Unsigned Senior Games Position Player Evaluations: Team 1 (White)

By Chris Fuller
PBR Kentucky

The 2016 PBR Kentucky Unsigned Senior Games were held on Sunday, October 2 at Beechwood High School and brought some of the most talented uncommitted 2017 graduates together in one place.  Below are the evaluations from each of the position players that competed in the event for the White Team.

Outfielders

Josh Morgan, OF, Sayre, 2017
60 Time: 6.96, Position Velocity:  OF-86, Exit Velocity: 91
6-foot-2, 185-pound, RHH hits from a balanced stance and uses a short stride with a late push back of his hands to get loaded, lower half explodes to produce some extra pop, strong and well-built, good bat speed combines with a pull approach to produce some good power at the plate.  Defensively, showed athleticism in playing through the ball, long arm action comes through a high ¾ slot to produce some very accurate throws with good carry.  Recorded a single in game play.

Zion Echols, OF, Prestonsburg, 2017
60 Time: 6.93, Position Velocity:  OF-79, Exit Velocity: 84
6-foot-3, 180-pound, LHH hits from a taller and open stance with some higher hand positioning, uses a leg kick and short stride to get his lower half going, bat path can be steep through the zone at times but did barrel the ball up and showed a line drive approach at the plate. Defensively, played athletically in the outfield with good hands, used a long arm action through an over-the-top slot to produce accurate throws with average carry.  

Cory Franzen, OF, Campbell County, 2017
60 Time: 7.10, Position Velocity:  OF-79, Exit Velocity: 84
5-foot-8, 160-pound, LHH hits from a balanced and closed stance, uses a short stride and some very minimal movement back with his hands to get loaded, lower half provided good balance, average bat speed found the barrel and produced a line drive swing.  Defensively, showed average actions in the outfield, arm action came through a high ¾ slot with some accuracy and carry.  Performed well in game action, going 2-for-3 with a walk.

Mitchell Langley, OF, Bullitt East, 2017
60 Time: 7.14, Position Velocity:  OF-78, Exit Velocity: 85
6-foot-1, 183-pound, RHH hits from a narrow and open stance, uses a slight arm bar and a longer stride to get loaded, lower half is solid, showed good bat speed with slightly uphill bat path that produced line drives with some gap-to-gap pop. Defensively, plays through the ball athletically and uses a long arm action through a high ¾ slot to produce accurate throws with decent carry. Recorded a single in game play.

Matthew Thiel, OF, Covington Catholic, 2017
60 Time: 7.32, Exit Velocity: 86
6-foot-1, 190-pound, RHH hits from a balanced stance and uses an arm bar and a short stride to get loaded for his swing, above average bat speed had a long path through the zone but showed a line drive approach with some potential gap-to-gap pop.  Matthew did not participate in the defensive evaluation.

First Basemen

Ryan Eckerle, LHP/1B, Covington Catholic, 2017
60 Time: 7.78, Position Velocity:  IF-76, Exit Velocity: 85
6-foot-2, 200-pound, LHH hits from a narrow and slightly open stance with pretty tall posture, uses a long stride and a lowering of his hands to get loaded, lower half can stay a little too closed off at times, average bat speed came through a pretty flat path to find a lot of barrels, stayed middle away a lot but possesses some pull pop.  Defensively, showed soft hands and stayed athletic around the bag, short arm action through a high ¾ slot showed some average arm strength. Finished 2-for-3 in game play with two singles and a walk.

Drew Demler, RHP/1B, Ryle, 2017
60 Time: 7.96, Position Velocity:  IF-72, Exit Velocity: 83
6-foot-4, 215-pound, RHH hits from a balanced stance, big-bodied player uses a toe-tap and short stride with a movement back of his hands to get loaded, lower half doesn’t quite clear through to create separation, average bat speed came through a mostly flat path to find the barrel some in BP.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork around the bag, plays fairly athletically, longer arm action shortens up and comes through a high ¾ slot, accurate throws had average arm strength behind them.  Finished game play going 1-for-3 with a single and a walk. 

Brady Jones, RHP/1B, Bracken County, 2017
60 Time: 7.91, Position Velocity:  IF-73, Exit Velocity: 91
6-foot-2, 185-pound, RHH hits from a balanced stance with a slight crouch in his stance, uses a short stride and a little lowering of his hands to get loaded, bat path is long through the zone but showed some raw pop due to his natural size and strength. Defensively, showed average hands and footwork around the bag, used a long arm action over-the-top to produce accurate throws with average carry. Two-way player is wide-shouldered with a solid build.

