Preseason High School Preview: Liberty
March 14, 2023
The Missouri high school baseball season is set to kick off shortly, with ‘Opening Day’ set for March 17th. Over the next two weeks, leading up to opening day, we’ll be publishing our team previews ahead of the 2023 spring season, touching on programs spanning all state classifications.
Perennially, we’ve submitted a Preseason Questionnaire to high school head coaches across the entire state. Their responses have been flooding in and we’re using the detailed insight they’ve provided in our team-by-team preseason analysis.
Our 2023 preseason coverage continues today.
Team: Liberty
2022 Record: 29-10
Conference: Greater Kansas City Suburban - Silver
Classification: 6A
Head Coach: Kirk Bragg
X-FACTOR
Addison Smith, INF, 2023, Oklahoma State signee: Smith performed throughout the summer circuit across multiple looks to our scouts, shining at stops over Creekside, LakePoint, and the Area Code Games. He starred for the Blue Jays last season, earning both first team all-state and all-conference honors for his efforts. Smith’s long been a favorite of Shooter Hunt, our President of Scouting, and he earned high praise after an up-close look in San Diego last August:
“...polished off a stellar summer with a strong performance in San Diego. Utilizing a larger leg hang to gain ground through impact from both sides, he was consistently on-time throughout with a flat path that delivered gap-to-gap strength with some pull side power potential . The wiry-thin, 6-foot-1, 175-pound shortstop has plenty of room to continue adding strength, and while he is not dynamic on the infield, he is as consistent as they come with the glove, and has a quick release with adequate arm strength that is likely a future average tool.”
NEWCOMER TO WATCH
Simon Linde, RHP, 2023, Butler signee: Linde was a huge in-state winner over last year’s summer circuit, rising inside the top 50 prospects in the state’s current 2023 rankings as a result. He really looked the part at Creekside over multiple looks, capping it off with an eventual commitment to Butler. Adding an arm like Linde only deepens Liberty’s pitching staff and gives head coach Kirk Bragg even more talent to trot out on a game-to-game basis. A quick nugget on Linde from our past looks:
“...6-foot-1, 190-pound physically built athlete with broad shoulders and strength in the lower half. Took the mound for Mac N Seitz on Friday and showed a power two-pitch mix. Worked the zone with an upper-80s fastball that featured natural arm-side run down in the zone. Turned to a hard, sharp 76-78 mph slider with late break that paired well with his fastball. Twirled a three-hit, complete game win.”
OUTLOOK
Liberty won 29 games last season and made a run all the way to their District championship, dropping a heartbreaking walk-off contest to eventual state champion Liberty North, 4-3. A handful of noteworthy names departed, including 2022 PBR Player of the Year RHP Karson Milbrandt (2022; Miami Marlins draftee), but the Blue Jays also return a steady crop of talent that’s more than capable of building off last year’s success.
Aside from the aforementioned Smith, Liberty brings back a pair of all-conference bats in OF Chase Littrell (2023; Washburn University) and OF Dane Moberly (2023; Drury) that both played key roles last spring. They’ll be relied upon once again this upcoming season, as well as INF Kayden Cook (2023), who previously earned honorable mention all-conference honors. A few other names to know that deepen this roster offensively are INF Wyatt Peacock (2024), OF Carter Towns (2024), MIF Christian Kuchta (2024), C Mason Jeffers (2025), and OF Jack Quetschenbach (2025).
LHH OF Dane Moberly (@Jays_Baseball, 2023; @DruryBaseball) starts his day off with a triple the other way.
— Diego (@DeegsBaseball) July 3, 2022
6-foot-2, 175-pound athlete with loose upside levers. #KCPI | @ProdigyBasebal https://t.co/27xXZSqI9V pic.twitter.com/goM7oJGZ9o
Though mostly inexperienced, the Blue Jays have no shortage of impact talent on the mound scattered throughout the roster. RHP Kai Bennett (2023; Washburn University) was an all-conference honorable mention last spring and returns with higher expectations heading into his senior year. The 6-foot-4, 200-pound PBR Future Games alum has always worked the zone in our looks, featuring a mid-to-high-80s fastball with two legitimate breaking balls, each spinning in the mid-70s at 2500+ RPM. RHP Charlie Mussorici (2023; Crowder JC) is another senior arm to know on this staff with loud stuff, working his fastball into the upper-80s at our events with a real swing-and-miss breaking ball that’s breached the 2700 RPM mark previously.
A pair of junior arms capable of making an impact this spring: RHP Tim Teixeira (2024) and RHP Tanner Warner (2024). Teixiera represented Team Missouri at the Future Games in the summer and spins one of the state’s best breaking balls - a 2900+ RPM sweeping slider at 70-73 mph - to go along with an 84-87 mph fastball. Like his counterpart, Warner also owns a breaking ball capable of missing bats, throwing it with conviction in the low-70s. His fastball jumps from a high slot, carrying into the upper-half of the zone in the mid-to-high-80s, touching as high as 88 mph at Creekside last summer.
BOTTOM LINE
A group of experienced and proven seniors on the offensive end to compliment a pitching staff that’s rich with talent has Liberty slated as a top team yet again across the state.
Follow along @PBRMissouri for complete coverage of the 2023 high school season.