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By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

Eight months can make a big difference in the development of a high school baseball player, case in point, Jake Ziegelmeyer.

We got our first look at Ziegelmeyer last June, at our Top Prospect Games event at Western Kentucky University. Below is a look at his scouting report on the mound from that event.

Scouting Report, June 17, 2014: On the mound, arm is loose and works well, works through a ¾ arm slot that produces some arm-side run and good sink to his fastball, fastball sat 82-83 mph, showed a 76-77 mph slider with short and late break, good command of both pitches and works both sides of the plate, allowed one hit and recorded four ground ball outs in the five hitters he faced in game action, more velocity likely to come, potential high-level prospect on the mound.

Ziegelmeyer impressed that day, and his upside was obvious. I anticipated to see more velocity to come from him, and it happened four months later at our Fall Prospect Games event at Bellarmine University. Below is a look at his scouting report from that event.

Scouting Report, October 19, 2014: 6-foot-3, 200-pound prospect with strong and athletic frame, arm is quick, up tempo delivery, works through a ¾ slot that produces hard arm-side run and late sink on his 84-86 mph that topped at 87, throws a 76-78 mph slider with late bite, changeup is thrown with good arm action at 79-80 mph and has good arm-side run and sink, throws strikes consistently with all pitches, worked two perfect innings with two strikeouts, sinking fastball produced four ground ball outs, has shown recent velocity gains with the potential for more, high-level prospect on the mound.

Fast forward to last Saturday and the Preseason All-State Showcase at Champions Baseball Academy in Nicholasville where Ziegelmeyer continued to show his development into one of the top arms in Kentucky’s 2016 class.

Ziegelmeyer’s fastball routinely sat 86-88, touching 91 mph on one occasion and continued to show the good arm-side run and sink he has shown since we first saw him. His 73-76 mph curveball showed sharp and late 11/5 action, and he also showed good command of his slider which sat 79-80 mph with late break. Ziegelmeyer complemented the breaking balls with good feel for his 78-80 mph changeup that showed good sinking action through the zone.

The 2016 RHP from Ryle HS had been drawing some Division I interest prior to his performance last Saturday, and it’s safe to say that will continue to pick up as we head towards spring.