Prep Baseball Report

Unsigned Senior Games: Pitcher Analysis



By Chris Fuller
Kentucky Scouting Director

The Unsigned Senior Games Event held at Northern Kentucky University saw thirty pitchers take the mound over the two-day event and produced several solid performances.

The following is an in depth look at all of the pitchers in attendance at the event.

top prospects

Connor McHugh, RHP, Paul Laurence Dunbar HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 170-pound prospect, athletic frame, uses long arm action through a ¾ arm slot, fastball shows big arm-side run at 84-86 mph and touched 87, slider is a swing and miss pitch which he shows good command of at 74-77 mph with late bite, changeup is thrown with good arm action at 73-74 mph with significant run and sink.  There is no doubt McHugh is one of the top uncommitted arms in Kentucky’s 2014 class.

Griffin Neuer, RHP, Lexington Catholic HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 170-pound prospect with lanky build, projectable frame, uses long arm action through a ¾ to high ¾ arm slot, fastball shows good arm side run and sat 83-84 mph touching 85, will throw curveball from different arm slots, occasionally dropping down, good command of curveball with 11/5/12/6 action at 68-69 mph, throws good changeup with arm-side run and sink at 74 mph, would not be surprised to see more velocity to come from Neuer.

Nathan Verst, RHP, Bishop Brossart HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect, room to fill on frame, uses medium arm action and works through a high ¾ arm slot, shows a quick arm, struggled some with command but settled in, fastball sat 82-84 mph and touched 85, 2-seamer shows some arm-side run, curveball is a solid pitch at 70-72 mph with sharp 11/5 action, good command of changeup thrown with good arm action at 74-75 mph with some fade, solid 2014 pitching prospect.

Noah Sadler, LHP, Mukwonago HS (WI), 2014
6-foot, 170-pound prospect, athletic frame with room to fill, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, good rhythm in delivery, repeatable mechanics, fastball is straight and sat 82-84 mph, works both sides of the plate with fastball, showed good command of 65-67 mph curveball with 1/7 action, changeup thrown with good arm action at 73-76 mph with some sink and fade, projectable pitcher with potential for more velocity, has good idea on the mound.

Quenton Brownlee, RHP, Franklin County HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 185-pound prospect with strong legs, uses medium arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball is straight with occasional cutting action at 83-84 mph touching 85, curveball shows 11/5 action at 65-68 mph, struggles to command curveball at times, arm works, athletic pitcher with potential to add more velocity.

Derek Varner, RHP, Turpin (OH) HS, 2014
6-foot, 182-pound prospect, strong legs, uses short arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, quick arm, fastball sat 81-84 mph with occasional arm-side run, curveball showed sharp 11/5 action, good command of curveball at 70-71 mph, confident pitcher attacks hitters well.

Jalen Stith, RHP, Lafayette HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 185-pound prospect , athletic build, uses long arm action, loose arm, works through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball sat 80-82 mph and touched 83, showed good command of very good breaking ball at 74-75 mph with sharp 11/5 action, got several swing and misses with breaking ball, shows repeatable mechanics, first time throwing live this summer for Stith who was recovering from a non-baseball related injury, solid outing.

Michael Hall, RHP, Bryan Station HS, 2014
6-foot-3, 210-pound prospect with strong frame, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, shows on-line mechanics, pounds the strike zone, fastball sat 80-81 mph touching 82, curveball shows sharp 11/5 action at 73-75 mph, good command and confidence in breaking ball and will throw on any count.

Alex Schoettmer, LHP, Jac-Cen-Del HS (IN), 2014
6-foot, 190-pound prospect with strong lower half, uses medium arm action through an over the top arm slot, quick arm, fastball is straight at 80-82 mph, curveball shows downward spin with sharp action and varies between 62-68 mph, he consistently throws the curveball at the bottom of the strike zone, showed ability to consistently throw strikes.

