By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

With just seven players committed in Kentucky’s 2017 class, a lot of talent remains on the board, and the number of commitments will increase dramatically in the coming months. Over the next week or so, we will take a look at the top uncommitted juniors by position group. Today we take a look at four of the top uncommitted lefties in the 2017 class.

Name: Brody Heil
Height: 5-11
Weight: 185
High School: Trinity
State Ranking: 10
Scouting Report: (8/1/15) Pitching for Team KY at the PBR Future Games, Heil had an impressive outing in throwing two scoreless innings. His showed an uptick in velocity with his fastball sitting 84-86 mph and showed good feel for his 68-71 mph curveball, 73 mph slider, and 69 mph changeup. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound lefty allowed one hit and struck out three in establishing himself as one of the top left-handers in the 2017 class.

Name: Dalton Shoemake
Height: 5-11
Weight: 175
High School: Glasgow
State Ranking: 19
Scouting Report: (6/17/15) 5-foot-11, 175-pound LHP uses long arm action and works through a high-3/4 slot, commands all pitches well and hits spots effectively, minimal effort in delivery, fastball sat 79-80 mph topping at 81, two-seam fastball shows some arm-side run, has excellent feel for 67-68 mph curveball with 1/7 action and some depth, allowed no hits, no walks, and struck out four (3 on FB’s and one on CB) in his two innings of work, have seen Shoemake up to 84, and his pitchability makes him one of the top lefties in Kentucky’s 2017 class.

Name: Jared Sizemore
Height: 6-2
Weight: 180
High School: Harlan County
State Ranking: 28
Scouting Report: (7/26/15) Sizemore racked up 10 strikeouts in five innings of work at the PBR WKU Invitational tournament for Elite Baseball Club. He worked his fastball in the 78-82 mph range, and while he throws a slower curveball at 62-65 mph, it has good spin and solid 1/7 action. Sizemore also flashed a few quality changeups at 68-69 mph and did a good job of keeping hitters off-balance. At 6-foot-2, 180-pounds, he has loose arm action and projects for additional velocity. Sizemore was named to the All-Tournament Team for the event.

Name: Mason Hazelwood
Height: 6-5
Weight: 205
High School: Mercer County
State Ranking: 30
Scouting Report: (8/2/15) 6-foot-5, 205-pound LHP is raw but has tremendous upside, works through a ¾ arm slot with long arm action and regular effort, fastball sat 84-86 mph topping at 87, lacks feel for 61-65 mph curveball with varying action that needs continued development, showed a 74-76 mph changeup that has solid potential, also threw a 62-65 mph knuckle ball. Hazelwood has big potential with his size and velocity but will need to work on refining mechanics and secondary pitches to reach full potential. He has the potential to move significantly up the 2017 rankings with continued development