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Quick Hits: New Orleans Summer ID

July 5, 2024
Alex Armand
Louisiana Scouting Director

New Orleans, LA - On Tuesday, July 2, 2024, the Prep Baseball Louisiana staff traveled to Tulane University, to host our last event of the summer with our New Orleans Summer ID.  This year's event featured over 70 prospects from the 2025-2028 classes.  Each participant went through a pro-style workout that consisted of running a laser-timed 60 yard dash using Swift Performance, defensive evaluations, batting practice using Trackman Baseball and Blast Motion, and the pitchers finished the event off by throwing bullpens with Trackman Baseball.  Below, we take a look at some of the standout performers from Tuesday.  

We continue our post-event coverage with a look at some of the standout performers from Tuesday.  Please continue to check back over the coming days, as we'll release additional post-event coverage of the 2024 New Orleans Summer ID. 

View all event stats HERE. 

UNCOMMITTED 2025 PROSPECTS

+ 2025 RHP Zeke Wall (Iota HS)

Wall was the Bulldogs #1 arm this past spring and was dominant all season long, as he finished with a 7-1 record and 0.96 ERA.  This was our first up close look at him and it was a really good one.  A smooth mover down the slope with a loose and whippy arm action, Wall showed the ability to land a four-seamer to his glove-side and a two-seamer to his arm-side.  His FB sat 85-87 mph with good life through the zone and spin rates up to 2484 RPM's.  Wall's feel for spin, however, it was really stood out, as he showed the ability to land to distinct breaking balls (CB & SL) with well above average spin rates up to 2998 RPM's.  That's not even mentioning his late-fading 73-74 mph CH, which completes his four-pitch mix.  He's got a projectable 6'2" 165 lbs. frame that will continue to add strength as he matures, which only adds to his future promise.  Wall is without a doubt an uncommitted senior arm for college recruiters to monitor moving forward.

+ 2025 MIF Ryder Planchard (Holy Cross HS)

Athletic, lean, and wiry 5'10" 165 lbs. frame with a ton of room to add strength.  We've had the opportunity to track the Holy Cross prodcut over the couple of years, and on Tuesday, he showed that he's continuing to trend in the right direction.  Planchard posted personal bests, across the board, with a 6.82 laser-timed 60, 85 mph positional velocity, and 93.7 mph max exit velocity.  He's always been a steady and reliable defender and now has the speed to stick up the middle, at either shortstop or second base.  We also liked Planchard's BP round, as he showed increased strength with the same simple and repeatable swing, working with a line drive gap-to-gap approach.  College programs looking to add a solid middle-infielder to their 2025 class should give Planchard a look.

UNCOMMITTED 2026 PROSPECTS

+ 2026 RHP Christian Sauska (Newman HS)

We had heard good things about Sauska during the spring, but he unfortunately suffered a minor injury, so we weren't able to see him pitch for the Greenies.  Now healthy, we got a good look at the Newman product on Tuesday at Tulane and it was a really good one.  Sauska is an easy mover down the mound and uses little effort to release the ball from a 3/4 slot.  His 84-86 mph FB flashed really good life and ride through the zone with spin rates in the 2311-2421 RPM range.  He also showed good feel to land a near "12-6" shape CB with late bite down in the zone, as well as a 78-81 late-fading CH.  Sauska has a projectable 6'2" 185 lbs. frame that is surely to add more strength in the future and as he gets back ramped up, we fully expect his velocity and "stuff" to tick up even more.

+ 2026 RHP Alex Richardson (Belle Chasse HS)

6'2" 180 lbs. frame with solid lower-half strength and some projection still left.  The Belle Chasse product was relatively unknown, but he definitely made a name for himself after Tuesday's event.  Richardson used a simple and repeatable delivery with a longer arm path to release the ball from a 3/4 to slightly higher 3/4 slot.  His FB sat 86-88 mph with low spin and heavier arm-side run.  Richardson's 70-72 mph SL is still a developing secondary, but he did show good feel for a 76-78 mph CH.  There's still some things to clean up, but there's no denying Richardson's arm talent and how easy his arm works, which is why we'll be keeping close tabs on him moving forward.