Kyle Moore, RHP, Muhlenberg County HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 155-pound prospect, average build, uses short to medium arm action, quick arm, works through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball shows occasional arm-side run at 78-83 mph (82-83 in first inning), lost some velocity in second inning of work, curveball has sharp 11/5 action at 70-73 mph, good command of curveball, arm works, throws strikes consistently.

Here is a look at the rest of the pitchers, by team, which also included several other solid performances.

black team

Nolan May, RHP, Trinity HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 165-pound prospect, room to fill on frame, throws from high ¾ arm slot, long arm action, mechanics are on-line, showed 2-3 mph increase in velocity from winter event, fastball sat 80-81 mph and is fairly straight, curveball sat 65-66 mph with 11/5 break, struggled some with command, secondary pitches showed some improvement from winter event.

Daulton Mason, RHP, Lewis County HS, 2014
6-foot, 190-pound prospect, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, arm shows some quickness, shows ability to throw strikes with all 3 pitches, fastball sat 81-83 mph with some arm-side run, good command of curveball at 72-73 mph with sharp 11/5 action, changeup is solid with some arm-side run and sink at 74 mph.

Jacob Long. RHP. Mercer County HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 207-pound prospect with strong build and lower half, uses long arm action through a ¾ to high ¾ arm slot, consistently throws strikes with all pitches, fastball showed good arm-side run at 75-77 mph, keeps hitters off balance with a 63-64 mph curveball with 11/5 action, and a 65-66 mph changeup that shows late sinking action.

Matt Marcum, RHP, Community Christian, 2014
6-foot-4, 180-pound prospect with projectable frame, uses long arm action through a ¾ to high ¾ arm slot, fastball is straight with occasional cutting action at 78-80 mph touching 82, mechanics are on-line, curveball shows 11/5 action at 68-69 mph, changeup is straight at 72 mph, long arms and room to fill on frame with more velocity potential.

JJ Poole, RHP, Daviess County HS, 2014
6-foot-5, 220-pound prospect, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, struggled to command fastball mainly up in the zone, fastball sat 77-79 mph and touched 80, showed better command of his curveball which sat 69-73 mph with sharp 11/5 action, changeup shows some arm side run and sink at 73-74 mph.

Jacob Smiley, LHP, South Warren HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 182-pound prospect, athletic frame, uses short arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball shows good arm-side run at 78-81 mph, curveball sat 73-75 mph with 1/7 action, throws changeup with good arm action at 70 mph with some run and sink, struggled early with command but settled in, was able to miss barrels with location and changing speeds.

white team

Cody Kalinowski, LHP, Lexington Christian Academy, 2014
6-foot-1, 180-pound prospect, athletic build, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, fastball is mainly straight at 76 78 mph touching 79, does show occasional cutting action on fastball, curveball shows gradual 1/7 action at 59-62 mph, good arm action on 68-70 mph changeup that shows some run and sink.

Brandon Eliadis, LHP, Anderson County HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 160-pound prospect , room to fill out on frame, uses long arm action through an over-the-top arm slot, fastball is mainly straight with some occasional slight cutting action and sat 77-79 mph touching 82 once, curveball shows 1/7 action at 62-64 mph, likes to back door right-handed hitters with the curveball, changeup showed some slight arm side run at 70 mph, showed good command and the ability to keep hitters off-balance to get outs.

Joe Holliday, RHP, Logan County HS, 2014
6-foot-1, 176-pound prospect, uses short to medium arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, average arm speed, struggled with command, fastball sat 75-77 mph touching 78, curveball at 65 mph with tendency to bury, better command of changeup that showed some arm-side run at 70 mph.

Jack Noftsger, RHP, Lafayette HS, 2014
6-foot-3, 192-pound prospect, uses long arm action through a ¾ arm slot, good command of all pitches, loose arm, fastball sat 77-79 mph and touched 81 with some slight arm-side run, curveball at 68 mph with 11/5 action, good command of slider at 72-74 mph with some late bite, easy effort in delivery, with loose arm and projectable frame, would not be surprised to see velocity gains in the near future.

navy team

RyanTressler, RHP, Switzerland County HS (IN), 2014
6-foot-5, 200-pound prospect, has some projectability, uses long arm action through a ¾ to high ¾ arm slot, wraps some on the backside and at times struggles to get arm through the throwing slot on time, fastball was mostly up in the zone at 80-83 mph and touched 84, showed improved breaking ball from previous event, showed 2 different breaking balls, a slower one with 11/5 action at 59-62 mph and more of a slider type breaking ball at 69-70 mph, still has some rawness on the mound, but potential is there to pitch at the next level.

