ball, clean exchange, 84 mph arm strength.  At the plate, hits from open /athletic setup, short stride, explosive lower half creates barrel whip and quick bat speed, shows definite power potential, made consistent hard contact in BP and in game play good athlete, ran 6.85 60 yard dash, 86 mph tee exit velocity (has been 90 at previous event), very solid 2014 prospect.

Connor McHugh, SS/RHP, Paul Laurence Dunbar HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect stole the show from an arm strength standpoint.  In the infield, showed athletic actions, soft hands, fluid footwork, quick exchange and an event best 89 mph arm strength across the infield, also shows the ability to play outfield, plays through the ball, event best 91 mph arm from the outfield .  At the plate, hits from slightly open setup, hands drop some in load, hands trigger from chest level, flat bat path, good lower half torque in swing creates bat speed, ran 6.74 60 yard dash, 88 mph tee exit velocity, athletic prospect with very good speed and big arm strength.  On the mound, uses long arm action through a ¾ to high ¾ arm slot, quick arm, fastball shows very good arm side run at 84-86 mph, showed good command of 73-76 mph slider with good bite, definite two-way prospect.

Jason Suchanek, SS/OF, Beechwood HS, 2014
5-foot-9, 165-pound prospect with strong legs, shows soft hands, fluid footwork, moves well laterally, plays through the ball with good arm strength at 84 mph across the infield, shows the ability to play outfield as well with a strong accurate arm at 87 mph.  Offensively, hits from a balances setup, leg kick trigger, short stride, showed better use of lower half from previous events, has quickness in hands and creates good bat speed through the zone, consistently found the barrel in round of BP, ran 6.88 60 yard dash, very solid, athletic 2014 prospect.

Keith Carter, LHP, Meade County HS, 2014
6-foot-2, 165-pound prospect with lanky build and projectable frame, shows a quick arm through a high ¾ arm slot, attacks hitters well, fastball sat 79-81 mph with good arm side run, shows good command and arm action on 66-69 mph curveball with tight 1/7 action, swing and miss type curveball.  Struck out 3 of the first 4 hitters he faced in game play with good pitchability, has a good idea on the mound, solid 2014 left-handed pitching prospect.

Michael Dwyer, 3B, Ballard HS, 2015
6-foot, 180-pound prospect shows good corner footwok, moves well laterally, room to improve hands and arm strength, 69 mph across infield.  At the plate, hits from a balanced, athletic setup, tendency to drop hands in load, short stride, good balance, would benefit from better lower half torque in swing, ran 7.08 60 yard dash, registered 75 mph tee exit velocity.

Jed Arend, 2B, Daviess County HS, 2016
5-foot-8, 140-pound prospect shows good infield actions with fluid footwork, quick exchange, soft hands, arm strength at 75 mph across the infield.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, short stride, short path to the ball, shows some quickness in hands, showed good barrel awareness in round of BP, ran 7.59 60 yard dash, 76 mph tee exit velocity, solid potential on this 2016 prospect that will continue to get physically stronger.

Addison Coffey, C/RHP, Boyle County HS, 2015
5-foot-9, 150-pound prospect shows good blocking skills, good athleticism behind the plate, continue working on sticking the pitch down in the zone, quick glove to hand transfer, pop times registered 1.97-2.08 with 73 mph arm strength.  On the mound, uses medium arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball sat 79-80 mph with some cutting action, showed good command of 67-69 mph curveball that showed sharp 11/5 action, confidence to throw the curveball on any count, repeatable mechanics and smooth rhythm to delivery.

Jakob Shuler, C, Apollo HS, 2016
6-foot, 195-pound prospect with strong build, shows good receiving and blocking skills, good lateral movement behind the plate, shows athleticism, arm strength at 69 mph from the crouch with pop times of 2.15-2.32, room to improve pop times with quicker glove to hand exchange and more arm strength.  At the plate the left-handed hitter uses a balanced approach, smooth load, short stride, slight uphill path to the ball, good lower half torque in swing, quick bat, shows good power potential, definite 2016 prospect to follow.

Hayden Ford, 1B, St. Xavier HS, 2014
6-foot-3, 200-pound prospect with strong/athletic build, shows good actions and feet around the bag, soft hands, athletic first baseman.  At the plate, slightly open setup, slight arm bar in load, short stride, good use of strong lower half creates bat speed through the zone, slight uphill path to the ball, shows power potential, solid round of BP squaring the ball up consistently, made consistent hard contact in game play, ran 6.87 60 yard dash, 88 mph tee exit velocity.

Nick Eggemeyer, RHP, St. Mary HS, 2014
6-foot-4, 200-pound prospect, strong legs and build, long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, loose arm, easy effort in delivery, fastball sat 83-86 mph, 2-seamer showed some armside run, curveball sat 68-72 mph and he showed some difficulty with command early, getting around it and leaving it up in the zone, found release point later and curveball showed sharp 11/5 action when down, good arm action on changeup that sat 74 mph, would not be surprised to see more velocity to come from Eggemeyer.

Chance Madden, RHP, Lafayette HS, 2015
6-foot, 220-pound prospect with strong lower half, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, arm shows some looseness, falls off to 1B side occasionally, fastball sat 81-83 mph touching 84, fastball is heavy with late run and sinking action, has a tendency to get around curveball leaving it flat at 65-67 mph, showed good command of 72-75 mph changeup with good arm side run and arm action.  Definite 2015 pitching prospect to follow.

Kaleb Duckworth, OF, Henderson County HS, 2014
6-foot-3, 190-pound prospect, plays through the ball, moves well, 78 mph arm strength from outfield.  Offensively, hits from balances setup, short stride, quickness in hands, strong lower half creates good barrel whip through the zone, shows big power potential, big time speed with a 6.56 60 yard dash, registered 90 mph tee exit velocity, arm strength may limit him to left field at the next level but very high level run and hit tools, blasted a long HR to left-center in game play.

Brayden Combs, 1B/RHP, Beechwood HS, 2016
6-foot-4, 225-pound prospect shows good hands, some room to improve footwork, good arm strength at 82 mph.  At the plate, the left-handed hitter uses a wide setup, no stride, short path to the ball, good lower half torque creates bat speed through the zone, shows big power potential, raw strength in swing, definite left-handed power bat to follow.  On the mound, uses medium arm action through an over the top arm slot, quick arm, fastball is straight at 82-83 mph, curveball showed late 11/5 action at 73-74 mph, changeup thrown with good arm action at 74 mph.  High level two-way prospect in the 2016 class.

Chase Boling, C, Lexington Catholic HS, 2015
6-foot-2, 235-pound prospect with strong legs, shows solid receiving and blocking skills behind the plate, room to improve footwork and glove to hand transfer, pop times ranged from 2.04-2.22 with 73 mph arm strength from the crouch.  At the plate, hits from a balanced setup, smooth load, short stride, shows power potential, generates explosive bat speed, registered event best 94 mph tee exit velocity, ran 7.63 60 yard dash.

Heath Brownley, 1B/LHP, Male HS, 2014
6-foot-3, 235-pound prospect shows soft hands in the infield with 74 mph arm strength.  At the plate the left-handed hitter hits from an open setup, squares frontside, smooth load, short stride, shows pull tendencies, lower half gets involved to create bat speed through the zone, good power potential from the left side, ran 7.62 60 yard dash, registered 90 mph tee exit velocity.   On the mound, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot to produce a 78-81 mph fastball, curveball is solid with sharp 1/7 action at 68-70 mph, easy effort in delivery.