By PBR Staff

Today we continue our coverage of the Top Prospect Games teams.  Next up is the Black Team.  Several players made big strides and showed well.  Here is a complete list of players on the team in order how the appeared on the roster.

Black Team

Henry Chang, RHP/3B, Northville, 2014

Chang is an evenly proportioned with wide shoulder athlete who stands at 6-foot 165-pounds. Has limited physical projection.  Sat 79-81 mph but have seen bump 85 mph.  Fastball mostly straight and flashes average curveball with bite.  Consistent in zone with calm demeanor.  Quick hands with slight uppercut and gap to gap approach.  Actions in the field with enough arm to throw out average runner.

Jacob VanderWal, OF/2B, Grand Rapids Catholic Central, 2015

VanderWal is still young with room to grow.  Stands at 5-foot-10, 160-pounds.  Time on his side.  Gets most out of tools with strong hands and wrists with quickness to zone.  Online carry and easy  arm in outfield w/actions and decent feet on infield.  After not playing during the spring, VanderWal is just getting his timing back together at the plate. 

Jackson Overlund, OF/2B, Forest Hills Central, 2014

Overlund is an athletic 5-foot-10, 181-pound outfielder/infielder.  Recently has added the ability to play in the infield giving him more versatility. At the plate showed to be athletic quick to and through zone.  Bat path keeps barrel in zone for a while.  In the field he shows solid arm strength with proper rotation in OF with online carry.

Logan Magsig, SS/2B, Hudsonville, 2014

Evenly proportioned, athletic MIF. Quiet approach w/some juice.  More power to come with physical maturity.  Solid actions with enough arm strength to play up the middle at the next level.  Takes proper angles with some range.  Learning to throw from all angles will help him be a solid defender at the next level. Smoked a double at top prospect games.  Offensively is starting to come on.

Bryce Kelley, LHP, Rockford HS, 2016

Kelley had a good showing at Top Prospect Games.  He sat primarily between 79-83mph.  His arm worked quick.  He did struggle with command a bit but overcame it in his two innings of work.  His breaking ball showed some tilt and bite although he did leave it armside a bit.  Certainly has upside at 6-foot-1, 170-pounds.  Time on his side.

Jacob Gividen, RHP, Portage Northern HS, 2014

Gividen sat between 80-83mph during his outing at Top Prospect Games.  High ¾ slot with arm side run.  Breaking ball continues to improve 73-76mph. Some effort in the delivery but arm works quick. Should see plenty of action from smaller schools. 

Tyler Pellerito, SS/OF, Rockford, 2015

Undersized with room for physical projection and time on his side.  Line drive hitter w/quick hands through zone.  Alert defender and arm plays w/more in the tank.  Baseball instincts evident on base paths and flashes ability to get jumps while stealing a base. Had several hits at Top Prospect Games.  Put the ball in play consistently. Speed is Pellerito’s biggest asset.  This switch hitter can lay it down. Gets the most out of his toolset.

Wyatt Morrison, SS/2B, Kalamazoo Central, 2015

Room for physical projection.  Only a sophomore at 5-foot-10 and only 155-pounds.  Well-above average arm strength from across the diamond (87mph) Clean footwork. Handsy hitter with balanced approach. Even stance to start but opens up a bit may struggle with outer half.  Some pop in the bat. Short path and got to extension well.

Logan VanTil, RHP, Zeeland West HS, 2015

VanTil is a 6-foot-3, 185-pound sophomore from Zeeland HS.  The right-hander threw the ball well sitting primarily between 83-85mph. High 3/4 arm slot. Has a smoother delivery with crossfire lower half. Arm works well.  Ball comes out clean.  Breaking ball has slurvy action to it.  Raw with more in the tank.  Should add pounds and velocity.

Kyle Rago, RHP/1B, Berrien Springs, 2014

Looks the part. Big strong bodied athlete at 6-foot-3, 185-pounds.  Long limbs and high waist w/some room left for physical projection.    Barrel is flat through zone and stays in there a while w/some extra base pop. Quick hands and a big hack.   Solid body control and actions around the bag.  On the mound he was one of the most impressive pitchers. Sat between 85-88mph.  Ball jumped out of his hand.  Short arm action. Projects to be a reliever.  Nothing was straight.  Tight breaking ball 74-76mph. 

Mason Opple, 1B/3B, Hudsonville, 2015

Solid, sturdy athlete at 6-foot-3, 200-pounds.  Can really run for a big man (6.87).  Uppercut swing with some pop to come with mechanical cleanups.  Collapses backside at times and works uphill.  Alert defender with solid actions and catches what he gets to. Has time to progress. Raw at this point.  Best suited to play first base or has potential to play corner outfield if arm continues to progress.

Nick Plummer, OF, Brother Rice HS, 2015

Plummer committed to Michigan less than a week after the Top Prospect Games.  One of the most impressive athletes at the event. Ran a 4.19 down to first base on a ground ball.  Tripled off the base of the right-center wall.  Top end speed was good.  Arm still needs work (82mph) to be considered elite.  Pure hitter.  Advanced approach with patient approach. Good shoulder trigger. Extends well.