Jack Cress, RHP, Paul Laurence Dunbar HS, 2014
6-foot, 210-pound prospect, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, arm shows some looseness, fastball is straight at 80-82 mph, curveball is solid at 64-68 mph with sharp 11/5 action and tight spin, gets around changeup at times with some cutting action, shows some run and sink when he stays behind it at 70-71 mph, shows good confidence in secondary stuff and will throw curveball on any count.

Brad Mullins, RHP, Little Miami HS (OH), 2014
6-foot-5, 195-pound prospect with lanky frame, uses long arm action through an over the top arm slot, shows some stiffness, fastball sat 74-76 mph and touched 77, struggled to command curveball which needs better development, curveball sat 55-60 mph, did show better command of curveball in 2nd inning worked.

Bryan Thurnauer, RHP, Lakota West HS (OH), 2014
6-foot-2, 200-pound RHP, strong frame, uses medium arm action, works through an over the top arm slot, throws downhill, fastball sat 79-82 mph and is straight, curveball showed some slight 12/6 action at 73-74 mph, showed good command of changeup at the bottom of the strike zone at 73-75 mph with sink, shows good confidence in the changeup.

Jeremy Downs, RHP, Ryle HS, 2014
5-foot-9, 155-pound prospect with room to fill on frame, uses medium arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, has a quick arm that produces an 80-82 mph fastball that touched 83, fastball has some late arm-side run, curveball showed 10/4 action and sat 69-70 mph, throws his changeup with good arm action at 71-74 mph that has some sink and fade

Jacob Yeager, RHP, Newport Central Catholic HS, 2014
5-foot-8, 165-pound prospect, uses long arm action through a high ¾ arm slot, repeatable on-line mechanics, fastball showed some arm-side run at 80-83 mph and touched 84 once, curveball had downward spin and 12/6 type action at 71-72 mph, tended to bury curveball, throws strikes consistently with the fastball.

royal team

Jonathan Thrasher, RHP, Butler HS, 2014
6-foot-2, 225-pound prospect, uses long arm action through a ¾ arm slot, fastball showed arm-side run at 76-78 mph touching 79 which was 2-3 mph increase over previous event, curveball showed better 11/5 action from previous event at 68-70 mph, changeup is a good pitch at 68-71 mph with some run and sink.

Willie Poe, LHP, Lexington Catholic HS, 2014
5-foot-11, 155-pound prospect, uses short arm action, works through a high ¾ arm slot, shows ability to both cut and run fastball, fastball sat 79-80 mph touching 81, curveball is solid with sharp 1/7 action at 67-68 mph, throws good changeup with solid arm action at 70 mph that shows good sink and fade, good pitchability, has good idea how to get hitters out with his stuff.

Trevor Grady, LHP, North Oldham HS, 2014
6-foot, 160-pound prospect, slender build with room to fill, uses long arm action, works through a ¾ to high ¾ arm slot, fastball shows some arm-side run at 72-74 mph with good command, curveball has gradual 1/7 action at 63 mph, gets around changeup at times with some cutting action, other times shows sink and fade when he stays behind it at 65 mph, showed some ability to keep hitters off balance.

Connor Cleary, LHP, Lexington Catholic HS, 2014
6-foot-4, 180-pound prospect with lanky build and projectable frame, uses long arm action through an over-the-top arm slot, fastball sat 74-76 mph and touched 78, curveball sat 61-62 mph and showed gradual 1/7 action, showed good command of the curveball, Cleary has a great pitcher’s frame that should project for more velocity in the near future.