+ 2026 RHP Jayce Ruiz (Riverside Academy)

Physical and durable 6'0" 185 lbs. frame.  Ruiz showed off a big arm on Tuesday during his bullpen session to end the day.  The Riverside Academy product aggressively moves down the slope and uses a compact arm stroke to release the ball from a high 3/4 to near over-the-top slot.  His 88-90 mph FB showed ride & run through the zone and more control over command for now.  Ruiz also flashed a downer 75-78 mph CB, a 78-80 mph SL with short lateral break, and a firm 84-85 mph CH.  Although there's still some "rawness" to his operation, there aren't too many 2026's walking around in the state with a heater up to 90 mph, so Ruiz should be a name to circle.

2027'S TO FOLLOW

+ 2027 LHP Bryce Waguespack (St. Charles Catholic HS)

The Comets seemingly re-load with talent every year and with the departure of the team's #1 arm in Brady St. Pierre, Waguespack looks like a good bet to lead the staff next spring.  The sophomore southpaw uses a shorter arm action to release the ball from a lower 3/4 slot.  He showed the ability to drive his 82-85 mph FB in to the glove-side, as well as sink it away arm-side with 15.8" of average horizontal movement.  Waguespack's 73-76 mph SL had short & tight lateral break, and he also flashed a 80-81 mph CH with arm-side sink & run.  Look for the St. Charles Catholic product to rise up the board in our next 2027 State Rankings update, as he's a must-follow arm in the class.

+ 2027 SS Ian Smith (Rummel HS)

Smith has some big shoes to fill, as the likely replacement for departing senior Mikey Ryan, who will take his talents to LSU.  The former Jr. Future Gamer looks primed to take over the shortstop position next season, especially since he's added noticeable strength to his 5'11" 170 lbs. frame.  On Tuesday, Smith posted personal bests in every statistical category with a 7.04 laser-timed 60, 82 mph positional velocity, and 90.6 mph max exit velocity.  Defensively, he showed clean and crisp actions with an accurate arm across the diamond.  At the plate, Smith uses a knee-to-knee load and stride to aggressively deliver a heavy barrel to contact, while working mostly to the pull-side gap.  It's a well synced up swing and he maintains balance from start to finish, while showing the ability to get on-plane with each pitch, regardless of its location.  

COMMITTED PROSPECTS

+ 2025 C/RHP Kayden Boyer (Denham Springs HS)

6'1" 210 lbs. physical frame with a strong lower-half.  Boyer is built like a fullback and plays like a fullback trying to block a middle linebacker on an iso-play in the hole.  The Pearl River Community College recruit works from an upright stance with a higher hand set and uses a simple load and stride, before dropping a heavy barrel straight to contact that produces loud gap-to-gap results with exit velocities up to 102.4 mph.  He was on-time and on the barrel each pitch with nearly every swing registering 95+ mph exit velocities.  Boyer also showed well on the mound.  Working exclusively out of the stretch, he worked his FB up to 90 mph, while also showing the ability to land both his CB and CH for strikes.  

+ 2025 C Dalton Sabathe (Pearl River HS)

The former Future Gamer and LSU-Eunice recruit had another solid showing on Tuesday at Tulane.  As always, he received and blocked the ball well, and also showcased a strong arm from the crouch, up to 79 mph, with athletic footwork and a clean glove-to-hand transfer on throw downs that resulted in an event best 1.93 pop time.  Offensively, we liked some of the adjustments that Sabathe has made, since we last saw him at the LHSAA State Tournament, as he was maintaining balance throughout his swing, while hitting the ball out front with a direct path to contact that produced hard line drives from gap-to-gap.  

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