Drew Webb, 1B, Madisonville North Hopkins, 2017
60 Time: 7.72, Position Velocity:  IF-72, Exit Velocity: 88
6-foot-0, 234-pound, RHH hits from a balanced stance, uses a short stride and a lowering and very slight push back of his hands to get loaded, lower half cuts him off and doesn’t allow his hips to clear out at times, decent bat speed was produced by a fairly flat swing path, some gap-to-gap and pull pop potential created mostly by his upper body strength.  Defensively, showed good hands and above-average footwork around the bag, short arm action produced average arm strength but showed some very good accuracy.

Middle Infielders

Jordan Blick, SS, Russellville, 2017
60 Time: 7.65, Position Velocity:  IF-76, Exit Velocity: 82
6-foot-2, 170-pound, LHH hits from a wider and slightly open stance, uses a short stride with a movement back of his hands to get loaded, lower half gets through and helps him to maintain balance throughout the swing, good bat speed found the barrel a lot and showed a gap-to-gap approach with some power potential to his pull side, hit a HR to right-center in BP.  Defensively, showed good hands and fluid footwork in the infield, glove flipper, played through the ball well and used a clean exchange to promote a short arm action through a high ¾ release point, produced accurate throws with some carry. Finished 1-for-3 with a single, a walk, and a stolen base in game play. 

Justin Lowry, RHP/SS, Oldham County, 2017
60 Time: 8.06, Position Velocity:  IF-79, Exit Velocity: 77
5-foot-10, 140-pound, RHH hits from a wide and even stance, uses a movement back with his body and creates an arm bar with a short stride to get loaded at the plate, lower half helps maintain good balance, short swing created average bat speed and a line drive approach, barreled balls up fairly well during BP.  Defensively, showed decent hands and footwork in the infield, played through the ball okay, showed a short arm action through a ¾ slot with some accuracy and average carry, throws had occasional tail. Finished game play 2-for-3 with two singles and a walk.

James Kummer, 2B, Franklin Simpson, 2017
60 Time: 7.76, Position Velocity:  IF-69, Exit Velocity: 77
5-foot-11, 160-pound, RHH hits from an open stance and uses a short stride with a lowering and sudden push back of his arms to get loaded, creates a slight arm bar, lower half could get more explosive, mostly flat bat path can be a little stiff but showed a line drive approach at the plate.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork in the infield, could play through the ball more confidently and aggressively, long exchange led to a short arm action through a high ¾ release point and average arm strength.  Finished game play 1-for-3 with a single and a walk.

Third Basemen

Joseph Yancey, 3B/RHP, Holy Cross, 2017
60 Time: 6.90, Position Velocity:  IF-78, Exit Velocity: 84
5-foot-8, 165-pound, RHH hits from a balanced stance and uses a toe-tap and a short stride with some movement back with his hands to get loaded, lower half is solid but doesn’t provide much separation, short swing produced some good bat speed and promoted a line drive approach at the plate, did a good job of getting the barrel to the ball.  Defensively, showed above average hands and footwork with a clean exchange, arm action was short through a high ¾ slot with some carry.  Recorded a single in game play. Above average runner for the third base position.

Catchers

Zane Baker, C, Collins, 2017
60 Time: 7.77, Pop Time: 1.97-2.04, Position Velocity:  C-78, Exit Velocity: 83
6-foot-0, 190-pound, RHH hits from a balanced stance with some fairly high hand positioning, uses a short stride and very minimal hand movement to get loaded, lower half works pretty well and gives him a solid base, short swing creates good bat speed through the zone with some power to his pull side, has a confident approach.  Defensively, showed above average hands and footwork behind the plate, high exchange led to a short arm action from an over-the-top slot to produce firm throws with good carry to second base, very good arm strength.

 Jake Webster, C, Holy Cross, 2017
60 Time: 7.88, Pop Time: 2.10-2.21, Position Velocity:  C-74, Exit Velocity: L-81, R-76
6-foot-0, 170-pound, SH hits from a balanced and slightly open stance and a little higher hand positioning from the left side, uses a short stride that finishes closed and a subtle lowering and movement back with his hands to get loaded, lower half worked well and helped provide good balanced and stability, above average bat speed from the left side came through the zone with a little lift that showed a line drive approach.  Defensively, showed decent hands and average footwork behind the plate, exchange was a little slow but led to a short arm action from over-the-top arm slot.

Devon Martin, C, Montgomery County, 2017
60 Time: 7.52, Pop Time: 2.09-2.25, Position Velocity:  C-72, Exit Velocity: 78
6-foot-1, 170-pound, RHH hits from a wider and slightly open stance with some fairly high hand positioning, uses a short and abbreviated leg kick with a short stride and a sudden and slight barrel tilt to get loaded, line drive approach comes from a fairly flat bat path and average bat speed through the zone, best when he stays middle.  Defensively, showed average hands and footwork behind the plate, used a quick exchange to lead into his short arm action from an over-the-top slot, average arm strength helped create some decent carry to 2B.