Jordan Muffley, C/3B, Portage Central, 2015

Evenly proportioned, athletic young catcher with room for physical maturity. Strong hands and wrists, flashes ability to drive balls the other way.  Receives and rolls well with calming presence behind dish.  Throws through second base with clean release and strong, accurate arm.  1.97-1.99 pop times.  Arm compensates for lack of quickness in lower half right now.  Actions and agility at 3B but catching is where future is brightest. Had a double off the base of the wall.

AJ Montoya, C/3B/OF, St. Joseph, 2014

Evenly proportioned, quick twitch, physical build.  An athlete. Plays multiple postions (C, 3B, OF).  87mph from the outfield. Threw 1.93-2.01 pops times. Offensively has quick hands and gets barrel to zone quickly with extension.  Proper rotation and carry from outfield, solid fundamentals on the infield.  Receives well and shows decent footwork behind the plate.  Instincts to snag bags and avg. to a tick above average speed underway.

Karl Kauffmann, RHP, Brother Rice HS, 2016

Kauffmann lived up to his Class of 2016 No. 1 billing. Threw well sitting 84-87 mph with his fastball.  Has plenty of upside. Calm cool demeanor with smooth delivery and easy arm.  Polished.  Breaking ball has tighter spin and feel for it (73-75mph).  Will be attending the Midwest Futures Games. 

Casey Bennett, C, Jenison, 2014

Bennett has a good frame at 6-foot-1, 170-pounds.  Plenty of room for projection.  Arm is his best attribute.  Threw 2.1-2.13 pop times.  Could improve as arm shortens up.  Throws were accurate and on the bag.  Swing produces line drives.  Needs to continue to improve consistency at the plate.

Tyler Gnodtke, RHP, Bridgman, 2014

Looks the part.  The 6-foot-3, 210-pound righty had a good showing. Bigger body that may continue to improve.  High 3/4 slot with mostly straight FB at 84-5. Easy delivery with strikes. Loose. CB acts like slider at 76 with 3/4 tilt.  Produced good results.  Should be followed to see if he makes another jump.  One of the surprises of the event.

Michael Mokma, RHP, Holland Christian HS, 2016

One of the few freshman to attend Top Prospect Games. Passes the “eye-test” at 6-foot-5, 190-pounds.  Has a chance to be very good.  A little stiffer in the lower half but arm worked well.  Fastball sat between 82-87 mph.  High 3/4 slot. 70-71mph on the breaking ball with 11/5 shape.  Change at 73mph.  One of the best in the Class of 2016. 

Landen Haney, RHP/3B, Rockford, 2015

Evenly proportioned, athletic body w/future gains in strength and maturity.  Balanced approach, barrel is flat thru zone and can pull hands in to get to inside pitch.  Agile w/body control in the field.  81mph across the diamond. On the mound topped out at 83mph.  Sat primarily between 79-82mph.  Arm is shorter with high elbow in the back.  Slider has some bite. 

Alex Sova, RHP, H.H. Dow, 2014

Looks the part w/room for physical maturity and weight gains. A young junior to be senior. Easy, online and ontime. Long levers.  Threw the ball very well. Struggled to command secondary.  Worked down hill   Fastball gets on hitters quick sitting 86-87mph and bumps 88mph.  Downer curveball is inconsistent at 71 mph but has some feel.  Change a work in progress.

Connor Sampson, SS/RHP, Belleville, 2016

One of the biggest surprises at the event.  Created a lot of buzz. Long, athletic with plenty of room for physical projection and time on his side.  Stands at 6-foot-3, 170-pounds.  An overstrider but keeps hands back enough stay on offspeed.  Solid actions and body control in the field. Arm is a bit lite right now (74mph) but is only a freshman. Ball carried to target with good rotation.

Brent Showers, C/INF, Rockford , 2014

Physically built and athletic. 5-foot-10, 225-pounds.  Leader. Has a nose for the baseball behind the plate.  Stays back well and barrel stays in zone for a while. Flat plane  Uses strong wrists and hands to drive balls the other way.  1.96 was his best pop time. Shows solid catch and throw skill with more in the tank.  Shifts and blocks well.

Randy Righter, INF/RHP, Brother Rice HS, 2014

Big bodied athlete at 6-foot-3, 225-pounds.  Best eye-hand coordination in the Class of 2014.  Several hits at the event.  Barreled up the baseball consistently.  Non-runner but hits the gaps a lot.  Balanced at the plate.  Fast bat.  Fine defensively best projects as a pure hitting first baseman.  Overall is a player.  Arm plays fine 76mph across diamond.  Didn’t pitch this event but have seen him up to 86mph.   

 
Additional News:

• PBRPlus - Jul 4, 2013
  Updated Overall Class of 2014 Player Rankings 
  

• PBRPlus - Jul 3, 2013
  The Hotlist: 10 2014 Players Creating Buzz On Summer Circuit

• MI Top Prospect Games: White Team Analysis7.01.13